The view from the outhouse
Monday June 1
I’m only a week behind with the view. Maybe it should be called the rearview from the outhouse, but that doesn’t sound so good. With the times I guess I could call it “The brick through the outhouse window”.
Our friend and neighbor Steve is taking us to our truck that is parked at Deshka Landing. We loaded up propane cylinders, a Kubota front tire, laundry, trash, Kari’s bear, and the dogs. Not a lot of weight but we were bulked out. We got underway a little ahead of our 830 target. It was a good ride in, since the river had been rising there was a lot of debris. We had to stop pretty often to clean out the jet. Since the boat is open Kari and I rode facing backwards to weather the wind. A little over 2 hours and we were at the landing. I got cold about the last third but it wasn’t bad, at least we didn’t get rained on. Steve put the boat on the trailer and brought it up beside our truck in the parking lot so we could unload everything. Trash and laundry first, we will come back to get the propane bottles and empty coolers later. Steve is going to fill a couple barrels with fuel to take back out and head right back to his cabin. We headed to the MatSu landfill and dropped 300 pounds of trash after a stop at Arby’s drive through and a swing by home for a bathroom stop. Most public restrooms are closed due to the virus. Since there was no food in the house we swung by Three Bears to pick up a few things so we could have a snack and some adult beverages for dinner. Nice to have a long hot shower and a real bed to sleep in tonight.
Tuesday Jun 2
Today is our 29th anniversary, what an adventure. I woke up early and took the Kubota tire to be repaired and made a slight detour by the new Krispy Cream that opened while we were at the cabin.
At 9 we took the bear meat over to our neighbors Scott and Kevin to process. Scott cut roasts and steaks and we ground the rest for chili, breakfast sausage, and Italian sausage. He cooked up a patty of each and it was wonderful. Kari wasn’t going to shoot another bear but now she is just for the sausage. In the afternoon we went to fish and game and checked the bear hide and skull in to be sealed. Afterward we went to Fred Meyer to get started on our shopping list for the next hitch at the cabin. Things were somewhat normal, they were out of paper products, flour, and sugar. Then we made a low pass at DQ in Palmer and came back home for the evening.
Thank you Lord for a safe trip.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!!
June 3, 2020
The view from the outhouse.
Wednesday June 3
Wow, I’m two weeks behind with posting. I figure it is because the days are longer now, about 19 and a half hours of daylight. I posted that yesterday was our 29th anniversary but it is today. Better to be a day early than a day late on matters like this.
We woke up early for our marathon shopping spree. I already ordered parts for the Honda engine on the log splitter on Tuesday. The log splitter that Roger and I dropped a tree on last summer. We didn’t see it hiding in the weeds. It’s off to Anchorage to start the money letting. Kari needed a Starbucks on the way so a quick stop in Eagle River. The process was a little different, no cash, card only, you don’t touch the card machine, and they hand your coffee out on a stick. Next stop is for bear bait. Kari calls it turning bread into meat. While she hunts the bear I turn wine into water. Next stop Alaska Steel to buy some remnants for Roger. They were pretty normal just plexiglass in front of the cashier. On to Kubota for spare filters and hydraulic hoses, just in case. Different process there, they had a table set up outside the front door and employees only were allowed in the store. There was a question on one of the hoses so the parts man asked if I had a mask. I pulled out my N95 and he took me inside to look at the computer. We drove across town to the Stihl dealer for some chainsaw parts. They had a table set up in front of the counter and most of the store roped off to keep you away from the employees. We went over and picked up the 3 grandkids and took them to the Arby’s drive through. There was a park close by so we drove over there to eat. It was packed. We sat in the truck eating and watching the soccer moms that sanitize everything then little Jonny goes and puts his mouth on the playground equipment. We dropped the kids off and decided we had enough social distancing for today and would do Costco tomorrow. On the way home we stopped at the GMC dealer to get 2 outside door handles that had broken on the truck. They had both in stock, I guess they must break a lot. I decided on just the driver side for now since I hadn’t taken it apart and didn’t know exactly what I needed. We finally made it back home. Time to starting to get the “Wine Down” ready for the trip back up the river to civilization. I worked up the courage to take my truck door apart later in the evening. Pretty easy fix, so now I just need another $100.15 for the passenger side handle.
We were very tired and decided on pizza and a salad for dinner. All in all a productive day.
