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July 17 through 19 Fabulous Fun with Friends

Current Location: Running Y Resort Klamath Falls Oregon: sunny, pleasant, and a bit smoky from the fires burning in Oregon and California including Crater Lake

If you have read the blog for any length of time, you know we have made some great friends through RV traveling and blogging. I think most RV people know about this surprising benefit. We count Jimmy and Nicky, the Intrepid Decrepit Travelers, among our very best friends, and we never would have known them without the blog. Needless to say, we were delighted when Nickie let us know they would be traveling our way to Oregon during mid-July.

They wanted to see our new house in progress, maybe do some hiking (if you know the two of them, hiking is something they do a lot). However, living in the Rogue Valley in summer can be pretty darn hot, and we thought it might be fun to spend a day on the fabulous Rogue River. That left a couple more days to spend doing fun stuff.

I sent Nickie an itinerary for a round trip route to Crater Lake, returning via a night with us at the Running Y. Nickie saw the google map and said, Yikes! (one of her favorite words), that is much too long to be in the car in one day. I think the route was something like 185 miles, with planned hikes as well? Maybe not. We nixed that plan for a simpler one.

They arrived on Monday afternoon, in time for the 1 pm check in at Valley of the Rogue State Park, a lovely place just ten miles or so south of our place in Grants Pass. Instead, they were given a new check in time of 4pm, due to “site maintenance”, and had to park their motorhome “Tergel” out in the hot sun until check in time. We had already arrived at the house, but it was hot there as well, and everyone decided that our original meet up time at 5 pm at the house was still the best plan.

It was hot. Did I already mention that? With the air going full speed in the MoHo and the Weber Q outside on the picnic table, I managed to put together a meal for the four of us to share in the new house.

After showing them around, talking about all the fun things to come with our house, we set up a table in the “dining room” where the breeze kept us reasonably cool. Nickie and Jimmy were our second dinner guests in our new home, although they were the first to enjoy walls as well as the subfloor which was all we had when I cooked dinner for Grandson Matthew.

As is always the case when we get together, there was lots of laughter and silliness all around, playing with photos and trying to get selfies of the four of us. Nickie worked very hard at getting her camera to actually take a time release photo, triggering even more laughter. Sunset from the porch was lovely, the company was fabulous, and we all looked forward to the next morning’s adventure.

If you live in Grants Pass, the most exciting thing to share with friends and family is a trip down the Rogue in a jetboat with Hellgate Excursions. We were lucky this year. Lots of winter rains allowed the boats to run through Hellgate Canyon much later in the season than usual. Sometimes by mid-July, the boats can no longer make the long day trip and will only travel as far as the canyon.

The Caveman Bridge with the arches and flowers is an iconic Grants Pass landmark

Our trip went through the famous canyon, beyond Graves Creek, and to the beginning of the permit required area of the Wild and Scenic Rogue. The day gorgeous, a perfect day for enjoying the river.

Approaching the first real rapids and Hellgate Canyon

We stopped for lunch at the famous Morrison Lodge, along the banks of the Rogue, and well known for a fishing destination since the 40’s

Nickie explores the grounds at Morrison Lodge where we had a great lunch

The Rogue is a magnificent river, emerging from Crater Lake and winding through some of the most pristine wilderness in Oregon on it’s way to the Pacific Ocean emerging at Gold Beach. From Gold Beach, there are mail boat runs you can take for a day trip up river to Agness, something Mo did a few years ago, but I haven’t yet experienced.

I did take my phone along, deciding that getting the camera wet wasn’t worth it. Hellgate Excursions promises that you WILL get wet. I put the phone in a zip lock and only brought it out at safe moments. Or so I thought. The boat captains love to do that big spin thing that jet boats do, and we were traveling in tandem with another boat. A few times we got a bit of spray here and there when they spun, but toward the very end of the trip, at the last place where spinning was allowed, the other captain decided a full on drench was in order.

The wave that came into the boat wasn’t just spray, but like standing under a big wave in the ocean. The phone got wet. Thank goodness I managed to get it under my body upside down, and when it was all over, the phone was OK. Whew! I don’t have insurance on that ridiculously expensive Galaxy Note 5. I did manage to get a few photos at least.

After a long day on the river, hot sun, and all the excitement, the four of us were perfectly happy to retire to our own places for the rest of the evening.

Early the next morning, we drove to the park to pick up our two guests for another day of adventuring, this time driving over the mountains from the Rogue Valley to the Klamath Basin. We wanted to share the delightful luxuries of our Running Y villa with them.

Nickie on the beach near the lodge at Lake of the Woods

On the way, I mentioned I knew of a few nice places to check out along our route, and since this was a “water trip” for The Intrepid Travelers, they like the idea of visiting lakes and another beautiful headwater stream. Lake of the Woods is right along the High Lakes Pass on Highway 140, the route we have traveled more times than I care to count. Somehow with friends along, on a gorgeously clear sunny day, it looks all fresh and beautiful again.

We then traveled north through the Wood River Valley to the beautiful headwaters of the Wood River, and yes, that turquoise is absolutely real. I love the colors of a pure spring.

Mattie had a great time leaping about in the grass, and while it was hot, the mosquitos weren’t near as bad as they can be. We had a makeshift lunch of cheese and crackers and veggies that just happened to be in the ice chest I was taking back from the MoHo to the Villa, so that was a lucky break.

