SATURDAY, May 17
Baker
City to Lolo, MT
394
miles
At 6:45am we are on our way again - but this time headed to
Montana! Seems strange to be heading southeast when our final destination
is northeast. But the Wallowa Mts do make it a little tough to just go
direct!! Our route through Weiser means freeway for about 85 miles and
the rest of the 520 miles to Columbia Falls will be on two lane!!! We are
going to cross the middle of Idaho along the Lochsa River. We are excited
for a beautiful day of scenery!
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| Green, green hillsides north of Weiser |
A quick stop in Weiser to gas up, as it is a long haul clear up to
Grangeville and the next decent gas stop. North of Weiser we are amazed
at the lush green countryside. The last time we drove through here was
July (in 2008) and it was definitely much browner that time of year! We
spot the Weiser Bike trail at various moments (it follows the river clear from
Council down) and it looks much more inviting this time of year. We can
see random snowy peaks between the highway and the Snake River to the west.
Lots of balsam root yellow dots the hillsides, as well as the white of
the syringa (mock orange).
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| Dogwood at Little Salmon rest area |
After leaving Council, we stop briefly at a rest area along the
Little Salmon River. The canyon walls are steep and the river tumbles
along with an abundance of water. We grab a quick bite to eat, even
though it is only 10:15 our time. We left early today! After
Riggins, when the main Salmon joins the Little Salmon, you re-enter Pacific
time (the river is the boundary for much of Idaho separating the lower part and
Mountain Time from the northern half and Pacific Time. As the river heads
due north from Riggins, there is this section then where you are driving along
in Pacific Time Zone, and to the WEST is Mountain Time! Weird!!
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| Pacific Time on the road, Mountain time on the other side of the river! Weird! |
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| Looking east as we climb up Whitebird. |
Finally the Salmon turns back to the west and we begin the long
climb to the top of Whitebird Pass. The vistas to the east are
spectacular - a full palette of green colors. Incredible. The Honda
putt putts its way to the top. Once we crest the summit, you suddenly
view a vast agricultural panorama of the valley surrounding Grangeville.
Most noticeably we spy what appear to be canola fields - bright yellow
squares of colors in the green. And then the fields are also covered with
yellow flowers. So pretty.
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| Fields of yellow near Grangeville |
We stop in Grangeville briefly for gas. Then we follow
rustic Hwy 13 north to connect with Route 12 at Kooskia. It is a curvy
road winding downhill to the Clearwater River. Part way down we enter the
Nez Pearce Reservation. At Kooskia, we head east, still along the
Clearwater. AT the town of Lowell, the Selway River joins the Lochsa to
form the Clearwater. The river definitely narrows at this point.
The Lochsa is a popular rafting river. At first it seems fairly
tame, but the further upriver we drive, the whitewater increases. The river is
also running fairly high at the moment. Must be plenty of snow melting in
the high country right now!
 |
| Balsamroot hillsides |
Highway 12 along the Lochsa is not the
fastest route in the world, but it is a gorgeous drive, nearly 100 miles from
Kooskia to Lolo Pass. We gained about
4000’ elevation at a very gradual rate as we wound in and out the canyons of
the river. We were beginning to wonder
if anyone was rafting, but finally we came upon groups of rafters heading down –
one group of about 8 rafts! Fish Creek
Access appears to be the most popular input location. We stopped there for a potty break!
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| Along the Lochsa River |
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| The Lochsa is also the Lewis and Clark route |
Only one campground along the Lochsa was
open, and it was at the west end. We
wanted to get further up the road! All
the rest had their signs covered up, the entrance gated closed. South of the Lochsa is the Selway-Bitteroot
Wilderness Area. This is pretty wild
country!
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| I loved the red willows in this area - Lochsa |
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| Near summit of Lolo Pass |
About five miles from the Montana border
and Lolo Pass, we finally leave the Lochsa and climb to the crest of the
Bitteroot Mountains. A forest fire has
burned this area relatively recently and the dark spires of burned timber stood
out in the white snow. Over the summit
we suddenly began seeing many more tamarack trees with their soft green spring
needles. Only they looked like they had
a little shadow on the underside of every branch – it was the black moss
typical of tamaracks! Was so consistent
that the trees appeared to be patterned.
Very cool. I tried to take a
picture, but it was impossible.
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| Burned area from 2013 fire |
We passed Lolo Hot Springs resort and
campground, one of our camping options, but we had decided to try for a place
just outside Lolo. About five miles past
the hot springs, there was evidence of another recent fire – this fairly recent
(we discovered later it was just last August!)
The fire burned right down to the edge of the meadow, taking a few homes,
but many were saved. The forest is ripe
for such a fire – thinning needs to take place.
But the meadow area was absolutely lush with green grass. (I read online that grass was pushing up
through the coals just two weeks after the fire was over! Mother Nature can heal when left to do
so!)
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| Square Dance Campground site |
We are camped at Square Dance Center and
Campground, just 2 miles west of Lolo. Sites
are scattered around in a dense grove of pines (now thinned – they learned
their lesson!) A dance was going to
commence tonight, but I think I will skip it!
The gal was very gracious and I loved that they ride a bike to show us
our site – no golf carts here!!
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| Lolo Creek behind our campsite. |
SUNDAY, May 18
Lolo
to Columbia Falls, MT
140
miles
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| Today's travels |
What a gorgeous drive!!! Overcast skies limited the photographic
quality for the day, but I still got some good pictures and it was just one
rolling vista after another!
As I sat doing my morning devotions, the
rain began to fall in Lolo. Always light
and very intermittent. We didn’t rush
things this morning as we knew we only had 3 hours of driving on our
agenda! So we pulled out of the Square
Dance Campground at a very leisurely 10:30am!!
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| Outside Missoula, MT |
A short drive into Lolo itself where we
found gas 2 cents cheaper than advertised in Missoula, so we stopped!! Got cheap coffee too, so no complaints! (Gas was $3.36 which seemed like a steal to
the $3.65 in Baker City when we left home!
Montana definitely is cheaper – must have lower gas taxes.)
 |
| Outside St. Ignatius |
It is
about 10 miles from Lolo into Missoula – the population hub for this corner of
the state. Rolling green hills and snowy
peaks surround the basin. It will be
interesting to see what all this green looks like come our return in
September. Probably will be the
difference we see in driving the Burnt River Canyon in May and in August! We drive our 5 miles of interstate on I-90
west and then take off again on US 93 north toward Kalispell and Glacier
National Park! Quickly climb up and over
a small pass and into another beautiful valley – Mission Valley. We are on the Flathead Indian Reservation at
this point.
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| First view of Flathead Lake, south end |
The town of St. Ignatius is one of my
favorites! An agricultural area located
below some of the most magnificent peaks of the Mission Range. This range is knife thin and separates
Mission Valley from Swan Valley to the east.
Gradually as we head north the peak elevations lower until the range
dwindles out near the north end of Flathead Lake. But it is a beautiful companion to our east
for about 70 miles!
We stop at the junction of US93 and Route
35 at the south end of Flathead Lake. We
could go either way, but we chose to head to the shorter and less congested
eastern shore (also a narrower road).
That meant we weren’t going to go through the town of Poulson (Karen
Atchley Finegan’s home town I think!) so we were glad when we found a 4B’s
Restaurant right at the junction. We
were hungry and ready to eat something!
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| What gorgeous country! |
 |
| Along Flathead Lake |
Armed
with soup and salad bar (Ging) and a massive Southwest Omelet and pancakes
(Rick), we head up the east side of Flathead Lake. This is a huge puddle of water, about 35
miles long. The east shore is more
linear, while the west side has a big ‘thumb’ the road has to go around. (Hence, shorter east side route!) The skies are clearing to the west, so we
even have some blue sky in that direction.
We find…..CHERRY ORCHARDS! Hillside
after hillside, fruit stand upon fruit stand.
It must be one busy place during cherry season!
 |
| Crossing the Flathead north of Kalispell |
Each little bay along the lake has a park
or village until you get to Big Fork where the Swan River enters the lake. It is more of a major tourist area. North of the lake we cut back across to Route
2 and our final 10 miles up to Columbia Falls.
We go through Evergreen, which is just a little suburb of Kalispell, and
head north. Our RV Park is a little
south of CF and Rick spies the little blue sign that signals our turn.
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| Our campsite |
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| First Happy Hour |
This
is probably the large GROUP of people we have built with! Nine rigs, but no singles, all couples, so 18
people. We had more rigs in Pagosa
Springs, but several singles in the group.
We are located at the end of four CAV sites, and a short walk to HQs at
the 5th Wheel of Clint and Kathy, our build leaders. We enjoy a good talk with them while setting
up, and then meet the rest of the group at our 5pm meeting and Happy Hour. There are TWO other couples from Oregon
(Salem and Prineville), plus one from Vancouver, WA!! We must be closer to home! (There is a couple, however, from Florida,
too!) Jack and Carol from Michigan
travel in a 20’ trailer – no popouts!
They are definitely smaller than us overall! (And a big dog!) We aren’t the smallest unit
in the group.
Happy
Hour and meeting covers the required waivers, payment for the affiliate (we pay
our camping fee to them for tax purposes!) and visit time. Rick and I mostly chat with Diana and Frank
from Salem.
MONDAY, May 19
Relaxin’
and Explorin’
Raindrops keep fallin’ on our heads!! It rained off and on ALL day today, but we
got occasional peeks of sunshine and a glimpse of snowy mountains every so
often.
