Mischief Managed, Hazards Handled

Oh the long suffering saga of cold fire arson investigation and the purgatory of permitting processes.

As has been occasionally chronicled here, the acreage and home in which Sue was raised in rural Washington, 50 miles north of Seattle, was rented to a fellow and his growing sons until it was brought to our attention that our property had become a dumping ground for tons of festering garbage and the home had been turned into a drug den and completely destroyed. We evicted the dead-beat low-life criminals only to have the gate chain repeatedly cut and repeated major vandalism to all the window and the interior.  Repairs were being made when an act of felony arson burned it all down on Halloween Night, 2016. 

Twists and turns of fate bring us to finally getting architectural plans drawn and submitted to the county planning department for approval to re-build the house in October, 2017.  The requested permit was pulled by the county, pending site evaluation for "environmental critical areas" and "geohazards".  What?  Where was all of this county concern when frequent calls to the county sheriff were met with indifference and non-response?

Sue meets with Phil
our General Contract -
once we get a permit to rebuild the house

We wasted 7 months waiting for 'critical environmental areas and wetlands' to be assessed, finally getting just an email saying "I was there in May, here is your report."  OK, what a waste of time and money to comply with fictitious fish and an old orchard with tall grasses condemned as 'protected wetlands'.  Part 1 of 2 environmental hurdle taken care of.  Mischief managed (at a cost).

Now time to Handle Hazards.

GeoTest on site to report on Geohazards
before county will approve our building permit

Now the "geohazard".  The county noticed that in rebuilding the burned out house we will still be within 100' of a slope over 10 feet in height.  Therefore, under county code another consultant ($3500) is required by the county in order to file a report prior to approval of our permit.  We spoke with GeoTest, a firm that will handle the building site evaluation and report.  We told GeoTest that we'd like to be at the property when they have their field guy out to walk the land.  We get word on the morning that we are to drive to Montana for a visit to my parents that GeoTest will meet us there on August 2.  We agree to be there with a key to the gate at 9 AM. 



At this last minute change, we rearrange our schedule to drive west from Montana to Arlington, WA at the tail-end of our Montana vacation to be present for the geohazard assessment.  Sue now needs to book a 'red-eye' flight from Seattle to DFW Airport departing around midnight in order to get back for work on time, rather than drive with me back to Texas.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...  Sue walks around her natal stomping grounds with the GeoTest field geologist and points out the salient geology, practically writing his report for him.  He takes his notes and observations back to the office, but tells us, we should have no problem getting our permit approved from all that he has seen.  We thank him. Mischief managed (at a cost).

Old Growth Cedar Stump
Left from the early 20th Century

As long as we are out at the property, I fill out the forms to get the abandoned car legally removed from our land.  It was left there before we installed a heavy-duty $5000 gate to managed the mischief.  Then, in June, someone came to the gate with a power pipe saw and cut through the gate.  It has since been rewelded.  

Criminal mischief
the last of 5 abandoned vehicles
dumped on our property

We count it as progress to get the geohazard site evaluated, investigated the Type F stream (revealed to be hogwash really) and pick a few apples from the overgrown orchard and nibble a few blackberries as we lock the gate behind us.






Mischief managed.  Hazards handled.

A Toast to Drunk Chicks. A Mix of Business & Pleasure

Back in the Fall of 2016 we needed to evict the tenants living in Sue's childhood home in Arlington, Washington.  After several episodes of major vandalism, the house is torched intentionally on Halloween Night.

We intent to rebuild with our insurance money. We hire an architect and submit our plans to the county.  Our permit is denied, because the Dept. of Natural Resources has now classified the orchard as critical area wetlands and has discovered a prime salmon spawning habitat in the dry gully 100' behind the old house.  We are rebuilding our house (on the same spot) next to a slope greater than 10' in height, therefore to get our building permit approved we need to hire two separate consultants to file reports with the county planning department before we can begin to rebuild.

Business:  The second of the two consultants is GeoTest, a firm that evaluates the geology of our land for landslide hazards.  We request to be present when they are doing their site evaluation.  We schedule to meet the GeoTest field geologist on August 2nd, where we will drive from Polson, Montana after spending a week-plus with my parents and our kids.  We arrive in Arlington a day ahead of our morning appointment and make a late afternoon stop by to take a look at our dormant land, now secured behind a bomb-proof US Forest Service-style locked gate.

