The giant snow pile in the front yard at 1016 22nd Street in West Des Moines is enough to pique anyone's curiosity, and some days you just have see where that curiosity might take you.
"Is this your snow pile?"
But before the 20-something man at the front door can answer, I turn around and see that it's not really a snow pile at all...it's a giant snow fort.
You just can't see the door from the road. It must be 9 feet high and 10 feet wide, with a small, round door near the ground, large enough for a grown man to crawl through.
It's clearly a winter project that some one has worked hard on.
"It really just kind of grew from a 10-year-old boy's fantasy," says Eric Grinne, who lives in the home and helped build the "adult igloo." "I never really had the resources and the man-power to build something this big."
When you cross a child's imagination with a man's ability, this is what you get.
Space for six inside. Lights and shelving and chairs and room for...well, for whatever grown men would want do in a giant snow fort.
"Uh, it's a little beer hut. When we need a little extra space from the house."
As the snow keeps coming, the fort keeps growing. Pile the snow on top and hollow it out from inside. Check the thickness with the fishing rod.
"We stick the fishing pole into the wall from the inside," says Cole Bultman, one of the other builders, "and you can kinda feel it."
The rod shows that the walls are still over two feet thick. Still strong enough to support the weight of the fort.
It's tall enough to stand in, and already decked out for parties with Tiki torches outside. Unfortunately, the fuel is running low and the hardware stores have stopped selling it (it is winter, after all).
"We're all single guys, so if the girls are impressed by the igloo, that woouldn't hurt," says Bultman.
It's impressive enough to make one wonder if its builders make be the only people in Iowa actually dreading the approach of warmer weather.
"Um, a little bit," admits Grinne. "We're trying not to focus on that, I don't think."
And there's the bottom line: it's a winter project SO great, they're trying not to think about spring.
And we thought it was just a big pile of snow!
"Is this your snow pile?"
But before the 20-something man at the front door can answer, I turn around and see that it's not really a snow pile at all...it's a giant snow fort.
You just can't see the door from the road. It must be 9 feet high and 10 feet wide, with a small, round door near the ground, large enough for a grown man to crawl through.
It's clearly a winter project that some one has worked hard on.
"It really just kind of grew from a 10-year-old boy's fantasy," says Eric Grinne, who lives in the home and helped build the "adult igloo." "I never really had the resources and the man-power to build something this big."
When you cross a child's imagination with a man's ability, this is what you get.
Space for six inside. Lights and shelving and chairs and room for...well, for whatever grown men would want do in a giant snow fort.
"Uh, it's a little beer hut. When we need a little extra space from the house."
As the snow keeps coming, the fort keeps growing. Pile the snow on top and hollow it out from inside. Check the thickness with the fishing rod.
"We stick the fishing pole into the wall from the inside," says Cole Bultman, one of the other builders, "and you can kinda feel it."
The rod shows that the walls are still over two feet thick. Still strong enough to support the weight of the fort.
It's tall enough to stand in, and already decked out for parties with Tiki torches outside. Unfortunately, the fuel is running low and the hardware stores have stopped selling it (it is winter, after all).
"We're all single guys, so if the girls are impressed by the igloo, that woouldn't hurt," says Bultman.
It's impressive enough to make one wonder if its builders make be the only people in Iowa actually dreading the approach of warmer weather.
"Um, a little bit," admits Grinne. "We're trying not to focus on that, I don't think."
And there's the bottom line: it's a winter project SO great, they're trying not to think about spring.
And we thought it was just a big pile of snow!
