Emergency Closure

All those inbound from the North, South, and East (do not expect anyone coming in by boat from the West) an Emergency Closure will be in affect at the Hole In The Wall Recreational Area on Thursday, May 22, 2008 from sometime in the morning until sometime in the afternoon or late evening. The area that will be affected will be from Mile 0 to Mile .1 of Bronco Lane and the entire bowl area of the recreational area. Long delays can be expected on the Old Sterling Highway from the north mesa of the Anchor River Valley to the intersection of Private Drive and the Intersection of Private Drive and Bronco Lane. Those that are traveling and experiencing long delays to access Bronco Lane are asked to yield the right of way to all dump trucks and caterpillars. If your traveling plans are delayed, please feel free to spend a little time at the Anchor River Inn Lounge or at the Eagle Nest. Contractors responsible for the resurfacing the project area have assured us that the HITW will be ready for occupancy by Thursday evening, or as soon as they can get their CAT out of the hole.

New Additions To HITW

For those that have not had the opportunity to follow the progress or enjoy the opportunity of participating in the prior planing and preparation for the Memorial Day weekend of the annual Clan Rendezvous, I have kept a photo journal.

The Gazebo received a fresh touch up coat of paint today, thanks to Lady Eagle. Having had the responsibility over the past four years of watching over the "little ones", Dutch has earned a rightful place and is now designated as HITW Guardian of the Little Ones. You might note the new kitchen area that was erected last weekend with the help of the She Wolf and Papa Bear.

This the new look of the Widow's Walk or Bell Tower of the Gazebo. You can just see the new security device, the Alarm Bell which can also be used for banging when meals are served, announcement of guests, the Grand Poopah reserves the right to "ring that bell anytime I want". Although you cannot see it it n the picture, a "wind warning system" has also been installed which is tied in in with the new King Salmon weather vane. If you hear the alarm going off, all you need to do is duck your head out and look up to see which direction the wind is coming out of. It will help in your decision on which side of the fire pit you may want to set.

Lady Eagle spent the day with the paint brush in her hand, the Duck House got a new paint job and looks real good in the natural earthy two tone wood look.

When not helping me cut firewood and remodeling the kitchen, the Lady Buff has been busy landscaping and laying a new natural rock patio. Bull Buffy had best be careful when going home after spending a few hours around the fire pit an in the dark. Mac has been a valuable partner in the project since he was responsible for pulling the wagon.

Kitchen Remodel

Spent a few hours cutting the stack of firewood today, of course with all the man tools out, Lady Buffalo decided that she wanted to remodel the kitchen. Something about not liking a particular kitchen counter and the rustic appearance. She preferred something a little more modern.

With a few minutes, the old kitchen cabinets had been removed and modified to fit the fireplace. I tried to to talk her out of it since it had "history" and some of the best spruce dimensional lumber that could be found.

Thank You Whoever

Remember those mysterious numbers that appeared in all of our mail boxes last Christmas? They came in Green Envelopes and then after the first of the year, another set of numbers were delivered in Red Envelopes. Part of the puzzle has been solved, evidently it was some kind of a raffle and my number in the Green Envelope was chosen as the winner!!!! This was my prize, one of my favorites candy bars, especially with hot coffee as a chaser. Did anyone with the Red Envelope win anything or is that raffle going to come later? Thanks to whoever came up with the concept of the raffle and a special, Thank You for Gift. I managed to ration them out to three bars per day. Just finished up the last of them for my bedtime snack.

Old and New News From HITW

Ranger Wild Bill called me on Monday to let me know he had just bought a tractor for "Lonesome Duck Ranch". A small walk behind tractor with a blade on the front. From his description, it sounded like something that we could use at the HITW and in a garage sale, he had paid $75.00 for it. Wanting to check on their availability and "new" prices, I decided to research it tonight on the web. Much to my surprise, the "Mighty Man" has not been built in years and considered as a very good find among tractor collectors. The picture at the top shows a "Mighty Man" pulling a modern truck in 1949 as a demonstration of it's power. The smaller picture is the "Mighty Man" with the optional "riding seat attachment" pulling a wagon full of cabbage. Now, if you are thinking of calling "Wild Bill" and offering him double his money for his tractor, he is now aware of it's value. I could not resist telling him the good news this morning at 2:00 a.m., his time. He does not wake up well, even with good news.

Current HITW News. Light rain in the area but the water line continues to recede, should be ready to move in and start some work projects by this weekend. If you are planning on going fishing this opening weekend, you may want to re-consider. The lower river is near flood stage and the upper river is out of it's banks in several locations. Current coloration is between mud and muddier. Heard the distinct call of "Butch" or "Sundance" in the HITW this morning, perhaps it is time to go buy some peanuts for them and some alfalfa pellets for hippy hops that are now classified as endangered species at the HITW. That had best be chicken breasts that show up on the barbecue!

Found, actually I borrowed, but going to buy myself one, a new tool today. Most likely you folks that are mechanically inclined have seen them or even have one, I had never saw one. Have you ever had to nail in an area where you can not get a whack at the nail with a hammer, a screw gun is to big to fit and a hand held stapler will not penetrate. Well, I ran into the problem today while installing my sheeting on my roof, up under the eaves of the house it is impossible to get a nail set. I finally concluded that I would just gorilla glue it and figure up later how I would attach the asphalt shingles. Happened to run into "Bill the Woodman" and I told him of my problem. He invited me over to pick up and use his palm gun! Ain't never heard of nuttin like that, but it is just a little larger than a computer mouse, fits into you palm, center it over the nail and press down and the nail disappears into the board under 100 pounds of air pressure. My roof will be done tomorrow! Takes so little to make me happy these days, but I will be happier when I see one of these in my tool shed!