Thursday February 20
Kari and I made our first trip to the cabin last. The snow has settled to about 5 feet deep now. Very hard to get around. We came home Tuesday so I could go to cardio rehab. She went back up yesterday with 100 gal of diesel fuel for the generator. I plan to go back up with her after my last rehab session on March 5 to watch the Iditarod mushers go by on Sunday evening.
Due to the virus it is time for a new adventure. We are going to practice social distancing. 54 miles past the end of the road. Here is a photo of some of the supplies that we brought to the cabin Monday March 16. One more trip in Thursday for some more diesel and propane to keep the lights and heat on, and to tie up some loose ends. The dogs are already out here. The cats are arriving by airplane this afternoon. 3 grandkids are flying out next week on the 25th. We have about a 30 day window that if anyone gets sick or if by chance school starts back up we can get out by snow machine or make it to the airstrip across the river. After that we are here until the middle of May at least. Only way out between mid April- mid May is by helicopter. We have enough food and fuel to make it through the summer.
Tuesday March 24
I made it to bed about 2 this morning after our son Ben and I delivered a counter we made for a business in Eagle River. Our friend Roger texted me at 9. He was at Deshka Landing the “End of the road” where our snow machine trips to the cabin begin. He wondered if we wanted to run with him today. Instead of travelling on the river trail we are going to travel a temporary ice road for the first 36 miles and join back up with the river trail for our final 17 miles. The ice road is smooth unlike the first 16 miles of the river trail that has lots of moguls. Fun sometimes but not with heavy freight sleds. There is very little traffic on the ice road, so it is good to travel with someone. The ice road was put in to haul heavy equipment to a gold mine at Happy River. They only do it every few years so it is a real treat. People from the lower 48 would pay big bucks to do this ride.
We are just waking up Roger is waiting for us at the landing. We loaded 13 totes of supplies in the pickup. Heavy stuff, dog food, kitty litter, cases of bottled water, frozen moose meat and salmon, along with whatever else Kari thought we would need for the next couple months. The dogs jump in. They had to come back home to get their rabies shots just in case they encounter any wildlife at the cabin. A quick stop at Wendy’s for sandwiches for the trip. It is a 40 mile drive and we are at the landing all in two and a half hours from a sound sleep.
With Roger’s help we get everything loaded and get moving. Roger is hauling 6 barrels of fuel on two freight sleds. I have the totes coolers and dog kennel on my sled. Kari is pulling a tub sled with 50 gallons of propane, several cases of bottled water, and a couple bags of dog food. Dog food was one of the items we had trouble finding at the stores. I guess all the dogs must be hoarding it. Distilled water was another item that was hard to find. We need it for the batteries in our solar electric system.
The trail is smooth. Life is good so far. Mile 6.1 from the start Rogers machine quits running. We get it turned around on the narrow trail and I towed him back to the landing with a short rope. I asked how fast he wanted to go. He said as fast as you want. I got us up to 39 mph a few times. The secret to towing is the guy pulling never touches the brake. The towee is the brakeman. I felt the brakes going into a couple of the turns.
Kari waited on the trail with the boys..dogs while we went back. Roger rented a machine to complete the mission. We will return it tomorrow.
The rest of the trip went fine other than Kari developing a migraine along the way. Roger dropped his load of fuel by his place and followed us the 2 miles on up the river to our place. The trail up the ramp off the river was drifted a bit. Roger made a couple passes on his machine to pack it. Kari went up to the cabin to take some medicine and lay down. The generator was still running, heat on, cats just fine.
The ramp is steep so it takes 2 snow machines and a short strap to make it up with a loaded freight sled. After the first ramp you make a u-turn to head up the next grade. The sled skis hit the snow bank on the inside of the turn and gently rolled on its side. I let the boys out of their kennel and if dogs can give a dirty look I think they gave me one. They love it up here and are happy to be at the cabin. We put a strap on the sled and rolled it upright with Rogers machine. On the last quarter mile to our cabin. Time to unload, eat a bite, and take a nap. The grandkids are flying in tomorrow afternoon. I’m going to make a round trip with Roger to return the rented machine.
I will try to take more pictures.
Thank you Lord for a safe trip!!
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
Wednesday March 25
It is a sunny morning. Roger delivered the 6 barrels of fuel and came over to load the rented machine on a freight sled to make the trip in to return it. I’m taking another sled in to bring back 1100 pounds of lumber for another one of his customers. It was a good run in on the ice road. Kari packed us a lunch and we ate it at the landing. We refueled our machines and filled the 6 barrels for Roger’s load. Then we loaded the lumber on my sled. At some point we had decided to load Roger’s broken machine on top of the lumber I was hauling. It went pretty good, Roger had done this before. I wish I had a picture. Now I’m hauling about 1900 pounds on one sled and Roger has 6 barrels of fuel on his 2 sleds.
It is late in the day and a very warm 35 degrees when we are ready to leave. There were some soft spots on the first 7 miles of the ice road so with the warm weather we decided to come home on the normal river trail. Off we go, due to the warm temperatures and slushy snow my machine is overheating. Snow machines have a flat plate radiator in the tunnel under the seat. It is cooled by the track slinging snow on it. Works good except when the snow is slushy, on ice, and or your speed is slow. We stopped for a while and used all the tricks we knew to cool the machine off. After we cooled it down I was able to go a little faster and made it about 6 more miles until I had to stop again. This time we pulled some of the cowling panels off and strapped them on the back to get more air over the engine. The air temperature is dropping with the sun going down. Now I’m staying cool. Life is good. We turn up the Yentna River at Scary Tree, pass Luce’s, Yetna Station, Rebels Roost and all the familiar places that mark our progress. Roger had some intel from another freight hauler that the trail through Moose Creek was smoother than the river trail, so with about 21 miles to go home we turn off the river. It is starting to get dark. The trail is narrow and I can feel some soft spots. I felt one and was able to power through it. In about a hundred yards there is another bad spot and I felt the sled go down. No powering out of this one. 1900 pound load both left skies down and the sled listing over. Roger is around the bend out of sight. I know I’m going to get fired from my “freight dog job”. Roger unhooked from his sleds to come back and check on me. I see the LED headlight coming back down the trail at me. The packed trail is one lane. If you step off your machine you go waist deep in snow that is like granulated sugar. We made a few passes off the side of the trail to widen out the trail and pack it so we could work around the sled. Got the machines stuck a couple times. Oh by the way when Roger came up he said his back sled was stuck too. I guess I’ll just get probation and not fired. Anyway we can’t get either sled out so we decide to bag it until tomorrow. Roger took the one sled that wasn’t stuck and we headed up the river me in trail. Only about 19 miles home. We turned off the river at Fish Lakes Creek to go to Roger’s house the back way and cruised along the swamp airstrip where Kari and Myra met the grandkids earlier today. She said they were excited, first time in a ski plane. The kids mother is an intensive care nurse in Anchorage so everyone felt this would be the best place for them during the dempanic. I peeled off and rejoined the river trail for the final couple miles home. It was a long day. Kids are still up to see me. I have a bite and am in bed by midnight. I woke up at about 2 because my cpap wasn’t working. Look around everything is black. Generator shut down. It has been running 24/7 for a few weeks. The batteries for the system froze back in November when the generator failed to autostart. I was busy getting my heart fixed and couldn’t make it out here. I laid awake for about an hour trying to get back to sleep and leave the generator until morning. I finally got up and Kari woke up, we decided to go out and get it going. It just took a few minutes for MacGyver and me.
