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"Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow"
You have to love The Weather Network. Its been snowing since late last night and hasnt stopped. I checked The Weather Network today around noon and it said, "We don't expect any precipitation from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday afternoon." Well, its now 1:00pm and its snowing heavier than ever. I shoveled the driveway for the third time about 20 min ago. The time before that was an hour and a half earlier, and before that around 8am this morning. Each time I removed at least 10cm of snow if not more.
If from noon - 1 it snowed 10cm, how is that no precipitation?
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I left to check the mail at 11:30. The post office is in the same building as the restaurant. Lyndsay and a bunch of teachers were there having lunch so I stopped to eat with them. When we left about 5-7 cm had fallen. Cars were parked everywhere in the parking lot. When we tried to leave we got stuck! This is the first time I have been stuck in the snow with that car. The parking lot had close to 30 cm of snow on it, and ice below, so its no wonder our little honda civic didnt want to go anywhere. With some help from our trusty shovel, and a push from both lyndsay and someone who works in the SuperValue we managed to get un-stuck, and pulled up along side the gas pumps. We figured we better put the chains on the car. Lyndsay bought some gas while I chained up.
I love all this snow, hopefully the plows come by some time soon or it wont be long before we are stranded!
What? No Power?
I sit here in the dark writing this post on the laptop, with what is left of its battery power. (Obviously I am not posting directly into the blog, as that requires an active internet connection - I will post when we have power agian, which is when you will be reading this.)
For much of yesturday the power was out, and the internet connection was spotty when the power was actually on. Today I am hoping that it is not the same. It is quarter after 8 and its been dark for about an hour now. We'll have to see how long it lasts.
I am fortunate that I work from home in the sense that last night, when power and internet were restored, I was able to get some work done, but it is certainly nicer to have it done during the day. Hopefully it will be back on soon as I have pleanty to do!
Yesturday Lyndsay arrived home early, the school was closed. Can't have the school open with no power, and also no heat! The snow came down mostly all day requiring a few shovel sessions for the driveway.
Overnight we had another 10+ cm of snow putting our total to somewhere around the 2 foot mark. This morning we cleared the driveway, but I know it will require more shoveling in a few hours. The mountain alongside the driveway continues to grow. I am curious just how high it will get by the end of the winter.
While the power outages over the past few days have made it interesting, and almost a bit of an adventure, no electricity is certainly an inconvienience. With todays technology we rely on it for everything.
Our house is heated by propane, but without power, the furnace wont work. Because we are on a well, we are limited to whatever pressure is left in the water tank as the pump will be unable to bring us any more. Even the septic is fed with a pump requiring electricity, so no showers, and no bathroom breaks! Cant even cook up anything to eat!
The only real concern is the issue regarding heat, but luckily today, it is a 'warm' -1C. At any rate, I should try to get some work done while I still have battery life on this laptop. I do hope to post photos of the snow shortly to the photos section of VanAchte.com. Check back sometime during the upcoming weekend, I should have something posted by then.
Stormy Night
Last night was one of the biggest storms we have had since moving to Dease Lake. While it didnt last too long, it was quite exciting. The snow was coming down hard, and combined with the strong winds and blown snow from the trees and rooftops, we were in pretty much total white out conditions. The trees were swaying like crazy - it was pretty cool.
The power also went out for a few hours. It started by going out for just a few seconds, then it happened again. When it came back on, Lyndsay grabbed some candles and lit them just in case. A few minutes later it went out a third time, and stayed out most of the evening.
Its amazing how dark it can get up North when all the city (or should I say village?) lights are out. Total real darkness. After a while the clouds parted and the stars were brighter than I think I have ever seen them. Too bad, no northern lights last night.
Ice Fishing Success
Saturday we went out ice fishing again. This time with our newly acquired gear. When in Terrace last week we purchased an 8" auger, a couple cheap rods, some tackle and a box. (Previously we owned no fishing gear what so ever). Lyndsay and I went out with Chad and Denise, and their dog Midas.