First
order of business today was a surprise birthday party for Diana, our next-door
neighbor and fellow Oregonian! Everyone
brought some treats for breakfast (yeah quick cut pineapples!) while Kathy made
a crock pot breakfast casserole. I gave
Diana one of the Sample copies of my
Here I Am, Send Me! book. Party only
lasted an hour since it was rather cool out, but at least we avoided major
raindrops during that hour!
Then
Rick and I spent a lazy two hours. I did
a little drawing, devotions from a new book, etc. Around 11 we headed into downtown Columbia
Falls to explore and do a little grocery shopping. Found a Smiths and gave Jed credit for the
shopping (we didn’t have a Smith’s card, so used his phone number!) Found the Habitat build site – a short little
oneway street with 8 townhouse duplexes (two story), four on each side. First time this affiliate has been able to
build a ‘subdivision’. Houses look
nice. We saw the empty concrete slab
that we will begin framing on for the new house. There is also some sheetrock mudding still to
be done.
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| Whitefish mosaics downtown |
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| Whitefish Lake |
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| Roxanne and France show off our recycling goodie bags |
All
18 of the CAVs are in attendance, plus two of the homeowners to be and various
board members and other local volunteers.
We meet Jesse, the volunteer coordinator. “Goodie bags”, filled with local information
brochures, etc. are passed out. Lots of
good salads for dinner, I brought Italian tomato bread, and Jesse made
chicken. Rick and I sat at a table with
the two homeowners, Amy and Lexie. Lexie
had her two children with her, 6th grade Sam and 4th
grade Cameron. Wonderful women, both of
whom work as phlebotomists for the hospital in Kalispell. They are so excited to break ground and begin
work. Lexie is the homeowner of the ‘slab’,
while Amy’s home is still an empty lot with a big hole in the middle! This is the part of the CAVs I love – meeting
and talking with the homeowners helps us to build a HOME, not just a
HOUSE!! Lexie was thrilled to hear about
the ‘blessings’ CAVs write on the framing before sheetrock. She wants to do that on her home.
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| Lexie and Amy (women in back) are two of the homeowners for the houses we are building |
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| Rainbow coming home! |
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| Beautiful cabin enroute on the way to West Glacier |
Back
to the RV park to prepare and relax before our first day on the job!
We
arrive at the build site around 7:40 and find a pretty good parking space – out
of the way, but close! Parking is an
issue at the site, especially with a number of the homes already occupied. Devotions are led by one of the team leaders,
Clint, and we meet Steve, our supervisor.
We divide into four groups – one beginning to frame the slab, one
putting together some scaffolding, another painting exterior trim, and a final
group finishing the sheetrock hanging in the end unit. Rick ended up painting (somewhat by default,
but he will give it a few days!) and I opted to hang sheetrock and hopefully
learn to mud RIGHT! We have an inspector
coming in the morning to check the sheetrock, so a deadline in order!
Conversation with Luke
enroute back to the RV park re the garden, a shower, and a pleasant afternoon
in the sunshine, happy hour, and evening!!
Weather is suppose to be even warmer the next few days!
Rick
got to shift jobs today!! After he spent
time getting the scaffolding all ready for painting, Steve grabbed him and said
they could use him on the framing and he had a group of young people coming on
Tuesday who could do the painting! He
was thrilled and spent the rest of the day working on the new house going up,
building walls, etc.
Our
goal for today at the other end of the street was to finish the preliminary mud
and tape on the two story unit so it could dry over the weekend and be ready
for sanding on Tuesday. Unfortunately we
came close, but….there are still 6 vertical corners to be taped and
mudded. I spent all day doing corners,
abandoning the corner trowel as I found it easier to just use the regular mud
knife for the job. I got faster as the
day wore on, but the joke is that I never really got to come out of the
closet! Of the 21 corners I did today,
all but 3 were in closets!! The 6 left
to do are all in the main living room area, so very visible!
Back
to the RV park to clean up and head into Whitefish. Frank and Diana go with us – the rest of the
group ended up at the Brewery as well, but we didn’t spend much time with
them. We went upstairs, ordered a few
drinks and a nacho to share. The nachos
were a mountain! Good time as we also
visited with Chris, a local volunteer (he has been there every day) who teaches
ski to handicapped kids in the winter.
Quite a character and wanted to know all about the trailers, etc. After the brewery we walked around town and
ended up at the ice cream shop for dessert.
A great dinner! Appetizers and
dessert!
We
decided to stop at the Visitor Center, etc. AFTER our hike, to take advantage
of the better weather while we have it.
We drive about 6 miles up McDonald Creek past the end of the lake to Avalanche
Creek Campground. This is the end of the
driveable road at this point. Logan Pass
and the rest of the Road to the Sun is still closed with snow at the top. However, the lower portions of the road,
while gated to automobile traffic, are open to bicycle traffic. And is it busy!!! Experienced bikers with all the official ‘gear’
probably riding clear to the top as well as families out for a Memorial weekend
ride with little kid bikes. Parking was
a nightmare! But the campground isn’t
open yet, so all the campsites were available for parking as well. We finally found a spot.
Rick spent the day helping Frank with
scaffolding, supervising girls painting, and then a relatively quiet afternoon
painting himself on the south side of the house. (The girls only worked until lunch.)
TUESDAY, May 20
CAV
Build Day 1: Painting n’ Sheetrock
We wake up to a BEAUTIFUL day!! Clear skies with a few fluffy clouds. Sunshine!!
We can see the mountains! Ah
glorious!
I am
still struggling with the internet, (a problem for everyone I learn
later). So I am able to post a few
things to my blogs, but never publish it.
I keep losing connectivity. But I
am a little closer than before and I finally have to get dressed and ready to
go!!
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| Habitat development in Columbia Falls |
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| Rick on the porch roof painting |
Rick
ended up painting over half of the trim for the upper level of the
townhouse. He had to move a huge ladder
over and over. Two or three other women
were helping paint as well, including Nycci and her mother. Nycci is the homeowner for the duplex with
Lexie. Nycci is thrilled for a
prospective home.
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| Steve talks energy efficient homes |
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| Raising the wall! |
Odd
places in the end unit were missing sheetrock…mostly ones with cut-outs,
etc.!! I did considerable cutting and
measuring, a few cut-outs, and then after lunch installed several sheets with
the power screw driver, complete with the attachment that controls how far into
the sheetrock you screw. I worked with
Robert a lot, who also cleared considerable scraps out of the house to clean
things up. But….we didn’t get
done!!
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| Blue and pink bricks! |
Right
after lunch, Steve took 15 minutes to explain the energy efficiency of these
homes and how low the heating costs are for the homeowners. Pretty interesting and it certainly makes
sense in this climate. Then the framers
were ready for help to raise the first wall.
A heavy sheetrock layer of fire-proofing material is screwed into place
and seams sealed before the wall is lifted into place. Rick said it was HEAVY!!! Took a full crew of nearly 12 people to erect
it, staple it to the foundation, and then secure it with braces. As I walked back toward the truck at the end
of the day, I viewed the fireproofing side and it looks like giant blue bricks
with bright pink mortar.
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| Idyllic barn scene right next to the RV Park |
WEDNESDAY, May 21
CAV
Build Day 2: Painting n’ Sheetrock Screws!
 |
| My morning 'closet'! |
Another beautiful day in the Flathead Valley! The sky is absolutely clear over Columbia
Mountain, the main ridge east of town (and that I see from the trailer window
when I arise!)
We
are joined on site this morning by a teacher and two youth from the local high
school who come and work every Wednesday morning. They stayed through lunch. We also had two local volunteers plus Nycci
and her mom Fawn were back (homeowners).
So…. A crew of at least 24 people working on the two houses. By noon the framers had the second firewall
installed on the foundation plus several exterior walls. By the end of the day one side of the
townhouse was completely walled in with exterior walls. Progress is visible so quickly with the
framing crew!
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| Putting in the baseboard screws |
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| Diana and Frank - Oregonians! |
Unfortunately,
progress seemed to go backwards in the sheetrock work! I spent the morning finishing up the
installation of panels in the water heater closet. Tom was measuring and cutting and turning me
lose to screw. Others were busy moving
extra sheetrock out and beginning to clear the house out in prep for the tape
and mud process. The building inspector
was in and passed us, perhaps knowing we were taking care of the errors (or
perhaps just not that picky!) Screws are
supposed to be every 6-8” along all sheetrock perimeters (when possible), but
whoever hung this house had missed screwing in the foundation or the line at
the ceiling stud. An additional 2-3
screws needed every two feet or so. I
couldn’t reach the top easily, so I spent most of the day wallowing in the dust
on the floor trying to anchor the bottom of each panel to the floor base stud. Dirty work….I swallowed a lot of dust!
 |
| I found sheetrock with my birthday date! |
Rick
was again painting. An older volunteer
from the community was up on the top level of the scaffolding with him and they
finished much of the exterior trim up high.
Tomorrow morning should ‘do it’! Nycci
and her mom were working in front of the house we were sheetrocking, as well as
other CAV women out back painting. I
love the colors they are using on the whole block. Combinations of subtle moss greens, tans, and
soft red-browns. Very natural, very
pretty.
Our
lunch today was provided by the Cimarron Café and Catering! A huge tossed salad, flour tortillas, a pan
of rice, and a pan of chicken-taco-tomato blend. The max of spicy for me, so it was perfect
for most of the group. Very good. Unfortunately they aren’t open for dinners,
so we will have to patronize their business on the weekend.
