6/18-20/14 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Wednesday through Friday.

On the way I stopped and visited with Uncle Charles. Then I proceeded on to Skykomish and dropped in to show Marilyn a painting that I had made. I arrived at Camp Serendipity at 1:30. I was happy that there were no mice in the traps and only a few ants here and there.

After hoisting the flag and turning on the giant sequoia Brian's valve, I had my usual lunch and a nap. Then I went into the woods to make sure Brian was getting water. It was. Then I checked on the sequoias named Cam, Chuck, Dan, Dave, Earl, Ellen, and Paul. They are all thriving nicely.

When I got back, I measured for the last two boards needed to finish the roof repair and then matched that against all the previously stained boards that I had salvaged. I found that I didn't have enough old boards to finish the job. So I got out the stain and stained a couple of new boards. I figured that they would dry sufficiently overnight so that I could use them the next day.

On Thursday, I started out by watering Brian again. Then I cut the boards I needed to finish the roof repair. The stain wasn't dry but I cut the boards anyway. I messed up the stain job a little, but I decided to fix it after they were installed. I was eager to get this job done.

After a while, I went back into the woods to check on Brian and when I returned I saw a black pickup with a full canopy stop in front of our driveway. A guy got out of the truck and walked around it and then got back in. I went down to the road to see who it was but the truck had driven off before I got down there. I went out to the road to see what the guy had been looking at and I found a big puddle of oil on the road. There was a streak of oil going from the puddle up the road to the east for about a hundred feet. Then the streak went back to the west for 30 feet or so, and then turned east again and disappeared down the road. The point of the last turn-around of the streak was in the exact position on the road such that you could see my parked truck which was up near the hairpin turn. I didn't know what to think of it all, but it gave me something to ponder.

I went back to work on the roof repair. I cut, nailed, and caulked the boards needed to finish up the patch on the ceiling of the eaves. Then I brushed out the mess I had made in the stain on the boards. Finally, I installed three more plumber's tape pipe restraints around the sewer vent pipe which completely finished the roof repair job. All that remained to do was to take down the scaffolding and put tools and materials away.

I went in for lunch and a nap happy to be getting in away from the mosquitoes. They are pretty thick and bothersome this year. I was especially bothered by bites on my ankles. I was pretty well protected around my face and neck by Ben's 100% Deet bug juice, so the little buggers bit me on the ankles through my socks. Those bites itched me all through my lunch and almost kept me awake for my nap.

When I got up, I needed to go down to the truck to get a rope so I decided to take a wheelbarrow down with me and haul up some firewood. Robert had set aside some good firewood for me while he and his crew grubbed out the woods last week. I decided to haul it up to the cabin to get it out of the way of the loggers. It amounted to two very heavy wheelbarrow loads which wore me out pushing it up the hill. But I got it up there.

Then I got the chainsaw out and bucked up the long pieces to firewood length. I hadn't started the saw since it was in the shop for a tune-up and a new chain a few months ago so I was anxious to see whether it was working properly or not. I was pleased that it started easily and ran great.

Next I went to work dismantling the scaffolding. I just did everything in reverse from what I had done to erect it except that this time gravity was working with me rather than against me. I lowered the heavy sheet of OSB and the riser using ropes. The lighter and smaller things like board remnants, I just threw to the ground. The tools I retrieved through the loft window.

After removing the big 4x4s that had supported the upper deck, I unscrewed all the screws holding the planks and decking. That made them a little unstable, but I was careful not to put my weight on anything that could slip. But now with all the planks loose, I was able to gingerly pull them off and carry them down the ladder one at a time. I ended up removing everything but the two hanging 4x4 supports for the lower deck before I quit for the day. I took a picture of the finished roof patch and the two hangers and ladder.

On Friday morning I took down the last two scaffold hangers. It is a lot easier lifting those rebar S-hooks off the anchor hooks than it is to hook them on. It took only a short while to take the hangers down, bring the ladder inside, and pick up the tools and materials that were lying around. It was a great feeling to have the roof repair job completely finished. I took some pictures to record the auspicious moment.

After that I had just enough time to pack and leave in order to meet Ellen and Marilyn in Skykomish so that we could go on a hike together. I left at about 10:00.