Third Week of July

About 9PM on the property. The sun doesn't set until around 11PM. Alaska has the slowest summer sunsets!

This past week involved some more decision making and restructuring of build plans. We decided to turn the wash house into a livable cabin for the winter.

As the summer progresses quickly here, we have come to realize that we won't be dried in before for the first snowfall. The RV does come equipped with a 'Polar Package', but it will get too cold once the temperatures stay cool and it will be inefficient to heat. It's a strange feeling not to have a comfortable place to live when the looming arctic winds and bitter cold are constantly in the back of your mind.

The small cabin was originally designed to have a bathroom and a washer/dryer, plus utilities. We will add a wood stove and a bed. Once we move into the house, the bed and washer/dryer will come out creating a warm dry space to set up and run the CNC machine. Originally, we planned to put the CNC machine in the large structure, but with it not being insulated, working conditions in the winter would be like working in the garage on Blackfoot Street (Minnesota) in the winter. The freezing conditions in the garage kept progress at a minimum. Overall, this change of plans will still keep us moving in the right direction on the house build. Who knows, our plans might change again! We are happy to adapt in order to reach our goals--it's the Alaskan way!

This week we also installed a 120 volt submersible well pump. It is about 80' down inside the well pipe and will go 10' deeper once we dig a trench to bury the water line and install the pitless adapter. Our rig to install the well pump was quite impressive in my opinion. We backed up the pickup to the well head, ratchet strapped the extension ladder to the back bumper & hitch, and tied on another 8' wood ladder-like piece in on top of the extension ladder to stabilize the 20' sections of pipe as we lowered the pump and cables down into the well. As each 20' piece disappeared into the well, we connected the next 20' piece of pipe and lowered it down with a chain hoist until all 80' of pipe was in. The pickup acted like five extra sets of hands which was very helpful in preventing the pump from falling to the bottom of the well. Now that the pump is installed, we have been pumping out the silt, checking water clarity and measuring the output. We also submitted a few samples to the water test lab, and are expecting results in a week or so. The extremely cold water being pumped out looks so refreshing and inviting! 

Progress is slow but steady. We aren't overwhelming ourselves and are able to keep positive at our current pace. The tiny cabin has pretty much been designed, we just need to work out some of the details and I can't wait to see it come to life! It'll be good practice for when it comes time to start assembling the house. Plans for this coming week include a rental of a mini excavator to dig trenches for the water and septic lines into the plotted cabin, removal of stumps (to make space for the lumber mill), and of course, felling more trees and adding them to the stack of logs. 

Rigging up the extra 'hands' to securely and (mostly) safely lower the 20' sections of pipe into the well.

This is the well pump that will be lowered to the bottom of the well. Saying my last goodbyes, hoping I never have to pull this bad boy back up!

All smiles as we put the cap on the well.

Pete spotted moose tracks walking across the yard one morning this week. Bear must've been really tired, he usually wakes us up to let us know when a moose is passing through in the middle of the night.

Rigging continued...

Slowly lowering the well pump and 20' sections of pipe. What ever you do, don't drop it--- This would be a tough fish to snag at the bottom of this well!

Success! Well pump works and we are testing it's output and clarity.