And away we go

It still was a bit of a race to get everything all tied up on time.  The title company muddled through trying to match up all the pertinent documents for a property that had been split off an original patented property, sold again, then passed back and forth between the former owner and another party and finally split one more time when the tower lot was deeded off, but closing went off without a hitch and it was just a matter of waiting for the executrix to sign off and for it to be registered with the state.


As I had already purchased a Toyotomi Laser 30 heater in August when one of the local building supply houses had their usual autumn sale, all that was still needed was the oil tank and the stand, which I had ordered from Greer Tank just a few miles up the road to be delivered before the moving date.  I also decided that since I had all that room on the truck to see if they had a shed available to go as well, which they did have one on the lot which they were storing extra trailer tyres in.  The rather last minute decision worked out well as the oil tank and stand would go in the shed where they could be easily secured. 

There was, though, one last change I made in the days prior to the move.  I had got to thinking about the four foot stand that I had ordered for the oil tank, and considering some issues I had with with fuel supply in very cold weather, I had already elected to get a more expensive filter system for the oil line with a spin on filter (rather than the less expensive wool insert type that had plagued me in the past), but I started to wonder if four feet would be enough for the tank.  Having lived on permafrost the last two places, I was really unsure just how high they would set the new cabin, and went out to North Pole to double check the measurement just in case it would be set higher than the four steps up that seemed to be quite normal in the Fairbanks area.  I decided that the floor level of the cabin was just too close for comfort to go with the four foot and hightailed it back to Greer to change the stand to a five foot.  Imagine my surprise when they set the cabin right down on the ground on it's runners without any blocking to raise it up (which we had brought along in the shed).  Fortunately it all worked out just fine, my oil tank is actually at the limit of how high it could be without needing a pressure reducer, which means I do have good flow whatever the temperature, but second guessing without knowing the ins and outs of the new area could have just as easily resulted in a tank that was too high.  Tok being in a very wide gravel based valley, despite the up to 1,200 ft of extra elevation over the lower areas around Fairbanks, does not have permafrost issues unless one is right up against the mountains and in their shadow.  (not to say all of the Fairbanks area is on permafrost, it's hit or miss, mostly in lower areas, valleys, shaded areas and north facing slopes, but it's common enough to make very sure what lies below and make appropriate measures to ensure one's dwelling isn't twisted to bits or sinks away into a mire, and often that means leaving an adequate air space below to ensure that the heat of a dwelling does not warm up the ground below it too much)

So for quite some time I had just one big step up onto the porch and the stair sat off out of the way, until one day I somehow tripped and my shin made quite an impact on the edge of the porch.  At that point I got around to cutting down the stairs and attaching them mighty fast.

In any event, the morning of the move came and we headed down the highway.