September 2013 - Kayaks, Motorhomes, Chainsaws, and more ...

Sorry for the long delay between posts.  September was a very busy month and I just never got around to updating the blog.

We began the month with a kayak trip down the Kootenai River between Libby and the fishing access site just below where the Fisher River enters the Kootenai River.  Here Scott is helping load the Cherokee with kayaks and bikes.

Our launch site.

Floating the river.  Scott is in the front of Susan's kayak.  He was scared after the first stretch of fast water but then settled down and had a ball!

I led the way most of the time to find the best route so when I wanted a photo of Susan and Scott I turned the kayak and floated backwards awhile.  The river was pretty smooth for the most part even though the current was keeping the water roiled for most of the trip. 

 

We beached at the boat launch site outside of Libby.  We'd left the bicycles there so Susan rode her bike back the 13 miles to the fishing access site where we started then drove the Cherokee back to pick us up.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon celebrating our 11 year anniversary.

The Motorhome ... I replaced the brushes in the alternator then rebuilt the carburetor and replaced the turn signal switch, repaired the blower motor wiring, installed new locks on the outside cargo compartment hatches, made mount brackets for the new windshield wiper blades, fixed the spare tire mount and a few other minor things getting the motorhome ready for it's trip south.  The first turn signal switch was wrong so I took the old switch in to help find the right parts.  There were two very minor difference between the switches for a van and the switch for the motorhome.  The difference in price was a little more obvious ($50.00!).  Susan spent hours cleaning things up inside and outside.  At any rate we got it road-worthy before we left at the end of the month.

Stephen and Scott replacing the brake rotor on the Subaru.

I went firewood cutting and had more difficulties with my saw so I bought a carburetor kit for it at the saw shop.  The new kit seems to have fixed it.  It now starts reliably every time (and runs better too!).

Scott spotted this saw in the saw shop.  He picked it up and turning to grandma said very matter of factly, "I need this!"  So we got it for him.  The first thing he did when arriving home was saw the vertical pillars on the porch then proceeded to cut down the Aspen trees growing in the yard.

We decided to barbecue some hamburgers only to find a packrat nest in the grill.  I cleaned it out then added charcoal and lots of charcoal lighter fluid.  The resultant fire burned everything clean and sterile again.

Working on Scott's playhouse.  It's 4X8 with four foot tall walls.  It has climbing benches and a ladder inside with a ledge along the back wall that he can crawl across as well.  I finished it up using some shingles we had laying around for the roof.  He seems to enjoy it.

We set traps for packrats and caught two mice in one of them.  A couple of days before we left for Nevada the dog was raising a ruckus in the late evening.  I opened the front door and the cat almost ran over me getting in the cabin so I assumed there was something out there.  I saw a packrat up near the eaves inside the porch so I traded the shotgun (loaded with buckshot and slugs) for the Ruger Bearcat loaded with 22 rim fire shot shells.  I dispatched the packrat and went back to bed.

We played paintball one last time at a National Forest camping spot at Murphy Lake.  I planned on using up the last of the paintballs and the rest of the CO2 in the tank I rented.  My fill station blew an "O" ring though so we were left with only the cylinders I'd filled after the last paintball games.  It was a bummer because I'd ordered and installed new safety valves for five tanks and planned on filling them as well.  We still had a good time with family and friends.  This is Scott and his cousin Anna.  She's a year older than Scott but he's big for his age and she's small for hers and they play well together.

We did have enough charged cylinders to get in some games of sudden death as long as we kept the number of people playing low.

 

The next post will tell of our 18 day trip that covered over 3,000 miles.