I came here as resident caretaker
for the first six months in January 1986 and have been here
ever since. Living facilities have improved. When I first
came here I lived in a small mobile home that is now used
for visiting researchers. I only had power available for a
few hours each evening, minimal cooling and heating during
the hot and cold weather. I was much younger then! I had battery-operated
radios for my entertainment. We had no telephone. Eventually
things have improved. We now have cell phones; we have radio-telephone
communications, satellite TV, satellite Internet, 24-hour
solar power, a nice comfortable well-insulated house with
full air conditioning and forced air heat – all the
comforts I could expect. A lot of people think it’s
odd that somebody would want to live out here. They think
it’s so far from civilization and the conveniences of
living in an urban environment. I can’t see living any
other way. There’s no commute to my job. It’s
not an inconvenience to get supplies from the nearest town,
even though it’s a couple of hours drive. We combine
our needs and our errands and do it in one big shopping trip.
I conduct business by phone and do a lot of my thinking while
I’m driving on the highway.
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