Mark's Off Road Warehouse Fire Thread

[65swb45]

Had a little fun yesterday. Took some of the leftover scraps from trimming out the windows and made a shadow box shelf surround for the AC unit.

 

[65swb45]

Meanwhile, back in Alaska...

So, the 'receiving a whale' phenomenon got into full swing the day after our party in the woods with the college kids. I mark it as a Sunday afternoon, which would have coincidentally also been after Sunday services in a close-knit community. Aynother person stopped by with a salmon for us. Then a lady brought us a tray of fresh-baked cookies. And of course we visited with each of them in turn, sharing stories about our adventures, and adventures they had been on [worthy of note: almost all our visitors were retireees]



A couple of airplanes down from where we were parked we befriended a part-time resident, who spends the better part of the year as a fireman in Montana. His experimental plane [non-FAA regulated] was on flotation tires. His wife and daughter were driving in from Montana with a pair of floats he had purchased for his plane to convert it, and which we ultimately helped him install in a nearby hanger. While unfamiliar with the craft or the pieces, my general mechanical sense lead me to make a few suggestions during the course of the transformation which were well received.



Further evidence of small town hospitality. He and his wife offered us the use of their shower and laundry room, which were both gladly received by me at least. As it turned out, when we were ready to take them up on their offer, the family had commitments elsewhere, so they just told us to make ourselves at home and left us in their house! My friend Wayne, who lives in the seige mentality of Oakland, was on the verge of tears over witnessing this other side of humanity. I, who have ventured far in the brotherhood of the landcruiser community, was still pretty impressed by this. These were not landcruiser people, where my reputation means anything, but basically total strangers who only knew we were far enough from destitute to own an airplane.



Borrowing a device from another desert friend of mine, we hid money in the house before we left, and sent them a text message after we had left town to let them know how much we appreciated their hospitality. My friend will never forget Cordova, not that I would either. On to Anchorage.

 

[65swb45]

Working through the weekend got the inside window frames varnished and the mini blinds installed. Last round of plaster and paint for my office, second round for Tina's office. Started the floors today.

 

[1911]

Further evidence of small town hospitality. He and his wife offered us the use of their shower and laundry room, which were both gladly received by me at least. As it turned out, when we were ready to take them up on their offer, the family had commitments elsewhere, so they just told us to make ourselves at home and left us in their house! My friend Wayne, who lives in the seige mentality of Oakland, was on the verge of tears over witnessing this other side of humanity.

One aspect (of many) of living out in the country that we really enjoy here. I don't think I could bring myself to live in a city ever again.

Enjoying your travel tales Mark.

 

[65swb45]

One aspect (of many) of living out in the country that we really enjoy here. I don't think I could bring myself to live in a city ever again.

Enjoying your travel tales Mark.

I mentioned earlier in the year when my IPad was stolen that more than the loss of the pad, I resented the idea that I was going to have to start paying more attention to locking my trucks up. Nowhere near the siege mentality of my Oakland buddy, but definitely one more step on that slippery slope.

 

[65swb45]

Should finish my office in a day or two. Tina's office in another week. Then it's time to call in the electrician.

 

[65swb45]

Not having any real experience with modular flooring, I was more than a little concerned with material ''drift' going around the closet breezeway, through the hallway, and the pieces lining up on the far side. Other than my 'close but not perfect ' notching for the doorways, it actually turned out pretty good.

 

[65swb45]

Progress on the office slowed substantially this week with a surge of Landcruiser rebuilds on the bench. The big 'outside' project started with finding a bunch of dirt in the workroom behind the house.

I took a flashlight and looked under the shelf where all the blowout tire carriers ended up (need to bump that thread) and found this

 

[65swb45]

About eight inches across and over three feet deep before it turns out of sight. All under my neighbors backyard. My neighbor across the street had told me three weeks earlier she was having trouble with a gopher at her place. Maybe there's more than one.

Tuesday I had my son move the tire carriers and dismantle the shelves for a better look. Then I sent him to the store for some concrete.

I stuffed the hole with stucco net and waited until Friday to see if there was any sign of activity before I poured the concrete.

