Step Out On the Dance Floor

The rain quit for a week and I got the floor joists installed, and today finished nailing down most of the subfloor. I estimate we are half way to having the cabin "dry", that is, able to keep the rain out so we can work under cover. We have come a long way in six weeks.
We finally got the trailer moved to the property so we could unload the building supplies. We lived in the small forward portion for over two months. I'm a bit tired from unloading 4000 lbs of building materials from the 5er by myself, and hoisting 2000 lbs of plywood flooring onto the joists as well.

Rain Rain Go Away

Two full days were needed to dismantle forms and get the pieces back to their rightful owners. Then two days ago it started to rain and hasn't stopped since. The temperature is in the low 60s, nice for working. I need to wear rain gear and rubber boots. I can't complain. We have had excellent weather since we got here. And the rain is needed.

People who summer here started migrating in a little over a week ago. The variety is surprising. Folks from Kentucky, Arkansas, Washington, and even Holland. With the influx the wildlife seems to have disappeared. I haven't seen moose or even tracks in a week now. No bear sign either. I suspect when people come with their dogs the wild animals head out of town.





Gustavus tow truck.
Who would have thought we'd see this going down the street in the boondocks of this "off the road grid" Alaska town. It's a forklift moving that vintage VW bus. I inquired about the bus. It was the owners original car when he and his wife first got married and he hopes to restore it some day. It still has the original curtins. In the process we got a dinner invite from the owner for tomorrow night. That's Gustavus.

We saw the temps in the lower 48 states in a newspaper today so are enjoying even the rain.

Whistling in the Dark

A bit more progress. We have the stem walls pretty much formed and hope to pour the second batch of concrete in a few days.

At the risk of making all the offspring paranoid about allowing the grandkids to come up for the summer......



Each morning when I drive onto the property I look for evidence of what has traversed there since I departed. Some mornings I see strange tire tracks; local folks checking out the progress. Moose tracks are common every few days. Yesterday morning I saw some different looking prints and got out to investigate. Dropping to one knee I observed black bear tracks. After a quick look around to make sure ursa major wasn’t still in the vicinity I proceeded back to the truck and got a camera and tape measure. The rear prints measured over nine inches long, claw to heel. A neighbor was intrigued by the size too. He said they were probably made by a very large black bear as the brown/grizzly bears seldom come down toward town. He tells me moose especially like the area where we are building, and they often see the same moose year after year. (I can’t tell the difference.)

Wolves are elusive. Occasionally they are heard, but almost never seen. Three times recently wolves have taken down moose calves on the outskirts of town or within earshot in the National Park. Realize town is not like a typical city block. There can be dense forest for hundreds of yards between dwellings. The local wolf exposure sequence goes like this: Residents hear wolves howl their eerie call from several directions. Then the sound concentrates on a single location and the crashing of a fight, finally ending in silence. A day or two later, when someone ventures out to see what happened, they find a dead prey. This time of year the victim is usually a moose calf. Moose often give birth to twins but it is not unusual for only one to survive because the adult can only protect one calf at a time. Such is the wilderness saga.

When we first arrived Paulette had a cautious fear about remote Alaska. One can easily get the impression there is a bear behind every tree and a moose around every corner. Then one sees kids playing and riding bikes like anywhere else in the lower 49 states. Gradually the coexistence of wild and human is realized. Paulette actually walked several blocks up a forest road to get water the other day while I was away working on the cabin.

Finally, I wear an old set of pants for work, and another newer pair for relaxing. Yesterday I wore a second set of work pants so Paulette decided to wash the first, not realizing my wallet was in the cargo pocket. Nuts. My wallet doubles as a file cabinet for important phone numbers.

Bullwinkle and Son

Observation: You know you are reading a small town newspaper when the obituaries are on page 2.

We hadn’t seen any moose in a week and thought they had perhaps headed for the high country for the summer. When I got to the property this morning I found a large moose track only six feet from the foundation forms. I walked to the river talking on my cell phone and saw a brown blob on the other side in the tall grass. It was a reclining moose. I stayed still hoping to observe, but she had already seen me. After a minute she stood up and to my surprise a small calf did too. The calf couldn’t have been more than about a week old. They wandered away in the opposite direction. I was tickled to see them at less than 100 feet.




We (three volunteers and myself) did the first pour of concrete this morning and Paulette came by in the afternoon with Liz. I took them to the river and was talking about the cow and calf moose when Liz said, “There’s another one!” Sure enough, a young bull walked into the river. He knew we were there but came towards us walking in the river anyway. Then Mr Moose did an about-face and trotted away. I saw him later in the neighbors yard. Then in the evening we saw the cow and calf again in the same place, only this time Hawkeye saw them first.

When we first started this project I had a question-slogan: How do you eat an elephant? Ans. One bite at a time. That is what I attempt to do. I try to do something, make some progress, every day. Sometimes it is small progress. Other days I feel a lot of accomplishment. A kidney stone slowed me down for three days last weekend. I haven’t passed it but am back to only twinges. I am grateful for mostly good health and the neighborly advise, and counsel on how to build here.


Gustavus Hood Ornament

Helter Skelter in Gustavus

I cut some of the big logs into rollers and we sometimes sit and relax by the river in the evening.


Getting the foundation square and level.



Our next door neighbor Ernie milling some 2x4 on his saw mill for me.


Animal story: A neighbor had guests sleeping in two-man tents on her deck. In the morning a moose decided to investigate. The college age guys got a surprise when they poked their heads out the tent door. There stood the inquisitive moose. Fortunately they were elevated enough so the moose just looked at them and did not attempt to climb up on the deck. They slept in the house after that. And we hear reports of a mother black bear and two small cubs in the area where we are building. But so far no personal sighting. I saw my first fisherman on the river. I walked to the bank and talked briefly to him. He had a few fish, the biggest an eighteen inch cutthroat trout. And informed me his son caught a steelhead the previous day.
The first portion of lumber came so I started building the foundation forms. I procured rebar locally. It was left over from the power plant construction and I got a great deal. Plus no freight to get the rebar here. I am adjusting to the freight costs mentally. I chaffed at them at first looking for alternatives. But have come to see the transportation fees are part of living here. On the other hand I am trying to persuade Paulette of the necessity of eventually getting a boat so we can get ourselves to Juneau and shop. ;-)

Gustavus Fund-Rasier: I stopped at a lemonade stand run by three kids, ages about seven. I asked how much for lemonade. They said five cents. I bought a glass but realized I didn’t have any cash. To that the kids responded that the lemonade was free. I smiled inside that these kids had a giving attitude, and dug into the ashtray until I found some change. I asked what they were going to do with the money. One said, “We are going to donate it to Gospel for Asia.” I bought a second glass and took Paulette back too.
Gustavus Traffic: There are more cars than I remember from previous visits. Also a good number of bicycles and quads. Tomorrow is Paulette’s birthday and I decided to get her a bicycle. She is elated about the idea as many of her aquaintances ride around on bikes to visit each other.
Gustavus Weed Control: On the way to the post office I saw a guy riding his personal residential mower to cut weeds alongside the road. He could only do about a 30 inch swath. But he seemed to be riding in style doing his part for the upkeep of the community. That’s the way things seem to go here. Taxes are low because they don’t have public workers and many do upkeep themselves.


Gustavus Stop Sign: Most of the stop signs are regulation red and white octagons. A few are small old hand made wood signs.

