SATURDAY, May 23:
Baker City to Colfax, WA
222 miles
Well,
it’s time to hit the road again!! We
don’t have far to go today, so it is a leisurely 10am departure! Weather is overcast with a good north wind
blowing – headwind! So much for gas
mileage!  |
| Fog over Tollgate |
As
we approach LaGrande, Rick ponders the possibility of taking Tollgate instead
of the freeway, especially since there is a great deal of construction still on
I-84. Why not!? It’s not NEW road, but we haven’t been that
way for awhile and the two lanes are more relaxed with the trailer.
Beautiful
drive, although we hit patches of DENSE fog up on top of the pass. Had to slow down to 40 mph to get through the
clouds, but the trees and undergrowth were so green and lush. Recent thunderstorms have made everything
damp and moist.  |
| Palouse Country! |
Two
hours and we drove down into Milton-Freewater for a little gas – 28 cents
cheaper than in Baker City, and cheaper than across the border in
Washington. From M-F and past Walla
Walla we entered the ‘palouse hills’ of Eastern Washington. This was a perfect time of year for the
drive, as the wheat fields were dark green, thick stalks waving in the
wind. Rolling hills, creek valleys,
quaint towns, and wind turbines! We
found out later when we arrived at Colfax that in addition to wheat, farmers in
this agricultural paradise raise garbanzo beans and lentils.
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| Crossing the Snake |
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| Peonies in Colfax yard |
We
stopped just north of Waitsburg at a small state park (with a ridiculous day
use fee of $10!) just long enough to grab some lunch from the trailer. We had no intention of paying the fee for a
brief stop so we ate back on the road!
Arrived
in Colfax around 2:45 and after a wrong turn, found the Hilltop RV and Mobile
Home Park. Only about 7-8 short term
sites, and most of them are used by long term folks! But we were able to pay for both our site and
one for Rusty, so all is good. Rusty’s
site is not the Hilton, but it has hookups!
And it’s just for one night.
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| Colfax Hilltop wheat ranch |
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| Colfax nestles in creek hollow |
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| Evening chat |
Both
Rick and I took a short walk before Rusty arrived. I headed up to the top of the hill, thinking
I would get a view of the city below, but instead I found a vast hillside of
green wheat and a picturesque farm below!
Rick walked up past the hospital and further.
Quiet
evening visiting outside our trailer.
Rusty spent some time getting acquainted with the setup in his new rig
(he just brought the trailer home from TriCities on Thursday!) We gathered for dinner and conversation until
nearly 8p when we turned in for the evening.
Showers,
a little reading, and early to bed.
Still catching up on our sleep!!
SUNDAY, May 24
Colfax, WA to Libby, MT
211 miles
Rusty knocked on our door
around 8am, ready to take off. He had
been up for awhile! We got away about an
hour later, heading north to Spokane.
Today
as another beautiful day for a drive.
The weather cleared after last nights thunderstorm (between 10 and 11 a
good storm moved through, rolling booming thunder and lightning flashes all
over the place!) and bright blue sky greets our views of more wheat
fields!
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| Kootenai River Bonner's Ferry |
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| Between Troy and Libby....complete with bug splat! |
From
Spokane north the terrain changes from wheat to hay fields and mountains with
pines and firs. Such beautiful
country. Occasionally we catch a glimpse
of snowy peaks in the distance, but the snow is lean this year. We cross the Kootnai River in Bonner’s Ferry
and follow it east to Troy and Libby. No
stop at Kootnai Falls today as the parking lot is packed with Memorial Day
visitors. We will go back some other
time to see the falls during spring runoff.
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| Our two week home in Libby MT |
Time
to get settled, set up, and relax!! Calls
to Moms, text to Luke, and later a call to Jed.
The internet is unsecure, but it will work! Phone service is always iffy in Montana. Rick can’t call out on his phone, but mine
seems to work. Weird.
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| Gathered round for meeting and greeting |
We
gather for a get-acquainted at 4:30 and I realize during introductions that
Rick and I are the only ones who know EVERYONE here (except our guest from the
Libby Habitat Board, Don) Pete and Dyana
haven’t worked before with Clint, Kathy, Diane, and Tom. And of course, we are the only ones who know
Rusty. A good time of visiting and
learning more about the small by mighty group of volunteers here in Libby. Dyana was team leader here four years ago
when Libby brought their first group of Care-a-vanners to town. Hence she is mostly responsible for getting
Pete here! (Including his ride up!)
It
is warm today!! In the 80’s by the time
we arrive and the sun is hot. Clouds
come in and that helps! But at 9:30
tonight it is still 76 degrees in the trailer!
Time to wrap this up and get some sleep.
We have WORK to do tomorrow!!!
Monday, May 25: Memorial Day
Up and raring to go this morning, but the forecast does NOT look good for a full day at the Habitat site! The build is only a mile from the RV park so a quick drive. We check out the status of the house so far (framing, interior walls, sheathing on roof), go through devotions (Rick) and safety check, meet Jennifer the homeowner, and get started. Rick and Tom are on the roof checking and nailing the sheathing down, Rusty working on soffits, and Clint, Jennifer, and I begin to cut and install the joists for the front porch. We got five boards cut and one installed before the rain hit and Pete called it a day. We can't paint in the rain (Diane and Kathy were going to work on the siding painting), we can't be on the roof in the rain, and the inside of the house isn't watertight yet to work inside. So....one hour of time for today!
Once everything is put away, Rick and I take off to tour the town abit and go to the grocery store. Rusty ends up taking an 80 mile drive to the Yak Valley - a drive Rick and I plan to take later. We holed up in the trailer listening to the rain fall, reading, writing, drawing, etc. By noon the heavy rain had abated. Rick and Rusty took off on a foot tour of town, I took Diane her rock and story, and eventually Diane, Kathy, and I walked down to the job site to see if I had left the impact driver out. (Later learned Pete had probably picked it up and it is in the tool trailer.) Took a couple of soggy pictures of the house while we were over there.
I should mention that the park is currently fighting a tent caterpillar infestation - you have to be careful walking under certain trees or between trees for fear of getting a face full of 'web'. Keep watch for tiny caterpillars climbing on you at all times! A little unnerving! I did capture a picture of a 'pillar that I think will turn into a beautiful butterfly, however!
Tonight was our welcome dinner hosted by the affiliate at St. Joe's Catholic church. There were about 10 members of the board present, which I think was the most of any welcome dinner we have enjoyed. The Libby affiliate is small but mighty! (Their main fundraiser is a bicycle race that had over 450 entrants - turning away 100 more - which raised over $30,000.) They build one house every two years. Jennifer was there with her soon-to-be 4 year old daughter Jasmine, but Jasmine was asleep in her lap the entire meal! The meal was excellent and we were all introduced completely! I presented Jennifer with the wooden plaque that was made by EOPW at our April meeting.
Hopefully tomorrow we will get to build!!
Tuesday, May 26
Up and raring to go this morning, but the forecast does NOT look good for a full day at the Habitat site! The build is only a mile from the RV park so a quick drive. We check out the status of the house so far (framing, interior walls, sheathing on roof), go through devotions (Rick) and safety check, meet Jennifer the homeowner, and get started. Rick and Tom are on the roof checking and nailing the sheathing down, Rusty working on soffits, and Clint, Jennifer, and I begin to cut and install the joists for the front porch. We got five boards cut and one installed before the rain hit and Pete called it a day. We can't paint in the rain (Diane and Kathy were going to work on the siding painting), we can't be on the roof in the rain, and the inside of the house isn't watertight yet to work inside. So....one hour of time for today! 
Once everything is put away, Rick and I take off to tour the town abit and go to the grocery store. Rusty ends up taking an 80 mile drive to the Yak Valley - a drive Rick and I plan to take later. We holed up in the trailer listening to the rain fall, reading, writing, drawing, etc. By noon the heavy rain had abated. Rick and Rusty took off on a foot tour of town, I took Diane her rock and story, and eventually Diane, Kathy, and I walked down to the job site to see if I had left the impact driver out. (Later learned Pete had probably picked it up and it is in the tool trailer.) Took a couple of soggy pictures of the house while we were over there. 
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| This will be a beautiful butterfly....I hope! |
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| Jennifer & Jasmine |
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| A sleepy Jasmine |
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| Board members, Norrells, Rusty, and Pete |
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| House at beginning of Tuesday |
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| Chop saw Rusty |
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| Rusty on soffit frame |
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| Tom and Rick with drip edge |
Unfortunately, our first task was to shave 1 1/2" OFF because the porch was too wide! Awkward, but we did it. Then the joists installed, and we started working on the 6x6 support beams (being installed late because the wood didn't arrive on time!) Not particularly the order you normally build a porch deck, but hopefully we can make it work!Weather in the morning warmed up quickly and Rick was HOT up on the roof. But as the rain started and then the thunder and lightning, the temp dropped quickly.
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| Dyana paints siding |
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| Lunchtime! |
So...we are back at the trailer by 1pm!! A little computer time, a LONG shower (these are great showers - lots of pressure and HOT water!), phone conversation with Liz, etc. Of course the skies are clearing and blue can be seen freely among the clouds! The forecast is not good for the whole time we are here! Rats!
WEDNESDAY, May 27
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| Rusty gets plenty of advice on adjusting his suspenders during devotions |
Weather
forecast today at 7am – less than a 20% chance of rain until 5pm or so. By 8am that had changed to rain prediction
for 9am. And it started to sprinkle just
as we finished devotions! Could we
possibly catch a break here? We think
Pete is to blame, since it started sprinkling last night just as he showed up
for Happy Hour! No thunder or lightning this morning, just a steady rain that
really picked up just as the truck arrived shortly after 9 with the shingles
for the roof. Tom and Rick and Pete
unloaded all the shingles (the lift couldn’t get them ALL the way up to the
roof, so they had to unloaded bundle by bundle…..in the rain! NOT a fun job I imagine.
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| AFTER Rick got thoroughly wet unloading shingles, he donned his rainwear! |
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| Waiting out the storm |
In
the meantime, Kathy and Diane are struggling with the paint job, but Dyana and
Jennifer (homeowner!) are busy inside installing the side porch door. Other friends of Jennifer’s arrive and start
helping to install windows. Local
volunteers Dean and Dan are still working on the side porch and Clint and I on
the front porch. Our accomplishment for
the day is to finally get the four 6x6 pillars cut and installed. (Reminder once again….if I EVER build a
porch, put the support beams in first!)
We had one problem after another…nuts that were cross threaded and
wouldn’t go up and down, bolts to saws-all off, notches to cut in the beams,
adjustments, leveling, etc. It took us
ALL DAY LONG!!!
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| Jennifer installs her front door! |
The
rain stopped shortly after our 10am break (which we took inside in a dry place
as Pete, Dan, and Dean stayed yesterday after the sun came out and applied the
sealer paper to the roof!) Sun came out and it quickly turned muggy and
warm!
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| Clint notches our porch beams |
Lunch
was provided today by the LDS church and they brought a feast! Chicken salad and egg sandwiches, pineapples,
mixed fruits, veggie tray, fritos, and cookies galore! Enough left for lunches tomorrow for half the
group at least.
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| Tom and Rick on roof duty |
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| Rick helps put up side porch gable |
Relaxing
afternoon and showers and I join the Norrells and Hinkles for a jaunt down to
Christ Lutheran Church and their free pulled pork community dinner. A beautiful little church and a relatively
well attended meal for anyone in the community.
We all found a contribution basket to make donations, even though none
was requested.
