Wintercount Gathering 2014

The Wintercount gathering is always a welcomed relief from the rain for us Northwesterners.  A long drive, for sure, but well worth it. George was there with the newly sided "Snail" so we formed a linear version of a circle of wagons. It was good to visit with old friends.

 

This was the first trip with the new kitchen box. A humble attempt at organization, it stows under the ledge for travel, and hooks onto the side of the wagon for use. The door folds down for a table. The primus stove (of which I'm a huge fan) sits on its own table away from the wagon for safety reasons. We always had a Primus stove camping when I was growing up. Even when we went on a car trip the folks would pull off along the side of the road, fire up the primus, and make a cup of tea somewhere around the half-way point. We were not unique in this regard.

I made a folding wind shield for the stove out of copper left over from the wagon bay window roof. These stoves don't like to start if there's even a slight breeze. The kitchen is fairly minimal as I don't do a lot of cooking as such while camping. I'll usually bake some biscuits in the Dutch oven to serve with soups and chili, etc., prepared ahead of time and canned.

Early morning.

The gizmo in front of the wagon in this picture is the new and latest obsession, a foot powered lathe. There is a new blog in the works for this project.

 

 George playing one of his hand made banjos.

The interior is starting to shape up.

The Big Road Test

I've just completed a 1500 mile round trip to Rexburg, Idaho, for the 2013 Rabbitstick Gathering. Gusty cross and head winds, along with heavy rain at times put the wagon through some serious stresses on the highway. With the exception of some leaking around the bay widow, everything held up fine. Rabbitstick was a hoot, as always, and the wagon was received with much appreciated enthusiasm. There will be more builds there in the coming year or two.

Sunrise at the Rabbitstick gathering, 2013.

A few changes since the last post. I've cut the porch poles to a more practical length and sealed them. The poles are of lodge pole pine finished with Super Deck sealer. I've added a storage box on the back deck which houses a small 12v deep cycle battery for charging the phone. I will eventually run a reading lamp from that battery. The box also houses the combustion air vent for the stove. Note the smoke rising from the chimney. This was the first run with the stove and it worked great, quickly warming my 25 square feet of living space with just a few pieces of wood.

Catching the morning sun after a light frost.



The wagon made a fine gathering place for some old time porch music
with Ray and Shirley Jacobs.

A welcomed break in the heavy rain and high winds early in the week .

View of the Snake River valley (Farewell Bend).

On the return trip I camped at a State Park. First time in a "normal" camp ground. I had no visitors, just a quiet morning and time to enjoy a cup of coffee brewed on the old Svea 123 primus stove. I love these stoves. I also have a Primus No.45 for the main cooking stove which I refurbished from eBay parts. After three years in the shop its moments like these (including all of the above) that make it worthwhile.