On Thursday morning, we headed to the Alaska State Fair in Palmer with our friends from Susitna Sled & Kayak, James and Deb. We spent a few hours there enjoying the booths, but we still had about 4.5 hours to drive to Soldotna to see our friends Liz and Joe so we headed out early. Soldotna is on the Kenai Peninsula so, of course, we had to do some fishing. Liz and I fished for about an hour with no luck while Dave, Joe, and Finn (Liz and Joe's son) went to the playground.
Since Joe had to work on Saturday and Dave wanted to drive around looking for canoe trails, Liz and I made jam with berries from Vicki's garden (our neighbor in Trapper Creek) and some we had picked on Friday night. Turned out yummy! We also cooked a pot of corned beef and cabbage with cabbage from Vicki's garden and carrots from Liz's garden. Also yummy!
Started our drive back yesterday and decided to pick up an entire roll of road fabric on the way so we can fix our parking area at camp. Not sure what we'll get into today, but it's bound to be good! More to come...
Monday, September 6, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Trout!
Finally, a trout! Actually three! Vicki gave me some salmon roe to use on the last day of bait fishing on Peters Creek. Within about a minute, I caught a 14-inch rainbow! Then, the Forks Roadhouse dog got it, then I wrestled her for it and won. Hence, the grit and leaves all over it. She carried it into the bushes and I had to take it back. Ate it last night-YUM! The other two were little guys that I released.
Short entry for today...going to the fair and then to Soldotna to visit with friends. More to come!
Short entry for today...going to the fair and then to Soldotna to visit with friends. More to come!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Autumn in Alaska
Autumn has truly set in here. The birches are yellowing, the fireweed and cranberry leaves are brilliant red, and a few berries still hang on the bushes. Yesterday, we took advantage of a NON-RAINY day and bumped our way down Petersville Road, a.k.a., formerly referred to as "the kidney-bustin' ride." It's still kidney-bustin' when you get way down (I mean 20 miles), but there have been lots of improvements. I also went fishing on Peters Creek, of course, with no luck. I kept losing my beads-I really need some salmon roe. Anyway, a few pics to pass on. Hope everyone had a great August!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Some Days You Step in It...
Some days you step in it, some days you fall in it, and other days you roll in it. Literally. There are several LARGE piles of bear crap right in our walking area. They've been there since we pulled in and have now aged to dark brown/black piles and we've stepped in it and slipped on it countless times. Bears really do poop in the woods...and we worked so hard to get rid of the devil's club. The bears seem to be eating the devil's club seeds and scattering them in all the cleared places. AAARGH!
I promised an update on our river and gun adventures. First, the gun event. I must say, I have an awesome little gun. It's got a hair trigger-just touch the trigger and it fires. And I have really BAD aim. Though, I think with some practice, I could get better. At least all the shots I took hit within a few feet of each other. I did not shoot myself in the foot nor did I shoot Dave's foot. However, we did scare the neighbor. He drove over thinking we were firing at one of the many bears in the neighborhood, though if we had taken that many shots and missed it, we'd be bear snacks.
The river trip was more of a "DRAGGING THE BOAT" adventure. Little paddling was involved. As many of you who have been coaxed into one of Dave's adventures know, they usually are not as simple as they seem at first. This was no exception. In previous years, Dave carried his kayak over the islands across the Susitna River and ferried across the big water to Talkeetna, where I picked him up. We tried to carry the raft (twice as heavy as a kayak unloaded) with gear in it. That thing is a monster and has no good carrying holds. After crossing brush covered islands, using the painter to pull the boat in some stretches where the water was deep, and taking several beer breaks, we decided to simply circumnavigate the little island at the end of our road here.
Upon finding the slough we needed to paddle down to get back to the car, we came upon a large cottonwood, preventing us from using the painter to pull the boat. Dave decided it would be a good idea to just push the raft over the cottonwood and paddle upstream with me pulling. Well, things didn't go as smoothly as he expected. Dave decided it would be fun to ride the thwart instead of sit on it and he promptly fell in, filling his chest waders with frigid river water. While not funny at the time, we both laugh now. He let out a girly "AAAGH" as his lower extremities took a chilly dip and then he shuffled back into the raft with his eyes bugging out of his head. Just a reminder: Drinking and boating don't mix, even if the boat is on land.
