Life in the cheap seats is good

Marc Kurth
Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
in In the Weeds--Member's Choice #1
I met with the county appraisal district and was able to get my property taxes lowered once again this year. To celebrate saving almost $2K, we decided to burn a couple of gallons of gas in the boat. It was 78F and we were headed out for a sunset cruise - but I made a U-turn four miles out because the wind was shifting. Sat in the backyard watching the sky with a symphony of distant sky sparks and rolling thunder. No IPAs were injured, but several may have been consumed while the Bratwurst was on the grill. :)


I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • littleharbor2
    littleharbor2 Solar Expert Posts: 2,101 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #2
    Looks like the wind eased up after you got back.

    2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old  but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric,  460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.

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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2023 #3
    Well, a change in wind direction is what got my attention. When we decided to go, two separate storm cells on radar were on a course to miss us. That change had the potential of sending them my way. Turns out they still missed us, but that isn't something that I will willingly mess with! :)  The lift takes about 30 seconds to raise/lower our old beater 25' pontoon boat so we often go out on a whim and coming back is quick too!
    This one tried to sneak up on us a couple of years ago.

    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #4
    And another time, this one was dumping serious water out on the main lake which is 5 miles from our dock. (We are on a branch off the lake)




    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • littleharbor2
    littleharbor2 Solar Expert Posts: 2,101 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #5
    Those pics 'splain your reasoning. Oddly the surface of the water is still pretty smooth.

    2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old  but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric,  460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.

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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #6
    The narrows coming into our branch of the lake really help buffer the waves compared to out on the open water. You can see where we are on this map. It is about 2.5 miles from our dock to the 198 highway bridge, then the main lake is that much again. Most storms come from the NW triggering big swells with almost 20 miles of water to build up traveling southeast down the length of the lake. Our branch runs NE so the waves lose most of their energy making a U-turn before arriving here.
    But yes, I watch the radar!


    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • littleharbor2
    littleharbor2 Solar Expert Posts: 2,101 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #7
    Wow! lots of shoreline. Reminds me of Lake Powell.

    2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old  but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric,  460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.

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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #8
    littleharbor2 said:
    Wow! lots of shoreline. Reminds me of Lake Powell.

    Around 300 miles of shoreline here but we are just a little mud puddle compared to Powell! That's a real lake.
    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • littleharbor2
    littleharbor2 Solar Expert Posts: 2,101 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2023 #9
    Marc Kurth said:
    littleharbor2 said:
    Wow! lots of shoreline. Reminds me of Lake Powell.

    Around 300 miles of shoreline here but we are just a little mud puddle compared to Powell! That's a real lake.
    It's sad how the water levels in the western states reservoirs have gotten so low. Lake Mead is riding the knife edge of whether the turbines have flow enough to make electricity. Sure would be great to see this drought cycle come to an end. We tried this winter. Going to take a whole bunch of exceptionally wet winters to fix it.
      On the hind tit of this drought is the Colorado river delta here in northern Baja. What was once a lush wetland is now a dry, barren moonscape. Of course the United States ensured that would happen when they divvied up the water allocations to all states after they built the two main dams, creating Lake Mead and Lake Powell. The deal they struck with Mexico only allowed the acre feet of water that Mexico needed for their agriculture and not a drop more.
     The USA actually tried to substitute good water with overly salty water they pumped out of the ground in the Yuma region when their water table rose to the point that agricultural runoff polluted with chemical fertilizers was affecting their crops. Mexico realized right away they were getting bad water and called the US on it. Now all that tainted water runs down a channel toward the Sea of Cortez but isn't anywhere near enough to sustain this massive delta's ecosystems. At the end of the ugly mess is the Totoabas spawning grounds that have withered away and affected the ecosystems in the Sea of Cortez.
     OK, rant over. Sorry for derailing your post.

    2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old  but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric,  460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.

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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #10
    I read a fascinating article about the Colorado, Powell, and Mead. Over the long haul, the problem is clearly over usage, more than lack of rainfall. I will see if I can find it but the graphs clearly show the water usage increasing far more drastically over time than the decrease in precipitation. Along come the drought years. Yes, more rainfall would help, but as I recall Lake Mead would be operating in a normal range today if consumption was still at 1995 levels. Who the heck decided that rainfall would continue to increase in the future, so it was OK to increase usage?
    Everyone is wringing their hands over the fact that it can't keep up. But they forget to tell you how much more water is/was being pumped out.
    This is the In the Weeds forum page. There is no such thing as derailing! Are you still in Two Harbors?
    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • littleharbor2
    littleharbor2 Solar Expert Posts: 2,101 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #11
    I was on Catalina Island for 48 years. After cancer took my wife I figured it was time to move, full time, to Baja. It was really a no brainer. Truly retired now and living like a king on the beach. Social Security more than covers my monthly budget. Try doing that in California and I don't mean sleeping under the pier.


    2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old  but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric,  460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.

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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2023 #12
    Nice!! I have a pretty good idea of how cheaply a single guy can live in parts of Mexico. Years ago, my brother moved to Puerto Penasco on the upper gulf looking for a slower lifestyle. He moved into a large trailer on the beach outside of town. After the first couple of years, he had blended right in with the locals but I think that he was getting bored.
    He stumbled on a smok'n deal on a 42' live-aboard catamaran charter boat being sold by a guy moving to Hawaii. Doing occasional booze cruises for tourists, generated money for maintenance costs of the boat. Advertising some "Ladies Only" offshore runs provided more income and an interesting entertainment. Being an entrepreneurial kind of guy, that mushroomed into a full-blown charter operation with an office and a bunch of employees and added two 30' power boats. So much for the slower lifestyle. :)

    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • littleharbor2
    littleharbor2 Solar Expert Posts: 2,101 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #13
    Funny how life takes it's twists and turns. Sounds like when your brother comes to a fork in the road.....he takes it.  B). 
    I get a little bored when I run out of projects around here and during the dead Summer season but every time I head North of the border I can't get back soon enough.

    2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old  but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric,  460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.

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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #14
    He's the same way. Now, he spends a good amount of time in CA and TX with his grandkids but I think that his blood pressure drops to normal when he clears Lukeville southbound. He started this way back around 2005 when he was in his 40's. Now he has reached the point where he has a good and trusted operations manager (full-blooded Mexican, raised in Glendora, CA) and well-trained crews. He pays them very well, supports several local families and they are grateful for their jobs. He maintains tremendous local goodwill with free charters on designated days for the local police/fire guys families, and special pricing for locals. He donates time and money to the orphanage and pays his crews on the clock to be volunteer ambulance drivers twice per month.  http://www.delmarcharters.com/

    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • littleharbor2
    littleharbor2 Solar Expert Posts: 2,101 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #15
    Yep, there's a lot of charitable work being done down here. Quite admirable of your brother in his, giving back. The people down here, for the most part, are very loving, family oriented and happy people who are much more accepting of us gringos than the Norte Americanos , north of the border are of them. I have to say, between the type of folks who have chosen to live down here and the friendly Mexican people I haven't come across too many people I don't like.

    2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old  but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric,  460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.

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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #16
    At least you are in a good spot if things keep spiraling downward! Are you reasonably comfortable with the local doctors?

    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • littleharbor2
    littleharbor2 Solar Expert Posts: 2,101 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2023 #17
    Reasonably comfortable?, for minor ailments, yes. Beyond that, no. Fortunately I'm only a 3-hour drive to the States.

    2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old  but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric,  460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.

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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #18
    My brother was quite comfortable with the local doctor who transplanted from San Diego for basic stuff too. He was a wizard with sutures. But, when it was time for surgery, he went north. Phoenix/Scottsdale is a 3 hour drive. Do I recall that you are on El Golfo toward San Felipe, or are you on the west side?
    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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  • littleharbor2
    littleharbor2 Solar Expert Posts: 2,101 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #19
    El Gulfo is on the mainland side of the Sea of Cortez. I'm 25 miles south of San Felipe on the Baja peninsula. Mexicali is our go to border crossing.

    2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old  but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric,  460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.

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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,166 ✭✭✭✭
    #20
    Even better than I thought!
    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
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