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ericfromcowtown
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:30am - Edited by: ericfromcowtown
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I thought that I'd start a thread about recent purchase of a fixer-upper cabin on Little Fish Lake, in "Special Area Two" of East Central Alberta.
At 580 square feet, it might not count as "small" in some of your books, but there will soon be 5 of us, so that's a little over 100 square feet per person, so I figure that should make the cut. The cabin has electricity, but no running water, and is heated by a wood burning stove. It's perhaps 40 years old, and is in drastic need of some renovations and elbow grease to bring it back to something that we can enjoy as a family.
Little Fish Lake is a shallow prairie lake, which has been experiencing cyclical water levels over the past 100 years. I'm told that in the 1920s the lake was empty and farmers even planted it to hay. By the 1960s/70s, though, there was a sailing regatta, water skiing, and lots of fishing happening. By the 90s it was getting low again, with the lake drying up entirely in 2004 or 5. It's now slowly rising in depth every year, and is approximatley 9 feet deep and 250 acres or so in size. Great for canoeing, bird watching, and pretty to look at, but not a lake for boating, or fishing. That's part of the reason that we could afford it!
It's about a 2 1/4 hour drive from home, which is perfect, considering that most other cabins that I had been looking at on MLS for 3 x the price of this one were 6+ hours away. Although only 2 1/4 hours away it feels very remote. It's the lake that time forgot.
I'll use this thread to detail some of our adventures. We're city mice, so chopping wood or living without the ammenities of suburbia is way out of our comfort zone. This should be fun and healthy for our growing family.
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ericfromcowtown
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:37am - Edited by: ericfromcowtown
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Yesterday, I drove to a town 30 minutes from our cabin to pick up the keys. Since it was a relatively warm day (0 C, 32 F) and we haven't had that much snow yet, I made the trek out to the cabin.
I didn't have long. It was cold and daylight was already fading when I got there, but I wanted to see in what shape the cabin had been left in. Looks the same as when we took a look at it in September - the previous owner didn't take anything. That's good and bad. We might find all sorts of useful items but we'll also have more to clean up and throw out.
In the final heading home photo if you look close to the horizon you'll see the Rocky Mountains in the distance. It's beautiful country.
We won't be back until the Spring now.
Road to the Cabin
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Meet the neighbours - Pronghorn "Antelope"
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The Cabin
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Heading Home
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:46am
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You are going to reap so much enjoyment from this experience with your family and it is especially nice to do it while the kids are young. I'll be looking forward to seeing photos. If you find you are going to the cabin often you will be happy that you are only the 2 1/4 hours away. That is what we are too and we have said many times that we are glad we passed on other pieces of land that were 3-5 hours away.
Still on "baby" watch there I presume. Us too, but we are slipping out of town to the cabin once again this weekend since the weather will be nice- we have firewood we must split if we are going to stay warm this winter with a new baby!!!
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:52am
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You posted photos while I was typing- beautiful country and the cabin looks way larger than 580 sq. feet. I see tons of potential there! How exciting!
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morganplus8
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:23am
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I see it now ............. a new second story ............ what a view!!!! Great story, good luck.
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 12:09pm
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ericfromcowtown.that is a fixer upper cabin?wow.that looks so good.our cabin is 150sq.ft.so yours is huge.i love the land and the neighbors.its wonderful.we shall enjoy hearing of all yur wonderful adventures.u made a wonderful purchase.
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ericfromcowtown
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 01:06pm
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Cabingal - It's been repainted on the outside recently, so it's deceptive. Inside is dirty and needs some TLC. The roof also needs to be done - that will be priority #1. The "facilities" will also have to be pondered. There is an outhouse, but it's full. Do we dig a new one or do we look to place a composting toilet inside? We're leaning towards the later, but for now a portable camping toilet looks to be the best bet.
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 01:27pm
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well its mighty nice looking for all of that.good luck.it will be so fun for u and the family to be out on the land.fresh air and exercise.freedom and fun.enjoy your time.we have an outhouse at our place but the water table is high,so we have a 5 gallon bucket in the out house with a toilet seat on it.when it gets full.we let it freeze and then let it get a bit unfrozen and put it on the fires when we burn.
theres alot of different ways to do things.i guess this is whats so great about this small cabin forum.we can all chat about this and that.you are so blessed eric and good choice.our cabin is 5 hours away and takes forever to get there.so we dont get there as often as we would like.enjoy.
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bugs
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 03:40pm
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Eric thanks for posting.
What size of lot do you have? Do you have lake front?
We have been through that area many times. It is very diverse and interesting. And of course the mountains in the distance.