Sue unlocks our gate, recently re-welded after criminals cut through it with a power saw in June, and I drive down the old gravel driveway to the bare basement foundation where her childhood home once stood.

I unsheathe by dull machete to clear out the aggressive black berry vines as we both are eager to walk around our place.  Now overgrown, but wooded and peaceful.  Sue points out her favorite apple tree in the old orchard, the King Apple planted by her father, and I hack through the thorns and briers to get to where I can just barely reach up and pluck two King Apples from the low hanging limbs.  We spend time wandering, each lost in our own thoughts and envisioning our plans to get back to this place and make a home of it once again.

Pleasure:  With the light turning to twilight, I say "It has been a long drive today from Montana to Washington, why don't we go check into our motel, wash the sweat and blood from the berry gashes off our skin, and I'll take you to a nice dinner."

It is getting late, but we are somewhat cleaner, and I head for an upscale restaurant in La Conner, Nell Thorns; for a good seafood dinner - if we can get there before they close.

It is 8:45 and we are informed that the kitchen closes in 15 minutes.  We quickly decide on an entree, and then we each order a drink for the end of the day.  Most patrons have left their tips on the table and left by now, we are seated in the almost empty half of the restaurant near the bar where we have the place to ourselves, except for 1 guy and 3 gals at table across the room.

As we dine, the conversation at the across the room gets rather blue as a young woman - someone I'd describe as a 'drunk chick', is arguing with another couple of women with constant streaks of profanity about how she should respond to her #*%! boss.  She is counseled with additional profuse bad words by the other women seated at a table.  The young drunk chick eventually goes back to the bar and then staggers out.  At this point the bar hostess comes to our table and apologizes for the obstreperous outpouring.  Momentarily, one of the women seated at the table of discord comes to our table an slides in tight on the bench next to me and slurs her apology to me as well.  She returns to her table and I follow her there against my wife's protest; "Mark! Stay! Don't go over there, jeez, Mark!"  I go anyway and take a seat across from my loose-lipped apologist.

She motions for Sue to come join her table, and Sue joins us - now that her inhibitions have been dampened as her first drink ordered kicks in.  As it happens we have been invited by Rhoda to join her at the "Wednesday Night Book Club".  We learn this Book club never reads or discusses books, they just drink every Wednesday night.  We have a roving conversation with Rhoda (as Queen) and Heidi and Jeremy. Queen Rhoda offers to buy each of us a drink, I take a Long Island Ice Tea and Sue, against her better judgement, is persuaded to get a Mule for an over-the-top second rounder.  

We close Nell Thorns down as if we were kids again.  We have a good time at the Book Club, we thank Queen Rhoda for the privileged of joining her at her table, and I raise a toast to Drunken Chicks and to the Queen!  By the way, the first Drunk Chick who brought on the apologies, apparently invited herself to Rhoda's table, though nobody knew who she was.

I ended up taking one of the drunk chicks back to the Tulip Inn with me for the night.   Cheers to an unexpected ending to our first day back in Washington.

When I woke up in the morning, I discovered the drunk chick I'd picked up at Nell Thorn's the night before - ah, she's my wife.

Montana, The Last Hurrah!

The weekly schedule, when it comes to my parents, is ordained.  There in their spacious home on the shore of Montana's Flathead Lake they have their routine for the week and for the seasons.  All needful tasks have been ordained for their appointed time.  When it comes to Sunday, here in Texas we are to expect an afternoon phone call from my parents in Montana who still operate under the notion that "long distance" phone calls are charged by the minute to the party making the call and are cheaper on the weekends than during business hours.  My parents are in their mid-80's and are in good health, but having logged that many good years, the passage of time does have certain ramifications for their functioning and well-being.  

As Sue and I listen and converse nearly each week we notice some of the changes on the other end of the conversation and we are informed of other changes they notice among themselves.  Earlier this spring, after one of the phone conversation ended, Sue turned to me and said, "We really need to get up there to see your parents this summer - and if at all possible the kids need to be there too."   It seemed good so to do, and so it was ordained that we two would drive from Texas and Inga and Grant would fly into Missoula, and as a bonus, Inga's boyfriend Sean would fit in a few days from his schedule to be with us Suneson as well.