Time for a nap.
Thank you Lord for a safe trip for all of us!
I’ll be in touch
Blue skies!!
Thursday March 26
After the late night with the generator I woke up about 9. Generator still running, lights and heat on. I text Roger to check in. He is delivering the 3 barrels from last night, then heading down to the site of yesterday’s alleged incident. He said to come on down when I was ready but I didn’t have to. I had breakfast, suited up, and added a splash of fuel to my machine. I rode 19 miles and there was Roger on the ice road with both sleds just hooked up. Perfect timing. He got both out with a little shoveling and some jerking with his machine and a tow rope. A lot of experience and cold overnight temps did the trick. I think he may have a skyhook somewhere in his bag of tricks. Then it’s back to Fish Lakes to deliver the 3 barrels of fuel, unload his machine off the lumber stack on my sled, then go deliver the lumber at another lake.
We have to tow his machine a mile or so to his place. This time I’m the towee because I’m not exactly sure of the way. He got us going 36mph. I’m following on a bout a 6 foot rope. I still don’t know the way because all I saw was the back of his machine the whole time.
Next project was to load up a couple diesel generators and haul them back to his place.
They were heavy and not in an easy place to get to but we got them.
I headed home early. The kids needed their PE class for homeschool so we took them sledding on the trail by Al’s place. Their own private luge. They go down one run then run the ramp down the river. I pick them up in a tub sled behind the snow machine and haul them back to the top. I don’t know who has the most fun us, the kids, or the dogs. Kari tried it a couple times for extra credit.
Time for the teacher to have a margarita.
Thank you Lord for a good day!!
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
Friday March 27
Due to the toilet paper shortage, not really a shortage just stupid hoarders, updates are going to be renamed “The view from the outhouse”. I’m sure we are one of a very few people that have a picture window in their outhouse. It is strategically pointed toward Mt. McKinley.
Pictures of the mountain from the inside and outside attached.
Today we are getting an early start to the landing to get started back before it gets too warm. I met Roger at 730 and we headed down the river to the ice road. We were on a record run about 25 miles out of the landing when we came up on a moose walking in the trail. We followed it for a ways. They want to walk in the trail due to the deep snow. Roger sped by it while it was running down the trail. Then it stopped and turned crossways in the trail and started toward me. Roger stopped up about 100 yards, unhooked his sleds and started back toward me peashooter drawn. I don’t carry a peashooter but am going to start. The moose came right up to the front of my machine with the hair on the back of its neck sticking straight up. Looked like a foot away at that time. I was off my machine, waved my arm and it took off to the left of my machine and down the trail behind me. Roger said it had one hoof up a bit when it was in front of the machine. Next trip peashooter, moose social distancing revised to 15 feet, then meat in the freezer. I don’t need no stinking treadmill to get my heart rate into the cardio zone. We headed on down the trail and came upon another moose. I waited until he decided to leave the trail until I proceeded. On to the landing to get some lunch and get loaded up.
Roger has 6 barrels of fuel again 2 are for me. I had 80’ of 6” well casing delivered to the landing that we loaded on my sled. Roger wants me to have a well so that I can take more showers. It will also be helpful when I get back to my Appalachian Mullengeon heritage and start brewing moonshine. We ordered a couple cheeseburgers from Eagle Quest and ate them on our well casing pick nick table.
Fill the barrels, fuel the machines, and hit the trail. My pipe is 20 feet long and weighs 1680 pounds. The sled is 11 feet long so it hangs over the front and rear of the sled. This can be a problem when you begin or end a steep grade. The pipe either drags in back or interferes with the tongue if you aren’t fairly straight. Roger warned me not to get cockeyed. We are cruising pretty good considering the load. About the same place as the way in we came upon another moose but it was cooperative and left the trail fairly quickly. A few more miles we came down a grade and a snow cat owned by the company that put in the ice road was stopped. It is as wide as the trail and had thrown a track. Roger packed a trail around the convoy and towed each sled around separately. He and I towed my pipe together. We got hitched back up and headed on home.
Roger dropped 4 barrels off and brought my two on to Silty Slough. We tied up and brought the pipe up the ramp in tandem. I’m looking forward to this summer so I can take a shower as long and often as I want.
I’m home early. Taking Sat and Sun off. Final trip for this winter is on Monday.
I’m home early. Have a bite. The grandkids want a PE class again.
Thank you Lord for another great day!!
I’ll be in touch or now out of touch. Remember 6 feet unless it’s a moose then more.
Blue skies!!!
The view from the outhouse.
Sunday March 29
Lazy day today. I woke up about 6, it is 12 degrees. I go to the outhouse most mornings in a t shirt, pj bottoms, no socks, and pair of lined Crocs until the temp gets below zero. There is a little wind about 10 mph so it is a little cold. The outhouse has an electric heater that operates only when the generator is running. Since I was able to get the solar system operating yesterday and make all that “free” electricity, the generator didn’t have to run and the outhouse was cold. Not bad but I didn’t do any crossword puzzles.
The wind kept increasing up to about 30 mph as the day went on and the temperature came up to about 30 degrees. The sky is clear blue. There must be a few tourists because they inflated Mt. McKinley again today. I always told my boys that it wasn’t real, it was a balloon they inflate for the tourist. It has to be because many days you don’t see it. The trees are really swaying in the wind. We have a lot of dead spruce. I think the tree huggers from California and Oregon came up and hugged them too hard. That’s what killed them. Other people think it was the spruce bark beetles.
The dogs and grandkids want to go sledding but I really don’t want to be around any trees in this wind. I can see one listing over by the outhouse. More logs to mill this summer at the Silty Slough Lumber Mill aka Silty Slough Gold Mine, Silty Slough Gravel Pit, and soon to be Silty Slough Electric Cooperative. All located on our 5 acres in the wilderness. These are all in place in case the Dems steal the election in November. I will need some scams to get some of the money they will be handing out. That’s what the well pipe is for. Silty Slough Water Works, 3 users, should be good for about a $100k grant.
