I really like this style of gazebo, the roof looks really easy to build.
Can we modify our plans to make it look like this?

Gazeebo Update

Thought I had best bring everyone up to date on the construction project of building the fire pit gazebo. The sauna, sonar, tubes or whatever they are called are now installed - oh, I forgot, all of you installed those. Since that is the case, I guess you are now up to date on the construction of the gazebo since nothing else has been accomplished. Oh, don't go frettin on me, it will get done! Before me, I have two sets of plans of which I have not decided which one will be utilized. The first one is complicated but attractive, the second one is simple but ugly, the first one will take more lumber, the second one will take less - so many decisions to make, sure glad I am not building a house! The second project is well underway, my little helper learned how to use a socket wrench and really enjoyed tearing it apart so we could sand and rebuild it on site. Perhaps, the HITW project will become larger than any one of us imagined it would, cannot divulge at this time since no decisions have been rendered at this time, just thoughts to ponder! By the way, the Plumma was not even in camp and the damm kitchen sink turned up missing sometime over the past weekend. That was a custom built cabinet with a sink installed, now it is cabinet with a big hole it!

Home Again

Well the emergency trip South went well...It was nice pulling into the HITW to a burning fire...no not the forest fire but the poo-paws fire...complete with coffee.
My little house was set up and ready for me top take occupancy...and the kids spent lots of time at the Eagles nest...Unfortunately after the first night...there was no fire in the pit...spending all day chasing forest fires on one day and packing in the rain on the other...we had no chance to sit and chat at the fire...but from the news reports I am getting we the purpose of out trip was achieved and as long as no one moves their cabin to Tustamena lake all is well...
I would say the most eventful part of this weekend was actually the trip home. The moose rig is crippled and had to limp home...this required frequent stops...turning a 3 and a half hour trip into a nine hour one. but it was a good one...one of the best I have taken...stopping often relieves that "damn I am sick of a riding in a car feeling." We stopped first out side of Ninilchick at the burned out motel/bar...hoping to see a glimpse of the retreating fire...this turned into and adventure for Kimmy and Heidi and a night mare for poor Sierra...she sat with me in the Yukon...afraid of the ghosts in the building...I think she was right...what a creepy building...no luck here but a few of the crew needed to potty and do not squat so we headed up the road to Deep Creek. Stopping at the potty Papa moose ambled his way to the river, of course. He immediately noticed a tourist from Tennessee fishing and had a minor confrontation with him about the fishing regulations...of course at the time the guy was in "bonking" a poor salmon over the head...being caught the ass threw the dead fish back!!! Now this really pissed off Papa moose...but being non confrontational he sat and strewed...calling the troopers would have been useless...we saw not one the whole trip. Unfortunately for those travelling South the jerks were not only killing salmon illegally but the proceeded to swig a few more beers before getting in their truck...pulling a fifth wheel and head south to Homer...guess if you drink it while your stopped it is not drinking and driving. Realizing there was nothing we could do short of blowing out their tires we headed North again...made it to Clam Gulch...where we stopped on the beach and saw the "Twins" a brief nautical lesson for mama wolf and some "run time" for Kim and we were off again...making it to Soldotna we stopped for food...now we left Anchor Point at 3:00pm it was 6 when we pulled into McD's....longest trip to Soldotna I have ever had....after food and a smoke we were headed North again...Cooper Landing Camp Ground was out next stop...now that river is intimidating river. This stop was more a potty break as we new we would stop for awhile at the bottom of the pass...Tern Lake was our next stop...with all these kids someone had to potty at every out house we found...so we did leave a trail for other to follow...Now the most interesting thing I found at Tern Lake was a sign for "Old Sterling Hwy mile 961" I will drive that old dirt road someday...I know my grandparents probably did...now I want to...After a long run around...which did nothing for the energy level of Kim...that girl can talk...and move for hours...we headed up the pass...Hope junction the moose left the path again and we found ourselves under the old "Canyon Creek Bridge" We walked out on the bridge and Warren tried to climb it so I herded my buffies back to safety but not until after I glimpsed the valley from a very new view...I remember it was a long way down...looking out the truck window many years ago...now what was a long way down stands above the bridge...mighty tall trees growing in that protected valley. hope fully Heidi has the pictures on her flicker...cant link it as I dont have the address and am too lazy to go find it.
Being all down hill from here we made it to Girdwood before we again stopped...coffee had...smokes smoked and we were ready to move again...Donny had to poo...once everyone was buckled being 10:30 we hit the road...we were in Indian when Heidi turned around and realized we had left Donny in Girdwood...ooops...new I would do that someday. Thank God it was the big kid although we can not figure out why Kim and Sierra did not tell us Donny was no longer with them. Leaving the Moose to cool off we headed back for Donny. We found him sitting on the bench looking dejected...will he ever forgive me? We did catch the moose again at Potters Marsh...and stopped for one last sit...I parted ways with them at this time...found the Wolf Den lights still on at midnight...dropped that crew off on the road side...I am getting good at that now....and headed for home...Took Donny, Britt and I less that fifteen minutes to unload and de garbage the Yukon and Donny was off to bed....Britt and I rehashed the weekend until 3am and now it is back to reality. So a weekend of house cleaning turned into a fun adventure that I can remember in years to come...although the trip to Anchor Point may never be three hours again...there is a lot of cool places between here and there you pass right up at 80.