By this time, we'd already given up on getting to Talkeetna so we were just trying to make it back to the truck in one piece. Well, we made it back, a little chillier than we started, but in good spirits.
To make up for our not-so-fun river adventure, we decided to take an early morning hike around Byers Lake and up the Cascade Trail to see a waterfall. What an excellent trip! Last year, we hiked around the whole lake so this year we decided to explore a different area. We hiked a total of about 3.5 miles and were rewarded with one of the most picturesque waterfalls I've seen in this area. Along the way, we found an old trapper's cabin, the Beeman's, built in 1959, now in disrepair. Excellent way to see the history of the area. We had lunch at Mary Carey's McKinley View Lodge, which has a stunning view of Denali. It's always been too foggy to see it when we've been up there, but yesterday, the mountain was out in full view. The lodge has a fascinating history.
On a side note, there was a record set for consecutive days of rainfall in Anchorage this summer: 31 days. A total of 4.66 inches fell (not much by East Coast standards, but that's significant here). It's also been a fairly cool summer. The berries are a bit watered down and flavorless, but our neighbors with gardens have been getting good produce despite the weather. You just have to know what to grow around here.
Anyhow, more adventures to come...
I promised an update on our river and gun adventures. First, the gun event. I must say, I have an awesome little gun. It's got a hair trigger-just touch the trigger and it fires. And I have really BAD aim. Though, I think with some practice, I could get better. At least all the shots I took hit within a few feet of each other. I did not shoot myself in the foot nor did I shoot Dave's foot. However, we did scare the neighbor. He drove over thinking we were firing at one of the many bears in the neighborhood, though if we had taken that many shots and missed it, we'd be bear snacks.
The river trip was more of a "DRAGGING THE BOAT" adventure. Little paddling was involved. As many of you who have been coaxed into one of Dave's adventures know, they usually are not as simple as they seem at first. This was no exception. In previous years, Dave carried his kayak over the islands across the Susitna River and ferried across the big water to Talkeetna, where I picked him up. We tried to carry the raft (twice as heavy as a kayak unloaded) with gear in it. That thing is a monster and has no good carrying holds. After crossing brush covered islands, using the painter to pull the boat in some stretches where the water was deep, and taking several beer breaks, we decided to simply circumnavigate the little island at the end of our road here.
Upon finding the slough we needed to paddle down to get back to the car, we came upon a large cottonwood, preventing us from using the painter to pull the boat. Dave decided it would be a good idea to just push the raft over the cottonwood and paddle upstream with me pulling. Well, things didn't go as smoothly as he expected. Dave decided it would be fun to ride the thwart instead of sit on it and he promptly fell in, filling his chest waders with frigid river water. While not funny at the time, we both laugh now. He let out a girly "AAAGH" as his lower extremities took a chilly dip and then he shuffled back into the raft with his eyes bugging out of his head. Just a reminder: Drinking and boating don't mix, even if the boat is on land.
By this time, we'd already given up on getting to Talkeetna so we were just trying to make it back to the truck in one piece. Well, we made it back, a little chillier than we started, but in good spirits.
To make up for our not-so-fun river adventure, we decided to take an early morning hike around Byers Lake and up the Cascade Trail to see a waterfall. What an excellent trip! Last year, we hiked around the whole lake so this year we decided to explore a different area. We hiked a total of about 3.5 miles and were rewarded with one of the most picturesque waterfalls I've seen in this area. Along the way, we found an old trapper's cabin, the Beeman's, built in 1959, now in disrepair. Excellent way to see the history of the area. We had lunch at Mary Carey's McKinley View Lodge, which has a stunning view of Denali. It's always been too foggy to see it when we've been up there, but yesterday, the mountain was out in full view. The lodge has a fascinating history.
On a side note, there was a record set for consecutive days of rainfall in Anchorage this summer: 31 days. A total of 4.66 inches fell (not much by East Coast standards, but that's significant here). It's also been a fairly cool summer. The berries are a bit watered down and flavorless, but our neighbors with gardens have been getting good produce despite the weather. You just have to know what to grow around here.
