When you watch this video you may think -- big deal, they put up some concrete blocks and dumped some gravel in the backyard.
But here's what you may not understand. This is a VERY BIG DEAL. And let me tell you why.
1) Construction of any kind is very, very difficult in the remote location where our cabin resides. First, you can only work from Memorial Day to Labor Day so the building season is very short.
2) Then, once you have the build scheduled, you need the materials. It is almost impossible to get any business to deliver at the cabin (remember -- remote!) -- so all the necessaries have to be hauled up by the builder himself. And when you don't have exactly what you need to finish the job -- you have to figure it out with what you have on hand. There's no Home Depot near by!
3) Which brings us to the most challenging of all items. Where do you get a builder willing to build in such a remote location??? And where do you get a builder with the expertise to build in such a unique place, one who really understands the extreme weather, the natural landscape, and the nature of the historic cabins in the Sequoias?
On this count, we have been extremely lucky two times over!! First, when we bought the cabin almost 10 years ago, it came with its own builder -- Andy. Andy helped us refresh the cabin, and built our beautiful front deck. He was amazing -- we even named our deck bear after him -- ole "AndyBear."
And with the most recent backyard conversion, Darren has been a miracle worker. We literally gave him two instructions, replace the wood deck with gravel, and build a retaining wall. Do you see what miracle he wrought??? It's incredible! And he did all that with only 2 people - himself and a helper.
Lucky, lucky us - to be gifted with two brilliant professionals who had the vision and the know how to "make it work!"