Me Wonderful Day On The Frozen Lake

23 January 2017
Story #847

R. Linda:

Well, here I be waiting for 7 to 8 more inches of snow on top of what is already out there. I understand (since I have opted out of telly watching) that the New England Patriots are going to the Super Bowl, and everyone up here be happy about that at least. Meanwhile, the day has dawned drizzly and gloomy and seems to have been this way since the coronation. I hope we don't have this continue in the atmosphere, as most of us already have a dark cloud over our heads. Anyhootie, I remember the last sunny day up here (vaguely), and in me quest to keep your and my mind off the obvious elephant in the nation, I thought I'd post a couple of pictures (since I know you love pictures of snow).

Let me preface these first two shots with how they came about and what they are. On Saturday, I had to work, so I went on another assignment, this time covering snowmobile races on a frozen lake. Yup, I love being outdoors in frigid weather, standing on ice, with the wind blowing over the open lake. Yeah, it doesn't get much better than that—not! I bundled up in me insulated parka, had on a knit hat, and put me parka hood over that. Warm gloves, boots to the knees, and a pair of ice skates, just in case I had to keep up with sledges as they zoomed across the ice, with me handy dandy action camera, aka me iPhone. Can you picture it? For sure you can!

I did not know that some of these gents on the lake (and I use that term loosely) fire up their snowmobiles or sledges (sleds to you), as they call 'em up here, with nitrous oxide. Holy cannoli, R. Linda, these things fly across the icy lake, and I knew no way I would be able to film them while skating a distance away in the same direction. No, unless, as some helpful bud offered, with the aid of a small tank attached to each skate and fuelled with hybrid rocket fuel, was I going to be able to keep up.

I know I should have let them do it, and they would have. You'd have had a laugh if not outright hysterics, over me being propelled over solid ice at a rate of speed that me brain can't conceive, zooming away into the woods, unable to stop. Yup, so I declined that offer. These New Hampshire boyos are all out for fun. Yes, they are, I have never met so many crazies in me life! I thought Northern Ireland was bad, but no, no, they could learn a thing or two from the swamp Yankee kingdom of New England.

I did me best, but the sledges were blurs in the distance and not worth the effort of me trying to film. I decided instead to just watch and report, rather than waste life and limb on moving along the ice (which cracks like crazy, R. Linda, sounding like thunder underground). This scared the bejesus out of me, but I was told it was merely the ice thickening, uh-huh. I was offered the shelter between races of a bob house, where they were setting it up inside. I found a sofa, an easy chair, bunk beds, a small kitchenette, and best of all, a wood stove. I have pictures of it before it was fully set up! I was too cold once it was set up to take it all done up because quite literally, me brain was frozen by that time along with me fingers, burr! Wanna see? Look below:

One end

The other end

Now you've seen the inside of a bob house, a rather large one at that. The bob houses tend to be clustered in certain areas, forming a compound of friends and family. Some stay overnight in them (that's why bunk beds), and other bob houses are scattered about, dotting the lake in blobs of colour. Made me wonder what you do if the ice cracks and your bob house with you in it, is on the crack. I was told the houses 'bob', that's why the name. I can't imagine.

What stuns me is the number of vehicles driven out on the lake. There are campers, trucks, large trucks and then there are airplanes. Yes, R. Linda, while I was standing there waiting for one of the many races to begin, a plane landed and an SUV went out to meet the occupants and bring them to one of the bob houses for drinks and race watching. I tell ya!

Here ya go, pics of the plane landing and taking off:

Landing

Takeoff

Yes, indeedie me, it was a frigid day for yours truly, doing what he likes best: standing out on the frozen tundra with frozen fingers trying to handle a camera and be a good Joe at the same time. Yeah, works for me -- not!

Gabe
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