In the Pit

Twas the night before hangovers

And all through the pit

Those gathered were drinking

No one knew when to quit

.....

The Eagle was drinking his rum

As Pooba, he was atop his own throne

And as for the rest of us

He left not one of us alone.

.....

The brunt of some joke

Victim of some gag

What's his latest gimmick

What's he got in that bag.

.....

The Charmin had blessed us

The whole derned crowd

Nieghbors dialed up 911

We were getting a bit loud

.....

The clans were assembled

Wolf, Bear, Buff and Moose

And my Gawd, the dawgs

Who the hell turned em all loose.

.....

Trailers were circled

As wagons in days gone past

It rained the first two days

And the skies are still overcast

.....

John in the cook tent

Taylor in her char

The fire is blazing

Look Out! The blue tarp is on fare!

.....

Heidi pourin out coffee

Eric sluggin his beer

Stan dishin out one liners

And Arnie-the fear.

.....

Our relation is coming

For to join the Hole in the Wall fun

Blue Duck may be with em!

Everyone git yer gun!

.....

Blue Peep got to Shana

She singed her bird digit

Sure mustiv smarted

It's still makin me fidget

.....

Taylor is wound up

She jist won't quit her talkin

That's Ok, in the next few weeks

She'd prove to be walkin

.....

The clan girls were here

secluded up on Estrogen Rise

Linked only by zip line

and soaked from the gray skies.

.....

The kids all found safe harbor

And shelter in the Grand Ol Eagle's nest

Everyone was workin

Engineering was put to the test

.....

John and his tape

Eric, his wit

Bill slapped a dandy ninety

And the gazebo still won't fit.

.....

The gravel was great

Keeps us outta the mud

Cept the kidlets

Who are covered in crud

.....

They're baking odd objects

Made from Anchor Point clay

No idea what they all are

Maybe, jist maybe some day.

.....

Granny and her wineglass

Grampy and his wig

Too much for John and I

We pull another swig

.....

Now the time for adios

But we'll come riding back soon

Ranger Bill rode out before sunrise

and the rest of us before noon.

Fire weed

It appears the whole world is on fire...here in Anchorage the smoke is thick and a weird yellow orange haze is hanging over everything...kind of eerie. Now we were all expecting this...I believe this is the third summer in a row I have heard the "spruce beatle kill will go this year." So now it has...time to figure out a money making scheme for fire weed...named appropriatly for it's ability to come back first after a disaster such as the ones going on North and South of me. We no longer have to worry about the beatle kill gowing up either...and think of it this way those cabbins that do make it...have a natural fire break around them now. So I guess I will cancell a camping trip planned for up north this weekend...sorry mom and dad...Eklutna is cheaper to drive to and allows me the freedom the bears have...to go home and get what ever I forgot. hehe...with burn bans everywhere and the air alive with wood smoke...seems the only thing missing is sleeping outside...this to can easily be ackomplished in my back yard. Here's hopes for rain...not liking the haze at all...lots of rain and all will be okay again.

Blue Duck and Belle Starr

Yes, this is Blue Duck, commanchero murderer and good friend of Belle.

He was pardoned by President Cleveland so he could die a home-a

priviledge he never deserved. He had been tried and convicted by

Judge Issac Parker of Ft. Smith.

Keep your guns handy, he may be a riding in.

