ROY X CONE contest, 1.1.11 - 2.1.12

[roy6]

Good luck with the house, zissou. The listing looks pretty sweet.

[Dr_Heech]

Good luck with the house, zissou. The listing looks pretty sweet.

Have to agree with everyone, the listing does look great. You can see mucho work has gone into that house. You must be feeling very proud of yourself? I know you'll feel better when it's sold:)

In the process of buying a house myself ATM, so will give something for the roys to get on with soon hopefully. Didn't want to say anything yet as dont want to jinx it, but should know by end of next week.

.

[Farhad]

Alright, so my updates for the past week would have been boring photos of me in my Roys installing lights, scrubbing floors, touching up paint, mowing the lawn, etc. But the important part is THIS.

Good luck with everything Zissou.

$218000. Fuck I really wish Cali had similar prices. That house is a beauty! Good work zissou.

I was thinking the same damn thing!!!

[fre-co]

Looks great Zissou. Good luck. I too wish houses were priced like that here.... Something like that in my village would be getting on for £6-700,000

[Paul T]

I can only add my voice to those who say it looks beautiful, you've done a fantastic job on it. Always jealous of those American wood floors, we have to pay a fortune for something similar here (as we would for a house). Best of luck with the sale and the move.

[dkatz]

As others have said, the house looks terrific, zissou!

Kinda bizarre seeing an image I'm familiar with around here in another context:

[Shorty Long]

I pass on my well wishes to zissou as well...I hope all of your hard work pays off...$$$

[Paul T]

later acquisition. I've been looking for a pair of zug veldtschoen boots since the fall. Finally, I scored this original pair of probably ex-officer shoes, for a hefty price, but still only a third of a new pair, on the 'bay.

[cash]

I've been married to my wife for 10 years, so last weekend we hit the open road for a second honeymoon of sorts.

The destination was Boulder, Utah. Boulder was the last region the US Postal service delivered via mule train. The mail started coming by truck in 1942, five years before electricity arrived. Geographically it is the second largest city in the state and home to only 180 people. The closest Interstate is 2.5 hours away. Residents like to boast that it is the most remote city in the lower 48.

There were two reasons we made the long trek: 1) Is this very nice restaurant owned by a friend. The restaurant uses mostly locally sourced, organic food.

2) The other reason, is to spend a little time in Grand Staircase-Escalante NM. This picture was taken from the regions second-busiest roadway, not a road or route, but a trail.

[cash]

The drive winds through many small towns in various states of decay. Yes, I am wearing flip flops. I was in a hot car for 5 hours, the piggies needed a little air.

My favorite lady.

[cash]

I should have snapped some photos of dinner, but I'm lousy at this. Needless to say, we had a goat cheese fondu, she had some fabulous enchiladas and I had some pasole. The wine and beer were good and desert was out of sight. The menu nicely incorporates a lot of Asian-cuisine philosophy on some traditional Americana/Southwestern dishes. I'm still craving the adobo creme on top of the enchiladas. But back to jeans.

The ROYs needed a rest, so they hung out at the lodge while we headed out into the wilderness.

This is a great time of the year to hit the desert. It's been a really wet year and everything is in bloom.

Big rocks.

A lot of volcanic glass and polished stones on the ground.

We hiked along the rim of a nice little creek. We ran into one of the biggest rattlesnakes I've seen during one stretch in the flood plain. For obvious reasons, I didn't snap a photo for you. Although the ROYs stayed at the lodge, the bandamna came in handy.

[cash]

We came across one of the biggest felled trees I can remember.

All the little pools are full, thanks to the extra rain this year. Lots of life in these pools. Some really crazy biology exists in these little pools. Stuff that literally drys up when the pools disappear and then rehydrate once the rain comes. My girl is better with the science, she knows all the names and what's going on.

More to come...

[robbie]

what an awesome trip!

[cash]

I promise, the ROYs were much happier at the lodge, and after 4 hours in the desert I was glad to be back there with the ROYs. After a nap and a cold drink, however, I was ready for another hike. This time, to a waterfall.

The hike started down some steep slickrock.

Some pools above the fall.

Cliff

Looks like a nice place to swim -- the water was too cold and we needed to get back for dinner. More to come...

[Joseph Hill]

Hokey smokes, you folks have been busy. I don't know where to start.