Returning to the Running Y, there was time for a lovely cool swim before we took advantage of the lovely Ruddy Duck restaurant located in the main lodge of the resort. Dinner on the deck overlooking the golf course and the surrounding mountains was amazing. Mo and I have had drinks on that deck now and then, but until this evening hadn’t had dinner there. Definitely worth repeating, and thank you Jimmy and Nickie for the great treat!

The next morning the 4 of us took Mattie for a walk on the 3.5 mile path around the golf course before we had breakfast. I like cooking a big breakfast for company. Don’t often do that for ourselves, so it is nice to have an excuse for all the trimmings.

In spite of the 4 pm check-in time, there was still a 1 pm check-out at the Valley of the Rogue. We packed up and loaded into the car for the trip over the mountain by 11 to get our guests back to Tergel sitting at the park waiting patiently for the next leg of their Oregon adventure.

What a special time to share with good friends. Lucky Us!

We had a fabulous July, but first a House Update

Current Location: Running Y Resort, Klamath Falls, Oregon

Mattie is completely unconcerned about thunder and lightning in Grants Pass. Alert, but totally relaxed.

As I wrote last time, we knew that July had much in store for us. Almost every single day was full, with tight schedules that made us often ask, “What are we doing next? Where are we heading next? Which house will be in on x date?” Every minute was truly wonderful, and if we breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the month, it was only to catch some air and some down time.

Checking out the house at dusk with interior construction lighting on

I decided to write about each visit and adventure individually, to give each one the full credit it deserves, but wanted to get all the house update stuff done first, to clear my mind of that ongoing process so that I can relax and enjoy the great memories we made last month.

Here is Gary Duckworth, our job foreman, always busy checking the details

July 17 It was exciting to return to Grants Pass after a week away, partially because we knew Jimmy and Nickie were coming, but also because we knew that the A Team was returning to begin putting up the siding.

The interior was a surprise as well, with all the drywall completed, and the tray ceiling at last actually recognizable.

Gary spent quite a bit of time with us working out the details for our trim choices for the windows and doors, and deciding on what kind of crown molding would look best in the tray ceiling.

It was wonderful walking around in the house and seeing it with defined spaces, feeling the rooms more clearly, and enjoying the lightness. With just the framing up, it was darker than I had imagined it would be with all the windows, but once the drywall was on, it changed everything. Light! It is so wonderfully light!

We spent a couple of days with Jimmy and Nicky, (I will be writing this post shortly) and returned to Grants Pass on Thursday to find that the A-Team really was there, and the siding was going on. Exciting to watch that happen. While they were working, the drywall contractor was completing the taping of the interior drywall.

I didn’t manage to get a photo of that guy walking around on his bucket. I remember drywall tapers using stilts, but this guy just jumped up on his bucket and managed to rock and roll it around to do the 9 foot ceilings and high places. That was rather amazing to watch.

By the end of the week, we were beginning to get a better picture of how the house will look when it is finished, with the siding and framing in place. Gary also brought some samples of baseboard styles and we weren’t thrilled with the standard OG 3.5 inch stuff that is in modern houses. We instead decided on a 5 inch flat topped baseboard that is more in keeping with the Craftsman feel of the house.

Made me really happy, reminding me of the house on Painter Street that was built in 1942 and had that same kind of baseboard.

Just for fun, here is an old photo from the Painter Street house baseboard and trim

We also made decisions on doors, deciding that a “minimal” upgrade to the Shaker doors that we originally wanted but weren’t included in the original bid was worth it. So far, our only actual change orders have been for the doors and for the upgraded baseboards.

July 26 After a week at the Running Y, where we enjoyed a visit from Jeanne (I will write this post very soon), we returned to Grants Pass again to find exciting new changes. The siding and trim were almost completed and ready for paint.

Gary did a fabulous job designing the gable treatments, and something we hadn’t even thought of were the custom attic vents. Later that day, driving around town checking out new houses, we saw several examples of store bought vents, squares, rectangles, circles, and octagons.

The custom vents under the gable treatments are a great touch, another reason we so appreciate our builders.

Gary also had a mock-up ready for us for the porch columns, and brought the box of our chosen rock facing that will cover the pillars to see how it would look with the planned column treatments. We talked about different ways to trim the front porch upper cross beams, which will be stained rather than painted.

We drew out the proposed cement walkway that will meander from the garage and driveway around toward the front porch entrance, painting the dirt with blue paint and talking about how much Gary planned to raise the ground level with solid fill so that we will have only 3 steps and 4 risers at the main entry.

Mo and I will use the garage entrance most, and there is no step there except for a small lip from garage to laundry room, perfect for us. No steps, and all one level!

We had a great time with Maryruth and Gerald (another story to get posted soon) and returned once again to the Running Y on the last day of the month. We were definitely ready for that few days of down time, especially since the temperatures in Grants Pass during that week reached 114 degrees. Klamath Falls was in the triple digits as well, highly unusual for the Klamath Basin, but we stayed cool and comfortable in the air conditioned villa, and I took daily morning walks on the pathway before it was too hot. I would check pavement in the evening, and if I couldn’t walk barefoot on it, I wouldn’t take Mattie, so mornings were the only time we could get out.

August 7 Every time we return to the house build, it gets more exciting. It was actually a little bit scary, because we knew that the interior and exterior painting was going on in earnest. We spent a long time deciding on colors, and knew we had to live with our decisions. No going back once all that paint is on!. I was really nervous driving up the road, praying that it was OK.

