Our full-time neighbors at the camp had promised to let us know if any catastrophes happened over the winter, like trees falling onto our roof. We enjoyed a few well-deserved months off, where weekends meant relaxing rather than ten hours construction work a day. But, as things warmed up, it was time to go back up and check out the camp.
When we left things last December, the camp was buttoned up for the season:
 |
| Back of the house from the well site |
 |
| Our walkout basement becomes a blank wall. |
After a few brief trips in April to verify that we'd come through the winter dry, intact, and with minimal signs of mice, V2 and I did an overnight the first weekend in May. This trip had a couple "firsts": the first time we used our bedroom as a bedroom, not a tent site:
 |
| Still pretty bare, but it works |
The first time we were able to use our "T" turnaround at the top of the drive to go down the hill forwards, instead of in reverse, and the first time we got the "real" back steps in place:
 |
| Salvaged risers and new treads mean no more climbing into the house. |
Also, our "bleachers" were gone: the pile of tree trunks left from the site were given to our neighbor Emilio in exchange for all his help on the roof. Emilio left us a nice supply of wood for campfires this summer:
 |
| Now if we only had a fire pit ready... |
And finally, we pulled down our temporary walkout wall, and reframed it correctly, to hold a door and a garage door. But then, since we don't have the garage door yet, we had to tack up temporary plywood again.
 |
| Not quite how we left it, but you get the idea |
So this afternoon will be our first "family" work day since the disastrous wet tenting weekend last fall. Each of the boys have been up individually at some point, but not since the roof was done. All three boys are going up, and we hope to get a little work out of them before they wind up out on the canoe... We should be posting an update tomorrow (but it took me a week to get to this one, so no promises...)
