PART 2 – FLATHEAD CAV BUILD
Sunday, August 31
West Glacier to Columbia Falls
19 miles!
Today is a
transition day! From the ‘play’ week to
a ‘work’ week! (or two!) And it appears
to be a good day for moving – cool and perhaps a little damp at times. Not a great day for anything else!
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| Backwoods Bistro - suspended fireplace! |
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| Kitchen area is all enclosed. |
But
first, we decide to try out the little Backwoods Bistro for breakfast. We walk down around 9 to the open air shelter
near the camp headquarters. The bistro
is open 5 days a week for breakfast from 8-noon and dinner from 5 to 9. When they run out of food or an entree, they
are done! The cook must be Cajun and
vegan because the offerings are eclectic and spicy! Rick is entranced with what a Vegan Flapjack
would be, but finally opts for a big breakfast taco filled with all sorts of
different flavors. I have the Goat
Scramble, which is scrambled eggs with goat cheese and spinach along with
potatoes and English muffin. The
potatoes were too heavily peppered for me, which I know is a trademark of
southern cooking. Rick ate most of
them! I took a few pictures of the
quaint light fixtures, fireplace, etc.
Outhouse out back and a little bandstand stage. It was fun.
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| Old potting station is drink stand |
Then
time to fold things up and roll on down the hill! We pull out around 10:30, figuring to stop in
Columbia Falls for groceries. I
suggested we check out the Huckleberry Shop in Hungry Horse as well. That was an expensive stop! But I found a new little purse (my old one
was breaking apart and too small to hold the Smartphone AND camera and
wallet. We picked up some gifts as
well. Everything huckleberry and cherry
you could wish for!
We
arrive at LaSalle RV around 12:30 and quickly get set up in a spot four rows
back from the highway (yeah – less traffic noise this time around!) Shortly after Carl and Arletta arrive, CAVs
we met down in Hobbs. Good little
reunion there.
Afternoon
of set up, time in the laundry with some internet, and then Happy Hour to meet
everyone. The group numbers are 16 – 7 couples
and a couple of singles. It is fun to
see the interconnections between people as they reminisce of other builds and
common CAVs they know. Once again, a
fair amount of experience in the group.
Other than Kathy’s friend, Gayle, no first-timers. I forgot to take pictures! Too busy talking probably!
As Happy
Hour was breaking up, Diane invited us up to their ‘house’ for dinner along
with Clint and Kathy and Gayle. We went,
offering up a small bowl of salad I had on hand. Wow. Tom and Diane’s RV even has a little gas
fireplace! What a homey feel! It got warm after abit, however with 7 people
packed in the main room. Home around
9:30.
We did
our Wal-Mart shopping and then up 93 (New highway!!) to Whitefish. We wandered the shops of downtown for
awhile. I got some ideas in a quilt
shop, and we picked up ‘lunch’ at the ice cream shop! Then a walk along the Whitefish Bike Path
around the edge of downtown and along the Whitefish River. Saw
some wild turkey and a deer along the way.
We drove back to Columbia Falls by a ‘northern route’ (Edgewater Road) through
some beautiful ranch and farm lands.
Came out at Half Moon Road, right at the big bend of US 2, just north of
our RV park.
I made
an Orange Fluffy Salad for the potluck, and Rick and I went up to the book
exchange in the office to pick out some new reading material.
What a
BEAUTIFUL morning – crystal clear day and COLD!! There was a frost warning this morning and
the temp was in the high 30’s as we got up.
Trailer was a toasty 46 degrees!!
We did have the heater on low during the night.
Another
visit tonight during Happy Hour from one of the local affiliate board
members. This has been nice! Good discussion and they seem to appreciate
some of the wisdom the CAVs have from traveling and exposure to so many
different affiliates.
Monday,
September 1 Labor Day
Kalispell-Whitefish
Today is REALLY an off day! We have no commitments until 4:30 this
afternoon when the Habitat CAV meeting starts.
So after a lazy morning (I drew a picture and had decent internet for
awhile!), Rick and I headed south on US 2 toward Kalispell. We were looking for Reserve Road so we could
cut across to Hwy 93 and all the ‘box stores’ – namely Wal-Mart! I was trying to find a source for PB2, the
peanut butter powder and I wanted to make a few scribble copies for my devotion
time.
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| A random fence design along the bike path |
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| Deer along bike path |
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| The bike path cuts under the RR. |
A lively
CAV meeting (again….no pictures! Agh!) and then dinner with Erin, Affiliate
director, Megan, volunteer coordinator, and Dave, President of the Board
joining us. Great meal and good
conversation. We probably have the
experience of over 75 CAV builds among the group – Charlene and Dick recording
the most at 25 builds. We SHOULD be able
to get something done here! Steve, our
construction supervisor, will join us in the morning, coming off a two week
vacation to take his daughter back to college.