Since we are inside out of the wind it’s time for showers. Maybe past time for showers for some of us. The shower is downstairs in the shop area. I should say the shop area is the shower. We have a propane on demand water heater that supplies the hot water for the cabin. I plumbed a shower head over the floor drain. Not as good as some better than most. One problem 2 adults, well 1 adult and me,(never did grow up),3 kids,2 dogs,2 cats all in 480 sq ft upstairs. Kari rolled out a piece of carpet downstairs and put 3 cots for the kids. We have to rearrange the bedroom and turn it into the shower room. This time Kari said it was the best shower she had ever had.
Roger called and has trees down across his trail in the woods so we are going to delay our last freight trip until Tuesday.
Time to beat Kari at Rummikub, have some spaghetti and meatballs, and take a nap.
Thank you Lord for another good day!!
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse.
Monday March 30
It was 22 degrees when I woke up this morning, the wind was still blowing but not as strong. Skies are clear so we will be making free electricity again today. The batteries carried us through the night. I finally went outside about 11. The kids wanted to have PE class so we took them to the sledding hill. We had a few trees down but none across the trail. Afterwards we came back and worked on arithmetic and reading. I know all my numbers and most of my letters now. This home schooling is good. I skipped the afternoon recess and had a margarita. I got my machine ready for the trip tomorrow 2 empty barrels for fuel for me. It warmed up to about 31 for the high. It is supposed to be about 8 degrees when I plan to leave in the morning. I started the generator about 830 to charge the batteries back up to 100%. We used just a little more electricity than we made today. I put the internet on the vacation plan at home since nobody is around. I’m thinking about cancelling the liability insurance on our cars since they are parked for 2 months.
Kari made fried chicken, corn, and potatoes for dinner. Not a super exciting day to report from the bush. Time to watch a movie, shut the generator off, and take a nap.
Thank you Lord for another good day.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse.
Tuesday March 31
Roger and I are going to make our final freight trip today. I had Kari set her alarm for 6 since I can’t hear mine anyway. I’m awake at 4, it’s 8 degrees with a a calm wind. The sunrise is beautiful. I made coffee at 6, Kari made bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast and packed a lunch for Roger and I to have at the landing. I have to decide if it is a day for contacts or glasses. If it is really cold I wear contacts so I can keep the face shield on my helmet closed and not fog my glasses. If it is not so cold I wear glasses and ride face shield cracked open. This morning is borderline but I go with glasses. On the way to Roger’s I’m thinking what if trees are down across the ice road. As I leave the river and take the trail through the woods to his house I pass several places where he had cut the trees that had fallen across the trail. When I pulled up he had the chainsaw strapped to his machine just in case.
The first 18 miles were pretty cold riding. I had to have my shield cracked open to keep clear. I could feel my cheeks tingling. Most of the time the temperature varies widely on the trail. I think this is due to the cold air falling off the mountain and settling in the low spots. In a few miles the ice road went up on a ridge and I could ride with my shield completely open. A few miles out of the landing it was cold again. We didn’t meet or pass any other traffic as usual. That is a good reason not to travel alone. We both carry our Spot emergency locators just in case. As a matter of fact we carry a lot of just in case stuff. I have one tote of emergency stuff that always goes. It was a good run today. A little over 2 hours, no moose since I have a peashooter with me today.
As I lay here writing this it just hit me. My dogs don’t sleep with me. I sleep in a dog bed. I can’t even move my legs to get comfortable right now. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
Anyway back at the landing we have a chicken sandwich from last nights leftovers, fill our fuel drums and machines, get some propane, and it is time to hit the dusty trail. Hope I can keep it between the white lines one more time. I have 3 barrels of fuel, Roger has 4 and 4-100 pound propane bottles. It was about 5 degrees when we got here but it is warming up fast. We had a good run home 2:58 enroute face shield open all the way. The only traffic was a snowcat that’s was pulling a 20 foot shipping container on skids. He moved over and let us by. There must be a lot of gold in that mine at Happy River. I heard it costs over a million dollars just to get the temporary ice road put in and in the spring it is all gone.
Roger dropped his freight and came on up to our place so we could tandem my fuel up the ramp. I wish I had pictures. I never remember to put the GoPro on my helmet. Wait it is back in Wasilla. Add it to the list for May or June. The joys of life 53 miles past the end of the road.
Today’s trip was painless. Almost makes me want to go back for 4 more batteries for the solar system. But I would have to deal with people and worry about getting the Chinese Virus. I think I’ll just stay here.
The kids want hot dogs for dinner and another PE class afterward at the sledding hill. It isn’t crowded, my guess is there aren’t any kids living within 25 miles of here.
Thank you Lord for good health and a safe trip!
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse
Thursday April 2
Good morning everyone. I hope everyone is safe, warm, fed, and healthy. I worry about those that are unable to work because their businesses and workplaces are closed. Unemployment compensation helps but falls short. I’m glad the employment numbers were the best in decades when this started. More people were in the workforce and thus qualified for the unemployment safety net. Then there are those not covered by unemployment, what are they going to do when they run out of money and get hungry.
Covid-19 case are doubling about every 2.5 days in the US. Some states like Michigan are faster every 2 days. We have about 150 cases in Alaska but the population is only about 650,000. We also got a late start. I figured we could freeze it out, but it likes cold. It is killed by heat. It is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
The grandkids have been here a week now. If we can go another week without anyone getting sick we should be set. The hospital where their mother works in the ER notified her that she had been exposed to someone that tested positive a couple days ago. Even though the quarters are tight and it is trying sometimes, we made the right decision bringing them up here.
Not much happened at Silty Slough on Wednesday. Lazy day just happy to be here. It was about 15 degrees when I took the picture of the sunrise. Kari said she heard the coyotes when she went out earlier. We spent most of the day with homeschool for the kids and a trip to the sledding hill in the afternoon. Kari made a stew for dinner with moose and black bear meat. Very tasty, you would not be able to tell it from tender beef. We got the moose meat by fighting off a lynx, an eagle, and a few ravens off a trail kill moose carcass. Time for a movie and a nap.
When I went out Thursday morning it was about 24 degrees with light snow. It continued all morning for a total of only an inch or so. Late in the afternoon the sun was breaking through the clouds and the snow on the ridge of the cabin along the top row of solar panels shed. Now we should make a little more power. Yesterday we made about 4 kWh. We use about 6 or 7 a day.
The management thinks we (I) should accomplish some meaningful tasks today so we transferred two barrels of fuel into the overhead storage tanks and unloaded another by the generator from the sled trip on Tuesday. We took a ladder and climbed down the snow bank into the root cellar. Normally it is just a walk up door. But with all the snow…I managed to get the door that had been frozen shut open since it was above freezing now. Looks like we are almost out of water. We need to get some hauled in the next few days before the river gets too soft.
The generator has an autostart system but it hasn’t been working. I troubleshot it today and found a bad relay. Common item 6 of them for $15 from Amazon Prime but they won’t ship to the Skwentna Post Office. Some things they do, some they don’t. I’ll come up with an alternate plan meanwhile going outside in my slippers and underwear to start and stop the generator.
Leftovers for dinner. We have to manage our provisions. Can’t waste anything
It’s been a pretty good couple days.
Just kidding about the trail kill moose. April fool.
Thank you Lord for keeping everyone safe and healthy!
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse
Friday April 3
I started hauling water in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day sunny and above freezing. I can haul about 160 gallons on my sled. We have 2-275 gallon tanks in the root cellar that are plumbed to the cabin system. We also have another 275 gallon tank and several barrels. So with all the tanks, barrels, Mason jars, and a few red Solo cups we can store about 1000 gallons. Normally we get water from a spring by the river. This year the snow is so deep that it is above the spring or at least to high to fill the barrels. Roger and Myra graciously offered to let us haul water from their well. I visited with Roger and just sat in the sun while the barrels filled. He had a relay from an old snow machine that would work on my generator autostart system. At least I could try it to see if my troubleshooting was correct. Our friend Cory is sending me one from Iowa. Barrels filled, I’m thinking the snow is a little soft so I sent Kari a text to meet me on the river to pull me up the ramp and on up the kids sledding hill. We unhooked at the top and continued to the cabin. I made the swing around the yard to point the barrel outlets downhill. Kari pointed out that I was missing a barrel. Oh yea. I felt a thump on the way up the ramp. We grabbed a tub sled and sure enough a blue barrel of water by the u-turn at the top of the ramp. We managed to lay the tub sled on top of the barrel and roll it all over. Kari hauled it back to the cabin and turned it around just like I did. She went inside while I pumped water from the first 2 barrels into the tank. The bung in the barrel in the tub sled was facing up hill so I decided to pull it up behind the root cellar and turn it around. I made a u-turn or as “Cornbread” would say a ewe-turn off the trail. Got back around to the unloading spot and no barrel. Quick find it and get it loaded before Kari comes back outside. I can’t do it, over 400 pounds in deep snow. She came out, I’m caught, so I hooked a strap on the barrel, she pulled it out in the trail, and we loaded it once again. I managed to get the water from the barrel to the tank without further incident. So far barrels 2- Don 0. The barrels are very slippery and have to be strapped really tight. Enough fun for today. Time for a margarita.
Thank you Lord for a beautiful sunny day!
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse
Saturday April 4
It’s a beautiful day again, sunny and a little above freezing. Roger texted to see if we were coming for water and asked if the relay worked. I didn’t want to tell him I was lazy and hadn’t changed it, so I used the excuse that schoolwork got in the way.
I got dressed, went out, and changed it. That cured the problem, so now the generator will automatically start when the batteries get low on charge. Kari had arranged with Myra to bring the laundry down and wash a couple loads. We have a dryer and a wringer washer so we will bring them home to dry. Roger and I visited while the 3 barrels filled. He followed me home for the tow up the ramp. I made the turn in the yard and lost the same barrel about 40 feet from the unloading stop. Roger used his snow machine like a bulldozer and pushed it the rest of the way. Barrels 3- Don 0. Roger helped me with another load. I finally made it to the destination with 3 barrels. By now the third load the laundry was washed and Kari and the kids accompanied me home. I got the last load unloaded while the dogs played in the snow. Everything in the root cellar is full. Enough water hauling for today. I’ll be glad to have the well pipe we hauled up place vertical into the ground this summer. I don’t want to strike oil, I just want water, although a handful of gold nuggets would be fine. I’m now able to start the generator from inside the cabin to run the electric clothes dryer, however the dryer is outside in a storage area along the side of the cabin. It was originally intended to dry damp hunting clothes.
Beef or bear stroganoff for dinner. Watch a movie. Take a nap.
Thank you Lord for another good day!
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse.
Sunday April 5
Today is another beautiful day. I went to bed early last night, woke up and remembered that I forgot to bring the small air compressor that I took home to install the counter in Eagle River back out here. I will need it for the Kubota and four wheeler tires when the snow melts. Add it to the list. This is one of the drawbacks of living so far from the end of the road.
Everything that is out here came by snow machine and freight sled or boat and I was thinking about all the stuff we brought this time. This is the longest we have ever planned to stay, probably 10 weeks total, depends on the Chinese Virus. Kari packed up 21 totes, the big black ones with the yellow lids that you can buy at Lowe’s. They contained all of our food, dog food, kitty litter, cat food, bottled water, ultra pasteurized milk, eggs, distilled water for the batteries, our prescription medicine, over the counter medicine, wine, pre mixed margaritas, paper plates, canned goods, toilet paper, paper towels, and anything else we can think of that we will need in the next two months.
We emptied our pantry and freezers at the house and put it in the containers and coolers. When we were shopping at Costco and Fred Meyer I felt like everyone was looking at us, the biggest hoarders in Alaska. We would do the same if there was no virus. It is just the thing you have to do when you are 53 miles past the end of the road. There are no delivery men, no UPS, no FedEx, no propane delivery, no fast food, and no repair man to call. There is a Post Office about 5 miles up river, we will be able to get there for maybe another two weeks.
As far as the lockdown or shelter in place order, it is a non event here. We are doing exactly what we would be doing with or without the dempanic. We have no temptations to go out to eat, go shopping, go to a movie, or go visiting. There aren’t many places you can go. When the river starts to thaw in a couple weeks there is absolutely no place to go without a helicopter. We are saving a ton of money.
We hauled another load of water this afternoon. It was 37 degrees and the snow on the trail was like mashed potatoes. I was happy to make it home without getting outside of the white lines on the trail. We bagged the water hauling for the day. Plan to haul the rest maybe 5-6 barrels when it is colder tomorrow morning.
Kari broiled steaks for dinner. I may have had a margarita, can’t remember.
The picture is of the snow machines hooked up for the trek up the ramp off the river. The ramp makes a turn to the right at the top and then you make a ewe-turn and continue on up the sledding hill to the top. Sometimes if the snow is good and I feel crazy I will pull it by myself. My machine is light in the front end so if I’m pulling hard the skis are light or off the ground. You have to back off the throttle to steer. Our friend Al and I were the best going up, we used about a three and a half foot strap. He dug most of the ramp with a shovel before we had the Kubota. I hope he is looking down from Heaven having a margarita with me right now.
Thank you Lord for watching over us.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse.
Monday April 6
I woke up and found the battery bank at 90%. The generator auto started during the night as advertised. The generator shed is attached to the other side of the outhouse so I usually can’t hear the generator run. I guess being almost deaf has some good points.
