First Weeks at Home in Alaska

Septic filled in.

Full septic installed on Tuesday!

We had a lot of fun working with the local company. They worked so hard and it only took a day and a half to install the septic and complete various other tasks we hired them for. At one time, there were about 5 big machines running on the property, from dump trucks, steamrollers, two big CATs and a bulldozer--see photos below. 
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Due to the high water table at 16', we went with a bed system septic. Meaning the drain field forks into three drain pipes so the septic will drain properly. We also had the crew run a septic line towards where the house will be and another line to the gravel pad. This way we can have a full bathroom in the structure/garage and easily dump the RV septic. The crew also brought in many truckloads of back fill to fill in where Pete had excavated, and added a special flat gravel thus raising the pad above the ground. Then leveled and flattened it into a nice hard surface. They also removed 10 truckloads of brush (we couldn't burn it with the amount of soil mixed in it and the fire codes have been strict due to the hot weather with no rain), made a pad for the well water drillers, leveled the long driveway and placed a large address stone at the front of our driveway. They brought in an engineer and he approved. 

The property looks totally different! For now, we have a decent buffer around the property free of dead standing timber. We plan to drop many more trees--those standing dead ones as the locals have warned us, especially coniferous ones, burn faster than a matchstick.

The well water company sent a man to come look at our property and well placement. It was approved and agreed to be back to drill in 1-3 weeks. 

Pete and I worked through some brutally hot days to set up the structure. The full-sun days only reached 70 degrees or so, but the direct sun made it feel like it was in the 90s! No bugs and humidity, though. Thankful for that and the cool ocean breeze that would calmly sweep through every so often. I think we underestimated how intense the structure set up would be with two people. The sun didn't help although it could be raining! It took us about 4 days from start to finish to erect the 14'x32' structure. I can't complain because I know it will withstand anything Alaska will throw at it. The company we decided to purchase the structure from is called Alaskan Structures. They've been in business for 30 years and haven't had to replace one structure yet, catering mostly to mining, military and oilfield camps in Alaska and all over the world. The two pallets that were delivered from them contained all the tools to get the job done. We are very pleased with our new structure. It offers shade, a place for a garbage can (yay!), and storage. We won't be parking cars in it unless we have another hail emergency or something of the sort. 

Our neighbor has given us some of her fresh eggs from the chickens she raises. I've been making pancakes and french toast and 'lazy crepes' with the delicious and very local eggs. Though we are living in an RV, the cooking has not slowed. We are well fed. Pete calls our meals 'camper cuisines'. I learned that I will probably not make beets in the RV again haha! 
The dogs are quite happy supervising, napping and following their noses. We dug our Rez' favorite toy, the frisbee, and he has been toting it around ever since. 

The neighbor mentioned that a moose came strolling up between our properties from the lake around 11PM this week. We are sad we missed it but cashing in our 8+ hours of sleep every night feels SO good! We were lucky enough to see a moose (our first Alaskan moose since crossing the border) about a mile from our property on the dirt road. As we got closer in the safety of our car, it slowly stepped out of the way and into the bush, mostly unbothered. --A classic Alaskan roadblock! 
More neighbors have come to introduce themselves and see our progress. It's great to have friendly neighbors with welcoming advice! 

Today we go to town to get a garbage can (I've never been more excited about garbage) and a cell service booster. Hope to have better internet with the cell booster so we can keep planning the house build and various other projects for the property. 

The lupine is in full bloom! Along with other various wildflowers. Careful not to touch the beautiful flowers--they bite back!

The big septic hole is ready for the piping.

Pete learned a lot just by communicating and watching the crew work all day.

Septic is in, now time to refill.

Step 1 of structure assembly: measure and square off base. Then lay out pieces. (Pictured on the left side of the photo under the new leveled gravel pad).

Next step was to pull the tarp over the ribs. It's such a durable tarp that we could have easily used 4 people to get it up and over the ribs. We made do with us two. I was the muscle on the ground running side to side and back to front pulling and pushing. Pete was the man with a plan on the ladder muscling the tarp over his head and steel ribs.

Back view of the pad. Note the cute green-roofed home for the generator--mostly made for sound deadening.

Hauling away 10 truckloads of brush that was cleared by Pete earlier in the week. The dump truck is currently where the large & leveled gravel pad will be placed. Back fill already in.

Raising the ribs. Pete made a wood extension arm to make it possible for one person to raise each rib. I didn't have enough muscles to help support and raise ribs with Pete. --wood support pictured on the right.

After four days of structure install, the structure is up! Looks nice on the gravel pad with the camper. We also ran a septic line up between the two. Makes for easy dumping on the camper and a future fork planned to run into the structure for other amenities. *This picture was taken around 10PM. Sun still high, we are thankful the structure will provide us a cooler place to work and store tools.