Anyhow, more adventures to come...
Sunday, August 22, 2010
View From the Top
The tree house is finished! A 64-square foot Shangri-La 20 feet above bears, moose, and wandering hippies! We spent all day Friday getting the frames finished and hoisted up to the existing log frame between the three trees. It's a tough climb and I'm not fond of heights, but once up there, it's really very peaceful and we can see pretty far. No, we can't see Russia from there. We can't even see Denali. But it's got a great view anyhow.
Oh, and I went fly-fishing. Nothing much to report there. I didn't catch anything, as usual.
Spent Saturday in Anchorage visiting a few friends and picking up a few things. We returned early this morning to finish a few chores. We tried to make it back to camp last night, but the truck has different ideas about what is good lighting at night. One headlight is "dimmer than a candle," as one friend put it, and the other points toward the ground. When it rains, like it did last night, the wipers just smear the water across the windshield making everything a streaky rainbow. While nice to look at, it doesn't make for safe driving, particularly when paired with shitty headlights. Alas, I gave up near Wasilla and we camped in the Sears parking lot once again. And no, we still can't see Russia from there. However, we woke up to the Chugach and Talkeetna ranges in view, with only a few clouds obscuring them.
The trailer really needed a full cleaning so I took that on, tossing trash that had accumulated in the corners over the years, and taking advantage of our new ShopVac! Everything's scattered out willy-nilly in the yard now, but organized in piles. I found that over the years, we have accumulated a full library of maps, field guides, and local story books. Excellent reading for the outhouse!
Dave set up a tarp over the tree house and burned things, as usual.
Later, we will practice firing my .357 noisemaker. It will likely only piss off a bear if I actually hit one, but it will make a lot of noise, so if I miss (most likely scenario), hopefully it will discourage the bear from charging. We're thinking our bear spray is probably defunct since it's been frozen and thawed two seasons now. I'm not really willing to test it out. With my idiocy, I would either spray myself directly in the face or catch the spray as the wind blew it back in my face. I can see it now...me with hugely swollen lips and eyes and no milk or yogurt nearby to stop the reaction. Duh.
I tend to think of these kinds of things here. It was similar a couple years ago when we only had the privy bucket and I considered that if I had to fire Dave's (most-likely-made-to-kill-an-elephant) .454 handgun from the bucket, I'd likely fire myself off the bucket, land in a thicket of nearby devil's club (those irritating, pokey shrubs that are everywhere), and miss the bear entirely. You can see how the mind wanders here in the bush. Anything can happen. And it will...to me.
So far, I've only been stabbed once. That was Dave's fault. He missed the 2 x 4 with the gas powered drill and tried to skewer the meat between two fingers on my hand. It only bled for a bit. We kept building. No bears circled and, so far, I've not had to amputate my hand. I have only hit my head twice a day on the truck cap while getting out or retrieving things from the back. Vast improvement from last year.
Tomorrow, we are planning a jaunt in the shredder across the Susitna River to Talkeetna. It's only about a mile, but it's swift current and we'll probably have to do some dragging in the shallow spots and to get over the islands and slightly upriver to the Talkeetna beach. Coming home should be easier since it's a float downstream. Will report back with results. Or if I don't, you know I drowned or died of hypothermia. Or both. Anyhow, off to cap a few stray beer cans with my noisemaker. Let's hope I don't shoot myself in the foot or shoot Dave's foot. Will report back on this adventure as well.
More to come.
Oh, and I went fly-fishing. Nothing much to report there. I didn't catch anything, as usual.
Spent Saturday in Anchorage visiting a few friends and picking up a few things. We returned early this morning to finish a few chores. We tried to make it back to camp last night, but the truck has different ideas about what is good lighting at night. One headlight is "dimmer than a candle," as one friend put it, and the other points toward the ground. When it rains, like it did last night, the wipers just smear the water across the windshield making everything a streaky rainbow. While nice to look at, it doesn't make for safe driving, particularly when paired with shitty headlights. Alas, I gave up near Wasilla and we camped in the Sears parking lot once again. And no, we still can't see Russia from there. However, we woke up to the Chugach and Talkeetna ranges in view, with only a few clouds obscuring them.
