If you have been reading this blog over the last year there has been one major theme, aside from snow. When can I get on my land so I can build?
All last summer the unusual amount of rain made my new driveway treacherous. All winter there was enough snow that we weren’t going to try. This spring we were waiting for it to melt. And now we wait for the mud to dry out some more.
My driveway a month ago. My driveway yesterday.
One of the things that kept coming up when I was looking at land a considering the purchase of the property I now own was that you always look at access and water. I know how to handle water for consumption on the property and I know where most of the water flows across or collects on the property. I’m mostly okay with that at this point. What I’m struggling with is access.
Putting in the driveway was a great starting point. Now I really need to put in some time, effort, and gravel. That means money. I think I’m going to get off my butt and call up a local gravel company to see what it’s going to cost me to get started. If I can get something done on that then I will have an easier time getting started on all the other things that need doing.
I’m so glad I bought some supplies last fall. Prices on those two stacks have gone up considerably.
Part of the reason we went to check on the property was to see if our plywood was still there. I bought a stack of 5/8 and 20 sheets of tongue and groove subfloor last fall. I’m glad I did. Bulk price on the 5/8 was under $25/sheet last year. I just checked and it’s going for $67/sheet now for the same stuff. The subfloor is over $90/sheet now where I think I paid $60. I have a slightly irrational fear that it will grow legs. Maybe that comes from where I grew up, but at this point it might be worth the bother to someone.
Clay is getting the lay of the land.
I also succumbed to temptation and tromped across more of the land. I know we’ll extend the driveway in the future. I want to put in a guest cabin or two and maybe a second residence. This place is big enough to do some interesting things. I didn’t get very far, but I love what I saw. I can’t wait.
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.
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 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.
So as I write this it is a brisk -8°F outside. Not cold enough for me to put a coat on if I have to go out for a few minutes, but definitely not t-shirt weather. Almost everyone I left back in the lower 48 says that they couldn’t handle it up here because of the cold and the dark. I might have adapted already.
I’ve already written about the light. Before I came up here I was a little worried about how the short days would affect me. I know that I would get a bit of the winter blues with all of the gray dreariness in Portland. But up here I don’t think I’ve had a problem. I spend all day driving, trying to keep my eyes on the road and not the sky. It isn’t about the quantity of light, it’s the quality of the light that we get, and it’s all colors all day. Sunrise morphs into sunset with hardly any plain light in between. I may have run out of adjectives to adequately describe it all. I hope I never get tired of it.
The cold is something else. I’ve been told that we are having a fairly mild winter this year. The temperature dips to -20° on an almost weekly basis, but so far we’ve only had the one spell of colder. We have figured out the basics of dealing with this amount of cold. The generator has a hut so we don’t lose power. The propane has heat tape on the pipes so we don’t lose flow to it freezing again. We have sheets of foam insulation leaning against the trailer to minimize airflow underneath. I piled snow up to block most of the extra spaces between. The little Toyo works like a charm keeping the worst of the cold at bay. Even with the drafts that are inevitable in an older RV like this one the temperature is holding steady at 57°. We have it set for 60° but this is fairly comfortable.
The Toyo is good at prewarming our boots as it heats the RV.
So much about comfort depends on perspective. I remember coming out of the -31° night there was a temperature swing up to 27° and it felt so warm, but I read someone’s social media post about how they had to cut a bike ride short because 27° was SO COLD! I laughed, but was kind enough to not respond. This week there was heavy rain and wind back in Oregon, resulting in power outages. I saw posts encouraging people to be careful and stay warm because it was 48° outside. Again, I don’t reply because when the temperature drops the Toyo might struggle to keep the indoor temps above 40°, especially in my end of the RV. I just add layers and curl up with my blankets. There are ways to deal with this and I know I am becoming more resilient.
Clay knows how to keep warm.
So what should you do to keep warm when it’s really cold outside? It pretty much comes down to a couple of basic things. Trap body heat, and stay dry. If anyone was to come visit I would tell them to pack simply. Have a good quality set of base layers. I have a smartwool shirt and leggings that I almost live in. I also have wool socks, a fresh pair for every day. Over those I add a thermal shirt and flannel lined work pants. I have a scarf and a neck gaiter to keep body heat from escaping my shirts, and over that I wear a sweatshirt. That and a good set of boots that keep the snow out is enough to keep me going through the workday. I have a coat, hat, and gloves that I add as needed, but they annoy me most of the time with their bulk.
A day’s outfit laid out, ready to wear.
If it’s really cold I have hand warmers and toe warmers to get me through. I’ve had to use them a couple of times on the drive home because my poor truck can’t seem to put out any heat. Any time I drive home colder than -10° my feet and fingers start to ache with the cold. It isn’t much fun. A hand warmer can be a lifesaver then.
My friends across the creek have a bit more experience with the really cold weather. Just yesterday, for example, I got to hear more details about troubleshooting and swapping out the Toyo that broke down in the middle of a deep cold spell. She spent two days trying to figure out the problem before just replacing it. The temperature was -40° to -50° during this time. I can’t imagine, but I’m sure I’ll get to experience it at some point. They have a supply of cold weather gear that they have found at the pawn shop. People come up to work on the North Slope and decide not to stay so they sell their lightly used gear rated to -70° and it can be purchased for a tenth of the price of new. I’ll probably get a set at some point if I find the right size and have money at the same time. My biggest problem is finding boots that I can get my oddball left foot into.
