Okanogan 20x30

[Yonderosa]

I wish him the very best and I'm grateful such men and women volunteer to serve.  Among the finest people I know are vets or are serving now. 

[JavaMan]

Great looking flag! 

One more serving soldier for my family to put on the prayer list.  We will keep him in our prayers for a safe career, however long he decides to make it.  And the parents, too.  Sometimes I think it's harder on parents and spouses.

[SkagitDrifter]

Thanks guys,  for the kind words about my boy.

Went back to the cabin for the weekend- it's hard to stay away.
We went over with the plan to relax, kick back and enjoy the place, and we did- but I did manage to complete the paneling in the loft gable end wall.  We also got the oil finish coat applied to the walls.
Next up will be the flooring and the window / door trim.

Last weekend I was so hot on getting work done I never checked the GameCam.
I retrieved it and found this guy...



I was pretty sure there was a good sized bear in the area due to the scat we were seeing.
The camera was set on the edge of a Western Service Berry patch on the hill behind the cabin.
The shot is a bit out of focus- he must have been on the move.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

[SkagitDrifter]

Well, it has been long over due- or should I say over "doo".
I broke down and started to build a new outhouse.
Our long term plan is to use a composting toilet but with the economy such as it is we are holding back on major purchases.
At this point I am into the project about $200 and and a weekends worth of work.
My plan was to pre-build all of the components in my shop and with the use of a hammer and nails and a cordless drill and some screws put the thing together on site.  My plan came together well - all but the door trim, cedar siding and the bench which I will finish up next time over.


Dug a 5-1/2 foot hole with a standard #2 shovel- not that easy to do.
Pressure treated floor framing.


Got the sheeted walls up and nailed, top plates to hold it all together.


Laid a sheet of cheap vinyl on the subfloor before standing up the walls.


Installed the outriggers and the pre-made trusses to create a covered area in front of the door.  We get lots of snow.
Last thing you want to do is dig the snow out from in front of the door when nature calls.


Sheeted the roof and got the metal roofing on.  Got the metal siding on and called it a weekend.

Not what I would call a glamorous project but it was one that has been on my mind for a while.
My wife is happy- and you know the old saying... Happy wife, happy life.

Hope you all had a great weekend- old man winter is knocking at the door- better get those last minuet projects buttoned up.
All the best-

[Redoverfarm]

Don't forget the vent stack.  It is an essential item.

[SkagitDrifter]

Wow- Busy winter so far- not work wise but hunting, family, etc.  Have only been to the cabin a couple of times in the last few months.
Have not done anything new as far as construction- lots of snow but not as much as there should be this time of year.

We can't drive into the site with the amount of snow up there so we just walk in using snow shoes.  It takes about 40 min. to get to the place- a bit of elevation gain but nothing too bad- it does get the heart pumping though.

Just like we left her


The fire pit area- figure there was about 18" of snow on the ground.


View from above


After the walk in we fire up the snowmobile (and the woodstove) we bomb down the trail to the truck and grab the supplies.


I built these "mud boxes" for duck hunting the tide flats- they also work great as a sled to transport supplies.  


Hooked to the back of the sled with a make shift straight bar- we can carry all we need for the weekend in one trip.  It can even transport worn out snow shoers.


Perfect weekend- It was great to be back at the cabin.


Hope you are all having a good winter.
Thanks for looking in-
Tom

[OlJarhead]

Wow!  Great stuff!

We plan an outhouse soon also -- even though we have the composting toilet I figure the outhouse makes a good backup in the winter when the compostser is frozen!

18" of snow is a lot more then we've managed to accumulate.  All we've got is about 10" around us -- though I noticed where we've walked, driven and worked is still very low (maybe only 3 or 4 inches of mostly ice).  We can drive through 18" of snow though   The Jeep handles that with ease as long as I'm all chained up.

Anyway, great stuff!  Glad you got to the place...I guess I'm lucky as I'm there almost as much as MountainDon is at his!

[rniles]

Looks like you had a great time ..gorgeous scenery!

[Yonderosa]

The mud boxes are an awesome idea!

GREAT pictures!

Did those Elk stick around?

