IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN....

Well, this was an exciting weekend at Manzanita.

It didn't start particularly well, but ended with a bang!.

Friday was Brianne's birthday, and we attended her birthday party in Salt Lake City.  Love that kid like crazy and wouldn't have missed her day for the world.  The only problem was, we had to be at the property at 8:00 am for the Travis, the backhoe operator to show up and dig the driveway for the Conex to be put down this week.

So, we left Salt Lake at about 9:00 pm, drove back to Provo, (9:45 pm) got the rest of the stuff in the back of the pick up and attached the trailer, got gas in the truck and bought drinks for the drive, (10:30 pm) and got on the road...  Jim drove for about as long as he could, but getting up at 5:15 in the morning, and then working all day, finally got to him about midnight and we pulled over so he could nap..  I took over the driving and we pulled into the hotel at about 2 in the morning...  Our alarm rang about 7, and I just couldn't pull myself out of bed.  Jim got up and drove over to the property, and at 7 minutes after 8, he got a text from our contractor saying that he couldn't make it at 8 and could we reschedule at noon...  really?

Jim worked for a couple of hours flattening out the pad where the shed is going and getting the area ready for a Conex Box..

Well, I slept for a couple more hours and at about 11, Jim comes back to the hotel, and has exciting news.... the electricity has been installed and... turned on!  Exciting beyond measure.

We met with the contractor at 12, and had a little pow wow.. and he said that he was not going to work on the Saturday, but he was going to send his backhoe operator on Sunday to put the driveway in.  We call it Conex Drive now!

We got the plumbing ready for the pressure test on Monday.  This entailed climbing up a ladder, and pouring water into the pipes, and hoping and praying that it doesn't leak.  The pipe that you pour the water into, is 10 feet in the air, and it holds about 25 gallons of water.  Now, picture yourself, climbing up a ladder and balancing a big jug of water, and then holding it above your head and pouring into a 2 inch tube...Well, that's what Jim did...  We let it sit over night because all the air has to be out of the system, so once you pour the water in, it bubbles and burps for a while. 

In the morning, we got back to the property, after we actually had a decent night's sleep, and met with Austin who was there to dig the driveway.  Well, it took him about 3 hours to dig it out and we were thrilled.  This guy does amazing work and we have absolutely no complaints when he comes to work.  he brought a friend with him this time, and the friend went around with a chainsaw and cut up downed trees and cut them up for firewood... Apparently, Austin and Chet (the friend) were going to go to another mountain for firewood this afternoon.  After he cut all the downed trees around our property, it almost totally filled the back of the pickup and there was no need to go to another place today.  We were excited to get rid of the wood!

Jim went back to work on the water pipe at about noon.  He put more water into the piping, and apparently as the ten foot tall stand pipe was filled pressure in the system blew the cap off one of the lower pipes.  We checked it out, and found that the cap was poorly made and needed to be replaced so we had to make a quick trip to Duck Creek where there is a local True Value store is.

As we are pulling up to the store, Jim tells me that the last time he was at the store, there was this dog sitting in the front of the store... doesn't move, in fact, Jim thought the dog was a statue when he first pulled up.  Well, we pull up to the store, and sure enough, there's this dog sitting there, and he does look like a statue.  We found out his name is Blue, and he's kind of a local celebrity.  Everybody walking in and out of the store does the, "Hi, Blue".. and give him a pat.  Seems like a pleasant enough statue...  I'm not particularly a dog lover, so I always am a little nervous that I'm going to get bit... I don't think this dog has the energy...

We got back to the lot, Austin was just finishing up Conex Drive, Chet was loading the wood, and we were about to put the cap back on the water pipe.

But, let's get back to "It Was Bound to Happen.. sooner or later".  We had our first accident at the property.
On Saturday when Jim got down off the ladder, he was coming back to the truck and we were going to go back into town for dinner.  As he was approaching the truck, he lost his footing fell down and slid almost under the truck - hurting his already bad knee and his back.  I couldn't get out of the truck fast enough, and didn't have the strength to help him up.... Yep nurse Cheri, I'm not.  He was in a lot of pain, and was sweating profusely.... I told him that I was going to take him to the hospital, and he refused.  I sincerely thought he had broken a rib or something, he said his lung was hurting.  He is still in pain today, and hopefully, he'll let me get him into the doctor's on Monday.  Gave him some Motrin this afternoon because he was still in major pain, said his knee hurts the most now.  We have really bad cell service up the mountain and it hit me that if he needed an ambulance or something, there would be no way to get a hold of anyone.  So, this afternoon, I had my ipad with me, and I tried Facetime.. and guess what?  We do..it works!  We don't have cell service, but we have Facetime!  Amazing.  I'll keep you updated on the prognosis.

