Alaska Cabin: Part 1 "Getting There"

[michaelcawthorne]

This series is Fantastic. Thank you so much for Posting these!

It seems by some of the comments that a few cannot help but focus on the negative instead of seeing the abundance of positives.

Please forgive and understand the anger is something from within themselves and has nothing to do with you.

You are perfect and a light shines from within you that lights the whole world.

You have inspired me and my becoming a light, and i can see that many others have caught fire also.

peace

[michaelcawthorne]

not that people are going to a burn unit . . . that they are inspired!

Metaphors, a symtom of me not getting enough sleep....

[coolmacmac]

Man how did you get that tire all screwed up. I can understand a flat tire. However, tires can deflated without getting all torn up like that. Flat tires can be repaired and used again. Your torn up tire is beyond repair and it wasn't even an old worn out tire. Tire treads seem to be quiet thick.

[C24B9]

I'm glad that you kept laughing.

[OHT53]

That tire was shredded hope Ellen has a second spare.

[isaiah30v8]

You did not have to unload the truck bed. Just the stuff on the jump seats in the back so you could get the jack. Hey, now you know for next time.

[TaTaTaTea]

Good on ya for having a sense of humor about the whole thing!

[utubeworms]

Next time get a real truck like an F250 with some rugged tires.

[stocks365]

@utubeworms F250's dont exist anymore. Just the 150 and the superduty

[nurse388]

you have got to be the biggest damn idiot i have ever seen!! you have no common sense! get ur balls cut off so you don't procreate!!!

[hakachukai]

@Backwoodsdog73

Not half as rude or idiotic as you are. Grow up!

[ohvnaq]

man you are such an extraordinary personality i love the stuffs that you do!

[ramseyst42]

you talk like a real jerk. why travel to alaska and badmouth the places you visit or travel through.

[JMEMantzel]

Maybe you talk like a real jerk.

Thanks for being the thought and speech police. If you were in charge, I'm sure the world would be a much more peaceful place. ....with everyone locked up in little cells or drugged into submission to make sure no one ever expesses any thoughts they have. That would be soo cool. Thanks for enlightnening me. You and Hitler should be buddies.

[carp1844]

What did you hit, a running chainsaw?

[1too3fore]

Armpit town??? Pretty sad commentary, clean up your acts. less than 1 star.

[quietthomas]

That was an amazing effort! Congratulations!

[hakachukai]

Wow... that is the most screwed up tire I have ever seen! What happened to it???

That flat tire adventure looks like a whole lot of NOT fun :-(

I think if I was in a situation like that, I'd carry like 4 spare tires just incase

[venusm61]

@hakachukai The truck was over loaded. I've seen blow outs on the interstates for this same reason.

[JMEMantzel]

No overloaded. ...but thanks for saying it twice.

[JMEMantzel]

ha ha. Ya. That road is notorious for flat tires. Sharp rocks... and its 60 miles long, so people go fast. ...and ya. I was going kinda fast. :-P

[marco71lucca]

@hakachukai 

[U4TSAF2]

Re-title this video. It's the Griswald's Alaska Vacation. I really thought you were going to pull that spare off and it would be flat.

At the time, your expedition absolutely sucks.... Now people like me can look back on it and laugh. I'm still confused why the entire back of the truck, including that stove was taken out the back....

[U4TSAF2]

4:54 into this and you realize the spare is under the truck after emptying the entire thing? Your also looking at the manual to change a flat?

I'm having little hope for you building anything. I hope this gets better for you.....

[GuacamoleKun]

It's so nice to live vicariously on youtube through people who filmed themselves doing way more interesting stuff than I'm doing right now... XD;;; (... wow, if changing a tire is more interesting than what I'm doing, I may be in trouble.)

[JMEMantzel]

well... changing a spare can be pretty darned exciting! ha ha. ugh... well, we had to make it fun somehow.

[GuacamoleKun]

@JMEMantzel lol true. Anyway the tire was only the beginning, I watched the whole series, you guys made a great looking cabin! :3

[venusm61]

@JMEMantzel Nothing ever goes as planned. I overloaded our RV with beautiful rocks and ended up having to spend $1200.00 in repairs. Lesson learned!!!

[JMEMantzel]

OH! Crap. That sucks. The truck wan't overloaded, though. It was well within the load specs. People get flats on that road all the time. There's a guy at the end of fthe road who makes a good living replacing tires.

[cdfgh1111]

Don't get me wrong I am no Jeremiah Johnson myself, but have you thought this remote living thing through ? I just see you winding up as a steaming pile of bear poop. And you going to have some serious trouble trying to lift things the way you do in multiple areas of your body, that could last a lifetime. Too bad no one from Armpit didn't drive by to help. Best of luck and remember one word.....Iridium

[JMEMantzel]

Funny.... I'm still in better shape than any 18 year old i know. You underestimate me, kind sir.