Within the first couple minutes (before I had even had a chance to drill my hole) Chad brought up a nice 3 or 4 pounder. Bigger than any of the fish Lyndsay and I brought in. Midas seemed more excited about the fish then we did!
Over the next few hours Lyndsay and I had several bites, but only brought up 4 fish ranging from about 1lb - 2lbs. There were two we wanted to throw back, as they were fairly small, but they had both taken the hook too deep. In one case we had to cut the line a the hook was nowhere in site. No real point throwing these poor guys back as with a hook in their stomach they would likely die anyways - we'll eat them instead.
I did learn one thing during this outing. When you buy a cheap rod and reel that is pre strung, when you get home, take off the line, throw it away, and put on some new stuff. We lost about a half dozen fish due to the line breaking. Before we go out next time, I'll be sure to replace it with something stronger. I'll post some photos of this outing in the photos section at www.vanachte.com later this evening.
Last night we cooked up one of our fish. Stuffed it with onion, lemon, garlic, and butter, with a bit of pepper, wrapped it up and baked it for 45 min. It was delicious. :)
First Time Ice Fishing
Ice Fishing Part 1
Friday evening I got a call from Lyndsay. She was still at the school and was asking if I wanted to go out ice fishing with Chad and Josh, while Lyndsay and Denise did some cross country skiing. I had wanted to give it a try since the lakes started to freeze, so was all over it.
We headed down to the lake and walked to a popular spot. It was already dusk so we knew we wouldn't have much time to fish, but gave it a try anyways. Josh had recently acquired an old hand-me-down auger from his dad, and unfortunately for us, this was the first time he had tried using it.
This auger was incredibly dull. The three of us took turns drilling - for nearly an hour! Finally we made it through the 14" thick ice. By this time we were all tired and had rubber arms from all the hard work. Certainly we were working for our fish this time out.
We managed to fish for 30 min to an hour before giving up - not even nibble. We assumed it was because we were out too late in the evening and headed home. It was fun, but exhausting - but regardless, more enjoyable than sitting in from of the TV.
That evening Lyndsay and I went to the cafe for dinner and ran into Dr. Phil. He, Steve, and another doctor filling in for Dave (for the life of me I can't seem to remember his name) were going to head out on Saturday. (With a sharp auger!). We decided we'd head out with them the next day.
Ice Fishing Part 2
Saturday afternoon around 2:30 all was a go and we headed back to the lake. We met up with Phil and the gang in the narrows of Alan Lake. What a difference a sharp auger makes - we were able to drill 7 holes in about 10 minutes! (VS our one hole in an hour the night before). Within 15 minutes I had my chair set up, shrimp on the hook, and line in the water. It was only a couple minutes after that I had the first bite.
As my fishing experience was previously limited to salt water fishing, my first instinct was to start reeling up the fish - the line broke, and the fish got away. It felt big, and from the action on the rod Steve figures it must have been pretty big. I guess we’ll never know. I re-rigged my line and dropped it back in. Shortly there after, about 15 minutes or so I had another fish on the hook. This time knowing what to do, I simply dropped the rod and brought the fish up hand over hand. Only needing to bring up 6-7 feet of line, a few seconds the fish was out of the water. He was a small little guy, easily less than a pound. As a result I threw him back and let him live.
A while later it happened again, another small one. Again, I decided to let him live and threw him back down the hole. From then on it was all nibbles, but nothing on the hook for the rest of the afternoon - at least for me.
There was another fisherman about 100 yards or so away from us and in the period of about an hour or so he brought in 3 nice size trout. Chad had caught nothing, not sure if he had even had a nibble when this fisherman decided he was done and left. Chad immediately got up and ran to his hole. Within a minute he had a bite, and brought up what was probably around a 3 pounder. He only had one bite all afternoon, but was also the only one to bring in a keeper. We later through that fish on the BBQ.
