Looking Around

This rusted metal was pulled from the river.  It is most likely a piece of a stove lost when a home went into the river.  We have placed it at the bottom of a large Douglas Fir.  The other plants are a Sword Fern and a couple of wild Huckleberry bushes.

Steve brought a Hydrangea plant up and it seems to love the acidic soil...the source of the blue.

There are very interesting stumps around the property.  Unfortunately we lost quite a few of them when we had the land cleared to build the cabin, but there are still some around.  The Huckleberry bushes thrive growing out of these stumps.  On the stump in the front, you will notice a notch on the right side of the stump.  That notch allowed a logger to put a board in the notch to stand on and cut the tree at a higher level.

The early morning sun filtering through the trees makes for a very peaceful setting.

A Douglas Fir seedling makes an interesting shadow.

The path leading out to the fire pit.  Steve is usually the first one to rise in the morning.  And to all those that follow, we are usually greeted by a nice fire and fresh coffee.

 

Hallelujah! The Electrical Inspection Has Passed

After four inspections, we have finally passed our electrical inspection.  The first inspection uncovered a short list of things we had to change.  One of those things was the grounding rod.  As has been stated before, the cabin is located on river rock and whenever you try to drive anything into the soil, you will most likely hit one of those rocks.  A grounding rod is 8 feet in length, so naturally, we knew we would never be able to sink it the required length.  We had heard about another process that required the driving of two 4 foot rods and connecting them with the wire. Apparently, this procedure is no longer approved.  Luckily there is another process where you can put a plate in the ground and run the cable to it.  Unfortunately, the inspector did not tell us we needed two plates with the wire connecting the two...so inspection number two failed.   It was off to an electrical store to get another plate.  When the inspector showed up the third time, the connectors that connected the wire between the plates was not the correct type...and inspection number three failed.  Finally today, the inspector looked at the work and it passed...HALLELUJAH!

'Tis The Season

...for berries!  This might have been a cold summer, but the berry bushes have been covered in fruit.  We have been eating the wild huckleberries for quite some time...using them in pancakes and atop our bagels...as well as just picking them and popping the fruit into our mouths.  The small wild blackberries have also produced quite a crop and are very tasty.  Drop a few in your pancake batter and you have a sumptuous breakfast.

A little cream cheese and wild huckleberries

Notice the small size of the wild blackberries

If They Can Do It, I Can Do It

People, including me, are always building these very neat and balanced rock sculptures on the beach (rocks) at the edge of the river in front of The Drunken Bear.

Well, I had to do some balancing on these too...the table was not entirely flat.  I thought they looked kind of fun...especially when it is the $9.00 a foot Pan Abode logs.  We used some of these logs to form the base of the wood shed we are building.  These were left over pieces...and soon to be fire fodder, so I thought I would give them their last hooray!

Gunn's Peak At Midday And Sunset

The Little Things

It is amazing to me all the little details that have to be completed when working on a house that go totally unnoticed, but are necessary and take a long time to accomplish.  We can spend a whole weekend doing these little detailed items and if someone were to come by, they would not be able to tell that we worked at all...unless we pointed it out.

A recent weekend was spent doing a few of these detailed projects. Just working on the windows involved various steps.  First, there was the flashing required around the windows to keep water from getting in.

In this picture, the flashing is the silver material 

surrounding the window.

We ran out of the silver flashing and when we went to purchase more, we got a different material.  The second type of material was much easier to handle, but when we started to add the trim, we discovered that the new flashing was a little too wide and the material had to be cut after the trim was added.  And when you cut the extra flashing, you were left with a black sticky glue that needed to be removed.  With a little help from Goo Gone, the glue came off.

This shows the extra flashing material that needed 

to be cut off and then cleaned up.

We really like the final outcome.  As stated before, the green looks good against the stain on the cabin.  And with the metal roof being green, it all ties together.

The look of a window before the trim was added.

And how the window looks with the trim.

Now, we were not quite done with the windows on the outside yet. Next, we had to apply caulking around the trim to keep water and insects from getting underneath.

