Shortly after we arrived in Wallace, an older couple came out of our next door neighbor's house. They introduced themselves as the Uhlman's, the folks that sold us the house. They live in Lewiston, ID. Jim Uhlman grew up in the Wallace house and was interested in what we had done to the house. We invited them in and Jim took us on a tour of the house, telling us all sorts of interesting things. He knew there were 17 steps to the upstairs, having counted them many times as a kid. He told us about the walls that used to separate the living and dining rooms. We asked him about the "rare" map of Wallace we found in the house and had framed in the dining room. He said, "Oh, that was part of my brother's science fair project." I wish they could have stayed for a long time but they were late for a dinner with their friends in Burke.
That evening Carolyn made a delicious dinner of homemade tomato soup. We built a fire in the fireplace (and even added coal to the fire from a bin we found in the basement) and read books and listened to music.
Allison at Lookout Pass
On Monday morning we loaded all of our ski and boarding gear in the truck and drove to the Lookout Pass ski resort. You get off exit 0 at the Montana state line and you're there and skiing within minutes. Tanya hasn't skied since she was a little kid. We rented her skis and she tore up the slopes all day.
Tanya, Eric, Carolyn, Tom, Allison
The Taylor gang, minus the Evans', on the slopes with the Idaho side of the pass behind us.
Carolyn
The weather and snow were perfect this day. The snow was dry and light and easy to ski.
Eric doing some stunts
I like the way Eric's hand is up, like Fox's.
Eric and Tanya
View from Lookout Pass
This view is looking down on I-90 as it descends the St. Regis River valley into Montana.
Addiction
As soon as we came home late that afternoon, everyone hit their computers. Like previous trips, we used a Xoom tablet and shared its Verizon internet connection as a wifi hotspot. It worked great. We had five devices on the internet via the hotspot and were able to watch Netflix movies at the same time.
Allison is addicted, too
We planned to go to a nice dinner at the 1313 Club that night but it was closed. We ended up getting pizza at the local joint, "We toss 'em, they're awesome."
Breakfast at the Red Light Garage
One gene Eric didn't inherit is the gene to get up early and head out. We went to a fairly late breakfast at the Red Light Garage and then packed up Eric's car. Allison, Eric, and Tanya drove off toward Rexburg around 10:30am. As soon as the car pulled away from the curb, Carolyn burst out crying with real tears. We all had a great time in Wallace and it was fun to be together.
Chipping off the linoleum
After the kids drove off and we recovered from being empty nesters again, it was time to get to work. First we chipped and peeled the old linoleum off the kitchen floor. The linoleum came off for the most part, but left a thick layer of tar or mastic.
Removing the copper tiles
Then we scraped copper tiles off some of the kitchen walls. Carolyn helped me carry the big drum floor sander up from the basement. I installed a new belt and tried to sand off the black gunk. Unfortunately, it completely clogged the 36 grit belt in a foot of travel. Carolyn started experimenting with all sorts of techniques to remove the goo. She tried chemicals and various scrapers.
Using a heat gun and a putty knife
Eventually, Carolyn settled on using a heat gun and a putty knife to remove layers of adhesive.
Peeling off the linoleum backsplash
Meanwhile, I pried off the linoleum backsplash around the counters. We tossed all the linoleum and other materials in the bed of the truck for a run to the dump.
Old mine mill
Gypsy had an appointment at the vet in Kellogg at 2pm for her one year check-up and shots. At this time of year, Wallace is normally buried in several feet of snow, but right now it is dry. I left on my bike around 1:15pm to ride the rails-to-trails Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes the 15 miles or so to Kellogg. On the way I passed a number of old mining ruins.
Old railroad station in Kellogg
When I reached Kellogg, I turned off the trail and rode to the veterinarian and found Carolyn and Gypsy in the waiting room. Gypsy got her inspection. The vet told me about his favorite mountain bike trails in Kellogg while Gypsy was getting three shots. On the way back to Wallace we stopped at the dump. Since our truck doesn't have Idaho license plates and we're not Idaho residents, the dump master always gives us a hassle about dropping off refuse, but they've never turned us away. That evening I washed all the walls, trim, and ceiling in Allison's room and the room next to it in preparation for painting.
