Our New Home

After living full time in a variety of 5th wheel trailers, we decided to give the motor home route a try. This is a 35 foot 1995 Winnebago Vectra Diesel Pusher. As we are known to have done in the past, we plan to do some remodeling on the inside of the coach. These photos were of the way the rig was when we purchased it.

It has awnings over the windows, a power patio awning, and a built in propane powered generator. The holding tanks are more than twice the size we had before, so we can go longer between visits to a dump and fill facility.

We will start the tour in the front and work our way to the back. The cockpit area with the TV overhead. We will be getting a different TV, but not as large as in the last rig. It has privacy drapes to go over the front window area.

We have already taken out the living room furniture you see here. We are looking for a small love seat recliner instead. This will give us more floor space for visitors and for playing Wii.

The kitchen, will stay pretty much as it is. It has a convection/microwave, which we are learning to use and yes, a dishwasher, which will be reserved for the occasional time we are on full hook ups. The cherry cabinets have adjustable shelves and are in great condition for the age of the rig.

Across from the kitchen counter are the large refrigerator and dining table. The chairs seen here are gone now. Still looking for the perfect ones and are using some folding ones for now.

Large closets across from the bathroom with an area between for the combination washer dryer.

Nice shower area. The only change we have made here was the addition of towel bars.

In the back of the coach is the bedroom. The headboard and decorative window treatments went in the dumpster. The rig has wall to wall carpeting which we plan to take out and replace with a wood floor. The cabinets are cherry and in great shape. It has day/night shades throughout. So far, Larry likes the way it drives and we are enjoying fixing it up the way we like. Right now we are acquiring all the components for a solar charging system. It will be similar to what we had on the last rig, only larger.

Jeremy's House Rebuild Part 3

We reached our goal of getting all the utilities turned on, the outside work done, and getting Jeremy moved back into the house. The house is far from done, but since the evacuation on June 22, he is back living in his home as of the 31st of October. The weather people were predicting SNOW, so we left Minot on November 2. It was bittersweet. Five days later, some of them really long, we arrived in Wickenburg, Arizona. It's nice to be back in the desert with friends.

The first major obstacle on the house was the north basement wall which had collapsed and had to be re-built. The same contractor that put in supports so he could enter his house did that job. Today the hole was filled in and the lawn was graded. Very muddy!

This is the north side with the new wall.

Jeremy enjoyed driving the Bobcat.

Grading the back yard

As it showed in a previous post, we had to rebuild the front corners of the porch. Now it's ready for siding.

We put the new siding up and got it painted before it got too cold. Now we were able to move our RV to his muddy yard. When the flood waters receded they left a thick layer of silt that turns to slick mud when it rains. We cleaned the sidewalks periodically.

New siding and basement windows on the south side.

Jeremy and Laura Beth carving jack-o-lanterns for Halloween. They had fun carving and we had fun watching. It was important to take a few minutes now and then to do 'normal' stuff.

New windows and basement wall on the north side, all painted and finished.

The rest of the pictures show some of the work he'll be doing over the winter. The furnace is running, with the cold air return and vent in place, but all the ducting needs to be installed. Right now it just heats the basement and the warmth filters up through the house. The new water heater is running, but when we left, the second floor sink was the only place to use it. He needs to do all the plumbing to the first floor bathroom and kitchen.

He was able to save most of the 100 year old hardwood trim in the house. We took all the nails out of it, washed it to kill the mold and stacked in the basement for him to re-finish and install.

More hardwood trim, stashed away under the stairs.

The new wood flooring for most of the first floor.

Jeremy and Laura Beth put the insulation up in Jeremy's room, on the day he moved in.

The next day, while Jeremy was at the base, Laura Beth put it up in the bathroom and office. Good job!

60 sheets of 54" by 12' drywall. He is hiring someone to put this up. It was delivered in front of the house by the road and Larry helped Jeremy carry it in the house. This is heavy stuff!

Jeremy's House Rebuild Part 2

We had really good weather for the first two weeks since we arrived. The last couple of days it has started to cool off and we've had some rain and wind. Our main focus right now is to get the utilities hooked up and to get the house weather tight. This past week we installed 6 dual pane windows with a few left to do. We have also been working on the electric. Most of the wiring had to be replaced.

The two new windows in the dining room. We also put two in the living room and two more in Jeremy's bedroom. The replacement windows fit right into the old openings, with minimal shims. Of course nothing is really square in a house this old. We had to special order one of the windows as the local home improvement store didn't have all we needed. The trips to the store are an exercise in patience. They are extremely over shopped and understaffed.

Another thing we've been working on is washing the windows, doors and wood trim that was removed during the demolition so it can be used again. It's easy to see the flood water line on the front door. All the woodwork will need to be re-finished, but since it is hard wood it held up well.

The new basement wall with the concrete curing.

The west wall of the basement had to have some vertical I-beams put in place to reinforce it.

The other main accomplishment this week was the inspection for the rough wiring. Today Larry and Jeremy worked on installing some switches and outlets. Wednesday the electrical contractor will come to install the new panel box with new breakers and get it all hooked up. Claudia worked in the back yard cleaning the heater ducts with the power washer.

Jeremy's House Rebuild Part 1

Jeremy's house was severely damaged during the flood this summer. When we finished our job in West Yellowstone we came to Minot, ND to help him rebuild. We arrived on September 23 and started right into work the next day. As you can see there is much to do and when the weather gets too cold and snowy we will be heading south. We have been helping as much as we can for the few weeks we are here. He goes to work at the base at about 6 am most days and when his duties are taken care of there, he comes to the house and we work until it gets too dark.

The back yard and view of the back side of his house. Aside from the work on the house, the yard needs to be leveled off and the sidewalk needs to be repaired.

The north basement wall caved in. When we arrived the contractors had shored up the house, removed the debris and were getting ready to pour the footers for the new wall.

The demolition work was pretty much completed when we arrived and Jeremy had started laying the plywood sub-floor over the old plank floor. You can see some of the old planks to the left of the picture. The studs in the walls, which are over 100 years old were sprayed for mold and they will stay.

In the kitchen he was able to save the upper cabinets and only took out the lower portion of the walls. He did have time to evacuate most of his personal possessions, but all the kitchen appliances and the furnace and water heater, which were in the basement, were lost.

The sub-flooring is finished!

View of the front of the house.

The porch needs extensive work, mostly in the front corners.

The forms for the new basement wall. It will be 8 inches thick with insulation on the inside and out. The blocks are like hollow Legos. The concrete was poured today. These pictures were taken a few days ago. More to follow.

Foam blocks as seen from the basement.

The basement staircase will need refinishing, but it survived well. Guess Jeremy did a good job building it. Of course all the studs and sheet rock walls had to be removed. He most likely won't finish off the basement again.

The bottom part of the stairs to the second floor. The lower portion is temporary, as the old ones did not survive the flood.

Most of the second floor will not need work. Jeremy had to take out the carpeting before the house was sprayed for mold. We took out all staples and bits of carpet padding, and now it only needs new carpet.

Gravelly Range, August 8

These photos were taken along Route 237 in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest on the Gravelly Range. We ventured along this dirt road for hours and never saw another vehicle or person. Just the two of us and the beauty around us.