This has been enough to get me hooked. Next week we'll be hopping down to Terrace and I'll be picking some gear - plan on getting many fish to stock up the freezer this winter.
Snowmobiles Everywhere
In my entire life I think I had seen maybe a half dozen snowmobiles - until we moved to Dease Lake. It's strange, up here in the North, everywhere you look there are snowmobiles, down the streets, along the trails, and all over frozen Alan Lake. Makes me want to buy one, if only I could afford it. Anyone out there want to give me $5-10K? I promise I will enjoy it. :)
Back in the Great White North
Here we are, finally back at home in Dease Lake after 2 weeks away from the cold. When we were planning on leaving I never would have imagined we'd miss the North. Arriving at home was great. I think I may actually prefer it here. It could be partially due to the fact all our stuff, and cats are here, but you really grow to love the snow.
As I write this, its snowing like crazy outside, and I just love it. I love the snow, I love the cold, and while I have no plans on staying here my whole life, I can certainly see how some people move here, and never leave. There is something about living in a small northern town that I find quite appealing. It will certainly be a culture shock when the time comes to move away back to civilization, but for the time being I will be sure to soak up all there is up here in the North.
Heading North... For the Winter?
For our trip back North we decided to drive North on the island and head to Port Hardy. From there we took the ferry to Prince Rupert. This cut several hours off of our road time, but allowed for a more enjoyable, and different trip home.
Originally we had planned to leave Comox at 10 am in order to catch the 4:00 pm sailing out of Pt Hardy, leaving us 3 extra hours in case of car trouble, road conditions, traffic, etc. (This ferry leaves 3 times a week and costs several hundred dollars - you don't take the chance of missing it). We called the ferries the night before to confirm the sailing and were told due to wind conditions that the sailing had been delayed until 10:30 PM. The following morning we called again only to find it was again delayed, this time until 1:30AM thursday morning. At least it was sailing.
We left Comox around 6:00 PM on Thursday and arrived at the terminal around 9:30. Some people had been there as early as 2:00 PM expecting the boat to leave on time. Shortly after 1:00 we had boarded the ferry and were off for the 18.5 hour ferry ride. Let me tell you, 18 hours on a ferry is a looooong 18 hours. We arrived in Prince Rupert some time around 6 - 6:30. The winds were extremely high, and the drive between Rupert and Terrace, we were tossed around like crazy. We stopped in Terrace for the night.
The next morning we left Terrace at 6:00 and headed home to Dease Lake. The roads were mostly snow covered, but we managed to make fairly good time, arriving at home around 2:30. The trip took us around 8 hours. In perfect road conditions you can make the trip in just under 6 hours, but we have heard stories of people taking as long as 12 hours, so we count ourselves lucky.
South for the Winter
December 16, 3PM - we hit the Road. I picked up Lyndsay at the school at 3:00, and we, along with a few other teachers, headed south for the winter - or at least for Christmas. We arrived in Burns Lake around 12:30 am for the night. Fortunately for us, the highway heading south was in great shape - dry and clear. While there were slippery sections, it wasn't nearly as icy as expected.
On our way into Burns lake, shorty after midnight, Lyndsay and I were pulled over. We were travelling around 70 km/h in a 60 zone. While I struggled to find my license among my credit and bank cards, he said "You were going a little bit over, but it looked like you weren't wearing your seatbelt". He asked us where we were going and where we were from, wished us a good trip, and let us go without even a warning. We really wern't doing anything wrong, so I am just glad he acknowledged it. We figured he was simply bored.
Basically the trip down to Abbotsford, Victoria, and ultimately Comox, went without a hitch. Weather was near perfect, road conditions were as good as could be expected this time of year, traffic and the car were both great. We couldn't have asked for a better trip... except maybe if it were a bit shorter - 20 hours in the car in 2 days isnt the best.
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