Well, started if you count pounding 8 stakes in the ground and digging a test hole for a pier.
My brother and I were able to access the property. Two weeks ago the road in was still snow covered and would not allow ATV access. The snow was melting fast and we were able to get in on dirt bikes on Saturday and decided it was fine to bring the truck and trailer in on Sunday. Here is my brother at the gate; we were greeted by a small group of elk:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_2754.jpg)
I found a different spot for the cabin than the one I originally selected. This one is on a bit of a hill, has nice dry soil, and has a large berm behind it that protects it from runoff from the meadow uphill. As a bonus, there is a spring uphill and a small year round creek passes 100' north of the site. I think I can build a springbox uphill and pipe water down. Probably use buried pex and will have to bring it 500' or more.
Here is the site. You can see the stakes to the right for the first cabin. There will be a little bunkhouse for guests here too:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_2771.jpg)
The view from where my outhouse will be... looking north into the meadow behind the cabin. Who needs a door? :)
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_2770.jpg)
We would have gotten more done but were distracted by fish rising. The pond has nice sized ones, and the trout in the meadow are smaller but voraciously hungry. I was catching trout out of some of the streams that are only 6" wide. They funnel down into larger streams that have much bigger and deeper pockets. We did not catch any large fish, but I love catching even little ones. My brother caught and took this one home as it inhaled a panther martin and was bleeding bad.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_2778.jpg)
On the way out, a tractor trailer rolled and blocked the access down CO Hwy17 into Chama. We had to exit the back way through Antonito, but got to see some interesting stuff, including the Cumbres / Toltec terminal in Antonito. This was a very weird "locomotive".
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_2782.jpg)
Anyway, I started making holes. Can't wait to get out of the ground.
What are you going to be building??? size ,look ,ect???
14X20 single gable, 6:12 pitch. Just enough room for a queen sized bunk bed, shower and toilet (no solids!), sink, stove top, wood stove and table. There will be an awning on the front that will hinge down over the front of the cabin door to protect and secure the entry when we are not there. Metal roof, not sure about the siding yet. 10' of snow is not uncommon. I'd prefer a metal siding, but that may be out of my price range. If it is not protected, porcupines eat the cabins.
No utilities here. will be using two golf cart batteries, and a solar panel / batt charger. Probably will put in a small inverter for lights, but water pump will be 12V RV type along with a RV water heater.
This will be a summer / early fall cabin only. I may not even insulate.
"Well, started if you count pounding 8 stakes in the ground and digging a test hole for a pier. "
I'd say that 8 stakes and a yummy trout are an excellent start!
Sometimes just getting to know your property before breaking out the tools is a good thing. You already proved that by choosing one site, and then choosing another. I look forward to watching your progress.
It must have felt great to get up there and plant those stakes!! Moving the location from the original spot is par for the game; we made a few moves over the planning stages. We have skid steer time planned for Sun/Mon, July 13/14; more on that later and in another topic.
One question that occurred to me was "will that greeting committee be found come Sept/Oct/Nov?
If you don't insulate you can make little shelves between the studs all over the place. Wrap it to keep out the drafts though. Have you considered cement board for exterior siding? The porkies probably wouldn't lie that too much.
The "locomotive" reminds me of an "engine" on the water district railroad back home; looked like a boxcar with windows at the front, powered by a flathead Ford V8, top loader transmission, etc.
I'm hoping the greeting party will be there this autumn... that was a primary driver for buying the property. We received 12 elk tags this year and I have my name in the hat for a MB first, then BOW ES, then cow. We'll see!
Yes, I am thinking cement board... I am also thinking about "cheap" metal siding. I'm not too worried about aesthetics, but need something that can withstand lots of moisture and nibbling critters.
One of the other owners brought up his new outhouse (he is building a cabin this year too, and he bought the bolt-together plans). His outhouse is sweet... 4' wide, 4' deep, and 8' tall. You can darn near sleep in that thing. He covered the whole structure in aluminum flashing and earned the christened title "The Airstream". It has round vents and even a stained glass window.
I am tempted to put fins and a nosecone on it when he is not looking. I'm trying to figure out a way to one-up his outhouse design. I have some left over cultured stone and was trying to find a way to build a hobbit-outhouse. Or maybe one with CAT5 and a satellite dish. Who knows. But I can't let him have the best outhouse.
Well, best of luck on the draw. :)
Might be fun to put a dish on it even if not in service. :D
fins and a nosecone...now that's funny! i do love his airstream name too.
I'll take a picture of his outhouse this weekend. I may hang a sign on it that says "To Infinity and Beyond" and maybe put a Buzz Lightyear action figure inside. Maybe another sign on a stick on the ground that has an arrow pointing to the "Launchpad". Oh man... I am going to have fun with this.
I'm psyched... trailer loaded with 2400# of quikcrete, genset, wheelbarrow, tools, rebar and empty water jugs. My daughter and I are out the door O-dark-hundred tomorrow for a couple of days of work. I could not entice my wife and other daughter to attend... some nonsense about needing to shop for school.
My rancher only got a couple of holes dug before the weather chased him off the mountain, so we are digging on Saturday. The plan is to get the four corner piers in by Sunday night. I'll leave the other four holes to the rancher if he can get in this week, and return next weekend to finish them up. Who knows... maybe bring beam materials up with me too next weekend.
One fly in the ointment. One of the other owners out there pointed out that I have a very large ponderosa pine leaning towards my site. I'll need to see if my itty bitty chain saw is up to the task of dropping that in a safe direction. Should be interesting at least.
Pix to follow.
Quote from: NM_Shooter on August 01, 2008, 09:42:52 PM
I have a very large ponderosa pine leaning towards my site. I'll need to see if my itty bitty chain saw is up to the task of dropping that in a safe direction.
If it's leaning much it'll choose the direction to fall. ;D It might remain standing like that for decades too. But if it was leaning in the direction of my cabin site I'd take it out.
Note that if you're saving green pine for firewood, or any purpose really, it's advised to cover it right down to the ground with 6 mil clear plastic to bake/steam any bark beetles. Weight the edges down to seal it as well as possible. After the first year the beetles won't lay eggs under the bark.
Thanks Don,
If I recall, the tree is about 20" in diameter, and is leaning ENE. My cabin is due East. The other owner who pointed this out made me notice that the trees seem to primarily fall from W to E on the property. I hate cutting down such a beautiful old tree, but I can't have it be a risk. I just want it down safely at this point.
BTW... thanks for the encouragement to put the joists on top of the beams. This is going to allow me to much more easily place the piers without having to worry about the exact placement. When I was sweating this decision you could have just told me to quit being a dumb #$$ and just do it like THIS. I appreciate the gentle nudge, but feel free to be more direct with advice any time ;D
BTW... I received a MB rifle tag. Nobody else even asked for one. No way will this cabin be done by Oct. 1. I'd be delighted with a roof and a locking front door at that point. But I may just be pitching a tent on the deck.
We're bringing .22s with tomorrow too for break time. My daughter has never "plinked" before. She has only shot paper at the range. I think she is going to like this. I have an old sawmill on my tract, and there is a large loading berm that is left that will make an excellent backstop.
-f-
Quote from: NM_Shooter on August 01, 2008, 10:56:45 PM
1. If I recall, the tree is about 20" in diameter
2. BTW... I received a MB rifle tag.
3. I have an old sawmill on my tract, and there is a large loading berm that is left that will make an excellent backstop.
1. We took one tree about that size down this spring. I had to cut from the left and the right with my 16 inch bar. :( It too was a real leaner, coupled with an S curve just above ground level.
2. MB... Mature Buck Elk, not an MB Pronghorn, I would guess. Good luck. :)
3. Anything much left? I love old stuff like that.
Oh man, am I tired and sore. Two days of lumberjacking, digging, concrete mixing, cinder block stacking exercise. Trip started out with a flat trailer tire on the rock road in, with 2400# of concrete and 1000# of misc tools and parts.
Got up to the site and evaluated a tree that was leaning in the direction of my cabin; one of the owners pointed out that trees fall west to east on our property and that my cabin was going to be east of this old tree. Although it was already in decline, it was still fairly healthy, and it bummed me out to cut down such a heritage tree. Here is me finishing up the notch cut. That tree fell on the hinge axis. My daughter took a picture of me hitting the kill switch, dropping the saw, and running to get out of the way. I was wrong about the tree being 20" in diameter. A tad bigger than that:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_3077.jpg)
My rancher did not make much progress on the holes, so my 15 year old daughter and I dug most of the day Saturday on the corner piers. My test hole a month ago did not have any substantial rocks in it. It appears that the earth was saving them for the production holes. I finally gave up on one rock and moved the hole over a bit. My beams won't be parallel, but I guess that is the beauty of the cantilevered design. One thing I did not count on, was the amount of elevation change over 18'. I bet it must be 3' or more. Makes me nervous about the piers only being 30" deep, but I will keep an eye on them for the first few years.
My daughter was a lifesaver. She was constantly looking for things to do to help, and was not afraid to get dirty. She matched me shovel for shovel all day long. Working at 10,000 feet will definitely check your lungs out. Here are a couple of pix of her tying in rebar:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_3081.jpg)
We had a good day on Saturday, and worked till 6pm. We got run off the mountain by a storm on Sunday; funny how fast they blow in and all hell breaks loose. The temperature dropped like a rock when it got wet and dark.
This was from Saturday:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_3082.jpg)
My goal was to get the four corners totally done. I did not accomplish. I have the corner piers all stacked and filled halfway up the second to last block. I will set the last block and the simpson brace on the next trip. I want to be able to stretch a string across the tops of what I have without fear of the blocks shifting. I am confident that I am within 1/4" level so far.
I have found that my biggest challenge is going to be getting materials to the site. Hauling water from the pond is no fun, but at least I have water on site.
What a job. Anybody who builds their own cabin out in the sticks definitely has bragging rights. This is already much harder than the addition I built on my house. Just hauling the tools is a challenge, let alone making sure that you have the right stuff up there when you need it.
BTW Don... there is a ton of old crap on that property from loggers and both sheep and cattle ranchers. On my tract I have an old cabin site that my daughter and I found the "dump" for. You want any old whiskey bottles? ;D
Nice tree, Frank. Now you need a saw mill. Nice to see your daughter take an interest in working with you.
If the kids don't want to help, just remind them they are going to end up with the cabin. :D. Our 4 kids 15, 14, 8, 6 have been a great help. We have got our cabin http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=4640.0 (http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=4640.0) dried in with my wife, kids and me. Less than 2 days of help from others. The kids have been patient and might even be learning something. I told them we will take a break after its dried in and this August we have several vacations planned for a break before we pick up work on the cabin this fall.
Your daughter looks like she's really working hard! Nice time with Dad :) I remember when I used to do things with my dad, just he & I - one time we were staying in Colorado near Grand Junction at some friends. The night sky was so incredibly beautiful - countless stars - he pointed out the constellations to me & told me about navigating his B52's etc. I could always identify the big & little dipper but nothing else until he showed me them - I was 18 y/o at the time...
Your daughter will remember these special times...
BTW, beautiful country & great start!
Thanks... I've been blessed with beautiful girls who are tomboys. They ride dirtbikes, shoot sporting clays (12 ga no less!), fish, ride horses, and are at home with tools and not intimidated by boys. They also ballroom dance, play the piano, look nice in a dress and know which fork to use. Honor students and respectful (Ms / Mr precedes adult names, and they don't interrupt without excusing themselves).
Sorry to brag. I can't help. They are far from perfect.... they fight each other like roosters and their rooms could be cleaner, and quicker with chores. They both have a tendency to (usually respectfully) challenge authority that sometimes frustrates me, but I can see that as a good thing too. All in all I like the way they are turning out.
I guess I just never knew better than to treat them other than an important part of my projects. Even when they were little they helped me on work. I once forgot an electrical circuit and had a 6 year old dragging romex for me through a pocket ceiling. Melissa helped me swap out the exhaust system on my truck. Sarah stretched wire for fencing and thought it was fun.
Their future husbands owe me bigtime!
Shamelessly proud,
-f-
"Their future husbands owe me bigtime!"
You ain't kidding! Good for you, my hat is off to you for supporting such well rounded experiences.
