!!!! SEPP to Boot: Stephen's Experience (BEL)

BEL #615

Butterfly Day for the 2024 PTJ. I hosted the inaugural Missoula Carbs + Cafe' Bike Tour, and I suspect it was a rousing success. Big thanks to Mike Haasl, JR, Suzanne, Matt Goto, Jason, and Katie for joining in for at least one stop on the tour. Special mention goes out to Mike Haasl, who endured the entire tour on the crappiest bike I brought out.



In the midst of it all we rode out on the length of the Milwaukee Path Trail out to west Missoula, and back again.



Stops included The Break Espresso Cafe', Bernice's Bakery, The Pie Hole, and Veera Donuts. We also wrapped-up at the Dinosaur Cafe' at the end of the tour. Below is a shot of the Pie Hole, where we caught their 2-for-1 slice Happy Hour.



Meanwhile, at Basecamp, I caught this early-morning shot of the roundwood timbers notched for the Patio Pavilion Project. I'm excited to see this one up on its legs.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BEL #616

It's been a day where most everyone was preparing for the arrival of the second week of the PTJ. Some folks were on a last day trip or road trip, maybe returning from where they went over the weekend. Others decided to prepare, so that their Monday projects could start off with fewer snags and more ducks in a row.

Mike Haasl brought up several logs that will be turned into a tripod and maybe a jig to help turn the Pavilion Project posts vertical. I think assembly is on their agenda, starting tomorrow.



What do you do when the logs are so long that they line up in front of the door to the Library? Well, Mike had an answer:



I spent most of my time in the Library preparing for the SKIP event, which is two weeks away. The name tags are a time-consuming task (I can only burn so many name tags at once), so I took care of them today. Thanks to Saana for passing along the news for the upcoming guests. I finished all these name tags today (I also wrapped up a quick "Minecraft" medallion for Cedar for the next time he visits).



To put the holes in one corner for the neck cordage, I broke out my push drill. I picked this up maybe my first winter here at Wheaton Labs. However, I still remember using my father's push drill when I was a kid, years and years ago. I saw this available, and immediately remembered just how useful they are, and I'm happy I've picked it up. For this project, the holes are much neater and didn't require any power beyond me pushing and a spring flexing and stretching. I recommend them to anyone looking for nice, neat holes made with a quiet, energy-independent tool.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:

What is this device called?

Coydon Wallham wrote:

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:

What is this device called?

That's a log dolly, I bought one (assuming that's it) to use up on the lab but found it didn't work as I had planned to use it, so I just chained logs to the truck hitch to drag instead. Even on a dirt/gravel road, an inch or two of wood would be ground off hauling it back to peel, in just 1/4 or 1/2 mile. so where you can load logs on to it to absorb weight, and chain it on tight so it'll rotate during turns, it can be very handy.

Thanks Mark, yes that's your dolly.  Do you want it back on your plot or should it go into the general WL asset storage system?