Christmas 2012

Christmas at the lodge is about to occur.  I plan to head up to the old place and get it warmed up for this weekend.  We plan for guests to start arriving on Saturday.  My sister, Pattie and some of her family plan to be there for New Years and we have family coming in from Southern California post Christmas weekend.  We may even be lucky to have some of our friends drop in.

The lodge is magical at Christmas and we are fortunate enough to have snow this year.  Can't wait to get out the inner tubes and cross country skis.

Some new exciting news! During my last conversation with Eleanor (Cortopassi family ownership from the early 1930s to the late 1940s), she shared that the next owner of the lodge (Mr Robinson) was a prominent attorney from Auburn. After a lot of research, I located information on the Robinson family and I am hoping I have contacted a descendant.  I will let you know if this lead pans out.

I plan to go to the county archives this spring to attempt to fill in some of the current history of the last two owners of the lodge.  I have not been able to connect with Mrs Bright's children or with Mrs Jimmerson (though I have made several attempts to reach them).  I wish them fond memories of their time at the lodge and hope they stop by sometime in the future.

We have some new furniture to haul up (after the holidays).  Our dear neighbors provided us with a great dresser for Katie's room.  Can't wait to get it up there.  But this trip will be about hauling gifts, decorations and food.

Happy Holidays! 2012

October 2012 - New Stove at the lodge

New Stove at the Lodge!

Over the last several months, the old Garland stove at Emigrant Gap Lodge lost one oven thermostat and lost the heat shield, thermal coupler and metal drip pan in the other oven, making it virtually useless for baking.  After checking with commercial range repair shops from Sacramento to Reno and trying to order vintage parts, we determined that it would be less expensive to purchase another used commercial stove than to attempt to repair the old one. 

First, we looked at a 1950's Wolf stove on the Summit that had already been converted to propane, but once the owner finally hooked it up to propane for us to see it, we decided that it would be too much of a fixer to take on. 

Next, we found a newer Southbend in San Francisco.  Unfortunately, it was set for natural gas and was in a walk-up victorian.  Even with these two obstacles, it looked to be in working condition and the owner advised it would be ready to go when I came to pick it up. 

However, when I arrived at the house, it was still connected to gas and had to be moved through the kitchen doorway, through a narrow hallway, onto a small front landing and down a staircase.  The owner, a few of his construction guys and I wrangled it into my truck, then Jim and I took it up to the Gap.  

With the help of our dear neighbors, their piano mover, our construction guy and Jim, we got it into the lodge.  These commercial stoves weigh a ton.  From there, I had to order the propane conversion kit. I also had to clean years of cooking grease from the burners and the griddle/ broiler (the ovens were pretty clean). 

Finally I was able to schedule a repair visit with our friends at Amerigas.  After about 5 hours of work, the repair tech advised that two of the gauges for the griddle/broiler would not fully turn off and needed to be replaced and that one of the ovens needed a new heat controller. We were able to trade the gauges with the garland but I will need to order the controller for the oven this week.  

For now, the new stove is working, one oven is working and oven 2 will be working in the near future. The old stove will be donated to Habitat for Humanity in Grass Valley or to the Salvation Army in Reno.  

Here are some pictures of the kitchen as it is now.  We still have some cabinetry to add above the old reach in ice box and we need to do lots of painting and trim work - but the kitchen is once more fully functional - ready for turkey and pies for Thanksgiving!

September 2012

Some August changes at the Gap.  Since the wiring on most of the top floor is very vintage, Jim decided it was time to run new wiring for the 5 upstairs bedrooms.

We had two options for demolition:

Option 1:
Tear down each bedroom ceiling and run the new wiring from the attic.  Later we could tear down all the bedroom walls to run the plugs for each room.

OR

Option 2:
Tear down the ceiling and walls in the hallway and run the wiring down the hall.  This option would allow us to a.) place hallway fixtures,light switches and plugs, and b.) place one plug in each room prior to running the multitude of room plugs.  Option B also allowed us to refinish the hallway walls and floors.