You can see the caulking between the log
and the trim in this picture.

Work on the windows on the inside of the cabin was then needed. We sprayed an insulating foam into the crevices around the windows inside to again seal them.  After spraying the foam, it had to be cut back so that the inside window trim would fit flush.  The later is a project for the future.

Two things you can notice in this picture...one, the insulating foam around the window, and two, the future project of sanding down the logs on the inside of the cabin and applying the stain.

The nice thing about these little projects is the fact they are sealing up the cabin and making it more air tight.  Our first electrical inspection is scheduled for tomorrow and we are ever so hopeful that everything passes.  Once the electrical passes, we can then have running water and heat.  And, with the cabin being air tight, the heat will stay in and we can work all year round.

This is one of the room heaters.

As you can see in the above picture, we are waiting for the electrical inspection to pass before we can tie into the electrical system.  This picture also shows how we had to add outlets to solid wood walls.    

The Joy Of Clouds

All of these photos of clouds were taken from the banks of 

The Drunken Bear over the 4th of July weekend this year.

Around the Campfire

Over the 4th of July weekend, our friends Bob Gove and Doug Fisher came up to join us at The Drunken Bear.  Our neighbor, Bob Sheldon had two other friends as house guests, Mike Caputi and Jim Mahan. We all got together around the campfire and shared stories and laughs.

L to R:  Our neighbor and friend, Bob Sheldon, 

with Jim Mahan and Doug Fisher twirling sparklers.

Looking back at the cabin from the campfire.  The vine maple looks great with up-lighting and the strings of white Christmas lights help us stumble...I mean, walk back to the cabin in the dark.

A roaring campfire keeps us all warm and toasty.

In the daylight you can see the canopy over the 

campfire pit is made up of some very tall trees.

The canopy is made up of Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir

 (the largest trees in each picture), Vine Maples, and Hemlock

The new growth on the hemlock is a nice lime green color.

Rough Plumbing Inspection Completed

Much has been happening at The Drunken Bear since the last posting.

Our friends, Joe Radoslovich, Robert Wisdom and Mike U. came up to The Drunken Bear for a work weekend and we were happy to have them!  Joe and Mike tackled the tedious and back breaking job of installing the soffit on the south side of the cabin.  Robert was busy with a paint brush painting the east side door and all the cedar window trim boards.  Steve was working on the plumbing, getting ready for the plumbing inspection. By the time I got off work and drove to The Drunken Bear on Saturday, all the help had returned to the city and Steve and I proceeded to work more on the plumbing. We also tackled cleaning up the property a little more...cutting back the ferns, collecting all the fallen branches from winter, weeding, etc.

 The dutch door Robert painted showing the color 

that will also be used on the window and door trim.

(These two pictures were taken while raining...hence the spots.)

The soffit on the south side of the cabin that Mike U. and Joe
worked on, and that Steve and his son-in-law,
Rick, would finish.

On Thursday, May 19th, we had an appointment to have the rough plumbing inspection.  When the inspector showed up we were all excited about getting through this step of the building process. Unfortunately, we found we had to make a few adjustments.  We had a 1 and 1/2 inch pipe on the drain in the kitchen and we found out it needed a 2 inch drain.  We also were told we had to redirect a couple of connections.  And finally, unbeknownst to us, we had to have the pipes for the propane installed as part of the plumbing inspection. The inspector was really nice and told us we (mainly Steve) had done a good job and just needed to make those few adjustments.  So, it was off to the big box hardware stores to pick up the needed material.

I was once again out of town over the Memorial Day Weekend. Steve's daughter, Heidi and her husband, Rick and their two kids joined Steve at the cabin this weekend.  Rick helped Steve finish doing the work on the soffit on the south side of the cabin and it looks very nice.

In June we started coming up to the property on my day off during the week and Sunday, my other day off.  It is hard to get much done when you are only up there for a portion of a day, but we made the most of it.  Steve worked on the plumbing, making cuts and gluing pieces together to make the needed adjustments from the inspection.  We both worked on installing the pipes for the propane. I also put the covers on all the electrical boxes throughout the cabin.

