November 10 - 19, 2017 - Roof, Snow and Installing the cast iron stove

The weekend of November 10th, Jim worked on the final touches of the metal roof on the screen porch.  Since I was planning to stay on til Monday, it was my job to check  for leaks (in the event of rain).  Well the Monday stay ended up being a week stay since I had to pick up fireplace pipe from Truckee and replacement glass for our Lopi in Grass Valley.

A trip to Truckee (Tuesday) sometimes includes a trip to Reno for thrift store shopping.  I didn't manage to find much of the items that are needed at the lodge - but it is always a fun trip.  I got stuck in traffic coming back, so Grass Valley and the glass purchase had to happen on Wednesday.

Grass Valley also has some really nice thrift stores (visited a few), a Habitat for Humanity (got some joist hangers there) and a great Grocery Outlet (our fresh food supplies were getting low).

On Thursday and Friday, I stayed at the lodge.  And it rained and snowed quite a bit, so I was able to verify that the new roof DOES NOT LEAK!!! And I started installing the stone work to the hearth of the cast iron stove (picture below).  I also finished stacking the rest of our firewood near the game room (we need a cast iron stove in there too) and did some general clean up and laundry.

Saturday, Jim returned to install the cast iron stove and the stove pipe in the screen room.  Well that stretched into Sunday and is still not 100% complete.  But we are close.  Once the stove is installed, we will give it a virgin burn and then continue insulating and cedar shiplapping the lower walls in the screen room.  We also need to insulate and shiplap the snow room (cedar of course).  The stone tile in there will have to wait until spring now.

I have a few small projects pending - but since I was being way to helpful (with suggestions) on the stove, I was sent out to do a burn of the tree debris that we have stacked up on the property on Saturday and Sunday.  I managed to burn everything near the big fire pit - but still have a few stacks way in the back of the property that probably will not be burned until spring.

And we have a mouse in the house.  Since we do not live at the lodge full time, we have always had a challenge with rodents.  Quincy learned how to open the front door (from our dearly departed Dakota) when he is out and wants to be in and has not learned how to close it.  So we have a mouse to deal with.  I am hoping that the traps I put out before I left the lodge work and we have a expired mouse when we return for the holiday weekend.

Our neighbors at the Hyatt Mechantile Store (now a cabin) are outshining us in building.  They have just weathered in their new recreation building which will include a sauna and a hot tub lap pool.  So they will soon have three building on their property.  We have not met the new neighbors who purchased Rad and Paula's place yet.  The neighbors across the street have not been at their cabin much, but were there Sunday winterizing the place.  They told us AT&T are going to be putting a cell tower up the hill behind their property.  Hopefully we will not see it from the street.

That is about all to report for now.  Waiting for the Storm King to really reach us and Christmas with the family.


Snow Storm on Friday.

Adding stone in Screen Room

Stove Installation

October 29, 2017 - Getting ready for SNOW!

The  weekend  of Oct 29 was all about buttoning up the lodge for winter.  Our first big snow storm is due in Friday November 3rd. I finished the metal roofing top on the wood carrier by the screened in porch, added some additional lumber to the existing wood carrier in front of the house (so that water will not pool as much on the tarp).  Built another firewood rack (this one is 32 deep by 5 1/2 feet high by 5 1/2 feet long) for on top of the old concrete foundation and filled it with firewood before Jim arrived on Saturday.     

On Friday we had a nice visit from Jim White and his wife (just a drive by but always fun to hear his history at the gap).  He talked about a guy he used to know from PG&E who had scads of old pioneer relics at his place  Oxen yokes, wagon train stuff, etc.  Jim told me there used to be two large metal posts on the hill that leads down to Bear Valley (the dirt road is a mess now and probably does not go all the way down anymore).  The posts were used to help lower the wagon trains into the valley. A few years back there was a landslide there and PG&E just plowed down the area (wiping away the posts).  Some more of our history lost.  

He also told me there is a trail off North Fork Place that leads to two lakes.  There are a few cabins back that way - one on Black Mountain, that he hopes to explore sometime.  

His wife is currently working her strength back up from a spinal injury and is in a wheelchair - I invited him into the cabin for a tour - but we couldn't figure out how to get her wheelchair down the steps.  Hopefully, when she gets better, they will stop by for a real visit (coffee included!).  

He reminded me that there used to be wonderful old pictures on the walls of the lodge of historic Emigrant Gap - I wish we had some images of those.  They were long gone before we bought the lodge.  


When my Jim got to the lodge, he worked on getting the final metal on the screened in porch roof.  He also started to install the posts for the new fireplace mantel.  Next, I get to add the lathe and mortar to prepare for putting in the stone work.  

I piled up all the firewood from the patio near the game room and  swept off all of the debris so that the water can drain there.  Water has a tendency to puddle right in front of the room - though there is screening under the building, I think one day we will have to lift it and put a taller foundation with better drainage below it.  

We were taking the Polaris home this weekend, so I pulled the tarps off the Steel Frame Canopy for winter.  Next year, I plan to double up the frame (one more canopy and a lot of steel cutting to make the rafters closer) and add a metal roof to the structure.  That should make it a nice winter storage for the Kayaks and Canoe.  


Since we resided a bit of the lodge this summer, I added some trim to the edge of the house and cut and installed a plywood snow blocker wall on the lower entry. I need to paint it since it is repurposed siding plywood in Forest Service Green - the color we are slowly eliminating from the siding.  

Saturday night came too quickly, so we headed over to the Rustic Table for dinner.  They have some really great people working there and they are well on their way to starting their new futures in Restaurant and Hotel services.   The Rustic Table and Sierra Woods Motel are owned by Teen Challenge, an international group that helps older teens recover from drug issues.  They train them and then move them to Alta as they find jobs around the lower summit area as their final transition back into the workforce.  They are a great group!  Anyway - Jim had the burger (always delicious) and I had the Cobb Salad - yummy! We met a guy - Joe, who owns some land off North Fork Place in the meadow.  He lives over by Forest hill and works in Auburn.  He plans to build a small cabin on his property next year.  He uses his property as a get away and for a staging place for hunting.  I am sure we talked his ear off,  but was very nice!  


I put away the picnic benches (still need to stack in the basement).  And pulled some fallen branches and trees onto the fire pile.  I am still waiting for Cal Fire to lift the fire restrictions so that I can burn the debris.  Lastly I tarped, tarped tarped.  

I still need to add the door to the outhouse near the game room, add some plywood to the outhouse peak, paint (almost everywhere), build a canoe rack and stone the wall behind the new cast iron stove before Christmas. Of course, Jim needs to install the cast Iron stove which is much harder to do .  And we need to haul some stuff down to the basement - plywood, drywall etc.  But we are making progress. Sorry - no photos. Just too busy!