Steve
loves to tell stories…most of them make excellent devotions as well! Today at lunch he shared the story of the boy
who has moved into one of the first houses down the street. Because of the permanence of a home, the 10
year was finally able to participate in organized youth sports. He was beaming and excited the day Steve
talked with him, proudly wearing his uniform to a game. The energy efficient homes put a little extra
cash in the monthly budgets of these families (a February heat bill of $40 in a
mountain climate!) so some extra possibilities exist. Pretty cool.
 |
| End of Day 2 progress on the framing |
I was
exhausted by the end of the day. I
pulled a muscle in my back trying to push in the upper level screws, and my
whole back is just tired and stiff from the work. I’m not sure what kind of wood was used on
the base plates, but it was HARD to get the screws in!!!
 |
| Butt print on my chair! |
I had
to have Rick and others clean me off before I could get in the truck to go
home. At lunch I sat down in my green
chair and left a perfect ‘butt print’ of my jeans on the chair surface. We took a broom and swept me off at the end
of the day. When I shed my clothes at
the RV park, I took my jeans and beat them on one of the pine trees to get the
dust out. My shower felt ‘oh so
good’!
We
had happy hour at 4:30 today for about an hour or so, and then regathered at 7
for S’mores and a brief birthday celebration for Bill. (He had ‘failed to mention’ his birthday was
yesterday!) Bill is only 56, but he and
his wife France have been on the road for the past 12 years organizing and
leading builds, especially disaster ones, all over the country. They were the main force behind the Jersey
Shore Relief Habitat provided last fall after Hurricane Sandy. Bill had a major accident to his foot 10
years ago and walks with a slight limp.
He knows his framing. (They are
the couple in a huge semi-tractor pull vehicle with a complete Habitat tool
area in the back! Custom designed to match the trailer with their names painted
on each door!) Good people.
 |
| Campfire fun! |
Seemed
like everyone brought their dogs to Happy Hour today. Boxer Jasmine who drools incessantly, Spirit
a mini Akita type (beautiful!), Maggie a shaggy little lover, and Molly, a
little dog with long ears and a fluffy tail.
Good dogs. And then….everyone
brought chocolate bars to the campfire!
Thankfully, Diana finally showed up with some marshmallows and we
managed 3 sticks for cooking among the 9 rigs!
Good time. France also brought
ice cream for Bill’s celebration.
Internet
is still sketchy. I post when I can,
wait when I can’t!! The office is
working on it. G’night.
THURSDAY, May 22, 2014
CAV
Build Day 3: Framing &….More screws!
L
 |
| Lifting a wall into place! |
Dare I say another gorgeous sunshine
filled day? Weather is supposed to shift
tomorrow, but it nearly hit 80 something today, and the trailer was 92 inside
when we got back this afternoon!
 |
| Rick with his baby blue hard hat! |
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| End of Day 3 - more walls! |
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| My baseboard screw job....it seemed unending! |
I
quickly finished up the bottom level of screws necessary in one side of the
townhouse, but then had to shift to the two story side. We thought just the bottom level needed to be
finished, a job which nearly lasted until lunch. (Closets add considerably to the linear
footage of a room. Especially closets
that disappear under an elbowed staircase.)
At times I had to screw by hand, or finish a screw by hand. Just when I would get frustrated, a few would
go in very smoothly and I would say, “Thank you, God! I needed that!” Just before lunch I moved on to mud and tape on the mid-level horizontal seams. Got
three pieces applied and lunch break. I
was working upstairs, and unfortunately noticed that Steve was mistaken, the
upstairs had NOT had the additional baseboard screws put in. So….after lunch I was back on the floor
upstairs, working in and around all the mud and tapers, trying to stay ahead of
them and get the screws in place BEFORE they applied mud to the wall! By 2:15 I was BEAT! My shoulders and back are so sore and
tired. Whatever I do tomorrow, I need to
use different muscles!
Other
big headlines of this afternoon? I
FINISHED MY MICHENER BOOK! All 1078 pages!
The last 100 were pretty interesting in light of Luke’s sermon on Sunday
and the current situation in Israel/Palestine. (The book was The Source.)
We’ve
had some nice visits with Frank and Diana prior to Happy Hour as we all sit out
in the shade once we get home. Good
salmon treats tonight! A beautiful
evening. It is still 75 in the trailer
as we near 10 pm. I am going to bed
earlier tonight!! Tired!
CAV
Build Day 4: Framing and Mud!
Today
is supposed to be warm! In the 80’s. Goodness!
I only brought two pairs of shorts with me! That’s ok….jeans for work. I am doing messy work and wouldn’t want to
wear shorts for that anyway!
 |
| Rick cuts some firewall 'rock' for stairwell |
After
devotions today we got started on our ‘jobs’.
Rick is still framing, working mostly with Jack. Today they did framing for the area around
the stairwell, building the landing platform and other supports. Just about finished both sides of the townhouse. Others finished up the interior walls on the
first floor. Trusses are coming in
tomorrow for the second floor supports.
They had to cut and install some fireproof sheetrock in a few areas and
Rick says it is very hard to cut!
 |
| End of Day 4: You can see the stairwell! |
I
finished up all the horizontal mud and tape in the two-story unit, then
switched to the cut joints (mostly small and above windows, doors, etc.), and
finally to corner joints. I only got one
corner done before we broke for the day.
I anticipate mudding all day tomorrow, but should be moving into the
one-story half of the unit.
 |
| Steve introduces homeowner Heather |
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| Mudding in a closet! |
We
met Heather and her mother, Clara, today.
They were busy painting on the two-story unit which is Heather’s. She said she was excited for the August
anticipated dedication and move-in date. That means we have met just about all
of the remaining homeowners. The gal who
lives in the one-story unit is disabled and works her hours in the Re-store in
Kalispell.
We
got a team picture this morning before we started work:
There
is another two week build here right after this one. They have had several cancellations, so it is
down to 6 couples now instead of the 10 scheduled. One group here has already promised to stay
another two weeks. Rick and I discussed
it, and we are going to give them three extra days. We will work through his birthday on the 5th,
and then drive home on the 6th and 7th. The plus side is this will give us another
weekend to explore before heading home!
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| Jesse with Robert's dog Maggie |
Jesse
joined us for Happy Hour tonight. He is
the volunteer coordinator. We will have
a crew from his church here tomorrow, as well as a few of the homeowners. Leon,
the campground owner, also stopped by.
The group is going to try and sand and stain some of the picnic tables
as a way to help him out and say thank you for his hospitality.
A
storm is coming in! Clouds in the sky, a
few drops of rain, and windy! Sure! Just in time for the Memorial Day weekend. The campground is going to be full.
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| View up the gap toward Glacier National Park - from the development |
SATURDAY, May 24, 2014
CAV Build Day 5: Framing and Mud…Again!
So much for
our idyllic weather! Last night a storm
blew in, a few sprinkles, but then a pretty steady rain in the early
morning. A somewhat restless night as
our ‘next door neighbors’ for the weekend pulled in around midnight and were
busy setting up until 2:30 am or so. You
hear everything in a tent walled trailer!
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| Homeowner Lexie in her doorway with CAV Dave |
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| Rick and Jack on the stairwell! |
I
worried the rain might hold things up this morning, but it stopped just before
devotion time, rained once more lightly during the morning, and that was it for
the day until we were back at the RV park.
The sun even came out for much of the day with scattered clouds.
We
were a larger group today….joined by members of Crosshill Christian Church in
Big Fork (Jesse’s church including Jesse’s parents and girlfriend) by a couple
other local volunteers. Lexie was there to work today also. Most of them worked on putting up the
sheathing on the outside of Lexie’s unit.
Rick
and Jack continued to work with Pam installing the framework for the stairwells
on both sides. Bill has been cutting the
risers and actual stairway ladders. It
was looking good. The trusses were
delivered to the site, but nothing was installed yet on them.
 |
| One of my 3 corner outside a closet! |
 |
| This was the coziest corner work: in the closet under the stairs! |
Jesse,
his girlfriend, and his parents brought our lunch today. It was wonderful! Cookies at break, and then veggies and dip
for lunch, rolls, and either chili or ham and potato soup (or both!) The soup was really good and Rick liked the
chili (although he said I wouldn’t have liked it as well – it was pretty
spicy).
 |
| End of Day 5 Progress....You can see stairs and sheathing on left side! |
 |
| Rick and Diana and our Nachos Mountain! |
It
has been fun having people from Oregon on a build! We all agreed that this is the first for all
of us – to have someone else from our state!
And to have three! (And that
doesn’t count the Vancouver, WA folks!)
More people to visit as we cruise around the state!
A
little TV and an early bedtime. We are
heading into Glacier tomorrow to take a drive and a hike!! (We bought bear spray tonight in Whitefish….we
are ready!) Hoping the weather holds –
at least partly cloudy. Maybe we’ll get
a view here and there!
 |
| Closeup of a Whitefish downtown mosaic....pretty awesome. |
SUNDAY, May 25, 2014
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK Exploration!
Avalanche Lake Hike
A day off to explore! The weather is forecast better today than
tomorrow, so we skip a visit to the Whitefish Presby Church and are on our way
to Glacier NP shortly after 9am. There
isn’t any blue sky showing, but at least it isn’t raining and we can see almost the top of the higher peaks!
