Summer at the Cinder Cone
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The forced air furnace in my camper kicked on with a whir, signifying that for the first time in almost 4 months, the temperature was into the low fifties. Rolling around in my sleeping bag, I reached for my water bottle, gingerly unscrewed the cap and took a swig. The air was by no means cold, but certainly cooler than it had been since May. I looked out of my camper's screen window towards the east from the Cinder Cone's hill towards the Columbia River Gorge. The first hint of sunlight illuminated the Oregon side of the Gorge. It was 6:54 on Tuesday, the 23rd of September; the first full day of fall.
The day before, we installed the windows in the lookout, at octagonal structure 35 feet off the ground in a Douglas Fir. Instead of hoisting the windows up by block and tackle and modified sailing rigging equipment like we have done with all of the wood, building supplies and tools, we walked the windows one at a time up 3 flights of stairs and across the cable suspension bridge. Installation went off without any problems, capping off a summer that passed in the blink of an eye. Her are some photos from the summer.
Tucker installing treads on the staircase. If you're in the market for some design build carpentry, check out Tucker's business here.
Taking a break and swimming in the Columbia.
Shooting the bowl.
Peter high-lining in the deep end.
Top down.
Dog day skate sesh.
Watching the sunset from the studio platform.
Swimming on the Washougal River.
Installing the sub floor on the Octagon.
Taco night.
The first night in the trees.
Tucker and Phil working on the burned out Douglas Fir Dunk Tank.
Michael Garnier directing from the ground.
Ansel and Brian after a long day of working on the bowl.
Dinner time.
Messy tools.
The jorts of wrath.
Spraying the bowl.
With all of the structures water tight, we are starting to work on the interiors. This move couldn't come at a better time as a the fall's first storm is projected to arrive in a few hours. We've got lots to do before the winter starts. I've been documenting the project extensively and am planning on turning images into a book after the build is done. For more photos and information about the build, check out the following links:
