Searching for Mormon Grove

I've felt very strongly that I need to teach my children the stories of their ancestors as a way to develop their character and resilience.  Look around- people are crazy out there!  You know what I mean!  I was on familysearch.org looking for stories to share with them, when I stumbled upon a great-whatever grandfather who died and was buried at Mormon Grove, Atchison, Kansas.  WOW!  This was crazy!  Atchison was only 20 miles from our home in Leavenworth.  I anxiously read the stories about John and Ann Bird and shared them with my family.  Then I set out to find where Mormon Grove was, in hopes that we could visit it.  I quickly learned that Mormon Grove is about 4-5 miles west of Atchison and that there is a historical marker on the side of the road, but outside of that, the actual site is on private property.
Interested in actually visiting the cemetery, we drove up to Atchison to look for the property owner.  After knocking on several doors in the area, many of the residents didn't know anything about a cemetery, but did know of the highway marker.  Finally though, an older lady told us to drive back to another road, follow it for a half mile, then knock on the door of the white farmhouse.  We did so, but nobody was home.
A month or so later, we were back in Atchison and decided to try again.  This time we were successful.  The man there managed the land for his father-in-law, who was the actual land owner, but gave us permission to go on it and look for the cemetery.  He said "I haven't been there, but go ahead and look.  You have more of a claim to it then I do."

We drove back to the marker, then west for a quarter mile, and parked at a red gate then walked in to look for where my however-many-great grandpa was buried. We didn't have a location, other then knowing it was there.  Interestingly enough, when the Kansas Highway Department was surveying for the highway, they learned about the cemetery, did some archeological surveys, then re-routed the highway to avoid going over the top of it.

We spent a delightful hour or two wandering the fields and hills looking for a cemetery.  We didn't find anywhere definitive that we could say "This is it", but just the same, the search was really fun, and it was unique to look at the same hills that my ancestors had 150 years before, knowing that John Bird was buried somewhere close by.  Although to the world this English emigrant lays unknown and forgotten, buried in an unmarked grave in the Flint Hills of Kansas, learning of him and his life has been an inspiration to me.

Nearest City: Atchison, KS
Location: N° W°
Time Needed:
Difficulty:
Kid Friendly:
Additional Info:

The Atchison Visitor Center and Rail Museum

In November we visited Atchison.  We stopped by their Historical Society Museum and Rail Museum, located conveniently in town along with their visitor center.  The kids liked the rail museum best.  There were old train engines and cars that had been retired.  We walked along the tracks and looked at each one.  We climbed up on a flat car, looked at the controls of an engine, peeked in the window of a caboose, etc.

We learned about their mini engine and train as well.  They have a mini train engine and track that they run on summer weekends.  The kids would have loved, taking rides on the little train.  I wish we would have known they had it earlier so we could have brought them up for rides!

We also stepped inside the visitor center (the old Santa Fe Railway Station) and went through the Historical Society's museum.  We learned a little about Amelia Earhart, Atchison's most famous past resident, and more about the town and area.  The gun collection they had was pretty neat.  We also learned about a guy who had something wrong with his legs who was responsible for many of the streets in Atchison being bricked.  It's a great little stop.  If you have kids, be sure to visit on a summer weekend so they can ride the train!

Nearest City: Atchison, KS
 Location: 200 10th St, Atchison, KS
Time Needed: 30-90 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Kid Friendly: yes
Additional Info: Atchison Rail Museum and Atchison Historical Society

The Remington Nature Center

After visiting the Pony Express Museum, we went to the Remington Nature Center.  The Remington Nature Center is a mile or two northwest of downtown St Joseph, right on the banks of the Missouri River.  We really enjoyed the Remington Nature Center and their fantastic exhibits.

They had animal displays, a baby mammoth, and an aquarium.  Where the museum really shined though was their arrowhead display.  They had an abundance of arrowheads, spear points, stone axes, and other items that had been discarded by the tribes of the area.  

