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The park ranger sits in her truck, tucked into a parking lot on the north side of the lake. The headlights come alive as the truck creeps out across the snow covered road toward the boat ramp. As she pulls up we're occupied with carrying our kayaks to the water.
Are these two out of their minds? Stupid? Maybe both.
The ranger steps out into the cold, a curious look on her face accompanied by a large grin.
“You’re wondering if we’re crazy, aren’t you?” asks Joren.
“Yeah, pretty much.” The grin turns into a full on smile.
We talk for a bit. After examining our kayaks from a few feet away and glancing over our waterproof clothing and life vests she nods and excuses herself to return across the road.
"Just be careful."
We'd eagerly counted down the months, then weeks, before our weekend getaway to Hocking Hills. The snow was exactly what we’d been hoping for, and it made its arrival precisely on time during our one hour drive south from Columbus.
It's rare that we'd ever pass up an opportunity to get out on the water. One mini-adventure we had yet to experience was “snow-yaking”, so we took advantage of the weather conditions almost as soon as we arrived.
The air was cold, sure, but not unbearable. During the week leading into our trip the temperatures had steadily dropped just low enough for the band of moisture moving over Lake Logan to form into puffy white flakes, now drifting down as we paddled.
The effort of pulling ourselves across the lake was enough to keep us feeling warm. After roughly an hour of enjoying the scenery and the dead calm across the water only our fingers and toes needed some attention.
We loaded our gear back up and made the 2 minute drive back to the Gladiola Tiny House, which sits just off the main road, looking down over the lake.
The other element of our dream weekend was the lodging.
Our fascination with tiny houses and, really, alternative living in general, started years ago. We’d been living in our 3000 square foot 19th century house, spending weekends and plenty of weekdays on a seemingly endless list of home improvement projects, repairs, and cleaning.
We started to question why we were dedicating so much of our lives to a building. So much time that could be freed up to pursue things that felt more meaningful and important to us. That's when the dream of a tiny house started to grow.
Two months after selling that house and downsizing our entire life to fit into a 673 sq. ft. apartment we were spending one weekend in a real tiny house, getting a glimpse of our dream.
The Gladiola is inviting. As soon as you step foot in you’re welcomed with plenty of light, thanks to the abundance of windows. The white shiplap walls and lightly colored pine ceiling and woodwork keep it feeling open and airy inside. The design throughout the house is both thoughtful and practical.
The living room area is raised up, allowing for extra storage space below. The U-shaped bench seating converts into a second bed. A staircase leading up to the lofted sleeping area doubles as a storage area for bags or other medium size items as well as an area for hanging coats or clothing.
There’s a small seating area for two that makes for a comfortable work station and dinette. The perfectly positioned window gives you a view out onto the water.
The bathroom features a Separett composting toilet, an adequately spacious shower insert, and what is probably the most adorably-sized sink you’ll ever find in a house. A slide out mirror was creatively hand built and installed to be used over the sink and can be pushed back into the wall so the window isn’t obstructed.
The kitchen ties in perfectly with the overall design of the house and maintains a modern aesthetic with a farmhouse feel.
Much like when we first tested out vanlife during a week long road trip through Utah and Arizona, we felt an almost immediate sense of comfort in such a small space. There's something almost therapeutic about knowing all your essentials for living can exist inside the footprint of most living rooms.
For us, it wasn’t a shock factor, but rather the kind of boost we needed to keep us excited about our own road to tiny living. The design of the Gladiola gave us some additional insight into what we might want in our own home whenever we decide to take the next step on our downsizing journey.
The lofted sleeping area felt comfortable, but we've always preferred designs with a first floor bedroom or those built with a gooseneck trailer to allow for standing room.
The kitchen doesn't have a built in stovetop or oven, but there's a plug-in induction cooktop that can be neatly stored after making a meal.
The absence of a dishwasher means that everything needs to be hand washed in the double sink and while there's some hanging space for coats, there isn’t a ton of storage space that feels just right as a dedicated spot for two peoples’ clothing.
While all of these things are perfectly fine for a weekend retreat and common in many tiny house designs, they solidify for us that real downsizing means making a list of your highest priorities and preparing for sacrifices in other areas.
The Gladiola’s proximity to Hocking Hills State Park means that there's an abundance of activities for visitors. The area offers everything from hiking nature trails through ancient rock formations, to canopy ziplining, climbing and rappelling, cycling, fishing, and water sports. The driving distance to the city of Logan is just over five minutes, which means that access to restaurants, groceries or a local brewery is convenient.
Having visited the usual attractions of Hocking Hills multiple times - Old Man’s Cave, Ash Cave, and Conkle’s Hollow to name a few - we opted to get out and enjoy the picturesque snowy landscape during our second afternoon in some less traveled spots.
We found Rock Stalls Natural Sanctuary on the map and set out on the easy, 1.1 mile loop trail that took us down into a ravine with close up access to a few waterfalls, interesting rock formations, caves and over a creek, before climbing back up to the parking area. A relatively short walk through the woods, but overall a bit of a hidden gem in the area.
Our weekend getaway resulted in the perfect balance of time spent relaxing, enjoying nature, and building a picture for ourselves of what our own tiny living situation might look like in the future.
It was a reminder to us about how important it is to occasionally escape from the normal hustle and bustle of our daily lives, but it also provided inspiration on what it might look like if that ‘normal’ routine were replaced permanently with a simplified lifestyle - one where we’re living less for possessions, or status, and more for experiences that enrich our lives.
And maybe we actually are a little bit crazy, but kayaking on a partially frozen lake in the snow was a blast.
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