[cdfgh1111]

I do wish you the best and by the way that mountain range at the first of the vid was the logo on my security ID at work, till last October when the new contractor came in, this one has a picture of 5 rivers located some where in Northwest Alaska, three years from now I'll probably have a pic of a polar bear on my ID, (native corporations) . Good luck and get a ham radio license out there in the boonies

[wantolivefree]

Armpit town? Nasty comments about other arts of Alaska? "Moosey, moosey"??? You have to be from CA or OR! GO HOME.

[timmyd24601]

That tire sure did get shredded pretty well... I wonder what you hit...

[JMEMantzel]

its just the rocks on that road. Its 60 miles of dirt and gravel....

[ShannCole888]

Why did you take almost everything out of the bed of the truck ? I think it would have been just fine, but oh well

[JMEMantzel]

Didn't want to risk it overloading the jack , or the relatively soft dirt road under the jack.... It was a lot of weight in there.

I just thought about how sucky it would be to have the truck land on my arm or something.... and figured I'd be safe.

[venusm61]

Good idea.

[haha48]

dirt road jack /tuck falls you totaly screwed start walking..

[haha48]

Funest thing happend to my dads friend.. he has 1 spare he gets 2 flat because of rocks so he brings 2 tires then he gets 4 flat tires because of rocks then he was like screw this now he carrys 4 spare tires..

[LocustsOfSteel]

tall buildings and pavement lol. I'm living in atlanta, so i couldn't agree more...

[JMEMantzel]

REally Atlanta? Gross! That place has speghetti highways all over.

[nomadtoes]

How long did that whole thing take? Looked like hours, from the light change. Jem and I learned from your lesson though, and even when we load the van up like crazy we still keep the jack handy!

[JMEMantzel]

It wasn't all that long. Maybe and hour or so. I'm not sure, though. There was a lot of Hmmm, and Hawing to begin with.... and some... aw crap. ...and some more ... damnit.

[Diphallia]

O FU*K missed 6 updates.

Gotta catch up!

[turk711]

OMG.

I have to take a nap now.

[JMEMantzel]

no no... must change tire... more hyperness!

[robotwo]

WooHoo , You're back :D

[JMEMantzel]

Ya man. ...and I'm working on road access so I can drive in robot parts. :-)

[edjorg]

We used 2-sided logs rather than use the full-scribe technique for speed, and because of the scarcity of 12-inch logs on the property (the full-scribe takes more height off the log). The modified dovetail joints will be protected with caulking and the roof overhang will help. I've spent time in McCarthy in March, and this little place will definitely be 3-season. If I ever decide to winter over, I'd either insulate the crap out of it or build something larger (probably the latter).

[edjorg]

Isn't it spelled "Cheechako" by actual, real Alaskans? And believe me, the year-round residents were pretty impressed with our little 8-day project. Most of them built their cabins from pre-cut D-logs. Not from timber felled themselves. So the Cheechakos did them one better this time.

[goodwinjonathon]

I would have tried spell-checking "Cheechako", but I was quit sure it would not come up. Dont get me wrong, I loved your videos and the work you have done. I am a real Alaska, grew up in Kodiak and lived/worked across the entire state. But I will say you do stick out like sore thumbs, take it or leave it, its not a bad thing. I have to say you are more Alaskan than most in Anchorage. Nice meeting the both of you. JON

[edjorg]

I'd LIKE to be a real Alaskan someday, does that count? :-) By Day 8, when we would stagger into town in our Carhardts covered with dirt and sawdust and sap with black munge under our fingernails, we didn't stand out too bad. A local roofer got all excited that Jaimie was putting on a roof too, and talked his ear off one night, LOL.

[edjorg]

(continued)

I've got a friend who lives in Kodiak- it's much too wet there for me! I guess you grow up pretty tough there. Her kids cheer when there's sideways rain. The interior is cold but at least it's dry- March was spectacular and I can't wait to get a snow machine and do stupid dangerous things with it like everyone else up there. Although I don't think I'll try to climb Mt Blackburn with it just yet...

[JMEMantzel]

I don't mean to burst anyones bubble, but.... I stick out like a sore thumb everywhere.

I blame it on awesomeness. :-D

...or maybe on the high level of delusion I live in.

[JMEMantzel]

Woo... you show them Alaskans who's boss, Ellen! :-D

[goodwinjonathon]

Very interesting, but it is so obvious you are Chichakoes. I can't wait to see more, it's like watching the Alaska Experiement on the History Channel.