They also had an exhibit of local history, which included bullets and other items lost in some Civil War skirmishes in the St Joseph area.  It was fascinating to learn about the history and see the artifacts.
One of the connections I was able to make concerned Fort Buenaventura in Ogden, Utah.  Joseph Robidoux was a fur trader and the founder of St Joseph.  Joseph Robidoux and his family were uniquely tied with the settling of the west, because many of them were early trappers and mountain men.  In fact, the Robidoux clan founded a string of forts and trading posts across the inland west, including Fort Buenaventura, later to become Ogden, Utah.

Nearest City: St Joseph, MO
Location:1502 McArthur Dr, St Joseph, MO 64505
Time Needed: 2 hours
Difficulty: easy
Kid Friendly: yes
Additional Info: Remington Nature Center

The Pony Express Starting Point in St Joseph, MO

In late October, we took a short trip up the Missouri River to St Joseph.  We stopped by the Pony Express Statue on the north side of downtown first.  

Then we went to the Pony Express Museum located in the Pony Express Stable.  The Pony Express was an exciting and colorful part of US history, although it only lasted for 19 months, at which point the telegraph line from coast to cost was completed.  

Inside the museum, you learn about Russell, Majors, and Waddell, who founded the Pony Express with the idea of rapidly reducing the amount of time it took for mail to get from California to the earstern US and vice versa.  They did so by getting rid of wagons, and employing young boys to ride fast horses between stations, each rider only carrying the mochila (mail pouch) and gun.  The riders were usually in their teens or early 20's.
The Pony Express Stable was a fascinating stop.  We spent several hours learning about the trail, different terrains the riders passed through, experiences some of the riders had, what mail stations were like, and many other things.

Nearest City: St Joseph, MO
Location: 914 Penn St, St Joseph, MO  64503
Time Needed: 2+ hours
Difficulty: easy
Kid Friendly: yes
Additional Info: ponyexpress.org

Canoe Building: Installing the Seats and Thwart

On New Years Eve I installed the seats and thwart.   Canoe finished.  Woot Woot!  Technically there's still the brass stem band to install, but putting the seats and thwart in means the canoe is fit for use.  Substantial Completion.  Beneficial Occupancy.  Whatever.  All I know is it's ready for a maiden voyage.  It still needs a name, but that  will come.  I need to take it out several times and see how it handles, and I think I'll figure out a name that fits.

I installed the thwart first.  Chances are your canoe will be either slightly wider or slightly narrower than the width specified on the canoe plan.  Cut the thwart to a width that looks appropriate to you.  I made my canoe 1/2 inch wider than the plans specify because I cut my thwart a little longer than the width called out on the plans.  Find a balance point, mark out two screw locations on each side, then drill and countersink the holes.  Drop in the machine screws, and thread the thwart and nuts on to the screws and tighten everything up.

Installing the seats is pretty straightforward.  Mark out where the seats will go, drill the holes through the inwales, then come back and countersink the holes.  You can use a seat height jig to make the seats the correct height and level.  I took a shortcut here and figured the difference between dowel lengths based on the curve of the gunwale, then cut them to the proper length. The ones closest to the ends are a little longer since the ends of the canoe sweep up a little bit.  Out on the water, the seats don't need to be 100% absolutely level since paddling and the movement of water makes it so nothing stays level perfectly.  The seats do have to be even though from side to side and front to back, but there is a slight amount of play to work with.  Measuring and cutting the dowels appropriately for each side capitalizes on this.  Since I mounted the seats the same length from each end,  I cut the four endmost dowels the same length, and the four innermost dowels all the same length that was slightly shorter. Measuring on your canoe is best way to determine what the length difference will be. I put my long machine screws through the holes, then marked on the seats where to cut and place the holes in the seat frames.  After drilling the holes in the seat frames, I threaded the dowels onto the machine screws followed by the seat frames then threaded on the nuts.  Seats installed!

