KALISPELL HABITAT TRIP
JUNE 2016
Saturday, 6.4.16
Baker City to
Wallace, ID
363 miles
A pretty
smooth day of travel! We got away around
7:30am and I drove the first stretch as far as Milton Freewater and a gas
stop. A beautiful field of poppies right
next to the pump!
Rick took
us through the wheat fields of Eastern Washington, past all the wind
turbines. We stopped just south of C….
to eat a bite of lunch at the rustic little rest stop (pit toilets). Gas in Post Falls, ID (MUCH cheaper to avoid
Washington pumps altogether!) and into Wallace, Idaho around 3pm. We found the Wallace RV park up a little
canyon about a quarter mile from downtown.
Just far enough from the freeway to avoid the truck noise! A babbling brook behind the campsite!
Walk up the
road past a silver mine for about a mile and then back down to stretch our legs
before heading into the City Limits Bar and Grill, which is also owned by the
RV park folks. Northern Idaho Brewery also
onsite! Rick enjoyed a beer, we ate, and
had a nice evening. Early to bed!
Sunday, 6.5.16 HAPPY
BIRTHDAY, RICK!
Wallace, ID to
Kalispell, MT
165 miles
Up early
for with the time change we lose an hour today!
But our early start appears for naught as we encounter first a VERY-SLOW-moving
semi through construction on the Lookout Pass stretch (Idaho-Montana border)
and then 17 miles of a pilot car north of Plains, MT, moving a similar
VERY-SLOW speed!
However,
the morning vistas were beautiful. The
hills are covered with thick green grasses.
Tiny glimpses of snow dotted peaks in the distance. Rushing rivers and
roadways and hillsides of wild rose, thimbleberry, tall phlox, and more.
Traveling along the Clark River between St. Regis and Plains is always a
treat.
We wanted
to stop at Walmart on our way into town and pick up some groceries – quick. And we picked up the groceries fairly fast,
but paying for them was another story.
Long, slow lines. Over to the
campground. Lady taking our money was
slow and charged the wrong amount the first time. Patience!
We finally got into our site, unhitched and plugged in the fridge. Temperatures in the high 80’s and warm!
Our
hurry??? We wanted to get up to the
Butterfly Release in Whitefish – an event being held by local Flathead Valley
cancer programs in honor of National Cancer Survivor’s Day. We had butterflies to release for Genia
Tartaglino, construction supervisor Steve’s wife. And…..we made it! With 5 minutes to spare. Genia was the second featured ‘survivor’, so
she didn’t 
Back to RV
park to get set up before the 4:30 meeting.
Found water under the rug and spreading to the seat bin. Not the fridge nor air conditioner. A little investigation and ‘turn off the
water hose, Rick!’ Our hot water system
had sprung a leak. Rick fixed the leak,
but we need to do some repairs before we can use the tank. So no hot water right now!
Meeting
with Steve and Genia in attendance and an abundance of Girl Scout cookies (free
from the butterfly release!) Birthday
cake for Rick and as it turns out, Ron Sheridan, whose birthday was on
Saturday. Ron turned 70, Rick 65. Good to be back among friends with our field
of grass behind us and the Mission Mts. our backdrop.
Long day
and I didn’t get everything set up very well in the trailer. We missed calls from the boys in honor of
their dad. :(
Monday, 6.6.16
Flathead CAV Build
Day 1
Whew! A long day, especially for Rick! Our group numbers 14 with 8 rigs (two
singles). We met at the Spring Creek
area at 8 for the initial orientation. We
are joined by local volunteers Speedy Steve and Pete as well as Katy, the
volunteer coordinator and GENIA! It is ‘take
your family to work’ week and Steve has brought Genia. What fun!
In the
meantime….Rick, Al, Larry, and homeowner EJ were working on installing siding
on another house, Clint and Colbs were working on trim installation. Midway through the day, Steve grabbed some of
the guys and had them helping him with final preparation for the footer
concrete pour scheduled for 2pm. EJ left Rick’s crew to do that.