The cabin site is very nice. Great view.
Around here one rule is that rocks only grow where you want to put the holes. I'm sure of it.
Quote from: NM_Shooter on August 04, 2008, 10:30:22 PM
BTW Don... there is a ton of old crap on that property from loggers and both sheep and cattle ranchers. On my tract I have an old cabin site that my daughter and I found the "dump" for. You want any old whiskey bottles? ;D
Hmmm. Maybe. What I want to do is visit sometimes after my cabin is dried in and I feel like I need a rest. Well, the dried in part is true; I wouldn't expect it to be a rest visit, just different work. :D
Got a metal detector?
-f-
No I don't. Maybe I need one of those. ???
Went up yesterday for the last visit of the year. I was bringing 5 sacks of concrete, the last 4 bases, and my time of day camera to mount on a tree. I made it up most of the way, then realized I didn't pack three of the CB66 post bases. I was about 60 miles out of the last town to have a Building supply store, so I stopped on the side of the road to make some cell calls. I called a Hacienda home store, and they told me that they had 10 CB66 bases in stock. So I turned around and went back to Espanola, NM. When I showed up at the store, well... guess what. They did not have the CB66 bases >:(
I checked Lowes, and another store in town and came up empty. So... I lost three hours of my day and a quarter tank of gas on that exercise.
I still got up to the property about 12:30 and proceeded to hang the camera. I needed to get it up above the snow, and even more importantly, above the snow-mobilers. Yes, I can assure you it is as high as it looks! Here it is on the tree:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_3462.jpg)
I put some bailing wire above and below the box and crammed some branches in to hide it a little. The lens ring around the camera sticks out like a sore thumb. Oh well.... if someone wants it bad enough they can have it.
With any luck, this is the angle that I will have. The picture won't be anywhere near as clear as this though. The box may be aimed a little more left than this view. I was trying to get a picture of my cabin site and the pond overflow. I couldn't get a good angle on the overflow.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_3463.jpg)
Did a little fishing to try out the newly stocked pond. It fishes really well :) I caught a couple dozen in no time, including a heritage trout that must have been in there awhile. He was about 15" and very chubby. After fishing I decided to eat a gourmet meal at my cabin site. I love fine Italian food! Unfortunately, that is the high side of my piers. Yikes is right.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_3465.jpg)
So this should make a pix every day and at the first of next season you should be able to get the camera and download all of the pixs for and off season overview?
Next will be an uplink to a satellite? hmm
Quote from: glenn kangiser on November 02, 2008, 07:38:00 PM
So this should make a pix every day and at the first of next season you should be able to get the camera and download all of the pixs for and off season overview?
Next will be an uplink to a satellite? hmm
A picture every day is the theory. I didn't test it here as i was scrambling to get the thing built up. I should have let it run overnight at a minimum to make sure the 24 hour clock part of the program was working. Otherwise I am going to have to wait another year for winter pictures! I'll probably look at the code again and build up another camera over the winter, and debug any issues then. I sort of want to start playing with the wireless link that I have too.
I was trying to figure out a way to send a data packet using a ham radio setup. I don't think I could afford the satellite time. But it would be great to have pictures more or less "real time".
I've been thinking about other gizmos to build. I was thinking about a road sensor that detected when a car drove over a road area, and sent a wireless signal to my cabin to let me know when company was coming. I think I could do this pretty easily with couple of motorola FRS walkie talkies. Only problem with that is that the receiver would always have to be on ??? Yuck.
Interesting thoughts. I have a quarter mile drive or so and have thought of similar notice devices - out of range of most though.
Do you have line of sight?
A periscope could be cool here for general close up stuff. We have windows with a view of the front but that's no where near as cool.
Quote from: NM_Shooter on November 02, 2008, 04:35:02 PM
...then realized I didn't pack three of the CB66 post bases...
Ah crap! I know the feeling. I once drove into Los Alamos for a pound of nails I forgot. :(
Oh man.
With all this fine weather we have been having, I am itching to get to work on my cabin.
Unfortunately the jet stream is going to swing back through and bring the second half of the season's snow soon.
Maybe I can start building my outhouse at least :)
Frank, I've been obsessing about your property ever since I read your post in the property section! I have fantasized about a handcrafted log home for my entire adult life, and hearing about how heavily timbered the ranch is made me think this would be ideal. (There would also be less materials to haul in!) I recall you mentioning that porkies would eat pretty much anything up there. I wonder how much draw a "hot wire" around the cabin's perimeter would draw. . . :)
Do you plan on taking down your solar panels when you leave for the season or will you leave the system operational? If the latter, what special considerations will need to be given for the batteries during the winter?
I love the idea of having a time-lapse camera taking pictures during the winter. There is a game camera company called Buckeye that wirelessly transmits photos to a receiver a couple of miles away. There is also at least one that uses a cell phone and emails pictures. . .
I love the outhouse competition! This would probably make a good thread in the general section: "Over-The-Top Outhouse Ideas." Here's one:
How about a solar hot water collector attached to in-floor heating? NOBODY up there will have a heated john!!!
-- Pritch
Hey! I like that idea. I was going to have some solar panels run some 12V vent fans in the outhouse vent stacks.
Yes, I have to remove solar panels in the winter when we are not there. Unfortunately, we have a problem with poaching of our fish and elk. Luckily, we have had a bit of a resurgence in owner activity, and more of us are up there. We are spread out on 1600 acres, but it is nice to know that there is at least one other gun toting owner on the property when we are up there. Winter is esp. bad for trespassers, as all of the fences are down / buried and the snow mobile folks run pretty much every where. We have had some minor break-in issues in the past, almost all during winter season.
Lots and lots of timber. Unfortunately a lot of it is corkbark, which I have been told is not a good tree for structural use. Still lots of ponderosa and spruce too.
My kids want to make a log cabin. I told them they can build whatever they want using hand tools ;D
Let me know if you are ever in NM in the summer. I'd be happy to give you a tour.
-f-
Quote from: Pritch on February 24, 2009, 04:03:42 PM
Do you plan on taking down your solar panels when you leave for the season or will you leave the system operational? If the latter, what special considerations will need to be given for the batteries during the winter?
I have placed my response to that over in the OFF GRID power topic
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=6059.msg84209#msg84209 (http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=6059.msg84209#msg84209)
Quote from: NM_Shooter on February 24, 2009, 04:21:24 PM
Let me know if you are ever in NM in the summer. I'd be happy to give you a tour.
-f-
Thanks! Will do!
-- Pritch
I'd like to echo those sentiments. If any of you are in NM, specifically the Albuquerque area I'd be delighted to show you the Jemez and our cabin/property.
Well, still 55" of snow at the Cumbres pass gauging station. http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/snotel.pl?sitenum=431&state=co
But it is going away right now at about 3" a day, except for the light snowfall we had from the last snow that went through >:(
Let's see... that should be about 15 days till the gauging station is clear. Last year, they had so much snow at the pass, they had to build a snowblower to fit on the narrow gauge rail to clear the snow so the train could run on memorial day.
The property is stuck in limbo right now. The low sunny places are muddy and not enough snow to allow snow mobiles in. The shady places are too deep with snow to allow trucks.
Around mid may, it ought to be okay to go in with horses or ATVs.
We lost our grazing tenant and are interviewing folks now to see about getting new ones. I am surprised at how many people are interested! But we may need to go without grazers this year as it is getting late and folks are buying their stockers and will have cow/calves set up soon. Best we may be able to do is to give tours of the property and get someone set up for next year. Heck, Maybe I'll buy a couple of steers and put them on there for myself.
Anyway, I'm bumping this to the top so I can find it soon to post lots of new progress pix!
Have my dimensions all set for the beams. Need to figure out a way to cross brace the two high side piers to keep them from leaning. My piers are only 30" deep... that was all the energy I had to bust through the rocks. Luckily my low side piers are only 18" or so above grade.
I'm thinking of opening up the pier holes on the outside of the piers, dropping the end of a chain with a rebar "X" down in there and pouring it into place. Then making a metal strap that would allow me to anchor to the main beam on the other pier, attach another chain, and tying the two chains together with a monster turnbuckle. Doing this both ways to create cross bracing tension.
Thoughts?
Drill a hole through the block to allow a 1/2" bolt or threaded rod to be inserted. Fill pier with concrete.
Use a section of flat iron strap to connect from there to the rim joist. Secure to the wood with a through bolt or drill the iron for a bunch of nailing holes. Cross braced with two pieces of course/
Or the above, but with the rod through the block long enough to use 2X wood. Maybe use a 5/8 rod to feel more secure.
Big load rated turnbuckles are pricey.
Heading to BLOK Ranch early a.m. for my first trip this year. A few members have already been in and done all the dirty work of clearing the roads.
I'm trying to think of which really, really, important tool / component I am about to forget.
Good luck Frank. I always seem to forget something either going up or coming back d* Even with numerous endless lists. Just came back and discovered I forgot the empty paint pail... need to get more of same custom mix. >:(
Pshew. Another high speed weekend.
Up 0430 Saturday, on the road by 5. Stuck in construction traffic on the way up >:( and didn't make it to the ranch till 10:30. Did get to see a very large herd of elk on the way in....maybe 150 to 200. Also saw a fox on the way out that was completely unconcerned about my truck. We watched it hunt mice just 25 feet away for quite awhile.
One of the other tenants was up and was heading home on Saturday (the bolt-together-cabin folks). Got a tour of their improvements, including a very up-town shower:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0341.jpg)
Didn't start on our beams until probably noon or so.
First one we made exactly 20' long, and will be our baseline for the other beam. Here is some very welcome help doing her thing. Note that the middle piers don't have the concrete filled all the way to the top yet. I was suspicious about my ability to get all four in a nice line and decided to wait until the beams were built before I filled them in. I am glad I did that. All joints were placed directly over piers. If you ever want a lot of nails placed, give a 13 year old a nail gun :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0346.jpg)
By Saturday night we had both beams knocked together. 6.5 hours of work plus time for a fishing break ;DThat palm nailer made short work of the 60d spikes. Also has a ton of 16p ACQ nails in there too.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0353.jpg)
I hosted a possible grazing tenant, and while he and his ranch foreman were running around, they saw another herd of elk, and a black bear. The fishing was great. My daughter caught 30 or more, including some that she transplanted into the lake from the stream.
Next weekend we are going to try and get the floor done. That may be too much of a stretch goal.
Also retrieved my home-made day camera... a bit surprisingly, it worked. I have a ton of pictures that were taken at noon each day, and it was interesting to see the ebb and flow of the snow. Although these pictures proved to be very alarming. There were a lot of pictures with a disturbing amount of snow-mobile traffic running right past where my cabin will be. I don't know how we can discourage winter trespassing.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0079.jpg)
Wow! Those snow machines can get in and out and all over the place a lot quicker than motor vehicles in the summer.
Beams look good, as does the nailer helper. :D
Great to see you back at it Frank. I was hoping you would post an update. Your property is beautiful to say the least.
All the best, looking forward to seeing this seasons progress.
Tom
Quote from: SkagitDrifter on July 13, 2009, 12:29:54 PM
Great to see you back at it Frank. I was hoping you would post an update. Your property is beautiful to say the least.
All the best, looking forward to seeing this seasons progress.
Tom
Thanks... I can't believe it is July and I have only been up once so far. Time to make hay. Looking forward to getting the floor done and actually having something to stand on. MtnDon has been emailing me tips. I'm sure it will take us a bit to get it figured out.
That pond fishes real well. I sent my daughter down to catch some fish and she caught a bunch in a hurry, including a 15" brook trout. You can watch them rising all over the surface in the evening. A small herd of elk come out before dark in that meadow in the far back. Kind of spooky to be up there alone though. I like it when I am by myself, but am skittish when it is just me and one of my kids. Lions, tigers and bears, you know. No cell phone from that site. If you need medical help in less than 4 hours you had better have a SPOT unit and access to a helicopter. Good and bad to the seclusion I guess.
The first beam took us 3 hours to build. The second beam we roughed-in in 45 minutes. They sure feel stout.
This look like a floor to you? Me neither. I'll know for sure in two days.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0360.jpg)
Sad thing is that after a year of work, and hopefully this weekend, I will still only have the bottom 12" of my cabin done.