Quite the history for the lake. Very similar to many ponds and shallow lakes on the prairies. I think each time they dry up they seem to increase in salinity.
The cabin looks like it will be a good base to start out with. I am sure you will be able to transform it into your special get-away.
Good luck with impending birth and keep us posted.
All the best
bugs
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ericfromcowtown
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 05:39pm
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Bugs - It is an interesting part of the province. We quite like Drumheller and are looking forward to exploring the area more.
We don't have much land at all. It's an expansive 0.1 acres! There are 23 cabins in total on the lake, all of which are leased through the Special Areas ministry, in a similar fashion to the cattle grazing leases which surround the lake. Our lease is $50 a year. In addition to our city sized lot, there are approximately 20 acres of common crown land that is "controlled" by the local cabin owners and is gated.
I would, of course, have preferred more land, and for that land not to be a lease, but these are the factors that made the cabin affordable for us.
It's "lakefront" in the sense that there is no one between us and the lake, but the lake is a fair distance away due to the drop in water levels over the past 15-20 years. I'll have to take a picture of our neighbours retaining wall and boathouse, which are now 100 m+ from the water. It's quite something.
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neb
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# Posted: 16 Nov 2012 03:42pm
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Nice place!!
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hattie
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# Posted: 17 Nov 2012 04:34pm
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Beautiful place. Keep the photos coming as you progress!!
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ericfromcowtown
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# Posted: 26 Dec 2012 12:40pm - Edited by: ericfromcowtown
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We won't be heading out to the cabin until probably March, when winter starts to loosen her grip here in Alberta.
However, I did obtain a couple of "geek toys" for the cabin over Christmas:
A telescope. It's a beginner's telescope apparently, but I'm a beginner and have always wanted to have the time and the dark skies to learn how to use, and enjoy, a telescope.
A shortwave radio. I spent a lot of time in my early teens playing with a shortwave radio in the pre-internet days and collecting QSL cards (proof to all in the know that I really was/am a big nerd), but haven't touched one in 20 years.
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 26 Dec 2012 06:22pm
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Have fun with your new "toys"! You will have to play with them before you get to the cabin-that way you will be prepared when you finally get there 
Hope that new baby is doing well 
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ericfromcowtown
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# Posted: 26 Dec 2012 06:51pm
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Hi Trollbridge,
The "problem" that I have, and I'm sure that I'm not alone, is that life gets so busy that "toys" have no place in my normal life. I've got work, studies, and kids, but no spare time to spend with a telescope (even if I were outside of a large city with its light pollution) or a shortwave radio. Part of the beauty of a cabin without the distraction of tv or the internet is that once the kids are in bed, I would have an hour or two to just "waste" looking at the moon or listerning to a radio broadcast, glass of wine in hand.
Yes, our newest addition (born December 4th) is doing very well and our home now feels complete. I trust that you're new addition is also a blessing.
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 26 Dec 2012 08:20pm
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He arrived on his due date? How timely! Do you think that means he will never break curfew when he's a teen?
I'll be excited for you come March when you finally get to be on "cabin time". I'm sure you'll be doing all kinds of things by then at the cabin!
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ericfromcowtown
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# Posted: 12 Apr 2013 10:04pm - Edited by: ericfromcowtown
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Tomorrow was to be the day that we opened up the cabin and began the process of cleaning it out and up. We're all packed and ready to go. Environment Canada now has a heavy snowfall warning in place for the area by our cabin - 6 inches of snow before tomorrow night. I just took the snow tires off last week. I'm getting sick of "sprinter." Disappointed. 
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 13 Apr 2013 11:17pm
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Bummer, you must be very disappointed
Did you end up with the 6 inches at your cabin? Our weather people have been wrong a lot here lately. I'm not tired of winter yet, but then it isn't keeping me from the cabin like it is you. I hope you get there soon...I'm sure you are excited to dig right in and begin making that place your own!!!
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ericfromcowtown
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# Posted: 22 Apr 2013 02:18pm - Edited by: ericfromcowtown
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We finally made it out to the cabin. Winter has been slow to loosen it's grip this year.
Here's a picture of springtime in Alberta, as seen from the front window of the cabin and our cabin, still half-buried in snow.
We spent two 6-hour days cleaning and purging. The previous owner was a "collector" and the cabin came "as is" including contents. We found 6 brooms, 2 broken vacuum cleaners, 30 screw drivers, etc... 12 hours cleaned the kitchen and half the living room and we expect that it will take at least 2 additional days for us to be at the point where we'll spend the night. Thankfully it's only a 2 hour drive, so heading out for the day is doable.
We were very thankful that the place has both a decent wood burning stove and that we had brought an electric (yes we're on the grid) heater, as it took at least an hour for us to take off our toques and winter jackets. Once it was warm, though, we had fun, spending time as a family working together.