So guess which option we selected?

You got it - option B.  We started by clearing all the loose insulation in the attic that was over the construction area. Then we tore the hallway drywall, wainscoting and trim.  This was the messy part.  We were careful to remove the wainscoting in case we decided later that it should be reinstalled.

Once the demolition was completed, Jim started running all the wire.  That took a while to complete.  He added 4 ceiling lights (on dual switches), about 4 plugs, and a wall sconce to the main hallway.  He added one plug to each bedroom (with the option for running more later as we complete each bedroom remodel).  He also added a ceiling light to the snow entry hallway and the option for an outdoor light on the fire escape.

While this was going on, we had some discussion about the main hallway pantry door.  we decided that in the future we would use 1/2 of the pantry space for a stairway up the the attic.  The original set up of the pantry door, opening into the pantry space and on the main hallway made the stairway option infeasible.  So, as part of the internal framing upgrades, we moved the pantry door to the snow entry hallway and set it up to open outward.   I know, sacrificing storage space in the pantry is a sad loss - but getting the 12 feet high, about 80 feet long and over 24 feet wide space in the attic made the sacrifice worth it.

Once Jim completed the wiring, it was time to drywall (our least favorite part of the job).  It is not that we hate putting the drywall in place, it is the mess it creates and all the work it takes to do the finish job.
Since the hallway light is basically what we get from the open bedroom doors and from the ceiling lights, the task of finishing the drywall was huge.

Carol completed the painting of the hall and refinished the hallway and the kitchen floors just in time for this summer's family reunion.  Jim and Carol rebuilt some vintage schoolhouse pendant lights for the hallway ceiling fixtures and we reused one of the original scones at the end of the hall. Jim reinstalled the furnace vent covers (we have vent covers but no furnace).  Pictures were put up to make the hallway homey.

We still have to reinstall the wainscoting - which we hope to complete this fall.

One more remodel job near to completion at the lodge.

December 2011

In December the rain and snow just stopped.  The temperature rose and like stated before we had NO SNOW for the semi annual Tahoe Christmas. It was our first Christmas at the Lodge so snow would have been great.  But we all managed to have fun, making holiday decorations, cutting down the Christmas tree in our woods, hiking, sledding on very slim snow down the hill, playing games, cooking, singing and eating.  And since there was no snow, we were able to play basketball at our one room schoolhouse and have a bonfire on Christmas night.

Our Fireplace (primary source of heat for main floor) with kids stockings hung.

Four of the Five aunts and grandma at the Lodge. 

Opening gifts!

August - November 2011

Pattie, Melanie, Rylie, Noah, Brandon, Alayna, Jim, Carol and Katie spent a weekend at the Lodge and attended the Grass Valley Nevada County Fair – a really fun small town event.  The kids tried gold panning.  Jim got to ride on the flying helicopters with Brandon.  And Noah and Brandon rode the motocross motorcycle ride. We had a great time.

Jim had a mini – Cal Berkeley reunion (35^th anniversary of our graduation) at the Lodge with long time friends. Visits to the local waterfall, swimming and kayaking at nearby lake, bottles of wine and stories & laughter made a great weekend.

Carol’s best friend Karen and hubby Larry came up for a day trip to the Lodge toward the end of summer. Carol, Katie, Karen and Larry went on an explore on some dirt roads to Big Valley Flat (about 12 miles past North Fork) and got to see the Royal Gorge from about 7000 feet. It was awesome.

Jim installed more windows (to get ready for the Christmas Holiday).  To date, he has replaced 15 single pane/cracked/rotted windows with double pane windows.  Of course, with each window replacement, there is a need to remove the old wallboard (which seems to be made out of a lightweight fiberboard with little or no insulation behind it), reframe the walls with new 2 by 4s, add insulation, re-wire and re-drywall.  The main floor windows are all in now which makes the lodge a lot warmer and less creaky. 