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| Inside of Christ Lutheran |
Sun
is shining through the clouds and there is plenty of blue sky as we wind down
for the evening.
And a few more construction pictures....
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| Kathy and Diane did get alot of painting done inspite of the rain! |
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| Our end of the day completion... four support posts! |
THURSDAY, May 28
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| Kathy and Diane get the painting started |
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| Clint prepares to notch a support post |
I walk to the job site again this morning, with Bailey dog on leash. A side detour of four extra blocks to mail the postcards at the post office. Later, Kathy and I walk home again.
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| Jennifer works on house windows |
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| Rick and Tom up on gable roof |
By day's end, Rick and Tom and Dan seem to have a good start on the roof over the gable....much better progress than Clint and I make out front. By break, we have at least finally gotten all the main posts completely set and nailed in place. I did all the final tightening of the bolt and nailing in the 12 nails on each one. The rest of the day we worked on the beams that attached the supports to the house, more notching involved to locate them accurately.
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| End of day progress for Clint and I |
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| Street in downtown Libby after storm; near Kootenai River bridge |
Dyana and Pete joined us at the brewery, but declined a dinner at Rositas. The Mexican restaurant came highly recommended by Dyana, however, and the rest of us tried it out. Hinkles and Rick and I all had fish tacos - a single taco, but just the right amount and VERY GOOD!!
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| Clint and Kathy Norrell at brewery |
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| Dyana, Rusty, and Tom at brewery ...watching the storm |
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| Tom and Diane at Rositas |
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| Putting up cross braces |
And today Clint and I made VISIBLE progress on the front porch! We finally got the cross braces in and the posts stabilized and level. From there, help with the
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| Rick nails down the first porch truss |
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| Rusty installing window trim |
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| Dyana hates it when I catch her in non-productive moments! |
While I was holding ladders and scampering around under Clint and Pete, I remarked that I should be wearing my hard hat. Well, sure enough, shortly after that Clint dropped his cat's claw. Fortunately it did not hit my head, and hit my hand on a flat surface, not the pointed end. I went and got the hard hat after that and felt much more secure!
A group of middle school age students from the local Christian school walked over to the site to visit during their lunch today. They have worked for the STOKR bike tour (Scenic Tour of Kootenai River), done lessons from the plans, etc. Today was their chance to visit the house itself and meet Jennifer. Neat small town aspect of Libby.
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| Youth from local Christian school visited during lunch |
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| Don, Pete, and Dyana at HH |
A beautiful evening out, but the caterpillars and the cottonwood 'snow' make life a little miserable as the evening lengthens.
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| Check out that front porch! Sorry, Pete, I chopped off your head! |
THREE DAY WEEKEND! PLAY-TIME!!
Saturday, May 30
HIKE: Kootenai River Road Trail 4 miles RT
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| The wildflowers we saw along the way |
It was still raining lightly when we began our hike. Rick pulled our yellow raingear out of the back of the truck and we were off, prepared for the worst! (The worse would have been taking the bikes, which we decided NOT to do even though this is rated as a great biking trail!)
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| A collage of hike photos |
Black Eagle proves to be a massive rock outcropping, the top of which is about 300' above the river level. We took to the west and see an old orchard and homestead below, the misty wisps of cloud drifting among the forested hillsides. While we are on top, a train sounds its whistle - we are convinced the tracks must also go above us as the echo off the canyon wall is so realistic. Yet, we SEE the train on the south side right along the river. Also while on top of Black Eagle we see five big-horn sheep - all ewes and a lamb. This is a protected area for them.
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| Still in our raingear on top of Black Eagle Point |
The highlight for me today was the wildflowers! Springtime blossoms of honeysuckle and wild rose, thimbleberry, huckleberry, wild currant and mariposa lily. A scattering of heartleaf arnica, a yellow thistle weed that Rusty said was Goat's Beard, ONE indian paintbrush. purple vetch, and some white daisies. The honeysuckle was woven through everything! New growth on all the firs, lush grass beneath all the forests. The path was basically a road with a firm gravel base - it would have been great biking.