French toast and Spam is on the menu for breakfast. We couldn’t find Spam when we were shopping for supplies for this adventure. I am trying to drink more hot tea since they say hot liquids kill the Chinese Virus. I see all the posts about testing and symptoms. Finally today Tom Skripps posted what to do if you contract the virus. I shared it. If you can’t find it let me know. I hope we have made it to the safe zone now, it has been two weeks since the grandkids got here.
It is too cold to haul water right now. The hose will freeze before I can get it unloaded. I think it was about 8 degrees when I woke up. I’ll wait until afternoon it is supposed to get up to 30. The skies are clear so we are making plenty of power. The batteries should almost carry us through the night without the generator starting. I hauled 5 more barrels of water without incident. Now the tank in the cabin is full, about 1000 gallons total to last minimum until June. I’m curious, those of you on municipal water, how many gallons of water do you use in a month?
These are the craziest of times. Hospitals are shown being overrun with virus patients and in the next news story the local Doctors offices and clinics are laying people off because they have no business.
I see posts from Lowe’s employees that people are coming in and just browsing because they are bored at home. Dumbasses. People that shop at Walmart doing the same. They deserve to end up with the cheap Chinese junk that they sell. I only go there as a very very last resort. I certainly wouldn’t trust Walmart for my food. They would sell you anything to make a dime. I hope that one thing that comes out of all the Chinese Virus is that we start making things in America again.
Work is finished. Kari made ribs, cheesy potatoes, and peas for dinner. Time for a movie and a nap.
Thank you Lord for a good day!
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse.
Tuesday April 7
It was 5 degrees when I woke up this morning. Clear skies with a light wind out of the west. I texted my neighbor Scott back at Wolf Lake Airport to see if he was looking for an excuse to fly today. He was. I asked if he could bring my air compressor out along with a few items Kari wanted out of our freezer. We got everything coordinated and headed over to the swamp runway just east of Rogers house. Kari and the grandkids came along. Soon Scott and Kevin were overhead and came around for a low pass. Next time around he made a nice landing to the west. We visited for a few minutes and they were on there way back to Wolf Lake. We headed home, Kari stopped by Myra’s for coffee and a break, the 3 kids and I came on to Silty Slough. It is nice and warm now about 30 degrees. I can comfortably ride with just a hat. We made plenty of power this bright day, saving money by not having to run the generator. The sun is a higher arc in the sky so the days are getting longer. Sunrise is 658am sunset is 915 pm, 14 hours 17 min of daylight. They will continue getting longer until June 21st when we will have almost no darkness. It is very hard to tell noon from midnight then. Makes up for the short days in the winter. Enough Alaska lessons. Kari came home and we had corned beef and potatoes for dinner with home made cream puffs for dessert. I was informed that I need to accomplish some more meaningful tasks tomorrow. Yes Dear, I will shovel the snow off the deck. I should take a nap to be ready for the big day.
Thank you Lord for friends and family.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse.
Wednesday April 8
It was cool this morning so I stayed inside until after noon. The kids and I went out to shovel the deck. The dogs ran out by the root cellar and were barking at something. They don’t bark a lot. I wasn’t paying much attention, just looking at how to attack all that snow. I finally went to the edge of the deck to see what all the commotion was about and there was a moose standing in the trail. I called the dogs back and luckily they came. The moose looked at us for a while then turned and walked back up the trail stopping to munch on some low hanging branches. They are very hungry with all of their food covered up with deep snow. It is so deep that they have trouble moving around to search for food so they like to travel on the packed trail whenever possible. We have seen a lot of dead moose along the trails this winter, more than normal.
It took about 4 hours to shovel the 4 feet of compacted heavy snow off the deck. All that is left is about an inch and a half of crusty ice. When the sun shines on it tomorrow I should be able to get it cleared off. Now we can use the grill. I need to rest a bit and have a margarita.
Thank you Lord for another good day.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse.
Thursday April 9
There isn’t a lot going on today. I was outside just looking around. Kari was inside baking biscuits for breakfast. Still is odd to me that I’m walking 3-4 feet above the ground I will be walking on in a month or so. Tearyn came out and told me we were out of propane. I changed the hose over to a full 100 pound cylinder and we were cooking with gas again. When I went inside Kari says that we only run out while we are using it. Funny how that works. The biscuits are saved and we have an enjoyable breakfast/brunch.
By late afternoon I’m able to break up most of the ice and throw it off the deck. One more day of sun should loosen up the rest.
Cooper sleeps on his back a lot with his feet in the air. They say dogs are at ease with everything when they sleep like that. I guess he isn’t worried about running out of propane, or water, or food. He doesn’t even know about the $500 he and Teddy are both getting from the government. I got them social security numbers as soon as we got them so I could claim them on taxes. I reported them to the census taker so they will be counted in Skwentna to help with any population based funding we may get for the community. I think everything is in place to get them registered to vote. May be tough with picture ID but they can always wear a burka. I need to get them enrolled in college and get some student loans for them. If the Dems do manage to steal the election the debt will surely be forgiven.
You know one thing I haven’t heard from the cry baby liberals since the Chinese Virus started is the complaining about “Trump’s” deficit. I’m sure it will start again after everyone gets their checks.
Roger texted we are going on an outing tomorrow to pick up the stakes that mark the trail on the river.
Thank you Lord for a great day.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse.
Friday April 10
I guess if I’m going to try to get my dogs accepted into college I should start trying to teach them to read. I just ordered the book “50 Shades of Gray” so they can get started. Does anyone have a rowing machine I can use as a prop for their admissions picture?
Big outing today. Kari and I packed up the grandkids, dogs, and lunch. We headed over to the Phillips with our 2 tub sleds in tow. It is about 15 degrees and the trail is in pretty good shape. The dogs are going to stay with Myra and are in there travel kennel in the tub sled we are pulling. Thorian and I lagged way behind Tearyn and Kari and were out of sight. I saw what I at first was a fox a couple hundred yards ahead of us crossing our trail from left to right. When we got closer it was off our right and looked bigger like a coyote. It turned and stood and looked at us. I stopped and took a couple pictures. My glasses were fogged so I was only able to get one good one. After looking at the picture we think it may be a wolf. But it didn’t act like a wolf I don’t think. The last wolf I saw I was landing a Convair 580 at Bemidji, Minnesota in 1980. So my wolf experience is not vast or not even half vast.
Roger and the rest of the group are going to travel about 35 miles down river to turn around and start picking up the trail stakes that Roger marks the river trail with. Roger and Ryder are leading, followed by Kari and Tearyn, with Thorian and I bringing up the rear. After about 25 miles the southbound parade comes to a halt. A weld on the hitch on Rogers tub sled breaks. We need a drill to fix it. No drill. No problem MacGyver. Thorian happened to have a magnifying glass with him. Since it was a sunny day we were able to use Tearyn’s ruby ring and fashion a primitive laser to burn two holes in the hitch and bolt it back together. We always carry a bag of bolts in each machine. Just in case.
