We said goodbye to our dear friend, Schneewagen.
Schneewagen has been with us at KnArrow Haus since the beginning, the year we worked on finishing it prior to occupancy. After our early failures using an old, heavy snowmobile to transfer from the parking area to the cabin in Winter months, I bought a Honda Pioneer 700-4 and installed tracks and an enclosure. It has been a steady and reliable workhorse. Our list of extended family and friends who visit KnArrow Haus continues to expand, and includes a growing stable of young grandkids. We needed more space.
When I took Schneewagen to the local dealership for its annual maintenance in August, I bumped into a Can Am Defender MAX Limited. I'd seen them before, but this time I opened the door and sat inside.
With two full rows of 3-abreast seats, a built-in heater (and air conditioner), and a cargo bed -- it's the UTV equivalent of my Jeep Gladiator. More space. More power. More heat. More convenience. More money...
Within a day I had a buyer for the Honda Pioneer, and then got to work foraging tor the right-priced replacement. Anyone who has shopped for a power playtoy since Covid reared its head, knows that discounting by dealerships is now extinct. But with a little persistence I was able to find a dealership in Oregen that had temporarily marked down a couple units in their inventory to make room for some 2025 units.
I borrowed a flatbed trailer from a friend and took a Saturday trip to Sublimity Oregon -- with a lunch stop at the Wooden Nickel Pub.
A few hours later and Schneezeug (Snow Thing) was sitting in my lowlands front yard.
The savings were substantial and well worth the drive. Now I ordered the snow tracks from the local dealership and decided to improve our Schneezeug parking space in fron the KnArrow Haus while waiting for the tracks to arrive.
This lone tree did not survive the root damage inflicted when the power and water utility lines were buried during constructions. It's tilting in the middle of the ideal summer and winter parking area just off the front driveway. So I broke out my chainsaw gifted to me a couple Christsmases ago.
After I downed the tree, I was unable to get the saw restarted. As chance would have it, a truck was driving by at that exact time with one of my (few) blog fans and a partner in-tow with chainsaw experience.
The gentleman on the left is a Navy pilot who flies fighter jets and was visiting the area for the holiday weekend. He's read my blog and aspires to be a Yodelin homeowner some day. His friend on the right, has previous chainsaw experience, and took the opportunity to inspect the saw and make sure it was setup correctly. He helped me restart the saw, and I was able to finish the job. Katie gave them a quick tour inside KnArrow Haus.
I trailered Schneezeug to Wenatchee last weekend. The tracks were installed on Wednesday. And I picked it up on Saturday, then docked it in its newly cleared stable in the KnArrow Haus driveway.
Bring on the snow!