The trailer really needed a full cleaning so I took that on, tossing trash that had accumulated in the corners over the years, and taking advantage of our new ShopVac! Everything's scattered out willy-nilly in the yard now, but organized in piles. I found that over the years, we have accumulated a full library of maps, field guides, and local story books. Excellent reading for the outhouse!
Dave set up a tarp over the tree house and burned things, as usual.
Later, we will practice firing my .357 noisemaker. It will likely only piss off a bear if I actually hit one, but it will make a lot of noise, so if I miss (most likely scenario), hopefully it will discourage the bear from charging. We're thinking our bear spray is probably defunct since it's been frozen and thawed two seasons now. I'm not really willing to test it out. With my idiocy, I would either spray myself directly in the face or catch the spray as the wind blew it back in my face. I can see it now...me with hugely swollen lips and eyes and no milk or yogurt nearby to stop the reaction. Duh.
I tend to think of these kinds of things here. It was similar a couple years ago when we only had the privy bucket and I considered that if I had to fire Dave's (most-likely-made-to-kill-an-elephant) .454 handgun from the bucket, I'd likely fire myself off the bucket, land in a thicket of nearby devil's club (those irritating, pokey shrubs that are everywhere), and miss the bear entirely. You can see how the mind wanders here in the bush. Anything can happen. And it will...to me.
So far, I've only been stabbed once. That was Dave's fault. He missed the 2 x 4 with the gas powered drill and tried to skewer the meat between two fingers on my hand. It only bled for a bit. We kept building. No bears circled and, so far, I've not had to amputate my hand. I have only hit my head twice a day on the truck cap while getting out or retrieving things from the back. Vast improvement from last year.
Tomorrow, we are planning a jaunt in the shredder across the Susitna River to Talkeetna. It's only about a mile, but it's swift current and we'll probably have to do some dragging in the shallow spots and to get over the islands and slightly upriver to the Talkeetna beach. Coming home should be easier since it's a float downstream. Will report back with results. Or if I don't, you know I drowned or died of hypothermia. Or both. Anyhow, off to cap a few stray beer cans with my noisemaker. Let's hope I don't shoot myself in the foot or shoot Dave's foot. Will report back on this adventure as well.
More to come.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The Great Alaska Cram...
We're cramming it all in as fast as we can! Since my last post, we've accomplished a kayak adventure, mowed the "front two", acquired a boot dryer and shopvac, visited with many sled dogs, and battled the devil's club...Not in that order.
After a good night's rest in the Fred Meyer's parking lot, we picked up a few supplies, ate at Snow City Cafe (awesome food, as always), and wandered to Thunderbird Falls near Eklutna Lake, a 200-foot waterfall. The trail was under construction every time we tried to hike it last year so it was great to finally get a glimpse of them. We both wondered how much bigger the falls would be if they hadn't dammed up the lake...
After working off our breakfast with the two-mile hike, we picked up the trailer in Wasilla, where everything inside was packed willy-nilly just as we'd left it. No organization scheme is purposeful on our part. It makes it more difficult for thieves to find anything of value to steal. We hope they'd give up after encountering the piles of batteries, soap, books, and other tidbits we put in the way of all the good stuff.
With trailer in tow, we headed to Willow, only a half hour north of Wasilla, to James and Deb's place. More than twenty sled dogs and five sled pups greeted us as we pulled into the drive. The pups are too cute and I included one of my many pics in the 2010 Photobucket pics.
Dave went with James, Johnny, and two Colorado kayakers for a paddle down Willow Creek on Monday. After burgers, beer, and getting the Coloradans off to a safe camp site, we set out for our place. And then we hit traffic. Well, at least it's Alaskan traffic. ASH is resurfacing the road between us and Willow and it takes about 30 minutes for the pilot car to take us to the other side. We won't be going south unless absolutely necessary.
