Yurt Setup, Day 1

So, funny things happen when I don't read the paperwork for my shows. It turns out that my show this weekend was only two days, Friday and Saturday. It's the only non-church show that I do that doesn't run on Sunday.

So what did I do with an unexpected day off? That's right! I called my friends to help put up my yurt.

The day started with finishing the QA and restoration on the lattice sections. I replaced missing pieces and double-checked the integrity of the camel hide ties, replacing any that couldn't handle LOTS of stress. You'll notice that I remembered to go to the Army/Navy Surplus Store and get braided cordage in neutral colors. Much nicer than that yellow stuff from last week.

One of my friends, DelVic, drove three hours to help with this setup. When he builds his yurt, I'll do the same for him. While Jesse and I waited for him to arrive, we tied together some sections of lattice and laid them against the deck railing.

Then we tied the columns onto the crown and laid it inside the yurt before attaching the lattice to the door.

Those guys held up the center while I carefully inserted a few poles.

In just a few minutes, the three of us had all the poles in.

We then discovered that the Russian canvas cover actually belongs to a smaller yurt. Good thing it was free! It's one of the things that the guy from San Diego tossed in when we were packing the van.

Since I don't have a use for it, I'll give it to a friend with a yurt that it will fit.

It was then time to carefully fold the wool covers and put them up.

Then we wheeled in the wood stove, completing all of the tasks that I absolutely could not do on my own. I'll install the piping for it tomorrow.

The next step was to attach a layer of Tyvek. It goes under the skirt that I taped onto the ring last week.

Then we quickly and shoddily put on the outer cover because the dew was coming up fast! It's not perfect, but it's good enough to protect the wool if it rains tonight. I can jostle, cajole, and attach it better by myself in the morning. We did all of this in about 5 hours. This isn't bad, considering that none of us has ever put up a traditional Mongolian yurt before.

Here's an overview of Cloud Nine at dusk, now with two very different yurts.

And this is the view from my bed as I fell asleep. The light is coming from candles sitting on the cold wood stove. It's freezing, it reeks of sheep, and it's the most beautiful and inspiring place I've ever slept. I really don't believe that I get to live here.