What really happened…The broken sled was too big to fit into my sled so we took the broken hitch off it and loaded my sled into the broken one. Pulling both sleds with my hitch and sled on top. We secured it all with a ratchet strap and headed to our lunch stop at Scary Tree. Ham and cheese sandwiches, Doritos, and brownies that Tearyn had baked last night in Home Ec class. We added that to the home school curriculum. Reading, writing, arithmetic, along with basic skills that you need to get by in this world. Please don’t get me started on the school system.
Anyway back to the story. After lunch we start back up the Yentna River. It has warmed up above freezing. The stakes are 4 foot long heavy duty lath that are painted orange on top with a piece of white reflective tape stapled on them. They cost about $1.50 each so it is worthwhile to recover as many as we can to reuse next winter. With 3 teams it is a big game of leapfrog. The driver stops close beside the stake, wiggles it free, and hands it to the rider. When the riders hands get full he/she hops off and puts them in the sled. I didn’t run over one stake. It amazes me how many stakes get run over on the river during the season. I don’t know if it is intentional or just poor driving. The weekend riders just don’t understand that the stakes are there for everyone’s safety. I have had to go from stake to stake in a snowstorm several times. Pretty rough sometimes if a few hundred yards of stakes have been broken off.
Some of the stakes are frozen in the overflow and won’t come out. We score a few extra stakes from other groups that stake for one time races and don’t bother to reclaim them. One area on past Yentna Station someone helped themselves to about 4 miles worth of stakes. Only ones left were the ones frozen in the overflow. Must have a big construction project to lay out. People donate and volunteer to the trail fund, I guess you always have those few that feel they are owed something and the stakes are free for the taking.
We are moving right along. The girls team says they are winning with the most stakes. I think they are taking all the easy ones. About 10 miles to go to Roger’s place my machine makes an awful noise. I looked back to see if Thorian has a lath in the track. Kari slides up beside me and asked what’s that noise. I drive ahead a few more feet and figure out it is coming from the left side of the track. Laying down on the snow and inspecting the track I figured out that a bracket that holds a spring for the suspension had broken. The spring flipped around and wedged itself between a bogey wheel and the track. Can’t ride it this way, it will ruin the track. Roger had gone way on ahead and by this time he missed being with us and came back. Quick fix 10mm socket and my mini pair of channel locks that I always carry in my pocket, just in case. We removed the bogey wheel moved the spring above it and secured it with a bungee strap. Replaced the bogey and we were ready to go. 15 minutes, just another day on the trail in the great outdoors. Not too many things have gone wrong during the 10,000 plus miles I have put on this machine.
Kari and I picked up the rest of the stakes to our turnoff for Roger’s by John’s Slough. Roger had peeled off at Fish Lakes Creek to cool the beer for him and Kari. We unloaded the stakes, more than 500. Myra had a delicious spaghetti dinner with homemade garlic bread ready for us. We are sun and windburned from riding open faced on this beautiful day.
Load up the kids and the pups and head for the cabin on Silty Slough.
Thank you Lord for good friends and an enjoyable day.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse
Saturday April 11
We slept in after the big outing yesterday. Kari spent the day cooking and baking for our dinner tomorrow. The grandkids colored Easter eggs. Temperature was about 37 in the afternoon.
Sunday April 12
Happy Easter! We are going over to Roger and Myra’s for dinner so we packed up the food, kids, and dogs for the two mile ride over there. The trail and river is soft and slushy in places. 37 degrees and snowing. Dinner was very good, ham, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, fresh baked rolls, peas, deviled eggs, with apple squares for dessert that would compare with those from Fingerhut Bakery back in Indiana. Roger and I hid eggs and the kids had an Easter egg hunt in the snow. We played board games afterwards and soon it was time to head home before dark. We took the back trail that we had taken in off the river earlier. Almost to the river a tree had fallen across the trail since we had come through this afternoon. We turned both machines and sleds around in the narrow trail and headed back past the Phillips cabin and out the front trail. It didn’t get below freezing overnight and the warm afternoon temps made the river even softer. Ryder was sitting in front of Kari and fell asleep on the way back to Silty Slough. Time for a nap.
Monday April 13
I came outside to a beautiful sunrise. It is still pretty warm. This afternoon it with be way above freezing. There is only one lonely contrail headed East. Usually there are a handful. It isn’t a lot of fun outside in the afternoons. The snow is still over 3 feet deep and when you are walking you break through the crust and sink all the way down. If you are lucky your boot will stay on when you finally get your foot out. The kids wanted to go sledding. After about 2 runs and Kari and I getting our machines stuck several times it was time to bag PE class for the day. It looks like we are just about finished traveling on the river for this winter now is the wait for the river to breakup so we can travel by boat. This means that for the next 4-5 weeks we can’t go anywhere. Food, water, propane, diesel, and gas supplies are good.
Time for dinner, a movie, and a nap.
Thank you Lord for keeping us safe and healthy.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse
Tuesday April 14
It seems like I’m in the movie “Groundhog Day “. I’m sure it will get worse since our travel is extremely limited. The days blur together and if I get too far behind posting, I forget things that happened or what the weather was.
The dogs spend a lot of their time monitoring the snow machine traffic in Silty Slough from the window or out on the deck. But that traffic has all but stopped. They also monitor air traffic at Silty Slough Airport, now closed due to snow. They went nuts when two swans flew by without permission.
Alaska has a lot of landmines to get you. We are in the transition now from winter to summer landmines. We are trading frostbite, falling through the river ice, and moose confined to the packed trail to bears waking up, wildfires, and the dangers of the flowing river.
It is just a normal day, sleep in, Kari and I wake up and have our coffee and tea before the grandkids wake up. Nice to enjoy the peace and quiet. Time in the afternoon for schoolwork. Then some outside time followed by dinner and a movie. We received an email from Verizon today that our quota for the mobile hotspot is 90% used up after 6 days of the billing cycle. Unlimited is really not unlimited. After you use so many gig for a hotspot your speed is throttled back to very slow. Guess the kids have been downloading too many games and movies. Don’t worry I have plenty in reserve for schoolwork.
I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy.
Thank you Lord for another good day.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!!
The view from the outhouse.
Saturday April 18
I’ll fast forward from the last post on Tuesday. The first two pictures show how much more overflow on there is on the river. It’s hard to believe Kari made the last snow machine trip on the river to see Myra on Monday. The second two pictures show how much snow has gone away. The last picture shows what happens when you punch through the crust. I poked one foot through and couldn’t get my boot out so I packed everything down with my other foot so I could reach it. I’ve been riding the snow machine around the yard every day to keep the path to the outhouse packed down. It sinks down in the soft spots. I’m not sure if I could make it up the trail through the woods to the river now. I don’t want to chance getting stuck too far from the cabin and having to walk back on the soft trail.