After the seats and thwart are placed, go back with thickened epoxy and plugs and fill the holes with the epoxy, then gently force the plugs into the holes.  The epoxy will help hold the machine screws in place if you ever want to replace the seats or refinish the canoe and need to remove them. After the epoxy has hardened, shave the plugs down and coat each of them a couple of times with a thin coat of varnish to seal the top, as well as help it blend in with the remainder of the canoe.

Canoe Building: Making the Seats

After I installed the outwales, but before I varnished the canoe, I started making the seats.  I used cherry wood, built so that the seats are 10 inches from front to back and 15 inches wide.  The legs of the seat extend even further.  I epoxied the joints, then clamped them and let the epoxy cure.  Then I sanded away the excess epoxy, and routed all of the edges to make them rounded.  I drilled two holes for screws on each side of where the pieces came together, then countersunk them so I could plug them.  I used cherry plugs, but was really tempted to use walnut plugs to add a darker accent element to the seats.  After installing the screws and plugs, I did a final sanding and was ready to varnish the seats as well as the thwart.

I hung all of the pieces and varnished them all at once.  I also had made a hollow dowel to use to hide the bolts to get the seats the correct height, but when it came to installing it, I had made it too large.  I should have made the width of the dowel the same width or slightly smaller as that of the inwale.  I ultimately ended up finding that dimension and remaking the height adjustment dowels.

After a few coats of varnish, I was set to weave the seats.  I deliberated what material I wanted to make the seats out of for quite a while.  Cane seats are beautiful.  But more then that they are breathable (no boaters itch!), and when they start to sag you can wipe the underside of the cane with a wet rag and the cane will tighten up again.  I really really wanted to weave some cane seats.  I even went so far as check a book out from the library on cane weaving.  Ultimately though, I realized that I have young kids who will be canoeing with me.  Since they can be a bit hard on things, the cane seats will have to wait.  I went with polypropylene webbing instead.

Polypropylene webbing comes in tons of different colors, is UV resistant, does not stretch, and also does not absorb water.  It's a way better option than the more common nylon webbing.  I singed the end of the webbing and also used a hot needle to melt/fuse two holes in the end where I would screw it to the seat to begin weaving.  I wrapped the seats the long ways, stretched it tight, then fused the ends and screwed it to the frame.  Weaving back through the short ways with another piece helped further tighten the weave.  Once the seats were woven, I was ready to install the seats and thwart and be finished.

Canoe Building: Varnishing!

One of the most harmful things to a cedar strip canoe is ultraviolet light breaking down and discoloring the epoxy.  A good UV blocking varnish will prevent this.  It also will add a gloss and bring out the warmth of the wood.  Before I varnished my canoe, I did a little bit of internet research into what varnish I should use.  Lots of builders like Epiphanes.  I didn't have a local supplier and I didn't want to ship some in.  A test of different varnishes really jumped out at me.  The Minwax Helmsman varnishes were the best on the test, and easy to find at Home Depot, so I bought a couple quarts. I chose the glossy finish.

I have a friend with a cabinet shop and he let me borrow his paint room to varnish the canoe (Thanks Larry!).  Before I started, I put on my respirator, then wiped everything down with an epoxy solvent one last time.  Doing so removes any epoxy dust, fingerprint residue, or anything else that would interfere with the bond or the finish.  I then stirred a can of the varnish, and started varnishing.  It really reminded me of when I was epoxying the canoe, but the varnish was a lot thinner than the epoxy.  I varnished the inside first, then turned the canoe over and varnished the outside.  I let it cure for 4-8 hours, then came back and gently shaved away with a razor blade any drips or runs.  When the drips and runs were removed, I put on the next coat.  You don't need to make thick coats.  Thin coats will give you coverage, and will also reduce the chances of drips and runs and save you time in the end.  More cure time, then on with another coat.  Then repeat.  I put three coats on, and could have put on four, but it would have been more weight and more expense with out much benefit.  Three coats is great, and then after I've had the canoe out and used it for a while, I can always add another coat to make it shiny again.

I finished and picked up my canoe on December 21.  Strapping the canoe to the top of the car sure felt great!  I had permagrin the whole drive home.  So close to being done!

