Dumpster Diving?

Nope. A week ago my friend Dale approached me asking whether I wanted some barely used carpet for the cabin. I told him my decorator (you know who) would have to take a look-see. So today we got the call to come take a gander. It is coming out of a huge house recently purchased by their relative, and was upstairs. The pile is a little compacted in traffic areas and not exactly the carpet we would have chosen for ourselves, but one doesn't look a gift horse in the mouth (or did we?). One partial roll stored in the garage was brand new. There is enough to do the complete loft and a bedroom besides. My biggest problem was where to put it. Our garage is full until we cart stuff north! I had to pile it on a buggy. Much of the cabin has landed in our lap this way. We are awed at the blessing. One more thing.... Anyone have a tool for seaming carpet?

Getting ready

We head for Alaska in about five weeks. Preparations for this trip are different than the previous two years. Without taking the big trailer our cubic footage for storage is significantly reduced. I mentioned to Paulette she has the back seat of the truck for her personal and cabin needs. These needs are many: cooking utensils and dishes, along with all our personal necessities like clothing, toiletries, bedding, and towels. Plus the ice chest? She has been organizing totes. I think she has three filled so far and a bunch of personal clothing, loose items, and bread machine to go. I anticipate the back seat is going to be very full.

The bed of the truck will carry cabin finish items; a chest freezer, boxes of light fixtures, a table saw & drywall tools, fifteen gallons of paint, airless paint sprayer, a range hood, two windows, three tables, a 10hp trolling motor, two folding chairs, and a tote of electrical and plumbing parts. Oh, and a queen size bed frame. It’s going to be tight with only a six foot truck bed which already has an extra 50 gallon fuel tank. Hopefully everything will fit. And I just realized I am forgetting foodstuffs to purchase in Juneau. In the past we filled the whole back seat with eats for summer. Packing is going to be interesting.

Reservations

By reservations I don't mean we are holding back. I meant we made reservations for the ferry. Instead of driving the whole distance to Skagway we will try catching the ferry in Prince Rupert, Canada this year for two days travel up the inside passage. The ferry isn't a cruise ship, rather a semi-comfortable working commercial vessel with none of the luxuries one would expect on Carnival.

The updates to our personal boat are complete. We depart California on or about April 28 with truck pulling boat. If all goes according to plan we should be in Gustavus the afternoon of May 10 to begin a few days feverish activity trying to get the cabin utilites up and running. A restful time on the ferry looked good in light of the activity to come. Our time window also allows three days in Juneau to buy beds and supplies before heading to the cabin. I am anxious to get away from the negative political news that constantly bombards us in California. We also have granddaughter Sarah coming north for a few weeks of summer. Her chaperon? That veteran Alaska bear-slapper and porcupine-petter, now all of eleven years old, her brother Micah. We managed to arrange their trip over the 4th of July. I anticipate a productive summer.

If All Goes According to Plan

If all goes according to plan we will be leaving for AK in slightly less than eight weeks. The ducks are pretty much in a row down here. In the garage I have piles organized of things we need to transport. The blue room is is similar with Mom's stuff. This summer will be a bit different because we will need to take everything we need to actually live in the cabin. It's a lot of stuff! I have a list which I add to whenever I think of an additional item. Perhaps that uncertainty has given me a little more ambivalence about going this year. May nights are still chilly up there. The pressure will be on to get the cabin up and running as soon as we arrive. That could take as much as a week depending on problems and weather. Electric will turn right on. We need to set up a bed. Water should come right up too after installation of a simple filter. But we have no faucets or sinks installed yet, so those will take some time. Also no fuel supply to the water heater yet (it runs on diesel fuel), which could take a day to temporarily hook-up and adjust. Finally, temporary LP gas for the clothes drier and stove. Plus I need to do about 160 more square feet of insulation in the ceiling to try to hold whatever heat we generate inside. Sorta like pioneering with some amenities.

Monthly Post

Time for my monthly post so you will know we are still above ground.
Some folks ask why we are not in Alaska full time. Today is a good reason. 85˚ on Feb 24.

We spent last weekend in one of my favorite places, Death Valley. If you had to choose the opposite of an AK rain forest I suspect it would look a lot like DV. We had a great time and drove the buggy approximately 300 miles. Days were mild and somewhat cool, with nights chilly and often windy. A storm went through just before we arrived which dumped snow at the higher elevations. Most people think DV is low flat desert, but there are also mountains and peaks that surround the valley itself. Therefore the variety of viewing can be very different depending on where you are in the National Park.


The Kilns @ 7000 foot level in the Panamint Mountians. We got wide-eyed looks from the 4x4 crowd on the trip.


This is a favorite picture spot. We have been past Teakettle Junction perhaps a half dozen times and I have several pictures of these same three ladies taken there over the years.

Then End is Near

This doesn't look like much. Yes, the boat is in the background. However, under that black plastic tarp lies freshly milled knotty pine for the ceiling of the cabin. I have not peeked at it yet, choosing to keep it out of the sun and dry until I move some to the smaller trailer for transport to Alaska.


A pix of the smaller trailer seen holding about half of the exterior siding for the cabin. Gene strongly suggested Hardiplank, and obtained it for me at his cost. Plus he ordered it pre-finished, saying the total cost for the siding will be about what one would pay to have the cabin exterior painted. We chose taupe for color; sort of an almond, gray, green.