Through
West Glacier and on up the Road to the Sun along Lake McDonald. We pull off at a few of the turnouts to
photograph the hills across the lake. A
fire rolled through here in 2003….the hillside is recovering with grasses,
small trees, and the tall spire of larch trees stripped barren. Fortunately, good fire fighters saved the
lower McDonald valley and many of the buildings around Apgar.
 |
| View across Lake McDonald to the Howe Ridge fire area |
 |
| Our route to Avalanche Lake. You can see the shadow of the 'wall' all the waterfalls were cascading off. |
Rick
had found this 4 mile RT hike up Avalanche Creek to Avalanche Lake at the base
of several glaciers. The canyons are
steep with hanging rock walls everywhere and waterfalls like a regular set of
white lines on the gray rock. SOOOO much
water roaring down the creek right now.
Incredible power.
 |
| Outlet end of Avalanche Lake |
The
trail is quite gradual with only a few steeper sections of uphill – total elevation
gain in the 2 miles is about 500’.
Nice!! Toward the lake the trail
was pretty wet and muddy in places, but overall it is one of the more popular
hikes and hence in pretty good shape. Rick
had our bear spray strapped to his belt (it comes with a handy little carrier) –
I noticed several others with spray, and one hiker with his 357 strapped to his
chest. However, the trail was SO popular
today with hikers everywhere that any sane bear was miles away!!
 |
| Broken trees along the trail |
Lower
portion hillsides were a maze of downed timber typical of western Oregon
ecosystems: cedars, yew, hemlock, douglas firs, and a Rocky Mt. maple that
looked very much like vine maple. It was
obvious that avalanches of some sort crash through here regularly – so many trees
broken off with the tops pointing at right angles to the trunk. The debris in the creek was amazing in
places.
 |
| Trilliums! |
Our
surprise flower for the day?
Trilliums!! We haven’t seen them
since leaving Portland area it seems and they were everywhere in the damp
earth!! As we neared the lake we found
more and more common plants just emerging from the snow pack – glacier lilies,
Solomon’s seal, Devil’s club, and more.
 |
| Glacier lily covered fields! |
 |
| New growth shooting up! |
We
approach Avalanche Lake and are spellbound with the beauty of the cirque – a series
of peaks and snowfields with waterfalls dropping hundreds of feet down the
headwall. Gunsight Peak at around 9200’
is in the distance behind Sperry Glacier – the peak is on the Continental
Divide. A mini Matterhorn peak on our
right. The outlet of the lake is filled
with logs and debris. Multiple creeks
pouring water into the lake from all over.
We stopped trying to hike around the lake – the trail was just too
messy. But we did go far enough to come
upon a field covered with glacier lilies and tiny white flowers. Trilliums were nearby. Sooooo pretty!!!
 |
| At Avalanche Lake |
Rick
spies a mountain goat lying in the sun up on the rock face to the east, and we
then find two nannies and kids on a narrow ledge of rock. (No pictures, sorry!! Too far away!)
 |
| I did take mountain goat pics....white dots on the ledge! |
We
grab a little snack at the lake and head back down, passing MANY more people
just heading up to the lake. Lots of
families out for the day and it is a perfect kid hike. Not too hard and not too long with plenty of
water! Coming down we also saw a
harlequin duck couple along the creek!
We
finish our day with part of the Trail of the Cedars hike down near the
campground. The part we traveled was all
on boardwalk – handicap accessible – through a grove of cedars and water
seeping and falling from a rock ledge to the east.
 |
| Rick along Cedar Trail |
Back
down the road to Apgar and Fish Creek Campground. We check out the campground and read the
brochure which suggests it would not be wise to camp there with our trailer
setup. Another picture from the end of
the lake toward the east, and then we decide on a whim to drive to Fish Creek
CG. Glad we did as there we saw our
black bear and cub for the day! Right
off the side of the road.
 |
| Black bear...cub was nearby! |
A
quick visit to the Visitor Center to get my passport stamped and then back down
to Columbia Falls! A good day that just
whetted our appetite to explore more of the park!
 |
| McDonald Lake views |
MONDAY, May 26
LAUNDRY…and not much more!
Well, today
will be a fairly short entry!! We did
considerable relaxing and resting! Our
major accomplishment of the day was two loads of laundry! We headed into town around 10:30 with the
idea of hitting the City Cleaners (across the street from Smith’s grocery),
possibly eating lunch at The Cimarron Café (restaurant that provided lunch last
Wednesday), and maybe taking a short
drive before we did a little grocery shopping.
The City Cleaners we found closed on holidays. I ran into Smiths and the clerk told me there
was another Laundromat out near The Cimarron.
We went there….it was absolutely packed with people. Not a machine to be found. So….
We
went across the street and ate!! Just a
few minutes too late to get breakfast, so we each had the quiche and a
side. (Rick had home fries and I ordered
tomato bisque soup). Meal was really
good and only $6 each!! We made sure to
tell them we were from Habitat and we appreciated the good meal last week. But all was not for naught as our waitress
recommended the Laundromat up in Hungry Horse.
We figured it was closer than Kalispell, so….on our way! We like the 5 mile drive along the river
anyway!
 |
| Flathead Valley design |
Five
dollars and just over an hour later, we are all done! The waitress was right – it WAS cheaper! We stop at Super 1 Grocery for a few things
and are back at the campground by 3pm.
The
day was rainy and cloudy in the morning, but it has improved as the hours
passed. By afternoon, patches of clear
blue sky can be seen and some warm sunshine.
Still storm clouds hanging around, though.
Rick
got a haircut today, a call to his Mom, and I started a Habitat mandala design
for Flathead Valley. But….when I went
over to see if there was any sort of Happy Hour, Pam was producing BBQ ribs and
inviting everyone to dinner! I went back
and grabbed the pineapple to offer and Rick and I joined 4 other couples for
dinner. Three others had gone to
Kootenai Falls for the day, and Frank and Diana were horseback riding.
Another
week of work ahead of us….hopefully a second floor on the framing job and
perhaps a duplex ready for texturing by the end of the week.
NO PICTURES TODAY (other than the mandala!)
TUESDAY, May 27
HABITAT
BUILD DAY 6: PAINTING, MUD, and MORE!
 |
| Rick instructs his paint crew |
What a beautiful morning to start out a
new workweek! The skies cleared a little
over night and it is a sunshine blue sky day!!!
Yeah!
 |
| Up on the scaffolding...with the 18 yr olds! |
We
are a very full crew this morning! About
12-15 high school girls from a boarding school (somewhat an alternative school)
south of Kalispell are here for a day and a half. They came with several adult chaperones. Rick ended up with a paint crew of 5 to
supervise, which also involved the scaffolding, etc. They got a lot done and Rick felt good about
their progress. Another group of girls
made new scaffold ‘foot pads’, others helped with the framers (they moved all
the floor joists from the pile to the roof!).
A good experience for the girls.
 |
| More quality time in a closet! |
Sadly
(perhaps!) none of the girls came in to help with the mud and tape
process! So our crew just kept plodding
away. The 6 vertical corners necessary
to finish the 2 story unit morphed into more when I realized the back ultility
room hadn’t been done! But….I had that
house finished by break time!!
Basically, Diana, Clint, Scott, Robert, and I worked the rest of the day
in the one story half. Another good day
and we should be finished in that half!
Once the
stairs are finished, the framers will be able to start putting the floorboards
on the joists. I expect by next week the
second floor walls will be going up.
Wow! When you consider they are
making two houses at once, that is pretty good!
 |
| Progress: End of Day 6 |
I
showered and drove back into Columbia Falls to weigh in tonight. Can’t say the results were that favorable,
but at least now I know! Happy hour include
more edamame pods which I have fallen in love with! Tomorrow night Steve and his wife are going
to join us!
A
beautiful evening. We can’t believe how
late the sun sets (or how early it rises in the morning!)
 |
| A farm we pass each day ....such a perfect setting and in pristine condition. |
WEDNESDAY, May 28
CAV Build
Day 7: Painting & Mudding
Raindrops keep falling on my
head! All night long it rained!! A wet morning, yet….God is good! Once we got to the Habitat site, it didn’t
rain again all day!!
 |
| Diana works on the ceiling corners in my favorite closet! |
The crew of girls was back from
Montana Academy, looking a little worse for the wear after their night in the
cabin. We had the two boys and their
instructor from the high school present, plus several local volunteers, two
homeowners and their moms. It was a full
day at the build site!!! The circle for
our lunchtime prayer was huge!
 |
| Half of our lunch time circle! |
In the meantime, I was back inside
slinging mud! We had 22 ½ vertical
corners still to mud and tape in the one-story half of the house, plus several
ceiling corners which Diana was doing.
Others began sanding in the two-story side. We were finished by lunch time with all the
preliminary mudding!!
 |
| Masked up for the sanding job...how can I see through those glasses? |
After lunch I went seeking a new job….reluctantly. Roxanne offered to let me help her make
stairs, which sounded very appealing.
