Knapping arrowheads

I just had to add this picture to the blog. I made this arrowhead out of this bottle bottom. Chipping arrowheads out of glass is a lot like shaping a stone, a very hard stone, like obsidian.

Zion National Park stone restoration

I partnered up with Brad Quinn for this job. Shane and Vincent came in from Colorado to  jump into this stone project. A large boulder rolled off the hill and onto the sign shop which was built in the 1930's.. We numbered the stones, took the wall down and then cut out new stones to replace the broken ones. We  put it back together and it looks just like the original wall. The big stone on the bottom row in picture four with the tools setting on top of it  is one of the new stones we cut out. It was a great project and a great place to work.

River Dufflle

This is my grandson Tavin goofing around and hiding from us. He is clever and a lot of fun. As you can see from  the recent posts I have not been doing much stone masonry work lately. I did do two jobs and have one more to go ,but for this year, the main focus was on removing USGS stream gauges and river trips. Great year!

2011 Private Trip

  I took my 37' S-rig and a paddle boat and ran an 11 day Grand Canyon river trip with friends and family. We had a great vacation!  My brother Paul took these pictures on the trip.

Working for the Park Service

I had the great opportunity of working with the river unit of the Grand Canyon National Park Service this summer. The first picture shows the warehouse/yard at the south rim. The second picture shows all the NPS row boats at a lunch stop. The boats are all in great shape and loaded light, so that makes for a great trip . Add a great crew, with depth and good backup and you have a great combination.The third picture is of a rainstorm in the canyon. Wonderful, to spend the summer this way!

37 gets upgraded

I took some time and painted the 37 foot S-rig. I also moved the valves on the starboard  side  tube to the outside so they are easier to get to.

Mapping Vegetation with Kass Green

I had the great opportunity to take my 37 foot S-rig down the Colorado river this last spring. This picture is taken at Lees Ferry, Arizona at the start of the trip. My friend Michelle is cleaning off the front deck of the boat. She was a great help on the trip. The trip was 15 days long. We helped Kass Green and her crew with their vegetation mapping project in the Grand Canyon. Great trip!

Fireplace on the west coast

Jeffro sent me these pictures of the fireplace I built on the west coast. Jeffro put  the driftwood together and I set the stone on the fireplace and the floor. Chuck Neaman built the window jambs and a local  artist built the stained glass windows. The owner actually built the glass ball lights himself and it all turned out spectacular!

Flatbed build finished

I finished the details on the flatbed project. The truck weighs in at an amazing over 700 lbs  lighter than with the factory bed. The top lights on the headache rack are handy work lights. The aluminum board that creates the catch all place behind the cab is removable so you can carry 8  foot long  plywood.  All the steel parts are powder coated. I have been using it and it works great. The stake sides are a tight fit so they do not rattle. This is a very nice truck bed!

Flatbed build

I built up this flatbed to replace my box bed that had become damaged from a blown out tire. You know, turn lemons into lemonade.  I still have some side rails to build and another license  plate holder. Note how the headache rack follows the contour on the cab . I am real happy with the way this turned out.