Oct1
Leaving Kamloops
- A spectacular sunrise in Kamloops
Heading to Vernon for a tune up.
I’m listening to “Why don’t we da-do it in the Road“, [Beatles: White Album], minutes from now we hit the road heading south.
Simultaneously, the entire sky over the Kamloops valley has exploded with pink and orange highlights as the sun approaches the crest at the east end of the valley.
The light show has lasted only ten minutes, and now as the colours settle down, the horizon is on fire growing brighter by the moment.
Kamloops has been great, and we will have a post about this soon.
Vernon
In a couple of hours we will be in Vernon to replace all the belts and repair the rear shocks for the crossing of the USA Border.
Sep24
The Termite Taxi
Kismet on the Road
The Termite Taxi
On our very first morning of our road adventure, the Love Shack passed an old woody car parked near kits beach. We stopped to take a photo, then drove about a block away before stopping to figure out what to do with our day.
Snow Dragon and I began to have a discussion about starting to create content for our Blog. We had been debating the format of what our first video would be, before agreeing that if we are patient the stories will come.
Just at that very moment at around 8am, Tevie Smith rode up to us on his bicycle and asked, “Is this yours?” Read the rest of this entry
Road Update
We lost the Power Steering belt just before Meritt.
It’s not critical, so we drove to Kamloops to get all the belts replaced.
We have a couple of leads on people to help us replace them.
Sep20
Vancouver Adventures and the Sun
- TheLove Shack with The Termite Taxi
As I sit in a coffee shop in Meritt, I’m contemplating the strangely organic rythme that greeted us in Vancouver. The day we launched our Adventure, it seemed that the weather wanted to help us along.
I always say that when the sun shines, Vancouver is possibly one of the most beautiful cities anywhere. Maybe some of the architecture leaves a bit to be desired, but the mountains, the trees, the casting of light and shadow bring out the amazing, natural beauty of the city.
For twenty five years, I’ve watched many wonderful people hold up the adventure card and tempt me one day closer to making it real for myself. Read the rest of this entry
Sep15
First Rain
Reflections
- First Rain (by Kale Gossen)
Today, the Love Shack is experiencing it’s first rain. I am sitting at Turks Coffee House on The Drive enjoying one of my favourite coffee spots, contemplating the cycles that make the rains fall and life pass rhythmically.
The Love Shack is holding up very well to the weather, and I am holding up very well to life.
After 25 years in Vancouver, with a decade of that time spent around The Drive, it’s a good place to reminisce on my open ended departure. I’ve seen The Drive grow and evolve from the old days of the small 24hr coffee house kiddy-corner from Grandview Park (on the corner of Charles & Commercial Drive) through it’s growth and renaissance in the 90′s as an eclectic and “happening” place to where it is today. Read the rest of this entry
Sep12
On the Road
- Our first test drive on Firburn Road
At 2:27 am on the morning of September 12th, 2011 our Love Shack Adventures began.
We took the Love Shack out for a test drive, and all went well. Hidden in the woods, at the top of a look out above Roberts Creek, we spent a moonlit night enjoying the fruits of our labour.
We slept well.
It seems like this project is now road ready. There will be a few minor tweaks on the road as we figure out our comfort zone, and take the time to let time pass.
Evolution
This project started on a whim and has shifted direction slightly as we have realized our potential and our opportunity. We started with the desire to move across the country with a small smart car, and a small bed trailer in tow. It has since evolved into a full-on adventure, with the open possibilities to explore our art, and find opportunities to share in the experience with beautiful people.
As the project evolved, our Love Shack grew and transformed into a lovely creation, that will give us the creative focal point that will inspire us, and encourage us.
We are “going with it” and look forward to the unknown. As we set out with a mix of excitement and nerves, we are once again facing the fear inducing divide that holds us in the comfort zone of our “daily life”. We are feel terrified and utterly delighted.
All we can do is commit to the experience and see what happens.
Special Thanks
It’s with special gratitude that we would like to mention a few people who have been key in helping us achieve our first milestone of build the Love Shack. Read the rest of this entry
Sep6
Final details are coming together
The Cedar Shingles
The Love Shack is almost “road ready”.
It’s agonizing and unreal. On one hand it’s been such an adventure building this, that it has become an adventure unto itself.
On the other hand, I have to remind myself that we haven’t even launched yet.
As we close in on the final details, we are adapting to some nice little design changes.
Most noteworthy, we have changed the look of the porch. We have installed cedar shingles on the mini roof, changing the look from a little house, to a little shack. This is more in keeping with the Love Shack theme, and adds some nice character to the overall build.
Some old green metal roofing was donated to the project. This (along with the roughly placed cedar) really adds a level of “Shack Like” detail to the build. It really pulls the theme together adding allot of character the Love Shack.
Final Details
We are getting to the final details of the build.
- Power
- Lighting
- Trim
- Screens
- Ridge Cap
- Window Drip Cap
- Seal
- Tow lights
- Bumper Read the rest of this entry
Sep1
Waiting on the Roofing
The Roof on the porch.
We’re chipping away at the final details. Notably, I just had some fun taking a metal grinder to the old bumper on the trailer deck. The bumper wasn’t necessary, and made entry to the Love Shack a bit inconvenient.
We’re now testing out some porch designs while we wait for the metal roofing to be ready.
After much thought and debate we know the size, type and colour of the roofing we will be using. We had been debating using International Orange as the roof colour. It would have stood out nicely, but it would have flattened out the contrast against the stain on the siding.
Considering the colour of the window frames (which we like ) we have chosen “Brite Green”, to match the windows.
We are using a system called “Prolock” which locks panels of metal roofing together, hiding the fasteners under the locked sections. It should be durable and long lasting enough for this project.
The only downside is that it will take a week to arrive, delaying our departure even more. In the meantime we plan to finish up various details of the Love Shack to have it solid and road ready when the roofing arrives.
Aug26
Progress on the Love Shack
Things have been progressing very well with the building of the Love Shack.
It seem that the only thing slowing us down is drying time on paint, sealant, and glues.
Test fit of the roof panels
The walls are complete, our window panes have arrived, and the frames are painted.
We have built the frame for the roof, and placed some wood to test fit the panels. Over the next few days we will complete the roof panels with insulation and 3/8 plywood as “stress skin”. Then the gable walls will be finished off.
We might need one more coat of stain/sealant, otherwise it’s starting to look like a little house. The final steps will be adding the porch and front box (for propane) which will look a bit like a cellar door.
At this point, we will measure off all the roof dimensions and buy the roofing material. The we will complete the final details of the interior of the house.
I feel confident that we can complete this by Wednesday, then hit the road and start our adventure. Although, I already feel like the adventure has begun.
:)(: Napalm Dragon :)(: