off the grid 12 comments
Last week, I spent three days visiting with friends who are building a cabin on the north shore of Lake Superior a couple of hours east of Thunder Bay. It was nice to see their place and catch up on what they’ve been doing. One of their projects has been to outfit the cabin with gear to provide alternative energy as they’ve chosen to remain off the grid. Above is a photo of a solar and wind platform on the roof. The pipe from the large wood cookstove may be seen to the right.
The woodstove and the interior of the cabin conjured up some memories of my family’s cottage on the Ottawa River. We had a woodstove which was the only source of heat and was also used for some auxiliary cooking, although we did also have an old propane range. We also used to cook certain foods like foil-wrapped baked potatoes in a bonfire on the beach.
The view from the front yard was fantastic. The autumn leaves in this area are different than on the eastern side of Lake Superior. The red leaves of maples are seen until about the northern edge of Lake Superior Provincial Park, but as you travel northwards, these fade out and give way to the yellows and golds of aspen and birch. I was surprised to find a few flowers such as this blanket flower yet in bloom (see below). Although the climate of Superior can be harsh, in many ways, the lake also has a moderating effect on the temperature. The weather was a bit wet and cold during my stay, but everything was still beautiful.
Unfortunately, the dampness had a deleterious effect on the electrical wiring problem in my van. On the morning that I chose to push on with my trip, we traveled no further than a couple of kilometers west on the Trans-Canada when the engine light came on and the van began to chug and shudder. I made an executive decision to just continue on my way as no parts or service were available in that vicinity over the Thanksgiving weekend anyhow. It was a little nerve-wracking having to worry that the van might konk out somewhere along that section of highway, but it had been pretty trustworthy up to that point, so I decided to hang tight and carry on. Over the next hour or two, the whole “van problem” got me thinking about how we perceive risk. Here I was in a van with a comfortable bed with lots of warm bedding, plenty of food and water, a blackberry to communicate with, and my dog for company. If worse came to worse, we could just pull off of the road somewhere and hunker down for awhile, and then call for help after the holiday weekend. Compared to some of the other “risk” that has been a constant in my world over the past year, the possibility of spending the night in my van along a fairly well-traveled highway seemed pretty tame. It’s interesting how our perception and acceptance of risk can change dramatically over time.
12 Responses to 'off the grid'
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Bev, thank you for this – I haven’t been back to the north shore in a year or three, and I am always dreaming about it. This is almost like returning myself. Are your friends building their “off the grid” home near Rossport?
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Your friends’ place is quite beautiful. I think it’s the way many of us should be living. We hope to create our own homestead much like theirs.
Perspective is an ever-changing thing. I’m glad that your van has carried on. Safe and good journey to you.
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Bev, I am thoroughly enjoying your photos. Lake Superior is so beautiful. On the Sleeping Giant there are Artic plants. Isn’t that a wonder?
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Hi Bev,
Just want to say how happy I am that you are taking this journey, for you and Don both. It’s very inspiring to me.
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Bev, I think what your friends are doing is quite admirable and I’m glad you found so much beauty in your stay with them (though I think perhaps you are the kind of person who manages to find something of beauty everywhere you go).
I have always been a person with more than a healthy dose of fear and worry about all things in life… Indeed, it is likely my biggest handicap. Your comments about the nature of “risk” and your changing perspective on the subject really gave me pause to stop and think about how I want to evolve in the future. Thank you.
Wherever you are now, I hope you and Sabrina are enjoying yourselves!
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Oops! I clicked the “submit” button before I remembered to enter my name (or e-mail address for that matter!). Not sure if you care or not, but I think most blogs attempt not to let you post a comment without requiring some sort of identifying information about yourself first…
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I watched the documentary by Les Stroud called, “Off the Grid”, which your post here reminded me of.
I was considering buying some solar or wind generators, but the cost upfront is not cheap. I’ll have to do more research.
Hope you get that van looked at! and that your journey thus far has been fulfilling.
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You and Sabrina are in my thoughts as you travel. Lovely photo of Sabrina looking at the view, Bev. She is good company.
Just returned from a solo driving trip from Washington to as far south as San Luis Obispo in California, visiting friends along the way as well as RTN’s grave in the grasslands of Central California. Often felt his love and encouragement during the trip.
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Looks like a nice spot. Hope all is well
: )
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nice journey. good luck with the van. robin and i both exclaimed, upon seeing the cabin picture “wow. we’d live there.” sabrina looks good.
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Cate – Glad that you enjoyed seeing the photos. Yes, you’re right. I was up in the Rossport area.
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robin – I think that many of us could manage with a lot less.
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Devon – Yes, that *is* fascinating about the Arctic plants. It’s always neat to find populations of plants in unexpected places.
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Laura – Thank you. I’m glad that you’re finding it inspiring. I suspect that some people might think this journey to be an odd thing to do, but to me, it seems to be so natural.
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Harsi – Yes, it’s true — I do manage to find something beautiful just about everywhere I go. I do understand what you mean about having some fear as I probably shared some of those fears as well. However, when Don died, I resolved to learn to do things on my own, otherwise, I would have to resign myself to staying around home. Once on the road, I found it not so difficult as I had imagined. Doubtless, if the van had behaved a little better, it would have been that much less stressful, but it really wasn’t all that bad.
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Peter – Based on what I’ve been reading lately, I don’t think it will be all that long until we’ll see solar becoming increasingly affordable.
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am – I wondered how your trip had gone. I’m glad that you made it. When I was experiencing some stress from the van situation, I got some comfort thinking about how Don would have handled various situations. That seemed to help me with some of my decision making.
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Dave – It was a good place to stop and rest up after the trip along the north shore of Superior. All is going well so far — in spite of the van’s tricks! (-:
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roger – Sabrina has been doing really well. I think she’s actually thriving on being on the road. The van is in for repairs, so I’m hoping to be able to travel onwards without having to worry about whether we’ll make it to our next stopping place.
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