Shortly after we came off Black Eagle Rock, the rain stopped (right on schedule for our 10am break!) and we even saw sunshine for awhile. (The raincoats were peeled off and down to shirtsleeves!) We saw some giant moths mating, caterpillars, and gophers in addition to the sheep.
Back to the campground around noon - we had thoughts of hitting the museum today, but it didn't happen. I worked on photographs after lunch and Rick took a nap! Eventually, as the skies began to break up a bit, we loaded up the laundry and hit the laundromat just west of town. Phone call with brother Mac while we waited!
Dinner of salmon patties, baked beans, and salad, and a relaxing evening. Tomorrow we venture up the Yaak River Valley!
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| Panorama of a stretch of the Kootenai River |
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| Yaak River Loop |
95 miles
Today was forecast for good weather, although the morning dawns, once again, gray and misty with low clouds on the hills. Not sure Libby is winning big awards for its weather patterns (or the tent caterpillars!) But....as we head west on Hwy 2, Rusty and Bailey in the backseat, the skies do seem to grow bluer!
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| Pano of Kootenai Falls |
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| My bear sculpture |
Rick and I stopped at Kootenai Falls last fall, but the water level is SOOO much higher now. The upper portion of the falls, while not dramatic in height, make up for it in volume and thunder! An island in the middle adds a great deal of beauty to the magic of the place. We found more rose and honeysuckle, but also Queen's cup! The lush undergrowth and the aroma of the cedars made the walk through the forest to the swinging bridge special. I enjoyed watching the patterns of the whitewater as it swirled and spun below the bridge.
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| In front of Kootenai Falls |
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| The Swinging Bridge |
Next we pass through the quaint little town of Troy and up to the junction of the Yaak River Road (508). Rusty said he passed through here 40 some years ago....when the road was gravel! It is posted 70mph now, even though it is a secondary two lane highway! Montanans drive FAST! We can't even go that fast in Oregon on the interstate!
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| Yaak Falls upper portion |
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| Docile section of river at the town of Yaak. |
Another 20 miles following a more docile portion of the river (prime fishing streams here!) to the town of Yaak. There isn't much to Yaak - a couple of bars and a general store. A road continues on to the town of Eureka at the north end of Koocanusa Reservoir, but 508 heads south 37 miles back to Libby. We drove up over Pipe Creek Summit, past Turner Mt. Ski Area, and through dense forests of tamaracks and pine. A beautiful drive. Rusty saw a caribou on this stretch of road last week. Signs advertise that it is prime grizzly country. But we saw no wildlife on this stretch.
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| Poppies growing on hillside above Hinkle's RV |
Phone call to Mom Mac, photos processed, and time to hit the sack!
Addendum! This morning as we hiked around Kootenai Falls, I realized it was Sunday morning and our church family would be gathering. That meant it was a HOLY morning and I should treat the hike as such. So....I quickly went in search of the word Holy and within minutes I had found it. Funny how often that works out. Thank you God!
MONDAY, June 1
Hike to Leigh Lake, Cabinet Mt. Wilderness
4 miles RT, 1000’ elevation gain
Today
is our HIKE day!! It will be a shorter
one, but a good climb and the weather is good for the morning. (As I write at 7:30pm, the rain is falling
once again!)
We were going to leave around 8am
for an early start, but Rusty comes over at 7:30a and says he needs to take
Bailey to the vet. He really would
rather go hiking! But Bailey has had
intestinal problems for the past four days and Rusty needs to get it checked
out. (End note….bug picked up probably
in So. Utah and medication and a diet of chicken and rice soup should fix her
up!)
