8/21-23/18 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Tuesday through Thursday.

Just as I was packing up to leave, I got a call from Bill. He said that he had just gotten off work and would like to meet up with me. I invited him to come over, which he did. We had a great visit for a couple hours. I left for the mountains some time after 11:00.

On the way, I called Earl and told him I would be late. He didn't need for me to pick up anything on the way. I got to Earl's at about 2:00 and he made sandwiches for the two of us. Then Al Durfy showed up and joined our conversation. He said he regularly visits Earl during the week to make sure he takes his medications on time.

I left Earl's and arrived at Camp Serendipity at about 4:00. It was too late to get any work done so after doing my exercises and unpacking my gear, I took a shower and had dinner.

On Wednesday after breakfast, I went outside and checked the cedar trees. They were all doing fine, and the irrigation system was working perfectly. Then I turned the valve to water Brian, Dan, and cedar #12. Next, I walked into the sequoia grove and hauled a bucket of water up to Andrew.

Back at the cabin, I went to work on the lower rail of the railing for the back porch. The rail is a pretty sturdy log which I chose to make sure that the railing wouldn't sag. The log was very lumpy with a lot of knots sticking out all over it. I used the bulldog with the wood chisel bit to grind all the knots down flat.

Then I put the log up on sawhorses and used the drawknife to scrape the entire surface of the log. I got most of it done before I stopped for lunch and a nap.

When I got up, I finished drawknifing the rail log. Then I made two brackets out of 2x4s that would hold the log rail up between the two posts close to its final position. They would support the log while I made the mortise holes and tenons that will hold the rail between the posts.

I positioned the log next to the Grid 2 post and marked the post for the center of the mortise hole. Then I mounted a 3" hole saw in the 1/2" drill motor and used it to cut the mortise hole. I used a hammer and small chisel to remove the wood from inside the hole. Then I used the hole saw to start making the tenon on that end of the rail log.

On Thursday, Dave called first thing after breakfast. He told me that he needed to be in Yakima on business next Tuesday and that he would like to spend Tuesday night at Camp Serendipity. That was delightful news and it changed my work plans for the day.

Instead of doing any more work on the rail, I spent the morning cleaning the place up. I swept the front porch deck, staircase, workbench, and cabin wall. Then I vacuumed the first floor of the cabin. It's ready for guests again. After lunch, I left for home at 12:50 very much looking forward to next week.