YouTube Videos

 

Episode #1 (New Commercial Property)

• Episode #1: This episode is our first ever YouTube Channel video and focused on our goal to move to our mountain home full time to start our own business with our new commercial property. (Aired 06/21/2023)

Episode #2 (DEMO 1962 Streamline Duke Trailer)

• Episode #2: This episode is focused on the interior demolition of our newly purchased 1962 Streamline Duke travel trailer in order to renovate it for extra bunk space for guests visiting. We started with the demo so that we can use it for additional storage until we have time to finish the renovation. (Aired 06/24/2023)

Episode #3 (Train Boxcar & Mine Carts)

• Episode #3: This episode is focused on the prep and delivery of our new Boxcar Train as well as a couple old mine carts from an old closed copper mine in Florence. (Aired 06/25/2023)

Episode #4 (Railroad Track Install)

• Episode 4: This episode is focused on the installation of real railroad track and the start of a dead-end trestle bridge in prep of the delivery of the locomotive. We never thought that we would ever install real railroad track and it sure makes you humble of all the work that was put into our nation’s railroad tracks back before heavy equipment machines!(Aired 06/27/2023)

Episode #5 (Locomotive Delivery & Dead-End Trestle Bridge)

• Episode 5: This episode is focused on the delivery of our new prop locomotive. The builder of this prop passed away and the nice family sold it to us to add to our train theme. Their father built this with the original plan that it would be blown up in a Hollywood movie. Their father did props for John Wayne, Roy Rogers & Ben Johnson and even had an old prop western town built on his property in Florence Arizona for rehearsals and events. We are very grateful to the family for selling us the locomotive! (Aired 06/28/2023)

Episode #6 (Yard Sale, Boat & Tractor)

• Episode 6: This episode is focused on our downsizing ‘yard’ sale by going through the boxcar with all our miscellaneous household items that we didn’t need after moving to the mountains full time. We also made a small trade to acquire a small fishing boat from a neighbor friend. The boat trailer was not in good condition, so during our yard sale, we sanded down the rust and painted to match the trim of our new truck. We also acquired an old 1939 Ferguson tractor & hay trailer from a local resident. The tractor runs great but the wood on the hay trailer has too much rot so as a side project, we plan to remove the wood and rebuild the hay trailer and perhaps make it look like an old depot/luggage cart to tie into the train station theme. (Aired 06/30/2023)

Episode #7 (Demo Interior Part #1)

• Episode 7: This episode is focused on the first 3 demo days of the commercial building in prep for our renovation project to turn the former hair salon into a train station themed building. (Aired 07/01/2023)

Episode #8 (Demo Interior Part #2)

• Episode 8: This episode is focused on demo days 5 & 6. We did not take video for demo day 4 due to working a short day as we pondered a different business idea of the several we have had in mind while still using the same train station theme. (Aired 07/03/2023)

Episode #9 (Full Recap & Nature Hike)

• Episode 9: This episode is focused on a full recap from the start of our journey to current day as well as taking some time to explore the trails nearby. (Aired 07/04/2023)

Episode #10 (Design & Quad Ride)

• Episode 10: This episode is focused on our draft design of the commercial property renovation using the program called Sketchup. Learned the program from some tutorials on YouTube and then practiced by creating a 3D rendering of the current building & train. We then worked on our draft plan to renovate from the hair salon to a train station depot as a restaurant. Once this is done, we were able to use the embedded program called Layout to draft our plans in 2D format. Some video as well of a quad ride in the nearby forest. (Aired 07/05/2023)

Episode #11 (Demo Hay Trailer & Build Log Benches)

• Episode 11: This episode is focused on removing the old rotten wood from the hay trailer. We also took a day to cut up some downed trees on our property for firewood; however, we ended up turning them into new log benches around the campfire. Rhett’s youngest also had her first baby girl, Rahea! (Aired 07/06/2023)

Episode #12 (Railroad Track Rock & Trail Bridge)

• Episode 12: This episode is focused on finishing the locomotive railroad track with stain & rock and building a small trail bridge on our home property using existing downed trees for the support and the used railroad track support boards for the deck. Janee also painted the locomotive; however, we didn’t get video footage of it. Breaking News… We’re engaged! (Aired 07/07/2023)

Episode #13 (Locomotive Doors)

• Episode 13: This episode is focused on removing the old rotten doors from the prop locomotive and build new ones with a rustic touch. (Aired 07/09/2023)

Episode #14 (Locomotive Windows)

• Episode 14: This episode is focused on removing the old rotten windows from the prop locomotive and build new ones with a rustic touch. (Aired 07/10/2023)

Episode #15 (Tractor Fun!)

