Harold spent two days in Hope, missed the rain.
I cut all the stumps down to ground level, and piled them next to the other wood piles. I also took out one more birch at the back of the parking/pit and cut up more of that big downed spruce back beyond the clearing. I moved one brush pile that was on the side of the road, right where the driveway will start, and then decided that I had the time and perfect conditions (wet woods, not a breath of wind) for a fire. Burned both piles up completely, finished that up about midnight. Stayed in Gillespie’s, which was great, then in the morning I stirred up the fire again, loaded the truck with birch from the utility road and the cul-de-sac, and spent the rest of the day helping Larry Harmon unload the culverts and cut the trees off of his driveway slot. Robbie and Willie stopped by as Larry and I were assembling the culvert sections at our place (had to go back to Tom’s to get some dishsoap for the rubber gasket, then rigged two rachet straps to pull the sections together). Davidsons were on their way to Portage in a big work truck. Robbie said the big excavator got to Hope on Saturday, but he would not have time to get it over to our place until likely Monday. I asked him again to give me a call when he was going to start, and we talked about the job description again, so that it should be clear we want the foundation for a good drive, but not necessarily all the fill that may be needed, unless he can get it out of our pit. The last thing I did before leaving was to go over to the Bear Creek culvert on the Hope road to get two buckets of water to cool the coals and ashes in the burn pile.
Left on the site: the drum for the outhouse (top and bottom cut out, and perforated), four shovels, two picks, a post hole digger. Already there: the big rope, the cable with pulley, 4 gallons gas, bag of gloves, axe, nippers.
Larry and his wife spent Friday night in their new “tool shed”, which is a nice 8’ X 12’ insulated cabin with a woodstove and 4’ deck. Larry and his crew built it in two days! He has a iron digging bar we can use to help dig the outhouse pit. Larry’s dog chased a big black bear down our way that night. We had dinner and beers at the Seaview, it was not packed. I talked to Jim and Pam Skogstad there for awhile.
Saturday I met two more neighbors, the Bantas from lot 1. Joe and Cheryl? Joe grew up in Cordova, and was David Hatch’s roommate at UAF in 1975. Joe said he is clearing the little trees off their lot with a set of nippers! When I said we have wondered why the trees are so young and small over by lot 1, they said they were told it is because there used to be a goat farm on that land. Joe said the wells at the church and across the road went in about 80-90’; one is hard water, one is sweet. Also, the unconfirmed report (from Willie) is that the well on lot 9 went to 140’; 65’ of gravel, then 60’ of clay, then enough water. The Holsteins on lot 4 had a entrance cut onto their lot through the road bank, but no culvert or topping gravel yet. Jim Skogstad did the earthwork for them, according to Joe Banta.
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