First, the Friends Organization of the Mid Coast Refuge Complex sponsors a very tasty fajita luncheon as thanks to all volunteers, RVers and locals alike. The food is delicious and includes some classic Hispanic deserts, tres leches cake and flan plus an odd sounding but really delicious grapefruit and rosemary pie. Thanks to all the refuge staff for cooking and serving.
Our smaller circle, San Bernard Staff and our fellow RV volunteers, get together for a farewell dinner at a local pub, Wayside. It is a great tradition that gives us all a chance to visit, swap stories, and trade contact information to try and stay in touch once we all head on to other things. We have been part of their biggest volunteer group ever, 8 of us at one time. Six remain for at least another month or two but we are off on our next adventure. Australia and New Zealand here we come!

Since Kent earned his stripes in electrical work, he has one more wiring-like project before we move on. Today he is remounting the power and switch wiring for the fuel island on the refuge. I have the support tasks, including painting the new mounting board. Turns out waiting for the paint to dry down here in sticky, humid Texas is the slowest part of the job. Not too shabby a job I say!

Just three more work days ‘til we head out. Rain is forecast so it likely won’t be a very productive last week. We put in one extra day this week to wrap up trail work at Dow Woods. There is always opportunity for more trimming and it wouldn’t hurt if it was all mowed again but overall it looks pretty good.

It is cold and damp this week so we are glad to have some indoor (at least in-garage) work. We tear off and re-deck three drop gate utility trailers. The tear off is definitely where the hard work happens. Many of the screws are rusted and twist off. It is pure brute force on the first two but luck improves, plus maybe a bit of learning from earlier work, most of the screws back out on number three and we just lift the old boards off. Three pretty trailers lined up in a row making for a nice sense of satisfaction.

Back to the cabin. We get a break in the weather and start into laying sheeting, tar paper, then shingles. None among us have done this in a lot of years but it goes pretty smoothly. Deb and I do the high work…we give our handiwork an A. Time, and rain, will provide the ultimate grade! The guys finish up soffits and porch trim. All in all, pretty good looking. We clean up excess materials and put away tools. Time to move on to the next project.

Pretty low key but some good snacking. The four volunteer couples got together at the bunkhouse to watch the game and hang out. Mark and Deb are avid Kansas fans so they are stoked for the game. Others just like a good football game. There is even an alternative “sport” for the non-enthusiasts. Check it out.

The ditches on the volunteer job site are full of water to the very top. Fortunately, they are used to moving water around here. One fire pump and a transfer pump get it down to about 6” of water and another 6” of muck. It is an improvement though. We pull wire and re-bury conduit. It is a lot of shoveling and slogging in the mud but feels good to get it done. Three new sites with power and water. Yeah.