More Progress - (Pagosa Springs, CO)

At 6:30 am I was out the door to see if the satellite internet installer, Tony, needed any assistance.

Well, he did.  He had a flat tire on his Suburu.  So I got out the air compressor and helped him with that.

By the way, we selected HughesNet for the Ranch's service.  That's the Ranch's service.  Apparently, I have not been clear on that.

We have had HughesNet satellite internet on our RV through our rooftop automatic Datastorm dish since we became full-timers.  This installation is for the Ranch since they don't have cable or DSL internet options here and won't for quite some time.

In reading reviews and researching satellite internet providers for rural America, I never could get comfortable that any of the other players had the infrastructure and capability of Hughes.  The differences in monthly costs were not significant enough to try one of the others.

With Karen not here, Linda & I had to make an executive decision on where to mount the dish.  It could have been installed on the Ranch House under the "standard installation", but we wanted to maintain the aesthetic integrity of the old cabin, so we opted to have Tony do a pole mount out in the side yard.

That was $200 more, but we felt it was better out there amongst the light pole, propane tank, and satellite TV dish in an area we don't mow where the natural beauty has already been disturbed.  Tony had dug the hole, sunk the pole, and poured concrete in the semi-dark last night.

Before he got too far into today's work, we fed him breakfast.  Linda got up early and decided to try the never-used Belgian waffle iron in the Ranch House.  She made us waffles and sausage.  Turns out Tony is diabetic, so it was good to get some food in him - and Linda found some sugar-free syrup.  :)

Tony said that HugheNet has just started using some upgraded equipment and that he has done about 50 - 60 installs in Colorado since the end of May.  He says it is too early to tell yet, but so far he hasn't had any service calls from those newer equipment installs.  I read numerous times that the initial install is key to the level of customer satisfaction for satellite internet, and after picking Tony's brain, I was comfortable that he would do it right.  :)

Finally, we were locked on and running.  We went with the Pro plan for $10 more a month than the entry level Home plan.  It's not lightning quick (I would still recommend DSL or cable if available), but it is a huge improvement over dial-up and plenty satisfactory for business operations.

After helping Tony air up and mount his spare tire, he was on his way.  He passed the electrician that was just arriving.  Good timing.

Our plan was to move the "office" area from the living room of the Ranch House to the kitchen.  We wanted to make the living area completely a guest area with a couple of tables for playing games, eating the baked goods the ladies prepare, or just chatting - sort of like a Bed & Breakfast common area.

But we needed the electrician to install some new electrical outlets in the kitchen.  That wasn't on his agenda for today, but, fortunately, he had time.  And Karen arrived just in time to authorize the additional work.

So Linda made breakfast, cleaned the cabin Tony slept in, did our laundry, did some Ranch laundry, prepared the "office" to be moved, cleaned the kitchen floor and cabinets, and numerous other chores.

I dug a trench and buried the cable from the satellite dish to the Ranch House porch/deck.  And I used a combination of screws and fencing staples to tack the cable up under the porch.

Then I tested the capabilities of the new wireless router.  I could get internet from three of our six cabins.  Four professors happened to stop in on their mountain bikes about the same time.

They really liked the Ranch and told Karen the addition of internet access was one of the best things she could do.  I know Karen has been apprehensive about the cost, but she is getting a lot of reinforcement from people besides us.  :)

The afternoon was spent configuring the new office space, moving furniture, re-routing phone lines, and making sure all the office equipment worked in the new location.

It was a long, busy day.  One of the perks is that Karen feeds us or at least allows us to feed ourselves from her pantry while we are working.  :)

Before it got too dark, I grabbed the camera to get a couple of evening shots.

Two young lads from our Angler Cabin had come up to the Ranch House for a plunger - glad I didn't have to get involved in the use.  But I walked back down the road with them until I noticed these flowers in the dusky light.

I ventured out into the field for a shot of the various shades of purple.

Then it was back to the Ranch House to gather up Linda.  We finally poured ourselves into the rig around 9:00.  A couple of hot showers later, we were both asleep.

Why do we work so many hours?  It's certainly not a requirement.  We're just on a mission, and we like seeing an overall plan come together.  We're trying to get as much accomplished as quickly as we can so we can see the fruits of our labor with the guests coming later in the summer and in the fall.

We're making progress.  :)

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Comments

[John Hatch (FD5)]

Howard,
At this rate y'all are going to run out of things to do, y'all may end up having to just fish. Beautiful pictures, can't wait until I retire.

Stay Safe,
John & Bridget

[Alice]

At the campground we're at for the summer they have some kind of wireless relay setup so that the signal reaches to the edges of the camp, it might be a consideration for the cabins without wireless access.

[Judy (the other Judy)]

Is Your Small Business in Pain?
Call Howard and Linda for quick diagnostics, referrals, reconstructive surgery and follow-up.
They'll cure your pain.