Camping at 20 Below

December 31, 1998 - January 1, 1999

A full moon cast ghostly blue shadows on the snowy landscape at the homestead on New Years Eve, 1998. It was cold, around 20 degrees below zero. A clear, black sky sparkled with thousands and thousands of stars that seemed to clamor for our attention. We held our breath as the howls of a pack of wolves, not far away, echoed again and again off the frozen mountains, then broke into choruses that gradually faded into the distant peaks. We cleared an ice-skating rink on the lake and put up a new ice house, complete with a small wood stove. Dennis had the idea that it would be fun to sleep in the ice house, to welcome the new year in an unusual way. Our visiting friends doubtless thought us crazy, but they didn't refuse our invitation to spend the night in the toasty main cabin rather than a smaller guest cabin. We slept comfortably in very close quarters and rose to greet the frozen sunrise.