Building a Barn in Minnesota

For a summer vacation, Kris Sahlstrom and I drove to Minnesota and spent two weeks building a new pole barn on the farm where he grew up. It was an epic, two-week adventure. A road trip, camping trip, and construction project all rolled together.

We camped at the barn site, about a half-mile from the old farmhouse:

We made our meals in the fancy kitchen:

We drank our coffee in better-and-better vantage points, as the barn grew taller:

The new barn is out in a field, about a half-mile from the farmhouse:

Here's Kris:









His wife Stacy flew in for a few days:



Many nice sunrises. Good coffee-drinking conditions:

















And some good sunsets too:



Our Living Accommodations:


Running the Rum:

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks:


After the rain ended one evening:



A couple of storms bore high winds, which pummeled the tent and broke poles.  The tent was in pretty sad shape by the end of the two weeks:



Kris grew up in this tiny house with six other brothers and sisters. They trudged thru the woods to cut and split all the wood to heat the house during the winters:



Some of the farm critters:







The satellite image of the farm, from a few years ago, shows this area which was empty and just crying out for a barn to be built there:






A scene from the kitchen: