We have been spending lots of time up at the cabin this summer. It took several weekends to finish the staining of the exterior but it looks great! We have the downstairs windows all framed in and the roofing almost finished. We've been making lots of big purchases (beds, cupboards and counter tops, playground, & lots more) in anticipation of the cabin being finished soon. We are now looking at it being finished early next year, due to some delays and bad weather.

And now, some pictures. This spot was cleared by Casey Family Services. It is the future location of our rock garden. Anyone who stays at the cabin will be invited to paint a rock and we will collect the rocks in our garden. The centerpiece of the garden will be a unique statue made specifically for Stronghold. This garden is about halfway down the path to the river, and to the right.

This picture is of the path to the cabin from the river. It was also cleared by Casey Family Services.

We will be putting in a playground next spring. It has been purchased and the site has been chosen. It was partially cleared by Casey Family Services. This is a picture of the site, marked off by the red flagging tape.

This is a picture of the cabin taken from the middle of the playground site. If you are confused, the driveway is on the other side of the cabin and the main road is to the right. From this view you can see the staining on the wood.

Long Weekend at the Cabin
We spent Sunday and Monday at the cabin over Memorial Day. We rented a wood chipper and spent lots of time hauling brush to be chipped. The chips will be used around the playground. Everyone helped out and had fun stuffing the branches into the big loud machine.

Everyone Waiting in Line:
(left to right) Dana, Britney, Nick M., Sammy, Nick A., Eric

Nick M. chipping wood

We also did a lot of staining. I don't have a good picture of the cabin after we finished but we have 2 1/2 sides done. Here is a picture of the back side being stained by Leslie and Britney

In this shot you can see where the stain ends, one log over Kaila's head. The girls were all watching the boys (and Britney) chipping wood.

And last, Emi and Sammy spent a lot of time inside the cabin. We were trying to contain Emi and hide from the bugs! This picture is Emi and Sam playing in what will be the bedroom, with Kaila looking in the window while she is sanding outside.

Construction Season 2006 has Begun!
It is finally nice enough out to begin working on the cabin again. A group went up on Saturday April 1st. The weather wasn't great but they got some work done. They cleared brush

Started weather proofing the exterior of the cabin

And they moved wood piles from the first floor of the cabin so we can begin working on the flooring soon.

For lunch they all stopped and had yummy food from the Ugly Moose up the road.

We can't wait to get back up there when it's sunny and get more work done! If you want to come and help let us know, we can use people with any amount of experience, or none!

Plea for Help!
I know this is short notice and I'm not sure how many people are looking at this site, sorry! We need some people to go up to the cabin on Saturday to get some work done. That would be Saturday, July 23 2005. We had tons of help last year with the fun parts (putting up the walls) but now we need to get things finished! Please let us know if you can help and bring a friend! Free Stronghold gift to everyone who shows up this weekend! Call Dana 856-6414

We are getting there...
Dana and Nick and the family have spent many weekends at the cabin working on the roofing. Mostly the two guys do all the work but Kaila and Afton have helped a little. The roofing on the back of the cabin is almost done. We went as far as we could and then started the front. Here is what the back of the cabin looks like now:

The front roofing went up much faster, the pieces were smaller but we had to use more because of the angle change at the middle. We also have the back loft window cut out and in place. If you look close, you can see that we've started putting up the logs that will go all the way up the side and around the window.

This picture is of the girls loft and the new window. We hope to put in a spiral staircase to this loft. The boys will get to their loft by climbing a rock wall.

We are going to try again to get a group up to the cabin this Saturday, July 16th. Please let us know if you would like to help out. Thanks!

Our New Journal
This morning, May 29th, Dana Nick and Eric left early to go work on the cabin. A few hours later, Afton Kaila and Emi followed with lunch. The roofing goes up well but the holes have to be pre-drilled before you can take the panel up to the roof. This can be time consuming. It took almost all day to get 5 panels up. We started on the back roof and are about 1/3 of the way across.

The river was running high and fast today. It was a little overcast so I didn't get the usual "sparkle" in the picture.

Thanks for visiting, I will post updates as things are being done!