Thursday June 4
Time to hit the ground running. Planning on 8am at FedEx to mail a package. First one there scratching at the door. The plan was to drop off propane bottles to get recertified and filled, get the other door handle at GMC, and head to Costco. Minor problem Kari needs to go to the bathroom. Most public restrooms are closed so it is 5 miles back home for the restart. I’d rather go at home anyway, especially with the virus. We made all of our stops and we are at Costco, 3 carts full to resupply from the last 10 weeks. I knew it would probably be over a hundred dollars but I wasn’t counting on $1080 plus liquor. A new track record. We were out of Anchorage in good time and back at Wolf Lake in time to finish getting the boat and trailer ready. I also had time to change the other door handle on the truck.
I forget what the evening meal was. Another productive day. We really got rid of a lot of excess cash today.
Friday June 5
Woke up early. Kari and I took the boat to get fuel and go for the shake down cruise. We are close to Finger Lake State Park and usually make our first run of the season there. $20 to launch and in 15 minutes I’m back on the trailer, everything ok. Kari spent the rest of the day finishing laundry and getting everything packed in totes for loading in the boat. I really can’t account for myself but I was gathering up all the things I needed out of my shop. A lot of things break in 10 weeks. Later we made a trip to Lowe’s for more supplies.
I can’t wait to get back to the cabin so we can get a little rest.
Saturday June 6
I woke up pretty early so I decided to rough out a shelving unit for the cabin. We can haul it out knocked down and assemble it at the cabin. The Skwentna version of IKEA.
Kari and I started loading the boat and there is no way the boat will carry all the weight. We decide what needs to go for sure and leave behind everything else for next trip. After a stop at Wendy’s drive through Kari, the dogs and I are headed for Deshka Landing to launch. I can tell we are heavy because I had to back the truck down the ramp until the exhaust was gurgling to float the boat off the trailer. I knew we would be returning to offload some cargo to be able to get on step. I parked the truck and trailer in the lot and we were underway. Captain Kari steered out into the current heading downstream on the Susitna River and soon we were on step cruising. Something to be said for the big block 454 Chevy engine until you have to feed it. In a couple hours we were at our ramp in Silty Slough. Steve was there to meet us with the side by side and trailer along with a welcoming party of one million mosquitoes. Soon we had everything unloaded and hauled up to the cabin. Get the cold food in the freezers and take a break. When we started it was 700 pounds. Loading the boat it felt like 1700 pounds. Unloading it and putting it in the trailer it was about 3700. By the time we got everything upstairs at the cabin I estimate it at 7000 pounds. We are very happy to be back at the cabin. The dogs are even happier. They were really depressed at the house and acted up a few times.
Thank you Lord for getting us safely back to civilization.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue Skies!!!
June 21, 2020
The view from the outhouse.
Sunday June 21
Today is the big one 19 hours 44 minutes of daylight, it’s downhill or uphill from here depending on how you look at it.
There hasn’t been too much excitement for the past several weeks. I finished up with the bush hog and switched back to the back hoe on the Kubota to dig up some of the stumps. I got a couple of real trophies. I’m looking for a stump taxidermist to make one into a table and do a half mount of the other to hang on the wall by Kari’s bears. Wonder how much that will cost.
When I start digging in the ground the mosquitoes go from terrible to worse. I captured a few live and am going to put tracking collars on them. I would like to find out how far they roam, how long the live, and what their max wind component is before they are grounded.
We must have about 120 spruce logs to mill now. There are a few more choice ones that I would like to harvest. Most are starting to get soft. Once they are gone that’s it. We will never see nice trees like that here again. The area around the cabin is really opening up. We will be better able to see any intruders coming in. The dogs get their exercise chasing ermines, spruce hens, eagles, airplanes, and other birds. Our neighbor Steve saw a spruce hen and 7 chicks by his place yesterday so we will have to watch the dogs around them.
It has rained a few days but not many. It is still very dry. We are hauling water out of Silty Slough to water the strawberries and other plants. Kari read on the internet that milk was good for strawberries. We had some ultra-pasteurized milk that froze and separated. She mixed it up with more water and fed the plants. Teddy really liked the strawberries and cream. Couldn’t keep him out of them.
Last Thursday we made the 5 mile boat trip upriver to the U.S. Post Office at Skwentna and got a P.O. box. Now we can have our mail forwarded and get Amazon Prime. The mail plane comes on Mondays and Thursdays weather permitting. The postmaster has to take a boat to the airport to meet the plane and bring the mail back to the post office. People just can’t imagine that there are no roads. The post office isn’t on a street it is just up the hill where you tie your boat up. In the winter you ride your snow machine and park right out front.
