The Poet Creek Express - Foamie Hybrid

[KCStudly]

A Foamie is supposed to be...

..what ever we want it to be. No rules.

[GPW]

No Rules !! That’s the Good part eh KC ? ... just so long as everybody is Happy and camping ...

ps.. no rules but certain standards of workmanship apply , but nothing considered difficult , especially with all the help and assistance available around here...

[Mary C]

WOW! I am glad you had to stop and enjoy moms dinner which sounds delish! You spend a lot of hours gettin it to be just right.Remember though all the imperfections are like character marks. Wear them like badges. Like the area on mine that scooped out and I had to fill it in with great stuff. In the sun it looks like little bumps under the skin. I think I did a great repair job considering I am a __________senior citizen, first time builder, novis at using the building materials, and a little crazy but that helps.
I know that your thoughts of your father are important but know He would be proud of your accomplishments with this build and he knows how special it is to you. Your trip to Poet Creek is getting nearer and it will be a wonderful adventure in your Foamie. See your mom more often if just to sit at the table with her and drink a glass of whatever. Moms like that.

A Fine Job!

Mary C

[KCStudly]

Thanks Mary. I always enjoy getting together with mom.

As mentioned over on Atomic’s Astroliner build, Karl purchased a used 3-axis CNC mill and is teaching himself how to program it.


I hope to eventually be able to “carve” custom trim emblems for TPCE.

Friday Karl and I took the Corvette up the road to a cruise-in at the local farmers market and had a look around, so I didn’t make any progress on the build, but yesterday I managed to get the last of the profile edge rounded over; the curb side hatch edge.



I did some more spackle work and the front top part of the roof is starting to come in the way I would like it to, and I made some more progress on the flat top of the hatch. Did a bunch of little stuff just walking around it.

Here is a shot looking from the rear forward down the curb side roof edge. Can’t really see any problem here in the pic, but compare it to the next one. Just ahead of the hinge spars you can see the slightest indent (at least it looks slight in this pic).


In this next pic looking down from above a little more you can almost see how the wall bows in up to almost 1/4 inch from about the hinge spar all the way forward to a point ahead of the front vent spar. Not as obvious in the pic as it is in person, but you do have to be directly in line to see it.


It is obviously bugging me, but I have not made the leap to doing anything about it… at least not yet.

[Atomic77]

Love the rounded corners. And how nice to have a CNC handy! I have a spot on mine that bows in as well... I've threatened to do something with it but no one sees it but me and I see it less and less all the time...

[GPW]

KC, Nobody will EVER notice that ... In fact had you Not mentioned that , we’d have thought it was PERFECT ...

[KCStudly]

I know. That's what I keep hearing, and it would probably get worse before it got better if I were to try and fix it. I just keep telling myself not to look down that side, but then I keep going over there and staring at it because it bugs me.

[GPW]

Don't Look !!!

[Atomic77]

You are the only one who will ever notice it...you're also the only one that matters.

[mikeschn]

What they said!!!

Mike...

[tony.latham]

Last week we spent three nights and four days on Salmon Mountain Lookout, deep in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness. It's a 1.3 mile hike (and up 900') off the Magruder Corridor.

Here's the Magruder Road looking towards Poet Creek. It's below the second to the last ridge (in the Bargamin Creek drainage) in the photo below:



And here's the Poet Creek campground on the USFS alidade (fire finder):



And the lookout:



Salmon Mountain is a stunning place. When the visibility is good, you can see 100-130 miles in an arc of about 340º. The other 20º is blocked by the backside of the Bitterroot Mountains which lay in a line about thirty miles off to the northeast. So within that arc, you can see the Beaverheads to the east along the Montana/Idaho border, the Bighorn Crags to the SE, the Sawtooths to the south, the Seven Devils to the west along the Idaho/Oregon border and deep into the Selway/Lochsa country to the north (and of course the backside of El Capitan, Trapper Peak and the other sister horns and domes of the looming Bitterroots). In short, one can see across Idaho. But here's the kicker: at night, in all that country, you can't see one light bulb. Not one made-made light. Not even a glow coming from a valley. I know of no other spot in the lower forty-eight where that is possible.

A carrot that's well worth the endeavors of a three year build!

Tony

[capnTelescope]

At one of those time management seminars they were always sending me to (were they trying to tell me something? ), the "expert" put forth the proposition that "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing imperfectly." Turn up your imperfection tolerance level or you'll never get to that Special Place. Just sayin'. Your Dad is waiting for you at Poet Creek.

[KCStudly]

Thank you for that, Tony. It is certainly awe inspiring to see your pics. I’ve been following the reports of the numerous lightning strike forest fires. Sure looks like a tinder box there. Thanks for the efforts you and your wife went thru to be volunteers, hike in there and perform the valuable public service. It seems like the reward in solitude and scenic beauty was a fair trade, but thank you both just the same. Did you get to see the meteor showers yet?

Capn, I get it. There is the build process and then there is the journey. To me they are pretty much all the same thing. The time I spend by myself in solitude on the build, seeing in my mind how I want something to be and then working out all of the little steps and snags that it takes to get there is all part of the journey. It will only make the reality of the actual trip that much more special for me.

Dad’s not impatient and his ashes will keep. I’m getting there on the build… although I made almost no progress today other than picking up another tub of spackle… too hot in the loft.

Went for a ride with Karl to a machining supply store in Newington instead. He picked up a pair of vises, a set of tool holder collets, and a cooling mister kit for the new mill; then he took me back to town to pick up the Ford from the service center. It had started making a little grunch-grunch noise when it came to a stop. I had thought it might be a rear unit (wheel) bearing or perhaps an axle CV joint. They couldn’t find anything except to clean, lube and adjust the parking brake adjuster; which seemed to do the trick.

I’m actually on a week off from work, mostly a “stay-cation”, but have spent a couple of days catching up on my sleep and doing relaxing stuff locally with the wife. We will be having a short get away mid-week here, so a slight stall in the build progress. I know, not what you guys are hoping to hear, but you should know me well enough by now; I never rush into the next phase of the build. Covering will come soon enough, I promise.

[tony.latham]

Thanks for the efforts you and your wife went thru to be volunteers, hike in there and perform the valuable public service.

Sheeeesh, believe me, the pleasure was ours.

Did you get to see the meteor showers yet?

You bet... we were camped here for it. Ugly place eh?



I was set up to catch the shower with a borrowed Canon. 20 minute exposure at F5.6 ISO 200 got this:



And then the smoke rolled in and we were done stargazing but it was a damn good trip.

Tony

[KCStudly]

Awsome!