Quote from: NM_Shooter on July 17, 2009, 07:30:41 PM
Sad thing is that after a year of work, and hopefully this weekend, I will still only have the bottom 12" of my cabin done.
Give yourself a break. We've been working hard for three years and just got the foundation holes dug on Wednesday. You're building some incredible memories with those wonderful girls. It's not a race.
I second the motion; give yourself a break. I am bearing down on 3 years since buying the farm and the foundation is still not done. d*
Well, what do you know. There actually was a floor in that pile of parts. One thing for sure.... I would have a very short career as a professional estimator. The stuff I think will take a long time doesn't, and the stuff I think will be a piece of cake takes a long time.
We got up to the ranch around 9:30 Saturday, and I had a pro dirt-work guy with me to give us an estimate on road work. So that took almost 3 hours to give him a look and to get him down off the mountain. We didn't start until 12:30 with getting boards set. Got the joists and rim joists on, with simpson clips when a nasty storm hit. Electrical, hail, and wind. We decided to button up and call it an early day. But got a lot done in 3 hours. This below picture was taken Sunday morning. Still needed to put the blocking in.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0366.jpg)
I thought that the blocking and decking would be done in about two hours, then another hour to tarp the thing off.
Wrong.
We started at 9 today, and quit at three. We were beat.
Sarah is the official worksite snackmaster. Here she is taking a break.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0367.jpg)
Here is a picture of a trusting and dumb Bohemian getting under a deadfall trap to put some glue down.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0370.jpg)
Sarah is a Godsend on this site. She is either working, asking for something to do, or making me something to eat or drink. Here she is filling in the field for me:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0382.jpg)
Tarping the deck after it was done was a bit of a chore. The wind really picked up (note Sarah's hair in the previous picture) and we were battling a 25mph wind trying to get a 20X30 tarp in place and tied down. I am hoping that this tarp at least stays close to the ranch. I won't be able to do any additional work for a month.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0389.jpg)
So that's it. We're sunburned, tired, and sore.
Oh yeah...we goofed off for an hour after work today and caught a bunch of fish :-)
What a nice team you two make. :)
And a nice project which is looking good.
Thanks... having her on site makes for a fun day. And a lot less swearing :D
Went to Lowes today at lunch and found a big pile of Advantex flooring d*
-f-
What a beautiful daughter & view! Thats cool you are teaching her to use power tools.. Some of my best memories is 'working with my dad', even if it was just handing him the tools :)
Can I ask you what size lumber did you use for your beams? Is that 2 boards and plywood?
You should build a raft for that pond, to float around on after a hard days work..... ;)
Thanks.. she is a gem. Her older sister is comfortable with power tools too. They are safe operators.
The beams are 3 pcs of 2X10 with OSB spacers, all glued together with polyurethane glue, spiked with 60 d nails, and a whole lot of 16d nails too. Joints were placed on top of piers.
My kids are way ahead of you. They want a raft, and they want a treehouse. I told them to build whatever they want.
I'm jealous, I want a tree house!!! [cool]
(https://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu314/secordpd/7330499_55a3551dda_o.jpg)
Did you use some material between the pt wood and the brackets, I can't quite make out what it looks like. I thought the Simpson brackets were made to use with pt wood, the zmax ones anyways? Am I wrong for thinking that way, or did you do that as an extra protection?
Hope I'm not pestering you, just getting ready to do my posts and beams tomorrow and don't want to say 'shoulda woulda coulda'
Thanx Helen
Between the beams and the clips I put in some thick rubber lining... the kind that is used to build shower pans. You can buy it at Lowe's or HD.
The simpson clips that I bought and installed were not the ZMAX rated plating. It was the lower plating level. I didn't realize that there were different plating levels, and these were the only ones that Home Depot had in stock. I thought that this would be cheap insurance. On two of the beam connections the fit was tighter than I liked, but it is what it is!
On my last visit up, I mentioned I took a guy up to look at roadwork and culverts and etc. Since he is going to have equipment on site, I am also hiring him to do some work for me.
1) Dig my outhouse pit. 3' x 3' by at least 3' deep. He said he could go a lot deeper than that :)
2) He is going to put in a grey water leach field for me. I will have an indoor shower and sink, and I didn't want to run the water on the ground since we have so many streams right around the cabin site. He told me to buy 4 packages of the EZ-Flow plus some 4" feeder PVC. 4 packs seems like a lot of drainage for short showers and a sink!
He told me that he'd do the above for $200 if I supplied the materials. Seems like a complete steal. Wish he was around last year to dig my piers.
Quote from: NM_Shooter on July 22, 2009, 09:17:24 AM
1) Dig my outhouse pit. 3' x 3' by at least 3' deep. He said he could go a lot deeper than that :)
Have him go 5 feet deep. Your crap spends a lot of the year frozen and preserved up there.
No work today. Dropped off 2000lbs of 4X8 adn 4X9 OSB, 4 packs of EZ-Flow and three 20' long 4" PVC sticks. Managed to forget to pull the couplings out of my car d* Luckily there is someone going up next weekend who can take them up for me.
Saw a nice small herd of elk that we spooked when we took a ride to the west side of the ranch, and found a bunch of wild strawberries too. Caught more fish, including two 14" brook trout.
Luckily the tarp was still tight and in place. Should be good to go for another couple of weeks. I did have my first visitor though. I had a pack rat running around under the tarp. He had not managed to gnaw any holes yet.
In addition to the ton of OSB, I also brought up six pounds of Mossberg. RIP little rat.
Spent the evening tonight laying out plates. Pshew. First time in my life I remembered to take into account the OSB overlap thickness at the corners. Hope all the layout is right. If not I'll have to fix it on site.
I plan to frame the walls this weekend but not sheet them. Trailer them up and erect and sheet on site next weekend.
[cool]
Off to Chama this weekend!
My oldest daughter looked at my trailer and said "you know you are a hillbilly when your entire house can sit on your trailer".
This is a hefty load for sure. I am going to have to take my time with this one. It is packed full of osb, stick lumber and metal roofing below the walls. Seems like I ought to have more walls on there for a 14X20. Maybe i should count again ;D
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0729.jpg)
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0726.jpg)
Seems to be a stowaway there. Better put her to work. :D
Nice neat package. And it comes with a pop-up helper! :D :D :D
OK... got a lot done, but not as much as I had hoped.
Pulled the trailer up Friday night, and went back down into town for the evening. Back on site Saturday morning, and hit the ground running. Pulled the sections of the walls out and laid them around the perimeter. Within 30 minutes, the first wall was up:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0730.jpg)
After an hour, all were standing..
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0731.jpg)
Lunch break, and it was sheathed and ceiling joists on:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0732.jpg)
Saw a grouse in the woods:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0733.jpg)
And I nice bull that I hope makes it through bow season ;D (Actually two elk in this picture)
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0734.jpg)
Quit for the night... Steaks over the campfire.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0737.jpg)
Deck going on:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0740.jpg)
Windows in, looking from the NW corner:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0745.jpg)
Back towards the door from where the beds will be stacked
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0746.jpg)
View out the window:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0748.jpg)
Got paper on the whole thing, but only got half of the roofing on, and not all of the deck screws before we had to escape due to schedule and weather. I'm hoping that three rows of screws at the bottom, and one row at the top will secure the panels.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0749.jpg)
Pshew. I'm beat. Still have to clean up.
Really, you got all that done in one weekend!?
Holy crap! I'm beat just looking at the pics of all the work you did. [cool]
Man, that's alot of work you accomplished. Looking good.
Chadd
Wow, what great progress. What did you expect to get down beyond that. ???
One question I have. I forget your pier detail, but what prevents racking of the piers or are you planning on some type of bracing?
Nice job !!!!!!!!!! You got alot done in a short amount of time.....
Quote from: poppy on August 24, 2009, 11:00:58 AM
Wow, what great progress. What did you expect to get down beyond that. ???
One question I have. I forget your pier detail, but what prevents racking of the piers or are you planning on some type of bracing?
I am a little concerned about the piers racking on the high side. They go into the ground about 30", and each has 4 bags or more of concrete on the outside of the blocks. I am thinking about bracing them on the outside (not pier to pier)to protect against racking. I will monitor closely for awhile!
Wow, Frank! Great progress.
Is that roofing metal the same color as mine?
As for the piers I think you could install some haevy angle or channel steel diagonal X braces between adjacent sets of piers. Or some PT 2x bracing. You'd have to drill into the blocks and concrete fill but that would be insurance.
It rained on me Sunday afternoon and evening too. :(
Quote from: MountainDon on August 24, 2009, 09:50:11 PM
Is that roofing metal the same color as mine?
As for the piers I think you could install some haevy angle or channel steel diagonal X braces between adjacent sets of piers. Or some PT 2x bracing. You'd have to drill into the blocks and concrete fill but that would be insurance.
Maybe... dark green from Crego roofing. I screwed up on the drip edge trim profile though and will have to work around it.
I like your idea about bracing with angle iron. Good thing about bracing is that if you install it early, it does not have to be as hefty as if you wait to repair. Maybe I can brace pier to pier along the long side (probably get by with just a couple a side). I don't want to drill into the piers. I may brace from the beams directly into a concrete plug in the ground at the base of the soil. More digging. d*
I'd like to find a way to brace it laterally on the outside (to keep the crawlspace usable). I'm thinking of bracing with 2" tubing on the uphill side into the ground to keep it from shifting. Hmmmmm......
I'm happy with the stiffness of the floor and the overall structure. Here's hoping for more progress soon!
Heading back up this weekend with my build crew. On the list:
finish soffits
finish roofing
siding on / trim installed
door installed
stretch goal : chimney
Next weekend will be insulation and wire across the bottom of the floor, and insulation in the cabin itself. Maybe take some measurements for bracing.
I told Don I am experiencing cabin burnout. I have not been at my house on a weekend all summer.
Off to Home Depot tonight to try and find everything I need. Somebody light a candle for me.
Okay... siding on and roof done. Still need to caulk and paint, but may leave the Hardi Plank in primer only through the winter. Insulation and wire bottom this coming weekend, and maybe pier braces too. Getting cold at night already. Didn't pause to take many pictures this time.
Making the decision to bring a small crew of pros to help me work was the best decision I've made. It cost me ~$2500 for two weekends of work from them, but man...... we got a lot done!
Siding going on:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0757.jpg)
One of the big challenges for me on this project has been working around mistakes either in planning or in materials, or measurements or whatever. The one that is going to bug me for a long time is this one... I framed for a 36" door, but I only brought a 32" door with me. Grrrrrr. Then I forgot the door flashing too.
We made it work, but now I won't be able to get a 32" shower unit in through the door. I'll be bringing in a pan and wall sections. Note the fancy front porch.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0758.jpg)
Still... happiness prevailed when a lockable door was in place.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0764.jpg)
East side of cabin... done roof and siding!
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0765.jpg)
View of my shack from across the dam:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0767.jpg)
After I get the last bit of weather proofing and critter proofing done I can slow down. Hard to believe this has taken well over a year for something the size of a shed! No electrical or plumbing either.
Looking nice, Frank.
There are now some paints that can be applied when temperatures are expected to drop as low as 35 F instead of the norm of about 50 F. Hardie says it should be painted within 90 days, I think. ??? That 12 inch wide goes fast with a roller, once the edges are brushed.
I came back for another look. :D
I like the porch. It reminds me of mine. I guess I had the deluxe version, two log sections plus some 2x10 for a step up.
Too bad about the door. :(
How cold is a cold night right now? I know you're 10,000 plus. Just what exactly? I had 50 degrees Sat and Sunday nights, but I guess I got enough insulation in as the temp inside didn't drop below 68 (windows closed).
You all did very well! Looks like you can sort of relax a little now. Most of the pressure is now off and you can start look forward to some fall activities.
When can you start to expect snow at 10,000 around there? (Other that anytime it decides to!) I mean the kind that is going to be there till say next spring.
Quote from: rick91351 on September 01, 2009, 12:38:36 AM
you can start look forward to some fall activities.
Bow season starts Wed.
Cold to me is freezing or below. I woke up Saturday morning to frost! My toes and head were cold most of the night when I was in the back of my camper.
