Hello August

Hatcher Pass views on the side of the road.

We received a bit of rain and cooler temperatures this past week which was a blessing!

It allowed us to do some more baking and cook meals inside the RV while still working comfortably outside. 

Pete stayed busy with concrete work. He went to our favorite local concrete supplier and picked up 1,800lbs of sand and rock along with 300lbs of cement mix. He set up the square form boards that he made the previous week on top of the 'anthills' (6 total) and filled them with the concrete mix. After those set up, he stacked concrete blocks on top and ran rebar rods straight through. He proceeded to fill those with more concrete. After that set up, he added some mortar on the outside to seamlessly connect the blocks to each other and the pad. The six pillars are now ready for the large wood stringers which will run lengthwise providing support under the floor. After many hours researching, talking with locals and experts in the field, we feel this will be the most strong and supportive base for the cabin. In Alaska we have many factors to take into consideration: earthquakes, extremely rocky and silty soil mixed with clay, winter frosts, water draining properly both below and above ground year round, snow loads, curious wildlife and many more factors. Building codes are also different and seem to be more lenient, which can be both a good and bad thing. It's been interesting designing and building a cabin on the property! We are happy we are getting a hands-on practice before we attempt the house next year. 
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This week we also decided to take a fun break and go fishing for salmon and blueberry picking. The salmon were biting, but not our line haha! We are still learning the patterns of the salmon. Picking blueberries at Hatcher Pass proved to be more successful. They were in abundance all over the tundra area. Many locals recommended this area for easy blueberry picking with fantastic views. Hatcher Pass is located about an hour from our doorstep so we loved the convenience and had fun exploring a new area. We came home and had some halibut and Oreo pie. It was a great week! 

Using the laser level to level and square all of the form boards on the 'anthills'.

Fishing on the Little Susitna River near our property. It was beautiful clear water that emptied maybe 10-20 miles down into the Pacific Ocean, and more specifically, the Cook Inlet.

Six piers of cement are ready for the blocks to be added and more rebar to run though their middles.

We both had fun fishing even though we didn't have any luck!

Piers show the drying mortar and are about ready to have the form boards removed. We will let these cure for a couple of days, though it might seem like overkill. We want to be sure the foundation is as sturdy as possible! *We also moved the sawmill to a better location on the property after clearing away a leveled area. You can see it in the background under the rough tarp tent which was getting in the way of construction.

I didn't get my fishing license this year so I stood on the banks of the Little Susitna and took photos.

Trying our luck at the mouth of the Willow River emptying into the Susitna River. Others around us were catching silver salmon and some trout.

The tundra flora is so soft and spongy! There were many natural springs that you could easily step over. Though it was hot, it was nice taking a soft seat in the grass, soaking my hot feet in the water, feeling the cool mountain breeze sweep across my face and munching on blueberries!

Hunting for a good blueberry patch in Hatcher Pass.

Wildflowers are my favorite! Even the hearty ones in the tundra show their vibrant colors in August.

Bingo! Tundra blueberries exist in clusters like this little one.

Bringing our wellies allowed us to reach better blueberry patches far away from the easy pickers near the road.

Entering Hatcher Pass from the west.