Spring Ready

The weather made riding impossible due to rain and mud, but I was ready if it ever clears long enough to dry out.

 

Winter Beauty

 Though closed during the Winter months, this January shot of the Castle Valley overlook near the cabin shows low lying clouds in the valley with two points from Castleton Towers. Beautiful.

The grand kid's playhouse is no more. After a windstorm blew the slide clear into Cougar canyon and tipped the playhouse to one side (despite being anchored into the ground) we decided to have someone else enjoy it. Friend Danny Prickett of Desert H2o reassembled it in his yard for his kids to enjoy down in Castle Valley. The Moab rim is here seen with the morning sun on it.

With the left over panels of steel roofing we had skirting installed beneath the deck. This adds to the aesthetics of the cabin especially the first impression. Doug McDonald of Castle Valley is a true craftsman when it comes to such projects. He also completed the railing around the decking and put in a BBQ bar for convenience. Safer and better looking. All done in the Summer of 2014.

In reviewing some photos I realized that I failed to post a number of photos so begging pardon for the out of order chronology, please enjoy the following.
Dale Hannssen and his group came in April to  mountain bike the area. This is the essence of Moab.

The spring weather generally provides warm days and cool nights.  Dale said they rode through some rain and snow but being typically mountain bike intrepid enjoyed the experience. 

Summer storm over cabin.

Summer Storm brewing over Canyon Lands as seen from the cabin deck, looking South
Guest Catherine Cole took this picture. 

No trip to the cabin is complete without taking in the vista at the castle valley overlook. Here Mr. Wright is experiencing the view of a lifetime.

Seems to be a common theme, "keeping up with the kids" We appreciate Eunice sharing some of her memories while at the cabin.

Eunice's kids playing in the meadow.

Eunice and daughter taking a selfie in the meadow in front of the cabin. Eunice called to say her kids were having a great time and that made Susie's and my day. We love it when folks enjoy the cabin experience. This beats playing on a cell phone some cartoonish game.

A NEW METAL ROOF
The final product. Bunger Steel roof of rust color put on by Clark & Steve of Darkhorse leadership. The deck roof line that used to have a sag to it has been straightened and a new metal roof put on. This was a project that was over a year in the making and a lot of helpful private businesses made it happen. It started with Jason Swim of Arizona Native Roofing here in Phoenix, Sergio at Bunger Steel, Scott Hatch of Topline builders and finally Clark and Steve of Darkhorse leadership. In the following posts you can read a bit more about the project and view the websites of the folks mentioned. I thank each one of them and recommend their goods and services without hesitation.

Not just anybody is nimble or knowledgeable enough to perform this maneuver for an entire steep angled roof line. Steve demonstrates the perfect blend of canyoneering technique with roofing expertise.

We lost almost an entire day to some unexpected weather on of the days. A somewhat late but predictable snow storm came out of the mountains and laid down quite a blanket. It was not just snowy but pretty cold as well. Clark and Steve did lose most of the day but nary a discouraging word was heard.

There were some crazy steep angles to this project and beyond the capacity of a homeowner do it yourself type effort. Here Clark and Steve are in harms way, yet tethered via their canyoneering safety gear. This was a project I at one time contemplated doing with some family and friends. As I watched these guys work, I realized it was a pipe dream to think anybody but pros could do this correctly and safely. I am very pleased with their work.

Clark & Steve did more than just roof the cabin, they shimmed the support posts in order to straighten out the "sagging" look to the front deck roof. They worked from morning until past sundown each day for a week and I never saw them rest. They were working fools for sure. In a good way. Friendly and knowledgeable, both of them really were a pleasure to work with.

Clark Wiscombe and Steve of Darkhorse Leadership http://darkhorseleadership.com were the key component of making this roof project happen. Referred by a good friend Scott Hatch of Topline builders and precast concrete, Clark and Steve are certified canyoneering guides. They have backgrounds in home construction and metal roofs so while I had a variety of other bids, I chose these guys because once again they came recommended and had experience in the trade of metal roofs. This became obvious as they began unloading and laying out per a pattern that Rudy from Bunger Steel had made earlier. These two guys were awesome to watch. Both had energy to burn and worked as a real team. No wasted motion but an awful lot of it. I asked if it was doable with just two guys and they commented that they were a small crew but knew each other's movements and liked having just the two of them. As the project proceeded their expertise showed up time and time again. I give them my heartiest thumbs up.

Selecting a roofing company was not easy but after researching prices, quality of product and referrals I chose Bunger Steel of Phoenix Arizona. Sergio was my sales rep and I really enjoyed his professional manner and expertise. He was helpful throughout the process and at one point told me that I had come in with the second worst set of roof measurements he had ever seen in his career. I asked who was worse than mine...his reply...hadn't met him yet but was sure he would someday. With the property being 475 miles away and the roof having a bunch of crazy angles on and to it, it was difficult to get accurate drawings/measurements despite a number of attempts. Finally with the help of Google Earth and a satellite photo of the property Sergio was able to piece together his best guestimate of what was needed and the associated cuts. Turned out he was right on the money and Bunger Steel and Rudy get my highest recommendation. www.bungersteel.com
I hauled up over 4ooo pounds of steel roof and supplies behind my new (used) diesel pickup and it also performed like a champ untill just outside of Blanding. The onboard computer gauge indicated I had 77 miles of fuel remaining so I passed Kayenta without filling up. Mistake. The gauge is off. I ran out of fuel, hitchhiked into Blanding at 10:20 PM, bought the only one gallon fuel container left at the only open convenience store, hitchhiked back to the truck with one a half gallons of fuel, called Dan Sheran for instructions on where to find the inline hand pump and was up and running fairly soon.

New metal roof for 2013

Jason Swim of AzNative Roofing arizonanativeroofing.com was a tremendous help when it came time to put on a new roof at the cabin. He is successful roofer in 

Phoenix Arizona and has worked on my roof to the point that I trusted him and any advice he gave me. A classic case of saving 

money by spending it correctly to begin with. His guidance trimmed the final cost of the project and his willingness to help is really 

appreciated.

Late winter at Moab

We opened the cabin up in March after closing it down and winterizing it in December of last year. Snow was still on the ground in the shady spots but for the most part the days were sunny and warm the second week of March. Unfortunately that did not last. With the arrival of our first guests, a snow storm moved in and lingered for most of their week. The wind picked up and that was cause for some unmet expectations. First, the propane heater at the base of the stairs has a vent directly outside (with the best wind resistant cap made) and is susceptible to having the pilot light blow out. It did, repeatedly and it is unreasonable for guests to have to go through the procedure of relighting the pilot light. 

Second, with snow falling during the night then melting during the day the half mile lane into the cabin was pretty messy and really required a four wheel drive. While I tell guests that the weather is unpredictable in March I am now going to plainly state that during the month of March and most of April a high clearance 4 Wheel drive vehicle is recommended. I pro-rated money back to the two sets of guests that stayed at the cabin during the bad weather and apologized for not recommending 4 wheel drives. At 7300 feet in elevation the weather is likely to be cold at night and warm in the day but with snow melt that makes the road muddy. This is a picture of the cabin at sunset from the West looking East.

End of the season. Farland our caretaker took this picture this morning and with the last guests departing it is time to winterize the place and await for better weather. Farland reports that there will be enough snow to go skiing by tomorrow. Sitting at 7200 feet elevation the cabin has a weather pattern closer to Monticello Utah than Moab even though it sits 60 miles away. A couple friends and I will head up this week and drain the pipes etc for the next couple months. This is a far cry from the normal sunny days we enjoy for most of the season. Winter didn't arrive until today which is about normal.