Is this a mistake?

Is this a mistake?

Bucky, do you think building this cabin is a smart idea ?

Yes, yes, and again yes.  We have had a wonderful time so far.  Knock on the trunks of these birch logs, things will keep going as smoothly as they are now.  And, let's hope Bucky's back holds up.  So far, so good.

            Our new driveway !  The truck sits where our RV will soon park and Bucky is standing where the cabin will sit.

Yesterday, was a busy day at the log yard.  Bucky stayed busy operating the mill while I used the draw bar to peel the  logs on deck.  What a difference there was between peeling the dried slab bark and taking the bark off  these green logs.  It actually was fun with the blade sliding along like a knife through butter.  

                                                                                               What do you mean, you want lunch?

                                                                           

A quick tutorial by Artie and Bucky was off and running or rather sawing.  There was talk of needing a sharper blade.  I hope that wasn't a reaction by the saw to my work.  It was satisfying to see our first timbers appear.  While we focused on our work, Carlisle and Arthur worked with the boom truck arranging and sorting the oak timbers they will soon use on an addition.

And then there were timbers!  The first of many needed for the cabin frame and shed.

Arthur manning the controls.

                                        Artie's right hand girl.

In between the above action, Bucky and I traveled to the hardware store to pick up the long skids on which the cabin will sit.  We took these to the cabin site and will try to place them today and perhaps get started on the floor system.  Bucky cut the floor joists when we first arrived and has them stacked under cover in the log yard..

                                                                          Strong Toyota

Building the cabin !

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The Beginning

It was with great excitement that we watched the driveway push into our small piece of Alaska.  We have spent considerable time in consultation with Carlisle making lists of materials needed and creating a final design for the cabin.  I have heard  that creating objects in miniature is often more difficult than not.  We'll see if our small 12 X !4 foot cabin proves this to be true.  Sam arrived Saturday, as scheduled, and went right to work.  He will return today, Monday, so Sunday was spent working hard to separate the logs he had set aside, some for firewood and others to be hauled to Artie's log yard and put through the mill.  We were interested at the soils encountered as Sam dug, including a layer of frost !

Frost layer

Shallow roots made the trees easy to knock down.  The Boreal forest consists primarily of Birch, Spruce and Poplar.  Our trees are on the older, more fragile side so some needed taking down.  Amazingly, not more than 18" from the surface soil, a layer of gravel is located.  This is typical of this area and some of the reason the root systems are so shallow.  Sam dug gravel and placed it on the drive, making it look like dump trucks had just placed it there.  When the drive is complete, Sam will place the tree trunks and other debris into the holes.  I worked with loppers cutting high bush cranberry and other tangly roots.  We had our rain jackets on and then off as showers passed through.  Cooler temperatures felt good following the hot sun of the past few days.  Carlisle mentioned that I would regret these words and I'm sure I might.

Bug gear, so attractive!

Bucky was happy to find that there were enough birch and spruce logs to take back to the mill for the cabin frame.  We have been fortunate to find either downed trees near the log yard or have trees offered to us making it seem as though we will have plenty of wood.  

Dueling chainsaws.

Carlisle doesn't waste anything.   She worked debarking slab wood for use on the outhouse.

Carlisle is anxious to start building so as soon as the pad is set for the RV, we'll know where to locate the outhouse and she can start digging.  We're excited about putting a sod roof on it.  

Camouflage

Lovely ladies :)

Topnotch

Talkeetna

We are happily settled at the Topnotch log yard about four miles from the center of Talkeetna. Topnotch is owned by Arthur Mannix and his brother for whom Carlisle works.  We have been so lucky to have blue skies and sunshine.  Bucky has been busy designing our cabin and picking up materials at the local hardware store.  He has had a bit of sticker shock with the cost of lumber, but the folks have been most helpful.  Tomorrow or the next day, Sam, said to be the most handsome man in Talkeetna, will begin working on the driveway.  I'll let you know my opinion. Once the drive is in and a pad created for the Greyhawk, we will be able to relocate onto our own land.  In between planning for the cabin, we put Lisle's boat into the Talkeetna River where it stays moored.  The large rivers in Alaska are primarily glacial fed so they carry silt caused when the glaciers begin their summer melt.  This makes them look much like concrete.  In the Fall, when the glaciers lock-up or no longer melt, the rivers clear and look more like VT rivers.  

Arthur and Bucky on logs Carlisle peeled.

Lady , Carlisle's 13 year old Alaskan husky helping out.

The glacial flour of the Talkeetna.

At present, the salmon are few and far between.  The escapement of King Salmon has been very low which has meant the closing of many rivers for King fishing.  The Sockeye numbers are said to be high so we anticipate some good fishing once the water goes down.   On my trip to the post office this morning I took a few quick pictures of downtown.  I think there are better ones in the archive.  Town is crowded with tourists looking at Denali which has been white against the blue sky.  

Denali looking down on me as I head across the tracks into Talkeetna.

Main Street Talkeetna and the famous Roadhouse.  It's here that we can take showers, use the internet and between certain hours, use their washing machines.  It's a great place for coffee and baked goods and has been lodging and serving travelers since the Gold Rush.  In the distance, is the equally famous Fairview Inn which has been aiding to the alcoholism of Alaskans for at least as many years.

One of the original and oldest cabins in Talkeetna being restored by Arthur Mannix

A typical cabin in town with the 4 wheeler used to get around rather than a car.

Looking at the swollen Susitna River which lies at the end of Main Street.  Talkeetna was settled where the Sustitna, the Talkeetna and the Chulitna Rivers meet.

The dreaded tour buses and train ferrying tourists for the day.

Alaska Highway

Alaska Highway

The start, mile 0 in Dawson Creek

This marked our fourth trip on the Alaska Highway and under blue skies and sunshine, we excitedly began. The first several hundred miles from Dawson Creek, BC to Fort Nelson is pretty much all about oil.  The road is used by large trucks whizzing along carrying things need in the oil fields, such as houses. 

Upon leaving Fort Nelson, the Highway heads several hundred miles to Watson Lake, Yukon and the fun begins. This year's trip gave us our best wildlife viewing to date.  

We counted ten or more black bears.  Most were grazing on flowers and such on the verge, close to the road.  Some however, were up in trees!

We anticipated seeing Stone Sheep where we had seen them in the past, and as if on cue, they appeared.

                                                               
                                                                   They appeared in all sizes

And, then there were bison.  Again, some small and some large, some alone and others in herds !

                                                          And some were as large as cars :)

Of course, what all travelers are hoping to see are grizzlies.  We saw three almost immediately.  A sow and two cubs were feeding high on a hill enjoying the fresh grass.  It was wonderful to watch them scamper about in the sun.

                                               And, some preferred to munch by the Highway.

Within Muncho Provincial Park, lies Muncho Lake.  Today the lake was unusually calm making it difficult to tell reflection from reality.

Watson Lake is a small town, but one thing attracts visitors, the Signpost Forest, containing the signs of  travelers from all over the world.  There are thousands of them.

When leaving Whitehorse, YK, the Elias Mountains rose up to envelope us on our drive to the Alaskan border.  The Highway was lined with Forget Me Nots, Wild Roses, Lupine and purple Vetch that stretched out like the border of a landscape painting.

Alaska's state flower, the Forget Me Not

                                                                        The destination !

                                                                                 Alaska