 

[65swb45]

Tomorrow is going to be a special day, involving my second-oldest piece of furniture. Here is a link to the story of my oldest:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/there-is-a-special-place.117281/#post-1508849

 

[65swb45]

So my next oldest piece of furniture has a story as well. The better part of a year had passed since my first 'acquisition ', and I was now the ripe old age of 14! My parents had picked up the Kaiser health plan by then, (my sister's prior appendectomy almost wiping them out financially) but had not yet picked up the optical plan. And I needed a new pair of glasses.

The store they took me to looked like a holdover from The Truman-era's military-industrial complex. Spartan to put it nicely. In this cavernous waiting room, partitioned off from their offices by panels of opaque glass, was this rather out of place antique cabinet which held a few dozen equally vintage copies of National Geographic and the like. It looked really out of place, and unnecessary, as their waiting room certainly did not invite anyone to linger any longer than absolutely necessary. And besides, I liked the cabinet! Simple pine construction with a dark cherry stain and a badly weathered coat of varnish. Even then I had an eye for patinas.

When the salesman was done fitting my new glasses, I just flat out asked him if he wanted to sell it. He was taken aback, but not for long. I had already sized up the operation (I was a precocious child) and it didn't seem to me like they were going to be around much longer. Sure enough, he said ' How much are you offering?' I told him I could borrow $20 from my mom (who had escorted me to the office) and repay her when I got home. He said that wasn't enough, but he would go $40. I looked at it again and said yes.

Then I had to figure out how to get it home! From downtown L.A. to North Hollywood. We didn't have a pickup, or know anybody with one. Needless to say my dad wasn't thrilled that I had gone off half-cocked. But we managed to get it on to the roof rack of a friends station wagon, and I had bought my first piece of furniture!

The cabinet travelled with me through college, and was in the study of our first house, pre-children. When we moved in 1989 into the smaller house we live in today, there wasn't room, and it got pushed into the back corner of the garage, where it has stored my relic music tapes, magazine collections and papers from law school until now.

Now that the floor in my new office is done, I am reassembling a 2.0 version of the study I had in my 20's, which will also have all my vintage stereo equipment unboxed and put back into service. Hopefully by next year I will be rebuilding the occasional carburetor to tunes from my old TEAC reel to reel.

Back to the future!

 

[65swb45]

Well, the office project has bottlenecked based on it being too hot to sand the last room down and get it painted. But in the meantime I am starting to use my new office, and greatly enjoying the AC.

The 'baton' is now in SoCal, and @toyotalandfj40 joke about a BBQ at the shop actually sounds like a fun idea. He proposed the 22nd for the date. Not sure why. But I could easily bring down a grill and an easy up. Any interest? Or if it were moved to the 23rd?

 

[65swb45]

Well, some of the Alaska trip is starting to fade,so I'd better get on with this. I had been touching base with Mark Whatley in advance of the trip, thinking it would be nice to meet one of the other legendary Mark's in the LC world. Mark had told me ahead of time that he had an out-of-town wedding to attend in the same timeframe we would be there. So as soon as we landed, I gave him a shout. It sounded like we had a shot at meeting up for drinks that evening, as he was coming into Anchorage on his way to Juneau for the wedding. But I never heard from him after that.

I had also befriended @907FJ thru the classifieds about a month before the trip, and that turned out very well. Rob was busy with work during the week, but was available at the weekend. We were flying off for the Kenai the next day, with plans to return to Anchorage on our way to points north. So we set a tentative for Friday night.

We ended up commandeering an aviators orientation building next to the airfield's camping area. After six nights in a tent, it was a welcome change. Didn't mind having electricity either!

I took a three mile hike from the airport to the west end of town to look over the edge of the hillside where the tsunami had taken away part of the city after the historic earthquake. On the return, after passing thru all the hospitable buildings of downtown, I realized too late that I had need of a restroom. I told myself I would take advantage of the next public building. It turned out to be the welfare office!

With my ponytail, beard and flannel shirt, I already looked like half the guys in Alaska. But when I saw a security guard inside the door, I was still a little unsure. I resolved that if he stopped and asked me for my name I would answer "Willie, Willie Makeit.

 

[65swb45]

Almost Screeching halt.

My son and I started another project at home replacing some rotten eaves in advance of putting on a new layer of shingles on the roof next year. Two mornings worth of running the Skil saw put the hurt on my left elbow, which had been mysteriously struck with a case of gout five years ago.

I went to bed Wednesday night with a fever and woke up Thursday with the flu and an even achier elbow. Kept working through it Thurs and Fri, and on Saturday the gout took over.