As the weekly conversations continued from spring into mid-summer, the circumstances and my parent's approach to their living situation evolved, and seemed to evolve rapidly.  What was at first offered up as a possible exploratory trip to relocated in the next few years close to my youngest sister in the Olympia, Washington area; moved through quick proclamations and plans that had my parents selling their waterfront property and moving out of their home by October.  The planned important vacation and time with my parents scheduled some months back had now turned into a project helping them to market the house, distribute many of the possessions and prepare to move ASAP.  The vacation planned earlier in April was now looking like a final gathering at the lake house for The Last Big Montana Hurrah!  

Arrived!  Summer Eve on flathead lake

Grant opted to fly from his residence in New York to Portland, Oregon to spend a few days with his sister there and sample some of the hipster culture in her town.  Then brother and sister and Sean would all fly to Montana together. I'd pick them up and drive one+ hour back to Polson for a grand time with the grandparents.

Upon arrival, visitors were rewarded with Grandpa's fresh cinnamon rolls, a traditional greeting in these parts.  Of course there were several pies to be consumed as well.

After waffles (and cinnamon rolls) to start the day it was soon time to mosey down the wooden steps to the lake's shore.  And for additional fun, Cousin Andrew's paddle-boards left in the garage last year, were retrieved by Sean for plentiful paddling pleasure in paradise.  A good time was had by all.

Sean and Inga
Is this relationship headed for the rocks?

Grant tries the 'recumbent paddle' technique 

Ahoy Inga and all the ships at sea!

After a short 2-night and 1-day at the Grandparent's house, Grant had a flight to catch back to NY that Saturday morning.  Grant had to sneak past the grizzly bear standing in as a security guard at the Missoula Airport, and then he was on his way with an up-graded seat in first class and free meal on his first travel leg to Chicago O'Hare.  

Grant in for an afternoon of Paddle Boarding

Able to spend a few more days with the grandparents, Inga and Sean opted for a 2-hour horseback ride through the forest at the base of the majestic Mission Range at Chef Ranch south of Polson.  Meanwhile, I helped dad with moving logistics and going over details and added my advice to his still-forming plans to relocate.

Montana Airport Security 

Inga and Sean
With Security Bear

My recreation choices were of simple fare; I just wished to take a 14 mile drive on some good ol' Montana dirt roads and stop at Buffalo Bridge that crosses over the Flathead River, some miles downstream from Polson.  It was nice little jaunt filling my eyes and memories with vibrant Montana landscape colors.  Just the simple pleasures.  Oh, and then some rhubarb-raspberry pie once I return.

An Afternoon Drive down a Montana Dirt Road to Buffalo Bridge
Soulful Travels through a Land of  rich color

Inga and Sean lingered with us for a few days more, and then they had to return to Portland - once they maneuvered around the security bear at the airport.  It was now lunch time, so we drove down the street to a Salvadoran Tamale stand for almuerzo before returning to the Flathead Lake.

We decided to take a small day-trip to Big Fork, the little town at the other end of the lake (about a 35 mile drive) where there are shops, restaurants and art galleries to explore.  We ended up having an extended conversation with a jewelry shopkeeper about Montana sapphires - and her stake in a sapphire mine and the effort she and her husband expend to mine a supply of rich-blue Yogo sapphires (the only American gem to be included in the British Crown Jewels) for their jewelry business.  The Yogo sapphires were out of range for our day-trip expenditures, but Sue's eye was captured by a pendant encrusted with a variety of colorful semiprecious stones.  She walked to lunch down Electric Avenue sporting her new accessory.  It was another good day.

The morning of our departure for Montana, we received word of some progress on our property in Washington, so instead of spending the entire time in Montana, we scheduled a drive and a day to spend walking our property in WA.  Sue would then take the 'red-eye' flight from Seattle back to DFW, while I'd return the next morning to Polson and then drive back to Garland over the next two days.

Was this The Last Montana Hurrah?  I think it just maybe the end of the trail for family days on the lake and visits in a magnificent land that holds the graves and memories that go back to mine and my wife's great grandparents.

Smoke on the water
Sunrise over the Mission Range and Goodbye to Montana

It has been grand under the Big Sky of Montana!

Free picture slideshow customized with Smilebox

I love this geology!
Colored pebbles and lithified Pre-Cambrian Sediments of the Super Belt Group
Making spectacular patterns along Flathead lake's Shoreline