Four years ago ( I was six at the time) we looked around the island for a good location to build a fort. We began building two on the upstream side of the island, but neither of them was worthy of the Island. We then went to the downstream side, hoping to find a better location. We found a large tree bent over at a perfect angle to build a fort (it also had good river views!).

We gathered sticks and logs long enough to reach between the trunk and the ground. We placed them vertically to build the walls of the fort. To create the roof we gathered logs that were like boards, such as portions of old tree trunks, which we then placed between trunk which split and formed a natural frame for a roof. The roof is strong enough to support a few people. There were some branches above the roof that could also support one person. We placed flat sticks across these branches to create another, smaller floor.

Alex atop the highest battlements.

Now we had a three story fort!

Over the years some people have damaged the fort by pulling down sticks and by littering. Others, on the other hand, have helped by replacing sticks that have been knocked off and by taking away useless or rotten sticks.

Although we often thought about it we have yet to sleep out in the fort. Doc and Phyllis helped with the fort and we really miss them.