Canoe Building: Plugging the Holes

A few days after I installed my outwales, I went back to fill the countersunk holes with plugs.  I used cherry, the same wood the outwales were made of.  You could use darker or lighter wood for the plugs to add a nice accent to your canoe.  I got a cotton swab, rolled it in Titebond 3, then coated the inside of each hole.  Then I aligned the grain on the plug with the grain on the outwale and gently tapped the plug into place.  Again, the small details can make a huge difference!  Be sure to line the grain up.  It will look much better than haphazardly putting the plugs in.  The plugs should be cut with a plug cutter, ideally on a drill press.  The plugs have a very slight taper to them so they fit snugly into the holes, but also stick out above the surface.

After the glue had cured, I chiseled the ends of the plugs off.  The chisel will do most of the work, just be sure to work a little at a time so you don't gouge out a piece of the outwale or break off the plug underneath the surface.  About 6-10 flicks of the wrist on each of the plugs, and they were smooth and even with the outwale.  Then I repeated at the next plug until they were all done.  A light sanding with 150 grit sandpaper and the plugs blend right in.  The canoe still looks unfinished because it hasn't been varnished yet.  Now that the inwales, decks, and outwales are installed, the canoe is ready to varnish.

Canoe Building: Installing the Decks and Outwales

While I was waiting for the inwales to cure, I prepared the outwales and decks.  I had 8' cherry boards that I made my inwales and outwales out of, so since my canoe is 16' long, it means that for the outwales I needed to epoxy at least 3 pieces together.  The curve of the canoe plus the overlap of the splice was greater than two 8' lengths combined.  I decided to put a 4 foot section in between the the two eight foot sections for each outwale.  That way the outwales would be longer then the canoe, and the splices on the inwales and outwales would be staggered, instead of being in the same location relative to the length of the canoe.  Does it ultimately matter?  Probably not.  But staggering the joints made sense to me.  I cut an angled 7 inch section off of the ends of each piece- but was sure to make sure each angle aligned and married up with the corresponding piece next to it.  Again, the cut on each was made such that, when installed, the joint angle is not visible from the top.  Then I epoxied and clamped the pieces together.

I also prepared the decks.  Angled cuts of quilted cherry, with an accent strip of walnut down the middle.  I did the best I could to make the grain lead my eyes to the end of the canoe.  Epoxy the pieces, then clamp it securely in a jig made specifically to hold it firmly.  Be sure to use packaging tape under the joints so you don't glue the deck to your jig!  After the epoxy had set up and cured, I cut a curve on the handle side of each of the decks, then rounded it over with my router.  Then I sanded the decks and outwales down to prepare them for installation.

A quick note on installing the trim.  I don't think it really matters if you install the inwales, outwales, or decks first- it all comes down to personal preference. BUT, there is an order that makes installation easiest and leads to results that I can't argue with.  First install the inwales, then install the decks, finally install the outwales.  Doing it in this order allows each of the parts to nest together, and hides screws the best.  You can see the screws in the picture above where I've clamped one of the outwales on to the canoe.  When I installed the other outwale, all of those screws were hidden underneath it.  It's a big bonus to not see any screws when you're done!

So dry fit the decks and make sure they fit at the correct depth.  You don't want them to be above or below the inwales.  Since the inwales are wider at the top than the bottom, I had to mark the angle,then prepare it to fit neatly together.  It doesn't have to be perfect, but any discrepancies are best if on the bottom side.  Once you like where you have things positioned, predrill three holes on each side of the deck, going from the outside of the hull, through the inwales, and into the decks.  Be sure to do so at an even interval so you don't hit these screws when you install the outwales! Put strips of packaging tape along the bottom of the inwales,  then slather each side of the deck with thickened epoxy.  Fit it in there, clamp it, and drive your screws in.  I think I used #8 screws that were 2 inches long. Once all of the screws are in, you can unclamp things.  Reach under the deck and firmly press the packaging tape that's on the inwales to the underside of the deck.  This will take any epoxy that has been pressed out, and even it out and make a smooth finish.  Wipe down any epoxy that has come out the top.  You can now work on installing the outwales- no delay is needed for the epoxy to set up since the decks are screwed on securely.

