Camping In

Day 95: You all know about "camping out." Well, yesterday, I found myself in the unenviable position of "camping in." A combination of wind and snow had been playing hob with my power since early morning, the lights flickering on and off as globs of wet, heavy snow fell from branches and impacted lines. The Park was being hit hard with trees down across the road, and employee access was being limited to essential personnel. For some mysterious reason, my internet was live but my land line refused to give a dial tone; since the two are intimately linked, I was baffled. Then at 4:30, the Weather Gods delivered its hardest blow and my power went out. Now normally, lighting the propane fireplace for the first time each winter is a half-hour process requiring all my father's best tractor-starting words. It surprised me by igniting on my first request. That said, I have a limited supply of propane, so I closed doors to all nonessential rooms, turned the flame down low and settled myself into a nest of blankets and pillows to wait out the siege. I'd had the foresight to charge both Kindles, so I had games to play, and a "pocket light switch" I'd been given by a friend a few years ago supplied enough light to read a library book. However, needlework was out of the question and therefore I was mightily annoyed. Right before bedtime, the lights came back on, but land line, internet and cell phone were as dead as the proverbial doornail. Nor were any of those services available to me when I got up this morning. Roughly half an hour ago, my internet came back to life, but not the phone. Huh? Remember, I live in the Back of Beyond. Internet depends on a functioning land line. It is impossible to access it without working phone service. Typical of CenturyLink, they can't explain it either, but they're sending somebody out to take a look, but not today.