Chapter 29

Monday: The first thing after breakfast, we took sling cables to the equipment rental place and made the necessary connections to the Case 580SL. Once that was done, a quick radio call brought the Skycrane, which hovered while we made the connections to the lift cable. Before we left the rental yard, we picked up some scaffolding and ladders.

Next, we swung by Architectural Metal Products and selected the roofing material we wanted. We used their forklift to move the material out into the center of the parking lot. Ben found some strapping material and we strapped it together so it would not fly apart during transit. Next we installed the required slings for lifting the material, before returning to the hanger. Joy was to radio us when they were halfway back and we would meet the Skycrane to make the final connections, while they hovered again.

The rest of the day was spent loading cargo containers from the semis, we loaded at Sam's. We would have all cargo containers moved to the mining camp by Thursday. Ken and I spent quite a bit of time, talking about moving the chickens to the mining camp. We decided that Jacob, Ken and his wives would start rounding up the material they would need to make the required chicken coops, then we would move them to the mining camp.

Tuesday: Ken and two of the sergeants took off after lunch, only to return in about two hours, which was a surprise to me. Ken said, "As we were leaving, Dick said it was too bad we couldn't get a mobile medical unit to the mining camp, because of the lack of roads. I agreed, but then I got thinking about portable buildings, and we went to Alkan Shelter and we found a modular building that we can convert to a chicken coop."

"What size is the building?" I asked

"It is 18 feet by 54 feet, but is made of lightweight panels, that can be erected in four hours. The best part is, it is packaged for shipment inside one 8 feet by 8 feet by 20 feet container." explained Ken, then added "We found four of them."

"Could we use them for temporary housing?" I asked.

"Yes and they are made of a light weight composite material that is designed to work in this country according to the brochure on "Composite Modular Erectable Rigid Wall Shelter" we looked at." said Will as he handed it to me."

"I figure we could use two of the containers to make the chicken coops." said Ken.

"I think you've hit the jackpot! This will alleviate a few problems dealing with our short term housing crunch."

Sunday (five days later): We were ready to move back to the camp Saturday afternoon but decided to wait until Sunday morning. Ken and his wives were staying behind; Will was staying behind for added security. Barbara, who had hooked up with Will, decided to stay too. This meant that Cat and Sandy were staying also.

We loaded our personal items into a small container which was lifted by Roy's chopper and the people returning were split between the Pave Hawk and Roy's chopper so it only took us one flight. We arrived just before noon and the camp turned out to celebrate our return. The party was still going on when I went to bed just after midnight. The surprise there was that our bed had been changed out for a king size bed and all my wives were all there to sleep with me.

Monday: Today turned into a marathon planning session. Everybody who came to the mining camp had since decided to stay. Art, who had stayed behind, had been acting as the leader for the camp. We spent three hours discussing what had taken place during my absence.

Then we spent an hour on how to set the camp up, to run. I decided I could control my property, but didn't feel like I should be making the decisions for everybody. Yet, I didn't want to relinquish control to the point that I had no say in what was happening in camp. We decided to form a ruling council of five people. I would be the leader of the council, with right of absolute veto. Four other members would be elected at large, would make recommendations and help run the camp. Elections would be held one week after everybody had moved to the camp permanently. This decision was made so everyone had a chance to meet the individuals not living in camp at the present time.

Next we discussed the need for additional power. There had been a couple of times when the demand for electricity had exceeded the ability to produce it. Art said, "I think if we blow a few boulders just before the bend, as well as in the bend of the river, we should be able to install two more generators, which would produce more electricity since the water is swifter there."

"How will we be able to blow the boulders?" I asked.

"That should be fairly easy for Will to do, once we get the right equipment." said Ben.

"Okay, we can put that in the plans, for later." I said.

"I think we need to do it first, for several reasons. One is we need the power now. Several families want to build on the level area down there. The clearing of the rocks should reduce the chances of flooding in the spring." explained Art.

"How will blowing the boulders reduce the chance of flooding?" I asked.

"With the boulders gone, the water will flow a little faster, and may carry the ice further down river. Right now we have a good current in the river. But once the ice hangs up on the boulders, it impedes the flow, until enough pressure builds up to break the ice loose again. No boulders should equate to no blockage in the spring." explained Art.

"Okay, we will move that up towards the head of our plans. Art, do you think we could pour some footings there, to mount the modular building? This would raise them up in case of flooding and make them more permanent." I asked.

"Sure, the hard part will be running the hoppers all the way down there. Why not find a cement bucket and use a chopper, since we will only be pouring footings." said Art

"What difference does it make whether we pour just footing or not?" asked Jenn.

"The building requires a base for stability; in this case we want to raise the building above the flood waters level so a footing will be used." I said.

"Choppers require maintenance and parts if they break. We have been using them hard. I would like to ease up on them a bit." said Roy.

I could not help but agree with him. The rest of the day went about the same way, but by the time dinner came around, we had things lined out for the summer as long as nothing unforeseen happened. In fact tomorrow, the mine was going to start operating again. Mainly to get the sand and gravel we needed for concrete, but also to build up a reserve of gold, if we needed it in the future.

After dinner, I was introduced to Fred Malinowski. Fred worked for Folton Sawmill and they had processed all our wood previously. Fred stated that if we provided him with security, he would be more than happy to process any and all logs we brought to him. A little discussion about how to move the logs soon had us ready to go.

We were going to install a portable generator and fuel pump in the back of Ken's pickup. We would use the stake truck to move the diesel fuel, while we drove the logging trucks with their loads to Folton sawmill. The first trip down to pick up the logs might be a little cramped, since we were planning on taking the pickup and stake truck only. After that, the drive both ways would be easier, since we would have an additional four logging trucks.

Security was another issue discussed. We decided we would have six drivers for the four logging trucks. Two could work as security, if necessary when not driving. The pickup and stake truck would have two people assigned to them, giving the convoy a total of 4 extra people, who could work as security over six vehicles." Ben would be in charge of security at the sawmill. He would have four addition people, not including Fred, bringing the total at the sawmill, to six. I told Fred, he was responsible for the sawmill operation; Ben would be in over all charge, since the safety of our people was the first priority.

Wednesday (two months later): During the last two months, the camp had progressed better than I had hoped. First off, we were spread out further than I expected, because each family wanted their own land and place. I could not, and do not fault them for wanting this.

During the same time, we have only had one major clash of personalities. That happened by accident; due to miscommunication, it was straightened out within five minutes of my hearing about it. The other problem is why I am making this entry today. Su has decided she wants to join the family. I tried the age difference argument, but Mandy and Mindy shot that down by asking, "Aren't you ten years older than we are?" Actually I am closer to eleven years and Su is just under ten years older than me, so I lost that argument. Next I tried the old standby of not having enough room in the cabin. This worked well until Jenn talked to her Uncle Art. Then the community decided to fix the problem for me.

Their solution was to add to our cabin. They to extended the tunnel past the winter entrance, and add the same size cabin. The new section doesn't have a kitchen, but in its place, is a large bathroom with a whirlpool, thanks to Joy. Also on the main floor is our bedroom. The east loft is my library and office. Jenn uses the west loft to take care of our business, and after she was elected the Camp Business Manager, camp business.