10/21-25/24 I went up to Camp Serendipity for five days: Monday through Friday.

After a gorgeous fall drive over the mountains, I arrived at 12:15. I brought my gear up in one trip, then hoisted the flag, and had my lunch and a nap.

I walked to the grave and noticed that the Smith's car was there, but I was running late so I didn't stop to talk with them.

On Tuesday morning the temperature outside was a chilly 25 degrees. I built a nice fire in the stove and then practiced the piano. I listened to the radio for a short while and then Bill called. We had a nice chat, and he told me about his experience at Cam's wedding and his conversation there with Dave. Dave and Daniella had attended a wedding in Mexico the day before and then flew to Texas for Cam's wedding.

When we hung up, I walked to the grave and stopped in and chatted with Clint who was building a roof over his wood pile. He told me he had hired a handyman to build it, but the guy didn't show up, so he was building it himself.

When I got back, I had my lunch and a nap. Then I went outside and carried the plank from the truck up to the cabin. Then I finished nailing together the second run of planks for the scaffold deck. Finally, I brought the rodent repellent spray and a wad of cotton down to the truck and put a soaked cotton ball under the hood in an attempt to keep rodents from going under the hood and causing trouble.

On Wednesday the temperature outside was 20 degrees. That's about as cold as it's been so far. I built another nice fire in the stove and had my breakfast. I had just started my piano practice when the power went out at 8:49. It didn't concern me too much because I planned to call the PUD during my walk once I got cell phone service and learn the expected restoration time.

On my walk to the grave, I stopped and talked with Clint who also had a workman on site. I talked with them about how they were going to do their construction with no power and they said they would have to resort to elbow powered hammers.

I resumed my walk and called the PUD. I learned that the power was expected to be restored at 2:00. I learned that a tree had fallen over a major power line and the power was out all the way from Cole's Corner to Stevens Pass.

I continued on my walk and stopped in to see how John was doing during the power outage. I learned that he wasn't connected to the PUD and didn't even know the power was out. When I got back home, I started a nice fire in the stove to keep the cabin comfortable. Then I had my lunch, cooking the toast on the top of the wood stove which sort of worked, and then I had my nap.

The power came back on at 3:30. And I set the clocks that were affected after I learned how to operate them. Then I noticed that the smoke alarm in the bedroom was chirping so I got the step ladder out and replaced the battery. That stopped the chirping, but I discovered that I had no dial tone. I went out on the back porch and sent a text to Ellen telling her we probably wouldn't be able to talk that evening. I wasn't sure she would get the message but by standing on the porch, it seemed to work for out-going messages.

On Thursday morning, the temperature was only 32 degrees. But I built a fire just for fun. There was still no dial tone. After practicing the piano, I went for my walk and once I got cell service, I called the phone company to report my outage. I scheduled a service call for the next day in the morning and I tried to stress the urgency of having the visit happen as early as possible.

Next, I took the step ladder outside and began working on fitting it to my scaffold system for use in climbing up onto the deck. I think I figured out a good scheme, but it will take some more work.

Next, I discovered that dial tone had been restored to my phones, so I called the phone company and cancelled my service call. Then I called Ellen and told her we could have our normal conversation that evening. Then I had my lunch and a nap.

When I got up, I selected a long 2x4 and installed it as the first section of handrail on the scaffolding. I wasn't happy with the installation and tried to think about how to fix it. I decided to fasten the rail to the stanchions using plumbers' tape and drywall screws. That will wait till next week.

On Friday morning I got a nice fire going in the stove and then practiced the piano. Then I walked to the grave and had my lunch when I returned. I packed up my gear, closed up the place, and left for home at 12:45. It was another fun eventful week.