Surprise. We loved it. Or maybe not such a surprise because we spent a lot of time trying to match the color of the RV shed and choosing the interior paint with much reading and sample approval.

Funniest moment was standing in front of the house and seeing that the east wall of the house wasn’t anything at all like the south wall of the adjacent RV shed. (See the apparent difference in the above photo. )“Well shoot, it doesn’t match, but I guess that is OK”. But then the next morning, with the rising sun on both eastern walls of each building, it was a perfect match! Light and angle makes all the difference. We noticed the same effect from the west side during different times of day.

Deciding on a garage door was also a process. There are only 2 colors that are standard, white and brown, otherwise the door can be overpainted with the house body color. That isn’t really a good option because the exterior paint doesn’t wear nearly as well as the baked coating that comes standard on the door. We were thrilled with the look of the door with the roof color. We also were amazed at the quietness of the door itself. You can barely hear it going up or down!

I was a bit concerned about our choice of Revere Pewter, a Benjamin Moore color, for the interior. I searched and researched, and really wanted to try a warm gray. But after years of warm earth tones in our homes, moving to gray was a big shift. When I first walked in, I loved it, then I wasn’t sure, and then I loved it again. The color is like a chameleon, shifting and changing with the different kinds of light in the different rooms.

The subs all love it too, even the ones who say they don’t like gray. Gary told of us a house they did where everything was gray, and it looked so cold and clinical. Gary loves our gray and so do we. It is soft and warm and will look great when the wood floors are in.

Another little glitch happened when the vinyl we had chosen for the bathrooms and laundry room was suddenly discontinued.

The one on the left was discontinued. The new vinyl looks a little bit like our antique tiles on the right.

We spent some time at Lipperts, the flooring provider, and found something even better. The first choice was an almost white that would have been similar to the marble surfaces that are in the bathrooms, Instead, we found a diagonally placed stone pattern that includes grays, beiges, the blue-gray-green that is in our carpet, and the brown of the wood floor. It looks much like the tiles that we are installing in the entry way, and even though it won’t be nearby, it will carry the theme throughout. It will also be great for that main laundry room entry which I expect to catch most of the outside dirt.

Because the painter bid for only one trim color and only one interior body color, Mo and I decided to paint the upper interior of the tray ceiling ourselves. We chose a shade of warm gray that is just a bit darker than the walls. The separation of the two colors with the white crown molding will emphasize the architecture of the tray well.

Gary spent a lot of time with us this week, helping with decisions, working out the details of our custom closet packages, and helping with the final decision of the exterior accent color and which gables would be painted the deep brick color that we finally chose. When we return, we will see how it all comes together.

We chose the deep brick on the left rather than the clay color on the right for the accent

Gary says we are doing great, that we are making quick choices and the build is going well and is on schedule. Still, it is hard to not get impatient as we wait for each process to complete. Cupboards are in the works, but the templates for the granite can’t be made until the cupboards are actually installed. It is all so integrated, with each step forward required many steps completed prior to that next step. We are amazed and impressed at Gary’s ability to keep everything moving forward and on track. Lots of stories about private building contractors aren’t nearly so positive.

We are on schedule for a November 1 estimated completion date. Let’s hope that everything keeps moving forward as well as it has so far.

July 12 Life at the Running Y Resort

Current Location: Running Y Resort Ranch; 86 degrees F, clear and sunny

Actually, the clarity is marred only a little bit by smoke from the fires to the south of us in California and to the east in Oregon. I’m not complaining, as the skies are often smoky in the west by this time of year. We have been lucky so far with winds keeping most of the smoke away from us.

Back in March, when I wrote this post about why we were being relocated temporarily to the Running Y Resort, I hope I didn’t sound like I was complaining. Although it was a bit of a pain getting moved for just three months, it also is a rather amazing experience.

In all the years I have lived in Klamath Falls, I have had a different relationship with the Running Y than I have now. The resort is located not far from town on the highway between Klamath Falls and our old home in Rocky Point. We pass the gates often. Just a little thing, but driving by you can see the ponds surrounded by aspens that are part of the landscaping. Until last week, however, when Mo and I took advantage of the lovely paved bike trail, we had no idea that those ponds were fed by man made springs and waterfalls, surrounded by ferns and flowers, and big artfully place boulders.

The rest of the resort feels much different than I ever imagined. In the past decade or so, we would occasionally come out here to dinner, to an art show, but never really spent any kind of time here. Not being golfers, the beautifully done Arnold Palmer golf course was pretty to look at from a distance, but I had no idea how pretty it was when walking the paths around the greens. I also had no idea that there were so many permanent as well as timeshare residences here. The extent of the resort isn’t completely visible from the highway, or even with a simple drive-through.

Right on schedule, at the end of June, the EPA relocation contractor had all the bells and whistles in place and Klamath Moving and Storage showed up at our door, ready to move our pre packed boxes to our new temporary home. We didn’t have a clue where that home would be until the previous Saturday, when we were allowed to pick up the keys and find out where we would be located.

Melody and her family are in another part of the resort, in an area of Worldmark Timeshare townhomes. Her place is lovely, with a huge deck, all furnished with tables, loungers, and a stainless steel barbeque, a beautiful view of Klamath Lake.

