2015: Linda's Little Cabin by the Lake

This is where Wayne and I stayed last week when we visited Chateau Schatz for our Annual Road Trip.  We dubbed it "Linda's Little Cabin by the Lake” because--you guessed it--the cabin is by a lake, the famous Bussard Lake which has attracted international travelers from around the globe--and belongs to Linda, Rich's sister.  It sits right across from what has become known as “The Big House” (where the Schatz Family live) and down the hill from an imposing red barn and lush green horse paddock. 

Have a look below at the view from the deck.  Bears, elk, geese, moose and deer all wander down to the lake at different times of the year to drink or swim; and even river otters had been marauding the fish stock a few weeks before we arrived.

Also have a look below at the expansive deck where Rich and Wayne are shooting the breeze while trying to decide what we would do on this year’s road trip.

Each year we alternate between a "long distance" road trip and an “at home” road trip when we undertake shorter, more localized road trips.  Why?  Because there seems to be some inverse (perverse?) ratio which dictates that the further we go from Bussard Lake, the fewer fish we catch!  This year was an “at home” road trip--and, accordingly, we hoped that our fish catches would be of biblical proportions.  I will deal with our fishing exploits in the next blog.

Right now, I will focus on Linda's Little Cabin by the Lake, how it came to be and how, despite retirement and advancing years, these Lake Bussard denizens continue to push the boundaries and insist on building structures in the wilderness.

As mentioned earlier, the cabin was built for Rich’s sister, Linda, who used to live on nearby Waitts Lake but now resides in a beautiful garden condo in Chewelah, about 16 miles away.  I don’t know whether she ever mentioned to Rich that she missed living by the lake or, perhaps, mused how nice it would be to have a little summer cabin at Lake Bussard.  However it came about, brother and sister, ably supported by wife Yvette and teenagers Kirstine and Reimes, set about making Linda’s dream come true.

When Wayne and I were first told about the plans to build a cabin, we thought we would be helping to build it and were even warned to bring appropriate clothing for carpentry, plumbing and painting.  However, such was the excitement and fervor of the family construction crew (Rich, Yvette, Linda, Gene, Kirstine, Reimes et al) that the whole project was completed in about two month’s flat!  The only thing Wayne and I had to do when we arrived at 1 a.m. on May 24 was to switch on the light and go to bed. Wayne chose the downstairs area because he feared the ladder climb to the loft.  I happily took the cosy upstairs loft where I slept like a log.  (Is that why they call them log cabins)?  Rich said that everybody had been working frantically for the last two weeks to get the cabin ready for the “City Boyz” who were indeed honored to be the first ever guests to stay in the Linda's little cabin.

Apart from having the foundation laid and hiring an electrician to do all the wiring, Rich and his construction crew did everything else.  They basically started by buying a “shed” which was made by some Mennonites just down the road in Loon Lake.  Thereafter, Rich and Linda decided where the windows and doors would be placed and almost doubled the space by building a roomy loft “upstairs".  Rich did all the plumbing for the kitchen and bathroom and installed all the fittings and cabinets.  He also did the roof and, equally impressive, Rich and crew did all the tongue and groove (T&G) planking for the interior.  As you can see from the above photo, the ceiling T&G is nothing short of a masterpiece.  Getting 12 ft  panels in place is no easy task--especially when you are swaying around at the top of a ladder doing the ceiling. 

Not to be outdone, Linda was equipping the whole place with everything you might need for an extended stay.  All home comforts were there, from microwave, coffee maker and kettle to pots and pans, crockery and cutlery.  It even had a TV.  I felt that I was in the Ritz Carlton--except for negotiating the ladder down from the loft which discouraged any night journeys to the loo in the dark.   Sleeping up in the loft felt like being under an overturned wooden boat.  I have not slept so well for ages. The only thing that was left for Wayne and me to do, under the close supervision of Foreman Schatz, was to paint the exterior of the cabin.  This we did on our last day in two shifts, breaking for lunch and then being forced outside again in the afternoon to complete the job.  At least Wayne and I now have some sweat equity invested in the whole project.

Looking at Rich in his bib overalls and Wayne in his stained work clothes, I wondered whether anyone passing by would think: "Yup, there’s some real country boys over there.”  They certainly looked the part.  Luckily I do not have a photo of my own get up but I think they might have thought I was someone out of “Deliverance.”

Luckily for us, Fred Mesch, another old Asian Development Bank buddy who lives upwind of Chateau Schatz, wandered down in the afternoon all dressed up to go horse riding.   He was immediately given a paint brush by Boss Schatz and forced to help us, fancy riding boots an’ all.

This is the finished product.  Linda's Little Cabin by the Lake looked really beautiful in the late afternoon sun.  You can see that Wayne and I have skills way beyond our lawyerly ones and were actually thinking of getting into the painting business out West to supplement our meager pensions.

On the subject of lawyering, here is one amusing little story connected to the cabin.  The day before we did the painting, we were coming back from a fishing expedition up north when Wayne got a call from a lawyer back in Washington D.C.  Rich and I were impressed that Wayne could be deeply engaged in a legal matter while driving the truck and boat at high speed with one hand.  He was droning on about a final settlement and "getting this matter finished once and for all” when he added, in that laconic style of his, “OK, you’d better conference in Larry”.  Conference in Larry?  We are out in the boondocks in a big-ass Toyota pick-up with a beat up boat in the back and we are going to conference in Larry?  Did Wayne think he was sitting in his office in D.C?  Had the sun got to him? It was all a bit surreal.

In any event, he pulled over in Chewelah without crashing into anything and Rich and I decided to go see Linda.  We told her that Wayne was sitting outside in the truck on a legal conference call.  Rich joked that at $500 an hour, Wayne’s call could probably pay for the cost of the cabin and a lot more.

Linda took all this in and then, in a completely deadpan aside, said: “Tell him to keep talking!”

The day we left, Rich and Yvette were going to sleep up in the loft while Linda was going to sleep downstairs.  The kids wanted to stay exactly where they were in “The Big House.” Evidently, Rich, Yvette and Linda also found the whole experience to be totally relaxing.

I am endlessly impressed that Rich and Linda, into their seventies, had the energy and sense of adventure to undertake this project.  And that the whole family rallied around.  It gives me great hope that when I become 70 next year I will be able to build a cabin and get the hang of plumbing, installation of bathroom fixtures and T&G work, capabilities that had escaped me in the past.  Why do we have to wait so long to be able to do this stuff?

We wish them all very many happy years enjoying the cabin, the beautiful views, morning coffee on the deck and, of course, welcoming many guests (especially us City Boyz) from all over to join them in this little corner of paradise.  We can never thank them enough for their hospitality and their sheer joy of living.

NOTE: the original blog was published on June 1, 2015.