Our destination is the very popular
Leigh Lake trail #132 in the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness Area south of
Libby. Only a 3-4 mile round trip, but
1000’ elevation gain. We drive 7 miles
south on Rte 2, then another 7 on paved and gravel roads into the
mountains. The last 2 miles are on a
deteriorating road with the northern hillside nearly all deciduous shrubs and
tall tree stumps at varying heights, perhaps cut down by avalanches? Was the area logged or a fire…who knows. Around the creek was old growth forest with
hemlocks and cedars.  |
| Approaching the waterfall outlet. |
The trailhead only has room for 4-5
cars to park, small for what is considered a heavy use trail! But no one else was there at 9am on a Monday
morning. (Two others cars by the time we
left!) We signed in at the register as
we will enter the wilderness area about halfway to the lake.
The
first part of the trail climbs steadily but gradually along the creek through
thick forest typical of the Pacific coast vegetation. I felt like I was back hiking in the Columbia
River gorge: trilliums, Solomon’s seal, wild strawberries, etc! The wildflowers were glorious. I was afraid we were too early, but we
identified at least 25 varieties and I still have a few more to nail down. That’s not counting many of the shrubs and
none of the trees! Penstemons,
paintbrush, and beargrass were especially prolific along the trail.
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| Waterfall fun |
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| Wildflowers along the Leigh Lake trail |
Across the creek bottom the hillside
rose steeply, marked with a cascading waterfall. Avalanche chutes were everywhere! This is also prime grizzly and black bear
habitat, but Rick was armed with his bear spray and he yelled every so often
when we were going through hillside shrubs!
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| Mt. Goat evidence |
At the 1.5 mark we encountered the
beautiful waterfall that tumbles and cascades down from the lip of the glacial
cirque holding Leigh Lake. The pool at
the bottom was a deep blue-green. From
here the trail splits, the southern branch crossing the creek and continuing up
to the lake. Since there was no question
we would NOT be crossing the torrent, we stayed on the northern branch UP the
rocky hillside. The trail was hard to
follow, as multiple side trails have been created, some by the mountain goats
as much as by humans! We had to do some
creative route finding, but kept coming back to what we believed was the MAIN
tree. Crossed one still active stream
with a series of tiny waterfalls and a carpet of wildflowers around it.
By
the time we reached the lake, the skies had begun to cloud over abit, so the
lake lost a little of the deep blue color luster. The outlet was filled with log debris and
pollen! But the mountain slopes dropping
into the lake were covered with waterfalls and cascades – somewhat like
Avalanche Lake at Glacier NP. Snowshoe
Peak towers 3000’ above the lake and still had quite abit of snow on it. It is the tallest Peak in the Cabinet
Mountains at 8734’.
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| Photosphere picture of Leigh Lake and south shore. Snowshoe Peak is off photo to right. |
After we grabbed a snack, Rick
scanned the hillside of Bockman Peak to the north searching for the white dots
of mountain goats. We finally found
nearly a dozen in several small groups, including some lambs and a couple very ‘buff’
billies! The trail enroute down to the
lake was literally lined every two to three feet with tuffs of goat hair. Shedding is in season!
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| White dots are goats! |
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| Relaxation in retirement |
A couple of gals arrived at the lake
just as we were heading out and Rick heard another group down in the willows of
the outlet as we left. Trip back down
was quicker, although my knees decided the climb was probably easier than the
descent. I was glad to be done with the
downhill part!
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| Penstemon and Snowshoe Peak (and a corner of Leigh Lake!) |
Back into town to unwind, shower,
eat, and listen to the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof (two sounds in
our trailer: the ping on the metal roof
and the deeper ‘thunk’ on the canvas!)
Who knows what tomorrow will bring!
TUESDAY, June 2
Well, it dripped and dropped all night long off and on, but was marginally off at 7:30 when it was time to leave for the job site. I checked email several times to make sure Dyana hadn't written to say today was cancelled, but no....
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| Rick and Dan on the porch roof |
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| After installation, we had to paint the cut end of the siding. |
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| Dean and I pose in front of our efforts! |
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| Private beds at community garden |
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| Community Garden |
Raindrops dripping again at Happy Hour time, so we congregate in Dyana's house for community sharing and fun. Luna (her puppy) was entertaining!