Instead, we are in an area called “the villas” not far from the Pro shop and the beginning holes of the golf course. The are villas somewhat isolated from the busier sections of the resort, and our views from the huge windows and large back patio look toward the west. We are low enough that we can’t actually see Klamath Lake from here, but we know it is there because we can see Highway 140 as it winds its way west over Doak Mountain, a very familiar route.

Our temporary home is modern, fully furnished down to towels and linens, dishes and cookware, and even a bit of decor here and there. Of course, it isn’t exactly our style, or our decor, but it is decidedly comfortable. I did bring a couple of chicken wall quilts, our bird collage from Florida and one of my ceramic chickens to help us feel more at home.

We have a large master suite downstairs, and two more bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. There is a large area that is a bit like a loft that overlooks the living room, and is a perfect spot for a craft table and my plastic crafting bins. I managed to bring cardmaking and quilting supplies so I can have a little bit of hobby time while we are here.

We have the bikes on the back patio, locked up but ready for spontaneous rides on the beautiful pathways, and the kayaks are on top of the Tracker, which we are keeping here for the time being. No time to kayak while in Grants Pass, and the best kayaking is here around Klamath Lake anyway.

In fact, this morning, after breakfast, we made the short 1 mile drive through the development to the private boat launch right on Klamath Lake. Most of the time when we kayak in this area, we are in Pelican Bay, or on Recreation Creek. This morning was one of the few times we have kayaked on Klamath Lake proper and it was surprisingly beautiful.

We followed the route along what is called the Skillet Handle, a natural area that is part of the Klamath Birding Trail, and one of the best examples of natural oak habitat that occurs east of the Cascades. You can see it as the low peninsula adjacent to the lake in the photo above.

We saw more birds than we often see on Recreation Creek, with at least 4 eagles, several Great Egrets, a golden eagle, great blue herons, and hordes of Western Grebes, with little ones riding their backs.

It was a lovely two hour paddle, perfect way to start the day. We were on the water by 9 and home by 11:30, and decided that in this summer heat, we should be out there no later than 8am for future paddles. So convenient, and so lovely and uncrowded.

Yesterday afternoon Mo went to town for some errands and I decided it was a great time to try out the paved loop path that surrounds the resort. Somewhere between 3 and 4 miles of undulating and sometimes hilly landscape, the path is protected and beautiful. No worries about traffic, or loose dogs, or weird people. Just a beautiful place to walk in safety and comfort. Kind of amazing. Mattie loved it, but of course she had to keep checking out all the critters that were scurrying about in the grass. I never felt unsafe, except I paid attention when I walked through the shaded oak forest at the farthest reaches of the trail. Rumor has it that a cougar has been seen hanging around the 14th hole out there. Coyotes are also part of the world here, but so far they don’t seem to be aggressive enough to show up in the daytime trying to snatch little dogs off their leash. Bears are also seen in the vicinity of the Lodge, but we have yet to see any down here.

On the Fourth of July, we invited Melody and her family (who only had to meander through the resort to get to us) and daughter Deborah and grandson Matthew (who did drive up from Grants Pass) to a family fourth celebration. It was a nice time, with our traditional bocce ball tournament on the grassy lawn behind our place, and good picnic food to share.

Fireworks weren’t part of the celebration. There are none allowed anywhere on the resort grounds due to fire danger and for the Fourth of July, the night was totally silent, not a pop or bang anywhere. I am sure most dogs around here were happy about that, although Mattie could care less about fireworks.

In the afternoon we meandered up to the pool area for a swim, and a bit of sun on the beautiful patio. The pool is indoors but has big sliding windows that go out to the patio that overlooks the man made lake below on the golf course and is shaded or sunny based on where you choose to sit.

This is a peaceful place to be, with all the privacy and luxury of a gated community without the gates. I never really wanted to live in such an environment, but I can see how seductive it can be. So quiet, so safe, so convenient, so separated from the everyday world.

Last night as I was falling asleep, I was thinking about the draw of living here compared to our more reasonable, down to earth location in Grants Pass. We could have probably afforded a smaller home here, for about the same price as our acre and the new house and RV shed, minus the homeowner fees, of course. I have no idea how much they are. I thought about what I would do if I had all the money in the world. Would I choose to build a home like the one we are building in Grants Pass here at the Running Y?

It was a bit like the soul searching I did when thinking about the pros and cons of building a permanent home and simply living on the road and traveling. The answer was clear. Nope. I wouldn’t change it for all the money in the world. Somehow this world feels unreal, artificial to me, separated from real life. Instead, in Grants Pass we have neighbor sounds, traffic sounds flow up from the roads below our terrace, the water trucks lumber by, and sometimes a pickup will go by way too fast on our road.

Town is less than 3 miles away. I love the town of Grants Pass, with its Historic District and the Rogue River, I love that there is very little snow, that I won’t be buried in deep drifts for months, and won’t be slipping on the ice and afraid to walk anywhere because of it. There is something about that little acre, with the big old oaks and the fruit trees that reminds me of the places where my Grammy Wells lived when I was a kid. The place where I would climb the apricot trees and eat warm apricots in the summer. It is a nostalgic feeling that comes over me at the Grants Pass home that is not easily explained.

As beautiful and manicured and lovely as things are here at the Running Y, I wouldn’t choose to live here, even if I won the lottery! I would still go to our perfect home that we are building in Grants Pass in an old neighborhood that was once a walnut orchard, surrounded by the soft Oregon mountains and trees with big leaves. All you lovers of the hardwood forests of the east coast will know exactly what I mean.