This morning Kari gave me a haircut and trimmed my beard. She wouldn’t let me give the clippers a try on her hair. We moved the grandkids beds out of the way and had showers. Now I’m a suave and de-boner man about Skwentna.
For dinner Kari made hamburgers on the grill, since we have it dug out of the snow now, homemade mac and cheese, and a homemade blueberry pie.
It has been pretty warm everyday in the 40s. I go out in the morning in my tee shirt and am comfortable spending 30 minutes or so outside with the dogs. It should be in the 50s next week.
This is the first time we have been up here for breakup so we have only heard how it really is. Al told us it is very noisy when the ice starts to move. I hope to get a video of it.
We plan to spend a lot of the summer up here getting a well drilled and milling the lumber for adding on a couple of bedrooms and a living room to the cabin next year. We are also planning on spending freeze up here this fall.
Tax day April 15 came and went. I’ve been meaning to ask BobbyRay Howard if I can still get an extension on the July 15th date. I like to put it off as long as I can. Trump deposited our stimulus check on the 15th. There are no stores here, no bars, no restaurants. From here there is nothing we can think of to buy. We can’t even get to the post office for online shopping.
I may have said this in another post…Chinese Virus or not we would be doing the same thing we are doing here at the cabin. Without the internet we wouldn’t even know it existed. Of course without internet I wouldn’t be posting this.
I hope everyone is doing well. Stay healthy.
Thank you Lord for our many blessings.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse.
Thursday April 23
We have been here a month now this trip out. Kari and I spent another month off and on out here before the social distancing from the Chinese Virus started.
Last Sunday was laundry day. I saw a post of an old wringer washer and the person posting wondered who knew what it was. Well Kari knows for sure. We use it because we can recycle some of the water and overall it uses less water than an automatic washer. I also have a chance of repairing it if it breaks. No chance with today’s smart electronic washers. As a kid I remember my grandmother getting her fingers caught in the wringer several times. I started the generator and Kari ran the electric dryer for 3 loads. It takes too much electricity to just run off the batteries. It has been sunny enough give us enough solar power to run the cabin. I posted a picture of the machinery that I installed downstairs for the system. We have 4 big 6 volt batteries to store the power at night and on rainy or cloudy days. We could use 4 more. They weigh about 120 pounds each so I’ll have to add them to the list for one of the boat trips out here this summer. I’ve also been adding spare parts for the generator, boiler, etc to my list. Just in case.
We have been having school for a few hours about every day. Kari wasn’t feeling well for a couple days so the kids got a recess.
The river keeps getting more overflow on top of the ice. The water is pretty clear from the melting snow. We still have several weeks before the ice starts to break up and start moving down the river and out into the ocean. The river will get very silty then and will remain that way until it freezes back up. All summer the river will rise and fall like a yo-yo. It is fed from glaciers about 80-100 miles upstream. If it is sunny and warm on the mountain the river will rise about a day later at the cabin, even it is cloudy here.
We are loosing snow pretty quickly but not fast enough for me. After the snow goes it will most likely turn into muddy season until the frost under the surface melts and allows the water to soak in. I have dug around tree stumps in July and found frozen ground.
Wednesday morning I decided to refill the generator tank with diesel. I made my way out to the barrels with the transfer pump and battery punching through the path a few times along the way. The diesel barrels are sitting on top of the snow. They lean to the sun because that side gets warmer and melts the snow underneath. I touched one and they both fell over. Plan B…. I think I can get the Kubota out from under the deck now. We pulled it in instead of backing it in last fall because we thought we were coming back out. We tried to fly out but the wildfires were making too much smoke to see so we turned around and landed back at Wolf Lake. The mower is also on the tractor instead of the backhoe. I finally got the Kubota out from under the deck. I was only stuck on ice a few times. Finally I got it turned around and dug a path to the outhouse and the fuel barrels. I came back to do some more cleanup with the Kubota and got stuck again. The barrels were easy to stand up by digging the snow from one end and letting them upright themselves. The barrels are too heavy for an old guy to just stand up. I still don’t know how a 747 flew with 800 to 1000 barrels of fuel in the tanks. Smoke and mirrors I guess. The generator has about 2000 hours on it now, about 800 this year since the batteries were frozen in the winter and the generator ran 24/7 for a month straight. Now it averages only about 1 1/2 hours a day. Dinner and a movie. Kari made some homemade caramel corn for a snack
Wednesday we had home made caramel pecan rolls(pictured). Wondering why I’m not loosing any weight with all the snow shoveling. Ran another 100# propane cylinder
dry with all the cooking. In the afternoon Thor and I made our way to the root cellar and brought in 4 cases of bottled water. We have 11 left in the cellar to last until we can bring more out after freeze up. Plan is to have a well by then. The list of summer projects is growing. Always looking for slave labor, low pay, poor conditions, good fishing, and good food. Dinner was shells stuffed with moose Italian sausage and cheese. We are down to the last dozen eggs, saving those to bake desserts. Time for a movie and a nap. Maybe a wine or so.
Thank you Lord for some good days.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!!
The view from the outhouse.
Friday April 24
37 degrees light ran and fog. That’s good the snow is jumping off the ground and into the air making fog. Everyone else is still sleeping. I went outside with the dogs. Cooper is digging in the snow over a pile of logs. Must be looking for a squirrel or an ermine. He is supposed to be a herding dog, I suppose we will have to wait for the spruce hens to show up and see how he does.
It warmed up in the afternoon and I dug the Kubota out again because I needed to push out a spot to burn the trash. We have accumulated a couple dozen bags since we’ve been here. Usually we haul it back o the landing and take it to the landfill. The wind is still blowing too much to burn the trash.
Saturday April 25
It is still dipping below freezing at night and warming up to about 50 in the afternoons.
It is too windy to burn the trash again today. We were outside when two Iron Dog snow machines went by headed for Skwentna. They were out in the main channel of the river doing at least 80. Maybe about an hour later they went back south. The Jungle Telegraph was alive talking about it all along the river. I’ve seen them also go by in July on the open water. Showers for everybody this evening.
Sunday April 26
The snow is melting pretty good. It makes a mess to get around in because there is several inches of mud on top of the frozen ground when everything warms up in the afternoon. It is still too windy to burn trash so I can put it off another day.
Monday April 27
Woke up to calm winds and by noon it had warmed up nice. We had the trash fire going when our neighbor from town flew by and yelled “Hey” to us out the open airplane window. I was hoping for an air drop of lettuce and ice cream, but a wave was enough. Thanks for checking on us. You think Nancy Pelosi has some expensive ice cream, have a gallon flown out here. Out of our budget.
Later we spent some time on schoolwork. Putting a strain on my algebra skills from 50 plus years ago. I remember doing Temac with Mr. Jones and Mrs. Woosley, latest craze in teaching math, new math…and who says history doesn’t repeat itself. She told me I would never make any money just sitting and looking out the window. That’s about all I did for 37 years at work. Anyway I repeated algebra in summer school. It wasn’t that I didn’t get it. I was just a screw off.
Looks like Biden “The former Senator from MBNA” is talking about economic intercourse today. Hasn’t he and his family been intercoursing the taxpayers for decades?
Kari and I ate leftovers out on the deck. First time this year, not leftovers but on the deck for first time. Please don’t dissect my every word and get me in a gotcha, I’m not the President. Time for a movie and a nap.
Thank you Lord for watching over us.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The view from the outhouse.
Thursday April 30
The river really changed overnight. We left it flat snowy overflow. This morning when I came out it was about 28 degrees. The river ice was broken up in very large rough chunks, not moving. I could see water flowing underneath the ice in a few open spots. It is also flowing through Silty Slough so Silty Slough International Airport is still closed.
I picked up the remains of the trash burn pile and put it in two plastic bags. While the ground is still frozen I want to clear some more snow from the mulched dry path to the outhouse. The mud is getting bad in the afternoons on the first path I cleared. The temperature was about 43 by the time I came in and had a cup of tea with Kari. After a while looked, the ice had moved out and the river was flowing. I called my friend Denis Reynolds in New York to see how he was doing. He owns DJ Reynolds Irish Pub on West 57 Street. It was my local pub when I flew cargo to JFK for many years. Can’t wait to go back to visit when things get more normal. Just sitting on the deck this afternoon watching the ice floating down the river. I was thinking it would be fun to have a bazooka and shoot a few icebergs. I was also thinking, I know working without tools, home school is about ready for graduation. I want to give the grandkids a diploma and list on it the subjects that they were taught…
- The Lord is my Savior.
- I can think for myself.
- How to shoot a wolf with an AR-15.
- How to pour a good margarita for Boompa.
- How to skin a bear.
- Reading, writing, arithmetic.
Wait til they show their diploma and report card to their teachers this fall, they’ll have to get them down from the ceiling with a butterfly net.
53 degrees now. Still on the deck, finished the last bottle of margaritas, with 4 weeks to go. My future posts may not be as intelligent unless I can find a different source of Einsteinium. I invented that term while drinking copious amounts of alcohol. That reminds me, if anybody heard our President say drink bleach then maybe they should and cull a few idiots out of the herd. I think he said drink disinfectant. Hand sanitizer is a disinfectant, mostly alcohol. Margaritas are mostly alcohol, at least the ones I make, so I have been drinking disinfectant every day just like the President said.
Kari is making barbecued chicken on the deck. I’m going to shoot a few more icebergs.
I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy. If anyone is having a rough time PM me and I will try to give you a hand up. Stay healthy.
Thank you Lord for watching over us.
I’ll be in touch
Blue skies!!!
The view from the outhouse
Sunday May 31
Sorry I haven’t posted for a month. The weather was nice and things got busy. The ice moved on out of the river the first few days of May. The grandkids wanted to go home so we arranged for an airplane to pick them up on the 8th. Roger took all of us about 8 miles down river to a sandbar by Lake Creek where the airplane could land. The plane was bringing some workers to a lodge and the kids rode back to town on the return.
On the 9th the Shell Hills cell tower went out of service so no phone or internet. Kari and I were on the deck on the 12th and saw a helicopter fly by the cabin headed directly to the tower soon we were back on the World Wide Web. We have a Spot X for a backup to send a text message in case something goes really bad.
The mud around the cabin has dried up so Kari and I have been cutting the dead spruce trees and getting the logs ready to mill for our addition to the cabin. I moved some rocks behind the outhouse and generator shed for a rock garden. We put metal siding on the outhouse and shed so it is now the corporate headquarters of Silty Slough Electric Co-op. There has to be some federal grants or stimulus money available for a vast project like this. After all it is free money because it comes from the government.
On the 16th Roger picked us up and we went to Bentalit Airstrip where about 16 of the local residents had a potato planting party and cookout at the community potato patch along the side of the runway. We will have a potato digging party in the fall. I took a couple leaking hydraulic hoses from the Kubota and sent them to town with Adam Ray to have new ones made up at Alaska Rubber. I’m indebted to Adam and will be happy to reciprocate any time. That’s how it works out here.
On the 20th our closest part time cabin neighbor Steve arrived with a few groceries for us, the new hydraulic lines, fluid for the Kubota, and bait for the bears. Kari baked a cake and in the afternoon. Steve dropped us off at the Phillips for a surprise birthday party for Myra.
On the 24th We were back at Bentalit Lodge for the Brion’s 60th wedding anniversary and Tom’s birthday. It was very enjoyable to meet some more of our neighbors.
We’ve been cutting more trees. I think we have about a hundred logs to mill that are between 12 and 20 feet long.
The 27th we went to Kari’s bear stand and cut a few trees that had fallen across the path and put out the bait for the bears. We let the bait rest a day and on the 29th Kari and I went down to Steve’s boat with the dogs. There was a river otter swimming in the slough. First one I’ve seen up here. I’m glad the dogs didn’t see it because I know they would have been in the water after it. An eagle landed in the corner of our yard a few days ago and they got after it. I’m surprised how close they got before it flew. Kari and Steve went to check the bait and the bears had been there. We cut a few more trees then Kari and Steve went to hunt the bear about 4 o’clock. One small bear came in right away, they passed on it. About 10 o’clock Kari shot her biggest black bear to date, a 7 footer with a 19” skull. That will be some meat for the freezer. She and Steve stayed up until about 4 am butchering it. I went to bed at 11. One of the reasons I don’t hunt.
The weather has been overall sunny and warm. Occasional rain still pretty dry. I think we saw 79 degrees one day. The days are getting longer for another 3 weeks, 19 hours 4 minutes today. Making plenty of free electricity.
Steve is giving us a ride in to the landing tomorrow June 1st. We have been here 10 weeks without going to town. No shopping, no fast food, no spare parts other than what I could get brought out by a neighbor. I don’t feel like we missed much in town and we plan to be back out here by Friday or sooner. We will be bringing our boat out. It is a little over a 2 hour ride up here from Deshka Landing where we launch from. Kari did a great job planning everything we needed for food out here. We ate very good. Steak, salmon, ribs, bbq chicken, bear roast, moose, beer battered halibut chunks to name a few things on the menu. We really didn’t run out of very much.
We have a long shopping list for town for our next hitch out here. Groceries, pre-mixed margaritas, bottled water, dog and cat food, hardware from Lowe’s, Kubota parts, chainsaw parts, oil, and the list goes on. I bet our bill at Costco alone will be 60 or 80 dollars.
Thank you Lord for taking care of us.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!!
It is time to put this adventure to bed and start our next one. Stay tuned.
The View from the Outhouse 