WEDNESDAY, June 3
Today we were promised just a 20% chance of rain, but again the skies were gloomy and gray in the morning! Alas! Kathy and I walked to the job site, using an alternate route that Rick and I scoped out on Google maps - less time on the main highway with trucks zipping past! I stopped enroute to take pictures of some beautiful orange oriental poppies in a residential yard.  |
| Rusty, Rick, Dean pause during break |
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| Shingling the roof is back-breaking work! |
Dean and I continued working on the siding, eventually gaining another helper in Tom, who arrived around break. We made a few mistakes along the way (third time is the charm in making our first window cut!) But at least we remembered to paint the cut edges this time and didn't have to pull siding off to paint it! Pete complimented our efforts shortly before I nailed the electric cord to the house behind a piece of siding. But heck, that was after lunch and the rain was pouring (AGAIN!!) and...and... we fixed it!
Kathy and Diane finally got a chance to try out Tom's siding paint invention - a method to move boards and dry and clean them off. It seemed to work well until....
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| Diane rolls the shingles |
....We garnered our 20% chance of rain with a heavy cloudburst around 1:30 which pretty well closed things down for the day. Painting had to stop, and the roofers definitely had to come down! The sun came out just after we got cleaned up, but we had scattered showers off and on for the rest of the day!
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| One of the house design options |
Much of the group (like everyone but us?) drove in to Bonner's Ferry tonight for dinner. We opted out, having eaten at the brewery there before and not wanting to make the drive. Instead we went back to Rositas and I tried out the shrimp taco while Rick had carnitas. A good meal. Afterward we drove around the south side of town, heading up toward Parmenter Trailhead and up to some beautiful farms and ranches on the hills above the city.
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| Fields of lush grass in ranches on the south slopes of Libby |
THURSDAY, June 4
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| Back wall before break time |
I can't believe it! Another foggy, gray, and dampish morning! The forecast is for weather in the high 70's, but you wouldn't know it at 7am! Tom is already back from his early morning trip down to Kalispell. Diane's plane left at 6am - they pulled out around 2:30 in the morning. We banned Tom from the roof today - figured he would be operating on limited sleep! (He was up on ladders, however!)
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| Dean trims one of the siding panels |
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| Sleepy Tom on the ladder! |
Electricians still on task, heat pump roof being built, electric panel to be installed until they discovered it was the wrong one. Roof is nearly completed shingled.
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| Pete and his 'cake cookie' |
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| One side is almost sided! |
I am tired! Muscles are sore from lots of hammering in awkward positions. Rick is sore from squatting on the roof over and over. Two more days here in Libby! And they should be rain free! It is clearing off tonight so maybe!
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| This is the view out my trailer window every evening...often with a white horse grazing. |
FRIDAY,
June 5 HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICK!
What
is that I see in the early morning sky?
Could it be sunshine? Perhaps a
patch of blue? Indeed!! Kathy and I walk to the job site AFTER I wish
Rick the first of his many birthday wishes.
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| Status of house as we begin the day. |
More Libby volunteers show up today –
more new faces. I am incredibly
impressed with the support of this small affiliate. Locals Dan and Dean have been here nearly
everyday, but more than that – all the electric work is being done volunteer by
a retired electrician. Four to five new
faces daily have appeared to work on the roof.
We have had warm treats nearly every morning for our break time
snack. Lunch has been served three
times, plus full welcome and thank you dinners.
The town is behind the Habitat efforts in a big way. And yet it is all done with humor and
humility.
Rick worked hard on his
birthday. I tried to get a few pictures,
but I was working hard as well with little break time to random take
pictures. The one time I tried, he was
off the roof already. He and Tom spent
all day doing the soffits on the porch and then shingles on one half of the
porch. They will finish it up
tomorrow.
