Back from the wilds of Talkeetna

The preparation is always the worst. At least usually. Two weeks ago, Beverly and I intended to go to our tiny cabin on the Talkeetna river, so we were getting everything together and I happened to begin to grease the 6-wheeler when I found that both front CV boots were broken. I tore them apart and cleaned them up and found that they were special Heavy Duty Gorilla Axles and CV boots which I had to order online. As usual, shipping was as much as the products. Anyway, I got the boots and installed them, replaced the axles and marveled at the almost zero clearance between the boots and the hubs.

We didn't go to the cabin. Instead, we went to Kentucky (see the previous post). Well, Robert and Bethany and Hannah and Winnie came back with us and Beverly and I spent Monday getting ready for the trip while Robert and Bethany looked at houses.

Tuesday afternoon, with everything loaded, we left with the Ranger (6 wheeler) and a ATV trailer on the big trailer pulled behind our long truck, and with two 4-wheelers in a trailer and in the bed of the short truck. We had an uneventful drive the 100 miles to the Talkeetna parking lot where we dropped the highway vehicles and packed up for the 10 mile ride into the cabin at about 8 PM. We had Hannah and Winnie and Cassidy with us and they were patient and happy, for the most part. Only annoyed by the mosquitoes, of which there was ample supply. About 3 miles into the ride

on an unexpectedly dry trail (meaning not under water), I chanced to look under the Ranger at the CV boots and the front left had come off the hub which was an unwelcome surprise. If dirt gets into the joint, it quickly destroys the joint and the trail ahead would probably put the joint under muddy water, so I set about to try and repair it. I minimally disassembled it and found that I couldn't get it back together, so I wound up jacking the front of the vehicle up by using the winch to hoist it into the air with a tree trunk for support. I was able to get it all apart (no small feat since my tools were primitive and I had put it together with an impact) and remove the axle, replace the boot with Robert's help, and remanufacture the clamp to hold it all together.

Beverly and Bethany and the girls got tired of swatting the mosquitoes, so they loaded up on the 4 wheelers and left us to fend for ourselves, but by that time I was ready to reassemble which went fast and we got to the cabin at about the same time they did. Of course I had forgotten the key, but was able to easily pry the padlock from the door with a shove (shhh-don't tell anyone).
We got to bed about 1 AM with Robert and Bethany and their girls in a tent and Cassidy in the loft and Beverly and I in our bed.

We weren't in a hurry to get up the next morning, but did and had a nice breakfast and went outside to figure out where to put the real cabin we will be constructing over the next couple of years.

We argued over two sites and finally decided on one close to our current structure but closer to the edge of the bluff it is situated on. Robert and I broke out the machete' and chain saw and began to clear the land. There were 4 large trees that had to come down. Beverly refused to go into the cabin until they were on the ground because she thought sure we would drop a tree on the cabin. Given the weighting of the crowns of the trees, two of them fell in the right direction and two fell in the wrong (both safe, just more work to remove) directions. We bucked the branches and cut them into the right size pieces to use as beams for the base of the cabin, hauled them to our work area, hauled the branches off and I dug one post hole symbolically. Another 11 will be needed along with more posts and lumber and.............

We had a nice lunch at the river on Thursday and Robert debarked a Birch tree and set them around our fire pit, roasted marshmallows, and went to bed.

Friday morning, Bethany and Robert left with all the girls on the 4 wheelers and left Beverly and I there to finish up.

We spent an exhausting afternoon Friday eating and sleeping and reading and Saturday morning we got up early and I set about finishing the outhouse. The siding was not done and the mosquito holes in the eaves had never been closed, so I cut all the pieces and nailed them all in place so all that is left is to put the door in the back end (which is the tool shed) and paint it. Beverly and I stripped the bark off all the spruce trees we cut this year and last year and completely done in, we packed up and drove out in the Ranger pulling the trailer. The trip was uneventful and we loaded it all up and drove home, arriving about 10 PM. We unloaded and put away everything and then had a midnight bite to eat and went to bed.


Of course today has been Sunday, and church responsibilities had me up early and in meetings all day. It was really a great Sunday. When I got home, I was pretty bleary eyed and Beverly told me to go take a nap before dinner. I complied.

A little while later she woke me up screaming about a bear and sure enough, a medium size Brown Bear was pulling up the plastic and Bok Choi in our garden. He snuck in under the gate in my moose fence which moose just jump over. I thing my gate needs a little work, but anyway he looked around for quite a while, but avoided my bees. Otherwise I would have had to have done away with him. I might have anyway, but I couldn't find my darned BB gun.

After the bear left, I got out the magnet and ball construction set and the kids and Robert and I built a huge project. The challenge is keeping the kids interested in building and not in destruction. We actually got it all built using 11 sets of the balls and magnets, and then Keith resized it to fit back in the box. The kids went home and my week is complete.