We
caravan to the build site, gather, and welcome Steve back to town after his
vacation back East. After a devotion by
Clint and introduction and safety chat by Steve, we divide into our work groups
for the day. Rick and Carl, along with
Clint and Gayle on the saw, are up on the ‘lift’ to put more siding on the
front of the house. I join Barbara, Ove,
and Diane to work on ‘air penetration’ sealing – trimming the foam around the
windows, applying a gray caulk GUNK on all the outlet box openings on the
exterior walls, and using the spray foam to fill all the stud openings where
wires are going through. We are in the
duplex that we started last spring belonging to Nikki and Lexie.
TUESDAY, September 2
CAV Build
Day 1
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| Sunrise over Columbia Mt. |
We
welcome the new day with a beautiful sunrise marking the sky over Columbia
Mt. We realize our new site 4 rows back
does make sunrise viewing a little tougher.
I had to put shoes on to walk out and find the sky. Our site is buried in the trees!
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| I found a PINK hardhat! |
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| Morning devotions |
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| Carl and Rick pause waiting for a board to be cut. |
Rick
finds the day somewhat frustrating as it took awhile to get started and then
mistakes had to be corrected. But
tomorrow should go more smoothly and for all groups the start up time will be
much less!
I found
the trimming of the foam difficult, due largely to a somewhat dull saw
blade. More of a tedious job, but one
that must be done well. After lunch I
finished up the vaccum task so we could start applying the sealant to the
outlet boxes. Barb and I worked on that
while Ove finished up the tops of all the windows. (Ove is a tall man – easy for him to
reach!) We should be able to finish all
the sealant and foam application tomorrow.
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| Gray caulk gunk all over my hand! |
But,…tomorrow
has even more excitement. The end townhouse
belonging to Heather and Lisa is scheduled to be dedicated!! Hurray!
We were hoping this might occur while we were here. Wish the weather forecast was better,
however, as I think we are going to have a high of 57 degrees and 80% rain ALL
DAY!! Things look better later in the
week.
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| Supervisor Steve explains something! |
Diane
stopped at a cherry stand on the way home that advertised $1 lb IF you
purchased over 10 pounds. So she brought
us all 2 lb bags for $2 each. I am in
heaven again! A quick trip in to town
for WW (L) and then
Happy Hour. We have guests with us, CAVs
Pat and Glenn, who are well known by many of the group. They have RV trouble so can’t stay and
help. Have been working for Habitat for
nearly 15 years.
This is
going to be a good group.
WEDNESDAY, September 3
CAV Build Day 2 - WET!
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| Carl and Rick get an update from Steve. |
Raindrops
kept falling on my head!! All day
long! My saving grace was that I was
working inside all day and didn’t really get that wet. Others were soaked! The dedication was postponed until Thursday
as the weather was only forecast for miserable today.
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| Back in my favorite closets to fill a pipe with foam |
Rick and
Carl moved from the slippery roof to install the siding under the front porch –
down low and under a sliver of shelter!
The painters had to revamp after about a half hour of work when the rain
began in earnest. Our air infiltration crew was back at work filling holes,
vaccuming, and preparing for the insulation folks to move in. We should be able to sheetrock midweek next
week. Both morning break and lunch were
held inside Lexie’s house. Lunch was
prepared and donated by a catering company in Kalispell. Pretty nice.
We knocked off work a half hour early figuring to go back, clean up, and
return for the dedication. But just at
that point, Erin called to say it had been postponed until tomorrow. So we got off early for nothing!
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| I finally got a foam canister to work like it does on This Old House! |
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| Carl and Rick make progress! |
Since no
one wanted Happy Hour in the rain, several of us drove up to Whitehorse to the
brewery instead – probably all but four of the crew. We then went down to Jersey Boys Pizza for
dinner. A fun evening.
THURSDAY, September 4
CAV Build
Day 3 – Home Dedication
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| My hat at the first stage - by the end it had yellow spikes everywhere! |
What a
difference a day can make in the weather!
While cloudy this morning, the skies soon cleared and by mid-morning
break the sun was shining brightly and it was warming up! A BEAUTIFUL day!!
Rick felt like he and Carl made
progress today in figuring things out!
They don’t have a lot of visual completion to account for the day, but
did a great deal of prep work to be ready to install another big section of
siding tomorrow. They spent most of the
day up on the lift on upper sections of the house front.
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| Quick pose from Rick up on the lift. |
At least
6 people were working on the back of the house caulking and painting. Our air infiltration team lost Barbara this
morning to the caulk team. By the time Diane went home after break (her leg was bothering her), the
air team was down to Ove and myself.
Sadly, we did not finish today.
Ove got all the orange foam into the upper holes, so we are done with
it. I went back to do the second install
of the yellow window foam after Diane left.
I had been working on the doors earlier.
It was slow tedious work and I didn’t feel real good about the quality
of work I was ending up with. But….I had
some fun with it, crafting a nice hat just before lunch from the strips I was
cutting away from the doors.
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| Director Erin, Homeowners Heather and Lisa |
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| Malachi grabs some cake! |
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| Heather and her grandparents |
We voted
to work until 3pm today to make up for our early departure yesterday and then
just stayed for the dedication ceremony.
