A winter cabin adventure

Winter blizzards and a blocked chimney pipe - mishaps and good times!

It was January when we decided to head out to our lodge for a winter cabin adventure. We'd closed it in November but had been toying with the idea of getting out during the winter. Plus we needed to get a truckload of firewood for our place in town.

We crested the hill coming into Smoky Lake around noon on Saturday. As always, the vista of rolling hills and countryside impressed me. We stopped at Family Foods to get some cream and onions and then to Smoky Lake's Old Fashioned Bakery to buy some bread.

When we walked into the bakery someone said, "It's them! I just saw their videos!" Everyone in the small town bakery and cafe stopped to listen.

This fellow had seen our Adventures with Fitzgerald the Dump Truck videos and said he'd laughed all the way through them. He shook our hands and said he hoped to see more!

And then, coincidentally, it was off to the dump to drop off a load. Everything in the dump was covered in snow so there was no scavenging (or video taping) on this trip.

We arrived at the lodge and realized we'd forgotten the keys - we were driving a borrowed pickup: the lodge keys were in the van - but luckily we have a hidden set for days like today. There was a lot of snow so we had to shovel the steps and a path on the deck to get in.

After turning on the power we started the gas furnace. Smoke billowed into the room!

We immediately turned it off and went out to check the metal chimney. The top of it was completely blocked with snow - and presumably ice. The new sheet metal roof was much too slippery to attempt to climb up to dislodge the chimney blockage. Trying to operate the furnace would put us at high risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Not an option.

I lit the wood stove and we got an electric space heater out of the workshop to help get some warmth into the wood walls and floors.

Although it was not that cold outside - hovering around the freezing mark, it had been extremely cold for the last month. The previous week was below - 40 C (-40 F). The house and everything in it was cold, cold, cold. In fact it felt colder inside the cabin than it felt outside!

Gradually it warmed up but as the light was fading from the sky in the late afternoon, I still had my coat on.

Darkness came and the house was warming although progress was slow. Just before dinner our friends P and B arrived to join us in our winter cabin adventure.

Finally it was warm enough in the kitchen to cook (just) although I confess it's the first time I'd seen a chef wearing a scarf and toque indoors. At least by then we could no longer see our breath!

We had Dag's Sweet and Pungent Meatballs, Curried Creamy Leeks, and a salad that B prepared. We'd made the meatballs ahead of time so the dish was very easy to pull together. Accompanied with lots of wine and the soft light of candles, it was another great lodge feast.

By the time we were ready to call it a night, the living room was toasty warm and so were the bedrooms, plus we'd taken the chill off the mattresses with electric blankets.

I love rustic but I don't love roughing it. There are certain creature comforts I like to have... like a warm bed.

Because the water pipes were drained for the winter we had no running water and no plumbing.

Cooking and washing was not a problem as we brought water with us... but toileting proved to be a challenge for those of us with two X chromosomes. I'll spare you the details but I will say if we're going to have another winter cabin adventure we definitely need to find a proper bathroom solution.

I made a trip outside (for a nature call) and was taken by the full moon. I tried to capture the majesty of it in the photo above - but I guess you just had to be there.

We awoke Sunday morning to two surprises.

First was the snowfall - big fluffy flakes - and lots of it. The second was that the warmth from the house had melted the ice in the chimney pipe and we were able to start the furnace!

Between the wood stove and the furnace, the house was very comfortable and we had a lovely leisurely country breakfast of bacon and eggs, including some of our home roasted coffee.

Around noon we loaded the truck with firewood to take back to town and after re-closing the lodge, set off. The snow continued to fall and the wind was wicked. We passed at least 10 vehicles in the ditch, including a truck that had rolled. The perils of winter blizzards!

We were grateful to arrive back in town safely. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to extend our winter cabin adventure and remain at the lodge a little longer!