I got snowed on Oct 5 last year. Snow stays in the shady spots in early November. Stays put all over around Thanksgiving. Sort of depends on the fronts that move through, but you can be sure of snow on the ground by mid December. Tricky part is that the road in goes through dark woods and that stuff gets icy and snowy fast, and you can get stuck in pretty quick. If it starts snowing, I need to be heading out.
No bow hunting for me this year... maybe next year! I have a bull tag for me and a cow tag for my guest. I'm 80% sure he will fill his tag. I have not decided what my lower limit is on horns this year. I'll probably hold out for at least a 5x5 for the first 3 days and will consider less the last day and a half. There are at least two very nice bulls on the property now, and there are a few on the ranch to the West that will probably seek refuge on our place once the pressure starts.... we have less hunters.
I'm slowly learning the property, and have three hotspots picked out. This one was taken from one of the wallows in 2005 that is 1/2 mile from my cabin. My goal is to one day shoot one of these from the window in my outhouse :-)
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/HuntingEddie-S.jpg)
Nice,
They won't hardy let you shoot bulls like that here. Much of our areas are antlerless or spike only.
Your due a break! You sure made short work of your cabin. :o
Quote from: diyfrank on September 01, 2009, 10:40:54 PM
Nice,
They won't hardy let you shoot bulls like that here. Much of our areas are antlerless or spike only.
Your due a break! You sure made short work of your cabin. :o
I cheated. 3 pros, hired for 3 days. They worked their tails off too. Best $2600 I spent. Just figuring out how to do the soffits was worth it :-)
It is far from perfect, and more yet to do!
Ouch... i am a hurting puppy.
Went up yesterday a.m., insulated the inside and set up a temp location for the furnace. At least I'll have heat for elk season. It was luxurious having a thermostat control the temperature!
Insulated the floor today and stretched wire across the bottom. Whacked one of my spine bones on a protruding 2X4 corner. Right in the small of my back. I am not looking forward to how that is going to feel tomorrow!
Pix posted tomorrow assuming I can walk to my office :D
Well, Shooter, we certainly hope you are feeling better tomorrow - you know how we like pictures heh
Talk about moving fast! Great progress - looks nice :)
Terrific project! Thanks for sharing the progress. BEAUTIFUL location. Anywhere with Elk = Heaven
thought I was going to get rained out, but made a last minute call to go up anyway. Packed until 11 on Friday and drafted one of my kids to come up and help. We didn't get to the ranch until almost 1pm, but started working as soon as we hit the ground.
On the way in, we cross the Cumbres / Toltec rail line, and the train met us at the crossing:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0785.jpg)
This is the major revenue source for Chama.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0786.jpg)
This is what happens when you are one strip shy of some insulation for the ceiling joists. Gotta have some duct tape in there somewhere!
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0788.jpg)
I get by with a little (lot) of help of one of the neighbors:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0790.jpg)
What do you do when your nose itches, and your dad tapes your gloves to your sleeve?
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0789.jpg)
Not very fancy, but very cozy!
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0791.jpg)
Temporary installation of furnace. What a luxury!
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0792.jpg)
Installing the regulator and furnace in the rain. Not much time for secure mounting. I'll tighten that up next trip with a bracket to the wall. Note the regulation cover on the furnace vent to keep bugs out.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0794.jpg)
This job was nothing less than a complete b!^@#. Less than optimum with the paper facing down, and slits in the paper to vent. Oh well. Not the first compromise on this job. At least the floor is wired and insulated. Bet that the porcupines enjoy that osb this winter.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0793.jpg)
Still left before my last trip of the year.... one coat of paint on the cabin, and a cross brace for the high side.
Well, got the cabin caulked and painted. No way is this going to be the final color though... dang, I am bad with picking out paint chips. I won't even post a picture of it until I get another coat of paint on. My wife says it looks like a light colored mocha. My kids think it looks like a barbie doll with a little bit of a tan ;D
I was trying to get it to match the darker color of the soil. Will have to try again next year. At least it has some shade from the paint and Mr. Hardi's 90 day limit of bare exposure was not exceeded.
Figured out how to best use the monster heater in there. Leave the temp set at 55 for sleeping is perfect. Any higher and the darn thing overshoots as the heat exchanger is cooling down.
I'm becoming more convinced I don't want a wood stove. That box heats up fast, even when we are just cooking.
Going hunting soon!
-f-
You've really made some great progress! Looking good. I just caught the pictures of the train - very [cool] I miss a lot of postings & pictures when I'm away at work... gotta go back to the valley in a couple hours, in fact. Better get off this computer d*
Quote from: NM_Shooter on September 25, 2009, 09:30:45 AM
I'm becoming more convinced I don't want a wood stove. That box heats up fast, even when we are just cooking.
I've found that an oil lamp can raise the temp in our cabin a degree or two in an hour or so. Plus the range pilot lights act as a small heater.
G/L on the hunt
That underfloor area looks good to me!
Hope the critters get well fed this Fall. The lumber will likely come through fine.
Frank on the color this is what I used. I went to Lowes and PU some of the sample swatches that the companies display with their products. I stapled the ones that I had narrowed it down to (2-3 about 2ft apart)) to the siding (in my case the logs). Then I stepped back several few feet (20-40) and then viewed my selections. You can get a better idea if you step away some distance. Most people don't look at the color within a few feet so why should you. Just my $.02 worth.
Went up to my cabin to button up for the winter this weekend. The road in was nasty. The best parts were in the shade and covered with 12" of snow. The rest was very, very, very wet and muddy. I only have street tires on my 4X4, and it was a challenge to stay on the road in places.
I would have turned around if this had been a "fun" trip, but as it was, I needed to pick up my solar panel, batteries, and get the windows boarded up so we went in.
The RV furnace worked great. Kept us just right all night, even though it did come on much more frequently. My recording thermometer said the overnight low was 18 deg F.
It blew all day Saturday, and calmed down for the night. My little one and I made a campfire after dinner and roasted smores...
Sarah took this picture before I came out.. a little fuzzy but not bad for a handheld night shot!:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0971.jpg)
We took this one before getting serious about toasting marshmallows. Clear night, and the stars were fantastic once the moon went over the horizon. With no wind it was not cold out at all!
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0981.jpg)
Okay... so you have to see this. I am hoping that photobucket trims down the size a bit, as it is a lengthy video. If not, I'll try to find a way to post a more compressed version. The Grey Jays were hungry... The rest of the weekend they were dive bombing us looking for a handout.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/th_MVI_0955.jpg) (https://s133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/?action=view¤t=MVI_0955.flv)
The fishing was great. Caught a ton on slow retrieve woolly buggers. More snow on us on the way out; if that storm had come in the night before we could have been in some trouble.
Great pictures and a nice project.
You have a short building season at that altitude... but a fantastic site. :D
It's sort of sad knowing it's going to be months beore easy access comes again.
I love both the full moon nights in the Jemez and the moonless nights. We can wander around in the dark under a full moon. On moonless nights with clear skies the stars are so amazing away from civilizations lights.
Thanks for the kind words. I'm bummed that we are done with it for the year!
My tree cam quit working. I don't know if it is the camera or the controller board >:(
The snow comes and goes for a short while, then really sticks in about a month! If I can get my camera working I may brave a day trip in during the first weekend in November.
I'm having trouble with my F250 at altitude and cold. It just darn near does not start...not a good thing when you are at least a day's walk from the road. I'm hoping it is something as simple as a glow plug relay or glow plugs. Next trip up will be in the 4-Runner unless I get this figured out.
I could also use a mop on the floor of the cabin before my wife sees it ;D
P.S. You know what is a bit odd? It takes some work to keep a campfire started / going up there. Without a breeze to fan the flames, it wants to die down unless you keep it drafted. I guess it must be because of the thin air? ???
NW Shooter,
I've been checking out your progress and it looks great. You have a beautiful cabin with a beautiful area as well.
Is that hardware cloth on the underside of your cabin?
I want to do the same thing to mine over by Quemado, NM.
Keep up the good work and I look forward to keeping an eye on your progress in the spring.
Frank my 250 as well since it turned cold. I checked on the gloplugs and they are about $40 each X 8 = :(. The my mechanic said it could also be the harness that connects them. Seems they had a little trouble with them. I will have to get it checked out when I get some other stuff out of the way. For now I am plugging mine in on cold nights.
The fire. Maybe the wood is a little green. Not that you can tell by looking but if it is hardwood it needs at least 18 months to dry out.
Quote from: NM_Shooter on October 26, 2009, 09:19:25 AM
P.S. You know what is a bit odd? It takes some work to keep a campfire started / going up there. Without a breeze to fan the flames, it wants to die down unless you keep it drafted. I guess it must be because of the thin air? ???
Using the internal combustion engine power loss at altitude as a model you may be onto something. At 10,000 feet the non-supercharged engine has about 30% less power than at sea level, all due to less dense air and less oxygen.
Quote from: JRanch on October 26, 2009, 09:46:00 AM
Is that hardware cloth on the underside of your cabin?
I want to do the same thing to mine over by Quemado, NM.
Yup! We have a huge problem with both rodents and porcupines (are they rodents?) I built my floor, put a tarp over it, and within a very short while had a pack rat inside.
Let me know if you make it over to ABQ sometime..... I'll grab Mtn Don and see if we can meet you for lunch somewhere.
Quote from: MountainDon on October 26, 2009, 10:48:25 AM
Quote from: NM_Shooter on October 26, 2009, 09:19:25 AM
P.S. You know what is a bit odd? It takes some work to keep a campfire started / going up there. Without a breeze to fan the flames, it wants to die down unless you keep it drafted. I guess it must be because of the thin air? ???
Using the internal combustion engine power loss at altitude as a model you may be onto something. At 10,000 feet the non-supercharged engine has about 30% less power than at sea level, all due to less dense air and less oxygen.
I easily have 30% less power myself :). Even the very dry pine that I have up there is a challenge to get going. You really have to have a lot of small stuff with lots of surface area to get a good blaze going.
I noticed the fire thing last year when I was trying to get a fire going in a neighbor's woodstove. I've laid maybe 5 or 6 campfires up there this year and have had the same problem every time.
At 5000 feet my oldest daughter can make a fire with flint and steel within a minute or two. She has been unable to duplicate that feat above 9k feet of elevation. I wonder what the oxygen density differences are?
O2 is approximately 21% of the atmosphere, regardless of altitude from what I recall. 3% loss per 1000 feet is the rule of thumb for naturally aspirated engines. So at 10,000 feet you have 30% less O2 to breath or support a fire.
That's the reason why my stove performs better in start up with the "supercharger" activated I suppose.
I have found that dry pine needles makes the best tinder to get a fire going, better than newspaper. I have a 20 gallon barrel of them safely set aside.
On the other hand the chiminea with its straight stack of pipe going up past gazebo peak height burns like a champ. It's got a clear stack from firebox to chimney cap, no baffles, no smoke chambers or convoluted paths like a modern wood stove.
Excellent location and dwelling! Are you diggin a well? At what depth do you expect to hit aqua?
Also, you have outdoor bathroom-yes? Did I read you will be off grid because of the remoteness?
My property is a treed lot at 10K ft- with snow as well so I am reading your posts with enthusiasm.
Again, congrats on the build so far.
Thanks... no well. I have a spring that is 300' away and 15' uphill. I could pipe in some water if I could keep the cattle off of it. One of the other neighbors has a wonderful spring right behind his cabin (the bolt-together cabin). It must flow over 100 gallons per minute year round. We go there for drinking water.
Yes, an outhouse. I made the mistake of having a backhoe dig it while I was not there. It turned out to be on top of a shale pile, and the hole he dug for me is 6 or 7 feet deep, 6'wide and 6'long. I will have the only outhouse with a deck, just to keep the potty on top. Should be good for 100 years though.
If I were to dig a well, I would be in water at about 30', probably less. The stream from the above mentioned spring runs behind my cabin where it turnes into a mosquito marsh. We have 30 to 50 springs on the property that flow year round. Elk wallow in quite a few of them, and in some spots the grass grows over the top and when you walk on the ground you can see waves. It is a bit surreal.
Way off grid. Closest power lines are 8 miles away. We can go to our west ridge and get cell service though, which is nice to be able to call home to check in.
