Airstream in ferry

Airstream in ferry
Originally uploaded by chriskoehn.

Inside the enormous Cheechimaun ferry. Wow.

Mackinaw bridge boyse

Mackinaw bridge boyse
Originally uploaded by chriskoehn.

Rainer and Ansel with the mackinaw bridge in the background.

northern tip of Lk Michigan

northern tip of Lk Michigan
Originally uploaded by chriskoehn.

Enjoying a stretch at the beach. Chris and Rainer on the rocks.

1st camping spot

1st camping spot
Originally uploaded by chriskoehn.

I doubt Jack Karouac would approve, but he's dead, so what the heck.

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Journey Begins Pictures

the Journey Begins

We finally managed to depart on our journey on September 16, 2004. Our destination: the home under construction for Wil and Chris Dancey, of Aylmer, Ontario. Wil and Chris are involved in the timber framing world through Wil’s business as the North American leg of Dietrich’s, a German software company specializing in high powered timber design products; and Chris’ involvement in the natural building movement. Beyond his tremendous skills with software, Wil is a German born, raised and trained carpenter specializing in log and heavy timber work.

The home they are building replaces one that mysteriously burned on the same site three years ago. Located in the middle of a woodlot on a farm that has been in Chris’ family for 5 generations, the home will have 3/4 of a 16 facets. But an equilateral 16 sided structure would be too simple to achieve (grin) so Wil designed it so that every other facet is longer. Walls will be enclosed using natural in-fill materials. The home also has an 8 sided “tower” in the middle that has a mandala roof crowing it. Imagine an 8 sided hip roof, but twisted like a soft serve ice cream cone. At the peak the rafters pass by one another giving the effect of a teepee’s apex. Tremendously complicated work made much simpler using Dietrich’s to design it. All wood is harvested on site or within a few miles of it; most structural members are worked in the round with one flat side sawn on Wil’s sawmill.

We left Cascade at 4:30 in the afternoon after much toil and nashing of teeth. It seemed as through the list of things that had to get done before departure was endless. Finally we decided that we just had to go. Mental health was at stake. Thankfully Chris’s mom Dotty and her husband Gary stopped by a for a couple of days on their way from Minneapolis to Milwaukee. They helped us get over the painting and clean up hump. We managed to drive to Michigan’s upper peninsula that day. North of Menominee we found a boat launch with another RV boondocking there. It was home for the night.



Friday 9/17 was the first in a string of many beautiful days. We awoke to sun, fresh air, and fresh attitudes. Our destination was Straits State Park (Michigan), just beyond the Mackinaw Bridge. We made a beautiful stop along the road at the very northern tip of Lake Michigan. The boys played on the beach and worked on working out ya yas.




Our destination Saturday after a leisurely start was Chutes Provincial Park, near the northern tip of Lake Huron west of Espanola. We crossed in to Canada at Sault St. Marie uneventfully. We changed some greenbacks for loonies and had lunch at the welcome Center and began heading east across a beautiful part of Ontario. Chutes is named by the canals dug by early loggers around a series of falls to bring logs safely further down river. We had a beautiful hike along and over the river and through the woods before retiring for a 7:00 a.m. Sunday start.

I called ahead for reservations on the 1st ferry of the day from South Baymouth that crosses the main channel between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. While a bit spendy when pulling a 31’ trailer (bringing our total length to 52’), the ferry ride is beautiful and worthwhile. The ship itself is enormous: over 350’ long and able to carry 3 levels of vehicles (over 200 in all) with room for tall trucks and RV’s down the middle. The route the ferry takes passes through a beautiful archipelago, through sparkling open water, as well as the new 5 Fathoms provincial park- home to dozens of shipwrecks- the oldest dating back some 200 years.



After landing in Tobermory, we followed the Lake Huron shore south, and cut over to London and on to the Dancey’s- arriving at 9:30 p.m., tired but happy to be at our first destination.

I began working on the house Monday morning, working with Wil and his helper Hardy. Higgs Murphy had departed a couple of weeks before our arrival having worked with Wil since May; and Gabrielle, the in-fill expert, left for home (Quebec) the day we arrived. Since Wil is equipped to saw and process his own lumber, we spend a significant amount of time sawing, re-sawing, and planing. While time consuming, the good part is that if we need a board 22 millimeters by 56 millimeters by 12 feet 2 inches long (metric and English units are forced to achieve a reluctant symbiosis on a job in Canada run by a German carpenter..), we can make our own. We are currently working on prep work for installing rafters connecting the single story outer ring to the tall 8 sided tower, on top of log plates with the top surface sawn flat.

In exchange for carpentry help on the house, Wil is providing me with intensive training with the Dietrich’s software. This skill will be valuable during the rest of our tour we are certain. Training began on a crisp Saturday morning, comfortably on Wil and Chris’ deck. I look forward to becoming proficient with this powerful and complex program.

So far the weather has been beautiful: mostly sunny and warm with no rain. The Airstream has performed well. We are working out a few bugs, including a GFI circuit that trips randomly. I bought a new multi-tester along our way, and as soon as I learn how to use it I’m sure I’ll discover that it won’t help me find the problem. We’re planning to make a stop at an Airstream dealer in Michigan when we leave Dancey’s, and are keeping a list of all the things we’d like looked at. For a 25 year old trailer pushed in to heavy duty after a relatively tranquil life, we feel pretty good about how things are going so far and the decisions we’ve made for her restoration. Knock on wood!