Stump stove, mystery tool and cabin progress

It was a damp and dreary day at the mining claim yesterday, a good day for a fire. I put up a tarp and made a stump stove when I got there. It is just a section of log with a hole drilled in the end (I used a chainsaw) and an intersecting hole from the side. 

 Once you get a fire going inside, it draws air through the side hole and the center hole acts like a chimney. I had some trouble starting it and will need to find a faster way for next time but once it gets going it doesn't smoke much and doesn't need much tending. It burned for at least 5 hours.

Shadow was wet and shivering so I spoiled her and covered her with a coat.

 The fire kept Oreo entertained the whole time. He chases smoke and flames and singes all of his whiskers off in the process.

Not sure what this is. I found it leaning against a tree. It is about 7 feet log, one long edge is straight and the other tapers which makes the ends of the board narrower than the middle. It was made of two boards laminated together with nails. There looks to be hand hole in the middle. 

One more weekend left to work on the cabin. I hope to start a garage at the new place in York this fall and also want to get some hunting in. Yes, a new house in York is also on the list. Hopefully will start it in about a year.

Emily C part 2

I have been spending most of the last few weekends at the mining claim. There are lots of old mines in the area. One interesting one is the Ada mine which is about 1/2 mile from ours. It shut down in 1902 but was a big operation in its day. Here are some pictures of it..

I am also building a small (12x12) cabin on the new land. I thought I would work on it some this fall before the snow hits. This area is at a high elevation so will not be accessible during the winter or spring. The dogs sure love going to the claim!

While digging at the cabin site (where an old cabin once was), I found quite a few artifacts left by the miners. Crosscut saw, pick, a washtub full of their china. The china was all stacked neatly inside the washtub and about 8 inches underground. Much of it had broken after 90 years of freeze/thaw. 3 cups and one plate were intact though. Also, a kitchen knife, butter knife, fork, spoon- all very rusty.

I stayed in the sheep wagon camper for three weekends. I parked it about 2.5 miles from the claim. From there, I ride in two miles on the 4 wheeler. Then I park and hike in the last half mile.

I plan to go back this weekend so I will try to post more photos next week.

Moving Day

Moving day was the 19th. It took a lot of work to jack up the cabin so we could get a trailer under it. I decided to hire a crane to lift it off. Much easier!

Technically we are not on Beaver Creek any more but I will keep the blog the same.