I was a bit disappointed to be truthful.
Both homeowners were present, but didn’t speak, no gifts were presented,
only one board member. The Methodist
minister was there to bless the house, and a few words from the board. We did have cake and received tours of the
homes. I had to check out the closet
under the stairs as I did all the mud and tape down there! We enjoyed Malachi, Lisa’s nephew, prior to
the dedication as he was sprinkling everyone with ‘pixie dust’ so we could
fly. I had to take three trips up the
block flapping my wings with Malachi!
Back to
the trailer around 5, shower, and then we cooked up one of the venison sausage
packages. I put a little BBQ sauce on it
and took some over to Happy Hour. Rick
stayed to watch a little football and went over to chat around the campfire
later. I came back and made up a huge
load of salad.
FRIDAY, September 5
CAV Build
Day 4
What a
BEAUTIFUL morning – crystal clear day and COLD!! There was a frost warning this morning and
the temp was in the high 30’s as we got up.
Trailer was a toasty 46 degrees!!
We did have the heater on low during the night.  |
| My Habi-Art for this week: A digital rendition of Orange foam sealant! |
Started out our departure giving Mike
H a jump as his battery was dead. He
took the truck down to Kalispell to get a new battery, getting a ride back up
to Columbia Falls with someone heading that direction. I have devotions today, using one from my
book on having a child-like approach. Handed out small pictures to everyone of
the appropriate scribble.
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| Kathy plays with the nail gun! |
It was a busy day at the job
site. Steve seemed to be everywhere at once
with inspectors, exterior wall insulation crew arriving in the afternoon,
questions always, and an attempt to get some of the layout in the trenches
ready for the concrete pad due to arrive next Wednesday. Rick and Carl FINISHED the peak section of
the front wall siding, and they caulked while they were up there!
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| I caught a picture of Rick from the stairwell upper window! |
I spent the day roaming from one job
to another. Most of the morning was
finishing up the window trim work, cleaning up the mess. Then, with Diane and Megan, we attempted to clean
out both sides of the unit to prepare for the insulators. So much had been left inside from Wednesday
when it rained – tools, chairs, bottles, etc. We put most of it into one of the wagon carts
pending ownership. We swept, we vacuumed, we removed stuff that
Steve2 and Chris needed to finish some walls they were building. Time out to help unload the siding when it
arrived. After lunch I moved the
scaffolding bases, moved woods as needed, kept cleaning up from behind Steve2
and Chris, emptied trash cans, and finally offered to clean some of the paint
brushes. Tomorrow I will be looking for
a specific task!! A day spent mostly
cleaning is tough work!!
Lazy
evening – I spent some time reading my book, downloading pictures. We went over to Happy Hour for awhile finally
taking some dried fruit as Diane had requested it! Had a visit from one of the Habitat board
members! That was nice.
SATURDAY, September 6
CAV Build
Day 5
Brrr and
then….wipe the sweat off! Typical
mountain weather at mid elevations! SO
LIKE BAKER CITY! It was again in the
high 30’s as we arose at 6:30am and then hot in the sunshine later in the day
as it hit 80 or so. But…another clear,
blue sky day!!
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| Cutting the paint blocks |
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| Rick checks out the west side soffets. |
Diane
and I quickly declared our lack of a job this morning (after a rather touchy discussion
of safety seminars, etc. during devotions) .
Steve put us to work, but again, it was a day of variety! What did I do today? I moved 60 some foundation stakes to make
concrete forms, built a ‘ramp cover’ for an electric cord to cross the road,
moved sawhorses and boards, cut over 100 little wooden blocks with the chop saw
(to separate siding boards during painting), set up a paint area for next
Tuesday, took pictures, helped mount some porch siding, started to caulk, and
then washed brushes! Rick, on the other
hand, again spent most of his day at the upper levels of the building –
installing soffet material along the roof eaves. He and Carl are a mean machine working
together now!
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| Rich, NP volunteer, talks to the group during lunch |
We had a
local volunteer come today who is also a volunteer backcountry ranger for
Glacier. He talked during lunch about
his role at the national park, bear etiquette, and how the job of the park is
to protect both people and bears. Gave
some wonderful background information from a historical perspective and also
shared some of his favorite hikes. It
was great!
After
work a few of us stuck around to discuss our plans for tomorrow with
Steve. We have been invited out on Steve’s
sailboat for the day on Flathead Lake.
Steve can’t take the whole group, so opted to invite those who he calls ‘old
friends’ – those of us who have been here before. Rick has opted not to go – enjoying a totally
laid back day instead. But I cannot pass
up the opportunity to go out on a boat!
We got our information and then raced back to the RV park so we could
help Arletta and Carl do their Ice Bucket Challenge! They had been challenged by their 2 and 4
year old grandkids. We all helped!
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| Ice Bucket Challenge for Carl and Arletta |
The group
is dispersing all over for the weekend – some on the boat, some in Whitefish at
the Ski Lift and Zip Line, some up to the park to hike or fish….some to do their laundry! Rick will choose one of those options!
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