 

In September we got our first 2011/12 snow so we thought we might have an early winter. 

Soon after, Jim got busy building a snow diverter for our electrical mast on the outside of the Lodge and repaired some of the loose metal roof covering.  He also cut down and cut up 6 LARGE dead cedar trees that Carol then split for our three cords of winter firewood..

In November – more snow at the Lodge.  We had enough snow at Thanksgiving for Jeremy and Brandon to get in some pre-season sledding.  We were all psyched about how much snow we could expect for Christmas Holiday.  

July 2011

The Family Reunion was held the third weekend of July. Lucky for us, most of the snow had finally melted and we were able to visit Lake Valley Lake, Sugar Pine Point on Lake Tahoe, North Fork of the North Fork Falls, and take a wonderful hike at the Old Summit Train Tunnels.  Family attended from Washington, Southern California,  and Texas.  We had a big bonfire one night, feasted on cabbrito and venison, AND we had our second reunion engagement announced (this time - Uncle Bucky).

April - June 2011

In April, May and June it snowed and snowed and snowed.  We were beginning to wonder if we would still have snow for the reunion (July).

Jim and Carol were busy working on the kitchen cabinets, adding slate to the entry way  and adding tile and fixtures to the upstairs bathrooms (in preparation for the big family reunion in July).  We managed to get 5 1/2 bathrooms up and running (minus one shower that was just not completed in time).  Everyone overlooked the rough edges (no trim, unfinished stuff).

March 2011

Dave and Matt came down to work on plumbing and wiring in March.  The lodge was still looking like a giant marshmallow and there were concerns about getting out of the lodge once everyone arrived.  It snowed and snowed and snowed.

The boys managed to install a new panel for the circuits (at least I think this is when it occurred), install sub-floor in both upper back baths (and hardibacker), plumb both upstairs bathrooms, add drain venting and sewage for all the back bathrooms (both upstairs and down), add 220 heaters in two upstairs baths, add ceiling fans with vents in two downstairs baths.  This was a major feat.  We had folks working simultaneously on the main floor, the lower floor, the attic and the basement.   Dave even gave Carol a lesson in flux and solder for copper pipes. We were all so busy, we did not have time to take that many pictures of the work that was going on.  It was monumental.

January - February 2011

Did we mention that 2011 had a lot of snow? For most of the winter the lodge looked like a marshmallow.

The big push started to get the lodge ready for the Family Reunion (planned for July 2011).  It started in the kitchen.  Jim and Jose tore down all the walls and the ceiling to put in new windows, insulation and drywall.

 Carol started taking down walls and ceilings in the upstairs back 2 bathrooms.  We call these rooms bathrooms in jest since - one had an unplumbed claw foot tub, and unplumbed sink and no toilet and the other had no toilet, no sink and a seriously scary 1930's tub.

October through December 2010

James (Brando) and his daughter Maria came for a visit in October. 

Jim has season tickets to Cal Football, so much of the fall was split between the games and work at the lodge and of course, watching the Giants take the World Series.  While at the lodge, Jim and Carol built the mudroom and stone hearth for our new cast iron stove fireplace. 

Closing the year, we were able to finally get the cast iron fireplace installed so that it was toasty warm for our visit from Carol, Cassandra and her children, Denise and Matt (Guida Gunns) and the boys, Bill and Mary and baby Lou, Mom, Pattie with grandkids Rylie and Noah , Jeremy and Brandon.  Everyone helped us celebrate the new year under the amazing Sierra stars  (though some of us did not make it to midnight). We received a boatload of snow for sledding.  Jim and the guys built a mega sled hill that goes down two stone staircases into the backyard. We have dreams of adding some tunnels and a tow rope next year.

September 2010

Jim’s brother Ralph and nephew Adam came up to the lodge in September to conduct a survey.  Turns out, 3 acres is a lot of land. Thanks to Ralph and Adam for uncovering our ownership of the road that leads to the side of our property  (and the associated land where most of the school’s portable building is encroaching).  Jim and I will be talking with the school board as soon as the survey is filed.

