The above picture was taken 2 weeks ago. We drove out to check on our driveway and see how accessible it might be. It wasn’t. Chris hiked the whole way in nearly thigh high snow that had begun melting away underneath. He came back exhausted.
Last week we went back to see how it’s going. The snow was only shin deep. Still too much to risk trying to drive on. If we tried to plow it off we could end up stirring up the dirt below. So we wait. The sawmill waits. The new blades and replacement parts wait. The logs wait. Mother Nature has her own ideas.
The creek is thawing on top. Ice floated free of the bottom of the creek.
Today we had to get outside for a while. The season ended for my work and while I have been going in two days per week to help with their summer projects this is a quiet time with not much to do. I have spent too much time indoors. So we went for a walk. The creek has been thawed enough to not walk across for a while now. But though the surface flows there was still thick ice on the bottom. Well, at least until today there was.
The kids had to play on the creek. Just like when it first started to freeze, the other kids had to share the fun with Chris. Being the person he is, there was no way he wouldn’t join in. He even had to request his axe so he could try to make iceberg islands. They goofed off for nearly an hour before other things called them away.
The big bloodsuckers are already out.
The thing that surprises me (though it shouldn’t) is how early the mosquitoes are out. A friend calls them “snow mosquitoes” and says that even though they are huge most of them don’t even bite. I wear my heavy sweatshirt to make it harder for the ones that do. Yes they are big. They are also less bothersome than the tiny ones that come later in the season. This year I’m getting a bug net to put on my hat. Last year I breathed too many of them.
So we’re still in a holding pattern. Winter is done. Spring is here, but not yet building season. We have a lot of the pieces, we just need to get them put together. Here’s hoping that we can start moving forward soon.
The above is a screenshot from this morning. I have already said how much I distrust my weather app. I don’t think it was really that cold, but it was not far off at the time. The Toyo was struggling to keep the interior temperature above 40° so we turned on the propane heater to boost it. The dog refused to get out from under the blankets.
As crazy as this morning’s temp might be, just take a look at the forecast for the next few days. We are supposed to climb into the 40s and maybe melt off some of the snow that fell last weekend.
Oh, oops. I didn’t write about last weekend’s snowstorm. It was ridiculous! On Thursday morning the roads were clear and dry, the sun was shining, and then the clouds rolled in. Thursday night started snowing. And snowing. And more snow. I had to sweep 4″ off the outhouse seat at 4am, and another 2″ every time I went out all day Friday and Saturday. I think we got a total of 18″ overall, almost doubling the total for the season in just two days.
Snowy roads are no surprise.
Sunday I got to work, but the van got stuck in the parking lot at the shop. I didn’t go anywhere that day. I did chain up for the first time in my life just to move the van 20 feet. That felt like a win!
The week got progressively better. I ended up driving a rented 4wd van to make sure I could get people where they had to be. It was a little rough, but worked out okay. Now that the week is done everyone is breathing a sigh of relief because that means the season is over. Today, April 10, the last guests checked out and Basecamp is closed for the summer. Now the only people up here are employees. We were given the opportunity to spend a night in the igloos and I decided to take them up on the offer.
The view from my room for the night. Here’s the inside. It’s cozy! (I wish I had a quilt.)
Tonight I plan to relax. I’m going to have a nice dinner. I’ll get to use the sauna and maybe even see the aurora. Will I be able to get photos of it? Probably not with my phone camera, but my brain camera is ready to max out it’s memory. Tomorrow I will start working on my plans for summer. The seasons are changing and I want to take full advantage of the good weather when it gets here.
I had a rather vivid dream just now. For some reason I was supposed to read a short paper about Andre Norton to a group of people pursuing some sort of PhD. The paper and the group were more concerned with the feminism of the topic than they were with the fact that Andre Norton wrote lots of fun stories. So instead of jumping in to read the paper I started out by talking about how much I had loved the stories. The group joined in, getting all excited about story as well. I’m not sure if I ever did read the paper in the dream. I do remember speculating that she used the pen name to distract from the unimportant fact of the author’s sex so that she could write what she wanted to and actually have it sell.
