Log Bed

Every once in a while I get the hankerin' to work on a manly project. I remember fondly things like chopping wood out behind the chicken coup on the dairy growing up. And helping Dad built calf hutches in the commodity shed. And building that 'raft' to float down the canal out of those blue 55 gallon drums (not sure if I ever asked if I could use those, Dad. . .sorry). There's something about producing something with your own hands, sweat (and sometimes blood) that simply gives you a sense of satisfaction.

We had these logs delivered to our house a couple of months ago. They were hand picked by a 'lumberjack' that I know. They come from five different Red Cedar trees that are roughly 80 years old, having grown at high elevation just NW of Mount Rainier under an existing canopy of trees. Therefore they've grown slowly, and their rings are tight, making them a bit prettier. Or so I'm told. Here Matty asks, 'uh. . .this project isn't going to take away from play-time with me, is it?'

We stripped them (the logs, that is), and let them dry for a month.

The first layer (cambium) was pretty easy to remove. But I had to use a draw knife to get down to the deeper layers to show the grain.

Most carpenters measure twice and cut once. I measured about 16 times. . .then thought about it for a while. . .then measured a few more times. . .then cut. . .hoping to only need to cut once. It may have taken me a little longer, but it worked pretty well. Most of this was done by hand. Not a lot of fancy power tools except a drill. Melis helped a ton with sanding, holding the logs in place while I whittled away, planning the dimensions, and hauling the logs around.

One of our favorite parts about this project was actually the smell of the freshly-cut wood. Cedar smells amazing! After using the chisel to make the tenons (pegs), I'd often pick up one of the wood chunks and just take a sniff. Looks like I sniffed one too many times here. Here she is. Although it's not quite done yet. We still need to add the vertical smaller logs on the head & foot boards. That's why they call it a foot board. There's feet on it.
Some of the detail.
There's still a lot of work that needs to go into it - most of the logs aren't sanded very well yet, and then we'll add a clear coat. But it sure feels good having it set up now!

Logs for the bed: a little over a hundred bucks. Eight-inch lag screws to hold it all together: $1.25/each. Making your own bed with your bare hands: priceless.

Camping was in the works for this weekend. But with Melis helping out with Music & Drama camp at church, we needed to be back on Sunday, which meant just a quick overnighter was in order. Evidently everyone else in Washington had the same idea. When we called to reserve a campsite a few days ago, we found out that the only way we would get a campsite was to run into the middle of camp yelling 'BEAR' at the top of our lungs, hoping people would leave.

So no camping meant hiking. After consulting a few hiking books and websites (I love trails.com - it's too bad they make you fork over some dough to use it), we decided on the Glacier View trail on the west flank of Rainier. We knew snow was a possibility, but we got a little more than we bargained for. Thanks to a detailed topo map, a gps, Kristin's navigation skills, and a dog with a nose for the trail (and birds, and squirels, and baby's bottoms), we were usually able to keep our feet near the trail.
We followed a large meadow for a while, but when it became obvious that the trail was on the other side of the river running through it, we had to get creative on a place to cross. Matty thought we were being a little picky.


Melis almost ended up as wet as Matty just after I took this picture, and I nearly threw the camera down going to help her. That log that her walking stick is planted on. . .not very stable.
Goat Lake was a small lake we came to that was still frozen over. We got a late start on the day, and planned to have dinner up here. But there weren't any grandiose views. So we decided to forego dinner in hopes of reaching a place with views.

The crew at Goat Lake.
We climbed and climbed until we were sure we should turn around given the time, but I kept asking for 'just 5 more minutes.' This is what we were rewarded with.

There were Avalanche Lillies all over, but this flower growing right out of the rock impressed me.

Kristin looking towards Mount St Helens, visible in the distance. We stayed at the 'top', near Gobblers Knob for 5 whole minutes before bustin' a move back to the car, racing the setting sun.

Abigail was a champ. She sang sweet songs of praise to God out loud (sometimes very loud - but they were all happy) for most of the first half. At the halfway mark she got a little grumpy for a while, but after a diaper change and a bottle she just chilled most of the way home.

In front of Mount Beljica.

We made her carry that pack, which she wasn't a huge fan of, but if that was the cost of going hiking, she'd do it any day!
We got back to the car just as the sun was setting.
8 miles round trip, plus a little extra due to some minor navagational difficulties on the way out, getting back just before dark. Perfect timing.