[SkagitDrifter]

Thanks!


Here is one of the mud boxes in action.
They hide really well on the tide flats.  We had birds landing on top of us.


Greenwing Teal- fine eating bird.



No Elk to be seen this trip- not too many deer either.  Lots of Coyotes.

[duncanshannon]

great project. just read the whole thread.... really like the crawl space, deck railings and interior touches!

how much land are you on? thats fantastic countryside!

[SkagitDrifter]

Thanks Duncan-
We are on 20 acres- part of an original homestead that is a couple hundred plus acres- so the place feels a lot bigger than it really is.

[Sassy]

Your cabin looks great - nice countryside!  Looks like you are enjoying it 

[rick91351]

Wow SkagitDrifter I think you have been a great steward of your resources.  I don't think I read - but did you mix your own concrete or ready mix?  Or was your footing and foundation subed out?   Do they require that dwellings be engineered for your location?  We had plans drawn and engineered for a house, now we are having second thoughts.  Looking at something smaller and keeping the house near Boise.  It blows me away how much that Okanogan area looks like where our ranch is located about forty miles east of Boise.             

[SkagitDrifter]

Thanks Rick-
I had a concrete truck come into the place- he was quite a truck driver- I did not think he would make it in there but he did.  We formed the foundation walls and a friend helped with the pour.
No engineering necessary on this build- we got our permit for a "limitted use" recreational cabin- it just means you cannot be a full time occupant of the place- not that anyone would ever know.

[SkagitDrifter]

Spent the weekend at the cabin- Finished up the outhouse and concentrated on planning future work on the place.  Decks, flooring, interior trim, shed roof over the entry door, etc.
For the most part we kicked back and enjoyed the place.
Lots of bear in our area this year- my neighbor has seen at least 3 different ones in the last few weeks.  The trail camera picked this shaggy little guy up no more than 100 yards from the cabin.
Hope you all had a good weekend and got lots done on your projects.

[OlJarhead]

How often do you make it out to your place?

Cool pics of the bear!  Nothing like that getting in the camera view around me for two years now!

[SkagitDrifter]

This time of year we are over at the cabin every other weekend.  I'd like to be there every weekend but my "real" house needs to be kept up also.  There's grass to be mowed, garden needs tending, etc.

When we first got the cabin property we went two years without getting a bear on the trail cam.
This year there are bears everywhere around our place.
Keep setting the camera- you'll get one sooner or later.

I've been following your thread Erik- you are an animal- great work on the solar and the lumber milling!

[OlJarhead]

This time of year we are over at the cabin every other weekend.  I'd like to be there every weekend but my "real" house needs to be kept up also.  There's grass to be mowed, garden needs tending, etc.

When we first got the cabin property we went two years without getting a bear on the trail cam.
This year there are bears everywhere around our place.
Keep setting the camera- you'll get one sooner or later.

I've been following your thread Erik- you are an animal- great work on the solar and the lumber milling!

Lol Animal??  Nah, just an old Marine

[Toyotaboy]

Tom,

Sent you my plans via email a few weeks ago. Did you get them? They did not get bounced back either.

Ron

[SkagitDrifter]

Hey Ron-
Sorry... I never saw that e-mail come through.


Been really busy with work, life, family etc. so havent been around much.
Have been heading over to the cabin but this year it seems things are moving at a snails pace.
Not getting much done- oh well, it's to a point where it's comfortable and we are enjoying it.
I'll get back on track before too long.

Thought I would share a few GameCam photos from out at the cabin.
Things are getting a little wild over there...

[Sassy]

Whoa - that mountain lion? looks pretty good sized...  how close to your cabin? 

We probably have mtn lions around, too but I haven't seen any...  Glenn thinks he's seen a few over the years.  I know we have bears & lots of bobcats. 

[diyfrank]

Long tail!

Very nice! We had one roam around last year but I got no photos.

[UK4X4]

Beautiful !

lovely creatures -

personally prefer in the wild than on the wall !

[OlJarhead]

Ours seem to know how to avoid the camera's!  I've taken pictures of tracks (within 6" of our cabin walls) but never the cats themselves.

Someday!