We flew to San Diego to attend a beautiful wedding in the bucolic setting outside Julian, California. We met friends and long-lost relatives and had a wonderful time!

The chairs weren’t for us!

Of course I have to show the progress on the Jeepster in June! It’s alive! It runs! But there’s still lots of work to do!

Taking the family out for a drive.

We took a break from working on the Money Pit and traveled a loop from Hiwasse, AR towards Durham, NC then up to Paw Paw, MI, through Chicago and back to Hiwasse. Along the way we stopped at the Burra Burra Mine site in Ducktown, TN and looked out over the Copper Basin.

This bucolic scene hides the extreme pollution that denuded over 50 square miles of vegetation because of the copper mining.

The mining and smelting operations polluted the area so much that the state of Georgia and local landowners sued the Tennessee Copper Company in 1904! “In 1906 in Georgia vs. Tennessee Copper Company, the Supreme Court heard Georgia’s claim that TCC was taking away its sovereign rights of control over its land and air.  Georgia was seeking an injunction preventing TCC from using the open roast heap method.  The Court found for Georgia but did not issue the injunction because by then TCC had begun construction of an acid reclamation plant near Copperhill.  Eventually, sulfuric acid replaced copper as the company’s major product. Within two decades of the ruling the first efforts would be made to reclaim the barren landscape. Those efforts would continue into the 1990’s.” 

Unknown date.

Before the year 2000.

June, 2013

It was a cold, blustery, gray day when we first saw her. She was dingy, cowering under a carport and sputtered when she was started up. Robert asked Don “what do you think?” We walked around her, Robert pointing out dings, dents, rust, paint cracking. Don said “we can fix that, we can fix that, we can fix that, we can fix that”. When fluid started pouring out of the radiator Don said “I know somebody who can fix that”. So we plunked down the money and drove home without her. Don and Robert got the trailer and headed back to bring her home. And thus began our love affair with our second Jeepster. We affectionately call her “The Money Pit” now!

The day after we got her home on the trailer and had a good look at her in the daylight. What have we got ourselves into?!