For those who are not familiar, Andre Norton was the pen name of a woman who wrote pulp science fiction and fantasy in the 1950s and 60s. I discovered her books in the library as a young teen and devoured them, checking some out more than once. The fact that they were written by a woman was never a big deal to me, I just cared about the story. I loved the worlds and ideas I found in her books. But I can understand that in the time people had expectations of what a category of person might be interested in or write. Even today you don’t expect men to write romances. It doesn’t surprise me that nobody expected good sci-fi/fantasy from a mere woman.
This post will not be a rant against gender expectations, toxic feminism, or masculinity. I have some strong opinions, but I feel like those are better discussed over coffee, face to face where we can process all the subtleties of human expression. It is hard to come to a true understanding through the screen.
What I really took from my dream is how she just did the thing. She wanted to write her way and she did it. She found a way to put her voice into the world and is remembered for the work as much or more than the method. She was a doer.
I have all kinds of things to say. I want to put my voice out into the world. I have a bunch of things I want to do. I just keep putting it off. I think it might be easier if I had a proper desk to use my laptop instead of typing on my phone. I want to research and outline instead of letting the words flow. I want to make it perfect. I want to reach some standard of…not perfection, but better than what I’ve been doing. Except that is all just a pile of excuses to not do.
I’m a little bit stuck. I know I’m fighting a battle where perfection is the enemy of the good. I’m fighting against the idea that I don’t know enough to have the right to talk about some subjects because I don’t want to be wrong. I’m also fighting myself every time I try to set a schedule. It’s ridiculous how much self sabotage a person can do. Forgive me if you actually want to read more about being prepared or how it’s going up here. This blog is teaching me about myself and I don’t know how much to share.
Doing should not be an art. You should just do the thing, at the appropriate time, to the best of your current ability. Sometimes you will look back and cringe. Sometimes you will look back and be surprised at how good it is. Doing is practice and with practice you will improve. Someday it will be easier.
This ends my little sermon to myself. To my audience of three: thank you for reading this. I don’t intend to go on these weird tangents very often, but I always enjoy being reminded that others are just people too. I hope you can get going and do big things.
The last year has been anything but stable. So many parts of our lives that seemed steady as a rock changed overnight. Work, play, church, school, grocery shopping, going out for dinner…it seems nothing can be taken for granted these days. We wonder when it will get back to normal, or if this “new normal” is here to stay.
While I have been up in Alaska living my off grid adventure my family back in Oregon has had some adventure of their own. Back in September they had to evacuate due to wildfire threatening the area, and in February they dealt with a winter weather event that coated everything in a thick layer of ice, took out the power for three days, and broke or uprooted many of the smaller trees on the property.
Post ice storm cleanup in Oregon. Several of these trees broke their tops or fell over from the weight of the ice.
It has been my intention for quite some time now to discuss the idea of being prepared for things like this. None of it is quite a doomsday scenario, but not much of life is… regardless of how the news might portray things. Preparedness starts as a state of mind and develops as a way of life. It is simply saying that you don’t want to have to worry about the basics if life goes sideways, and putting things in place to give you protection so you can continue to live well, no matter what.
My preparedness mindset started reluctantly because of my husband. He grew up in Cuba and knew what it was like to do without or make do. He loved the great abundance here in America, but in 2008 he started seeing warning signs. He wanted to get a deep pantry set up. He wanted to do more to be self-sufficient. He got us started.
In 2013 I discovered a podcaster that talked about this stuff in a way that was practical and made sense. Listening to daily episodes of The Survival Podcast helped keep me grounded through a time that was a personal survival scenario. It gave me a clearer picture of what being prepared really is and how it can be adapted to individual situations. This isn’t doomsday thinking. This is simply real life thinking.