• Episode 15: We have now purchased the caboose located on the other side of town so now we must quickly prep by moving dirt to the other side of the tracks before we have it delivered. We also are going to raise the boxcar so that it is at ‘normal’ train height. We ended up being able to use a valley friend’s tractors for almost a week that turned into an amazing learning experience and we were able to get more work completed to include the electrical line to our future business sign as well as perforated pipe for drainage. (Aired 07/13/2023)

Episode #16 (Caboose Rail)

• Episode 16: We are installing a new section of railroad track in prep for the caboose being delivered very soon. So excited!! We are also going to raise the boxcar so that it is at the same height as the caboose; therefore, we are also building additional ‘risers’ made of 6”x6” & 4”x6” boards to rest on top of the 2’x2’x4’ concrete blocks that are currently being formed by a gravel/concrete pit company. Lots of work in a short time!! (Aired 07/14/2023)

Episode #17 (Caboose Delivery)

• Episode #17: This caboose (Santa Fe 999285) was located approximately 5 miles away on the Overgaard side of town. The realtor for the owner contacted us to see if we wanted to purchase it since the owner was selling the land that it was located on. We didn’t hesitate to accept this great opportunity to not only have a caboose for the train, but also keep this respectful piece of history in the Heber-Overgaard area. While we had the crane service onsite, we also raised the boxcar so that it is at the same height as the caboose. The same company also made the custom concrete barricades with rebar for the new supports. (Aired 07/16/2023)

Episode #17.5 (Background Music)

• Episode #17.5: Episode #17.5: This episode is a quick update on why we started over with new uploads of video episodes 1 through 17. In summary, we used music approved by the artist to use in the background. YouTube automatically flags music recognized as copyright so we had to go through a “dispute” process for every song for every video which the artist did clear as approved until recently. Through further discussion, she is fine with us using the music but that she would gain any royalties from the videos which is how YouTube has it set automatically if the video is flagged as copyright without being cleared via the dispute process. Our goal is to have a journal of our project & mountain life journey and may never attempt to try to monetize the videos but we do want to leave our options open if an opportunity allows. Therefore, we removed all the prior videos in order to remove the music and will upload again using only background music that Rhett has created for now. Our upload speed in the mountains is very slow but we hope to be able to upload an episode every few days to catch back up. Thank you for following us on our journey! (Aired 06/19/2023)

Episode #18 (Caboose Interior Prep/Cleaning)

• Episode #18: The caboose doors were welded shut due to prior vandalism to include graffiti and broken windows. This episode is focused on immediate cleaning of the interior, prime over the graffiti and start a little black paint that is same color as the locomotive. We also went back to the previous caboose site to get the rotten timbers in order to salvage enough to make a quick raised platform for the boxcar. (Aired 07/17/2023)

Episode #19 (Copper Cart Rail)

• Episode #19: Using the old caboose timbers from the original site, we created a simple platform to make it easier to get into the boxcar now that the boxcar is lifted higher. We also changed our original design location for the copper mine carts from the East side of the train to now the West side of the train. We have the rail from the caboose ready to go for the mine cart track, so we decided to knock out this project next while the septic lid was ordered and scheduled to be delivered. (Aired 07/19/2023)

Episode #20 (Finishing Touches x3)

• Episode #20: This episode is focused on some final touches of the last three projects that had some overlap in timing. We are now into December as temperatures drop and snow season begins here in the mountains of Arizona. Janee also finished her beautiful 2022 Christmas tree design and we had some experimental fun with bubbles in 3 & 8 degree mornings. (Aired 07/19/2023)

Episode #21 (Mine Shaft – Part 1)

• Episode #21: We originally wanted to do a ‘faux’ mine shaft on the East side of the train along the flood channel ‘bank’; however, we moved it to the West side on the South edge of the property by the dead-end trestle bridge. Similar to the trestle bridge project, we have not done one of these before and had a little anxiety on how it would turn out but YAY, it turned out better than we expected. (Aired 07/25/2023)

Episode #22 (Santa’s Rest Stop)

• Episode #22: HO! HO! HO! This is a quick tour of our small cabin during Christmas with some before & after pics throughout. Original plan was to rent out this vacation home as a short-term rental; therefore, we went with a winter theme and a touch of Christmas for décor. The retreat name is “Santa’s Rest Stop.” But, since we both enjoyed being at the mountain cabin more than the larger home in the valley, we knew we would rather live up here. So here we are! (Aired 07/27/2023)

Episode #23 (Mine Shaft – Part 2)

• Episode #23: We Definitely needed to improvise with this project as we have never built a mine shaft before. To finish in this second half video, we sealed up the back-end of the mine that is built to appear like the mine caved in & barricaded off as well as a see-through door. We also added stone walls to the entrance berms & added small steps from the top of the mine to the bottom entrance. (Aired 08/02/2023)

Episode #24 (Red Deck Gates)

• Episode #24: This episode is a side project to build 3 gates for our home deck to allow the puppy more space since our home property is not fenced. For the gate design, we went with something abit whimsical to fit our cabin style and personality. (Aired 08/07/2023)

Episode #25 (Mine Cart Build)

• Episode #25: Our new mine shaft needs a minecart, so we decided to build a prop for it. Found lots of ideas online and chose a style we found on YouTube that was a whimsical look that we desire. See below for channel link of the design we used for closest reference. But, before we started this project, we had a delay due to lots of snow as well as Rhett’s two children & grandbaby moved out of the cabin and to their own places. Kids sure grow up fast! (Aired 08/17/2023)

Episode #26 (Whimsical Doghouse Part 1)

