First west, then east, then south...

First west, then east, then south…

Gentle reader,
The last I wrote we were with the Dancey’s in Aylmer, Ontario. That seems like ages ago. Many miles and much to tell.
After concluding out time in Ontario we drove back to Wisconsin, having a week to wrap things up there for the long haul. Having an electrical problem with the Airstream we chose to do the drive in one day, as camping was iffy without power. It rained the entire day, and while we were glad to be spending the day in the truck, it was less than entirely pleasant. Crossing back in to the US at Detroit went well, mostly because I got in to the truck lane by accident- and I don’t think the customs agent knew quite to do with us. But traffic and roads around Detroit was atrocious. It took us nearly 3 hours to drive 50 miles. Miserable.

Having tried the FSBO method of selling our home- which worked so well for us four years ago- we came to the realization that doing this from the road was just too much. We needed professional help (no comment on our mental state..) We decided to call the realtor we had worked with to purchase our land in 2000. I’m certain the everyone feels this way, but our home is truly special, and needs a special approach to selling it. While very well built with high quality materials, it’s small, which runs counter to current American values. Our realtor seems to have a knack for appealing to folks that can appreciate what we have.

Our week back in Wisconsin was a whirlwind. We drove our storage trailer to Ruth’s mom’s farm for safe keeping in her barn; we changed out clothes, etc, in the Airstream for the long haul; I worked with an electrician to fix the problems (turned out to be a faulty circuit breaker), we listed the house, we said goodbye to friends, got the cell phone issues fixed, etc etc etc. It was a relief to hit the road again on Sunday October 24- destination: Blissfield, MI.

Blissfield is the home of Frank and Brenda Baker, founders of Riverbend Timber Framing. We’ve had a good relationship with Riverbend for 16 years now, as representatives in Wisconsin. Besides being a convenient place to stop on our way east, it was good to visit with all the folks we’ve known there for so long. We are putting our relationship with them on hold, having left Wisconsin, and not knowing what we’re going to do next professionally. No matter where we land or what we do, the folks at Riverbend will always be special to us. We camped in Frank and Brenda’s yard Sunday night, and spent Monday morning at the Riverbend office saying goodbye.

Monday afternoon was spent driving across Ohio. Our goal was to make it near Columbus- easily reached in a few hours. State parks are pretty well deserted by late October, and Deleware Lake State Park was no exception. The boys enjoyed spending the better part of the day having a nice beach to them selves on a sparkling fall day. Tuesday our goal was Bark Camp State Park in very eastern Ohio. As we got in to the hills that precede the Appalachians further east, pulling the Airstream up a long, steep grade, our truck kicked in to Overdrive. The pressure of the shift caused one of the 3” air hoses to pop off the turbo, causing a loud POP and a dramatic loss of power. I thought for sure I had blown up the turbo, and was imagining the consequences. We were 6 miles from our exit; it seemed to take an eternity to get there. The truck slowed to 20 mph up hills, but gained speed down them. This was the first trouble I’ve had with this truck, and I hoped that it wouldn’t cost me a week and a pile of dough. Wonder of wonders! As we got off the interstate at the very exit of our night’s destination, I spied a Ford dealer 1/4 mile in the other direction. I limped the truck and trailer into their drive (10 minutes before they closed..) and popped the hood. What a relief to find the hose off, with no signs of collateral damage. A salesman at the dealership helped re-connect the hose as best we could (it didn’t seem to fit well) and suggested I come back as soon as the service department opened in the morning. We limped in to camp at 8:00 p.m. and turned in early, anticipating early rising and an unknown bill in the morning. While I spent 5 hours at the dealer, the bill was less than $80- a great relief. Turned out to be that Ford put on the wrong part when they built the truck in 2000: there are two intake hoses- a right and a left. I had two lefts. It lasted 119,000 miles before choosing that day to fail. Oh well- could have been much worse.

Wednesday we drove to the site of the Eastern Timber framer’s Guild conference: Seven Springs Resort, not far from Pittsburgh. I was scheduled to participate in the “International workshop”, backing up German master carpenter Filippo Campagna (I had studied last January under Filippo in Rottweil, Germany at the Master school there). We taught a 1/2 day short course in traditional German roof layout methods on Thursday. When we were done the French took over, demonstrating their techniques. A Japanese contingent was to participate as well, but they were unable to attend. The jokes were flying about how this might turn in to a competition, with the Germans and the Japanese joining forces and taking an early lead. The French would of course just roll over, and finally the Americans would get their dander up, ride in, and save the day…

Filippo and I, along with the help of a few other key carpenters, laid out and cut a timber swing set during the conference. It was a challenging little project, effectively demonstrating compound joinery, and the efficiency of the German system. The swing set was sold at the annual Guild auction Saturday night, bringing over $1,100 for the Guild.

Ansel, and Rainer participated in a “children’s discovery workshop”- at the conference. What a wonderful way to teach the kids something about timber framing, keep them occupied, and make new friends. The boys spent much time with the children of Boris and Marigke Noel. Boris is a “compagnon”- the French equivalent of a master carpenter. His kids spoke little English, and ours speak no French, but that didn’t seem to matter a bit. Play and friendship are the common language, and one we appreciate being able to foster. Ruth got a chance to participate in the workshop, as well as give her foot a bit of a rest. She seems to have bruised it, and has been suffering since we left Wisconsin.

It was good to spend a few nights in the resort hotel, and really good to see many old friends at the conference, as well as making a few new ones. We wrapped up the conference Sunday morning with an inspirational keynote address by Ted Benson, instrumental in the timber framing revival 30 years ago. A bunch of us then toured the nearby Fallingwater- a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in the 1930’s. while the modernist style doesn’t do much for me personally, there’s no denying the power and skill needed to execute the design, the innovative use of materials, and the genius of the architect.