Frank sounds like you have the making of a two hole'r on the privy. Is it too rough to bury the spring/water line or is the spring on someone elses property? You could even bottle water and retire. ;D
More like a four holer. Sure is nice to have water might want to put in a cistren to keep it clean and away from the wild life.
I bet it is cold up there now
Nice place,W
Quote from: Redoverfarm on December 19, 2009, 06:30:38 AM
Frank sounds like you have the making of a two hole'r on the privy. Is it too rough to bury the spring/water line or is the spring on someone elses property? You could even bottle water and retire. ;D
A two holer? I'm not that social ;D
In order to make my spring work, I would have to build a springbox and then fence the spring off to keep the cows and elk out of the what is effectively a mud wallow. I'd need a bunch of gravel, and I'd have to let it clean out for quite awhile. The meadow that the little creek flows through is covered in a good layer of topsoil, so trenching would not be too bad. I may eventually try to figure out a way to do that. Unfortunately, while my cabin is downhill from the spring, there is a small hill between me and the source, so I'm not sure I could completely drain the line in the winter.
Funny you should say that about the bottled water. The water from my neighbors spring is very, very good. Almost ice cold, clear as a bell, and it has an interesting "sweet" taste to it. Here's a picture of his spring :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/TheSpring.jpg)
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors water!
Lots of snow this year... one of the owners was able to get on the property but had to stay on the trails by the river for fear of bogging down in the powder. I have no clue how my cabin is weathering... Here's hoping the roof is still intact!
Cabin fever has set in. I am passing the time by running power and water down to my RV barn and making plans for my pre-fab outhouse.
Quote from: NM_Shooter on February 12, 2010, 02:26:03 PM
Lots of snow this year... one of the owners was able to get on the property but had to stay on the trails by the river for fear of bogging down in the powder. I have no clue how my cabin is weathering... Here's hoping the roof is still intact!
Cabin fever has set in. I am passing the time by running power and water down to my RV barn and making plans for my pre-fab outhouse.
I hear ya! After our last mostly failed trip becuase of several inches of ice, I'm dying to get moving again! It's been since the beginning of December since I've actually gotten any work done and that was not the most productive weekend either :(
But next weekend we're going out WITH CHAINS and plan to get the door on and maybe work on the gabled end wall.
Then in March I'm planning a week at the cabin :D I can't wait!!
The guy with the bolt together house went in on sleds and took this picture of my cabin. Can you guess which way the wind blows? ;D
6:12 was not enough pitch to shed snow on the leeward side. Hope it's all standing in the spring! Good news is that the snow is not up past the walls..... something to be said for building on stilts I guess.
BTW... let's just call that color "primer".
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/FranksCabin.jpg)
Nice Pink house Frank. ;D I would say the majority of the snow on the back was just blown off the front and after clearing the ridge it just settled on on the other side. Went up on a mountain today outside of town to go to the barber. Yes country barber. Anyway the snow had drifted and laid wellover the top of my truck along the narrow road. Just one vehicle wide for 1/2 mile stretch about 12' tall. Thank goodness I didn't meet anyone as it was a long backup to find room to get by.
Looks like you forgot to lube the roof. ;)
Quote from: poppy on February 19, 2010, 08:07:42 PM
Looks like you forgot to lube the roof. ;)
Next fall spray that side with PAM. :o It works! I had an aluminum shovel that was real bad for snow sticking to it. PAM did the job; made it slick enough that it didn't stick much at all.
Pam, huh? Might try that. Will have to remember it is greased before I climb back up there in the spring to rig the solar panel ;D
I've always just been perplexed at how they manage to get her in that little can ???
I would check out Fluid film , it is solvent free , with a natural lanolin base , here in the North East We spray it on a snow plow and the snow just slides right off .
Bob
http://www.fluid-film.com/
http://www.fluid-film.com/applications/home/index.html
Hmmm... Location, location, location.
This is my neighbor who is 1/2 mile to the S of me. He is on the leeward side of a tree covered hill and gets almost none of the wind. The landing that he is standing on is about 3 or 4 feet up from the ground :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/0306001134.jpg)
Same weekend..... no snow on my roof (he said the other side was clear as well) :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/0306001229.jpg)
A benefit to being in the wind is that my snow blows off the roof, and the mosquitos have a hard time getting any traction in the summer ;D
Downside of being in the wind, is that, well, it is always blowing like crazy there. I still need to build my windmill.
Very interesting - the photos tell it all!
Lots of snow on the lee side. :D
Oh man, I'm getting twitchy and itchy to get started. I think this is going to be an April tradition for me.
Plans and priorities for this year :
Entry porch
Wiring and plumbing
Sheet rock
Flooring
Beds
Cabinets / counter /sink
Outhouse
Mechanical shed (propane, batteries, water)
2011 : guest bunkhouse
I wish I could start building some of the outhouse / beds / mechanical shed and cart them up there in sections. Unfortunately, so much of this is build-to-fit that cutting and building here could be a recipe for disaster.
You might be able to work out a modular outhouse. Then all you'd have to build to suit the site would be the foundation and perch it on top.
???
Unfortunately (fortunately?) the outhouse is going to be huge to cover the hole. I'm going to go with an 8X8 base, and a little house on top. Probably make the wall height 6' with a 6:12 pitch. I'll use it as a storage closet for stuff that I don't mind getting a bit, ummm... aromatic (mop, bucket, broom, spare propane, whatever). Room for a handwashing sink too. Maybe you are right... I can probably get that framed up here, much like the walls for the cabin.
I can probably pre-cut the porch deck surface too, maybe pre-drill it as well.
Hmmmmm.......
://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/0306001229.jpg
OK that picture just looks strange! I guess all the white snow with the colors of the cabin make it look photo-shopped into the scene! haha ???
But I digress! Isn't it awesome? TO have these projects and get the kind of ichy feet it takes to drive out there and work like crazy? hahaha I find myself sitting and pondering my next project out there and can't wait.
I wish I were rich and didn't have to work at all, then I'd have LOTS of time to work on the cabin :D
I've seen some out houses that the state sets up in the national forest around here that have a huge hole and much smaller house over it. The entire hole is covered and has a large vent pipe coming up from one half and the crapper sits over the rest. Maybe a big hole and small house would be a better way to go. ??
I thought about that... but most of the state houses have concrete bases. I have to have wood, and will need weather protection over it. ???
Getting close to my first trip up for the year and getting excited!
Picked up my 190W solar panel today ($460, affordable-solar.com) and my Morningstar 15A MPPT charge controller. The panel is much bigger and heavier than I had hoped. But I think it was the right thing to do.... I was considering a 100W panel, but they were all darn near $500. The 135W panel was $417. I figured to spend the extra $43 for another 55W. Now I need to get my mounting method figured out.
I've also been working on my new furnace for a couple of weeks now. One of the bargain steals I bought, was a 16kbtu RV forced air furnace for $10 or $15... I can't remember. Probably above in the thread somewhere. Anyway, the thing would not fire. I took it apart and found that the relay that controls the gas solenoid was bad... looks like it was crushed during assemby, and probably never worked. Probably why the furnace looks new. I swapped out the relay today, reassembled, and it works just fine now. The furnace that I have temporarily rigged up there is a 25kbtu furnace, and is just too much. By the time the heat exchanger cools off the cabin is much too warm. I'm hoping this little one will work much better.
My cheap gas used RV water heater fires right up too. I may follow Mtn Don's lead and just leave the pilot on the tank all day to keep the water warm. Maybe hit the main burner in the evening if more than a couple of folks need a shower.
I'm also copying his black pipe for gas distribution, running copper into the cabin only where needed, and keeping most of the connections out of the cabin.
You can use the 25K furnace to melt the snow that's still laying about... rofl rofl rofl
....sorry.... couldn't resist. I hope you have good weather so you can get your planned jobs done.
Yeah... I'll bumper mount that thing next to my winch!
Made my first trip in for 2010! Roads were in pretty good shape. Actually much drier than I thought it would be. Planned was to get the front porch built, get the solar panel on the roof, and start roughing in the wiring and plumbing, and get the ceiling started. Pretty good list for 10 hours of work. Plans seem to change really fast these days :D
I was relieved to find that the cabin was dry, uncrushed by snow, and critter-proof. As a bonus, the porcupines left the handles on my wheelbarrow alone.
I decided not to mount my big panel to the roof for a couple of reasons. First, turns out my cabin roof does not have a true south facing exposure. It is much more SW than I thought. I don't get sun on the roof I was going to mount it on until 10:30 or so. Second, I'm still a bit spooked about leaving a $500+ chunk of hardware out in the open. I've decided to put up a pole mount behind the cabin, and make it easy to put the panel up / down when I arrive. I'll mount a cheaper 20W panel to the roof of the cabin to use as a trickle charger when I'm not at the cabin. (Don, I may be begging for pix of your panel rack).
We still got a lot done. My crew is eager to help, even though it might take them awhile to drive a nail ;D Eventually there will be a longer deck running the length of the south side of the cabin facing the pond. But we needed a dry spot to take off boots.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0102.jpg)
Here they are getting the deck down. I know what this looks like. I do the hard work. Really.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0104.jpg)
Here is the decking done. Handrail for the right side, suicide drop on the right until the porch is done. Note the de-lux stairs for now
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMAG0015.jpg)
In the evening, we saw a small group of bull elk in the meadow grazing. We were able to get within about 80 yards and took some pictures before they spooked.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0108.jpg)
We then drove to the ridge, made a phone call home, and saw two more bull elk, including an absolute monster. Came back down from the ridge, and saw a herd of cow elk in the meadow.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0180.jpg)
On the drive out, we spotted this guy. First pronghorn I've seen up there :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0213-1.jpg)
We did get most of the rough in for the electrical and the plumbing done, and we got all of the ceiling sheetrock hung. I need to go back and sink some additional screws, but we got it up. I'm celebrating by having a bowl of ibuprofen for breakfast today.
Fishing was just OK, as I didn't have a chance to figure out what was going on. On Saturday night the pond was absolutely boiling, but I could not catch more than a couple. I tried everything... Adams, caddis, dead chickens... I had no BWOs, I suspect they were eating mosquitoes but don't know for sure. We caught some on green buggers the next day that looked fat and healthy. Didn't take any home, so I won't know what they were eating.
Had some scary excitement on the way out. My truck would not start. Crank and crank and nothing but lots of blue diesel smoke. My glow plug relay was pulling in, but I need to see if the glow plugs are shot. Maybe the injectors are bad. Anyway, I thought there was a good chance we were going to have to spend the night. I hooked up the generator to the block heater, my 190W panel directly to one of the batteries to try and get some sort of charge on the things, and after letting it sit for 1.5 hours the started up. I gotta get that figured out. We are a 1.5 mile hike to cell service from our cabin.
Yer killin' me Frank! The place looks awesome!
I'm getting to a dangerous stage. I am bringing more and more stuff into the cabin before it is done. It is going to be a pain to paint it, as I will have to move everything to the center and put a drop cloth over it! I brought an old queen mattress up for my wife and me to sleep on... pure luxury. But a pain to move.
Excellent! Looking great and I hear ya on the extra stuff! We're bringing more and more and more all the time.
I'm going to be installing solar power soon myself but plan to lock it up like Don has and have the panels WELL secured to the pole. I may even try to put the pole up fairly high but for now it will be raised wood mounting until I can afford a pole...luckily my neighbor drives by our driveway twice a day 6 days a week and notices if anyone has been by....
I'm enjoying your progress Shooter. Nice job.
So, YOU do all the hard work, huh? [waiting]
Whatever helps you sleep at night. The pics tell a different story ;D
Excellent job so far. It looks great. Really great.
About those "de-lux" stairs - are they code approved? ;D Hahahaha!!!
We moved 'stuff' around inside our cabin more than I care to remember. But in the end it was worth being able to sleep inside in more comfort than outside or wherever.
Bringing in another load of sheet rock for the walls this weekend (if the weather doesn't keep me off the mountain). I'd like to get the plumbing rough in finished, the walls up, and a coat of primer on the whole mess.
I may even install some store-bought stairs for the entry! Yee ha!
Oh please don't tell me you are going to replace the red neck chair stair!!! Say it is not so!
Another good weekend of work this last weekend. Luckily almost everything I had to do was inside work, so I was able to even work after dark by using my lantern. I finished the little bit of electrical and plumbing rough in. I hung the sheet rock on the walls, and got a coat of primer on them. No... I am not going to tape the joints or corners or texture. I am going to put battens over the seams and be done with it! Corner and crown "molding" too.
Here is a picture of the master bedroom. There will be queen sized bunk beds in that corner.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0564.jpg)
It's a bit of a long walk to the kitchen area, but this is what I am currently using until I can get the cabinets in..(first time I've mopped the floor in two years). You don't want to know what the mop bucket looked like!)
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0562.jpg)
When I drove up, from a distance I was shocked to see that my neighbor's cows were in our pasture. Nope. Turns out they weren't cattle.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0508.jpg)
Here's a picture from the west end of the pond pasture:
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0523.jpg)
This is the scepter with which I rule my kingdom (at least until my wife tells me I have to come inside. Then I gotta go.)
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/scepter.jpg)
At night the trout feed on the evening hatch, and they like midges. This was a small one, they grow to 16" or so in the pond. :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0530.jpg)
I took pictures of these guys from my new porch. They were across the pond :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0551.jpg)
The drive home is beautiful too. This near the Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0574.jpg)
Saw this rainstorm over Espanola. It was to the SE, but the sunset was illuminating it. Yeah, I just sort of hung the camera out the window and took the picture. I stayed on my side of the road. Mostly.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0576.jpg)
Whoops... I almost forgot. I have store bought stairs now!!!! (Sorry Rick!)
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0567.jpg)
Nice pix and looking great, Frank. Thx.
Beautiful area! Were those elk or deer? What a huge herd :o Looks like you're pretty comfy now in your cabin - looks good & hey, the battens & crown molding will look good! Bet you hated to leave...
Elk in that herd, mostly cows and calves. I don't know why, but the bulls tend to group up by themselves or be loners, even when off-rut. We have a very small deer population. Elk and deer don't seem to co-mingle much. Weird.
I wish I could go up there to just hang out. I feel pressured to get as much done as possible when I go there, so I tend to work myself into a soggy heap, and then race home. I wish it were not such a long drive from my house, and that materials were not so hard to get up there.
Man what I would give to be able to fish from my front yard!
I love the southwest but I have to work to get to a good fishing hole in my area.
Great photos!
Man, I'm exhausted. Another high speed, work my butt off trip. I think I got altitude sickness this time to boot.
Started out with my community work day on the ranch. We have an old abandoned cabin that is structurally sound, but pack rats got into it. We needed to reclaim the cabin so that loggers can use it when they start work. I was the only one on the advance team d* who went in to do the cleanup. Literally pounds and pounds of rat feces in there. I patched the entrance holes, and bagged and tossed everything in the cabin. Swept, vacuumed, and bleached the whole place. It is close to usable.
I wore a canister breather and don't think I got all the air I needed. I finished up, then went to my cabin and painted and put down a vinyl floor, and realized I had a splitting headache and was nauseous. Still took time to catch a 15" brown trout, was not feeling better, so I drove home.
I'm taking a break for a week or two.
your pics are great! what a neat place to build.. we also have moved a lot of stuff into our house, and we are working around it.. there are moments when i wish that the house was empty, but we enjoy some of the comforts of home and the ability to spend weekends out there.. looks like you are doing a great job...
Thanks...
I went a little out of order on my plan. I now have the floor down, which is good, as it will be easier to keep clean. I'm setting the kitchen cabinets next, and then will build the bunk beds. Or I may do the bunk beds first, as that is a fixed dimension that I have to work with.
I really need to figure out how to install my RV heater too. October is coming fast!
Taking a bath outside at night in 48 degree weather with a breeze is getting old. Maybe I should at least install my shower stall and drain soon and at least be able to rinse off with a bucket of water inside.
So much to do, so little time!
Good progress Frank, especially considering the distance between home and there.
Are you still thinking of placing the RV furnace in the attic space? How about under the built in bed frame?
I wish I had a good way of running insulated ducts under the floor! I'd have to wrap them in wire though. I'd sure like to have the warm air coming out from the floor.
The plan now is to build the heater in the attic, and frame it up in a little box that will make the cold air return through the ceiling. I'm going to run two 6" insulated ducts to the far side of the cabin and drop them down through the ceiling.
Elk season is fast approaching. My new priority list :
Bunk beds
Cabinets
Heater
I think I can get the bed and cabinets set in a weekend, then get the heater set up and plumbed with gas in another weekend.
I love having the floor covered with a smooth surface that I can sweep and mop. Looks pretty good too.
Quote from: NM_Shooter on July 26, 2010, 10:49:41 AM
Taking a bath outside at night in 48 degree weather with a breeze is getting old. Maybe I should at least install my shower stall and drain soon and at least be able to rinse off with a bucket of water inside.
So much to do, so little time!
Nice work Frank- your place is looking great.
Ever see one of these shower units? Sure makes bath time comfortable. Great for a temporary set up until you get things up and running. I sleep way better if I can get the days grime off me before hitting the sack. The tank is pressurized so the flow is continuous.
(https://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r158/Skagitdrifter/DSC06336.jpg)
Yeah! What a great invention. One of my neighbors has one. I have not bought one, because I thought I would have my shower installed and running by now. The temperature outside would not be so bad to bathe in if not for the wind.
Thanks for the compliment. I've been frustrated with my overall lack of progress. Having a 4 hour drive to the property, doing a lot of the work myself, and trying to get work done at 10k feet I just don't make the progress I'd like. (I get winded just carrying materials from the truck). I desperately want to have a running shower, my solar stuff installed, an outhouse built, and a bunkhouse. I also don't really have a way to store materials up there, so i have to bring them in as I need them. I have the typical American fast food mentality I guess. I really appreciate all the help that my kids have provided. Extra hands beat the heck out of clamps any day of the week.
Once I get the bunks built, I can also bring the shower stall up with me and at least rig it to the drain so that I can wash off in the cabin which will be a BIG improvement.
Wish I had the time to just work for an entire week! Last trip up I got the vinyl floor down, and the color coat on the walls. I didn't have a decent camera, only my cell phone...
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMAG0051.jpg)
Frank I am not real sure how your cold air return will work in the ceiling. Normally they are at floor level because cold air falls and the warmer air stays close to the ceiling. Anyway is there a way to configure your air ducts utilizing the chase that is created with the floor joist cavities. That way you could just staple a piece of hardware cloth from one joist to the other for critter control. Good luck trying to finalize before season.
You guys are right. I need to think about this some more and come up with a better idea. CRap!!!!
NM_Shooter,
There is absolutely nothing wrong with installing a forced air furnace in the attic. I'm in the HVAC trade and we do numerous attic installs every year. Make sure to build a sturdy platform out of plywood to rest the furnace on. Also insulate the ducts and make sure to keep the insulation away from the unit. Make sure the unit has a good source of combustion air.
Shawn
Thanks...
I'm trying to figure out how to get one cold air intake and two heated outlets in the cabin positioned down low. I think I could build one of the ducts into a shelving unit that I am going to use as a wall unit for the shower enclosure. But where to put the other two... Hmmmmmm.....
I could put one running in the corner of the pantry, and have the opening below the pantry door, but it would mean that my pantry would not be walk in. I would have a 1' or so step up into the pantry. Not too bad I guess. Still need a way to get one more down low.
I wanted to put the RV heater unit in the attic to try and keep the noise level down when it was running.
Using a single 12" diameter intake line and two 8" heated air lines, I wonder how much in-line ducting I could run off of my little RV furnace.
Now that I am thinking about it, I may put the return at the bottom of the pantry. I'll frame a chase into the back / bottom of the pantry. I can drop one outlet into the book case end and exhaust at floor level. Or heck, as small as my cabin is, maybe I'll just make it have one outlet in the opposite corner of the cabin at the floor. I'd prefer to have two outlets, but at 14' X20', I can probably make do with just one 12" in, and one 12" out. I may have to have some duct work junctions made though.
Wow... I can't believe summer is over. Four weeks to elk season, and I still have no outhouse. I managed only to get a porch and stair built, sheetrock up and painted, floor down, and now bunk beds built. I get tired working up there pretty easy, and always seem to forget one critical component or tool each trip and have to work around those issues. Still have to get my heater re-installed (this is a must) and would like to get my cabinets set and a counter top on this year. I'm still hoping to start on the outhouse, but winter comes quick. I don't know if that is doable or not.
This was last weekend. The project for that weekend was the bunk beds. They turned out well. Yes, my kid is a ham. Still need to put batten boards over the sheetrock joints. And trim the ceiling and corners. That will be undone for awhile!
Might need a ceiling fan too. She said that the temperature up there was very warm after I ran the stove for a bit. I thought the bottom bunk was just right. It is really nice getting stuff into its permanent position and no longer having to move stuff around to paint walls / put down flooring.
I may make some heavy curtains for around the bunk beds. Doing that will trap body heat in nicely, and we could probably do without heat except for visits very late in the fall and early in the spring.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0619.jpg)
NM, making good headway on your cabin! Looks like home! c*
Quote from: NM_Shooter on August 31, 2010, 11:47:46 AM
I may make some heavy curtains for around the bunk beds. Doing that will trap body heat in nicely, and we could probably do without heat except for visits very late in the fall and early in the spring.
That was the reasoning behind the sleeping quarters in this very old Dutch home.
(https://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q305/djmbucket/Europe2010/NL/P1020485.jpg)
My oldest daughter and I went on a Canada outpost fishing trip 5 years ago. We were the first ones in the cabin for the season....it was mid May.
We had to deal with both mosquitos and wet and very chilly weather. No insulation in the cabin, and only an old woodstove that burned out 2 hours after filling with wood. By the time morning came, it was really cold in the cabin. We only had light fleece sleeping bag liners, and fleece clothes to sleep in. She was getting hammered by mosquitos at night too.
So I pulled some of the mattress covers off of the spare mattresses, and I folded them and stitched them together with a bit of rope to make a tent over her bed. The mosquitos stayed off, and she stayed a lot warmer. Comfortable to sleep through the night. I still froze and got bit, but I didn't really care. It's interesting how just a little fabric trapping air around you can keep you quite a few degrees warmer.
I've been thinking about the guest bunkhouse, and I may loft both beds, just to take advantage of the warmer air being higher.
Just back from BLOK.
Got the gas lines run, and they (seemed) to be holding pressure. I had 15 lbs on it for 2 hours. I noticed a drop to 14 lbs, but that coincided with a very large temperature drop outside. I left it alone, and it held 14 lbs without budging for the next 2 hours. I think it is good. Honestly, I'm not sure I have any joints that could be tightened more while keeping alignment.
Out of "Franks' Little Shop of Horrors", I constructed an intake plenum for my RV heater. Why those things are designed like they are totally confuses me. The darn exhaust from the gas burner sits right next to the unsealed intake for the burner, which shares open space with the cold air intake. I cheated somewhat... I cut off another slip pipe adapter that I have and put it on the burner intake and extended it darn near out to the stainless cover. It's hard to describe in text, but I ran the intake as far out as I could.
The plenum is a plywood box that provides clearance around the RV heater, and seals to the heater with a galvanized flange that I made. No wood is within 1" of the hot side of the heater.
Here is the picture. The 8" takeoff pointing at me is the outflow. The intake is on top. No good way to rig that. I may bring up a couple of elbows on the next trip up.
I ran 8" insulated flex off of both the intake and the output, and they are in opposite corners of the cabin, and will be positioned near the floor. Operation of the heater this past weekend was satisfactory. I did not have the high temperature overshoot that I had with the 25kbtu heater that I previously was using. The temperature in the cabin was uniform as well. The power draw on the batteries was also well within bounds.
I have an MPPT controller on two 12V batteries. While running the furnace, the initial voltage on the batteries during the first run of the night had the batteries right at 12.8V. During a run in the morning after we were up, the batteries were showing 12.7 V. Granted, we are not that cold yet... only in the mid 30's at night and the real test is coming.