[JMEMantzel]

obvious, is it? Funny. I've been called a lot of labels right before making people eat their words. ha ha

Well, hopefully the fact that I don't LOOK right won't ruin it for ya. :-P

[edjorg]

Maybe because part of it was filmed 20 miles away from the cabin site. If those idiots had walked in the other direction instead of towards Hawkins Glacier, they could've been having a beer at the McCarthy Saloon with us.

[afmjustin]

haya Ellen.. can you tell me was the property an over the counter land purchase or a recreational cabin use ? and how much you got it for by chance if it's not to much prying? was water far?

[edjorg]

It was purchased form the University of Alaska, which periodically sells off "subdivisions" of land to fund itself. So it was a 9-acre parcel. The cost was about $3000 per acre, with 10% down and financing through the Bank of Alaska at 9% (ouch). There is no water near- folks draw their water from a creek several miles away. Recently someone drilled a well and they had to go down something like 400 feet, so no well for me!

[BurtonKelly0]

What happen to your tire jamie? Looks likei it's full of holes. What did you hit; Did you have a good time in alaska?

[JMEMantzel]

I had tons of fun in Alaska. ...and the road is just a very rocky road. It pops lots of tires. OK OK... I was going 50mph. ...and its recommended to go 30.

I went 25 on the way out. ha ha

[a8str4ct]

Your going to throw your back out lifting stuff like that man, you gotta be careful.

[JMEMantzel]

nuh uhh. Jaimie use legs. Jaimie strong. Use good lifting technique. Jaimie know when muscles and bones max out. Jaimie careful. ooga booga.

...mostly.

[soundslave]

so driving while being very tired sounds safe. esspecially when your driving a mammoth truck full of building material and fuel lol

[JMEMantzel]

Oh... ya. totally. ...and no one fell asleep and almost drove off the road or anything! heh heh

[edjorg]

liar :-)

[Saturate21]

geez what'd you run over? The alien cow's antlers?

[JMEMantzel]

It may have been. Those damned cow-aliens. Actually, that road is notorious for popping tires.

[DannysCam]

yay i love alaska

[JMEMantzel]

Ya, I like it too.  ....although I am pretty psyched to be back in Vermont where the drinking water is 50 yards away instead of 3 miles.

[FallenAngel890]

Haha.

"And not a single car came by that whole time."

I don't know why, but that made me laugh.

o_0

[JMEMantzel]

Ya... thats the McCarthy Road. 60 miles of rocks and other flat tire items.

[Flalaski]

aw man, thats crazy. the alien cows must have launched their antlers at the tire!

i agree with TheGreatSteve. it's nice to have a new video. it's been quite a while.

[JMEMantzel]

Ya, sorry! I've been working hard, though! I have lots more video to put together and get up here in the next few days.

[Flalaski]

alright!

[TheGreatSteve]

I can't believe you only had a crappy screw thread jack, America an be so low-tech sometimes. My last vehicle (a 4x4) came with a hydraulic jack. With a hydraulic jack you probably wouldn't have had to unload. It also had a chock for the wheel.

It's great we have a new video to watch also.

[JMEMantzel]

but but... I kinda like the low tech thingy's. It worked pretty well! Really, I probably could have left everything in the truck. .....but didn't want to risk it. ...and we had to unload half of it anyways to find where the jack was!

[TheGreatSteve]

At what point did you start reading the mannuel? :-)

[JMEMantzel]

uhh... after I looked at the spare and saw no obvious way to remove it.

[mbs306]

have you finished the spider yet?

[JMEMantzel]

No! The spider is in the dome. ...where I just got back to! I'm pretty psyched to get to work on it. I even picked up a few parts along the way.

[LloydFayt]

haha jaimie you are a beast of a man, but ur mechanical advantage outlook could use some help lol

[JMEMantzel]

Hey now. No need to start ripping on my intellect. ...especially after 24 hours or so or no sleep and running around getting tired!

Its like I'm being graded or something. I got everything to work so blah! (I'm sticking my tongue out)

[marr5]

getting that flat tie must haved sucked.

[JMEMantzel]

Ya, it did suck. ...until I got out my camera. Then it was sort of fun.

[MusicalSpoon]

Beware of alien cows, man.

[JMEMantzel]

Ya!  Those things are weird! Its like the aliens are trying to "blend in" by looking like cows. ...but they got it not quite right.

[edjorg]

NOTE: If you hire Jaimie to help build a cabin, you get awesome tire-changing capabilites as a fringe benefit :-)

[JMEMantzel]

yyyyep! Oh... I got some sleep last night too. :-) ...although I still wok up at 1:30 today.