| Myrtle had never seen as much snow as she did
during those first few winters at Alta Lake. The walls of the buildings
disappeared as the snow on the ground rose to meet the roofs. Shovelling
was a daily chore, only offset by the novelty of tobogganing
off the top of the roof, down the drifts and out onto the flats. However,
when all that snow began to melt in the spring the rivers and streams rushed,
and the lake swelled with the run-off. |
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| One particular winter saw an exceptional amount of
snow and consequently the spring thaw resulted in an exceptional amount
of water. As the lake rose, water flooded the grounds of the lodge and crept
closer to Rainbow Lodge. One morning Myrtle woke to find water at the foot
of her door. As she looked out she saw that the entire front lawn of
the lodge was under water! The lakefront
cabins had also been flooded. Because it was early in the spring, the
water was still very cold - too cold to wade around in, so Alex and Myrtle
fetched the rowboat and set out to survey the damage. Not wanting to be
left behind, their two
dogs quickly jumped in with them. The remainder of the day was spent
salvaging furniture in the cabins and pushing those without big rubber boots
around in the wheelbarrow.
While the waters retreated in a few days, the Philips decided that it was
more excitement than they needed and the rest of the summer was spent building
boardwalks
and bridges. |
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