Afternoon, everyone.
Well, I just about finished with my post when it vanished into cyberspace.

Rats!
Rex, I overlooked the part of your post that said the depot took on water. I hope it was just the floor and didn't get into anything else. I'm still waiting to see my first drop of rain since returning from Honduras.
Matt, I'm not all that tough a guy, but this thug was a scrawny 5' 4", and I can still take someone like that, even without pepper spray. Besides, I was really tired and cranky when he pulled out that little pocket knife. Now, if he was a six footer with one of those Crocodile Dundee kind of knives, I'd still be in Honduras, waiting to get my passport replaced.

I say go ahead and build the layout. I built my first one at about your age and learned a lot. If you wait until you're older with more money, your mistakes will be a lot more expensive. As far as careers go, I'm like Terry and Karl. None of things I planned to do at your age ended up being what I actually did. One thing to think about, since you like hunting and the outdoors, is looking at some courses in wildlife management and criminal justice. There's always a need for Fish and Game officers (or whatever they're called in your state), and taking courses that lead to that goal will allow you to branch out into other professions as well.
Terry, thanks for the kind offer of help. I don't know if you've ever worked on a Trek, but they are strange beasts, with the bed that retracts into the ceiling. It's great...if the motor works. I've gotten one seat back freed from the bed and I'll work on the other one tonight. I got some bed stops in the mail today, so I can work on it without worrying about the bed coming all the way down with a crash. If the motor still doesn't work, it's time to tear the bed apart and check out what's happening. If I'm lucky, it's a bad wire. If not, I'll wait until I get the new bed motor. I'm sure I'll need you help then.
Corey, it has indeed been a trying year. Except for taking the RV out for a few shakedown weekends, I'm done traveling voluntary this year. Sounds like you had a very pleasant weekend. I'll be interested to see some pics of your forest making progress.
Alco, sorry to hear you had a flood too, although I'm glad it didn't get to any of equipment or layout. Luckily, my basement is dry as a bone. Of course, I'm not sure we've ever had enough really heavy rain to test that theory yet.
Jeffrey, I've used NOALOX on the Trek wiring, some of which is constantly exposed to the weather. Just look for the stuff that says it's good for copper too. Seems to have held up fine, and isn't hard to get off if you need to change a connection. Smart move changing out that aluminum wiring. I'm sure you've seen more than a few fires caused by aluminum wiring. You have to wonder what engineer in his right mind though that was a good idea.
Larry, no trip to Alabama is complete without a tour of Rex's and CJ's layouts. They are really something, each in it's own way. Only trouble with visiting Rex is that you'll be handed a throttle and told to start blocking up your train.
Chris, I guess things haven't improved on the marriage front, but it sounds like you're doing the right things for your son. I hope you either get more lawn contracts or that graveyard shift job.
It looks like the whole South is in for a really hot weekend. I don't know how it can get much worse, but the NWS is already issuing warnings for heat indexes of 112. There's only a few scattered thunderstorms around today. none near me. If this keeps up, I'm going to cancel my lawn service and sell the yard for hay when it gets tall enough.

This is now our 10th straight day with highs over 100 and no rain.