All went
smoothly, except….the concrete truck couldn’t get the ‘crete to flow until
close to 3:30pm!! Most of the men stayed
to help with that, while the gals went back to camp to get our food, etc. for
the evening event. Rick, Tom, Al, and
Steve never got a chance to go home!
They finished up with the concrete at 5pm. Felt especially bad for them as the
temperatures were in the 90’s and it was miserable out in the foundation pit
waiting. Larry said he wore himself out
climbing in and out to find shade!
There was
so much food from the dedication that we CAVs didn’t need all the side dishes
brought to go with the hot dogs and burgers!
But we ate plenty anyway. We met
the rest of EJ and Jennifer’s family, who will be moving into the house that
Rick and I built the exterior walls for last September. They are not the original home partners, but
the others pulled out and a switch was made.
Good folk. We met the Davidsons who will be moving into the home with the newly poured footers.
We didn’t
get back to the trailer until 7:30 pm. A
long, hot day!
Tuesday 6.7.16
Flathead CAV Build
Day 2
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| Footers got poured! |
Today was
forecast to be the hotter than yesterday, but I think a breeze helped keep things
a little more tolerable. Speedy Steve
was the only local helping today and he was finishing up at Kearney’s all
day. Our group divided into 5
teams:
1.
Foundation crew working on preparing the house
for the next step, surveying lines, etc.
2.
Oil Crew: Rolling the soy oil on the form boards
3.
Siding Team: Continuing the installation of the
siding. (Rick, Al, and Larry) They almost finished the west side of the house!
4.
Trim & Paint Crew: Installing the trim boards and painting them
that go right up above the rock work in the front of the house.
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| Rick and Larry putting up siding. |
5.
Rocksters:
Diane and I took on the rock work job again! But unlike last year, the wire hadn’t yet
been installed, nor the first coat of mortar.
So…it took us until lunch time to get all the wire up, a platform at the
bottom to rest my lower rock on, and gather all our materials. We also put up a shade shelter because the
mortar needed to not be in the hot sun!
 |
| We got the corner done! |
Diane went home at lunch with
Colbs – Diane’s foot was REALLY bothering her and Colbs can only work a half
day. He is still recovering from brain
surgery for a benign tumor back in late January. Doesn’t have the stamina he used to
have!
Anyway, I
kept trying to gather what I could, but I needed help moving the rocks over
from the adjacent garage. Al gave me a
hand there and I discovered he had done rock work before. So….I used HIS expertise to help me mix my
first batch of mortar and apply it to the wall.
We then got the first few corner stones up and in place.
Shortly
after I got started….finally….those who had been in the sun all day decided
enough was enough. The heat was getting
to them so they all quickly wrapped it up.
I declared I had just gotten my mortar ready! So Jo and Rick stayed and helped me find
appropriate sized rocks to finish the corner edge and use up the small mix we
had left. We were still back at the
trailer by 3pm!
Happy Hour
as the clouds began to move in and the temperatures were cooling. A nice breeze blowing and we even felt a few
drops of rain! Nothing major.
Wednesday 6.8.16
Flathead CAV Build Day 3
Cooler
weather today (although if you are working in the sun all day your might say it
was still HOT!) Our crew is boosted with
the arrival of Katy’s dad, John, and homeowner Davida and her friend
Tracy. Good thing because we were
without Clint (pulled back) and Colbs and Diane left at lunch time.
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| End of day rock progress - almost to middle of windows!! |
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| Siding is moving up! |
So…we
rock! After lunch it was just Jo and I
and we ran into a few road blocks. We
cracked a brick below when trying to jam one in one top of it. Tried to talk ourselves into…’It doesn’t look
bad’, but eventually pulled it off which meant two other bricks fell out with
it! We were somewhat struggling by then
with the mortar drying too quickly, no matter how much water we added. But…all in all, a good day!
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| Hail stones! |
We gas up
enroute home, Rick takes a walk, and I shower.
We are to be joined tonight at Happy Hour by Katy and her dad (he wants
to tour trailers!!) But….a forecast storm moves in and suddenly Happy Hour has
been moved to inside Colbs and Jo’s place.
A security guy was going around the trailer park telling people the
storm could be bad with high winds and hail.
