Van update and Cat Tree!!

Adam finished up the carpet installation this past week. It looks great!

Nighttime carpet install. Notice the very shiny inside with 1 layer of foil insulation!

Tricky part is doing the stair

Finishing the edge. He then put metal stair nosing that covered up the screws and finished it off really nicely.

I helped to fold and screw the carpet over the stair edge. 

Good place to stow away dirty shoes.

After installing the carpet Adam reinstalled the front seats. The seat swivel for the passenger seat didn't arrive on time, so he'll be putting that in this week. 

Now, onto the amazing side project that Adam (and I!) finished up today: the cat tree!

The mess

The lower sunning platform finished, Bruce surveying the work

Sunning platform accepted!

High shelf for pouncing our heads added

Accepted!

Middle shelf added for ease of climbing to the very top.

Liz actually doing work! (Ha!) I'm wrapping the lower posts with rope for scratching. 

Done!

Um, yes, this thing is huge and really heavy...

Done! Totally fantastic and Bruce loves it. 

This week we are just getting ready for our road trip to the Pacific Northwest. The first "real" trial with the van. :)

Carpet and side project

Here's a pic of Adam installing the carpet in the van...after 8pm now and still 88 degrees at our house!

Aaaaaand, here is a picture of our other project (and I actually do some of the work on this one!)

Yes, it's a completely massive cat tree. Right now it's just a carpet covered post, but eventually it will have cubbies, climbing ropes, houses, and a sunning platform. Plus danglies for pouncing and a cardboard scratcher for good measure. :)

Also, the dogs are still cute:

Dude

Carex

New windows!

Adam is pretty amazing--he installed one window after work on Friday and the second Saturday morning! We have a lot more light and air circulation in the back of the van now. Check it out:

Hole in the van! 

Will it fit..?

Whew!

Sweet window. They tilt open, and have screens to keep the bugs out!

New window on the other side, too. 

In the meantime, I took a few pictures of non-van related things:

Amazing huge sunflower in our backyard! (There are two!)

CUTE sleepy cat

Slow roasting tomatoes...lunch today was zucchini pancakes, chicken apple sausage and roasted tomatoes!

Today, Adam has removed the seats and flooring from the front of the van in preparation to insulate the floor and then install the carpet. We bought the carpet a while back from a carpet store in Vacaville--they had a scrap of the perfect black/gray/tan outdoor carpet for about $80!

No seats, no floor, no more ugly console

Added some more foil insulation around the new window in the back

And, as usual, the dogs napped....

Dude lovin' the sidewalk

Carex prefers the shade

This week, carpet! Also the swivel for the front passenger seat should arrive so that's also on the list of to-do's. Stay tuned!

Trip to Sportsmobile

Last weekend we took a three day trip, and day one was a drive down to Fresno to visit the west coast Sportsmobile production center. It was pretty awesome! For those of you who don't know, Sportsmobile is a company that converts vans (Ford Cargo vans, passenger vans, Sprinter vans) into camper vans; they are known for making go-anywhere 4wd versions. We got to see a couple of finished vans, then they took us back to see the whole production line! It was really neat to see a van just like ours that drove in that day, to ones in the middle of the process getting fitted with cabinetry, to ones that were just getting the finishing touches. In comparison with what we saw there, our vision is much simpler. We want a couple of lights that run off the battery, a fridge, the camper pop-top (with bed up top), a bench seat that folds into a bed, some cabinets, and maybe a sink. That sounds like a lot, but believe me, there were vans there that were decked out with TV's, crazy electrical and plumbing (showers and flush toilets! in a van!)..way fancier than what we want. We picked out the bench seat and pop top, and put a deposit down. These will be installed by Sportsmobile in the first week of November.

Until then, Adam is working on putting in our new windows (that tilt open and have screens! No bugs!). We already purchased the carpet and are likely going to buy a fridge when we go on our trip to Washington in early September (Adam found a good deal in Seattle). I'm in charge of planning the September trip and getting us organized with the current layout we have for that trip.

After we went to Sportsmobile, we went for an overnight backpacking trip, my first in over 8 years! (For those of you who don't know, I was in a car accident over 8 years ago that left me with an injured spine/hips/shoulders/feet/etc. so backpacking hasn't really been an option). It was great! I only carried about 20-ish pounds, but didn't want to overdo it the first time. I think I could definitely carry more weight next time. We hiked out of Pinecrest (the Crabtree trailhead) which is above Sonora near highway 108. It was FANTASTIC! Here are some photos....

On the way out

Carex digging and chewing at the dirt trying to get a hiding chipmunk!

Me with my pack!

After we arrived at our campsite at Gem Lake, we all went for a swim, including Dude...here he is drying off and looking frumpy.

Yes, Adam packed in a bottle of wine...

This is how you make dinner when you hiking partner forgets part of his stove

Not a bad campsite!

Breakfast. Dude is still wearing his jammies.

Adam looking cute with his pack. 

Next up is the installation of the windows and our September trip! Stay tuned...

First Trip in the Van!

We took our first trip in the van last weekend. First, Adam had to finish up the temporary bed....

We put the queen size mattress from the guest room in the van. It's huge! Eventually we will have a "gaucho"--this is a bench seat that folds out into a double size bed. The van will also have a camper pop top, with a bed up top as well. 

Getting everything packed....

We decided to take our first trip up to South Lake Tahoe for one night. We spent Saturday afternoon hiking from the Big Meadows trailhead out to Round Lake. The second day we hiked also from Big Meadows but the other way, on the Tahoe Rim trail, in the morning. In the afternoon Adam mountain biked with our friend Brian and I hiked out to Scotts Lake. 

Carex ready to go, just leaving Davis heading for SLT!

Dude on full alert, tail tucked and read to lean into the turns!

Ok, he relaxed a bit. 

Carex hanging out...the dogs have way more room in the van than they are used to! 

Big Meadows! Completely fantastic meadow, everything in bloom. 

Round Lake, with the Dardenelles in the background. Also note a thunder storm is brewing....it rained hard on us both Saturday and Sunday but both days we were safe inside the van hanging out!

This is the view from our campsite. So comfy to wake up to this view from a plush queen size bed, not having to sleep with the dogs practically on top of us..

Carex enjoying the view (and wanting to chase chipmunks)

Sunday morning hike, Carex super happy. You can't see this but she got into something, her face is covered in spider webs and pine needles!

Dude on the drive home...all tired out from lots of hiking and exploring....we think he likes the van.  We know we are very excited about continuing the transformation! Stay tuned!