The first episode five years ago was so sudden and anomalous that the doctor told me it would probably never happen again. But my wicked ways finally caught up with me. Don't smoke, rarely drink, not overweight, but have been a soft drink junky my whole life.

Instant diet changes lead to almost instant relief. Pain halved by Sunday (still feverish), halved again by Monday. Back to working on carbs by Tuesday, though my range of motion is limited like recovering from a torn muscle.

I would be grateful for a few more parts sales at the moment. Those I can hand off to my wife.

 

[73fj40lc]

Mark, I just re-read this whole thread from the start. I enjoyed catching up on the thread and reading all the posts. You have covered so much ground and come so far in the last year. You have had so many ups and downs emotionally, physically and financially over the past year. My hat is off to you sir for you perseverance and can do attitude.

You mentioned working for your father and earning his respect as a man. Was it the same for you and your son as he worked with you during the salvage and remodel?

The Alaska trip is one my brother, nephew, son and I are planning. We hope to spend a few weeks sightseeing, fishing and trying to get in some hunting.

 

[65swb45]

The trials and tribulations of raising a son are fodder enough for their own thread. Ours has been an adventure for sure, similar to so many others and yet different too. I will say that if you've seen the movie The Big Fish, there is that major undercurrent in our relationship.

 

[65swb45]

After a pleasant but of course seasonably short night in Anchorage we set our sights on Seward for our next stop. Even though it is right next to the Harding Ice Fields, we didn't do a flyover, but basically used IFR [I Follow Roads] into the airstrip. While the map made it look like it was really close to town, it was a good two miles to the north end. The airstrip was unmanned, and we decided to just put our tents on the tarmac near the plane. We hiked the two miles to the north end of town where the touristy ports of call area was. Found out they had pay showers there, but were chagrined at the thought of tramping back to camp for our stuff, tramping back down, and then getting sweaty by the return to camp. We went back to the airstrip, made our dinners, and visited with a couple of other pilots before turning in. And not before a visit from the local constable!



The patrolman told us in no uncertain terms that it was not legal to camp on the airstrip. As the airstrip was unmanned, there was no one to ask, and no one to say no. And the other pilots hadn't given us any indication that there would be a problem. The officer told us there was a campground at the edge of town. I quickly countered that we had no ground transportation to carry our gear, and that we would be leaving early in the morning, so it made no sense to break down camp in the dark [that was obviously a weak point!] to haul our stuff into town, reset it up, and take it down again six hours later to haul it back to the airstrip.



What I think really saved us though was another little bit of karma. I had chosen that day to wear the Fire Department t-shirt that @HENDOG had given me on my first trip to GA. I think the officer had taken note of the insignia and, despite my duck-worthy beard, decided to give us an exemption. We thanked him and swore scouts honor we would leave first thing in the morning. And when he left, I chuckled to Wayne that a temporary stay is called an exception, not an exemption. Wayne will probably chuckle about that for the rest of his life.



The wind came up in the night and made sleep virtually impossible, despite the growing deficit. So once I despaired of any more rest, I got up to make some coffee, only to find that Wayne had drank ALL THE WATER we had left in camp. I took enough out of the bladder of my daypack to make a cup and some instant oatmeal, but was frustrated by his lack of planning [we had passed a market halfway to town...twice] He said he wasn't worried,because he was sure there was water SOMEWHERE at the airstrip. NOT. We ended up leaving Seward with four ounces of water, because neither of us wanted to walk a mile back to the store. An edge had set in on things.

 

[65swb45]

Here's a couple of shots between Anchorage and Seward and one from the tarmac.

 

[myquestoyota]

The wind came up in the night and made sleep virtually impossible, despite the growing deficit. So once I despaired of any more rest, I got up to make some coffee, only to find that Wayne had drank ALL THE WATER we had left in camp. I took enough out of the bladder of my daypack to make a cup and some instant oatmeal, but was frustrated by his lack of planning [we had past a market halfway to town...twice] He said he wasn't worried,because he was sure there was water SOMEWHERE at the airstrip. NOT. We ended up leaving Seward with four ounces of water, because neither of us wanted to walk a mile back to the store. An edge had set in on things.

passed-
Skirret

 

[65swb45]

No new news of the office. Still sanding the last room in my spare time. Landcruiser workload has been getting heavier the last two weeks, and ai could sure use the income. So the office will have to wait a little longer.