Dave took out the weed whipper and flung devil's club, cranberries, and rose hips all over the place so we could park the trailer in a clear spot. Seeds and junk were everywhere, including on the truck. We took advantage of a warm sunny spot and settled into the truck cab a.k.a. the living room, for an evening of NPR. We also got to see the nature channel on the hood of the truck. Birds and more birds landed on the truck to eat all the seeds that had landed on the hood. We watched for about an hour before the seeds were exhausted and the birds moved on to the mud puddles elsewhere.
Yesterday, we rented a brush hog and while I was working and finding a shopvac and boot dryer, Dave cleared the entire area we cleared last year. In six hours he accomplished what took us a week last year. We're very excited about getting a tractor now. It will really speed things up. His arms feel like Jell-O, but it's worth it. Now we can get the tree house up and really stake out where the cabin, office, and Dave's man cave (connex box/shipping container) will go. With all the great work we did yesterday, we're taking a day for fun and going fishing. And Denali's out so we might hike up the Denali South Trail for a better view.
More to come...
After a good night's rest in the Fred Meyer's parking lot, we picked up a few supplies, ate at Snow City Cafe (awesome food, as always), and wandered to Thunderbird Falls near Eklutna Lake, a 200-foot waterfall. The trail was under construction every time we tried to hike it last year so it was great to finally get a glimpse of them. We both wondered how much bigger the falls would be if they hadn't dammed up the lake...
After working off our breakfast with the two-mile hike, we picked up the trailer in Wasilla, where everything inside was packed willy-nilly just as we'd left it. No organization scheme is purposeful on our part. It makes it more difficult for thieves to find anything of value to steal. We hope they'd give up after encountering the piles of batteries, soap, books, and other tidbits we put in the way of all the good stuff.
With trailer in tow, we headed to Willow, only a half hour north of Wasilla, to James and Deb's place. More than twenty sled dogs and five sled pups greeted us as we pulled into the drive. The pups are too cute and I included one of my many pics in the 2010 Photobucket pics.
Dave went with James, Johnny, and two Colorado kayakers for a paddle down Willow Creek on Monday. After burgers, beer, and getting the Coloradans off to a safe camp site, we set out for our place. And then we hit traffic. Well, at least it's Alaskan traffic. ASH is resurfacing the road between us and Willow and it takes about 30 minutes for the pilot car to take us to the other side. We won't be going south unless absolutely necessary.
Dave took out the weed whipper and flung devil's club, cranberries, and rose hips all over the place so we could park the trailer in a clear spot. Seeds and junk were everywhere, including on the truck. We took advantage of a warm sunny spot and settled into the truck cab a.k.a. the living room, for an evening of NPR. We also got to see the nature channel on the hood of the truck. Birds and more birds landed on the truck to eat all the seeds that had landed on the hood. We watched for about an hour before the seeds were exhausted and the birds moved on to the mud puddles elsewhere.
Yesterday, we rented a brush hog and while I was working and finding a shopvac and boot dryer, Dave cleared the entire area we cleared last year. In six hours he accomplished what took us a week last year. We're very excited about getting a tractor now. It will really speed things up. His arms feel like Jell-O, but it's worth it. Now we can get the tree house up and really stake out where the cabin, office, and Dave's man cave (connex box/shipping container) will go. With all the great work we did yesterday, we're taking a day for fun and going fishing. And Denali's out so we might hike up the Denali South Trail for a better view.
More to come...
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Chevy Loves Us!
We landed early and caught a cab to the storage unit. After a couple minutes, battery was installed and the truck roared back to life. Still stuck behind the fence because the parking people changed the code. We want halibut tacos from Humpy's! Alas, we will have to wait for the parking gods to bestow a new code upon us. Will report back with progress...
UPDATE! We have successfully escaped the parking prison, shopped for tents (not found exactly what we're looking for yet), picked up a pair of polarized glasses (I forgot my safety glasses!), bought a kayak book, and now we're waiting for halibut tacos at Humpy's. We landed two hours ago. Whew. Already packing it in...
UPDATE! We have successfully escaped the parking prison, shopped for tents (not found exactly what we're looking for yet), picked up a pair of polarized glasses (I forgot my safety glasses!), bought a kayak book, and now we're waiting for halibut tacos at Humpy's. We landed two hours ago. Whew. Already packing it in...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)