Another moment of discovery this weekend.... kinda dumb, but made me giggle... When I was getting dressed on Saturday morning, I was trying to decide whether I should wear pearl earrings, or jade earrings, or something a little more rustic... as I was thinking about this, it hit me... I'm going out to work in dirt, in the middle of no where, in the cold, with deer and mice running around - who really cares what freakin' earrings I wear?  I mean, isn't this about the stupidest ever?  Giggle.  (Ok, I wore the jade...)

As always, another amazing adventure.

Cheri & Jim

Midweek update....

The final inspection for the plumbing is scheduled for this coming Monday... the final inspection by the power company for the temporary meter base is... Monday...

The circular driveway/road is going to be put in on Saturday.  The pressure test on the plumbing is going to be Saturday...

The red lined copies of the plans were e-mailed to Kane County Building department this morning and were approved . . . today..

This means...if all goes well... we can be pouring concrete as soon as next week...

The adventure continues...

Jim and Cheri

EVERYTHING IS COMING UP ROSES

When we left off last Thursday, our Health Department permit was approved and they were going to send it over to the Kane County Building Permit people..

On Friday morning, while we were waiting on our 6th grandchild to make an appearance, we got a call from the Building Permit people, telling us that we sent in the wrong amount of money.  I had calculated the cost of the building permit from what they had put on the paperwork.. BUT, the lady who called said that they have additional one time only fees that they don't publish... Usually, people send in all the paperwork, and then wait for the application to be approved, and then get a total... Well, we jumped the gun a little bit, sent in what we thought was the right amount... woops...  Well, we owed an additional $750.00 or so.  I told the lady that I would drop it in the mail.

Before I hung up, I asked her about how long it would take for the application to be approved, and she said, "It already is."  WHAT?  Several people had told us that these building permits usually take a couple of months, and several revisions.  Ours passed on the first go!  Stoked!

Well, the new grand baby was born on Friday night, and two little people moved in with us for the next four days... It's a little difficult to get down to the cabin and entertain children so, I opted to stay home and Jim drove down to the cabin early Saturday morning.  Now that we have a building permit, his goal was to get the pipes mapped out, trenches dug and pipes laid so as to not hold up the concrete people.  Jim's friend Marv came down and helped us, even though he was sick with the flu.  Does this look like fun?  NOT!

Well by the end of the weekend all the trenches were dug and the pipes were laid.

With a view like this it's hard to concentrate on the job at hand.  Jim and Marv installed 140 feet of underground pipe and the backhoe got a serious workout this weekend.

  

Because the trip was planned at the last minute, Jim had to stay in a hotel that was not our regular haunt.  He sent me this photo of the light fixture in the bathroom.

Another weekend adventure and the quest goes on. . . .

Jim & Cheri

IT'S A DAY OF FIRSTS!!!

Late last week, we completed the paperwork for the building permit and the health department application for a septic system... Actually, the health department application is a part of the building permit, but it includes the design for the septic system, the perc test, and a soils report.  We sent everything into the Utah State Health Department and Kane County Building Permit dept. and have been waiting for their approvals.

When Jim called earlier in the week making sure everybody had received their various applications, the lady at the Health Department said that the man who approves the applications, usually only comes in on Wednesdays... If applications come in before then, she scans them and send them to him so he can have a peek before the Wednesday.  She told Jim that ours was, "big, really lots of details and big", so she couldn't send it to him.  Jim said that he was an engineer and worked with detail all day at work.  She said she understood, but still wouldn't scan and send it.

While that was going on, we had our contractor finish the temporary power meter base installation and before the power can be switched on, we had to have an inspection completed by the Kane County Building inspection people.  Well, they came out this afternoon, and we passed!!!  We called GarKane Power, and we are setting up a time where they can go out and flip the switch.  That means, when we go down to the property, we will actually have lights and heat in the RV and not have to rely on a generator - which is super, super loud!

