About Pete Praetorius Pete’s last name, Praetorius, means “keeper of the gates,” which is most fitting. While Alys has her head in the clouds, his feet are firmly rooted on the ground. Their property is off-the-grid, meaning that there is no conventional power source. One of Pete’s many home-based jobs involves making sure that the power system that he installed remains running. This includes tending to four solar panels, a wind turbine, an inverter, a battery bank, and a backup generator. Neither Pete nor Alys see the lack of a “traditional” power source as being particularly problematic. Rather, the supposedly inherent problems are viewed as challenges. For example, the woodstove is the primary animal water heater. In the winter, Pete carries the water out in two five-gallon buckets, and after removing the ice, he pours the hot water on top of the cold. He does this twice-daily, morning and night. Pete’s summer chores include tending to the three garden plots and two beehives. Pete cross-country skis in the winter, and bicycle, hikes, and sea kayaks in the summer. The property was in a semi-habitable state when he and Alys moved here in 2003, so he’s since spent a good portion of his time working on building projects. Pete has (among other things) raised the main cabin roof and put in a second floor, constructed a kitchen addition, added a root cellar, and, this past summer, put on a porch. Pete’s currently an Associate Professor of Communication at nearby Mat-Su College. He teaches a variety of courses including technical writing, public speaking, small group communication, and interpersonal communication. Pete elected to do the Divide Ride in 2008 because
he figured that this would be a nice break from the home activities. He’s
helped Alys to prepare for this trip by taking on a wide variety of tasks,
some of which have included designing this web page, editing its content,
and determining the trip route. Pete will ride Siggi, the horse he raised
and trained. |
Alys Pete Raudi Siggi Tinni Bootleg Rainbow Jenna Goats Chickens |