Another day of scraping
Carolyn spent most of Wednesday on the kitchen floor with a heat gun and putty knife. It was horrible work. The smoke from the tar would set off the smoke alarm every ten minutes.
Getting ready to install new counters
My job for Wednesday was to install new kitchen counters. Originally we were going to install granite tiles, but at the tile store, Carolyn nixed the tiles and decided on wood counters, using vertical grain fir floor boards left over from the cabin. The first step was to raise the sink so the boards could be slipped under the perimeter of the sink. How hard could that be? Looking under the sink, the first of several problems was readily visible. The supply lines to the faucet weren't flexible braided lines. Instead, they were fixed pipes. I had to turn off the water to the house and disconnect the feed lines. I also had to loosen the drain pipe. I figured the sink was held in place with plumber's putty and gravity. In order to lift the heavy cast iron sink in a controlled manner, I used the tire jack from the truck and a number of spacer boards. That didn't work. The sink didn't budge. I cleared everything out from under the sink so I could crawl under and look up. I found the sink was held to the counter with twelve clips. The bad part is the sink extends over the dishwasher. I'd need to pull out the dishwasher in order to remove the sink clips. Removing the dishwasher meant disconnecting the wiring and the water supply line. When I saw the dishwasher had been leaking and the hassle involved removing it, I decided we'd get a new dishwasher instead of reinstalling that decades old one. With the dishwasher and the sink clips removed, I was able to jack up the sink. I biked to the hardware store and purchased new flexible lines and installed them so we could turn the water to the house back on. By the way, the manufacturing date of the sink was molded into the bottom. It was made in 1951 and is 61 years old. It's probably good for another 60 years.
New counters installed
Finally I could get to the fun part of building new counters. I used tongue and groove floorboards, glue, and a floor nailer to build new counters right on top of the old linoleum/plywood counters. I made at least one, and probably two, trips to the basement to cut each board. I must have walked up and down the basement steps a hundred times today.
Vester eye clinic
Earlier in the week Carolyn made appointments at the eye clinic a block from our house so we could get new glasses. We took a break from the scraping and counter making to walk to the clinic to get exams and new glasses. The owner and optometrist is the town's mayor. We talked a lot about Wallace. He grew up there, but lived away for much of his career, and now is back. The eye clinic building used to be a bank.
Steak dinner!
That evening Carolyn and I walked to the hardware store for parts, but it had closed at 5pm. On the way back, we noticed a sign at the Elk's Lodge mentioning a steak dinner for $12.50. We talked to the guys grilling steaks outside to find out the "catch". Apparently they serve a nice dinner every Wednesday night in order to raise money to install an elevator inside. Carolyn and I have been curious about this building so we went in for a delicious steak dinner.
Elk's Lodge today
Here's what the Elk's Lodge looks like. I snapped this shot while taking Gypsy on a walk. This building is used as Wallace's community center for weddings, funerals, town meetings, and Elk's meetings, of course.
Elk's Temple, 1925
The building hasn't changed much in the 87 years since this photo was taken.
Floor patch
On Thursday I sanded the kitchen counters and applied the first coat of finish. Then I masked and painted the walls in the two rooms of Allison's bedroom. Carolyn picked up sandwiches from the cafe in Vintage Games for lunch. When we pulled up the carpet in the upstairs hall in one of the first working trips, there was a plywood patch over part of the floor. The patch was nailed in place. I removed the plywood to find out what was underneath. It looked like part of an old heating system (and Jim Uhlman confirmed this). A new grate is available for $150 bucks, but for now, I made a nice fir cover. I drilled a hole in the cover. Every person that walks by won't be able to resist lifting the cover to see what's underneath. That night I lightly sanded the counters and applied a second coat of finish. Carolyn spent a second day heating and scraping the adhesive off of the kitchen floor. By this point her elbow was so sore she could barely move her arm. We planned to go skiing the next day, but Carolyn wondered whether she'd be able to plant a pole with her right arm.