ThisSunday, check out David Morgan, it's an operation up the road from me that does top notch bull whips (they did the ones for Indiana Jones). They also carry Akubra hats like yours. When I went there for my bucksaws, a customer was getting a whip demonstration in the parking lot.

Hot dang Erk, got a demo to pass around?

I don't want to do a two page recap, so here's a collective hats off all around!

[cash]

After a lovely dinner -- which included a quesadilla stuffed with foraged tumbleweed -- and a quiet, quiet night of sleep, I was back in the ROYs and over to the restaurant for some breakfast. This time, some elk and buffalo sausage.

"I don't have a fuckin' coffee problem. You know what my problem is? There isn't a fresh fuckin' pot." (Yes, I have a soul patch -- I also have a fucked up cleff on my lower lip that needs to be covered).

After breakfast we headed over to the owner's place. These are the chickens that laid the eggs I just ate.

Yurts are popular in this part of the world.

After another cup of coffee, we headed to the farm, where most of the produce for the restaurant is grown. The owners boyfriend is an architect so all the farm structures are really interesting -- again I should have taken more photos, I'm no good at this. Anyway, the shed you can see was built using adobe covered straw bails. Also, by next week all the power to the farm will come from a solar power installation -- I should have taken a picture of that, too.

Another unique fact about Boulder is that they raise, almost exclusively, Churro sheep in the region. This is the breed traditionally raised by the Navajo tribe.

[cash]

Oh, and a truck photo:

[riff]

Wow - stunning set of photos Cash - looks like a wonderful trip!

Zissou - congrats on the listing!

[DocBlue]

i love you all

[fre-co]

Great stuff Cash.

Lovely shoes Paul.

My ROYs got their second machine wash yesterday at pretty much 4 months wear.

Here they are fresh off the hanger

Apologies for the first out of focus shot...

And side by side with my Warehouse 1001XX worn for probably 5 months-ish

[cash]

^Damn, I can't wait for that first wash. Good work Fre$co.

Thanks for the repzz.

The trip was just what I needed. I've always said the ocean is more impressive than the mountains, but the desert is the best. Nothing else inspires me the same way. If any of you ever make it out this way, I guarantee Southern Utah will be worth the journey.

[entertainment!]

Great stuff Cash. Tried to rep.

My wife and I had our honeymoon in Utah. One of my favorite memories is of driving through Grand Staircase/Escalante. We had been staying at Bryce Canyon and it started snowing hard on the day we were supposed to leave. The clerk at the desk when we checked out told us not to leave and to definitely not drive through Grand Staircase, but we did anyway. Luckily, we got behind a convoy of three RVs that blazed a trail for us. They were all identical Winnebagos. They pulled over at an overlook with an incredible view as did we. Each one had been rented by a German couple living a Wim Wenders fantasy of the American West. They were dressed in black leather with metal studs. Not motorcycle wear but their idea of what a cowboy should wear: chaps, cowboy hats, etc. One of the men even walked with a cowboy gait, like he was saddle sore. It must have been the captain's chair. We chatted for a while and then went on our way.

[Maynard Friedman]

Cash - it was worth the wait, I really enjoyed the updates, the scenery was stunning and very different from what I'm used to. Hope it was both relaxing and romantic, but where was the sprog?!

Fresco - nice update, some good wear there.

Zissou and Charlie - good luck on the moving fronts.

[cash]

That stretch of road from Bryce up through Grand Staircase is one of the prettiest drives I've made. I can only imagine what it's like in a snowstorm, though. Lots of drop offs and hairpin turns.

I have a photo from 18 years ago where we came up on a group of cowboys driving cattle down that road. We rolled along behind them until they opened the herd and we could drive through.

It's a magical spot.

Oh, the chitlins stayed with their godmother. First time alone for a weekend in a year.

[lostinthesupermarket]

Zissou....congrats and great job....I know you've been chipping away at the house for ages and you've really done a great job. I hope you get what you deserve out of it and you can go hog wild when the new MF Naval Tailor stuff comes out.

Fresco....it looks like the golden underpants ( or at least 8 pairs of chambray ones ) will be yours.

PaulT....amazing post as usual. Night trains are the absolute best way to travel. They're the last mode of transport left that has any glamour IMO....there's just something about them I love. Great pics and as roy6 said, poetic captions.