A year ago I did a series called My Camping List. In it I went through each category of item to pack, what I pack, and why. The entire thing was based on a lifetime of summer camping and what I find makes for a great experience. What if you approach preparedness the same way? You go through each basic need and make sure you have a plan to not have to go without. This isn’t hoarding. This isn’t crazy. This is simply having a plan so you can live well no matter what happens to the world.
I’m still working on my outline, but I ran across a video the other day and I thought I would share it. I will give a warning that in the video he doesn’t mince words. He speaks with passion and there are a few f-bombs. But if you are willing to let that slide past, there is some great stuff here. I’ll link to the video, but I’ll also link to the podcast episode. The podcast is longer, but more in depth and he controls his language more in podcasts than in video. Give it a watch and/or listen and check back to see what I come up with. Also, please leave a comment here telling me what you feel prepared for or what you don’t feel prepared for.
Here’s the video. It’s 15 minutes about not prepping based on fear.
And here’s the podcast. I will confess that as of right now I have not yet listened to it, but I will today. I’m pretty sure I know a lot of what he’s going to say. Read through the show notes, hit play on the player, or download it to listen later. Not everyone will like everything this guy has to say, but he does really well on this particular topic and this will be a great place to start.
I really hope to get some discussion going on this. I’ve already used this way of thinking to get through some hard times and I feel it will be even more important in times to come. The more people who approach life with a plan that doesn’t involve waiting to be rescued, the better off everyone can be.
Okay, so this isn’t actually where I live. It’s the cabin across the creek. My post title is ridiculously clickbaity, but my sense of humor is hiding in the back giggling like mad. The best part is that the title is my reality.
This is the RV I have lived in since July. We are totally off grid. Our wash water was brought in from the creek until the creek froze. Our drinking water is brought in using 5-gallon jugs like you would use on your water cooler at work. Our electricity comes from a generator. Our heat comes from an oil heater. Our cooking is done on the propane stove that comes with the RV. I have access to laundry and shower facilities at the shop where I park the van I drive for work. We use an outhouse as necessary. It has been an adventure and I love it. I have learned a lot from this experience.
Needs are important. So are comforts. You have to make sure that all the basic necessities are in place. Once that is taken care of, the little things are what make life more enjoyable. Sometimes a comfort is something as simple as a fluffy blanket or a new pillow. Keep it simple, but enjoy it.
Energy is vital for life. When it is so readily available you can easily take it for granted. We have to pay attention to our energy use in order to continue to have it available. If we want heat we need to have oil and electricity. If we want electricity we have to have gasoline. If we forget to pay attention we will run into trouble.
Simple is best. You can complicate the heck out of everything, but why? It’s good to let all the extra stuff fall by the wayside. If it drains your time and energy, let it go. Live simply for a while and see what you miss enough to bring it back into your life.
Cast Iron is good for everything…almost. We have a couple of cast iron skillets that we use daily now. We also acquired a pair of enameled cast iron dutch ovens that get plenty of use. We fry things, simmer things, stew things, and bake things. Pancakes, hashbrowns, eggs, steaks, soups, stew, pot roast, grilled cheese, pizza, and even layer cakes have come out of the cast iron that we use.
You can use less water than you think. You probably use more water than you realize. Check your water bill. Divide that by days of the month. How much do you use daily? We use 10-15 gallons of water per week for cooking, cleaning, and drinking. Laundry and shower are extra, but I’m not hauling that so I can’t count it. I laughed at a dishwasher commercial that bragged about using just 4 gallons per load. I use 1-2 gallons to wash dishes and I do it about two times a week.
There is a visceral excitement in finding success against nature. This isn’t quite Australia, but make no mistake. The Arctic is constantly looking for ways to kill you if you are stupid. The weather is no joke. There are animals that will eat you. The moose can be more dangerous than the bears. (Don’t try to pet them or take selfies beside them.) I am by no means as self sufficient as some of the people who live in the far middle of nowhere, but with my beginner skills I am still proud that I have done as well as I have this winter.
I asked my son what he thought he learned from the last 9 months of living off grid, and I think what he said sums it up perfectly. “You have to learn to do shit for yourself.”