We were also happy to see that none of the mouse traps had been sprung over the winter and that the poison left out had remained uneaten.
I think that people watch too many shows like "Storage Wars," because whenever I mention that we purchased an old cabin filled with 30+ years of stuff people suggest that there will be treasures to find. Surprisingly, we have found a few interesting items. The old vanity with mirror and wash basin (attached below) is a keeper, as is the large cow hide blanket on one of the floors. The boys also liked the old metal Tonka bulldowser.
It will be 3 weeks until we can make it back out there, and I'm already looking forward to the rest of the clean-up. It's not your typical cabin at the lake. It's wind-swept and desolate, but it is beautiful in its own way.
The last picture is taken from close to our cabin and shows an old abandoned homestead. It would have been a lonely and hard life out here at the turn off the last century when this area was opened up to homesteaders. During the 30s nearly all of them picked up and abandoned their homesteads, and the hills are littered with the decaying remnants of this depopulation.
View from Front Window
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Cabin
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Vanity
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Homestead
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bugs
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# Posted: 22 Apr 2013 05:47pm
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Eric
It sounds like you are having fun and that is what the whole thing is all about.
Spectacular views you have. Trees and mountains can be highly over rated and confining. They get in the way of the view!
We still have 3 feet of snow at RDL so will have to vicariously enjoy other people's cabins until we can start staying at ours.
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 22 Apr 2013 08:00pm
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Oh yay! You finally got there! Sounds like a lot of work, but fun too!
I agree that your place has its own beauty. I like how you can see for miles. You will have to post pictures as the seasons change,
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KSalzwedel
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# Posted: 27 Apr 2013 02:22am
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Winter still has a grip here in Alaska too, but we go anyway. I had the same philosophy when we lived in Germany, if you didn't do things in rain, you never did them.
So enjoy the new spaciousness of your lake cabin and embrace the weather for what it is.
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ericfromcowtown
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# Posted: 27 May 2013 07:39am - Edited by: ericfromcowtown
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The clean-up continues. We've now been out for 4 times (for the day) and the inside is probably 1 Saturday away from being fit to spend the night in. We have taken bag after bag of clutter and garbage out of this place, and are now trolling around for friends with trucks who can help us haul away the old mattresses and unwanted furniture that won't fit in the back of our minivan.
It's been hard work, but it's been fun. Maybe next year I'll tackle the shed which is pilled about 4 feet high with stuff that wouldn't fit in the cabin.
At some point, perhaps, I will address the serious slant that the kitchen floor has, but expect that this would be an expensive can of worms that is best left and called "rustic charm."
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 31 May 2013 06:56pm
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Cabins can get away with a lot of rustic charm
Your shed you speak of....I can think of quite a few of us here who would have a heyday with that!
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 31 May 2013 07:40pm
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Quoting: cabingal3 There is an outhouse, but it's full. Do we dig a new one or do we look to place a composting toilet inside? We're leaning towards the later, but for now a portable camping toilet looks to be the best bet.
sorry i just found this.i would do what u are talking of.it sounds right.hugs cabi
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ericfromcowtown
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# Posted: 16 Jun 2013 10:23am - Edited by: ericfromcowtown
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Another day spent cleaning out the place yesterday - that's Saturday number five. Next weekend will see us with a rented cargo van hauling old mattresses and other larger pieces of trash to the dump. Next weekend will also be the first weekend we stay over night there! It's definitely beginning to feel like it's ours.
Here's a video that I took yesterday out front of our place. The wind was howling! After the cabin itself is cleaned up, I'll have to start tackling the undergrowth which has taken over the yard over the past 40 years.
Our Prairie Cabin
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ericfromcowtown
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# Posted: 24 Jun 2013 08:31am - Edited by: ericfromcowtown
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We finally spent a night at our cabin! With a rented truck I took two full loads of old mattresses and rotten furniture to the dump and we could then close chapter one of our small cabin adventure. Here are some random pictures from this past weekend.
Baby Bunny
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Alberta Wild Rose
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Discovering Binoculars
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First Sunset
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 24 Jun 2013 09:36am
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Beautiful pics! I'm sure wonderful memories were made. My kids still talk about our first night on the floor of our little bunkhouse
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hattie
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# Posted: 24 Jun 2013 02:29pm
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Love the photos (especially the baby bunny)!
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bugs
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# Posted: 25 Jun 2013 03:16pm
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Glad your project is progressing. Cleaning up other people's filth is not much fun.
Love the pix. See, any more trees would get in the way of the view of the awesome grandeur of the place.
bugs
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