The Campfire Trail: December 26 - DIY Homestead

December 26, 2022

Day 451 of the Adventure

Originally published as part of our "Resort Adventures" about six years ago. The recent sub-zero temperatures got me thinking of this as I read of so many people dealing with frozen and broken water pipes. Read and Enjoy. You'll almost certainly find something familiar in our experiences.

Heat Tapes I Have Known (Nov 20, 2016)

Not everything about winter is enchanting and invokes memories of winter wonderlands and images of “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Winter is a season that requires constant monitoring. It is a time where I feel like the weather is lurking around some dark part of an ally waiting to jump out and mug me. I know this is true, because each year I have somehow managed to engage in at least one or two “bar fights” of sorts with the winter season. I feel like I need to find a way to put an ankle monitor bracelet on Winter just to know when it’s stepped outside it’s permitted boundaries and is once again on the prowl.

Now don’t get me wrong, I do have a fondness for winter in a couple of respects. In fact, in my world, I really do look forward to those rare occasions of “Wonderland”. One of those times happened about three years ago at some of our cabins. A surprise winter storm dumped about 8-10 inches of snow with no wind and only enough “cold” to actually create snow. These are the times when Winter is behaving as it’s supposed to. It’s part of the reason I decided to move to Missouri from Iowa. Iowa winters tend to be so unruly that they have a habit of biting your face off at every opportunity. Here, they simply sneak up on you without warning a few times each season and whack you over the head with a severe cold front. Which brings me to my point.

Nothing I have been able to do has ever given me a complete upper hand when it comes to Winter. The best I can come up with is an array of defensive tactics that keep winter as harmless as possible. My chief weapon in Winter defense is Strong Coffee! No, actually, it’s a network of heat tapes. I call it PACNET (Protect Against Cold – Net) You see, most of my resorts were built for summer time (Maybe some Spring and Fall) usage. I assume that nobody else wanted to deal with the thug version of Winter any more than I do, so they just built everything around not being open for business in the Winter. I, on the other hand, decided that Winter should be a time for retreat and reflection and enjoyment of those “Wonderland” times. (but, I guess you can’t have the Dr. Jekyll without the occasional Mr. Hyde). So to enjoy the Winter season, I stand guard with a weather app on my phone closely monitoring the temperatures and my PACNET of heat tapes guarding the pipes from freezing. All for the purpose of allowing EVERYONE the ability to experience a nice Winter Wonderland, or at least a nice Cozy Cabin Get-Away in that season where everything is quiet and cold.

Network Defensive Measures including heat tapes has given me the ability to sleep at night and enjoy the slower pace of Winter. I currently have them installed on my camper, all of the cabins at the campground, many of the hydrants in camp, odds and end places at Cross Timbers Cabins, at the fishing cabins, at Rainbow Haven Resort, at strategic locations on all of the swimming pools and various “Confidential” locations that Winter doesn’t need to know about.

Never let it be said that I have a disdain for Winter. Let’s just say that I have a healthy rivalry going with it. It’s a rivalry where I have no intention of allowing Winter to get me in a head-lock due to lack of planning, tactics or sufficient use of heat tapes!

Carry On

Adventure Quote: “A lot of people like snow and cold. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.” ― Carl Reiner

Base Camp Coffee of the Day: Lost on the Lake (Colombia/Sumatra blend)

SNEAK PEEK of our Upcoming OFF-GRID project

Please Consider Subscribing to our monthly "How-To", Do-It-Yourself" newsletter in the upper right corner of this page. AND........

Click any of the following Video links to start your own adventure with us on our YouTube Channel:

Mountain Craft

Lye Soap Making

Rug Weaving

Making Wooden Buckets (Cooper Craft)

Pottery

Cornmeal Grinding