At the risk of sounding macabre, I can imagine dying there in that light filled bedroom, without sadness. The thought of dying here in this villa feels incredibly lonely to me. We are in our 70’s, and aren’t planning on dying any time soon, but the thought that time is limited is often in the background as we make our choices.

In the mean time, I am thoroughly enjoying the pool, the spa, the cardio fitness center, the bike trails, the kayak launch, the paved walking pathways, the beautiful lodge and restaurant, and the local market, fancy enough to carry Rogue Creamery cheeses and 70 dollar wines. It is a good life. For now.

May 15 2017 Manifesting a Dream

Current Location: Grants Pass, Oregon. Mostly cloudy, damp, and 57 degrees F

A drive on the back roads along the Oregon Coast can yield some great views

Back a few decades, when I was a bit of a New Age thinker, I believed the mantra, “You Create Your Own Reality”. I still believe it, but in a bit of a different way than I did then. Still, there is nothing quite like watching an ephemeral dream materialize into something physical.

Staking out the house location on March 22

We are watching 5 years of dreaming and planning become real. It is an incredible process. Some weeks crawl by, and others fly past us with barely time to catch our breath. Last I wrote, we watched the little red cottage disappear into a pile of sticks, and now block by block, board by board, we are watching our new home grow from the ground up.

Footings poured and foundation set by April 22

Fill added for the garage floor base

We are here every other week, for 7 or 8 days, returning to Klamath Falls for my 5 day alternate work weeks. We are here enough of the time to see progress as the weeks pass. Life has been dominated by Grants Pass house thoughts, meetings with the builder, with the foreman, with the flooring people.

I have worked at gathering all our nursery storage into small groups of plants so that we can keep them watered while we are away. Many of the plants have been with me since I lived in Idaho before 2002, many others are from Mo’s property at Rocky Point. We brought what we could manage, hoping to keep our little nursery alive until time to plant at the new house next fall or spring.

We made the final choice on our interior paint, after a trip to Benjamin Moore in Medford (no Ben Moore store in Grants Pass). I succumbed to the gray trend, deciding on a warm gray color called Revere Pewter, guaranteed to reflect nicely on the interior walls without turning blue or green or pink, to feel warm rather than cool, and to set off the White Dove woodwork. I bought a small jar of test paint for a piece of drywall and now we haul that around, along with a few of our antique tiles, while spending a considerable amount of time with the salesperson at the local Lippert’s Flooring store. Hardwood has been selected. I love the style and color, but have to say that even more exciting to me is the silky feel of the slightly distressed solid oak wide plank flooring. I stand on the sample barefoot and imagine walking into the kitchen in the early morning sunshine on the velvety solid floor.

Mo and I spent some time this week cleaning her stash of Batchelder tile, deciding on the design for the tile area in the foyer. The tiles are from the 30’s, the height of the Craftsman era in Pasadena where they were fired, and we are excited to have places in the new home where we can use them.

All the little details that we have attended to are minor compared to watching the really big stuff happen. In mid-April, the major excavation began, and when we returned for our Grants Pass week on April 24, footings were poured, foundation blocks were set, and the footprint of the house was at last visible. By the end of the week, we could see just how high the floor would be above the ground on the western side of the house where the land drops in what seemed like a gentle slope until it was actually surveyed. The elevation of the living room will put our view above the neighbors house to the west, and give us enough height to see over the trees to the north to the mountains in the distance.

During that week as well, the septic system was hooked up and the RV dump station became operable. Very handy!

On the right, an image of the layout for the antique tiles on the foyer floor

By the time we returned on May 7 all the ditches for the utilities were filled in and the ground had been somewhat smoothed out and most of the dirt piles leveled.

We are going for a softer coastal palette in the new house, influenced a bit by Joanna Gaines I would imagine

On last Monday morning, as we were having our morning coffee around 6:30 AM, a row of pickups started lining up along the road next to the property.

We wondered who those guys were having coffee and shooting the breeze so early in the morning. Turns out it was the framing crew, getting ready to set the huge floor joists and begin getting the house ready for framing.

There were 6 of them, and according to Gary, this is his “A team” framing crew. I asked if he has a B or a C team, and he said yes, but it was worth waiting for the A team because they get things done so quickly and so well.

We watched those guys work together like a well oiled machine with every gear in synch all day long, and by 3 in the afternoon, the floor joists were all in and we could see even better how this house will look. Even though we have the MoHo, and we have a swing and chairs sitting outside, we didn’t want to bother the crew, so spent the day in the RV shed while they worked. It feels a bit strange to be at our home with all the people running around, so we lay low when they are here. The exciting time comes when the crew leaves and we get to walk around and check everything out.

Floor joists installed on May 8

There are days like that one, and then there are days when nothing happens at all. It is all about scheduling. Mo and I have been dealing with some serious hitch itch, without any MoHo travels away from home since we returned from California in January. I think that is the longest time we have spent without getting away.

If you arrive at noon on a Tuesday in May, you just might get a front row site with no reservation

This week we pulled in the slide, unplugged the rig, and headed west to Brookings for a much needed beach respite. We laughed a lot about the delight of not having to pack or unpack a single thing, a pleasure that full-timer’s know well. Just rolled down the road, landed at the park, and opened up the slide again. It was great to not have to worry about packing the right charging cords, the laptop, or food and clothes. Everything was already right here with us.

The beach cooperated with magically clear and sunny weather most of the time, even if it was a bit cool. We tried a new place down in Harbor, The Sporthaven Marina, for fish and chips. I had Baja fish tacos that were delightful, and we started our meal with fried zuchinni done in spears rather than slices. Yummy. The view of the harbor was wonderful, and the cool breeze was muted by the glass walls that protected the sunny patio. Curious, a little research on the internet showed that the lovely glass enclosed, sail covered patio where we had our great meal is a new addition to the restaurant, and a fine one for sure. Check it out the next time you are in the Brookings area.

Mattie loves to scout trails over the rocks for us

All three of us were so happy to be once again walking the beach, finding pretty rocks and enjoying the sand. Mattie loves to tear around in soft sand. She met a couple of doggie friends who actually let her play. Mattie can get a bit excited with new dogs, and even though she isn’t aggressive, she can be a bit of a pain until she settles down.

Mo built a nice campfire for us and we managed to sit outside for a time at least until the chill winds drove us indoors. What a great moon there was that night!

The next day we decided to do some exploring with the Tracker, traveling first on the road that parallels Highway 101 a couple of miles east and goes north from Brookings to Pistol River. It was a bit cool for the native rhododendrons to be in bloom, but some of the domestic plants on local homesteads were as big as trees and in full brilliant glory. Gorgeous.

We then took the road that follows the Pistol River, where most of the land is privately owned and access is limited. We drove on up the road, climbing higher into the mountains. The road was steep and narrow, and the river far below. Using the Gazetteer was helpful, but the road ended without warning with a very large no trespassing sign. The wildflowers were gorgeous in the big clear cuts, and if there is any place in the world that a clear cut is acceptable, it is the Oregon Coast range, where most of the timber has already been cut, there isn’t any old growth left, and it might as well be used for tree farming. Regeneration is natural and incredibly fast in this climate. It is also kind of nice to be able to see a bit.

A picnic in the sun sitting on the back of the Tracker was perfect, if still a bit chilly. Checking out the map, we decided to find another back road to explore, searching for Hunter Creek Road, just a couple of miles south of Gold Beach. I had to check in with the Forest Service office to be sure that we could actually drive the road. There were yellow “no trespassing” signs everywhere. The rangers assured me that it was a main forest access road and I could drive it, but the lands on either side of the road were privately owned by timber companies, and they didn’t want anyone trespassing. Again, no way to access Hunter Creek, and most importantly, they don’t want anyone picking their very valuable mushrooms.

This is what happens often when a state decides that it cannot manage its lands, and sells them to private interests. The lands are no longer accessible to the public, of course. It is no longer public land. Don’t get me started. States want all that federal land so they can sell it back and make money on it, and the people who eventually will own the land will shut it down, fence it, and post no trespassing signs everywhere. Keeping public land public is a particularly hot issue for me as an RVr, and a boondocker, a hiker and a lover of wild lands. OK off the soapbox.

A few miles up we found a high bridge with a gorgeous set of cliffs, waterfalls, and deep pools far below. A couple of young women and their big dog were enjoying the sunny weather. That dog smelled us way up on the bridge, and started coming our way. Scared the daylights out of me. I felt like I was being hunted by a wild animal. I got to the car quickly, as Mo talked him down. He barked, but thank goodness didn’t attack, and finally his owners called to him. I have no idea what kind of dog he was, but he was definitely scary looking! Bet those women don’t have any problems at all with people hassling them!

The day ended with another big campfire, a yummy dinner, and of course, marshmallows and chocolate. I don’t need graham crackers, just stuff little pieces of chocolate in the hot marshmallow and it gets all melty and gooey. Wish I could eat more than two! Mo doesn’t eat them at all, but we still have to buy a whole bag of marshmallows. Good thing they only cost a buck and a half, because by the time we do it again, they are all hard and dry and we have to buy more.

When we packed up and left on Thursday morning, the rain was coming in earnest, after a windy rainy night at the beach. It was perfect timing, with the drive home uneventful in spite of the rain.

It was important for us to get back on Thursday because it was “door and window day”. Gary wanted to finalize the window choices because they need to be ordered for the next phase of building. It is amazing how much scheduling is involved in this entire process, getting supplies and subcontractors set up in the right sequence. We spent a couple of hours in Gary’s office going over window and door choices and finalizing the order. Other subjects came up of course, aka how high above the bathtub should the window sill be; which direction should the tub face for the best view; when do we need to meet with the cabinet maker; what kind of rock for the Craftsman porch pillars, and so many more little details.

Once again, we awakened yesterday morning very early to a crew of guys unloading pipe for the under plumbing, the parts of the plumbing that are beneath the floor. The upper stuff will come later when the house is closer to being finished. This time a crew of 4 had all the plumbing, sewer pipes, hot and cold water pipes, all ready and finished by 2 PM. Once again Mo and I walked the property trying to see just where each toilet was placed, and trying to imagine how it was going to look. It is hard not to be impatient even when things are moving this quickly.

Under-plumbing finished on May 12

The rest of the day was quiet here, and after another meeting with the carpet people, Mo and I took off exploring the Rogue River, following some hints about where we might be able to put in our kayaks. About 7 miles from town is Whitehorse County Park, with a great boat launch into a wide part of the river. We were told it is only a 4 hour lazy kayak to Robertson Bridge, but that water looked like a bit too much for us this time of year at least. We will wait and check it out in the fall.

We drove on west to check out the park and launch at Robertson Bridge where the river looked big and wide and a bit less intimidating. Returning east along Riverbanks Road we checked out another lovely launch at Griffin Park, another county park with RV camping with hookups. Lots to check out when we get a bit of free time and when the high water of spring settles down into lower summertime flows.

This morning, at 7AM the heating and cooling truck showed up. What? Seems as though his job was to install the dryer vent, and he had that job finished in about an hour at the most. Mo and I did a few yard chores around home before taking another little break to attend the annual Rogue Valley Piecemaker’s Quilt Show at the fairgrounds. It was a lovely show, with about 150 quilts and I got to meet a few of the ladies that may eventually be cohorts if I decide to join the quilt guild here in Grants Pass.

We then took time to visit the Rogue Roasters, just south of downtown Grants Pass before the river bridge, for organic, fair trade, locally roasted coffee in a great old building that looked like it once was a tire shop. Best cappuccino I have had in a long time.

We brought the tractor back from the apartments this week, since snow plowing season is hopefully over. Mo is very happy to have her tractor back so she can work on smoothing out some of the messy piles of rock and debris scattered about.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. Two of my girls and their kids are coming from their homes to spend the morning with us having brunch at the Taprock Northwest Grill. We did this once before, three years ago, but at that time had no clue that the builder who built that great building was going to be the builder doing our house. I’m really looking forward to the day with my family enjoying a lovely meal overlooking the beautiful Rogue River.

Tomorrow afternoon we will once again return to Klamath Falls and the apartments on Old Fort Road. Our long weeks in Grants Pass are wonderful, except for the minor detail of laundry. We no longer have a washer and dryer here with the cottage gone, and with most of our work here being outdoors, by the end of the week we definitely have a pile of dirty stuff to haul home for washing.

When we return toward the end of May, it will be time for framing. Once again the A team will take over and we will watch the full form of our home take shape. Shortly after that will come the roof trusses, and then the bones of the house will be set.

03/20/2017 Demolition!

Current Location: Back to the apartments, Klamath Falls Oregon

There is an overlap going on, but it is only a partial one. Many of my blogging friends and followers are also on Facebook. Many are not. Many of my Facebook friends never bother to look at the blog. Then, of course, there are those friends who do neither. Lately it seems that category is dwindling, with most friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances choosing to plug into one form or the other of digital connection. No, I don’t do Twitter, and yes, I have an Instagram account but haven’t put more than half a dozen photos on there in a year. No time. I have to pick and choose my personal version of internet communication.

I did a long blog post for the private blog I have been keeping about our “transitions”, sending the link to the few people who are close enough to care about the finer details of what is going on, but most of the time that one isn’t for public consumption. Now and then I have copied a post from the “transitions” blog to this one, but a comment on Facebook made me realize that maybe I needed to try a bit harder to keep this blog a bit more updated.

Bob McLean, of The Caretaker Chronicles, has been an internet friend for several years, not as up close as some others, and I have never met him, but he once kindly invited Melody and I to visit him and his TC at their home in Vienna when we were traveling Eastern Europe. We have sorta followed each other along leap frog style since then, as our lives have shifted and changed. Bob is a kick, with a great dry witty sense of humor that never fails to entertain me. Bob blogs a bit more consistently than I do, but he isn’t a daily guy either.

Back to the Facebook comment. When I posted a photo of our little cottage one day, saying it was the “last day”, nothing was mentioned. Then the next day I posted the photo of the demolition of the little cottage and Bob showed up on Facebook, exclaiming (and I paraphrase)…”What did I miss?”

This is our crazy RV shed storage/getaway space for the few months of the build, we will sleep, cook, and shower in the MoHo

So I cruised back through the blog thinking, “Surely I have talked about this at least a little bit”, and to my surprise discovered that, no, I hadn’t really talked about it much. A few comments here and there, lots of photos of the Cottage when we were in Grants Pass, but not much mention of the actual process of tearing it down. Lots of detailed explanations on the “transitions” blog, and more than a few references to the moving process on Facebook, but who in the heck can manage to keep track of your own life much less someone else’s life?!

Which is why I haven’t blogged about it much. This is a travel blog, mostly RV travel with some other kinds of travels thrown in, and of course, now and then, other pieces of life get in the mix. After all, we are not full time RV’rs, and I find that when we are on the move I assume that what I have to say might be more interesting for someone to read. I also usually don’t have to go back to the blog to figure out what we were doing when we are at home, but I surely use it a LOT for when we are on the move.

This is the google photo of the cottage before we bought it in 2012, with no RV shed, a bunch of chicken coops, old sheds and shelters, and the old pallet fence.

So, again, and a repeat for those up close friends who already know the drill. We bought the .87 acre in Grants Pass in 2012, so we would have a place to store the MoHo in winter. Mo wanted a big RV shed, and county regulations require that a dwelling be already on the property in order to add another building. The acre was perfect, the cost was close to the cost of the land without a dwelling, so we always laughed and said the little 700 square foot cottage was basically free.

This might be the last time I put a photo of the Rocky Point house in the blog. Ya’ll remember it I am sure

At the time we lived in Rocky Point. Most longer term readers remember that lovely home in the forest, and possibly remember that we sold that property last year. Reason for selling? Time to leave the deep, heavy snows of winter and the 35 mile one way drive to the grocery store for life on the west side of the Cascades. It took a bit for us to make that decision, and the first couple of years at the Cottage, we thought of improving it (which we did), adding to it, (which we decided wasn’t practical), or building a new home from scratch. Which we are now doing.

So, Bob, to make a long story a bit shorter, that is where we are now. We just had to wait for spring for the appropriate development and building permits, and the scheduling of the demolition of the little cottage to make way for the new house.

Yup, we tore it down. The Cottage wasn’t fancy, but it had 90 years of history, and we managed to make it cute and livable for the times when we were in Grants Pass. We knew there wouldn’t be much to salvage. A few old beams weren’t really even paint grade. The new bathtub that we put in 3 years ago was impossible to get back out without a ton of work.

Daughter Deborah came the week before the scheduled demolition and helped us get all the furniture (mostly things from Mo’s cabin at the Rocky Point house) out of the cottage and into the big RV shed. We moved the MoHo outside, where she will reside for the next few months during the build, and created a bit of living space inside the RV shed with our bits and pieces of furniture, a couple of comfy chairs, and the TV. It will be a bit of a place to get away from the smaller space of the MoHo while we hang around during the house build. Of course, we have spent months at a time in the MoHo, but it is a bit different when traveling than it will be sitting still in one place.

There goes the bathtub

We then removed a few antique doors, and Deborah took down the kitchen cupboard doors she had so carefully sanded and painted to hopefully create something wonderful with them.

By the end of the week, all the required permits came together at the right time, the gas company capped the gas line at the street and took away the gas meter. The power company disconnected the existing power and immediately connected to the newly installed power pole and meter box.

The new power pole gets power from the main pole across the street, but will deliver power to the house underground

We only spent one night without power, and on Saturday morning the electrician showed up at 8am to connect the power line that connected the shop and RV shed to the main pole, and to install a distribution box with a 30 amp plug for our RV and for the builders to use for power equipment during the build.

I had thought it might be an emotional thing to see the Cottage go, and it was, but only for a moment. When that first wall went down, and the sunny little kitchen with the blue and yellow and white shelves were exposed to the world, I felt a bit of sadness, and tears popped up. It only lasted a moment, though, and the fascination of watching a house disappear with a few bites of a monstrous machine made up for any sense of loss.

Early in the process, with the demolition of the first exterior wall, suddenly everything came to a screeching halt. Ralph, the demo guy, thought he saw something that looked like it could contain asbestos. Gary, the builder foreman, had removed and tested materials from several areas of the house and we were determined to be asbestos free, except for some old tiles in the kitchen.

Homeowners can remove the tiles and dispose of the asbestos, but a contractor is require to jump through myriad and expensive hoops to handle asbestos abatement. Mo and I had dutifully removed the tiles the previous week, but this material was some sort of crazy composition siding that was completely hidden by other layers of siding sandwiched on the thin walls.

Terror. I can’t even begin to explain the fear in that moment for all of us, especially Mo and Gary

Asbestos would stop the job, and could cost so much to remove that we would have to completely abandon our house building plans because it would be so far outside the budget. Time stood still, and with some sort of contractor magic, Gary managed to get a sample to a testing company in Medford, the sample was tested within an hour, and thank God it came up negative. Within two hours the machine was backup and running. We all took a collective sigh of relief on that one.

The demolition continued for the rest of the afternoon, even in the rain, and by early evening, most of the cottage was lying in a small heap of sticks and twigs. It was an old house, built from scratch from whatever materials were available at the time. The pipes under the floors were wrapped in newspapers and roofing paper. I hunted for dates, and discovered, January 29, 1949. I couldn’t read much of the paper, because it was so stained. It was truly amazing to see that such a simply built house, without even any framing of any kind, could actually stand for 91 years.

On Tuesday morning the crew returned to finish the job of crunching up all the debris and hauling it away in the two huge dump trucks that they quickly filled. Ralph also took down the three trees that were in the way of the new house footprint, using his giant bucket to simply push those trees right out of the ground, stumps and all. It was fascinating to watch.

On Wednesday morning, almost everything was down and hauled away, except for the last big tree that Ralph thought he should take down with the help of an arborist. They took that last beautiful madrone down without a hitch, landing it right in between the big trees we wanted to keep uninjured, and the old cherry tree on the lower end of the property. Gorgeous work, and by the way, gorgeous men as well, all of them. What IS it about those construction guys with tool belts anyway?!?!

Gary and his helper Levi then started the process of staking out the footprint of the new house. The final staking will come after the excavation is completed in the first week of April, but this one was basically for making sure the house was set exactly as we wanted it. I spent much of the time gleefully dancing around the defined space, stepping through the “front door”, looking out the great room “windows”, and standing in my “big oval soaking tub: looking out the big window in the master bathroom.

It is an exciting process, and a slow one. A custom home doesn’t go up quickly, and our schedule is six or seven months before completion. We are really hoping that 7 months will get us actually moved in before winter snows once again take over the Klamath Basin.

Erythronium hendersonii the precious trout lilies growing down in the lower pasture were unconcerned.

We won’t be traveling much this year, as it is important to be around to make decisions. Our contractor is a great guy, with a wonderful reputation for building homes in Grants Pass for 3 decades, but we still wouldn’t want to leave all those choices up to someone else, so we need to be around. The plan is a week at the “cottage”…and a week back at the apartments where we will officially reside until we move into the new house.

I gotta figure out what to call our place in Grants Pass now that the “cottage “ is no longer there. The new house isn’t huge, but it is definitely NOT a cottage.