Well, I highballed it back to our trailer just in time as rain started
to fall hard and then…plink, plunk of hail.
It was fast moving, probably only hailed for 5 minutes max, but they
were quarter size some of them! We
loosened the tent ends for more ‘give’ and weathered the downburst well. At least I didn’t see any obvious dents on
the truck later!
Beautiful
shifting clouds for the rest of the evening.
Scattered light rain storms off and on during the night.
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| EJ and Jennifer's house - this is the one Rick and I built all the exterior walls for last September. |
6.9.16 Thursday
Flathead CAV Build
Day 4
Can we be
nearing the end of week one already??
Time flies when you are having fun!
The skies are
cloudy and the wind is breezy this morning.
Our Arizona CAVS said it was COLD!!
Hardly, but they have thin skin!
I thought the weather was perfect today for working in the
sunshine. Last night’s storm had done a
number on the canopy that we left up.
Actually rainfall off the roof did the damage – it drained onto the
awning and overweighted one edge which collapse some of the supports. We moved it prior to devotions, duct taped
the supports, and tied it to the porch column to hold it taunt. Make-shift, but functional!
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| Putting up the rock! |
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| Finished west side! |
And Diane,
Joann and I play with rocks! I mixed up
the first batch of mortar this morning and it was a disaster!! Too many little hard clumps that I thought
would dissolve. We struggled with it,
the lumps preventing a good bond of stone to wall. Frustrating.
But Steve eventually came by and said to forget using the old sack of
mortar – break out the new. After break,
Diane mixed up a new batch that was AWESOME!!
We made GREAT progress before lunch!!
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| End of day....just a tiny gap where we didn't get finished to the door. |
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| A little sunset glow to end the day! |
Clear skies
tonight and a beautiful evening. Temps
should be dropping down now into the high 40’s at night. Nice.
The siding
crew shifted to the east and south sides of the house! As soon as we were out of the way, they did
the south siding above our installed rockwork.
Then they cruised up the side walls of the house toward gables
again.
We had
guests for Happy Hour tonight. Jennifer
brought Marias and Ethan by (Rick took them down to the playground for awhile),
plus Becky and Butch, full-timers in the RV slot next to Tom and Diane, and
another couple who stopped by to learn about our ‘doings’. We might have a few more volunteers on
Monday, not to mention another CAV couple arriving for the week.
6.10.16 Friday
Flathead CAV Build
Day 5
There’s a
chill in the air this morning! Trailer
47 degrees and outside a brisk 44. I
wore my long sleeve shirt to the job site today! Our Florida and Yuma, AZ, CAVS really thought it was chilly!
We are
blessed today to have two homeowner ‘crews’ present! Mary Davidson is back with her sister and
Ben, Davida’s husband, is working. Ben
works for a Heating and Air company and has been working long hours 4 days a
week so he can work on the house on Fridays.
He is also going to donate time to install the HVAC systems in both his
house and EJ’s next door. Nice! Mary and sis went to work in the ‘pit’ on her
house, while Ben worked with Clint on trim.
 |
| Rick's team will get that blue wall done as soon as my team gets the rock finished! |
My team had
the challenge of the inside corner plus the front door today, so it meant some
precise fitting and fussy work! The company manufactures special stones for
the outside corners, but inside corner are put together in an alternating or
interlocking pattern. Hence we had to
keep our lines fairly level and even. We
got help bringing another box of stones over plus Larry hefted a fresh bag of
mortar over to us. Diane mixed up a
batch of perfect slop and Jo Ann covered the exposed wire screen. (I was pretty sure we wouldn’t get close to
using it all and we didn’t! – That will be a challenge on Monday – wetting it
down enough to help the next bricks stick.) And first order of the day for me (as in before devotions!) was to find the three stones I needed to finish the hole by the front door on the east side!
But….we
made noticeable progress and I think the corner looks pretty good! I was a mess at the end of the day,
however! My legs were covered with
mortar slime, my pants were wet from splashing water, and my fingers are a
disaster. Even wearing leather gloves
for most of the day and rubber ones
before that, the tips of two more fingers are
raw. I now have bandaids on the three
middle fingers of both hands. Diane gave
me some green ‘tape’ that helps. It has
made typing rather interesting! I am
having to correct many mistakes!