Sleeping can be a bit of trouble. I’m using a memory foam mattress and I have discovered that cold makes it as hard as a rock and it steals body heat as it softens. I actually have to sit at the foot of the bed to preheat the mattress a little before I get under the covers. Even the dog has learned that trick. I’m using three blankets and they do a good job if they aren’t stolen by the dog. The single best blanket I bought was the Pendleton design sherpa blanket that Costco sold this year. I bought two of them and I wouldn’t mind picking up another. Just adding one of those blankets to the other two seemed to more than double the heat retained. The night starts out being chilly but I warm up pretty fast.
When I get my cabin built I hope to eliminate many of the problems we have in this RV. We’ll have better insulation. We’ll have a Toyo and a wood stove. I’ll be sleeping in the loft where the heat rises. Chris gets the bedroom downstairs because he likes it cooler. I’m glad for the experience we are gaining this winter, but I really can’t wait for the cabin.
The coffee is extra strong this morning. I might have allowed it to burble on the stove a little bit longer than I should have, but it has a nice kick. I’m sitting here, almost ready to head in to work and I’m trying to make plans. I knew that hibernation would wear off eventually.
First off, I want my cabin. I really, really want a proper cabin. It would be so much easier to heat than this RV. We would have more room to work in the kitchen. We could have better spaces to relax or hang out and not be in each other’s way. That has to wait. My loose plan is to wait for March when things melt to get the sawmill working and get the lumber cut so that when the season ends my shuttle job I can put in the time to build.
Then there is the garden. I want a garden. I’m pretty sure I can grow potatoes and cabbage, carrots and beets. I just don’t know how much protection I will need to install so that critters won’t trample or eat my garden. I put a question in to a group about that. We’ll see if I get anything useful.
I still don’t know what I’ll do for work in summer. Or if Chris will work and I can live off of his paycheck for a few months. I haven’t decided if I’ll drive for Basecamp for a second season or not. Some of this resists planning. It’s too far away and has too many variables.
I used to make lists and plans all the time. I find it really helps when your brain is too busy. Having things written down helps me focus. I’ve been getting better at letting go and winging it, but I would like an outline.
I know what I want to do out in the real world. I’m pondering a couple of ideas for content on the blog. I want your feedback.
What do you want to know about life in Alaska? Do you want to know about living off-grid? How do we keep warm? Cost of living? What it’s like driving? Ask me questions!
I have just finished reading through my posts for the last year. More recently I have been telling stories, but last January I posted a series detailing my camping list. I want to revisit that and compare camping to my current lifestyle. That could be an interesting ten articles.
Please, tell me what you think. I love sharing what it’s like up here and I would love to share the adventure with you the way you want to hear about it.
I’d join him if I could. He’d love the extra body heat.
It’s very close to the solstice and the temperature has been dipping lower more frequently. This weekend was the second in a row that hovered around -17° for most of the time. Oddly enough, it wasn’t as hard as last weekend.
I had zero plans for my weekend. I literally stayed in a cocoon in my bed as I explored and built in a new world on minecraft. Then Saturday afternoon a friend texted me to let me know she would pick me up at 4. I had to think about it for a while. I wasn’t sure what day it was. Then I remembered that she had informed me that I WOULD be joining her on a girls night out with her friends. Okay. I said I’d be ready.
We went to a favorite Thai restaurant and talked and ate. I knew I would probably like her friends. She has good taste in people. And I know I need to make more connections. As much as I could be happy as a hermit, I still need to socialize. After we left the restaurant we ended up going to look at guns (Missi has found one worth saving up for) and I bought a smaller cast iron skillet. Then we had to park at the side of the road to watch the solstice fireworks. We didn’t even need to be downtown.
It’s cold outside and I’ve been typing this while I wait for the truck to warm up. But the time comes to head for work. Clay is happily tucked into the blankets. He isn’t fond of this weather. It’s snowing again, so I’ll be thankful for the empty Sunday morning highway. It isn’t quite hibernation, but it’s closer than I have been to it in many years. And it feels good.
That time when the sawmill almost worked… We got 5 boards before it broke again and the snow came.
So my cabin didn’t get built before the snow came. I have come to see that as a blessing in disguise. As much as it would be more comfortable to have the space Chris and I are spending the winter close to friends who can help. Any time something goes wrong they are just across the creek instead of a few miles away. Not everyone gets to cheat like this their first winter living off-grid.
Last June I put together a plan for my cabin and calculated what it would cost. While we got some things set in motion, access to the build site was limited by the rain making a mess of my driveway. My building help had a friend who had fewer limitations and needed a cabin as well. So much of August and September was spent about 50 miles north of Fairbanks working on Zach’s cabin.
The video is about 30 minutes long. Lance recorded chunks of it as they worked. All of his kids were involved at some point; even the 3 year old got to be a gofer. Chris manned the saw. The trailer my dad built was used to haul materials.
This isn’t my cabin, but it might as well be a practice run. It’s nearly the same size and design as what I plan to build. Take time to watch the video and maybe subscribe. I’m sure Lance would love to have more people to share the view from his world. He gets some amazing scenery pics driving the highways of Alaska.
If we’re lucky I’ll get him to make some videos of my cabin build next spring.