Cash....great post and beautiful place. Love the pic of the cactus flower. Can't rep:(. This Sunday, likewise. Those shoes will come in handy if next winter is anything like the last one in NYC ( I was stuck in JFK for two days at New Years...it felt like the retreat from Dunkirk).

Tg76....that canoe is beautiful...I'm excited to see it in the water.

mikecch....your posts make me feel like I've seen a good bit of Melbourne ...good stuff!

ranon.....it's great that you're staying in.We need as much food as possible in the thread.

DocBlue....that bike is amazing....it's fantastic that people are making things that cool and that there are people such as yourself around keeping them in business......it's a work of art.

DrHeech.....nice post....and you show remarkable control of the psychotic urges that I would imagine are natural in the presence of so many people playing the accursed game (whose name we will not mention).

Almostnice....the trip looks idyllic and now you know why bears shit in the woods.

Everyone else.....all great stuff ...keep it coming.

[lostinthesupermarket]

Three month update. Move along...nothing to see here (unless you haven't seen fre$co's).

First off....'Sup the robster!!! Thanks for the card....

Now the jeans.....these were taken a month ago and there has been a bit of development since then. 2 soaks.

A little bit of roping starting to show up on the cuffs and yoke:

[roy6]

This looks amazing. If not the winner, in the top three I'll bet.

[zissou]

Thanks very much for the well wishes, everyone! It's been a very long, arduous journey to get to this point, so I am looking forward to starting a new chapter of life with my daughter in our new house. I've given up too much time that I could have spent exploring with her, or biking or skiing over the past several years.

I came home to this in front of my house, which made me smile (and inspired me to throw on my Roys and pick up pinecones)

$218000. Fuck I really wish Cali had similar prices. That house is a beauty! Good work zissou.

Believe it or not, the price is a little bit inflated even for here. I plan on having to come down a little. There have been a couple of times that I've almost moved from Utah to either Madison, WI, or Corvallis, OR, but the cost of living was so much higher in both places. Even with increased salaries, it would have been a pay cut.

This is either a stage name or this guy really doesn't take shit from anyone.

edit: forgot to say, Congratulations! And fantastic work/beautiful house Zissou! I've been enjoying watching your progress...

Thanks! Jette is actually a woman I keep telling myself that she was named after Joan Jett, which makes her pretty cool in my book.

Have to agree with everyone, the listing does look great. You can see mucho work has gone into that house. You must be feeling very proud of yourself? I know you'll feel better when it's sold:)

In the process of buying a house myself ATM, so will give something for the roys to get on with soon hopefully. Didn't want to say anything yet as dont want to jinx it, but should know by end of next week.

.

Yeah, it's been a tremendous amount of work- probably 20x more than I thought it would be (no exaggeration), so keep that in mind Good luck in the purchase!

Looks great Zissou. Good luck. I too wish houses were priced like that here.... Something like that in my village would be getting on for £6-700,000

Wow, amazing! Maybe RNR can transport it in his time machine, and make me a bundle...

Kinda bizarre seeing an image I'm familiar with around here in another context:

Busted! Will my new house have enough natural light for WAYWTs?

Zissou....congrats and great job....I know you've been chipping away at the house for ages and you've really done a great job. I hope you get what you deserve out of it and you can go hog wild when the new MF Naval Tailor stuff comes out.

Interestingly, my half () of the equity will go right into the new house (trying to be responsible). Maybe I can buy myself some MF for xmas, though...

Epic post, cash! I still have not been to Boulder, but you've convinced me that I need to go. I've heard nothing but great things about Hell's Backbone Grill. I haven't been to SLC in ages, but I think I'll make a point of bringing my daughter down next month and we can have a family mini-meet.

[roy6]

Since gardening can be pretty competitive in San Francisco, the ROYs and I checked out one of our rival's gardens today:

Then I saw one of their work trucks around the corner:

And some of their workers on a job site:

Their supervisor was a real hard-ass. He was yelling at them the whole time I was there, and I actually saw him smack a few on the ass when they weren't moving fast enough:

\

They were a pretty industrious crew. Their weed-eradication skills were phenomenal:

But on the bright side, their pruning skills were fairly rudimentary:

You call that a topiary?

[DocBlue]

here are my Roys at 4 months :

and they went to Corsica last week end: first visit.... guess what they enjoyed it

i mostly took pics at night with my phone as i was baking in the sun on day time

pretty narrow streets ....

the town of Bonifacio ..... just amazing

and.... my bike!