Today everyone has been encouraged to become specialists. You go to college to learn your selected career and let a lot of other skills fall by the wayside. You end up paying others to apply their specialties when things go wrong. There are memes about how nobody knows how to change a tire, change their oil, fix a leaky faucet, even change out a light bulb. People don’t know how to use basic tools anymore unless it’s part of their job. Well let me tell you, a lot of these things aren’t so difficult. Knowing some of them will save you a lot of money.
We learned (my son mostly) how to troubleshoot a generator. If we had to take it into the shop for service it would take 6 weeks and cost $200 for repair. We know this because we had trouble with one that we couldn’t figure out. That was a big incentive to learn all the things to check. Professor Google and YouTube University can teach you almost everything you need to learn. Any trouble you have, someone else has run into before and someone has made a video about. Even if it isn’t exactly for the item you are working on you should be able to learn something that applies. Learn. There is no better teacher than necessity. Now he will wake up because he hears that the generator is about to quit. He’ll have his pants on and be reaching for boots before it shuts off, then be out with the backup generator to swap it out. The dead one ends up inside to warm up and be worked over. The generator tool kit comes out to take it apart and clear the ice wherever it may be. Knowing how to do this takes the worry out of the situation and certainly builds confidence.
You don’t have to live off grid in an RV through an Alaskan winter to learn things from life. You can learn things from everyday life. All you have to do is pause every now and then and ask yourself what you’ve been through and what you did right or what you could have done different to have a better outcome. Life is a journey of constant discovery. As long as you remember that you will never be bored with it. The day you stop learning things is the day you start dying.
How much snow do we have? More than we did last week. You always stop for these pedestrians.
I think we have gotten 8″ of snow in the last few days. This is by not any scientific measurement, it’s based on how much snow I sweep off a certain seat every time I go out. It has become habit to grab the broom as well as TP every time I go out the door. Yes, I confess. I do regret not putting a roof out there. Even a tarp would help, but… whatever. I do have a wonderful view if it is warm enough to take time to look around. Sunrise is especially pretty.
I haven’t written in a few days because I have things I want to say about current events and how I think it might affect my plans for the future. I’ve been thinking about energy a lot. Also about being prepared for challenging times. The winter weather that hit nearly the entire country in February took many people by surprise while I’m gaining experience in how to handle that type of weather. I’m thinking about redundancy and alternatives and how I can set them up so I won’t be taken by surprise if the current systems are disrupted.
I’ve been thinking, but I don’t know how best to share my thoughts. I want it to be a discussion with other interested people. I want people with experience to be able to advise those without. I probably want more than I will ever achieve on my little blog, so I guess I’ll just have to figure out where to start small. So instead of the deep thoughts I will share a couple of stories.
Yesterday was warm by February in Alaska standards. The temp was about 20° so we took advantage of that by shoveling some of the snow away from the truck and off our paths. Not that it did a lot of good, but there’s less than there would have been.
Clay has a new squeaky toy. We bought it so he won’t get so bored when we’re gone and won’t look for trouble. There have been too many incidents of getting into things that should not be touched! He made the mistake of bringing it outside to play. He lost track of it and the other dogs got to it and brought it into the cabin across the creek. Hopefully it will come home soon now that the kids know where it came from.
The funniest story is when Chris came in completely covered in snow. I guess he was by the generator, near the trees that are heavy with excess snow. He says an odd noise got him to look up just as a branch let go of a load. A raven happened to fly away from the branch right about then. Apparently they have a twisted sense of humor and find ways to tease.
As for me, I got to join friends on a trip to the hot springs. It’s a really nice day trip. We left home at almost 5, picked up some snacks in town, filled the tank in the car, then headed out of town. Due to all the snow the road was more of an adventure than usual, but we had the ice road trucker driving the Prius. So yeah, it was an adventure. He’s got no worries tackling an actual paved road in a bit of snow when he drives the haul road on a regular basis.
Yes a Prius can handle a snowy road.
