Summer Vacation - Part 4

So here we are at the Section 17 Rustic Cabin in the Porcupine Mountains.  I'll just hit the highlights:

Pizza for supper!  This was a new one for us, and it turned out super nice. 

We made a little "lid" out of aluminum foil to keep the heat in the pizza, and baked it over coals. 

Of course, eating on the bridge over the stream was a must.  Just don't let your pizza slide off into the water. 

Due to a quick rain in the evening, we played cards by candlelight. 

Breakfast was always had at the bridge, too.  It was nice to have the sun on your back and warm up a bit, too.

We did a 6 mile hike, and found this cool tree growing on top of a boulder.  Only the roots travelled down to the ground.  We were all fascinated.

Summer Vacation - Part 3

The biggest attraction near our Yurt in the Porcupine Mounts is Lake of the Clouds.  It is a nice lake sitting behind a cliff of rock with nice views in nearly all directions.

It was warm and sunny as you can tell.  It was also pretty breezy, which was very welcome to keep the bugs away for a few minutes.

We also took a long and hot hike down to Lake Superior.  Yes, it was long and it was hot, but it was worth it.  We probably hit 85 degrees on the trail, but once we were near the big lake, temps probably dropped to low/mid 60s.  It was great. 

We dipped our feet in.  Water temperatures were in the low 50s this close to the surface (or so I was told by the visitor's center people).

Eventually, we had to say goodbye to the Yurt and move onto our next resting spot.  

We hiked out and drove on down the road.  Kids sure are getting good at hiking these days.  I don't think I heard any complaining at all on this trip.

The next stop is a rustic cabin called Section 17.  This place is special to me because 21 years ago in June, my wife and I were here (then girlfriend)

I tried to recreate that picture, but added the 3 kids, too.  

Contrast and compare the picture above to the picture below.

Geesh - lots of changes between these pictures.  Someone added a porch, some new siding, but that guy seems to have lost his hair!

Summer Vacation - Part 2

After our time in Wisconsin Dells, we continued driving northward and arrived at the Porcupine Mountains.  It's still a 5 hour drive north, so it took nearly all day.

Here is a blowup of the Porcupine Mountains - it's a big area.

The workers at the Porcupine Mountains Visitor's Center were very helpful.  We had many questions, and they answered them all.  We drove to our trailhead for the short hike to our Yurt, and were bombarded with mosquitoes.  We changed quickly into our Permethrin treated clothing.

It was a quick and easy half mile hike to our yurt.  Most of the trail was a muddy and rutty path for a pickup truck.

At the Yurt, the mosquitoes were worse.  We had to put on our headnets that we would wear for the next 6 days.  You might think it is uncomfortable, but it's really not as seen by this guy's expression:

Our Yurt was awesome.  It is a soft-sided canvas cylinder with a cone on top.

The structure of the Yurt is this collapsible wooden "mesh".  Vinyl windows zipped up and down, and made for good ventilation.  There are a total of 4 beds.

Also in the Yurt is a small wood stove.  We didn't use it, but it would be cozy in wintertime.

Outside of the Yurt is a green metal Bear Box.  We stashed all our stinky stuff in here for the night - food, toiletries, tooth paste, campstove fuel.  Bears love all that stuff, but can't get into the box.

With headnets on, we had a campfire to cook hotdogs and s'mores for dessert.  It was a great day.

Side Note - The hardest thing with the headnets is remembering to remove them before taking a bite of your s'more.

Summer Vacation - Part 1

We took our big summer vacation early this year.  As soon as kids got out of school, we took off for a trip up north.  We spent 5 nights in Wisconsin Dells, 6 nights in the Porcupine Mountains, and 2 nights with friends near Green Bay.

Day #1 - We spent all day driving up to Wisconsin Dells and checked into our resort.  Car time was around 5 hours - 325 miles.  Kids were totally excited at all the water slides they see.  We get suits on and go out.  Cold cold water!

Day #2 and 3 - We do more of the same, but with the addition of the roller coasters and rides of the theme park.  Kids especially enjoyed the coasters.  The go-karts were great, too!

On one of these days, we took a good break and went out to eat at a cool restaurant called "Moose Jaw".  We had a good pizza and a calzone.  These were the only 2 moose we saw on the entire vacation:

Easter Weekend

What a busy weekend.  Nice weather plus minimal kid commitments made for a good weekend.  I made my 4th batch of Ken Forkish artisan bread.  Instead of making 2 big loaves, I made 1 big loaf and 3 pizzas later in the day (Saturday evening).  It turned out just great.  That crust was amazing.

Sunday morning was great, too.  Easter at our church is always a good service.  This year, the orchestra had a new member - Kiddo #1 and her Tuba.  She was nervous, but she did wonderful.  No pictures, but we're all proud of her.  Our church did, however, have a photo-booth between services, and we were able to squeeze in a picture.

Canoe Trailer - Springtime Progress

My project canoe trailer is coming along nicely.  I have the wood box 98% complete, and the crossbar system that holds the 2 canoes is fully finished.

The crossbars are simply held by a metal bracket - machined, bent, and welded by me.  There are saddles on the crossbar to keep the canoes from sliding side to side.

I made doors that swing open on the front and rear.  It should be noted that nearly all this wood is repurposed from shipping crates.  A few pieces have been repurposed from the remains of our rustic cedar built-in shelves in the old TV room.  I believe I only bought 2 new 8 foot long 2x6s.

The front and rear doors latch closed with these shipping crate fasteners.  These are called butterfly latches, and work quite nicely.  Again, repurposed from old shipping crates.

There are no handles for the doors - rather I just put in a little triangle piece that allows you to dig your fingertips into to pull.  But there really is no need - they open very freely.

Having doors that open from both ends allow us to easily load and unload gear.

Perhaps if the bears are bad, two people could sleep in there.

A long piano hinge gives good, smooth action for the doors.

The interior roof is somewhat like a house.  Those trusses are simple 2x4s ripped down at a 3.5 degree angle.

Since all these panels are reused shipping containers, nothing was of the right size to span the entire length or width.  So, I have a seem, and added a nice strip of cedar to hide the seem (again, cedar from our old splintery built-in shelves).

Next steps:

1.  Figure out trailer lights.

2.  Paint the entire box for a little waterproofing.

3.  Get a license plate