All the cement board siding weighs 5138 lbs.! I almost choked on that tonnage and had to put an additional axle under the short trailer to carry that weight. Axle cost and new tires negated some of the savings on building materials. Note the different color trailer fenders. I made front fenders to approximate the appearance of the rear fenders. We plan to take half the siding and half the ceiling pine north this summer. Plus load the truck with whatever else is on my "need" list. The 5th wheel served us well the past two years. But I am glad beyond description to not be pulling that behemoth all the way to Alaska again next summer.

Ceiling and exterior siding comprise 2/3 of the last major outflow to complete the cabin (still need to install a septic system). Beyond that there will be small costs to complete the finishing over the next two summers. When we started this project I did a spreadsheet of cost estimates. There were so many cost unknowns for building on a remote site. Amazingly we came in well under those projections. By comparison a similar structure in California would cost almost double if I built it myself. Many thanks to friends for their help in locating deals. The recession and local ReStore had a lot to do with keeping costs down also. We are still watching for a few things like some light fixtures, ceiling fans, flooring, an oil-fired heater, and a certified wood burning stove. We are resting about those items. God brought almost everything in when we needed it.

The blessings keep coming. Paulette found three beautiful new rope lights she liked for the kitchen for $7 each. We found a small end-table whose pedestal is a carved bear, and a lamp made of fake antlers. Both were yard sale items and both will fit right in. Son-in-law Bela is painting a house and over-estimated the amount of paint needed... ordered 5 gallons too much. He asked me whether a beige would fit the cabin interior. Sure. I offered to buy the extra from him. He said his customer already paid for it in the bid price. So with a wink I told him I'll take it if he comes up and applies it. He laughed and said he would love to but this summer probably won't work.

Looking Back

This was my first post ever when we started the blog years ago. I thought it worthy of re-publication.

"Family: A friend passed away unexpectedly. Amid the grief and tears and shared memories a comment came to our ears. A daughter of the friend mentioned how at get-togethers she would watch our family and felt jealous. That comment made me reflect. Jealous? Of us? I tend to react to what attacks my comfort zone while overlooking the peace and values that surround me every day. I smiled as I reflected on what we have; our family interrelationships. We are functional. We care about each other amid ups and downs. Love covers each other's failings. Irritations come and go but don't affect the greater value of being family. In a crisis we are without question there for each other. And best of all, this is normal for us. As my dad would have said, "You can't buy that with money." Yup, priceless. What a blessing.

To Blog or Not to Blog

Sorry, I don't have as much interesting stuff to post when we are south for the winter. Seems like a lot of our family are no longer blogging. I'm wondering whether to keep this one going? Any comments? Your input would be appreciated.

I spend a fair amount of time thinking about items for Alaska for next summer. We plan to live in the unfinished cabin so I need to bring along everything necessary to get water, propane, and stove oil heating operational, hopefully within days of arrival. Other decisions in the mix are cabin exterior, and what to use for ceiling? My friend Gene has a lumber yard and has given me some fantastic deals on materials. You will recall he donated most of the windows and interior doors from his mis-orders, and we built around them. The few windows I needed to complete the six window riverfront he must have given me at his cost. He also got me the complete steel roof on a good-ole-boy deal. After a lot of cogitation we decided to use knotty pine for the ceiling. That should give the interior a very cabin-like feel. Gene called a few days ago and said it will be ready after the first of the year. He is going to place the order for the exterior siding in a few weeks. Every time I thought about siding with something cheap like T-1-11, or mill our own boards from the trees we cut down, he would urge me to go with cement plank, saying it won't rot, burn, or mold and he can get it pre-painted. He has a lot of experience and I have gone with his advise on everything. On the negative side I am faced with the fact the siding weighs 5000 pounds (according to the company web site). I will need to put another axle under the utility trailer to transport that much weight up to Alaska next spring. But I can't complain. We knew building remote would have its problems. I feel blessed to have so many friends lend their assistance, input, and encouragement.

I am now ready for Christmas. The last present was purchased this morning. :-)

Update 12-4-2011

Two Daughters, Three Granddaughters, ...and a Strange Boy

A big wind storm here in California the past week with some gusts reaching hurricane force. Our power went out and took 34 hours to get back up. No problem. The wood stove heats the house well, and I ran an extension cord from the 5th wheel generator to the house to run the refrigerator periodically. I enjoyed not having internet or television for a while.

Paulette talked to neighbors in Gustavus and learned the pond is frozen so kids are ice skating. Plus a brown bear has been prowling both sides of the river. This time of year bears should be in their dens for the winter, so after taking calls about the bear out and about this late the wildlife powers-that-be evaluated that the ursa is probably old and was unable to put on enough fat for winter. That makes it a threat to the community, especially to playing children. An authorization to shoot it was given. If you have seen the documentary Grizzly Man you understand why.

I am about finished with a few modifications to the boat. The deeper I go into the structure the more I appreciate the craft. The stringers appear to be eight inch square aluminum tube, so should be very strong. Every joint has continuous welds. The fuel tank is fiberglass so not subject to the problems of aluminum tanks. Sweet.

We made our annual migration to Houston for Thanksgiving day. A highlight for me was taking the grandchildren to an aviation museum. A UH-1D was on display, and it gave them a visual aid of our units transportation in Vietnam. We drove straight through on the way home in twenty-two hours. At our age that is something I will never do again. (I've said that before).


Norah and Gracie looking cute at Hermann Park