We put the last of the soffits up on the west side of the cabin.  Of course, nothing goes completely as planned.  I had made mention in an earlier post that we had bought the hemlock soffit material from a lumber yard where someone had requested it and then did not want it.  We thought we had enough of the material to finish all of our soffits, but we fell somewhat short.  Luckily, our friend Mike U. had some extra soffit material in his basement and offered it to us.  It wasn't the same type of wood, but with a stain on it, the difference is barely noticeable.

We also put the 1"x3"cedar window trim Robert had painted around the windows until we ran out of that material.  We both like the look of the trim, especially against the stain on the cabin.  We still need to get more of the trim to finish this project...only 3 more windows and the 2 doors need the trim.

The next task we started was spraying a foam insulation around the windows and the doors on the inside.  After the foam expanded and hardened we then had to cut the extra foam off to make room for the trim that will be applied at a later date.

As for the follow-up plumbing inspection, it was quickly approaching. We were having one continual problem.  There was a pin hole leak in the stack pipe.  The pipe was in a very difficult area to reach.  Steve tried everything to stop the leak.  We would think it was finally fixed, but when we would do the pressure test, that little pin hole would still drip.  Finally, with the last bit of glue, the leaking ceased.  When the inspector came, we were on pins and needles hoping that this time we would pass...and that we did...hooray!

Since The Flooding

Steve and I went to The Drunken Bear today to see any changes that have happened since the flooding in January.  We were struck by how much more light we now have coming from the east.  Not only is the neighbor's house missing, but so are many of the trees that were located around that house.  The river has moved further north from the wall, but the bend where the river turns is still going to be a problem unless something is done.  The riverbed in front of the cabin is littered with a huge tree; large pieces of concrete...most likely from the house that was taken by the river; and large boulders that had been moved during the flooding.  The view from our property has dramatically changed.  To view the mountain which I think is Merchant Peak, we had to go down to the riverbed and look up river...now we can see the peak from the property.  We hope something can be done so that this flooding and loss of homes can be stopped.

Below are a couple of pictures comparing the change in the view from our property.  The pictures are not of the best quality, but you can get an idea of the dramtic change.

This was the view we formerly saw...notice the trees on the right.

This is the view we now have.

I think this peak is called Merchant Peak...

it is towards the right on the picture above this one.

The Loss of A Neighbor's Home

 

This was the neighbor's house before the flood.  This picture was

taken on March 6, 2009.  They had already lost their gazebo

and outdoor seating area and knew it would be just a matter

of time before the house was taken.

 

 

Steps to the door are the only remains of the neighbor's home

In January of this year, La Nina did her damage in the Pacific Northwest.  Rain was pouring down and the snow was melting...a deadly combination.  I knew the North Fork of the Skykomish River would be near flood stage and wanted to see what was happening at The Drunken Bear.  When I arrived at the property I immediately noticed a change...a neighbor's house was no longer there.  This house was located at the bend in the river just east of our cabin.  This neighbor had lost their patio and all of the land in front of their home last year.  The house was sitting on the bank of the river, but below it were some very huge boulders.  We had been hoping the boulders would keep the river from tearing away the bank any further, but if you have ever been near flood waters, you know how forceful they can be.  If nothing is done, the erosion could continue and would eventually take out the rock wall protecting our property.  Worse than that however, it could also cause the loss of all the houses west of us as they are very close to the river's edge.  We have not heard any news on any plans to extend the wall, but hope something will be done.

The following are short videos I took on that day.

1.  View of the river in front of The Drunken Bear.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7rDDIpqXe4

2.  This is where the neighbor's home once stood.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Z_j6X1niM

3.  Steps are the only reminder of the former home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRjNm5_KzGA

4.  The Drunken Bear is set back from the river.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Naw08NQaAug

5.  Index-Galena Road is a tributary to the river.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaFkdFLcN3E

6.  A small creek swells and adds to the havoc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePJApUzaDhE&feature=related