Gustavus reminds me of what small town America 60 years ago must have been like. Many have a cart before the horse attitude. Yesterday we got power to the lot. The project was a big deal with a trencher and a lot of underground cable. The next day one of the installers asked if I could go into the office and do the protocol for service. I enjoyed that. They already gave me power and then asked me to come and give them billing info, deposit, etc. Plus the well driller augered and installed the well casing without any deposit or contract from me. After two weeks I still don’t have a bill from him. He is waiting on a simple switch to finish the installation.
One evening Paulette was using free internet while parked outside the closed library with no one else around. I decided to walk up to the post office and check the mail. When I was about 200 yards away I heard another car pull in the gravel and park beside her. That time of day in California I would have been concerned about not being with her and her safety, but not in Gustavus. I proceeded to the Post Office.




We are not quite locals. This is a copy of the Gustavus phone book (one page). They only publish once a year so it will be a whole year until we are included in the listings.

A Fast Picture History...

For those who didn't know about our blog or weren't able to follow it this is a quick picture tour of the project. A more detailed description of our summer adventure can be seen by clicking "newer posts" at the bottom of each entry. That will take you direct to the next entry. Or for surfing the blog index month by month is located near the bottom of the right hand column.






The finished driveway complete with an adolescent moose keeping an eye on us. Moose were frequent visitors early in the project.


We are positioning the picture windows to overlook this view.

































The cabin dried in. We departed south the next morning.

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Now back to the regular blog sequence from May 2010.

Great, …. No, FABULOUS weather here for May. We have had 76-78 degrees for three days. Yesterday afternoon Paulette took a camp chair and sat by the river overlook with a book. Migrating ducks swam past, and other smaller birds hopped around looking for a meal. She commented several times about the awe of the place. The well is now drilled. The fellow who drilled it made an unsolicited comment about the lot. He said, “You have a premier property for Gustavus.” And went on to comment about the quality aspects of it like water table being better than other areas, along with the river frontage and view. I know it is redundant, but I feel blessed. I never dreamed we would own such a beautiful place. Most cabins around only have a view of tall trees. A few can see the mountains. And very few can see the river and mountains. I learned from a neighbor that there is a spring on our property. Sure enough, I found it. But in very dry periods like we are experiencing it has reduced to only wet ground. That spring will probably mean our water is excellent.
I ordered lumber for the cabin yesterday. It should be here in a week or two. Freight is about 30 % of the cost but my spreadsheet projection for total cabin cost is coming in pretty close to estimate. Some items, like the well, are more expensive than I thought. So is lumber freight. Other items are coming in for less money. They tend to even each other out. Today I hope to start setting up preliminary lines for foundation forms.
We walked out to the dock last Sunday afternoon for a stroll together, and were in awe of all the snow capped mountains around us. Kids were fishing from the dock. The sky was overcast but the temps were very comfortable. A bald eagle sat on a piling at the end of the dock. I took his pix but must have moved the camera so his magnificence didn’t come through and the photo wasn’t a keeper. Perhaps next time.

May 22+

Saturday, May 22.
Elm (the guy’s name. He insists his last name is not “Tree”) came this morning with his excavator and pulled the stumps and filled the ditch. He also moved all the slash piles to the clearing by the river where we plan to put the cabin. We now have a true mountain of limbs, branches, deadfalls, stumps, and roots waiting to be burned. Mid week we must have had a mosquito hatch. Our location by the river is buggy right now. Plus mosquitoes there don’t seem to know how to tell time. Mosquitoes are usually out early or late in the day. These seem to find us any time we stand still too long. This is the first trip I have experienced more than an occasional mosquito in this part of Alaska. It’s not a big deal, just a small glitch in what is otherwise fabulous country. Update: This morning a local fellow informed me this is normal when one cuts down trees and disturbs the ground. Mosquitoes apparently live in the three inch thick moss on the forest floor, and we have disrupted their habitat. He assures me the problem will diminish with time.
Gustavus is the rustic weekend get-away for a few folks from Juneau. I stood by the river with an Alaskan neighbor from Juneau who is building two lots down from us and we watched fingerlings flash the surface near a partially submerged log. He told me last summer he tried casting there and caught a salmon in no time at all. I am told folks will occasionally fish the river, but have never witnessed anyone doing so. The saying goes that good coastal Alaskans don’t eat salmon if halibut is available, and that has been our observation. The river has cutthroat trout, rainbows, dolly varden, steelhead, in summer pink salmon, and in mid-September coho (silver) salmon make their run. That’s a lot of variety at our front door. Plus halibut a short distance off shore.
The sense of community out here is thick. If someone is going into Juneau they often ask if others need anything. Folks seem to fall into two groups, those who try to help each other and those who do not. Joe describes it this way… there are those who are running to something and a few who are running from something. Not that the last group are criminals. In some ways I feel like a little of both. I love the feel of the place, the raw, wild, deep primeval forest with some civilized refinements like electricity and propane. And the peace: I am refreshed not being bombarded by the media with negative news. I enjoy a man’s word being his bond instead of needing a signed contract and a deposit.
Every so often we get a glimpse of what pioneering must have been like and wonder how long it took first-comers to clear 92 trees with an ax instead of a chain saw, or hack logs into a cabin instead of using sawn lumber.
The Point Adolphus whales are back from Hawaii. It was perhaps the breaching whales that affected me most about this place.
Paulette made a fabulous dinner tonight. I don’t know how she does it in our limited space.

