Bolt Hole Report, October 10, 2010

BRRRRR! Just 27 degrees at 7 AM this morning. Everything was covered with frost. Again, I waited until the sun had a chance to melt/dry things out before I ventured outside to do my chores. That took until after 10 AM since there's a slight rise (can't call it a hill) to the southeast that keeps the sun in hiding far longer than one might expect. Plus the line of trees on the south side of the yard casts some pretty long shadows early in the day.

Any who...I got the log splitter up on the utility trailer and moved it off to the side of the yard so I could then pull the travel trailer out of the garage and have lots of room to work.

First I drained the hot water heater tank and let it dribble a little more each time I entered the trailer. I then pulled the plug on the fresh water carrying tank and let that drain. Next I pulled the trailer up onto some 2 x 6s so as to have it list in the proper direction so the black and gray water tanks could be completely drained. Ran a l-o-o-o-n-g series of garden hoses from the basement pump out to the trailer so I could flush out the black water tank completely. Satisfied that all water and "stuff" had been drained, I went on to pump antifreeze into the lines and traps.

That's when I ran into some trouble. The hand pump worked beautifully to suck antifreeze out of the jugs, but the inlet hose kept popping off the valve due to the pressure. Two hands were required to handle the pump but somehow I also had to push the hose into the inlet or it would come spurting off with every stroke on the pump. I needed a third hand to accomplish anything.

That's when my prayers were answered. All day there had been cars coming up the road, stopping and turning around, but, just when I needed help, a car stopped in the driveway. "Hey. How are you doing?" came the introductory question. Then I learned that the person asking it was a retired state trooper and he used to visit the Bolt Hole on a regular basis back int he '50s when the man he called Uncle owned the place. In the car were his wife (a teacher) and two sons (one a LEO and the other hoping to become one). "I've been up here several times hoping to get a look at the place but no one is ever here. I spent a lot of time here as a kid visiting Uncle Billy. Got a photo album in the car if you got a minute."

Oh boy did I have a minute! There were black and white pictures of what the place used to look like. Of his Uncle and some of the men he used to guide. Of the deer and trout they used to kill and catch. Of the draft horses that used to work the place. We chatted about the place and the area as I drooled over the 8, 10, and--omygod!!-- 12-point bucks hanging on the porch! The hand fed foxes. The hand fed deer!!! And on and on. He had a picture of himself and his dad sitting on the porch steps holding a .22 rifle. "The same one I've got in the car. Say, you wouldn't mind if we took some pictures over there, would you?"

"As long as you will give me a hand with the trailer when we're done."

They took their pictures and I showed them around inside the cabin.

"So much is the same, but the additions are beautiful."

Then we traded addresses and telephone numbers so they can send me some copies of the pictures in his album and he helped me pump antifreeze into the trailer's water lines.

Talk about serendipity!