But….I knew Clint couldn’t sand (dust issues), and Tom was down there
alone tackling the job. So….I grabbed a
dust mask and headed up the stairs to learn how to sand the sheetrock. Tom was having trouble catching the ceilings
(shoulder issues), but with a bench I could reach, so I worked on ceilings and
closets (again???) However, we began to
realize the number of small places here and there that hadn’t gotten the first
mud and tape! So I took care of those as
well. However, I was very glad when the
2:30 hour sounded and we could call it quits for the day! I need more protection on my eyes as the dust
was falling into them (my glasses were covered and I could hardly see!) I put eye drops in when I got back to the
trailer!
|
| End of Day 7: safety railings going up, all the floor decking loaded to be installed; stairs on right finished! |
 |
| Steve shows off his cartoon - captain of his sailboat (which he never gets to sail!) |
Excellent Happy Hour tonight as we had
some of the leftover enchilada casserole with chips served! We brought out a bunch of veggies and
dip. Steve and his wife Gina joined us around
5:45 pm (Steve had to drive down to Kalispell to pick her up, then back up to
CF, and then back to Kalispell as that is where they live!) Clint presented Steve with a cartoon that we all signed. Clint is a marvelous cartoonist - way beyond my primitive attempts!
HH ended with a good downpouring of
rain which drove everyone back into their respective trailers. Next two days should be decent, and then rain
on the weekend (naturally!)
THURSDAY, May 29
CAV Build Day 8: Painting & Drywall
Sanding/Mudding
 |
| Beautiful rays of light in the gap. |
Brrr! About 10 degrees cooler this morning with
dark clouds overhead. However, enroute
to the site, a window in the clouds opens and beautiful rays of light
illuminate “the gap” east of Columbia Falls.
Soooo pretty.
After
the crowd yesterday, it is an intimate little group today! Pam and Nancy have stayed home (it is Pam’s
birthday and Nancy has business to attend – she is a writer and her publisher
is a calling!). Diana and Frank and
Steve will be at a safety training all day today and tomorrow. No high school students and just a couple
local volunteers. Definitely a small
group!
It is
windy and cold during devotions, but I pass my phone around to show the picture
I drew while I read my poem on The Ripple Effect. Several asked for copies of the poem which I
need to send out (Please work internet sometime soon!) Then it is back to work!!
 |
| I sneak a peek of Rick through the back window. |
Rick
will be painting all day long, probably by himself. He is cleaning up some of the work done by
the girl’s crew and then moving on to finish up the house. He was armed with his little i-pod, but the
wind was blowing so much he couldn’t keep his hat on which was holding the
headphones in place!
 |
| Back in my stairwell closet to mud some more! |
Tom
and I worked to finish the sanding downstairs in the two-story unit. We finished by morning break. I had to quit at one point because my eyes
were hurting – so much dust in them. I
put in some drops and looked for some googles to wear, but all the safety
glasses are made to be worn SANS glasses.
Go figure that out….they need to get some of the ones that fit OVER
glasses!
 |
| End of Day 8: Safety rail and floor decking done. |
But…it
proved to be unnecessary because rather than sand the one-story unit, we
decided to help the mud team get the place finished. So I spent the rest of the day learning and
improving my second coat drywall mud technique.
I don’t like it as well as the first coat! And we didn’t get the house done by the end
of the day! L
 |
| Lexie poses by the front door of her house! |
Happy
Hour tonight was a celebration of Pam’s birthday! Robert had bought a couple of cheesecakes and
blueberries (Pam’s favorites!). I took a
bowl of dried fruit which proved to be very popular. We built a fire which felt really good after
a rather chilly day. But….good news –
tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and much warmer!
 |
| Pam shows off her cartoon card! |
I
worked this morning and afternoon on a prayer design which includes all the
CAVs, homeowners, and affiliate staff, as well as a number of personal
prayers. It celebrates the rainbow we
saw the other night in ‘the gap’.
 |
| Care-a-Vanner Prayer Drawing |
We
might have to get the heater out again tonight.
It is forecast to be in the high 30’s tonight as the skies clear.
Here is a copy of my devotion poem and the Scribble that accompanied it.
Yet growth happens here as well.
We
left Bowman Lake around 1:20 and the return trip was much quicker! The weather has also deteriorated with the
storm clouds coming in. It even
sprinkled a little on us as we drove back out to the main road. Since the ‘inside’ road is still closed, we
head back through Polebridge and down to Camas Creek entrance station. Here we take the Camas Creek Road into Apgar
and West Glacier and back to Columbia Falls.
A beautiful drive!!!
The
canyon of the Middle Fork of the Flathead is fairly narrow leaving West
Glacier. The river is running brown and
dirty from the off and on storms and all the snow melt. The railroad follows this route over the
mountains as well, so it is a constant companion on one side of the road or the
other! Scattered snowy peaks point
through here and there through the gaps.
We decide to just ‘plow through’ to East Glacier and make our other
stops on the way back.
We
decide to follow the South Shore Trail and then take the spur to Aster Falls
and perhaps on up to Aster Overlook.
There are very few people on the trail (we see two other groups all
day), but Rick has his bear spray and did an awesome job of shouting YeeOhh! Every
two minutes or so just to let the critters know we were coming! (While we didn’t see any bear scat, we did
see a lot of moose droppings. We had
already seen a young moose in the bushes before we got up to the main
lake!) The trail wound through some dense
forest, bogs, and meadows. We met a gal
from Hepner, OR who knows John and Pat Edmundson, but I can’t remember her
name! L She was hiking alone! We missed the spur to the falls, but finally
had to turn back on the overlook portion because the snow was getting pretty
deep on the switchbacks since we were on the shady side of the mountain. We got a few good views, however!
Today
we also saw a snipe bird, a spruce grouse, as well as the young moose. We’ve done pretty well in animals over our
visit, just not all at once! Bear,
moose, deer, etc.!
I
drove back as far as the staircase waterfall along the highway on the west side
of Marias Pass. We stopped to admire the
falls and then stopped again at the Salt Lick after rejoining the Flathead
River. Sadly, no mountain goats or sheep
were feeding on the mineral deposits along the river there, but it is a popular
place for the animals to gather. Our
last stop was at Essex, a railroad town built for much the same reason as
Helper, Utah. The rail yard is fairly
extensive because in Essex the trains would get a ‘helper’ engine to provide
the push up and over the long pass. Many
of the old caboose cars are now rental cabins, and the Isaac Walton Hotel is
still used to house railroad employees.
Back
to the RV park around 4:30p. A long day,
but a great one! We are tired, and I had
to stop driving in Essex because something was irritating my left eye horribly. It bothered me until I took a LOOONNG shower
and the water seemed to help. Still tender,
but I’m not conscious of it all the time this evening.
After
break I put on my quilted flannel shirt, removing the outer cotton shirt that
was soaked. That helped the warmth issue
considerably! It also helped that the
rain let us a little between 10 and noon.
After
lunch we built two interior walls for each side of the unit that border the
stairwell and connected to our front wall.
Those didn’t have to be sheathed as they weren’t exterior! We finished the day by putting a missing
piece of sheathing on the exterior of Lexie’s unit. I also took that opportunity to take pictures
of Lexie’s blessings on the floor boards – boards Lexie herself got to put into
place last week!
During
lunch a couple of women from the ‘Nurturing Center’ in Kalispell came to accept
a donation of cute little t-shirt dresses from Thrivent and explain their
mission. It was interesting to listen to
them. I hope to find out more on the
internet and possibly bring some donation when we come back. I wish I had looked closer at the dresses,
but I think I can figure it out!
A
beautiful morning for a drive. We did
momentarily lament that we drove the east side of Flathead Lake in the
afternoon enroute up with the sun in our eyes for viewing the lake, and today
we drive the west side of the lake heading south and the sun blurs the outline
of the snowy peaks of the Mission Mountains!
Oh well, the lake is still beautiful! Rick drove down to Rollins, about
midway down the lake, and then I took the wheel until Lolo. Realized I didn’t particularly want to drive
the Lochsa, so this should be my stretch for the day!
We
gas up in Lolo and Grangeville.
Whitebird Pass is spectacular as usual and the hillsides are still very
green for the most part. As we near
Riggins we see more and more boats in the river (this section is the main
Salmon River). I couldn’t get an RV spot
in Riggins itself, and I learned it is because the salmon run has started. Tonight the owner at our site said it is
forecast to be the biggest salmon run since 1938!! Wow!
No wonder everyone has a fishing pole in the river! Pinehurst Resort is located a few miles PAST
the salmon fish hatchery so not as busy.
Hence we were able to reserve a spot here.
Pinehurst
itself is unincorporated – a side road strip about 200 yards long along Highway
95 and the Little Salmon River, about 12 miles south of Riggins. We are
given site #3, (there are only 8 sites to choose from!) which proves to be a wonderful spot backed right up to the
river. We will sleep tonight to the
sound of rushing water!
We have no cell service here in the canyon, and internet only in a common room. So I will get everything written and then amble over to the room for awhile, long enough to post!
Tomorrow HOME!
Quick
stop at a Conoco in New Meadows to fill up on some coffee and head down the
road toward Weiser. Wow – what a
difference three weeks has made in this section of Idaho in terms of
Green. Much more brown to the hills now,
although still plenty of green in the low draws, etc. Still some good patches of balsamroot, however,
just looking a little more wilted.
We
hit the same Maverick in Weiser for a final gas-up and the final 80 miles into
Baker City. I send Rick into the
restroom while I finish getting the receipt, etc. About 15 miles north of Ontario, once we are
on the freeway, a car passes us with the man shouting something is wrong. Rick pulls over and checks the trailer,
tires, etc. We can’t see anything. We continue driving, and we hear a faint
flapping. Rick pulls over again. Neither of us put the gas cap back on the
truck in Weiser! (Really MY fault…I told
Rick I would finish up! Oops!) Actually we are relieved it was nothing
major, although driving with an open tank isn’t particularly a good idea!
Toss a pebble into a pond.
Ever widening circles of impact
Delight as the surface shifts and changes
Below the water we cannot see
Yet growth happens here as well.
Toss one Habitat house into a community
and the ripples begin.
The house becomes a home;
A source of safety, security and stability.
Improved education, jobs, and health.
Community pride, involvement, participation.
Self respect.
One pebble.
One home.
Multiple lives changed.
Ripples we can’t even foresee.
With each swing of hammer,
Each sheetrock screw,
Every stroke of paint,
Every swipe of drywall sander,
We are tossing pebbles.
Simple, small actions….
Results beyond our wildest imagination.
May we all keep tossing pebbles,
Knowing God is at work in each one
With ripples of changing lives.
With ripples of changing lives.
FRIDAY, May 30
CAV
Build Day 9: Painting & Drywall Sanding…Again
What
a difference 24 hours makes!! What a
beautiful morning! Not a cloud in the
sky, but it is BRISK! The thermometer
outside our window registered 33 degrees when I got up at 6am! We had the heater going, however, so the
trailer was around 49 degrees. Not too
bad!
 |
| Is that Rick way up there painting? |
Another
day without our leader Steve. He stopped
by for devotions and our morning job assignments, and then was heading down to
the Safety Class taught by Frank and Diana.
Our CAV crew is joined by regular volunteers Chris and Jivon and
homeowners Lexie and Lisa (after lunch).
Rick worked all day on finishing up some key painting on Lisa and
Heather’s house. No big change for him
other than some good planning to get the exposed west side done this morning
before the warm sun hit in the afternoon.
By then he was under the scaffolding on the south side in the
shade.
 |
| Lexie gets started sanding in a closet. |
Steve
asks Tom and I to head over to the one story unit to sand while Robert, Cliff,
and Scott finish the second coat mud in the two-story. I don’t balk, but do request some safety
googles that I can wear over my glasses.
Steve agrees that would be a good thing and returns 20 minutes later
with three pairs! He also has Lexie and
Jivon come down to help us out. So while
Tom and I work on the ladders and do the ceiling corners and ceilings, Lexie
and Jivon sand the lower portions of the walls and the flat surfaces
there. Lexie isn’t too excited by the
job, but she is willing to do her part.
(She had way too much fun yesterday using the power hammer on HER
house!)
 |
| Back at the ceilings! |
I can’t
say yet that sanding is the highlight of my Habitat experiences, but it is a job
that has to be done and many in the group have respiratory problems that
prevent them from doing it. Lexie did
say she has some asthma issues after awhile and after lunch she went to work
painting with Rick. But the good news
was the arrival of Lisa Littledog, homeowner for the one-story at lunch! Lisa has difficulty navigating stairs after a
serious car accident several years ago.
She nearly lost both legs, but is walking fine at this point. It will be a small home for her and her nephew,
but adequate and she is so excited to move in during August. We had a really good opportunity to visit
while we sanded. Meeting the homeowners
like this and hearing their stories is a highlight of the Habitat
experience.
 |
| Lisa Littledog helps sand in HER unit. |
Lunch
today was provided by Taco Del Sol in Whitefish. Lots of yummy fat burritos! Both Rick and I had chicken and black
bean. We took the leftovers home to cut
up for the appetizer potluck this evening.
 |
| End of Day 9: second floor firewall going up! |
Executive
Director Erin, Steve, and Jesse (plus his girlfriend) joined us for the
farewell potluck this evening at the campground. We made a fire, roasted marshmallows, and
enjoyed good food! Jesse presented
everyone with t-shirts and certificates, while Clint had a thank you card with
a team picture on it for everyone. Clint
also had a cartoon for Jesse. A nice
evening that included a trailer tour of Bill and France’s place!
Tomorrow
wraps up the build. Pam, Robert, Clint,
Kathy, Tom, and Diane will be staying on for the next two weeks. We will stay for 5 more days. We should be joined on Sunday by at least 3-4
new couples. Should be good!
SATURDAY, May 31
CAV
Build Day 10: Painting, Sanding; Concrete Prep!
 |
| Rick is all smiles during devotions |
Last
day on the job! And it’s a good
thing. The group is tired. You can just see that people are
lagging. We have a good final devotion
by Roxanne and then off to work. A few
local volunteers, including Lexie and a friend of hers.
Lexie
and Beth join Rick painting. “Old” Steve
(a former construction supervisor) is also on the job down at that house
working on painting and scaffold moving (sometimes too soon on the latter….Rick
said he was removing it while they were standing on it!) Rick had hoped to finish the house and they
came close, but it was a taxing day trying to finish and keep Lexie and Beth
going. Next week he hopes to return to
framing. Please …. No paint!
 |
| Back in my favorite stairwell closet |
 |
| Rick out on the scaffolding |
I
went back to sand with Tom. Jivon, a
local volunteer, also came in to help as we were sanding the two-story unit for
the second time, preparing it for the final coat of mud. Lots of ceilings, nail holes, etc, but
overall, each sanding gets a little easier.
Shortly after break we were pretty well finished with the house. Steve suggested we start in on the third coat
of mud, but…..I think he saw my doubts and said, “Ginger, would you like a job
outside?” Having been inside the house
for two weeks, I said, “YES!” So I
cleaned up a little and reported for concrete prep duty! The front stoop, steps, handicap ramp, and
back stoops all have to be checked, gravel leveled to 4” depth in the middle, 6”
by the framing. Overall drop of about ½”
from back to front edge for drainage.
Repair and retie all the rebar.
Dig out down to the footing on the pillars. It was work, but…it was in the shade and it
was outside!!! Jivon eventually came out
to help me and we got the job done.
Pizza
was provided for lunch, but I think I either ate too much or it was greasier
than I am used to because I really developed an upset stomach after lunch. But Jivon and I worked through it and
finished the concrete prep. The cement
will be poured on Monday by a friend of Steve’s who is donating the work to
Habitat. Anyway…we were done a few
minutes early and I took the opportunity to lay down briefly in the trailer
shade to get my act back together.
Lexie
has adopted Rick and I! She said she
wants to take us rafting when we come back in the fall. She really liked working with Rick and said
he was such a good teacher and so patient!
She is quite the extrovert, but a good gal.
 |
| Our framing progress after 10 days: second story walls going up! |
Steve
shared another story during lunch of a little girl who stopped by the site one
day with her family, ran past all the CAVs up to Steve, wrapped him in a big
bear hug and said, “Thank you for building my house.” That’s why he builds for Habitat and not as a
contractor putting up multimillion dollar mansions. He is an exceptional supervisor.
Amid
much chaos of organization, we end up having dinner with just Frank and Diana
at the Mexican restaurant. We tried to
coordinate to have Carol and Jack join us, but they texted back they weren’t
sure of their plans. So…we sat in Los
Caporales for 2 ½ hours visiting with the Peccias. Good time.
I am
ready for a relaxing and lazy morning.
And early to bed tonight!
SUNDAY, June 1
Goodbyes
& Hellos
North
Fork Flathead & Bowman Lake
I was in bed
for nine hours last night! Unheard of,
but I sure felt better come Sunday morning! It is a glorious day not to be wasted!!
 |
| Our wanderings for today. |
As we
heard voices outside, we saw Jack and Carol hooking up. As we didn’t make connections for dinner last
night, we wanted to be sure to do so today before they left. Well, eventually it ended up with a group of
10 down at the Montana Coffee Trading Company for breakfast! We did say quick goodbyes to Roxanne &
Dave, Bill & France before they all headed off to church before they left. A good meal down at the coffee place, although
Rick couldn’t get any pancakes. L But the
conversation was more important!
Back
to load up! Frank and Diana must still
be at church as their rig is still here, but they will be gone by the time we
return.
Our
destination today is Polebridge and then Bowman Lake, following the ‘Outside’
North Fork Flathead River Road. This
road follows the west side of the river and is ‘outside’ the national park (the
river being the boundary). We were able
to cut up a back way to the Camas Creek junction with the road, directly out of
Columbia Falls. An interesting drive,
much of it through parts of the 2003 burn.
I lamented the burn at one point, but then realized I wouldn’t have
anywhere near the gorgeous views across the valley toward the panorama of peaks
if all the trees still lined the road!
And once we joined the Flathead road itself, the vistas across to the
northern part of the national park were stunning. This is the more secluded and less visited
part of the park – a series of glacial finger lakes running from east to west
out of the mountains.
 |
| Just north of Columbia Falls, area of 2003 burn. |
 |
| Flathead River winds through the broad valley west of Glacier NP |
But
first, private ranches and vast pastures of lush green grasses prior to
Polebridge. These are homes ‘off the
grid’, living on solar, wind, or generator power. When we got to Polebridge itself, the main
restroom was a beautifully maintained outhouse, painted bright red, and
ventilated with screens all around the top.