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| Our corner work, plus a base brick in for Monday! |
Steve
ordered a concrete truck for Tuesday to pour the form walls. That is putting a little pressure on the pit
crew, but they have good help and are making progress!
MacDonalds
provided lunch today. A drink, French
fries, and choice of cheeseburger, Big Mac, or Quarter pounder with
cheese. Gail was able to get a fish
sandwich! Plus we are still eating Girl
Scout cookies! Plenty of those around!
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| End of day, I'm beat!, picture |
Rain later
in the evening and during the night. Off
and on predicted for the weekend. We
will play it by ear as to our activities, but I think tomorrow will be more of
a laundry, repair, and relax day!
Saturday, 6.11.16
Saturday, 6.11.16
Repair and Relax!
Ah….a day
without much of a schedule! Forecast was
for rain in the middle of the day (which never really materialized!). Colbs offered to cook breakfast for anyone
interested. I think he had about 10
takers for sausage and French toast, served up between 9 and 10am. (No….folks didn’t get moving too
quickly!)
After
breakfast, Rick tackled fixing the hot water piping that was giving us a
problem. I took the laundry down and got
it done, while coloring my picture which will also end up as Monday’s devotion.
By 1pm we had hot water again in the trailer and clean clothes for the coming
week.
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| Margot squirts out the dye! |
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| Sunset reflections on clouds in the gap, from campsite. |
I ran down
to JoAnne’s Fabrics to pick up a tie-dye kit.
Margot had never dyed before and was quite excited to try. Plus Tom had the great suggestion of picking
up a chef’s apron for Colbs and tie-dyeing it.
We will all sign it and present it as a thank you for all the cooking he
does for us. I was able to pick up a
chef’s hat as well! Around 3:30 Diane,
Margot and I gathered to dye a few things.
Wash out on Sunday!
Everyone
went up to Whitefish around 4:30 or so to try out the new Bonsai Brewery. We took Margot and Larry with us and Rick
provided a tour of the Columbia Falls project as well enroute up. Finished up at Mackenzie River Pizza for
dinner (a late one!) Good time, good
company. Coming home, we took Whitefish Stage Rd and were able to show the fabulous views of the snowy peaks through the Gap.
A brisk
morning, but not as cold as Saturday when it was 35 outside when I got up! Forecast is for cool and no rain so it is
time for a little outdoor church!
Wildflowers. Everywhere. Including a first look at Common Camas, the
flower for which the creek is named. The trail was gradual with only 400’ gain
over 3 miles. Nice. We wandered first through Christensen
Meadows, which we pretty boggy in places!
But the fields were covered with camas and groundsel. So pretty.
We drop
down to a great viewpoint of Roger’s Meadow with Heaven’s Peak at the end of
the valley and two other major peaks that line the Going-to-the-Sun Road as
well. Our trail is just over Howe’s
Ridge from Lake McDonald. Camas Creek
winds through the middle of this thickly grassed and bushy meadow. Not nearly the wildflower field, but
beautiful with the peaks and the meandering creek.
Rick did a
great job of keeping us safe in this prime bear habitat. He yelled ‘Hey, bear, bear!’ frequently! And I didn’t drag too far behind, since he
had the bear spray! We didn’t see ANY
wildlife other than a ground squirrel and LOTS of birds.
Then it is
work time! Our crew claimed Carol to
help out with the wire mesh, etc. Also
Diane will be leaving again at noon. I
think Bill was doomed to the pit.
Concrete is arriving tomorrow! We
made good progress…turning the outside corner and working down the wall a foot
or so. Should be smooth sailing for the
next two days! I selected a few rocks,
but mostly called out sizes and then worked into the maze what I was
given. (Altho Carol, Diane, and JoAnn
will probably say I rejected a lot of offerings! Too long, too wide, too big a gap, etc.!)
