Lizajane lived near the top of Lynx Mountain. The cabin she lived in with her dad was only five miles from the small ski town where she and her friends went to school. There was no road to her house. Instead when Lizajane got off the school bus she'd start the engine of the small rope tow, grab on and make the trip up for quite a ways to get to the timber frame cabin. Only one other kid (James who lived in a small wood frame single level ranch not far from the road) got on and off the bus with her at this particular stop. In the summer they just hiked up to the cabin. But Lizajane preferred the wintertime and riding the rope tow. She had a weathered pair of leather gloves that kept her hands from getting burned by the rope and she was fairly sure no one else lived like her and her dad at the top of a mountain in a rustic cabin without a road.
Her dad built their cabin mostly by himself though he had had the help of a few of his hearty mountain friends placing the logs and getting the logs up there in the first place. In the morning Lizajane would ski down and James would usually be there, waiting for her...sometimes with a muffin. His mother loved to bake and Lizajane was always grateful to have a yummy warm treat from her friend at the bus stop. They'd wait by the side of the road for Linda the bus driver to come around the corner, turn on her blinking redlights and stop for them.
Some winter mornings were really cold. So cold that sometimes James' mom would warm up their family car and wait with James and Lizajane for the bus to come. James and Lizajane would sit in the back and play rock, paper, scissors until James' mom told them to settle down. Then they would just wait...looking out the car window that was frosted over. They'd scrape the frost with their gloves and snow would fall from the windows..and they'd giggle. James was a great friend...and although she rarely saw him at school, she enjoyed their time together at the bus stop.
Living in a house without a road was an adventure for Lizajane. She loved her rugged dad. He wore simple, functional clothes, always had a beard and loved to be outside. He had a sense for the weather...just seemed to know what was coming by the way the wind was blowing...by the clouds and the temperature...he could feel it in his bones. He'd tell Lizajane about the blue sky days that they were about to have...or the big windstorm that was coming. Lizajane was always prepared. Most of her friends thought he was the coolest dad anyone could have...since he was the weatherman...and he was the one who announced over the airways that there was a blizzard coming and school was cancelled.
Lizajane's dad wasn't a chatty man...he really only read to Lizajane at night...but he wasn't stern either. They just had an understanding...and they lived well together, enjoying eachother's company without saying much. Her dad read a lot...and Lizajane did too. There seemed to always be a new book to read. Books lined the walls of the cabin and were stacked on the floor. Some of the characters in the books Lizajane read were her closest friends and they took her to places she had never been.
Lizajane was never lonely. When she was cold or heard a strange sound in the night...particularly when it was windy and it felt like trees were going to land on the cabin or when it was so quiet that it seemed something was sure to happen, she would climb up the ladder to her dad in the loft above. He always hugged her close so she felt safe...but she knew that she could not do this every night. There was a sense that this was her safety net...but her bed with the big comforter and with her stuffed bear was where she belonged most nights.
On winter mornings Lizajane's father would ski down to where they kept their old pick-up truck (not far from the bus stop...but in the woods and hidden) that barely ran. He'd start the motor and let it run for a good ten minutes until Pearl (the name she and her dad had given the old Chevy) was good and ready to go. Pearl was silver with a red stripe and was kind of cranky when she was cold. She'd sputter and let you know it. There really was no need to rush, and it was better for Pearl anyway...being patient would help her last until LizaJane was old enough to drive. In a few years she'd be able to help her dad get supplies and mail from town and maybe cruise around for a bit with her friends. But, for now, her dad mostly went by himself and got back before things got too busy in town...usually before Lizajane even got out of bed in the morning, If she woke up before he got back, she'd fill the heavy black kettle with water and set it on the wood burning stove and wait until the water got hot enough to make some tea. Her dad always made a roaring fire before he left...and the cabin was always warm when she got up. He'd come back not long after she got up...with bananas, oats and milk. They'd make pancakes...and pour real maple syrup over the top...with sliced bananas and peanut butter. Her father would drink coffee and Lizajane would have thick hot chocolate.
That was how most winter mornings began up on Lynx Mountain. Then Lizajane's dad would make her lunch and tuck it in her backpack. Lizajane would choose a simple dress, stuff it in her pack and get dressed in her ski clothes. She'd kiss her dad goodbye and schuss off...down the mountain to the school bus.