The inside was lined with posters of the area! Behind the famous mercantile was a sand
volleyball court, but the view of the mountains in back would be quite
distracting for my game! The pastries
and baked goods at the mercantile are touted and Rick and I purchased a
huckleberry bearclaw, another huckleberry treat, and a loaf of huckleberry beer
bread to take to the potluck tonight. We
ate the treat for lunch at Bowman Lake and the bearclaw will be a breakfast
treat.
 |
| Ranch fields just south of Polebridge |
 |
| Classy outhouse in Polebridge |
 |
| The Mercantile in 'downtown' Polebridge, MT |
 |
| On our way to Bowman Lake out of Polebridge |
After
Polebridge we cross the river, enter the national park again, cross Bowman
Creek and find the narrow, windy road that travels 6 miles up to Bowman
Lake. The road goes through burned areas
ripe with tamarack trees and baby aspens, thick forest, and lofty views. We take our time on the drive so Rick can
absorb the vistas!
 |
| Crossing Bowman Creek |
Bowman
Lake is stunning. Peaks of the
Continental Divide rim the 7 mile long glacial finger. The water reflects the snowy summits and the
puffy, building clouds. We are also
greeted with mosquitos!! But some quick
spray takes care of that problem! We
parked and wandered down around the lake end trails for a little while, just
soaking in the beauty. Found the ranger
station and decided this would be a pretty posh assignment for a national park
worker! Just carry your bear spray’! (The only wildlife we saw today was of the
deer kind!)
 |
| Bowman Lake vistas |
 |
| Along the lake rim |
 |
| A posh ranger assignment! |
 |
| Deer near Apgar |
 |
| Meeting the new CAVs... |
Our
evening is spent with meeting and dinner with the new Build group. Two RV couples from Texas and a single gal in
a tent from British Columbia have arrived.
Another couple is due in tomorrow.
Jesse and his girlfriend brought lasagna (LOTS of it!) and plenty of
salads and our bread round out the meal (no desserts!). My disappointment is the bread was apparently
mis-labeled because it was a raisin bread, not huckleberry! Nothing purple about it! L But good enough!
Phone
calls with Luke and Moms, the latter toward late evening. Ready for bed!
 |
| Bowman Lake Panorama |
MONDAY, June 2
Drive
to East Glacier (173 miles RT)
Two
Medicine Lake Hiking
 |
| Our trip for today! |
Another
beautiful morning!!! Wow! How lucky did we get?? We are up and ready to go by 7:45am – we want
to be on the east side of the mountains while the sun is still on the east side
shining on them, not behind them!!
Quick
stop for coffee at the Town Pump and then it is back up to West Glacier (we’ve
done this road several times now!)
and then new highway! We are following
US Route 2 around the southern tip of Glacier National Park, over Marias Pass,
and around to East Glacier.
 |
| Middle Fork of the Flathead River |
South
of Essex, we leave the Flathead and follow Bear Creek up to the pass. It is a fairly long haul up another forested
canyon. But near the summit, the
panorama suddenly opens up and we find a long ridge of narrow cut peaks along
the north side of the highway! Hard to
take pictures from the passenger side of the road, but Rick pulls over a couple
times to help me out! Once I stopped for
mountain pictures and took shooting stars as well!
 |
| Railroad, highway, and mountains near the Continental Divide |
 |
| Shooting stars....the mountains are back there! |
|
| Panorama of the peaks just East of Marias Pass |
 |
| Between East Glacier and Two Medicine - green! |
Once
over the pass, we are amazed at the vegetation change. It is like summiting the Cascades and
suddenly finding yourself in Eastern Oregon.
Wide open grasslands, open ridges, scattered trees. Once on the trail up at Two Medicine, the
terrain is much like the Elkhorns – more open and none of the typical west side
pacific plants.
East
Glacier is technically on the Blackfeet Reservation. We are awed as we drive through town and see
the East Glacier Lodge, built by the railroad back in the ‘heyday’ of rail
travel. Pretty posh place with a rustic
feel.
 |
| Dam and mountain reflections in Lower Two-Med Lake |
It is
about 10 miles up to Two Medicine Lake – which is actually a series of THREE
lakes. Lower Two Medicine is dammed,
while the other two are natural glacial ‘ponds’. The road goes to the middle of the
lakes. During peak season, a boat will
take you up the lake nearly 4 miles to a trailhead for the Upper Two Medicine
Lake. That is a four mile RT hike from
there and puts you right in the middle of the peaks. Unfortunately, the boat won’t start operating
until NEXT weekend, and there is still a lot of snow on the upper portions of
the trail. We take some pictures and
then visit the General Store to find a hiking guide to give us a little
advise!
 |
| View southwest from end of Two Medicine Lake |
 |
| Shooting Stars and Mt. Sinopah |
 |
| Quick photo of map in book! |
 |
| Vista of peaks from the South Shore Trail |
Since
we missed the spur to the lower portion of the falls, we found one that brought
us out to the top and a ridge of snow along a crashing chute of water. On the way back we found the spur (we had
been distracted by the Oregon sweatshirt earlier!) and checked out the rest of
Aster Falls.
 |
| Rick and I from top of Aster Falls |
 |
| Looking up at the snowy chute of Aster Falls. |
 |
| Lower portion of Aster Falls |
Along
the way, we were greeted with Spring Beauties (a little white flower), purple shooting
stars, yellow buttercups and glacier lilies – in the meadows and down the
middle of the trail. So pretty.
 |
| Glacier Lily |
 |
| Wildflower in the trail |
Forgot….before
we arrived at Two Medicine Lake, we stopped at Running Eagle Trailhead to take
the short walk to Running Eagle falls.
Running Eagle was a Blackfeet warrior woman, one of the few to receive ‘medicine’
from the Great Spirits after going through the fast and purification
rituals. She was killed by Flathead
Indians at the age of 30 and buried at the top of the falls. The pictures we saw show a much more passive
waterfall than the crashing water we saw.
Behind the falls is Rising Wolf Mountain, which at 9513’ is the highest
in the area.
 |
| Running Eagle falls and Rising Wolf Mt. |
 |
| Young Moose |
 |
| Staircase Falls near Marias Pass |
 |
| A fun rental 'cabin' near Essex |
We
need to do laundry, but after borrowing detergent that we could use in the
front loader machines here at the park, we found we didn’t have the requisite
quarters and the office is closed. We
shall handle it tomorrow. Just going to
do enough to get us home!
The
last two CAVs arrived while we were gone: Carrie and Bob. We stopped by Happy Hour briefly to give our
regards, but didn’t stay. Too tired! G’night!
TUESDAY, June 3
CAV
BUILD: Scaffolding & Firewalls
Raindrops
keep falling on my hardhat!! Wow!! The internet this morning said SUNSHINE until
afternoon thunderclouds and 50% chance rain. That was the forecast at 7am while the
raindrops fell!! And then continued to
fall, fairly steadily, until noonish!
(Later Steve confessed that June is their wettest month, but they don’t
advertise that on the build!)
 |
| Check out the sidewalk I helped prepare! |
We
gather as a new group just prior to 8am where Kathy leads devotions, based on a
series of quotes about giving back! Just
after 8, the Thrivent Lutheran group arrives – about 10 in number wearing
bright red shirts! They are staying at a
Lutheran camp about an hour away – lots of driving every day, but cheap accommodations!
Before devotions I wandered down to the
end house (Heather and Lisa) to see how the concrete looks that was poured
yesterday. It looks GREAT! Those houses will be so much safer going in
and out now.
 |
| Lexie and Leigh set some footings for scaffolding |
Tom
and I have been relieved of dust duty!
Rick has also been cleared from painting (the rain is preventing that
possibility anyway!) and the three of us are grouped together, along with Leigh
(our Canadian CAV) and Lexie, homeowner.
Our job is to build the scaffolding necessary to finish the firewall
sheetrock, which must be completely prepared, but can’t be raised into place
until an inspection takes place. Since
this wall is along the stairwell, we must have scaffolding on the outside of
the house to put the wall into place.
 |
| Handing Rick the railing supports. |
So….we
build scaffolding in the rain. Rick and
I both have just a lightweight shirt on over our t-shirts and we are soaking
wet within an hour. It is cold! But we persevere! (I am thinking….I could still be working down
at the end of the street in the house toasty and warm as the heater dries the
mud! Silly me!) Rick takes the lead in teaching us what to
do, as he gained a wealth of scaffolding experience last week! It doesn’t take long to become an ‘expert’ on
a CAV build!
 |
| Rick and Tom as they install firewall sheetrock. |
The
other framing crews were building a wall and checking all the sheathing nails
on the exterior. The second half of the
duplex cannot be exterior walled until this firewall is in place, so we needed
to keep moving! But….long story short,
by the end of the day we are just about finished!! I taught Lexie and Leigh how to cut
sheetrock, and we supplied both Rick and Tom as well as framers on the
otherside with some special cuts. The
firewall sheetrock is extra heavy and harder to cut than normal. Fortunately, the rain completely stopped at
lunch, so conditions were a little more productive afterwards! Lexie, Leigh, and I carried scaffolding
pieces, extension ladders, sheetrock, and located various tools and materials
as needed! We also had to remove the
safety rails around the stairwell, which meant screw removal. Lexie had a ball doing that! She likes power tools! J
 |
| Thrivent 'red shirt' crews as well as Rick and Tom on the blue firewall. |
 |
| Rick, Lexie, and Ginger |
The
exterior siding paint crew spent the day inside Trailer #2 (I always feel like ‘Let’s
Make a Deal’ when we say this!) repairing old electric cords and extension cords.
Not very fun according to Diane, as they couldn’t repair with electric
tape even slight dings in the outer rubber. Wasteful she said!
The Thrivent group split up and worked in many places, but a large crew moved scaffolding from the paint job Rick had been doing to the house across the street that still needed a second coat....after the homeowners have moved in! Weather prevented it from happening any sooner.
 |
| Lexie and Ging in front of our 'blessing' on the closet wall |
After
work, Rick and I got our laundry done – just one load or enough to get home
with! Showers, reservations made for
Friday night, Weight Watchers renewal call, Bountiful Basket ordered, AND a
chat with Luke about the garden!