Homeowners
Jen, EJ, and two of their kids, Marias and Ethan, joined us for lunch, as did
Erin and Katy (had a meeting with Steve afterwards!) It was a full room inside
Davida and Ben’s house where we have been gathering.
Sunday 6.12.16
Glacier National Park Hike
Our plan is
to head up the Inside North Fork Road to Camas Creek trailhead. This is as far as you can go right now on
this road connecting the Apgar end of Lake McDonald with Polebridge north. Our 6 mile section of one lane dirt takes us
past a beaver lodge, two very fat deer, and vast meadows. One other car is parked at the trailhead but
we never see these people.
Then
through old burn forests with tree stumps, charred stumps, new growth, and
flowers lining the trail. We find
beargrass and lupine, mariposa lilies and paintbrush. The flowers were just amazing!
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| In Christensen Meadow |
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| A stop at McDonald Lake on our way out. |
We passed a
couple with three dogs (not allowed within the park) on our way out. Back to the truck around 2:45. A swing through Fish Creek campground
(reservations possible here) and Apgar Village on our way out and then a stop
at the Trapline Café in Coram for an early dinner. We both had Apgar Burgers, which were
smothered in BBQ sauce and delicious!
Met our new
couple, Carol and Bill, at an impromptu Happy Hour, which I was at only for
Diane to doctor my fingers! Everyone was
giving advice, so I tried three different ‘salves’ on two fingers each. Thinking the lanolin is winning at this
point. Also cleaned them out with
peroxide, but it didn’t get the mortar out of the one tip.
Early to
bed because we are tired and….
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| Panorama of Roger's Meadow - L to R: Roger's Peak, Heaven's Peak, Mt. Vaught, Stanton Mountain |
Monday, 6.13.16
Flathead CAV Day 6
….we are
out of the campground at 7a heading to Home Depot to search for tools and
gloves to assist my hands! I find my own
masonry trowel and a paintbrush (cheap) plus some heavy duty latex gloves. At
the job site by 7:45, which is good since I have devotions today! A tribute to Steve, based on Saturday’s
scripture which talked about good leadership.
Margot also read a brief piece first remembering the events which took
place over the weekend in Orlando FL (horrible mass murder of 50 people in a
gay bar).
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| Beginning of day reference. Goal? Corner done! |
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| End of day....goal met!! |
Rick and I
cleaned up a little after work and headed down to the Red Cross blood center to
make a donation. It is so smooth and
easy here in Kalispell. Go online, make
an appointment, walk in, and done 30 minutes later, having watched a clip of a
movie as well! Grocery run at Walmart
and then back to trailer! I wandered
over to Happy Hour briefly to recruit signatures for Colb’s apron and then took
a LONG shower!
Tuesday, 6.14.16
Flathead CAV Day 7
Today was forecast for rain.... and while it was dry when we got up, it produced!! We all arrived at the job site, but Steve said he had checked the weather and it just didn't look very productive and there wasn't enough 'inside' stuff to do. So....a day off (and yes, it was raining by this time and it continued to rain steady until 1pm!)
So....back to the RV park where everyone just has a lazy morning. Some went to the Restore, others went shopping. Rick and I spent the morning making phone calls and catching up on Blog, pictures, drawings, etc. After lunch we drove over to the mall and went to a movie, The Jungle Book! Rick indulged me because I'm pretty sure he would have liked Captain America more! We'll catch it another time. Jungle Book was playing earlier, which meant we had time to wander around Whitefish a little before meeting several others at the Great Northern Brewery. It was pouring when we left Kalispell, but clearing in Whitefish.
Met volunteer coordinator Katy at Great Northern as well and before we left we had a chance to talk with Chris, one of the local Habitat volunteers we haven't seen since leaving Columbia Falls. Good time with drinks, nachos to share, and plenty of peanuts. I made a peanut shell nativity on the table.....The Farmer's Market was also going on which we visited.
But, a visit to the quilt shop netted a new pattern - bears peeking into the window. I asked for pattern only, so they took the fabric out of the kit and then I just bought the forested background fabric.
Going to be cold tonight as it has cleared off! And....we found snow had hit the peaks during the recent rains and cold weather! Beautiful in the setting sun tonight.