Wardner from the Silver Mountain gondola
On Friday morning I sanded the counter again and applied a third coat. Then I masked and painted the ceilings in the two rooms of Allison's bedroom. The vet emailed that Gypsy's tests had come back from the lab and she has giardia. We needed to go to Kellogg to pick up a prescription for her. Carolyn's arm was feeling a little better so we decided we'd go skiing in Kellogg at Silver Mountain. We parked the truck, put on our ski boots, crossed the road to the resort and bought two passes. Then we got on a gondola that took us three and a half miles up to resort base at the 6k' level of Kellogg Peak. The gondola climbs from Kellogg up the side of Haystack Peak, then drops down to Wardner and then climbs steeply up to the resort. From the resort lodge at 6k' we took lifts and runs all over Kellogg and Wardner Peaks.
Carolyn at Silver Mountain
Kellogg Peak lookout
The lift to Kellogg Peak doesn't go quite to the top. Carolyn and I took off our skis and hiked to the top where there's a lookout. Unfortunately, it's not the original. It's a modern rebuild, but it's still cool and the view is spectacular.
View from the lookout
From the lookout we could see the city of Kellogg far below. Carolyn and I were impressed by the number of runs at Silver Mountain resort.
Gondola back down
At the end of the day we got back in the gondola for the ride back down to Kellogg.
Sunshine Disaster
On a trip to Yellowstone in 1997, we pulled off the highway to read this sign. In 2005, I read the book, The Deep Dark: Disaster and Redemption in America's Richest Silver Mine, about this accident.
Tribute to the miners who were killed
That's a mining drill, not a machine gun, on the statue.
Sunshine Mine
We drove a few miles up Big Creek to see the active Sunshine Mine.
Wallace vs. Kellogg
On Friday night we went to the Wallace vs. Kellogg high school girls basketball game. The Wallace girls got creamed. Our back gate is about 20 steps from the black back door of the gym. After the game I sanded and applied the fourth and final coat of finish on the kitchen counters.
Finished counters
On Saturday morning I removed the jack holding up the sink and reattached the drain. During the week, dirty dishes piled up in the sink but we couldn't wash them because A) the dishwasher was removed, and B) the sink's drain was disconnected. That left C) wash the dishes in the bathtub. But wait there's redneck plan D) wire and plumb up the dishwasher in the backyard. Days earlier, Carolyn and I dragged the dishwasher out back in preparation for taking it to the dump. I supplied power to the dishwasher and water via a hose. Voila. We washed the dishes in the dishwasher sitting in the backyard.
Another section of the counter
Another view
Painting the trim
I masked all the woodwork in Allison's two rooms and Carolyn spent all morning painting two coats.
Allison's freshly painted room
Room next to Allison's room
Old photos of Wallace
Carolyn gave me some old photos of Wallace for Christmas that Paige helped her upload and print at Costco. We hung them in the upstairs hall.
Cleaned up lock
On our last trip, I brought home this lock. It was encrusted with many layers of paint. I stripped off the paint and brought the lock back and installed it on the closet door.
Rough sanded floor
While Carolyn was painting the woodwork in Allison's room, I used the drum sander to sand the kitchen floor. Carolyn stripped off several layers of black mastic, but the floor was still black. We wondered if the sanding belt would clog like it did before. All of Carolyn's work paid off because the sander cut right through to the wood. I sanded the whole floor and then used an edge sander around the perimeter. This rough sand is as far as we'll take the floor until we tile the backsplash and paint the walls and cabinets. Then we'll do final sanding and finishing of the floor. All in good time, of course.
Hecla assay office
With all the work we planned to do winding down, I decided to take advantage of the snow-free roads and go on a motorcycle ride. It was very cold as I rode up the canyon to Burke. I made it to the town of Gem before the road was too icy to safely continue. I took a picture of this old assay laboratory.
Another view
Our original plan was to go to sleep early Saturday night, wake up at 3am, and drive home in time for church meetings in the morning. On the ride back down the canyon, I figured we could clean up the house in the afternoon and head home by 5 or 6pm and make it home by midnight. Carolyn was down with that plan. She's a whirlwind and we totally cleaned the house. It was covered with sanding dust from top to bottom. We packed up, turned off the water, turned down the heat, and headed out of town at 4:30pm, arriving home at 10:15pm. It was a fun trip to Wallace.
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