 

August 2010

Jeremy and Brandon were able to come up to the lodge for a few stays over the summer and we were able to tour some of the lake region’s wonderful sights.  Pattie and her grandkids also sneaked in some visits as well as Denise and Devin and Ann and Jeff.  Jim found time to add a fold down ladder to the attic for easier access and Carol patched stone work on the lodge entry and fence pillars.

For Carol and her mom, much of the summer was spent working on floors and walls, clearing land, cleaning grounds and building small retaining walls at the lodge.  The grounds are covered with Sweet Peas, Daffodils and Holly Hocks for much of the summer. S Plus our spring creek was flowing into July due to the late melt. Jim managed to put in 3 new windows, add a new porch cover over the side door/electrical panel and fix the roof in his spare time (HA, HA).

July 2010

July was nothing short of amazing. Denise, Matt (Guida Gunns) and the boys, Dave and Pat, Tina and Joel and their family all joined us up at the lodge.  Matt, Dave and Jim worked on adding new electrical panels  Dave continued plumbing by adding our washing machine (no more hauling laundry back and forth!).  We visited the lakes, creeks and river in the region, took a long day trip to the town of Washington and went gold panning with the boys. It was so much fun!

Late July we had a nice weekend gathering at the lodge with our long time friends, Kevin & Kate, Dave Crowe and Jim Dickey.  Kevin , Dave, Jim & Jim go back almost 40 years (yikes) from our freshman dorm days. Taking the wave runners out, kayaking and swimming along with viewing of the stars from the high country augmented with fruit of the vine was really enjoyed.  We hope to make it an annual trip (meteor showers in August?).

April 2010

During our very late spring, Carol was busy acquiring furniture, building supplies, portable heaters, basic household items and moving them up to the lodge.  Jim drove up on weekends to accomplish such tasks as removing the old freestanding fireplace, patching the roof and tearing down a wall to make the kitchen larger.  There were many trips up to the lodge, with truck so full we looked like Tom Joad (Grapes of Wrath) migrating to California.

February & March 2010

February brought Dave (Jims brother) to visit us at the lodge. He and Jim assessed our plumbing and patched some of our burst pipes and we all huddled around the kitchen stove for warmth.

March brought both Dave and Pat to the lodge.  Carol, Katie and Pat painted the living room while Dave and Jim hooked up sinks and did mega plumbing work to bring us to a living state.   Mary Beth brought along her friend Shawn for the visit. He was corralled into being a helper and still calls Dave his favorite Uncle Dave. Without Dave and Pat’s help we would have been unable to continue working on other fixes as soon as we did. 

January 2010

As a great start to 2010, in January, Jim, Katie, Mary Beth and I started cleaning up the lodge at Emigrant Gap.  Jim added a new side door (the original was bashed in and beyond repair).  Carol, Katie and Mary Beth swept, washed and scrubbed everything. Then we  proceeded to tear out carpeting in top floor bedrooms.

Since we had a bad burst in the copper pipes, we were unable to turn on the well.  For cleaning and flushing water we used melted snow.  We brought up potable water from home for cooking and drinking.
Melting started with coleman stove, then was upgraded to old cabin stove once that was cleaned and hooked up to the propane tank.

Things were a bit rustic at first. We used a cooler for our refrigerator, the coleman for cooking and melting.  We had no washer or dryer so we used lots of buckets and rags.  We slept on the sofa bed and blow up mattresses.  And since the ceiling around the free standing fireplace had sagged and the stove pipe collapsed - we could only warm the lodge with portable heaters.

Pretty soon we had two bedrooms set up downstairs - one with a queen mattress the other with a trundle. We had no TV at first - but quickly brought up a TV and VCR.

We quickly realized that we would need to get the pipes fixed so that we could used our hot water heater and toilets (without snow melt flushing).  And that we would need to work on circuits to help avoid popping them when the heater was on.