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| End of day .... siding is nearly to the top! |
I spent the day again working with
Dean on siding. Pete refers to Dean and
I as his A team siding crew!
Unfortunately we have not chosen wisely (I don’t think we really had a
choice!) and we have been working totally on the sunny side of the house. Fussy work today around the shelf and mini
roof for the heat pump plus a window.
But we made some good progress!
West side siding is finished by another crew (Dean and I started there
on Tuesday and had nearly half done).
South side is half done with the gable the main portion left. NONE of the front has been sided yet. My shoulders are sore from all the
hammering! But Dean and I have worked
well together. He is a local retired man
whose wife still works in Spokane Valley for the school district. She comes home weekends.
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| Kathy and I walk past this beautiful garden of poppies every day! |
This afternoon the boys placed a
conference call to Rick for his birthday.
A good visit for all of us! But
conference calls are NOT conducive to duet singing – the boys struggled to get through the birthday song in one piece!
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| Happy Birthday, Rick! |
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| Clint, Don, Susie, Kathy, Tom |
Tonight was the Affiliate thank you
dinner at the Red Dog saloon – about 6 miles from town on the road to
Yaak. A very popular place on a Friday
night! Lots of peanuts that you can
throw on the floor! Four large pizzas
were ordered, plus the affiliate picked up the drink order as well, which was
NOT expected! I had asked Dyana to pick
up a couple of pies if possible for Rick’s birthday, but she couldn’t find any
so she brought Rick a strawberry shortcake treat and mini chocolate cupcakes
for the rest of the group! We sang
H-Bday (had to start over because the first try was WAY off key!) Apparently this is NOT the year for melodic
birthday singing! Susie and Don (affiliate board members) were there and handed out t-shirts for everyone!
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| Pickin' musicians |
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| Beautiful meadow for Pasture Pickin' |
Rusty had given Rick a fine bottle
of wine for his birthday, and Rick decided it would be great to share it with
friends. So Rusty, Clint, Tom, Kathy,
Rick, and I gathered for an hour of stories and wine until just past 9:30 when
we all decided it was time to call it a day!
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| Tom was wearing my favorite Habitat t-shirt tonight! |
SATURDAY, June 6
Last day of Libby build
Oh, what an incredibly beautiful morning! Crystal clear blue skies! I went back up the hill behind Hinkle's trailer and caught the poppies in the morning sunshine with BLUE skies behind them!
Kathy and I walked once again this morning (and home again in the heat of the afternoon!) A smaller crew on hand for a Saturday, but Dean and Mel were back, even though Dean's wife was actually home for the weekend! Susie came by for devotions as well and took our group photo for us. I said I would 'paste' Diane in later! She looks a little overdressed considering the weather, but we got her in!  |
| Kathy spent day caulking! |
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| Rusty |
Rick and Tom were STILL on the roof! They finished up the shingles on the porch roof and even put in some siding before day's end! It was warm work today as temperatures approached 90 degrees by mid afternoon.
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| Jennifer with bouquet and parents |
During morning break we presented Jennifer with her bouquet of Habitat flowers - I think she is going to put them by her teller window at the bank until she moves in! I pointed out the photos on the flowers of her and Jazmine! We tried to access all the house pictures I took for Jennifer to select the porch trim she wanted, but all I could get were the miniatures because I hadn't 'preloaded' them while still online this morning. Rats! She looked at the itty bitty pix best she could!
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| Quick pix of Jennifer and I |
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| Rick and Tom cut their siding |
After leaving the job site, Rick and I went to the laundromat and got our clothes all clean and ready to take off tomorrow for Kalispell. A brief happy hour with Pete, Dyana, Tom, and us (Rusty went to the brewery to listen to a New Orleans singer) and then a quiet evening. We are tired! Tomorrow? New post from Kalispell!
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| Status of house at end of build: Both porches completed and decked, roof completely shingled, siding about 3/4 done. Electricians and plumbers have been in, heat pump installed. House is ready for sheetrock! |
