See You at the River

        Steele Cr., mine and Matts favorite swimmin hole.

Hot Time in the Summer

Matt is out of school now, so we are getting into the summer routine. I work down at the house all day until around 4, then we load up and make a trip down to the swimming hole. Right now we have been going to Steele Cr. everyday, but there are several places we will go this summer. It's a great routine to cool down in the chilly waters of the Buffalo after being so hot during the day. It also gives Matt something to look forward to, everyone is making sacrifices to get our house done and he is too. The Osage is still making noise in the Gorge, but the hot sun is quickly drying up all the flood waters still pouring out of the hills. There are always people camping at Steele Cr. even in the middle of the week. I told Matt that it was so beautiful that people came from far away to stay there. We counted cars from Texas, Missourri, Oklahoma, and Kansas yesterday, and he was very impressed. When we were driving up the hill away from the river, he said "Dad, I love the river". I said "son, I do too". Priceless. This week has been spent laying the groundwork for the next big push. The piers for the deck are complete, and we finished piers-posts- and beam for the mudroom. This means it's time to put on the roof and deck, so big progress will happen over the next 2 weeks. I need to be finished framing with the roof on no later than 1 month from now.

Deck Time

Got the deck piers dug and poured yesterday,  its time to build the humongous deck. 1400 s.f. of pure outdoor bliss with an outdoor fireplace and outdoor kitchen. We already have all our deck furniture becouse beautiful stuff came into the store at just the right time. The gorge House has 2300 sf interior space, and 1700 sf of outdoor decks. This is becouse we love being outside in all kinds of weather. The deck is 17' off the ground at it's highest point, and is covered under 1000sf of metal roofing. It really is the escence of the house, perched on the edge of the bluff towering over the Gorge. I will be tempted to just stop working and enjoy the deck when we complete it. But the bank would not like that. I have gone overboard in the size of the piers, a lesson learned building the family cabin. The deck will not fall off the mountain. The next steps are #1- build the deck. #2-build scafolding inside the awesome room. #3-set beams and set rafters. #4-get the septic system rolling. I have a crew coming next week sometime, and I know things are fixen to happen fast.