We ROCKED
today!! Literally! My hope was to get to the middle of the two
windows and we got to the edge of both!
One good day’s work left! Easy
sailing across the front without any corners to mess with! Diane and CarolAnn got all the rocks sorted
out, so they were pretty fast at finding my requests! Diane keeps us stocked in mortar.
CarolAnn used the nailer and got the rest of
the wall covered with mesh. Jo Ann keeps
the wall mortared and puts mortar on my rocks for me. All I have to do is apply the stone, smooth,
push, wipe, brush clean, and yell out measurements! I just sit on my rear all day long! But it is looking pretty good and our team is
happy with the results.
Rick put up
siding for the first part of the morning and then joined the foundation pit
crew to be ready for the 1pm pour. Papa
John’s pizza delivery for lunch, which was inhaled I think. I didn’t get any pictures of the actual pour,
but I know Steve asked Rick to once again handle the ‘stinger’ or concrete
vibrator. That means Rick walks along
the narrow top edge of the form boards and follows Steve as he handles the
nozzle. The vibrator gets rid of the air
pockets in the stem walls, but it is a lot of lifting up and down for
Rick. Hard, dirty work! I think this is the third time Rick has gotten
this job! The pour went quickly,
however, and we were still leaving the site around 2:45. I went over after the rock team cleaned up
and helped clear concrete from the boards so they will be easier to remove
after everything has set.
Group
dinner tonight and homeowner families were invited. Jennifer and EJ were the only ones to come
and Rick had a great conversation with them.
Colbs loves to cook, so he prepared onion rings, fried potatoes, and
grilled pork chops for everyone. We had
several side salads, plus bread. Someone
made baked chunky apples which was delicious with the pork. I brought a jar of pickled asparagus which
seemed to be well enjoyed. Diane topped
it off with a crock pot strawberry cake dessert and ice cream. Wow.
Beautiful evening – mountains still gorgeous with a trace of the snow
still remaining.
Tuesday, 6.14.16
Flathead CAV Day 7
Today was forecast for rain.... and while it was dry when we got up, it produced!! We all arrived at the job site, but Steve said he had checked the weather and it just didn't look very productive and there wasn't enough 'inside' stuff to do. So....a day off (and yes, it was raining by this time and it continued to rain steady until 1pm!)
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| Clint and Ron at Great Northern |
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| Peanut nativity?? |
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| Gayle and Katy |
But, a visit to the quilt shop netted a new pattern - bears peeking into the window. I asked for pattern only, so they took the fabric out of the kit and then I just bought the forested background fabric.
Going to be cold tonight as it has cleared off! And....we found snow had hit the peaks during the recent rains and cold weather! Beautiful in the setting sun tonight.
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| Snowy mountain peaks |
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| Sunset and clouds on peaks |
Wednesday, 6.15.16
Flathead CAVS Day 8
Brrr!! A chilly 32 degrees outside this morning, but
we stayed warm in the trailer last night sleeping. It will warm up a bit more today before the
next storm rolls in.
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| JoAnn and I work the wall early in the day |
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| Diane hunts for rocks! |
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| Rick smooths concrete after pour |
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| Rick on siding |
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| End of day progress on wall! |
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| Colbs decked out and cookin' |
At the
beginning of the evening, we presented Colbs and JoAnn our gifts as a thank you
for all the cooking they do, plus hosting the Happy Hours every night. Colbs was touched with his chef’s hat and
apron – all tie dyed of course!
Thursday, 6.16.16
Another Rain Day!!!
The
rainfall started in around midnight and continued all night long. When I got up at 6:10, I found a text from
Kathy saying Steve had cancelled us for today.
RATS! I want to finish that
wall!!! Told Rick to turn over and go
back to sleep. The forecast originally
was for the rain to let up around 10, but now it shows thunderstorms and more
for the afternoon. Argh! At least we didn’t all get over there this
time and then cancel.