Then, Jim got a call from the Health Department this afternoon.  Our septic system application with them was also approved!  They are faxing over their certificate to the Building Permit people, which will totally complete that application.  When the application is approved, we can pour concrete for the basement!

When the man from the Health Department called Jim, he told him that he had never seen such a detailed, in depth report before.  Jim told him that he was an engineer and worked in aerospace, so this is to par.  The man was highly impressed.  It was really an impressive report.... but, it was long.. and had pictures... lots of pictures.  Giggle.  But hey it all passed, first time through!

Tomorrow, the forms for the concrete go up, and the plumber is supposed to be there on Friday and Saturday laying out the pipes that go iunder the concrete before they pour.

It's getting so exciting...

It's been an amazing adventure this week and we weren't even there to take pictures.

Cheri and Jim

Another Amazing Weekend

Have you ever had one of those times, where you plan things, one way, and it turns out completely different, and it's ok? Well, we just had one of those times..

We were driving down to the property on Friday night because early Saturday morning, we were meeting with a friend who offered to help us lay out the pipes for the sewer system.  Friday afternoon, Jim was at the plumbing store with Brad buying pipes and couplings and all sorts of stuff, so we could get up bright and early Saturday morning, in Panguitch, and drive out to the property and get the sewer system all laid out.

Friday night, while Jim was getting prepared for the drive, the kids and grand kids and I had to make our annual visit to the pumpkin patch.  Jim was chomping at the bit to leave, but the pumpkin patch event had been planned for weeks, and between Melody delivering a baby this next Friday, Brianne's birthday the next week, snow on the horizon, and our window of opportunity to work at Manzanita much longer, was quickly coming to a close, so we couldn't realistically reschedule.

Well, we picked out pumpkins, and went on a wagon ride, and rode ponies, and played in the corn pit.. grand kids had a blast, all went off without a hitch.  I left the party a little early, so that we could get down to Panguitch.

When I got home, Jim was all loaded up, and ready to rock and roll.  We had to make a quick stop to fill up with gas, and another quick trip to storage to pick up... some L shaped things, I don't know what they are.. but, they go into concrete...

This is a shot of 140 feet of 20 foot long pipes on our first time use, extra long trailer.

We fill up with gas, and drive over to storage, and we can't find the things.. As we're looking, it's getting darker and darker and darker, so we finally decide that we should just go on.

We get on the road about 8:30 pm..  start driving... don't get to the hotel until midnight or so... exhausted..  We get into bed, and the hotel is being renovated... there are curtains, but no blinds, and there's a light just outside our door.. The whole room is lit up like 4th of July..  Made it a little difficult to sleep.... Our friend and his wife were in a room a couple down from us, and they experienced the same problem...

After a really restless night sleep, we get up and drive to the property... We got there, and found that the basement had been dug down to the "grade" level.  We had the geo-technical site evaluation done on Thursday and the building permit people are working on the final building permit now.  Here's a shot of our truck parked "in the garage".

So, we have a basement!

AND the trench for the power pole had been dug also.  The piping was put into the trench, and we're now waiting for GarKane Power Co. to come hook it up!

Stoked..  One side of the road looks like this and the other side looks like that.

 

When we got there, we had to mark out where we wanted the house, which included a 30 foot easement that had to be between the front of the house and the road.  We are at 36 feet back officially!  When we originally measured this, we found that the back corner of the house was going to have a tree growing out of it, so we had to dig a little more to the other side of the house so we didn't have to cut down the magnificent 40 foot tall Ponderosa pine tree...  groan... with that done, the house was marked...On to the plumbing map...

Jim had originally designed up a stacked washer and dryer on the main level.  When we realized that reaching for the dried clothes up high was not going to work for me, the washer-dryer was moved down to the basement where we could have full sized side by sides and the plumbing layout had to be changed.

It's good to find these things out before you pour concrete on top of your underground pipes!

So we went down to lay pipes and wound up re-designing the drains when we found that Travis our new excavator/concrete contractor/framer had to lay the concrete forms down and fill in center with about 8 inches of dirt before we set the pipes in place.

The adventure continues. . . .Cheri and Jim.

AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING.

The beginning of the weekend could easily be called... lackluster.. at best.