The hot springs were almost too hot with the weather so warm. They are best enjoyed when it’s -30°. Some of us were ready to get out much sooner than others. But the soak did me good. The minerals in the water really do something to your joints. One of these days I’ll manage to schedule a massage to go with the hot springs trip.
Now another week is coming, and with it another month. There’s only a few more weeks to the season at my job. By April I need to be ready to see what I can get started on for my cabin. I’ll have the free time and hopefully Chris will have a job to cover living expenses. I’m excited as I look forward to the next couple of months. This RV has worked well enough to keep out the weather this winter. I just don’t want to still be here in August.
So I guess that covers where we are for now. I hope everyone got through the bad weather well enough. I hope you are all making plans for how to make the next time go easier. And I hope you go into spring with plans to improve your life.
I’m keeping warm. The heaters are working fine. I officially don’t have covid, it’s a cold and I’m about halfway through it. Yeah, I got the call letting me know it’s not the plague of our time. I’m glad. That makes for far fewer complications in life.
As much as I don’t like being sick, the last couple of days have been nice to just be quiet. My blankets welcome me, and if my feet are cold I have a dog to help. It’s a mutual thing. He uses me for body heat all the time too.
My living hot water bottle is not amused.
Hopefully wherever you are as you read this you are also warm, not miserably sick, and have a good fuzzy to keep you company.
I’m staying home sick this week. I’m 99.999% sure it’s a normal cold, the likes of which I have worked through hundreds of times before, but we are in strange times. That normal head cold might actually be the plague that wants to kill people!
Pardon the sarcasm. Yeah. We’re in strange times. I’m not driving a 40-footer full of random people these days. I drive people who are tired of being locked down in fear. They have braved the pandemic and the airport screening line in order to have an experience. They don’t need to see me going through Kleenex like crazy and worry about sharing an enclosed space with me. I went to get tested and will probably hear the results today. I’m not worried.
Looking up the frozen creek. The sun is somewhere that direction.
So about that title. I woke up this morning a bit colder than usual. The dog can’t decide whether or not to stay under the blankets and ends up dragging them off of me. So I pulled them up again and reached for my weather app. It says -41. I say what? Pull to refresh and it updates to -31. Okay. I went outside as one does when necessary, even though it might be that cold. As soon as I’m vertical gravity says hello. And yes, it’s extra cold. Cold enough that when I cleared my sinuses I think the wad was half frozen before I could spit. (Sorry, I guess it’s TMI day, but the experience was strange.)
I installed a new weather app with NOAA in the name and that one says it’s -13. That doesn’t seem right either. I know it’s colder than that. Or at least I think I do. I’m not sure what to trust anymore.
I guess I need to get a thermometer to put up outside. Maybe I’ll tack it to a tree and have real time temps that I can trust.
This is what I woke up to. I made sure to not crop out the time. Don’t worry. We’re comfortable this time around. Both the Toyo and the propane heater are working to keep the indoor temps cozy. The thermometer in my end of the RV reads 45, but it’s mounted on an exterior wall so that might skew it colder. My blankets are enough to make it comfortable. Clay dog agrees.
This is what I woke up to yesterday morning. I had to sweep it off so I could head in to work. No ice to scrape. Nothing melted because it was -15 when I went to bed and -8 when I woke up. All the snow is dust and blows off easily.
Driving into town I was able to safely cruise at highway speed. Normal, dry pavement speed limit speed is safe in these conditions. It’s almost surprising because at night my headlights reflect off the shiny layer of ice on the road surface, but if you aren’t stupid it isn’t really slick. Don’t let your wheels touch the deeper snow on the shoulder though, it’ll suck you in.
Honestly, the only problem with fresh snow is the visibility. Traffic in the right lane clears it out, but if someone passes on the left it stirs up a cloud that takes a while to settle. That cloud will drift across the median too and you can’t see what other vehicles are doing until it clears.
Traffic delay!
