Weekend at Wild Horse Canyon Feb 10

Friday, Sarah and I left the house at Middleton at around 7:50 we are off to spend the weekend with Ivan at Wild Horse.  The car is packed like we are moving out, it is loaded down with bedding, food, kitchen utensils and Rex the dog and his bed and food.  Sarah and I decided that it would be good to have a few extra things to do while we were down there so we also included in our packing a few games, books and crafts.
It was not really foggy when we left Middleton but the farther down the road we got the foggier it got so going was slow until we got to Weiser and things finally cleared up.  The rest of the trip to Wild Horse was nice except for a few snow packed spots just before Wild Horse Canyon road.

Sarah and I arrived at Wild Horse Canyon road about 10:20 and pulled over to park.  The road into the canyon can be bad in the winter.  Mud, ice and a study supply of rocks rolling down onto the road make it imposable for a city bred car like mine to wonder into this wilderness this time of year.  Ivan told me he would meet us at the top of the canyon around 10:00 so Sarah and I pulled over to wait...and wait.  It was beautiful the sun occasionally peeping through the clouds highlighting the white of the snow against the trees, soft breezes eddying up from the canyon gently moved the pines.  The scenery was inspiring the music was playing it was a great day to be out in the woods! Still no Ivan, I got out and walked down the road maybe the road wouldn't be that bad and I could just drive in... I had just got in the car when a Fish and Game rig went flying by, hmmm I thought maybe I could follow him in and if I get in trouble he would come back eventually and help me out... But Ivan had told me to wait so we waited and waited. I started reading the book Clever Queen to Sarah.  The Fish and Game rig came flying back by and then, as if as an after thought, it backed up and the officer asked, do you need help?
"Well my husband is at the ranch and his is supposes to be coming to get me.  Are you going to be going all the way down, I questioned?"  "No, not planning on it, have a good day."  With that he was gone.
It seemed like forever but around 11:30 Ivan showed up and we loaded all the stuff out of the car and we made our way down the snow packed road which turned into a muddy track.

My little city car would have never made it!
As we descended in to Wild Horse and began to come more into the open the canyon unfurled its wild beauty before us.  It is like entering a whole other world down here.  Time seems to come to screeching to a snails pace, as we creep down the road.  If you look up you can see the power lines stretched across the canyon making there way up from the bowels of Hells Canyon to some land far away from this place.  Down here on the Wild Horse far from those surging power lines we enter a world lost to civilizations mad dash to oblivion.  Time travelers jolting down the muddy road, time as we had knew it ceased to exist.
Could I live in a place like this, so far from all that I know?  Would coming to a place like this help me in my journey to simplify my life?

Ivan has been helping here for about a week and this is the cabin he is staying in, this would be my home for the weekend.  What would it be like living with no power, no phone, no computer, no tv, no blinders, toasters, or crock pots.  I was already for the fun of the challenge!  I was already to cook on the wood cook stove except Ivan warned me before I came it was not hooked up we only had a wood stove to heat with and it did not cook anything very well.  But I had my heart set on cooking over wood heat and so I thought I would try cooking on the wood heating stove instead of making use of the gas stove in the little trailer connected to the cabin.

Inside the cabin after I rearranged so it would fit the three of us comfortably

Even Rex had his own bed

Sarah loved the window seat it was a great place to take a nap

Ivan made us all sandwiches for lunch then he was off to work and I got busy putting away my things that we had brought with us. After spending time rearranging the cabin moving the beds so Sarah could take advantage of the window set we got our warm cloths on so we could walk down and see what Ivan was working on.
He was working on repairing a generator for the ranch owner, yes, she has the option of solar power... I will say more about that later.  I am still enjoying the romantic idea that oil lamps give off such a antithetic simplify your life glow.

 
We had a nice visit while he worked but Sarah was getting cold so her and I walked back to the cabin it was getting late but I figured I had lots of time before supper so I took a nap and another walk by the time I got back to the cabin, it was starting to get dusk and I figured that I should think about what to have for supper.  When I want into the cabin it really was getting dark! I lite the lamps thinking that would help but the romantic idea that oil lamps giving off such a antithetic simplify your life glow, quickly vanished as I tried to see to put together the meal.  Light from my two lamps did not shed light to the far reaches of my little cabin.  I gave up boiling water on the wood stove and opted to cheat and heat the water on the gas stove.  In the end we ended up with a fair meal of spaghetti, just spaghetti.

Lesson learned start meal before it gets dark!
No, late nights here!!! As I looked out the window across the way the soft yellow light of a light bulb glowed from the ranch house.  I'm thinking solar is not a bad idea and it still from this point of view had the warm glow of a simpler life.
It is dark even with the lamps can't see to read with out straining your eyes so when we were done visiting we went to bed about 7:30 or 8.
Happy Sabbath