Chapter 10

Tuesday:

I was up and showered by 6:30. I went down to the bank of the river and waved until someone finally noticed me and sent a riverboat across to pick me up. I then went to the dining area and joined Art and Rob for breakfast.

My first question was, "What are we planning today?"

"We have several things we want to discuss with you. First off, we feel it would be better to order our logs than to go out and find them, get a permit to cut them, then haul them here." said Art.

"Why have you changed your mind about getting them ourselves?"

"Before, no one was watching us. Now with the attention from the State, caused by the mining company, we do not feel we can get away with cutting the trees." explained Rob.

"I can appreciate that thought and I must admit I had not given much thought on how we were going to obtain the logs."

"Well, we think the best way to do it would be to go to a small sawmill operator and select the logs we need and let them cut the top and bottom of the log so they will lay flat. We can notch them ourselves and it will save us several days if not weeks of work." added Art.

"Saving time and work makes it sound even better."

"Do you have a lumber mill in mind?"

"Yes and no. I have a contact with a logging company which will allow us the choice of logs for what they would make selling them to Japan. After we get the logs, I know a small local sawmill that we can contract to cut the logs for us." said Rob

"What would happen if we agreed to buy the rest of our wood from that sawmill?"

"What are you thinking?" asked Art.

"Look we want to use 2 by 8's or 2 by 10's for the loft supports and the rafters. We will need some 2 by 6's for studs at each end of the cabin plus we will need some siding material that will be strong enough to withstand the weather. We will be asking him to interrupt his operation to run our logs through. If we agree to buy the large quantity of wood we need from him, when we make that request, he may be more than willing to negotiate a better price."

"I had not thought of that but you are right. The forms came from my normal supplier but there is no reason I could not buy the rest of the wood from someone else." said Rob

"Let's send the men out to remove the forms and stack the wood while we determine what else we need to enclose the cabins." suggested Art.

Jenn brought me three eggs, pancakes, and bacon without my asking. She sat with us while Rob went to get the crews working on the cabins. When he returned, we talked quietly until I had finished my breakfast, then we attacked the problem of what we needed to complete the cabins.

Four hours later, we had a list of the material we would need to enclose the cabins, including three exterior doors and six triple pane glass windows for each cabin. We decided to stick a window in the end of each loft on the side of the houses. The other four windows were as planned in the front of the house just under the logs.

Rob used the radio to contact his friend, who worked at the logging company. He agreed to pull 32 logs off to one side for Rob to check. If they were not satisfactory, then Rob could stay and select the logs that came through over the next several days. Next, Art talked to the sawmill operator and he agreed to cut our logs for his cost with the understanding we would buy the wood listed from him. I was exceeding happy about this since, we would be paying wholesale prices instead of retail prices.

When Tommy came to the camp, Rob asked him if he was willing to fly him south to the lumber company's yard. It would take about six hours by plane to get there. Tommy agreed and asked when Rob would like to leave. Rob said tomorrow would be a good day. Just as that conversation was ending, my Dad said, "Good, I need to be getting back home, so I will catch a ride with you as far as Fairbanks."

I tried to persuade my Dad to stay longer but he argued that he had been away from home for more than a month already. This was true, having spent time in Seattle with Uncle Howard and two weeks in Juneau. I agreed but he said that he would like to come back next summer to see how the cabins and everything worked out.

Dad and I went fishing together for the first time since his arrival. We talked of many things including the fact that he thought Jenn was in love with me. I told him the verdict was still out on that but I did like her a lot but didn't think she wanted to spend her life in the wilds of Alaska since she had worked so hard to get a business degree. At that point, Dad just gave me a knowing smile and made no comment.

Tuesday: Everybody decided to take a day off. Art Sr., Dad, Jenn and I took an extra can of gas and a riverboat and headed upriver. We followed the river up near its beginnings, actually where the riverboat could go no further. We fished for grayling and caught several but let more go than we kept. After lunch, we started drifting down river still fishing as we went. At dinner time, we pulled into the bank and built a fire to cook our fish for dinner. This time, it was a little more civilized, since we had brought some plates and silverware with us.

After dinner, we started the boat and rode back to camp so Dad could say good-bye to all the new friends he had made. Rob and Art, with their fathers blessing, made him a member of their family and I know my Dad was deeply touched, as I was for him.

Wednesday: The next morning came too soon and Dad, Art Sr., Rob and of course Tommy, the pilot, departed for Fairbanks and points beyond. I think Jenn was just as unhappy to see her Grandfather leave as I was to see my Dad depart.

