Cerapter (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} nazguruloki) wrote,@ 2009-07-19 23:48:00 |
|
Minnesota: July 17-19th
We went up to Will Steger's Homestead in the woods of Ely in northern Minnesota, home to half a dozen people who work on keeping the homestead intact, and also on educating people on climate change. I was the first to meet the man himself, on my way to the outhouse. We are soon split up into different cabins in the surrounding woods. They're incredibly rustic, but have got all a man needs.
I'm going to have to write some paragraphs just for my own cabin, because I love it. It was a small, single cabin. It had no paint and was mainly made out of rough composite wood. When I got there, the door was in pieces, so Cooper, the assistant living there for the summer, nailed it on again for me. There was also a window lying on the floor. I managed to fit it into the hole in the wall by the bed -- luckily, covered with mosquito net -- just fine. Then I took my mattress out to the small terrace outside the cabin and beat it: it was horribly dusty. I proceeded to sweep the floors and surfaces, discovering old, moldy rags and additional amounts of dust. The cabin had a woodstove, and there was a woodshed outside, but unfortunately I never found the need to light it. I did, however, light a few matches. I had to boxes, a Strike Anywhere box and a Strike on the Box box. I never did manage to strike the anywhere matches anywhere; at home, we always have to strike the box. There were also two propane-fueled lamps, which I used as light for my journal-writings and general coziness late in the night. Towards the end of my cleaning, I discovered a poster doubled over on the wall. I reinserted the nails and found that it was a map of the world. Whoever used this cabin before me, anyway? There were, in fact, three names on some pegs on the wall: Alex, Tom and Moose. Moose had two pegs. I found some old papers in a bin beside the woodstack inside, which dated to February 2007. Is that when they used this cabin last?
Just before bed, I also met a couple of other residents of the cabin: first, a uncomfortably-sized Wolf spider glaring at me from the roof just above the bed. I tried to catch it, but failed, so I spent my nights with a mosquito net draped over the head of my sleeping bag. The next moment, I saw a mouse climbing up and down and across the walls. So I hung all my belongings on the many pegs on the wall. Strangely, I saw very few mosquitoes, and was the only single-cabin-sleeper not bothered by them at all -- despite having the only cabin that might have been wide open for the past two years.
Now, this homestead had no electricity until recently. It didn't have a road to it for 20 years, and it still has no plumbing or running water of any kind. We cleaned ourselves by sitting in a sauna and bathing in a lake. I did this three times during the stay, and I was a wuss about going into the lake every single time.
Quite in contract to this rustic way of living, Steger is in the midst of building a five-storey tall, self-designed castle that is to be used for entertaining and accomodating visiting groups. The man is really serious about getting his message out to the big people. His message is reports of the effects of global warming that have already taken place in the Arctic and the Antarctic: the Inuit people are losing their source of living, and the ice shelves of the Antarctic are breaking up. We hear of this often, and scientists argue back and forth, but here's a guy, an explorer, who's been out there and seen it. So during the days we spent here, he and his companions gave us several quite inspiring, motivating and informative presentations, right there in an old wooden lodge powered by solar panels. It was the best experience on this trip so far, and is likely to stay that way until we return.
We stayed two nights. Both of them, we drank beer and chatted. The first night, I had two bottles of beer, and noted it in my journal as the most I'd ever had. The second night, we got a fire started outside, and sat chatting for hours on end. I had three bottles of beer and became slightly whimsical -- and sociable! It was a great night, with a clear, starlit sky (I could see the Milky Way!) and lots of marshmallows. I stayed until the very end, with Cooper and a guy in my group, discussing the Tolkien lore.
Before leaving, we got together and did some work. We moved more rocks and wood in an hour than the usual population of the homestead would've been able to do for five days. This might've actually been our payment for staying there. After a quick trip in the lake, we got back in the (huuuuge) vans and set off back towards Minneapolis and our more static dorms.
We went up to Will Steger's Homestead in the woods of Ely in northern Minnesota, home to half a dozen people who work on keeping the homestead intact, and also on educating people on climate change. I was the first to meet the man himself, on my way to the outhouse. We are soon split up into different cabins in the surrounding woods. They're incredibly rustic, but have got all a man needs.
I'm going to have to write some paragraphs just for my own cabin, because I love it. It was a small, single cabin. It had no paint and was mainly made out of rough composite wood. When I got there, the door was in pieces, so Cooper, the assistant living there for the summer, nailed it on again for me. There was also a window lying on the floor. I managed to fit it into the hole in the wall by the bed -- luckily, covered with mosquito net -- just fine. Then I took my mattress out to the small terrace outside the cabin and beat it: it was horribly dusty. I proceeded to sweep the floors and surfaces, discovering old, moldy rags and additional amounts of dust. The cabin had a woodstove, and there was a woodshed outside, but unfortunately I never found the need to light it. I did, however, light a few matches. I had to boxes, a Strike Anywhere box and a Strike on the Box box. I never did manage to strike the anywhere matches anywhere; at home, we always have to strike the box. There were also two propane-fueled lamps, which I used as light for my journal-writings and general coziness late in the night. Towards the end of my cleaning, I discovered a poster doubled over on the wall. I reinserted the nails and found that it was a map of the world. Whoever used this cabin before me, anyway? There were, in fact, three names on some pegs on the wall: Alex, Tom and Moose. Moose had two pegs. I found some old papers in a bin beside the woodstack inside, which dated to February 2007. Is that when they used this cabin last?
Just before bed, I also met a couple of other residents of the cabin: first, a uncomfortably-sized Wolf spider glaring at me from the roof just above the bed. I tried to catch it, but failed, so I spent my nights with a mosquito net draped over the head of my sleeping bag. The next moment, I saw a mouse climbing up and down and across the walls. So I hung all my belongings on the many pegs on the wall. Strangely, I saw very few mosquitoes, and was the only single-cabin-sleeper not bothered by them at all -- despite having the only cabin that might have been wide open for the past two years.
Now, this homestead had no electricity until recently. It didn't have a road to it for 20 years, and it still has no plumbing or running water of any kind. We cleaned ourselves by sitting in a sauna and bathing in a lake. I did this three times during the stay, and I was a wuss about going into the lake every single time.
Quite in contract to this rustic way of living, Steger is in the midst of building a five-storey tall, self-designed castle that is to be used for entertaining and accomodating visiting groups. The man is really serious about getting his message out to the big people. His message is reports of the effects of global warming that have already taken place in the Arctic and the Antarctic: the Inuit people are losing their source of living, and the ice shelves of the Antarctic are breaking up. We hear of this often, and scientists argue back and forth, but here's a guy, an explorer, who's been out there and seen it. So during the days we spent here, he and his companions gave us several quite inspiring, motivating and informative presentations, right there in an old wooden lodge powered by solar panels. It was the best experience on this trip so far, and is likely to stay that way until we return.
We stayed two nights. Both of them, we drank beer and chatted. The first night, I had two bottles of beer, and noted it in my journal as the most I'd ever had. The second night, we got a fire started outside, and sat chatting for hours on end. I had three bottles of beer and became slightly whimsical -- and sociable! It was a great night, with a clear, starlit sky (I could see the Milky Way!) and lots of marshmallows. I stayed until the very end, with Cooper and a guy in my group, discussing the Tolkien lore.
Before leaving, we got together and did some work. We moved more rocks and wood in an hour than the usual population of the homestead would've been able to do for five days. This might've actually been our payment for staying there. After a quick trip in the lake, we got back in the (huuuuge) vans and set off back towards Minneapolis and our more static dorms.