So….a lazy
morning in the trailer while we listened to the rain come down steady. Shortly after noon we finally got moving and
headed up to Whitefish to explore a few shops and eat lunch at the Buffalo Café. Saw lots of nice stuff, but bought
nothing! (Oops, Rick confessed he bought
a book while I was talking with Liz on the phone!) Back through Kalispell to pick up groceries
for the party at Tartaglino’s tomorrow night and to pick up Rick’s
birthday/Father’s Day present at Home Depot!
When we got
back to the campground at 5pm, Al came over to let us know they were having an
informal Happy Hour at their trailer.
Bring nothing! (We had plenty of
leftovers from the other night!) So two
hours over there, which amounted to dinner!
Jo Ann and
I talked….we are determined to FINISH our wall tomorrow!!
My crew
puts the final FRONT facing rock into place just as we are called to
lunch. All the corners are mortared….just
need to finish the side pieces for the 12” wrap around. We did ask Al to cut a stone for us, which he
did on both samples we gave him. We
ended up eventually using all three pieces he came back with! Rick and Larry have been working on the gable
siding above the porch.
Rick
stopped at the poppy field so I could get a couple of pictures. A couple of vacant lots near the build that
are absolutely covered with red and pink Oriental poppies. So pretty.
Also tried to get some canola field pictures.
Showers, a
little trailer cleanup (leaking again….) and then a drive down to Somers for
our party at Steve and Genia’s new place.
A great big grassy area with a firepit in the center. Perfect weather. Locals Jan and Steve and wife Lindsey and grandson
Nathan attended as well, so 22 people counting Steve and Genia!
Great food, and then
Steve delivered a speech
about how the CAVs are his favorites and we had a new tradition of a ceremonial
sacrifice to the fire for safe travels – we burned a saw horse (it was falling
apart!) Pretty funny. Genia had made gifts for all of us – small picture
frames with a heart on Kalispell, suitable for RV décor!
St. Ignacius and the mountains to the east are simply
glorious. I really love the drive south
of Polson. We are thinking of coming up
next fall through Ravalli and St. Ignacius makes it worthwhile!
and lush, and the strong winds are truly creating
‘waving wheat’. It just rolls across the
hills. A few fields of canola add a
spark of yellow to the rich greens, rimmed with dark grey storm clouds. As we head south, we encounter more brown
fields and the wind turbines! All
spinning!
What a
beautiful morning!! The skies have
cleared to crisp blue, the air is cool but sunny. The birds have been singing up a storm since
the hint of daybreak (as in 3:30 to 4am!).
I get up at 6 to work on the computer and post a few items, having
discovered the wifi last night!
Thus ends another Habitat build in Montana!!
For the full album of pictures for this trip, click HERE
6.17.16 Friday
LAST DAY of Flathead CAV Build
Everyone is
eager to get going this morning! It is
a brisk day but sunny, so we move our morning circle outside into the
warmth! All are ready to get back to
their jobs and FINISH! Rick has siding
to finish, I have a rock wall!
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| The Rockin' Stoners |
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| Today's section of wall |
Lunch is
our Farewell meal, provided by a local volunteer, Melanie. She prepared two crocks of tamale pie, a huge
tossed salad, jello salad and cookies!
We were joined by Jason and Angela Kearney, Davida and Ben and their two
adorable kids (Ben had been working all day with Clint on porch trim), and Mary
Davidson and her four children. (Rick
said he saw Mary and kids out watching the concrete pour on Wednesday…the
little boys thought it was really neat!)
I got a picture of the family in front of their foundation! Thank you gifts from the affiliate, words of
appreciation by many, and finally, cake!
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| Davidson family in front of their 'house' |
And then…a
couple of hours to get done! Our rock
team actually finishes without too much trouble, celebrating the final stone to fit (and we
didn’t have to cut this one!) I tried to
get Davida’s little girl to help me put in a rock, but she ‘shy’d’ out at the
last minute! Vida said she pointed out
HER rock to the kids, as she put one of the early rocks in last week.
Final hour
of clean up and putting tools away that we have
stored in the house all
week. Back to the trailers. We moved the awning posts over to a permanent
spot by the trailers. My team perhaps
cleaned more than they should have, as they took the siding crew’s saw
away! Larry and Rick were equally
determined to get the final peak pieces of siding in place! They made it!
