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To: Ursus arctos horribilis

We had a cabin up above Sault St Marie in Canookistan at Lake Ogidaki where we spent part of each year when I was a pup. We did some winters and summers depending on my Dads work schedule. It was the same.....we had to ask the Algoma Railroad conducter to stop the train and let us off and he gave us "flags" to stop the train when we wanted it to stop for our ride out.

We kept a canoe stashed in the brush near by as it was about 3 miles if we had to hump our gear and supplies in by foot. Heck when we built the cabin we had a "kit" log cabin delivered by flatcar on the train and they dumped it off next to the tracks for us. Us kids had to roll each log down to the lake and float it across and use a system of ropes, pulleys and come alongs to get each log up about 100 yards from the edge of the lake..... It was a hoot but we finished it in 1968 and it still stands today in primo shape. We had over the first 3 summers and falls up there in tents on our 99 year lease made a very solid rock and concrete foundation w/ concrete hauled in my hand and rocks collected on site.

We never locked the door, hauled up a couple of propane bottles every year to operate the propane powered fridge if it got too hot for the dads beer to chill in the lake or make ice for some kool aid ,iced tea or friday night ice cream for us kids. That was our lone modern item aside from a wood cook/heat stove. Not even a radio . I must mention that we did have a chainsaw or two and POL for those . Someone had built a sauna /steam bath from old railroad ties down near the tracks and used a wood stove kit that converts a 55 gallon drum to a stove, surrounded it with a wood frame on top and piled big rocks on the stove. The inside of the structure was lined on the top half with 6 mil plastic and a 55 gallon drum was in the corner fill with water from a siphoned source up above the tracks buy a simple garden hose. That was our shower every day, we'd go build the fire, get the rocks hot and then use a coffee can to dump water an make steam . After we were done we'd hit the cold creek across the tracks and cool off then dry off get in clean clothes , canoe back across the lake and sleep like babies.........Back when fun was........:o)


290 posted on 09/08/2005 7:54:24 PM PDT by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet. ©)
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To: Squantos
In Alaska we bought part of an old homestead on Tern Lake down on the Kenai, at first nearest neighbor was six miles away. Got a well and electricity in, but never got the other modern conveniences. Had a great little library in Moose Pass, you got a door key instead of a library card, was nothing to drop by at 2 AM and check out books.

Was great for the kids, X-country skiing and snow machining in the winter. Summers they had their horses, the lake to canoe on and fishing.

I worked offshore over in Cook inlet, week on, week off. When the company transferred me in 76, was lucky it was to Wyoming, could have been to lot worse place.

Home page link:

http://hstrial-rchambers.homestead.com/
291 posted on 09/08/2005 9:02:02 PM PDT by Ursus arctos horribilis ("It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!" Emiliano Zapata 1879-1919)
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