We decided to go to the cabin property and do a little work, last minute.  I tried to find a room online, and no luck... every single room was sold out, except for the one that is too tacky for words...  I'd sleep in my car before I'd stay there again - but, that's a whole other story in itself...

So, I decided to get a hold of my friend, Cheryl who owns the Blue Pines Motel in Panguitch, Utah.  Cheryl said that she would call me back on Saturday morning, and let me know if anything came available... At 10:30 on Saturday morning, she called and they had a room!

So, Jim and I are rushing around, throwing a change of clothes in a bag, and loading up the trailer to make the trip down to Bryce Woodlands.  We had a meeting set up with a builder for Saturday or Sunday, but, we weren't able to get a hold of him.  We must have tried calling 15 or 20 times and he just never answered the phone.

Another contractor was supposed to be out there over a month ago, and he hadn't showed up, so were really were losing hope.  I finally got to the point that I called our realtor, who sold us the property, and told her that we were really considering selling the property because getting help was near impossible.

Well, after talking to our realtor, a small miracle happened....  The original contractor called, and said his guy was going to be at the property on Sunday morning, and was going to dig the basement, and on Tuesday morning, he was going to be out there and put in the temporary power pole.. Well, we were encouraged.

On Saturday night, we have dinner at a little cowboy barbecue place in Panguitch.  We've had dinner there before and the food really is amazing... We are sitting talking to a group of guys at the table next to us, and they tell us they are from New Jersey, on vacation, riding motorcycles through Utah...  They kinda looked like they belonged in an episode of The Soprano's..  We actually had a nice conversation with them, and as they stood up to leave, one of them asked if I wanted to go on a ride on his motorcycle with him... I was like.. Um....Jim answered sternly with a, "No!"  First time a biker dude has asked me to go riding with him... was weird...  We go to breakfast this morning, at a different restaurant, and the same guys are there... awkward..

We spent the night at the Blue Pines, got up in the morning, and drove to the property... I really didn't expect to see any forward progress, but guess what... there was this guy on a big, huge backhoe, and he was digging our basement!  It was so freakin' exciting... And, he was driving that thing like it was a regular car.  There is no way I could drive that backhoe AND backup in a car, the way he was moving that thing around... it was amazing.  He said that he had been there just a couple of hours and had already made amazing progress.  Talk about stoked!

Then, while we are there, another guy shows up, a guy that was new to the state and was a handyman that Jim wanted to do some other work... Brandon had operated skid steers and big loaders, but never a backhoe.  He showed up, with his father in law and wants to start work this week also...  Again, we are totally stoked and amazing.  Jim gave him an hour of lessons on the backhoe and he still needs more training.

I decided to go into town to get some drinks for everyone.  On the way down the mountain, I see this other family building a fire to cook some dinner - they just have a trailer on their property, but on the side window of their car, they have a little maple leaf.  I stopped to say hello, and ask them about the little maple leaf, and they say they live in Vegas now, BUT, they are originally from Surrey, BC.. A FELLOW CANADIAN!  This is truly exciting.  They aren't going to be building on their land until the spring.

Later in the afternoon, a couple who live just around the corner from us stopped by and introduced themselves.  Apparently, all the noise from the two backhoes garnered attention from the neighbourhood.  They are originally from Vegas and he was a gardener for Harrah's.  They are now retired and built up in our neighbourhood several years ago.  They stay on the mountain spring, summer and fall and go back to Vegas for the winter.  Makes sense...  Nice couple.  They gave us their phone number just in case we get stuck on the mountain again.

By about 3 in the afternoon, the basement was completely dug out.

There are two small mountains of dirt in our driveway.

Jim brought up the ridge beam for the large shed.  It is a 4 X 12 X 14 feet long.  Not a gluelam beam, one single piece of wood.  We plan on sanding it down and it will be seen in the playhouse attic, with exposed roof joists that are polyurethane coated in the natural color.

Here's the dirt pad we made for the shed to sit on.  We'll have to compact it first but hopefully the shed will go up this fall.

Travis is going to start putting up the forms for the concrete work next week, and Marv, Jim's friend is a plumber who's going to set the underground piping first....That's all going to happen next Saturday.  We are still totally amazed.  It is happening!


I don't know what our realtor said to anyone, but, big thank you, thank you, thank you goes out to her.  She's a little powerhouse that worked a miracle.

Cheri & Jim