My best suggestion for all HITW projects in progress and

under consideration is to think outsidethe box.

Submission by the Ranger

Just a suggestion for the Grand PooPaw and the clans to consider.

Perhaps when an initiate is awaiting the Grand PP to vision and conjure

up an appropriate clan designation, the initiate could have temporary

status in the "Duck" clan(sorry about the quotes Don).

The initiate may have to spend at least 15 minutes a day in the

Duck House to perhaps get their own visions(or were they overcome by fumes).

When spoken to you may even coerce them to quack back.

Beautification Project Underway

The first installment of the HITW Beautification Project was completed today by Lady Eagle and the two Moose calves. The new feature is flowering bushes at each of the summer dens, due to the lack of space and foot traffic pattern, the flowering bush at the Wolf Den had to be placed on the Birch Knoll. The transplanted flowers from the beach adds to the overall uniqueness of the landscaping. I would tell you what kind of "flowering bush" they are, however I cannot pronounce the name, let alone spell it. I do know that three of them will have yellow flowers and one will have pink, however, I do not know who ended up with the pink since none of them have flowers on them at this time, fact is they have very few leaves as of yet. By mid July, they should be leafed out and by mid August, perhaps a few flowers. Landscaping has to be kept to a minimum, a drastic water shortage in the area of the HITW.
The "big" project should kick off next week, still have a few engineering and design plans to work out. I have it pictured in my mind, but have not figure out how to keep the roof from falling down. Just a minor detail. It should be fun putting it together, however, no nails will be involved, sheet rock screws are the only way to go when you have a project that you know will require modifications during construction.
A concept that I have been considering, however it will require a full working party. As easy as it was to dig the sonar tubes for the foundation of the gazebo, why couldn't we drill our own well. My post hole digger will go about about five feet, I am sure Plumma Wolf could come up with threaded pipe so we could screw on additional six foot sections as need to reach the water table. Our well is only 85 feet deep so at the HITW we should be able to hit water in the 60 - 90 foot level.

I was just kidding, I really do know the name of the bushes that were planted, they are Potentilla and have quite a history behind them. This is their third move, they first started out at the Anchor Angler. A re-design project in the roadside flower beds moved them to the front of our house where they have been since it was new. The flower beds at the house received a new face lift this week so once again, the Potentilla got moved to a new location. Perhaps, they have found a new home.

You just never know when Blue Duck may come ridin in. Or our sister,

or our family from Arizona. Sure glad I kept my pants zipped up and my boots on the correct feet. You never know when you're being filmed.

HITW Update

Nothing new, just wanted to let you know! Reference to the Eagle Nest site will tell you why. Do have several other chores to accomplish, like building a fish cleaning and fillet table that I have been wanting to do the last ten years, planting the garden, planting flowers, going fishing, painting the deck, going fishing, painting the fence, going fishing and watching Terry mow the lawn. But, I assure you, our plans are being formulated in my thoughts and within the next week, construction will commence on the primary project at the HITW. It is a necessity along with a couple more loads of gravel. I did take the time while completing the final clean up chores at the HITW to re-calculate the sona tubes that were completed this past weekend. I discovered that it was out of square by three inches on one side and 7.5 inches on the other side. I had to dig up three of the tubes so I could place them correctly, but it worked out great, by the time I got each of them dug out the holes were big enough to make the adjustments so all I had to do was adjust them and back fill. Sure glad that I did not have to dig three new holes!

Also wanted to let you all know how much we enjoyed the two weeks that you spent at the HITW, just wish the weather had been better. Hope the "little ones" as well as the big ones were not disappointed due to the lack of organized events. We will make up for it with the gathering of the Clan on July 4th - hopefully! We just have to decide which weekend we are going to celebrate the 4th of July! Proclamation 2007-1: No more roasting innocent little peeps at the fire pit!

Photo's

I had a great time, I think everyone did by the photos (check them out). It was great to see everyone, can't wait until the 4th.

This scene should look familiar. Found it searching the www. Good time was had by Spike and I over Memorial Day and then the weekend after. Even though I made a stealthy retreat in the wee hours of Sunday Morning and may not have thanked the HITW hosts for a great time-Do know that I am appreciative of the time spent with you all. Now back in Kenai and ready for another big week driving the Penninsula road system. Thanks again-my best to all of you.

Ranger Bill