Day 757: more sand… but also gravel

Day 757:

What I thought was a lot of sand was… well… not a lot of sand. There was a thin layer of sand covering a whole lot of gravel and I know because I dug up all that gravel until I hit the bottom of the river bed.

All in all, a disappointment.

I’m still heading east to see if I can find more sand. I’m not  super optimistic since the thing directly in front of me is a large mountain, and behind it I can see the peaks of an even larger mountain. Covered with snow even! Thank goodness I have wool mittens now.

So I’m cold, wet, exhausted, and without the sand I need. Not a good day.

Day 756: Side-tracked

Day 756:

Well that lasted.

I went to bed so tired last night that I forgot to make more tools, which meant when I woke up this morning I had to fit some shovel handles to some shovel noses so that I could dig sand… and I did get some digging done after I also killed a bunch of zombies outside my door (not the pig people, just the regular type) and then finally made it out to the site.

Then I stayed out so late that I’m all but falling asleep in my dinner while I’m writing this.

So much for early starts.

I think I’ll sleep in tomorrow so I don’t endanger myself through lack of sleep. It’s not like anyone else has my back out here if I screw something up. Like drown.

So much for swimming in the buddy system.

Day 755: more wooden roads

Day 755:

This is as officially northeast as I’ve come. If I’m guessing correctly, that village that I spotted is directly east from here… but how far I’m not sure.

I’ve decided to use this as a mapping opportunity as well as an opportunity to gather more sand. The river is deep here and turns from a north-south direction almost directly east. On the eastern side of the river the ground is very steep, so I guess I’ll have to do some grading over on that edge just so I’m not getting jumped by monsters, etc.

To give myself as much time to mine as possible, I’ve also moved to the easternmost “bedroom” in my complex. That way I can get up, hike out there, and get work done.

Today, for example, I gathered quite a bit of sand and started the smelters running at full blast to get everything going. They’ll melt down overnight and I can do the same tomorrow (I hope).

Day 754: Out of glass

Day 754:

I’ve used up so much glass in my mining that I’ve got to stop mining for now.

Usually, I use glass to mark the spots on the floor where I’m putting torches. First, I want to protect the expensive granite from soot and such. Second, it’s nice to have the light filter down to the next level of digging and saves on torches. Third, in the few places where I’ve put down wool rugs to keep my feet warm, the glass marks out the places where it’s not safe to put carpet because the torch will set it on fire.

So without glass, the unlit corridors are even more unlit, the torch locations are less predictable, etc. etc. Plus you know I just like the way it makes me feel.

I think that there’s more sand a kilometer or more away, along the river to the east. (Not that I have a good way to judge a kilometer. Right now it’s pretty much “how far can I walk without a side stitch?” I wanted to map that area sometime soon anyway, so at least for the time being, that’s where I’m headed.

Day 753: More pig people zombie things

Day 753:

Got up after a heavy storm overnight to find out there was another group of zombie people pigs in the pond out with the animals.

It was a hard decision between removing the undead from the pond and  going after more gold down in the mines. But these zombie pig things are a) not chasing after me and b) armed.

I decided I’d just leave them there and see what happens.

I did find a little more gold ore, but not a lot. At least it means I’m getting closer to the depths where finding diamonds are at least a possibility.