Thanks to Unindicted Co-conspirator #1 for today’s topic.
Do private structures qualify for the “largest” classification? My friend owns a share in a private “camping area” near Sundre, Alberta (where they welcome all and sundry (speaking of idioms)). He has built several structures, including, to the best of our knowledge, and until proven otherwise, the largest 6-sided (hexagonal) log Gazebo on a private campsite in the world.
But wait, there’s more.
The gazebo was christened on Dec 31, 1990 after 4 years of intermittent construction by a group of family and friends (including me, whenever I could make it). It started with a trip to the mountains to find over 350 trees that could be harvested for 10-14″ diameter logs 12-15′ long. After cutting and transporting), 42 made the cut (so to speak) and the rest became firewood.
Next came the weekend sessions with chain saws, hand saws, chisels, hammers and most importantly, beer and rum. Over the next 4 summers the gazebo took shape on a farm in Southern Alberta. It is estimated that it took over 400 cases of beer (12 packs) and 100 bottles of rum to complete the project.
Many good times followed, especially the New Year’s Eve celebrations, with a roaring fire in the original stone fireplace, even with -30C temperatures and one more than one occasion, at least 5′ of snow on the ground.
Fast forward to about 2003. The farm has been sold and the sale did not include the gazebo. So my friend took it apart!
He and his friends then moved the whole kit to the campsite. They put in a brick floor, reassembled the structure, added skylights and, over the years, cabinets, a modern fireplace and a wide screen TV.
There is so much more to this story and I will try to document it in more detail in my upcoming book, tentatively titled “A Fork In The Road”.
In its current location it is hard to get a good photo because it is surrounded by brush. I hope the attached photos will give you some idea. Once I get home I will try to find some older pictures from the original location.
Even if it isn’t good enough for WLBOTT, it will make an interesting chapter in my book.
Battery is dying.
Cheers,
– Unindicted Co-conspirator #1
Lake-breaking update from UC#1.
The gazebo is approx. 11′ per side on the inside. The actual logs are about 14′ and overlap each other at the corners. The logs are about 10-12″ in diameter. The original fireplace was about 8′ across, built of boulders. The opening was about 4′ and most of the firewood at that point was old poplars that had died and been cut up. But poplar burns like a barn on fire so the fire created such an updraft in the chimney that 2 things happened:
- the -30°C air from outside was sucked in to feed the fire, making the gazebo even colder than it was and
- the top of the chimney ignited the roof.
So in -30°C weather they had to lug buckets of water up a ladder and put out the fire. After that they tore down the fireplace and put in the old green cookstove that you can see in one of the pictures.
Destination: Sundre, Alberta
Sundre Municipal Library
To really know a town, you must visit its library.
Distance from Edmonton, Alberta: 249 km
Distance from Austin, Texas: 2,080 miles
Distance from Santa Barbara, California: 1,710 miles
WLBOTT Status: Approved
Will there be a Buffet? Over 1,500,000 Possibilities
Gazebo-centric Buffet
If you are looking for a gazebo buffet, and happen to be in Hyderabad, India, check out the Gazebo Buffet.
