“The More I Find Out, The Less I Know”
Planning Cabin Construction
Things are really happening.
Building an off-grid cabin on our property on Bogus Lake near Grand Marais has been a dream for a long time. While we didn’t build in 2023 as originally hoped, we’ve made a lot of progress and this may finally be the year.
First EV Road Trip Log
When I ask my friends and family why they haven’t bought an EV yet, wanting to do road trips is the one reason literally everyone gives.
But now my wife and I are an EV-only household. We’re going to have to figure out how to do road trips, and this weekend is our first.
Frost Needles
Last Friday night the weather conditions were exactly right at Bogus Lake for growing amazing needles of frost. The ridge was in the clouds most of the night and just below freezing with the slightest breeze bringing moisture up from Lake Superior, over 1,000 feet of elevation below.
Cabin Feasibility
We’ve been thinking about building a cabin on our Bogus Lake property for a quarter century. Given my desire to have hot showers and toilets that flush, for a long time it seemed like this dream would be impractical given the cost and environmental impact of either bringing in a power line or using a generator.
But over the past few years, the cost of both solar panels and battery banks have dropped dramatically. The results of a feasibility study showed that we can actually power and heat an off-grid cabin using nothing but the sun and good design. So we are finally moving forward.
A Bogus Journey
1,200 feet above the North Shore of Lake Superior is a lake so small it’s called Bogus.
Ham Lake Fire
The Ham Lake Fire is getting uncomfortably close to our slice of the north woods.
Cabin Fever
Taking the family Up North is quicker and cheaper than the big cross-country road trip, and everyone seems to like it more.
Trip to Grand Marais
Played hooky yesterday and convinced She Who Puts Up With Me to put up with all three kids for the day instead. Fired up the plane, and flew up to Grand Marais, MN, with the intent of visiting our place on Bogus Lake.
It has been over a year since my last trip to Grand Marais (twins will do that to you), and unfortunately, when I arrived, the battery in the pickup was compete toast. Fortunately, it got me far enough so I could coast into town (I coasted about three miles--fortunately, it was downhill), then waited several hours before someone could take a look at it and make sure the problem really was the battery and not something far worse.