Moving forward again ... finally...

With hopes of hosting some family in our place over Christmas, we started pushing for progress back in August. We're down to the short strokes - likely NOT having a fully finished front unit finished in the next 2 weeks but seeing the finish line perhaps in January. This is a full year later than what I would have guessed last summer. Completely stripping an 83 year old building is more expensive and trying than I would ever imagined. It is also one of the most satisfying and rewarding things I have done.

So... here goes just a few teaser pictures. I've also done a few updates to the related Minestead page at http://www.minestead.com/. Yup, that is a shameless plug to get some traffic to the website. Seriously though, if you know people who will be visiting Crowsnest Pass and you want them to come away with the best impression - I think Minestead will be a great option (once it is finished of course...).

The first picture is just a close up of the reclaimed wood that surrounds the window we added beside the kitchen area.

The next picture shows a new couch we brought down this trip. We spent a moment sipping cappuccinos in that couch and really, for the first time, getting a real idea of what this wacky dream is turning into.

I think this couch photo is kind of symbolic. We have spent so much time dealing with so much crap relating to construction or just dealing with problems. The couch is the first time we're starting to actually imagine using and enjoying the space - and hopefully being able to provide a vacation rental space that will leave our guests with an experience they won't forget.

This last picture gives an idea of where so much of our money and time has gone over the last year.

Later this week we should have an electrician in to hook up a bunch of lights and fan. No word on when we'll see a plumber to install our new water tank and all the kitchen/bathroom fixtures.

I hope next time I'm posting on here you'll get to see a new kitchen and bathroom... which will mean we're basically completed in the front.

Hope you like...

Mountain Biking in Crowsnest

Tonight was a really exciting night for me. Community Futures is managing a project to develop mountain biking in Crowsnest Pass. Tonight was the first of 5 classes a number of us are receiving related to sustainable trail design and building. Our instructor is Daniel Scott from IMBA (Internation Mountain Bike Association) - he is respected internationally for designing trails that are extremely fun AND environmentally sustainable.

This is a great example of how a dream and an idea can become a reality if you put yourself and your dream "out there". 5 years ago, Stone's Throw's Steve Atkinson and I were chatting about the mountain bike scene in Crowsnest Pass. He was a little frustrated because he had become the unofficial mountain bike information booth to visitors. The frustration: officially there really weren't any mountain bike trails in Crowsnest and the ones we would ride together were very difficult to explain how to find.

When we spoke, we dreamed of having an IMBA trail system. After visiting some of North America's best mountain bike spots, I had learned that the sustainable trails were also the funnest to ride - a type of trail that was pretty rare in Canada at the time.

To make a long story short - or less boring. Here we are. IMBA is training about 15 of us in the art and science of sustainable trail design - we will have the knowledge at the end of this to help teach volunteers the same. We have one of the world's most respected trail specialists from IMBA putting together a master plan that will help put Crowsnest Pass on the mountain biking map.

What is the point of this: Have positive thoughts. Act on positive thoughts. Focus on the goal - not the distractions. Continuous small steps in the right direction can add up and become a bigger distance than the sum of those steps.

Some Links:

http://www.imba.com/canada/index.html
http://www.uroc.ca
http://www.travelalberta.com/blog/archive/2010/05/21/crowsnest-pass-mountain-biking.aspx

And my business plug:
http://www.bikebros.ca
If you need a new bike, I have been known to deliver to Crowsnest Pass.

Well, thanks for asking... this is what is new

Hey all.

Well it has been a while since the last post. Partly because things have been really busy at my shop (http://www.bikebros.ca/) in Cochrane, partly because many of my recent trips to Crowsnest have been for UROC meetings (united riders of Crowsnest - http://www.uroc.ca/) regarding the development of Mountain Biking in Crowsnest and lastly because the building in Bellevue has been a mixed bag of emotions lately.

As I had mentioned in the past, I have some great guys doing work on the building. Paul's skills have been much appreciated with the exterior timber framing, interior framing, custom made doors and windows in the front face of the building. We have had one serious issue though - the roof. Shortly after this project started and I was starting to realize the scope, I decided to put on a fancy new roof to make sure all my investments in the interior space would be protected from leaks. Well, as Murphy's Law has it - after the roof was done we have had continuous leaking in 2 of the 3 suites and Murphy must have gotten really annoyed when he decided to give us a leak in the freshly drywalled/mudded/sanded front suite.

Fortunate for us, Paul and Robert stand behind their work and are working their asses off to repair the leaks - but the water keeps on dripping. This has been somewhat of a show-stopper. I'm not blowing money on any more interior work until the guys get this figured out. It has been like getting kicked in the nuts repeatedly for the last year every time I see/hear the leaking so I had to finally play hardball - no more paying for work until the roof is absolutely fixed!

The pictures show the new front windows, door, and canopy over the front door. Also shown is the interior space showing off the massive beams we discovered in the ceiling and the additional beams added to create (I hope others agree) an amazing look and feel. The front suite will be THE COOLEST PAD IN ALBERTA!

Just to clarify: in the bottom picture, that hot-water tank is just waiting for installation - it isn't some new design feature to have a hot-water tank in the middle of a bedroom.

Did I mention to anyone this website? www.minestead.com

That is the website (planning ahead for not-so-leaky times ahead when we finish this development) for the holiday rental biz we'll be running in this building.