So... here is a picture of Audrey III :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0728.jpg)
Next trip up I am bringing my counter top and will be securing the cabinets and the oven, putting in the sink, and running the plumbing for the sink drain and the shower drain.
Beauty, Frank... I like it... [waiting]
Glad to hear you're not going to freeze.
Progress pix from this weekend.
I was sweating getting my shower in through the door. I screwed up when I bought the door for my cabin.. I wanted a 36" door and mistakenly purchased a 32" door. Whoops. I was nervous about trying to get a 32" shower through that 32" door, because of the door jamb....
Lining her up...
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0741.jpg)
Voila! I was able to hook the top around enough to be able to fake it in through the door. The enclosure is 32" wide, but a tad under that from front to back. (Yes, that is frost on the ground outside...)
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0743-1.jpg)
So ... On the list this weekend was to screw together the cabinets, attach the counter, run some pex plumbing, install drains for the sink and the shower to the grey water field. Unfortunately, I forget at least one very important thing each trip, and this trip I forgot the 1/2" Pex elbows d*
But I got everything else done.
However, I won't be posting pictures of the under-cabin drains. Anyone who is a plumber would either be offended or highly amused. Let's just say that it is water-tight and runs downhill and leave it at that.
"Kitchen" area. Gas now hooked up to the stove. Having a sink inside is a nice luxury!
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0759.jpg)
Shower in the corner. Another luxury drain. I was able to rinse off with my bucket inside instead of outside in the mid-30 degree weather. I am getting soft! Note the flex duct from the heater. That is the source of my heat! I'll be boxing that into a shelving unit that holds a dresser as well. Nope.... no battens or crown molding on the sheetrock yet. Maybe next year. I'm still considering trying to make a push to get my outhouse built this year. I am getting tired of hiking to the neighbor's.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/IMG_0760.jpg)
I realized Saturday night that I really like my little shack in the woods. I am very comfortable there. It has everything I need (sans-toilet!) and nothing I don't. There is something to be said about simple living that I think I forgot long ago in developing my nasty, blind, "desire to acquire".
Quote from: NM_ShooterI'm still considering trying to make a push to get my outhouse built this year. I am getting tired of hiking to the neighbor's.
I can see how that could make for some tense walking. rofl d*
Hard to live without a turlet close by. [waiting]
Looks great. I would love to be up there at 10,000ft sitting in that cabin. I'd look forward to it every chance I could get. That being said, you should post the under sink photos! We all aired our laundry on here... ScottA isn't harsh....
I am glad you had some picture updates. I like you thread just for the views :)
Any updates?
Well, 2011, here we are. I'm not even going to put together a plan for this year. Seems like I seriously undershoot each time.
I've already been up three times this year. Once to show the property to a potential buyer (he bought half my ownership! Yeah! My daughter can go to school!), once to start building the Taj Mahal of outhouses, and once to haul some roofing up for one of the other owners who is coming in from out of town.
I'm hoping to get the outhouse done this year, but I am not going to kill myself doing it. I had to get the hole covered up, so there is an 8x8 deck on it now to keep it from catching cows. Some time in July I'll get the walls up. Maybe. The fishing has just been too good. I last went up with my youngest daughter, who has a tendency to outfish me lately, and she caught a 15" brook trout after catching a dozen smaller fish. We found that the hidden pond up in the hills also has very large brook trout in it. I suspect that there are some 17 to 19 inch brook trout in that pond... no kidding. Sarah hooked one but could not land it. Unfortunately, that pond is small, and all the trout were spooked at that point. She is learning to throw a fly line and can already toss a tight loop.
Saw some elk on the last trip up too. We stalked them until we got within about 120 yards and the wind shifted. Then they disappeared.
We also found this little elk stuck in a barb wire fence with her back leg all bound up. Mom and the rest of the herd retreated into the dark woods while we got her unsnagged. Luckily we got to her before the coyotes did. We checked over her leg and hip and she appeared to be sound. It would have been difficult to put something like that down.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/elk1.jpg)
Oddly, I showed this picture to a co-worker, and she was surprised that I helped. She asked me "don't you shoot those and eat them" ? I suspect that some folks just don't understand. Not sure I'm qualified to help them figure it out. But she is an anti-hunter who eats meat, so I suspect I'll never be able to figure her out either. Guess we are even.
Nice one, Frank. I think she likely thinks meat comes from stores.
Frank there is no use trying to explain it to them. There is a line , sometimes it is very thin but that is what seperates the sportsman from all the other hunters.
Good on you Frank!
Anti's will never understand that we outdoorsmen/hunters have a deeper respect and love for the game we hunt than they can ever imagine- and we give back to the resource ten fold what we take.
T
Thumbs up on the elk calf. Hopefully momma and it are reunited. I would imagine they are if the heard was still around.
rlr
With trying to get a kid off to college this summer, and a home bath remodel, my time at BLOK Ranch has been limited....Main project for this year is the outhouse. Normally that should have been the first thing to build, but luckily I have gracious neighbors. Plus the location for my outhouse didn't allow easy digging by hand. I hired a backhoe operator to come do it while he was on the property putting in culverts.
Since the area I wanted the outhouse seemed to be on a shale pile, the hole turned out a tad bigger than I expected. I had hoped for a 3'x3'x3' hole. Nope. Got a hole that was more 5'x6'x5'. Should last awhile, but it made the outhouse construction more involved. I decided to deck over the thing with a 8'x8' deck and create a shed / outhouse. A shouthouse if you will.
First order of business was just to get it covered before the cattle got on the property for the year. Since it was full of snow, I could see a cow falling in this hole. So I build a simple framework, leveled it with a few rocks temporarily, and decked it with advantech.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMAG0173.jpg)
Anybody need some rocks?
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMAG0175.jpg)
I built the outhouse same way I built my cabin... framed up the walls in the garage. I also cut the rafters and brought up stuff ready to assemble. We came up friday night, I leveled and blocked the corners of the deck, and had the walls up and everything but the deck on the roof to complete the framing by Saturday at 3. Here is a picture of my framing crew aloft.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMG_0412.jpg)
I had a left over Talavera sink that had a blemish that had been sitting around. I thought it might be nice to have a sink to wash in. I built a little platform for a 5 gallon bucket with a quick release hose (just an air hose fitting) to get some water pressure to the fancy faucet.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMG_0466.jpg)
We are using an old RV toilet as a fixture. I plumbed a flange and PVC to direct the waterworks toward the center of the hole.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMAG0205.jpg)
Got the deck on and tar papered that weekend too.
This past weekend I went in and put the metal roof on, and trimmed out the front door. Here's a picture of my accomplishments to date. Still need to get paint on the shouthouse, but I can lock it and it is weather and critter tight. Already storing propane and tools in there, which has opened up some room in the cabin.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMAG0208.jpg)
Rained on me Saturday night and Sunday morning, so I spent some time inside my cabin. I was originally going to put in a pull down set of stairs, but then I saw how expensive they were. I was growing weary of looking at insulation on the ceiling, so I decided to close that up and put in a push-up panel for access.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMAG0204.jpg)
BTW, this is how I can tell if I got a good weekend's worth of work out of my crew. A view of the back seat on the ride home.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMG_0420.jpg)
Still need to finish painting and putting in one cross brace on my cabin, putting in a shelf unit, and will call it good for progress this year.
Shooter, was wondering how you were doing & how progress on the place was going. You sure got a lot done! Love that sink. Your outhouse looks about as far away as ours was - I got a lot of exercise that year, lol...
Your workers look like they're getting a much deserved rest - hate to think what their necks are gonna feel like, tho :D Wonderful that your daughters go up w/you to help :)
We've slowed way down since the cabin is dry and warm ;D
Behind that outhouse is a cutting table that I rigged up in the woods where we field butcher. Having a sink nearby to rinse hands will really come in handy. I've already gotten a ration of crap from my neighbor about the sink. I have one finishing touch for the outhouse that will make a statement :-)
I'm hoping that the side walls of the pit hold up. Since it is on shale, I am keeping my fingers crossed, but built in "outrigger" support in case I need to stabilize the base a bit.
I'm hoping for one more structure, an 8x12 bunkhouse for 4 guests. Maybe next year. I need to get my water and electrical finished on the main "cabin" first.
My daughters have been a Godsend for help. They like to work, and have a lot of pride in the stuff they do. I let them find stuff to do on their own too (like painting the sink base green). Thankfully they are not intimidated by tools, heights, mud, blood, heavy lifting, or cleaning chores. They would have made great homestead ladies.
They were crashed like that for a solid two hours. When we got home, they bounced out of the truck like nothing. I would have been in a cervical collar for a week.
Looking good. Great idea with the RV toilet.
I have to try again for a time that works for us both for a visit. At least we did sell the RV when I cancelled the last time.
The picture of them asleep is a keeper. New dog?
Yes.. that is Schatzi. We got her at 8wks old, and she is about to be a year old and is still a handful. But smart as a whip. Just prone to getting over excited. Mouths everything, and I have the chewed up base molding to prove it. I'm glad we are working our way out of the puppy stage, as i was wondering why the heck we got this dog awhile ago. Pros are that she does not bark, counter surf, is potty trained on command, and hauls firewood on command too. Stays in the yard, doesn't jump, and very gentle with kids. In spite of getting hyper, she has never bitten anyone, even when the play turns into rough housing.
She pretty quickly figured out that loading the truck means a trip to the ranch. She is good in the car. Mostly sleeps or will sit up and look out the window. Better than my kids! If we could just get through this eating-everything (cow poop included) stage.
I have the only golden retriever in the world who is afraid of water (and balloons, and paper bags, and 5 gallon buckets, ad nauseum).
When she was little, she was just like a kid. She could be playing hard and just fall over and go to sleep.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/golden.jpg)
Wow that is cool. That is a cute picture. I remember when you had to have your other one put down. I always hope a new dog never replaces an old dog. That is sad for both, I hope it is another story in itself. I know Tig the dog in my icon is a handful. She picked me out of the litter and we have been tight ever since. She does not have the best cow sense but I really need her more for a companion and she does a real job of that. She is most the time three steps behind me and just to the left.
Great picture!
I have the same problem (my crew sleeping on the ride home)....some day I hope to be the one sleeping while they drive! d* ???
Great to see you back at you place Frank-
Beautiful corner of the world you have there.
Love the photo of the "crew" catching a nap- you worked them good.
All the best-
Gotta start thinking about my water and battery storage area outside of the cabin. Was talking to Don over a burger about how to mount the thing to the side of the cabin. I'm planning on using a 55 gallon plastic drum as my water storage, and possibly having up to 4 six volt batteries in there. Initially I was going to screw a ledger into the rim joint and only put legs on the outside of the water storage, but I think I should use the ledger to keep the storage attached to the shed, and use legs all the way around for support. I'm going to cheat though, and I will only make the leg bases out of a shallow hole filled with gravel and a cement paver on top. If I have to level it later I will.
I am planning on using an RV pump to push water around, and I want to make it detachable so that I can also use it to go fetch refill water from the sweetwater spring on the property. Eventually I am going to build a downspout filter so I can fill my tank using collected water, but that will be awhile.
Also need to get some wall cabinets and some shelving built. My wife is insisting on curtains or something to hide the contents of the shelving. She does not want it to look cluttered :D
Oh yeah... and trim out the windows too!
Looks cozy :)
I agree w/your wife, I don't like everything showing in the shelves either - so far I've made 3 different sets of curtains over the years. The different types/sizes of shelving makes it just about impossible to buy ready-made curtains. I kinda like the curtains better than doors because you don't have to allow for room to open them.
How's it going w/the trespassers? How are you going to secure your solar, etc?
No phone call back from anyone at the ranch, so I am assuming it is secure.
Initially, I was planning on mounting my solar panel to the roof of my cabin, but I was worried about vandalism. So instead, I keep my 190W panel inside when I am not there, and I only have a 15W Harbor freigh special that I leave outside to trickle charge the batteries while I am gone. When I am there for more than one night, I put the big panel out. I plan on making a mount on a pole that allows me to manually track the sun, and allows for fast removal when I am heading for home.