Glacier NP

We just got back from a week in Glacier with the Koning side of the fam. It was fantastic, refreshing, and spectacular. Our first stop was at Sakuma Farms near Mount Vernon. Nate met us at their big fruit stand a mile of I-5, and hooked us up with the best strawberries that this fertile earth has every produced!!! I've had plenty of berries in my 30 years on this planet, but all pale in comparison to what those Sakuma Bros grow right here in WA.













They had some fun toys for the kiddos, and Abigail didn't hesitate at all climbing right into the cockpit and drivers seat. Look out Amelia Earhart and Danica Patrick.
















We stayed the first night in Revelstoke, BC, at the Frontier Hotel. It was an old-west style ya-hoo good time, with a great breakfast! We put Abee to bed and Melis & I played frisbee in their mostly-empty parking lot until it was too dark to see. Melis tossed the disc out into the highway once, but I hit our car twice before we called it a night.













From there we went into Banff and drove up to Morraine Lake where we grabbed lunch and walked out a ways, admiring the deep turquoise color.













Taking advantage of light that kept the day awake until 10:30 at night, we did a bunch that day. We drove the Icefields Highway to the Columbia Icefield in Jasper, and forked out the dough to take the bus-on-steroids up onto the Athabasca Glacier.













I was again reminded why I'm convinced that ice is the most beautiful part of God's created world. For any of you that haven't crossed off 'walking on a glacier' from your bucket list (it ought to be there if it's not), I could write pages trying to describe the depth of the blue that exists deep in the crevasses in a glacier, but it wouldn't be enough.













Melis dipped our Nalgene (yup - we still use 'em dispite all the warnings against them) into the river flowing through the ice and we enjoyed sipping on the 32.1 degree high quality H2O.













Abigail did great on the ice, but we were glad we put on her extra layer.













From there we drove back to Banff and saw the iconic Lake Louise. The Abee Joy wasn't all that impressed. She slept great all the way to Calgary that night.













Then came the main event. We drove from there to Martin City, just outside of Glacier NP in MT. We met up with the Koning side of the family - those from ID, SD, WA, CA, & even CO ('sup Steve!). Here Grams Great enjoys making Abigail smile.













Aaron, Serena, & Dillon at Avalanche Lake.













Cousin Dillon had a blast in the water, but Abee wasn't quite so sure about that lake water. And she was pretty sure there was something a little fishy with the slimy mud between her toes.



















Uncle Steve got quite the smiles out of her.



















Enjoying just a few of the many waterfalls that cut down from the peaks.







































Check out the tongue of this bighorn sheep. Beargrass, anyone?














I enjoyed tinkering with a new lens that I got recently (I owe the idea to Malissa Eekhoff - thanks!). It's a simple, inexpensive, fixed-focus lens that has the ability to have a very wide aperature. The affect is a single point of focus, with everything else blurry. I'd be happy to go into the physics of why this happens. . .but I don't want to put anyone to sleep.



















The group shot near the Many Glacier area. Coming back through this area a few hours later, we saw 4 bear in this general viscinity.













A small peice of Redrock Falls, aptly named.













The place we stayed was awesome. We had three cabins, and had a great time. It was a rustic area a ways off the beaten path. Abee seemed to take to the area well. As long as she didn't have to touch the grass.














She has grassophobia.



















My two cute chicks.



















She got a handful of slivers crawling around on the porch, but didn't mind at all. After all that time in the car, she was just happy to be a free baby once more.



















Fence & daisy with the new funky lens.









After getting particularly dirty one day, the cousins got a badly-needed bath. Together.












Blongo ball was a favorite pasttime.













The whole clan again.













As we were leaving, we put Dillon & Abee in an old wagon they had on the property. I'd say they loved it!













After everyone else headed home, we climbed up to the Apgar Lookout, an old fire post. It's 1,850' in 3.5 miles each way was mostly through areas burned out by the 2003 Robert Fire.



















Great 360 views.














We could look down to the east and see Lake MacDonald, which we'd taken a boat tour on a few days before.














This fine young buck sporting stubby velvety antlers bid us farewell just before heading home.














We sure appreciate our family! We miss you already.