In the Midst of the Deep Freeze

I woke up a few times during the night and could hear the rain lashing against the RV.  The wind-driven rain mixed with sleet makes quite a bit of noise when you live in a tin can.  It was 21 degrees when I got up this morning.  Our plumbing survived--we were able to take our showers.  The people camped on either side of us drained their plumbing and winterized their rigs; we’ve been through cold snaps before and made sure the tank heaters were on and it was warm enough on the inside.

Since the camp was serving cinnamon rolls for breakfast, we risked the trek to the dining hall to get breakfast.  Stepping outside, we could see everything encased in about a quarter-inch of ice.  The entire RV parking area was an ice rink, partly due to the rain and partly due to dribbling faucets.  Many people, including ourselves, let the faucet dribble to prevent freezing.  Many people here could not get into their cars as the doors were frozen shut.

It took us a while to walk to breakfast as we had to avoid the ice rink parking area.  Walking on the grass was like stepping through thin glass as the grass was encased in ice which shattered when stepped on, making for a tactile crunch at every step.

We were some of the very few that made it to breakfast.  Coming back, we streamed our church service because there was no way we were getting out to any local church.  We took a walk after lunch but the wind made for a very cold hike.  So it was a rather low-key day.

Some of the women, including Deb, helped with the camp laundry for a few hours as there is a short turn-around between groups this weekend.  We’ll make up for it by having a short day tomorrow. Because of the cold, we won’t start work until after lunch.

Lunch and dinner today were cancelled because one of the weekend groups canceled.  So we made potato soup for lunch. Good high-calorie stick-to-the-ribs stuff to combat the cold.  We were getting used to being fed all the time so it was a bit novel to actually get something out of the refrigerator and make a meal.

In times like these, we are there to help each other out.  One of our volunteers had one leg of his electrical stop working and I helped him get it going again.  Another person had some water softener salt that he came around and spread on people’s doorsteps.  Texts have been exchanged about running low on propane.  Others have made grocery runs.  We’re all in the same situation so we may as well all pitch in.