As much as Portland loves their dogs, I doubt this will ever show up in Portland. Actually, I would love to see this. Let me have a team and one of the carts they use for summer training. Let me go flying down the bike path. I wouldn’t need to fear the homeless campers because I’d have 8 dogs with me and all they want is to run. Nah, on the other hand I’d have to watch out for paw injuries from broken glass and needles. No need to put my imaginary dogs through that. Better to stay here where it’s cold enough that running doesn’t make them overheat, and you never have to dig ice splinters out of a paw.
So it is cold and snowy up here. That’s a given. I’m enjoying every bit of it. We’ve had a few rough patches. This morning we’re listening to the generator with suspicion because it doesn’t sound quite right. The backup generator is staged and ready to go if we need to swap it out and let the other one warm up. It’s possible that moisture is in the fuel again which means ice in the carburetor. This is why we have two of them. We have learned a lot in the last few months.
February means we’re in the second half of winter. Things start thawing out in March. We could almost start a countdown. As cold as it is right now I know this winter wasn’t as cold as it could have been and I’m thankful for that. Last year had lows in the -40s to -50s during January. I would hate to have dealt with that in an RV. I’m looking forward to building my cabin so I can have good insulation again.
I hope you are all enjoying the last of winter wherever you are. Go do something fun. Find a reason to appreciate your warm house. Your backyard might not be below zero, but winter weather has a way of making indoors feel extra cozy. Revel in it and recharge to be ready for when the world comes back to life.
I’m glad January is over. I was so distracted by the mess in the news that I didn’t know what to write. I want to keep that stuff mostly out of the story of me, but I can’t promise it won’t creep in sometimes. I just want to understand it enough to form a position and I don’t think I’m there yet. I’m going to leave it alone.
This is what we woke up to this morning. Not so bad by normal standards up here, but a bit more than we’re used to. At least we have heat this time! The Toyo is working hard and keeping the temperature above freezing. With the help of the propane heater it might get above 40. I’ll take it.
Chris and I stayed warm in this gear.
Fortunately it was far warmer at -7° on Saturday. I was given a slot for Chris and I to join the 6 hour Snowmachine tour at work. Now I can tell my guests on the shuttle exactly how much fun they’re going to have. It sprinkled snow all day, even when the sky cleared a little. We were all bundled up to the point Chris said he felt like a burnt stay-puff marshmallow man. It kept us warm enough. At the halfway point we got to sit around a fire drinking hot coffee and tomato soup and eating grilled cheese sandwiches warmed in the coals. Then it was another couple of hours back to Basecamp.
Testing out his new warm boots. That is the Trans Alaska Pipeline. See the bridge to the left of it? We rode down the steep hill to there and then along the pipeline. Coming back we had to go up the hill.
If you already haven’t figured it out, I am a huge proponent of taking on new, challenging experiences. This was exactly that. I don’t know if our guides fully understand how satisfying it was to conquer the hill by the pipeline. They hear it all the time, but being young men I don’t think they understand it. Coming up to that point I had been nervous going above 15 mph on the snowmachine. To go up the hill you had to hit at least 18 to have the necessary momentum. I did it and after that it was easy to cruise at the faster speed. I even enjoyed popping over the bumps.
But here’s the craziest thing of all. As much as I enjoyed the ride and the new experiences, I loved seeing traces of my work everywhere.
I drive the shuttle. At most I spend a half hour at Basecamp each trip unloading and loading luggage and stuff. I bring down dirty laundry and bring back the clean. I joke that half of my job is professional scavenger hunter. I get texted a list and try to acquire everything before I have to pick up the next passengers. Saturday I saw my acquisitions everywhere.
There was the bread, yogurt, and bagels on the breakfast buffet. The hangars for the snow suits. The chimney in the Arctic Oven tent with the propane stove. The snow suits themselves were boxes that came to the shop and I brought up in my van. I have spent most of the season feeling disconnected, but being there I see that I have a hand in almost everything. Even when I drop off luggage now I notice the lemon scent Pinesol that I bought because the store was out of regular. It is so satisfying.