The outwales are pretty easy to install.  They do have a few things to keep in mind, but they're pretty basic.  Installation is as important as finished visual appearance, so if you make appearance the priority, the installation will fall in line.  I marked the centerpoint of the canoe with the smooth edge of some blue painters tape pressed on top of the inwales.   Do this on each side.  Then do the same on the top side of both of the outwales.  You can then clamp the outwales on one at a time, and using the center point reference, and the locations of the scuppers on the inwales you can determine the spacing for your screws to secure the outwales.  I marked mine so that the screws would be centered in the solid block between scuppers.  I also marked vertically the midpoint between the  top and bottom of the outwale.  Once everywhere is marked, remove the outwale and drill your pilot holes.  You  can leave the screws showing, or countersink them and fit plugs into the countersunk holes.  I chose the countersink and plug method so there would be no exposed screws.  After I drilled my holes and countersinks, I was ready to install the outwales.

Installing the outwales is pretty straightforward.  Mix up a batch of thickened epoxy, spread it on a two foot section of the outwale, then starting at the midpoint and working toward the end, clamp it down with a few clamps, install a screw, then leapfrog the clamps along until you get to the end.  You'll need to epoxy a few more sections as you go, but it goes quickly.  As you work, make sure the horizonal alignment between the inwale and outwale stays even.  Repeat each side until both of the outwales are completely installed.  Again, be sure to wipe off any epoxy that has oozed out as the outwales were clamped and screwed.

Once the last screw is in the canoe looks great!   It took me about 3 hours to get both decks and both outwales installed.  I finished up late, then called it a night.  After everything cures you can come back and install the plugs.

Canoe Building: Installing the Inwales

Now it's time to install the inwales!  I cut mine several months prior to this and they've been collecting dust in the meantime.  If you're lucky enough to have one piece inwales, you won't have to splice two or more pieces together.  I had to put a scarf joint in at the midpoint of the canoe.  The joint goes top to bottom of the inwales, rather then side to side.  It's less visible that way.  It takes 6-7 inches of overlap to get a solid bond between the pieces.  If you want scuppers, they also should be machined into the inwales before they are installed.   The scuppers, or cut away pieces of the inwales have 3 purposes.  They reduce weight, they add convenient gear tie points, and also allow water to drain out when you turn the canoe over.  You do not want scuppers on the outwales, since the outwales will help to turn away water and keep it out of the canoe.

Two quick bits of advice about the inwales.  First, make sure the spacing is such that the seats can be attached, with front and back of the seat both aligning with solid parts of the inwales.  Second, do yourself a favor and put a coat or two of varnish on the scuppers (and only the scuppers!) right now.  They'll never be as accessible as you have them before they are installed.

Once your canoe is ready and the scuppers are ready, it's time to install the inwales.  Do it one at a time, and take your time.  First, wipe down the top 2 inches of the hull with an epoxy solvent to get rid of the epoxy dust from sanding.  Then use lots of clamps and clamp the inwale in, about 1/4 inch below the top of the hull.  Get it how you like it, then mix up a batch of thickened epoxy.  I unclamped one half of the inwale, then applied the thickened epoxy to the non-scupper part of the inwale, reclamped, then screwed a #4 (I think it was #4.  Whatever size it says in Canoecraft!)  screw into each spot, from the outside of the hull.  I placed each screw in relatively the same place to each scupper, since the outwale will be screwed on and I wanted a nice even spacing and rhythm for those screws. Don't forget to go back once you've placed all of the screws to wipe the squeezed out epoxy from the top and bottom of the inwale!

Do it for all of the spots, along one inwale, then repeat for the next inwale.  Once the first inwale is screwed on, you can remove the clamps and use them to install the second inwale.  That way you don't need to  have lots and lots of clamps. After both sides are installed, your canoe is getting even better looking then it was before.  Next up: outwales.