My Grandparents bought our cabin the year I was born, 1958. It was 200 sq feet with newspapers stuffed in the walls for insulation. No water, an old wall heater and electricity. They rapidly expanded the space to 400 sq feet and bought an adjacent “little cabin” of 100 sq for extra sleeping space. My sister, brother and I spent most of our summer weekends growing up at the cabin with adventures always just around the corner. We climbed the rocks behind the cabin, played cowboys and Indians, and fished for brook trout in the Little Pine. Our favorite weekend of the year was always Fourth of July. I even won a fishing contest one year for the biggest fish! My grandparents had a 1946 Willies Jeep that all seven of us could fit it and we explored the area around Red Feather. While the cabin was small, we lived big in that little space!

My grandparents continued to go up to the cabin into their 90s. They willed the cabin to my parents who made little changes, but it pretty much stayed our favorite family place. As we all grew up, we had less time to go to the cabin each weekend, but we still did our best to make it up a few times a year. All three of us went to CSU which certainly helped with proximity. We dreamed of running water but just settled for things the way they had always been!

As each of the three grandchildren married our families grew. We still loved going to the cabin, but it was becoming more challenging with our children (#5). Finally, my brother bought the cabin across the road and my sister bought a cabin one mile away. Space! Now our families are growing and there are currently 5 grandchildren (great-great-grandchildren of my grandparents). We still gather on a regular basis and the Fourth of July remains our favorite weekend with the craft show, fishing contest and fireworks. Oh, and we eat a lot!

My favorite cabin story is the one told by my 3-year-old granddaughter: One day in October a big bear broke into the cabin. It was really hungry and looking for food. It even ate through the door to get in (true). It climbed up on top of the cabinets and got into the refrigerator. It made a really big mess and squirted cheese all over the ceiling (true). Then the bear brushed its teeth (not true) and left a nose print on the mirror (true). The end.
Bears, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, moose, and other critters. Nature and family are synonymous with “the cabin.”