Starting the adventure...

I’m living a dream. I bought the Cabelas Outfitter Series ISQ tent at the beginning of summer, just as an experiment. So far, the living is easy and my dream just gets better each day.


How it began…

As an obsessed snowboarder, I drove every weekend for the past two winters from East San Francisco (where I worked as a professional) to Tahoe. I pitched my small, four-season backpacking tent each night and snowboarded during the day. This spring, I decided it was time to stop the crazy commute and move to Tahoe. So, I got a job lined up at the local campground, purchased the Cabelas Oufitter ISQ tent (the 10 X 14 size), and moved to beautiful South Lake Tahoe.

Here I am, a 59 year-old snowboarding grandma, living in a tent in Tahoe. But that is just a small piece of this adventure. The story continues…

I immediately got to work making the tent my home. I purchased a 10 X 14 piece of high grade carpet and carpeted the tent wall-to-wall, then installed fabric wall hangings to designate the “bedroom” areas and bought inflatable lounge chairs so that I could comfortably watch snowboard videos on the flat screen TV. I have a refrigerator, microwave, propane stove and espresso machine. I purchased an extra pod to use for closet/storage space. Outside, there is a copper fire pit that has become the spot for friends and neighbors to sit around shooting the breeze and playing music. The tent is located right at the entrance to the campground, so I have folks stopping by all the time asking to take a look at the tent. I have given a lot of tours of what is affectionately called the “Taj Matent.” Folks are amazed at how comfortable the tent is. I have done as many as six tours in a day!

I plan on living here through the winter. The plan is to collect wood pallets that will be layed out on the ground with plywood on top that should help to keep melting snow from seeping in too much under the floor of the tent. I will be purchasing a wood burning stove, so I am working on building up the old arm muscles for a lot of wood splitting this winter. Electricity is available, so I can supplement with an electric blanket and space heaters, if needed.

I am so excited about this year long adventure of living in a tent in Tahoe! This has been a dream of mine for several years, and to see it unfold into a reality is amazing!