After another cup of coffee, we turn to work. Using the back-hoes, we dug the septic fields and installed the leach lines. When we filled in the fields we also covered the tunnels. I had decided that I would put the washer, dryer and freezer on one side of my tunnel so I installed the necessary wiring. Art told me that he did not think this was such a good idea until I asked why we built the tunnel. The tunnel was to provide a dead air space between the house and outside during the winter. Further questioning elicited the fact that unless the door was left open to the outside that the area was below the frost line and generally did not freeze. I further explained that I planned to leave three 60 watt bulbs on during the winter to add heat to that area.

When Nukka, Art's wife, heard from Jenn where I was putting my washer, dryer and freezer, she raised the question with Art. I don't think Art was ready for that and they compromised by placing the furnace in the tunnel too. Art groused a little bit as he used a pneumatic drill to cut a hole from the tunnel to the house for the vent to be brought through.

Jenn and I had a discussion about my stove when she found out it was to be a wood burning stove which would also provide hot water. I almost ended any chance for a relationship with her when I got surely and asked, "What difference does it make to you?" The answer was apparently none, since she just turned and walked away from me. (Just color me dense at times.)

Later Mary questioned me about what happened and I told her. I also explained that if we lost electricity during the winter, I would not be as impacted, since I could collect snow for water and the stove would provide a place to cook and warm the cabin. Mary agreed I was most likely right and she would discuss it with Rob when he came back. Mary must have also talked to Jenn, because at dinner the next day, she started to talk to me again.

At any rate, I missed Jenn that night. The following night we stayed up to celebrate summer solstice. I went to bed a little after one just as the sun dipped down below the mountains to our north. It never did get truly dark.

Friday: Today started out clear, but we started to have a light rain by noon. Art nor I had heard from Rob but we were not too concerned. We decided to fill in around the cabins and we talked about putting in a floor. Art said, "I'm going to lay some 2 by 4's down and mount plywood on it for the sub floor of our cabins."

"Are you sure that is a good idea you will have no airflow under there."

"What do you mean?"

"With the 2 by 4's sitting on the floor you will, in effect, have closed boxes, once the plywood is attached so there can be no air flow. If you have a leak, the water will also be trapped between the 2 by 4's."

"Well what do you suggest?"

"We could rip 2 by 4"s in half and attach them to the floor. Then we could run the 2 by 4's across them and you will at least have a little air flow under the floor."

Art was quietly thinking when Jenn asked, "Won't that make the floor higher so there will not be as much room to the ceiling?"

"It will add about an inch and half but I don't think that will cause any major problems." commented Art.

"The only problem I know of would be the distance between the counter top and the cupboards in the kitchen. That is why I'm going to order the cupboards that do not go all the way to the ceiling."

"Why is that distance important?" asked Jenn.

"I want my coffee pot or blender to be able to fit back under the cupboard when not in use."

"What type of flooring are you planning to put down?" asked Jenn

"I was thinking of ceramic tile for the kitchen and bathroom with a hardwood floor for the rest of the house including the lofts. In fact for the loft, I have been considering special ordering some 2 by material that is tongue and groove."

"We have a shaper that we can cut our own tongue and grove but I like that idea, it would keep dust and stuff from falling through to the room below, also it would make a pretty ceiling if finished with a stain." said Art.

"Yes, but you would want to use a light stain or otherwise it would make the room too dark." added Jenn.

Shortly after that was decided, we broke up. Art and I went to check on the cabins. Once the front-end loader was done at my cabin, I sent it over to start work on the mining claim again. By four, Art's and Rob's cabins were finished. We used a hopper to move the table saw from across the river to Rob's cabin. We placed it in the tunnel so it would be out of the weather then started to ripping 2 by 4s. When we felt we had enough, we loaded them in the hopper and took them to my cabin.

Art came up with a Remington .27 Caliber Nail Gun that could shoot nails through the wood into the concrete. I was expecting it would have a nasty kick back, but it didn't and we had the strips attached in no time. We used the 2 by 4's from the forms to build the base for the floor but didn't install the plywood. I wanted to run the electrical conduit before I put the floor in place. We did lay a couple sheets of plywood down to see how it would work. Jenn, Mary and Nukka all could see how it would work and suggested where we needed outlets. Art just kept shaking his head as if to say "See, we shouldn't have got them involved." But he agreed to everything they said.

Jenn cooked dinner for the two of us in the small Quonset hut. She was extremely happy that I had allowed her mother's to help with the plans for the house. Later during our discussion, I explained that I was thinking of having the master bedroom above the kitchen and leaving the main floor of the cabin open except for a wall, which would separate the kitchen from the rest of the cabin. Jenn suggested a bar between the kitchen and the rest of the cabin so that it would not interfere with the flow of air to the rest of the cabin.