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| Rick and Al cutting final pieces |
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| A finished front for Davida and Ben |
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| Poppy field |
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| Canola field |
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| Genia and Steve |
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| The sacrificial horse |
Goodbyes. Always difficult. So the Kalispell skies gave us a beautiful
sunset as we sat and visited with Luke after returning to the trailer. Heading home in the am.
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| Sunset skies |
6.18.16 Saturday
Kalispell, MT to Tucannon
River RV Park, WA
410 miles
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| Not the most direct route today!! |
A good night’s sleep, a few more goodbyes this morning
(Colbs and JoAnn, Margot and Larry, Gayle, Clint & Kathy) and we pull out
at 8:45am. Not too early! We are taking an alternate route today to
avoid the road construction between Hot Springs and Plains and…well, just for
variety! We decide to head down the east
side of Flathead Lake through Big Fork, the route we took northbound the first
time we came to Kalispell. And because
there was also construction listed from Ravalli west to Plains, we opted to
just keep southbound and hit the interstate, a decision that added 40 miles to
our trip, albeit freeway miles.
Ah, the cherry orchards along the east side of the
lake. They are abundant south of Woods
Bay and loaded with the yellows of Rainers and the deep reds of Lamberts and
Bings. Wish I was going to be around in
another month!! We stop in Polson and
grab a good breakfast at 4B’s – enough to last us for the rest of the
drive!
I take over driving shortly after we hit the
freeway. Near the top of the pass, the
rain begins. We are in and out of rain
storms for the next several hours, and fighting a head wind much of the
way. Our gas mileage is pretty
shot! We have to stop again 90 miles
later in Kellogg for gas, at which point Rick drives again. Another stop in Post Falls for gas before
entering Washington (gas is more expensive in WA!)
The rolling wheat Palouse south of Spokane and north
of Colfax is incredibly green
We turn off of US 12 for 4 miles on WA 261 to a nice
little RV park on the Tucannon River.
Only $25 for full hookups so we’ll be able to clean everything up in the
morning and be ready to store the trailer for a couple of months. By the time we arrive we have blue skies overhead
(wind is still blowing!) . We get set up
and then take a good little walk to stretch the legs.
No internet. No
phone service. No TV. This will be a good quiet night!! Good thing I just found a Reader’s Digest
Rick had finished or else I have nothing to read! Time to draw today’s prayer, however! Addendum....Whoa! Never would have expected it, but as I went to bed, my phone said Wireless Networks available! We DID have internet!
6.19.16 Sunday – Father’s
Day!
Tucannon River RV Park to Baker City HOME!!
173 miles
What a
beautiful morning!! The skies have
cleared to crisp blue, the air is cool but sunny. The birds have been singing up a storm since
the hint of daybreak (as in 3:30 to 4am!).
I get up at 6 to work on the computer and post a few items, having
discovered the wifi last night!
Our last
morning out, so it is clean house time!!
We always scrub out the bathroom and kitchen and wipe everything down
while we still have running water. Once
home we won’t connect anything back up as the gray and black water tanks have
been emptied! Rugs shaken, floor swept,
dusting, etc.
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| Hillsides heading down to Dayton, WA |
We are on the
road by 9am and heading south to the town of Dayton where we need to find a gas
station! Fighting the head winds
yesterday have emptied the tank a little faster than anticipated! We revel in the beauty of the rolling hills,
the wheat, and the copses of trees tucked in here and there. Gas up, coffee up, and back on the road. Another gas stop in Milton Freewater. We decide to take Tollgate over to LaGrande
rather than the freeway. It is a
beautiful drive
and….Rick sees a BEAR!
(No bear sightings in Glacier National Park, but instead on Highway
204!)
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| Check out the agriculture stripes! |
A stop in La
Grande to pick up some groceries at Walmart and then home, arriving about
1:15. Nothing better than the view of
the Elkhorns as you drop down into Baker Valley!
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| Nothing says HOME like the Elkhorn Mountains! |
For the full album of pictures for this trip, click HERE