I bought a Morningstar MPPT charger, and I left the small panel out all winter. The snow blows off the south side of my cabin, so I have a place that gets sun most winter days. I returned this spring to find that my batteries were floating at 13.18V. They seem to be in better shape now than when I got them. My brother gave them to me used... they were deemed worn-out by his company and they switched them out and were going to scrap them. I wish I could get more of these "bad" industrial batteries. They have huge capacity.
Once I start using 12V lights it will be interesting to see how well they hold up!.
The Morningstar could actually rejuvenate the batteries I think as it is a PWM along with the MPPT I think. The pulses will help break up sulfation. Sounds good.
Went up for a quick day and overnight trip to scout for elk, set up some blinds and clear shooting lanes for brush. While I was up there it started to snow (!!!) and the wind came up so I hurried up the work in the woods and retreated to the cabin to do a little electrical.
I found some 12V DC switches rated for 15 A at a local surplus store for $2 each. Not a great deal, but not bad either. Turns out that they are just shy of 1", so I bought some decora blanks and a wall plate, and used a 1" spade bit to open up the hole. Had to super glue the switches to keep them from rotating, but I'm happy with how it turned out. This will be the eventual result :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMG_0150.jpg)
Those are Calterm 40602 switches, SPST. I do not plan on wiring up the LED.
I still have to build an overmount plate to make up for the mistake in my sheetwall work. I could patch the hole instead, but making a plate will be less work. Here are the switches wired into the box. I used 12g romex for all my 12V runs. This wall switch feeds one light fixture with three 12V MR16 20W flood bulbs.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMG_0157.jpg)
For the light fixture, I was trying to figure out how to have multiple bulbs in one location and to make it look decent, and I remembered that my junk pile contained an old halogen light base. I pulled out the AC - DC converters, and hard wired the bulbs directly to their own pair of romex. Here is the fixture that I am using. The plan is to be able to bring up the appropriate amount of light as needed, and I can direct it where I need it too. I may change one of the bulbs to a spot if I need some concentrated light.
Note the fancy dining table that fixture is sitting on. Ethan Allen, eat your heart out.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMG_0158.jpg)
BTW... woke up to a heavy frost and 26 degree air. My furnace came on a lot last night.
Went up to close up this weekend. Painted the outhouse, brought some building supplies up for my water / battery shed project next year.
Am hoping to make one more trip up, but things are buttoned up if not. Small solar panel positioned for winter sun and out of the snow. Antifreeze in the ptraps.
One slight problem... I think we left an unopened jar of salsa up there. I am certain it will be open the next time I visit. It's been down to 10 degrees at night recently.
Hunting over? Did you guys have any luck?
10 degrees! [shocked] I am not ready for stuff like that, I still want it to be summer maybe early fall. We have had snow at the 8000 level above the ranch. It is all gone now but more on the way if Glenn and Sassy will send it on up. ;)
Most of our real wet storms come up from down that way.
No joy on our hunt.
Our hunt was to start Friday... Thursday we got hit with a freak snowstorm, dumped 16" up at 10k feet, with drifts to 3'. We were unable to access the ranch, although we tried for a few days. It was a weekend that was a cross between Ice Road Truckers, MacGiver, and Man vs. Wild. Even with chains on all 4 corners I had to winch a couple of spots.
I don't like to have to use my winch to get deeper in.
Sarah had to be back at school on Tuesday. Sunday night, after struggling to get 6 miles back, and winching my way along, I decided that I was trying too hard to make the evening news. We were on top of a hill (had to abandon the road because of the drifts) and I was taking a rest. I decided to pull the plug and broke the news to Sarah that we were not going to be hunting. She was pretty sad. Even though I had food and water for a week, plenty of warm clothes, and a satellite emergency transmitter, I thought that it was better to be safe than sorry.
As we were getting ready to turn around, we saw two bulls trot across the meadow below us, about 800 yards distant. One was nice sized and would have easily scored 325 inches. It was beautiful to see... sort of a parting gift.
Most of the snow is gone, but the ice remains in the dark woods on the road. We have one hunter on our property, and he says that the elk are still on the ranch. He has seen 3 or 4 herds over the last couple of days. I have the opportunity to go back an hunt for me (Sarah won't be able to hunt) but the fun of it is gone for me this year. I really wanted her to be able to hunt, and this weekend she has district meet for cross country.
We set a record for earliest "snow out" of our property, at Oct. 6 of this year. Considering that the snow lingered until early June, this was a short season.
Bears are becoming more frequently seen up there, so I may hunt them next year. One of the owners believes that he saw a wolf on the property too. He is a pretty experienced woodsman, so I think the possibility of it turning out to be a monster coyote is slim. I need to check with game and fish.
Will post some game cam pix in a bit.
From my critter-cam
A few boys going for a walk in the woods :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IM000027.jpg)
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IM000045.jpg)
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IM000082.jpg)
Pretty nice Muley :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IM000084.jpg)
Check out the brow tines. Must have gotten injured?
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IM000086.jpg)
Looks like the cows use this trail too once in awhile. This is our grazing tenant looking for strays. It is hard work to ranch anywhere. It gets harder the higher up you get.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IM000113.jpg)
Quote from: NM_Shooter on October 24, 2011, 10:50:04 AM
Went up to close up this weekend. Painted the outhouse, brought some building supplies up for my water / battery shed project next year.
Am hoping to make one more trip up, but things are buttoned up if not. Small solar panel positioned for winter sun and out of the snow. Antifreeze in the ptraps.
One slight problem... I think we left an unopened jar of salsa up there. I am certain it will be open the next time I visit. It's been down to 10 degrees at night recently.
I hope it was XTRA hot. Maybe the tiny critters will get a buzz out of it. Too bad about the hunt, I felt that you were more excited about it than her.
Loved the pictures. I would take any of them for wall or locker. The guy on horse back looks like this time of the year. Cows usually pretty much gather themselves, the old girls start down the mountain when it is time. Yet there are always a few you have to ride for. Some are contrary just like humans, others they sort of don't know yet and then there is one or two you never find. :(
I will PM you a wolf picture. I think there is one on this machine or I might have one on photobucket
Was thinking about making a run at my cabin via snowmobile.... but ironically, we just had a dump of fresh powder, so I think I will let it settle.
This time of year I start to get itchy to get back up there. This season I am going to get my water and batteries into the outdoor "coop". I really want to have running water for a shower. I'd like to also get my bunkhouse built, but that probably won't happen. First trip up is always clearing downed trees, and checking around the perimeter of the property (as much as possible).
I think the blower motor on my RV heater is about to go belly up. I will need to pull it and put a new blower in there. It was not fun building that heater in, it will be less fun to pull it out.
C'mon May!
Thinking more about spring thaw... cabin fever has hit me hard.
I'm glad for the projects underway through the winter that get posted here. Gives me something to daydream about.
I may need to find a small piece of land at lower elevation so I can have a winter retreat too. Hmmmmmm..... maybe somewhere near the San Juan river :-)
Hoping that a tree didn't fall on my new outhouse. I may need to thin out the corkbarks that are within drop range.
Went in this past weekend, as we had an early snow melt due to thin snowpack. Not boding well for the fire season!
Only went in for a quick overnight, as we had Sunday appointments to tend to back home. Got up early, and hit the front gate of the ranch at 1030. Was relieved to see that no trees fell on the outhouse, and that the bears had not broken into the cabin after the salsa and jelly that were left inside. I did find what appeared to be very tiny mouse poop under the sink. None of the baited traps were sprung though. I'll need to check my wire mesh under the cabin and see if I have any openings. Luckily there was no damage anywhere in the cabin.
Sarah and I then went up to the ridge to make a phone call. It is about a 2 mile ride, and we only had one downed tree that we had to clear. We then checked the corner gates and rode some of the fenceline. We saw elk everywhere....
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMG_0678.jpg)
These four boys were in the meadow below my cabin when we came down from the ridge. I'm guessing they are two year olds :
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/IMG_0659.jpg)
We found a cow in distress... she had fallen into a dry wallow and was unable to get up. From the looks of it, she had been there awhile. We went back to the ridge and called the grazing tenant and left a message for him. We tried to get her some water, but I think she knew the time was near. There was no way that we could help her up, as she would get to her knees and then roll over. Poor thing. I expect to find a carcass next time up. If it had been my cow I would have put her down, but I left her for the tenant in case he wanted to try and harvest some meat from her.
We also went in the RZR and explored the far east side of the ranch, which is somewhere I have never been. We found some interesting boulder-strewn cliffs, along with a large amount of fresh bear scat.
Then went back to our little shack, and noticed the trout were rising. Delayed dinner to go play with the fish, and quit when a little squall blew up. We waited until it was over, then had a campfire and roasted 'dogs and beans in the fire. I've had an interesting travel life and have had pretty good meals all over the globe, but those hotdogs were one of the best meals I ever had.
The company was great too.
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/BLOK/afterdinner.jpg)
Very nice! Those are the best trips!
This is an awesome setting plus the elk herd seems great. I built a similar cabin but in the wilds of NYS, lots of deer and bear but no elk. Its been a while since I went elk hunting in Montana and Colorado, but your cabin seems perfect. And the fishing is great fun. I have a pond and beaver dams that I fish.
Wow, is all I can say. My daughter is only 12 and recently broke her ankle but I was hoping to involve her in my build project. Here's hoping it is only short lived. I am looking at your pictures with your daughters and thinking about it being the exact reason I am doing my build project. Kudos! Your project looks fantastic as well.
Thanks! Yes, the elk make it special. They are sure a lot more skittish than deer. The deer actually put up with us stalking them a bit, but elk bolt the instant they see you. My kids like to play hunt when we spot elk behind our cabin in the woods, and see how close they can get to take pictures before getting spotted.
I built this cabin more for my kids than I did for me. It has been a joint-effort and I would not have gotten done as soon as I did without them. I also like the fact that my kids were safe and comfortable with hand and power tools at a young age. They have a lot of pride in ownership now, and I encourage you to put your daughter to work. Even at 12 and with a broken ankle... have her doing some planning.
I am blessed to have kids who enjoy being around their parents, whether we are at the cabin or sitting at dinner. We have always ensured that they knew that they were respected by us, and they have returned the favor. Having daughters was an eye opener for me. I raised them like boys, their mom raised them like girls. So now I have cuties that can ballroom dance and also out fish / shoot quite a few men that I know.
It is not "quality time" that counts. Focus on quantity time! Nothing better than building a cabin for that ;D
Wow... I haven't posted in awhile.
I'm getting the itch to get in there, but sadly the snow is keeping me out for a bit. Even more sadly, looks like I may be selling this year!
Improvements on the list for 2015 include a pantry and a shelving unit, both of which will serve as a way to hide some flex furnace plenum. I'd like to get my water system started too.
I thought that I'd have more time when my girls went off to college. Man, was I wrong!
-f-
Hate to tell you but most likely not the first to do so. Frank as far as time it only gets more scarce and as with all commodities the more scarce the more valuable......
Sent you a personal message....
Well, I have been working to sell my cabin and shares in the ranch for awhile, and it appears that I have found a buyer. I need to post my latest improvements as a close to this thread.
As a bit of eye candy, here is a link to a drone video that a friend of mine shot of my cabin, and the lake and spillway that it overlooks. This will be a nice keepsake for me.
https://vimeo.com/134155234
I hope that all goes through for you. Thanks for the video. I'll view it when back home as I don't want to use the Verizon data all up here from the cabin.
Nice rain tonight.
Enjoyed that.
[cool] [cool] [cool] Realnice!!
Looks like the sale close is going to happen tomorrow. I have strongly mixed emotions. The toughest part is saying goodbye to something that my daughters built with me; we all have blood, sweat and tears in that.
I suspect that I am not the first to feel this way about something that was owner-built from the dirt up. My favorite memories are dancing on the deck with my youngest, my oldest framing the rafters for my outhouse, and lots and lots of great memories with them as we hunted, fished, looked for mushrooms, and just sat by the campfire.
BLOK ranch is wild and remote and I will miss it. I still plan on wrapping up this thread with final pictures.
Fingers crossed that the close goes well tomorrow!
Thanks for coming along with the ride on this. (Thanks especially to John and the moderators).
Regards,
Frank
:( :)
:-[
I am saddened to hear you're selling.To bad you can't lease the property to a hunting club or something along those lines,until the kids are out of college.