Moose On The Loose

Thursday, May 20. Several ancestors of the original homestead families from the 20’s live here. This town has some street names that honor those pioneers. We are building on Parker Drive. Wilson Road and Rink Creek Road also reach back 90 years to some who homesteaded there. Then there are the other street names I like; Grandpa’s Farm Road, Glenn’s Ditch Road, and Same Old Road. It is all part of the mystique of Gustavus.

We have been living in the front 16 feet of the toy hauler for four weeks now. We dance a delicate dance to get past each other. I was tempted to remove the building supplies from the back to obtain more room but don’t want double handling of those items and have no way to transport the 16 foot roof panels except with this rig. If all goes well we will have the 5th wheel on our property in about a week to ten days. Then again perhaps that is optimistic. I am at the mercy of the excavator to get the stumps out. I have turned my attention to getting water (drilling or driving a well?), getting electricity, and implementing some sort of septic system. We made a LOT of progress in ten days; not one down day due to weather. I am pleased.

This morning I chanced to see a cow moose and her calf in the river. When they saw us they stared a while and then backtracked out of sight. Something in me said to be cautious so I had Paulette pack up her stuff and move toward the truck while I made two trips to the vehicle with chainsaws and tools. About ten minutes later Mrs. Moose was eye to eye with me on our property at about 60 feet. I didn’t take time to look for the calf. Instead I immediately ducked behind a slash pile where I was out of sight, saw Paulette coming back to me from the truck, and we both retreated with one eye on our back-trail. Just being careful! The moose didn’t show themselves again and neither did we. When I returned with the well digger three hours later there were tracks right where I had seen her. The tracks wandered up the “Avenue.”

Last Three Big Trees.

Wednesday, May 19. A bit of light rain last night but the day was clear and sunny. The birds singing woke us about 3:30 but we fell back asleep. We did get the three big trees down today. My saw is 18” and they are larger in diameter than that so I don’t want to get into the middle of cutting and not have the saw able to complete the job, thus leaving a dangerous situation. So we cleaned up the trees I cut down yesterday by the top creek-bed. That took all morning. After lunch I cut the lower limbs from what we call “The Avenue,” our nearly 300 foot long driveway lined by trees a few of which reach a little under one hundred feet into the heavens. Joe came over late in the day with a bigger chain saw and dropped the remaining three with me. (He cut, I drove wedges). About 1PM Paulette said let’s count how many trees we have cut and removed. We both did a count. To our surprise our numbers came out higher than we estimated. She counted 110 trees including the little stuff. I counted 92 trees over four inches in diameter! Whew. That was quite a bit more than I estimated. At the end of each day my pants are covered with spatter of tree sap, and our gloves are heavily coated with the same. BTW… Flowers are blooming everywhere here right now. Many open spots are a carpet of yellow.