• Episode #26: This episode is focused on building a doghouse for Tarlo as a side-project, so that she can have a place to chill as well as stay when we can’t take her with us. We thought of trying to kennel train her, but with limited space in the cabin, we thought to instead build a whimsical doghouse in the open space area at the top of the stairs. Part 1: Doghouse Floor Framework (Aired 08/25/2023)

Episode #27 (Whimsical Doghouse Part 2)

• Episode #27: This episode is focused on building a doghouse for Tarlo as a side-project, so that she can have a place to chill as well as stay when we can’t take her with us. We thought of trying to kennel train her, but with limited space in the cabin, we thought to instead build a whimsical doghouse in the open space area at the top of the stairs. Part 2: Doghouse Framing (Aired 08/29/2023)

Episode #28 (Whimsical Doghouse Part 3)

• Episode #28: This episode is focused on building a doghouse for Tarlo as a side-project, so that she can have a place to chill as well as stay when we can’t take her with us. We thought of trying to kennel train her, but with limited space in the cabin, we thought to instead build a whimsical doghouse in the open space area at the top of the stairs. Part 3: Doghouse Walls, Roof, Chimney & Sign (Aired 09/02/2023)

Episode #29 (Whimsical Doghouse Part 4)

• Episode #29: This episode is focused on building a doghouse for Tarlo as a side-project, so that she can have a place to chill as well as stay when we can’t take her with us. We thought of trying to kennel train her, but with limited space in the cabin, we thought to instead build a whimsical doghouse in the open space area at the top of the stairs. Part 4: Doghouse Interior & Finale (& new water heater) (Aired 09/07/2023)

Episode #30 (Wild Hog Stair Rail)

• Episode #30: This episode is focused on removing the existing stair rail in our home and replacing with a hog panel style often referred to as “Wild Hog” panels. We plan to use this style rail for the Choo Choo’s commercial project, so this is a great opportunity to try it out in our home first. (Aired 09/14/2023)

Episode #31 (Caboose Interior Part 1)

• Episode #31: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 1: Framing & Insulation (& Memorial Weekend Smoked Brisket) (Aired 09/25/2023)

Episode #32 (Caboose Interior Part 2)

• Episode #32: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 2: Wall #1 ‘Shiplap’ & Wainscoting & Wall #2 Framing (Aired 10/02/2023)

Episode #33 (Caboose Interior Part 3)

• Episode #33: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 3: Non-Glass Window Boards & Wall #Wall2 Insulation (Aired 10/05/2023)

Episode #34 (Caboose Interior Part 4)

• Episode #34: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 4: Starting on the potbelly stove fireplace and wall #2 shiplap & wainscoting (Aired 10/09/2023)

Episode #35 (Caboose Interior Part 5)

• Episode #35: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 5: Finish potbelly stove fireplace and wall #2 shiplap & battons (Aired 10/12/2023)

Episode #36 (Caboose Interior Part 6)

• Episode #36: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 6: Start caboose ceiling, fishing, fireplace mantel and fireworks (Aired 10/15/2023)

Episode #36.5 (4th of July 2023)

• Episode #36.5: This episode is a side video continued from Episode #36 for footage of some 4th of July fun to include the Heber/Overgaard annual parade, party at a friend’s home with music by The Thirsty Band and fireworks watched from the top of the caboose. GREAT TIMES!!! Note: “Off Our Tracks” will not monetize this video. (Aired 10/21/2023)

Episode #37 (Caboose Interior Part 7)

• Episode #37: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 7: Ceiling insulation & plywood wall for cupola cabinets (Aired 10/25/2023)

Episode #38 (Caboose Interior Part 8)

• Episode #38: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 8: Continue Wood Ceiling & Cupola Cabinets (Aired 10/28/2023)

Episode #39 (Caboose Interior Part 9)

• Episode #39: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 9: Complete Wood Ceiling & Continue Cupola Cabinets (Aired 11/02/2023)

Episode #40 (Caboose Interior Part 10)

• Episode #40: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 10: Continue Cupola Cabinets (Aired 11/05/2023)

Episode #41 (Caboose Interior Part 11)

• Episode #41: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 11: Cupola Cabinet (top deck & concrete counter) (Aired 11/08/2023)

Episode #42 (Caboose Interior Part 12)

• Episode #42: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 12: Continue Cupola Cabinets (Concrete Reveal, A/C, Electrical) (Aired 11/12/2023)

Episode #43 (Caboose Interior Part 13)

• Episode #43: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 13: Cupola Framing & Insulation (Labor Day Quad Ride & R.I.P. Snowball) (Aired 11/23/2023)

Episode #43.5 (Salsa Ramble)

• Episode #43: This episode is a quick side video of our homemade salsa along with some rambling. Watch Out, It’s a HOT One! (Aired 11/23/2023)

Episode #44 (Caboose Interior Part 14)

• Episode #44: This episode is focused on remodeling the interior of the caboose with a design focused on additional dining area for “Plan A” restaurant; however, can also be adapted easily for other purposes if original plan changes. The overall goal is to try to keep the interior looking old & rustic. Part 14: Seal Cupola Leaks, Construct Light Boxes, & Ceiling Trim (Aired 11/27/2023)