what i did on my summer vacation

[rong]

BUILT A BARN!!

This is a hole – it's 54" deep and about 14" diameter.  I dug 20 of them.  It sucked.  Yes I am aware you can rent augers.  I borrowed a tractor with an auger on the back – finishing the hole by hand still sucked.  There's 6" of concrete at the bottom.




Here are some poles.  Getting them in the hole without caving in one side was kinda tricky – especially with the really tall poles.  Getting them in just the right spot and plumb was a bitch.



Lesser known fact:  The boards connecting the poles are called girts.  This part was fun – but all the nailing screwed up my wrists and gave me carpal tunnel.  (Pro-tip: don't use hammers with steel handles – use wood.)



Here's some trusses up.  We mounted a beam in the bucket of aforementioned tractor and used it like a crane.  Worked pretty slick.  Climbing around on wobbly trusses that aren't braced up to anything yet is kinda scary.



Here's some more trusses up.  Lesser known fact:  the boards that are nailed to the truss are called purlins.  If you squint real hard, you can see some temporary purlins in this picture.  (like my T-shirt?)



Booya – gots a roof on the sucka.  Had some help with that – thank god. 



Here's another shot – see what I did there?  That's a third garage door.  That will come in handy when there's shit in the back of the barn that I want to get out and there's cars parked in front of the other two doors.




And looky here – it's the inside.   

[Jenne]

Wow.  You really did build a barn.  Very cool.

Now:  you gonna paint it RED?

[rong]

dunno - haven't decided what kind of siding to put on it.  the roof and trim are green, so red would be pretty dang christmas-y - but, it's ultimately up to the wife.

[Triple Zero]

im always amazed at the amount of free space you guys still got on that other continent.

[Jenne]

It's going at a fast clip...but yeah...there's still lots and lots of it left.

[Richter]

That is an excellent barn you have built.

[rong]

Update: so last summer i built a barn, this summer i was either broke or busy, so didn't have a lot of time, but i just got back from what i consider the most profound event of my summer.

MOTORCYCLE CAMPING TRIP1!!!!!1

bein that summer is running out around here, i had to squeeze in a last minute camping trip.  i rode the KLR up to copper harbor and beyond - all the way out to the tip of the keweenaw peninsula and did a little camping on lake superior.

here she is in the parking lot at pat's foods in calumet, since i'd never spent much time north of calumet, i figured that's where my adventure truly started.



although technically not true, this building bids a bit of a warning:



they sure get a lot of snow up here:


i opted to take the  less scenic but quicker highway 41 as i wasn't sure how long it would take me to get to my destination. however, 41 is still pretty scenic:


the folks at the keweenaw adventure company were kind enough to let me use their phone so i could tell the wife that i'd made it that far.  there is no cell phone service in copper harbor.

after some chit chat and discussion about the best places to camp, i decided to make some tracks.  the beers were getting warm, after all.

the trails on the way in were pretty nice:


but i took a left where, in retrospect, i should've went straight and ran into this:



the picture doesn't really do this hill any justice, needless to say it kicked my a$$ and will haunt my dreams for many moons.  after dumping once, i managed to make it all the way up and continued on.

ran into a few "bogs" like this, but managed to find a way around all of them (didn't want to get that algae in my boots and that hill convinced me to not give up and turn around so easily).



other than the bogs and a few smaller hills and rocks rocks rocks, most of the riding was pretty nice.




after quite a lot of riding, i finally made my way to the shore line.  i considered stopping to camp here for the night, but wanted to press on to find the cabin that the folks at keweenaw adventure co. told me about.



a little ways further down a rocky trail i happend upon "club superior"



here's the interior of club superior:


i decided to keep pressing to the end of the trail, now knowing if i got to worried about bears, i had a place to go hide.

got to the end of the trail and obeyed the "foot" traffic only beyond this point.  looks like this is my garage for the night:



the path to the beach:



alleluiah!! what a beautiful campsite.  i'm very glad i came out this far:




now it was time for a well deserved beer.  and several more to follow 

set up camp, collected some fire wood, ate some spam and beans (mangled my can opener in the process).  had a fire and watched the waves.  i could see 3 light houses to the north of me and there was a large island pretty far off the shore.  i thought it might be isle royale, but i was under the impression you couldn't see isle royal from the shore.

anyhow, the noise from the waves and wind was louder than i anticipated so i had a less than restful sleep.

the waves were pretty impressive in the morning:


made some coffee and packed everything back up and headed back for that hill i'd been dreading all night.

the riding back went a lot better since i knew what obstacles i'd be in for.  i did bend my front brake lever getting too close to a tree (overconfidence,what?), but other than that and, of course, dumping the bike on the way down the hill again, it was an enjoyable ride.

the home stretch out of the woods:



after stopping in copper harbor, getting something to eat (couldn't open the can of corned beef hash i'd planned on having for breakfast due to mangled can opener) and calling the wife to tell her i'd made it out alive, i headed up mount brockway:

but first i had to snap a picture of the infamous 1990 miles to miami sign.  it's just sitting there, taunting me.  do you think you can do it?



you folks that live in mountainous country probly aren't too impressed with this view, but to someone who lives where it's pretty flat, i'd say its quite breathtaking.



took the scenic route back to calumet and decided it was time to start making some serious tracks back home.  after all, i had band practice to get too.

i took a rest stop in canyon falls and i swear i saw a wolf run across the road - ok, i admit it, maybe it was a really big coyote, but i think it really was a wolf.



lessons learned:
-don't ever do that kind of riding alone again. ever.  especially where there is no cell phone service.
-rocky, rutted hills are hard as sh*t to climb.  but the klr can do it.  if you want it to bad enough.
-make sure your can opener is in good operating fashion.
-it is better to bring too much water than just enough to drink.

[fomenter]

i am  green green with envy... the pics remind me of riding dirt bikes in the bush in Canada as a kid

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Wow, that was awesome! Thanks for sharing it.

[rong]

it was a really good trip.  although, i'm finding it's very true what they say about the KLR - it's good at everything, but great at nothing.  really could've used a smaller bike on the trails - not being able to use your feet for stability makes for some challenging riding.  still can't wait to go back and explore more of the trails up there - there's so many of them.

[Jenne]

Awesome--thanks for that--makes me want to venture out all on my lonesome and have an adventure.  Glad you had fun and made it back safe!

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

Dude that looks like it was a lot of fun. And relaxing.
The scenery is awesome.