Whew! I then drove back in to
weigh at the local meeting (No gain this week!) Finally time for Happy
Hour!
This
evening we survived a roaring thunderstorm and hail. I keep thinking of Leigh out in the tenting
area. I hope she is staying dry! She is a trooper to spend her two weeks
vacation doing this! But the sky is
lightening up and hopefully we will have some improved weather for
tomorrow! Rick and I did just remember
we have some raingear in the back of the truck if we need it tomorrow!
G’night!!
WEDNESDAY, June 4
CAV
Build: Firewall Up!! Framing
The forecast today looks very
promising! Still clouds up the gap, but
we should be done with the rain!
Hurray!!
 |
| Rick prepares to lead devotions |
Rick
has devotions this morning – using his James 2:14-17 passage on Faith Without
Action. It’s always a good one and
people appreciated his message. Then….time
to get into action! Our job is to finish
up the firewall by lunch, as the inspector is coming at 1pm. That means finishing all the sheetrock,
lining up the two wall sections, putting up the remaining pink firetape, and
caulking the seam between the two levels with a fireproof caulk. I had no idea there was this much involved in
protecting the two sides of a duplex from each other! But it makes sense….just a lot of detail
stuff. I did a lot of ‘fetching’, trying
to leave Leigh up on top so she could get a chance to hammer, tape, etc. Once we had the last wall section ready to
raise, the stairwell was blocked, so I had to get an extension ladder so people
could get up to the second floor. We put
it onto the scaffolding. I also swept
water out of both levels as their were deep puddles after last night’s storm.
 |
| Rick and Tom finish sealing the wall with pink firetape. |
While
we were working on the firewall, another group was finishing up the opposite
exterior side wall. It got raised and
into place around 10am, and then Chris and his crew continued framing some of
the back wall section. Once we had the
firewall ready to go and waiting for inspection, we worked on a front wall
section. Our team was Tom, Rick, Leigh,
and I.
A
good day for painting progress! The
Thrivent team finishing painting one end of the unit that needed it’s second
coat from last year, another group work to strip the copper from the electric
cords (yeah!!!), while others were helping frame. The Texans (Don and Carolyn, Tom and Peggi)
worked on the stairwell front wall, which has to be built in place as you can’t
lift it in place with no stairwell floor to lift from!
 |
| Finished walls in place |
Our
lunch was brought in by a couple from a local church I think. Tuna sandwiches, chips, grapes, and
cookies. Very nice. There were lots of extra sandwiches so I took
a couple home. (Rick ate his for dinner,
but I’ll take mine for lunch tomorrow as I am out of salad!)
The
inspector showed up right on time and the inspection lasted about 10
seconds. Ah the hoops you must jump
through!
 |
| Leaning Tower Art... digitally 'fixed up' |
Robert
and Clint finished up the sanding process in the end unit. The walls feel so smooth and ready for the
texture man tomorrow. I am anxious to
watch a little of him at work. Kathy and her crew of painters continued painting the siding pieces. At one point their stack slid to the side creating a Leaning Tower of Blocks. I told them it was artwork!
I
pounded a few nails in to frame, but also went up and down the ladder to cut
some boards, cut sheetrock pieces, etc.
By afternoon the sun was shining, the clouds were puffy, and it was
almost humid! Very nice!
 |
| Last part of Happy Hour...with Therapy sign! |
Clint
and Kathy made a fire again tonight and everyone was actually gathered around
it this evening. Good stories told and I
laughed when Robert brought out his little lawn sign that said “Group Therapy”. Nice.
Back to the trailer to draw some pictures, including a Habitat Prayer
picture for our short time with this group.
 |
| Build 2 Team: Carey, Bob, Leigh, Diane, Tom, Kathy, Carolyn, Don, Rick, Peggi, Clint, Tom, Robert, Pam, Steve Ginger in front |
 |
| My June CAV Build Prayers.... |
THURSDAY, June 5
CAV
Build: Walls! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Rick!
 |
| Pause to discuss our next move on the wall. |
Our
last day on the job! It has been an
amazing two plus weeks with some great people.
Steve is an exceptional supervisor and can keep MANY people busy at
once! After a wonderful “Mr. Roger’s”
devotion from Pam, our team of Rick, myself, Tom, and Leigh went back to work
on the front exterior wall for the upstairs of the duplex. We had to finish the actual framing, sheath
it and cut out the window openings, and then raise it into place, adding
connector headers and braces. We did it
all by hand – no power nailers for this crew!
But….by the end of the day I was pretty sure a 16 penny nail meant it
takes a MINIMUM of 16 hammer hits to pound in!
(More like 20 or more!)
 |
| Rick nails down the top plate |
 |
| Peggy & Carolyn line up a wall |
Other
groups were cutting siding panels, painting siding, painting on both houses,
building walls, applying sheathing.
Small crews were everywhere, but when a group needed help, all they had
to do was ask. It was fun to watch. And Steve bounced from one group to another,
answering questions, demonstrating something, or explaining the next step of
the process. We got A LOT done
today!
 |
| Our End of Day 13 Picture: We personally built and put up the arrowed walls today! |
 |
| Our Thrivent friends |
Rick
has ordered PIE for his
birthday treat!
So we stop enroute home to purchase pumpkin, marionberry, and peach
pie. And two tubs of Cool Whip! The group decided to bring a little ‘heartier’
Happy Hour entrees so we could call it dinner and thus eat our pie guilt
free! Clint presented Rick with his
cartoon while we all sang. It is pretty
cute with Rick as an old man with walker still involved with Habitat! Clint drew it last week in time to get all the previous CAVS to sign it before they left. Pretty cool.
 |
| Rick cheers when he sees Clint has made a cartoon for him! |
 |
| Rick with his birthday 'Clint-toon' - signatures from BOTH CAV groups! |
Supervisor Steve came by and joined us for
the second hour which gave us a good opportunity to say goodbye to him.
Beautiful
weather today. Montana blue skies, puffy
clouds, sunshine and about 20 drops of rainfall right after lunch! It got warm, but not too hot.
Heading
out in the morning! G’night.
FRIDAY, June 6
Columbia
Falls to Pinehurst, ID
356
miles
Homeward
bound! We actually pack up, say a few more goodbyes as the CAVs leave for the
job site in front of us, and pull out just 5 minutes after most of them. Only difference, we are heading south!
 |
| Steeple of Kalispell Presby Church |
Note: Last night as we were saying goodbye to those
we had just barely met, Hinkles (Prineville folk), Clint & Kathy, Rick and
I lingered a bit. We suddenly realized
we were the six who would be back in September!
At that point I gave Kathy a copy of my Habitat devotional book. Clint looked at Kathy, winked, and headed into
his trailer. I looked at Kathy puzzled,
and she said, “I think a book trade is in the works!” Clint had written a fiction book called Tug’s
Volunteer! I think it is based on their
Peace Corps experience. Should be fun to
read. Anyway, we got additional hugs
this morning from them!
 |
| Flathead Lake from Hwy 93 on west side |
 |
| Devoto Cedar Grove along the Lochsa |
Seems
like the lupine has blossomed more in the three weeks, but still lots of yellow
of a variety of types. More everything
is still VERY green, although the further south we went we found patches of
brown starting to creep in (especially past Grangeville!)
The
Mission Mts. east of St. Ignatius are stunning peaks! So rugged!
I love the valley, but with all its potholes, lakes, and bogs, it must
be a mosquito paradise in the summer season.
A
surprise flower as we drive down the Lochsa which we didn’t see three weeks
ago: the beargrass has bloomed! Still
early as the clusters are rather short and conical. So pretty to see patches of the white plumes
along the road. We stopped at the Cedar
Grove Nature Trail and ate a bite of lunch before wandering the short path
among the cedar trees. So pretty and the
trees are majestic. We learned a healthy
cedar can live for 3000 years! Puts a
new light on the term ‘old growth’ forest!
 |
| A two foot high dandelion at the cedar grove |
 |
| Heading down Whitebird Pass |
 |
| Salmon River between Whitebird and Riggins |
 |
| Right behind our trailer |
I
spent over an hour finishing a book while sitting right on the edge of the
river bank in the sunshine. SO
NICE!!! I think Rick read and napped in
the trailer!
 |
| Old mailbox |
After
dinner we walked ALL of Pinehurst. (It
didn’t take long!) I did enjoy a
basketball hoop attached to the front of the oil tank, as well as an abandoned
mailbox, still with mail inside, but now filled with wasp nests! Rural America!
 |
| Basketball hoops can go anywhere! |
We have no cell service here in the canyon, and internet only in a common room. So I will get everything written and then amble over to the room for awhile, long enough to post!
Tomorrow HOME!
SATURDAY, June 7
Pinehurst,
ID to Baker City, OR
165
miles
A beautiful
drive home to Baker City today! We have
a leisurely start (waiting for the sun to finally come down into the canyon and
warm things up!) and don’t pull out until 8:45.
We know we have the advantage of an hour time change at the Oregon
border!
 |
| Dropping down into New Meadows |
 |
| Massive early hay field - all baled! Near Weiser |
Burnt
River canyon hills are very brown compared to our departure. How quickly those lush shades of green wither
and die!
Arrival
in Baker City around 11:30am….with the time change. About a 3 ½ hour drive from our camp 20 miles
north of New Meadows. This was a great
trip to a new area – an area that felt very much like home!
 |
| The Elkhorns welcome us home as we crest Pleasant Valley summit!! |