Our neighbor Steve is heading back to Seattle tomorrow. I don’t think he is excited about returning to uncivilization. We don’t have TV and don’t miss it. We get internet on our phones to do our banking. Yes all of the posts are from my phone. From our limited news I see everything is pretty screwed up. No chief on Land O Lakes butter, no Aunt Jemima, no Uncle Ben, but we have Aunt teefa. The dumb asses in Minneapolis don’t want police anymore, let me know how that goes. They want my tax dollars to rebuild though. Wait til the thugs start heading for the suburbs, you’ll hear them squealing like pigs all the way to Fargo.
So far they have been able to disarm Elmer Fudd but can’t do anything about CHOP, the killings have already started there. What’s it going to be like when Trump wins in 2020.
I’m glad to be up here in the wilderness where the animals are way more civilized than most people.
Then there is Tulsa. The Democrats booked a million seats to the rally then no showed. Same way they are going to try to stuff the ballot box in November to steal the election. It’s the same thing they do in Congress, they booked the seat then they no show.
Funny thing is the Trump haters in Tulsa were complaining about too many people last week now are whining about not enough people to pay the bills. Just not smart enough to figure it out. Why don’t they apply for a grant from Soros and Company.
If Joe Biden were running against a potato I’d vote for the potato.
Enough of that, the mosquitoes have reduced the quantity of my blood so the pressure is low. I have it back up in the zone now.
I’m in the planning stages of another adventure. I need to repay a favor and haul a Jeep and trailer to Tucson, then bring a load of solar panels back to Alaska. If any one is interested……
Steve, Roger, and I made a quick trip in on Monday to repair Steve’s boat and pick up the supplies I left behind. Roger had supplies for upcoming projects. Steve hauled more propane for me for the winter. Quite a motley load of goods for the trip up the river on Tuesday. The highlight of the trip was a meal at the Palmer Ale House. Little different procedure there. You had to wash your hands in their bathroom to be seated. They had the most useless pieces of machinery ever invented an air blow dryer on the wall. So you leave with wet hands and touch 2 doorknobs that have been touched by everyone before you eat.
I figure the odds of getting the Chinese virus is slim in Alaska. Did you know that there are only 20 countries and no states with a land mass larger than Alaska. So with about 700,000 people it is fairly easy to naturally social distance. We’ve had around 400 cases plus some from the outsiders that came up to work in the fishing industry. Only 12 deaths.
We have been eating good so far. Our neighbors went halibut fishing and gave me a chunk to bring back Tues. like In-N-Out fresh never frozen. Kari made beer battered halibut Tuesday when we arrived. We split a steak and Caesar salad one night and last night had cedar plank salmon that was cooked just right. So many people overcook it and it comes out dry. The dogs and cats love the leftovers. I think salmon is their favorite table food.
I hope everyone is healthy and doing well.
Let me submit this to the editor in chief and get it posted.
Thank you Lord for watching over us.
I’ll be in touch
Blue Skies!!!
Sunday July 12, 2020
The view from the outhouse.
Sunday July 12
The mosquitoes have been really bad so most of my blood has been sucked out, therefore my mind hasn’t been able to come up with words to post.
Roger and I started milling the logs for the addition Jun 30th. We planned on just one day to try it to see how it goes. It was so much fun and the weather was dry so we kept at it for many days. The only day off was July 4th to attend a neighborhood party. No fireworks, it has been really dry and there is a burn ban on. Anyway on July 4th it is daylight past midnight so they aren’t as spectacular as down south. Our big time for fireworks is New Year’s Eve. I remember flying a DC-9 into LaGuardia one fourth and the fireworks were going off higher than we were. Lucky we didn’t take a hit. I was also in Hong Kong for Chinese New Year. No fireworks can compare to that.
The river is high and the ground is dry right now. I think the river level is 80% influenced by the weather on the glacier and 30% by the rain. I know that’s more than 100, I call it liberal math. It is how you can have more Democrat votes than there are registered voters.
Kari and Myra went to town just before the fourth to pick up our son Ben and his girlfriend. They came out on Thurs and stayed until Sunday noon. I stayed out here with the animals and milled logs with Roger. The yard by the cabin is empty of logs and it is time to move the mill down to Al’s where we have about 40 more logs to mill. I’m not sure if I have enough yet. I may need to rustle some more trees. Speaking of the addition it has grown like an Alaska State Fair cabbage. What started as a bedroom and bathroom in a lean to on the back of the cabin has turned into a two story post and beam structure with 2 bedrooms, two baths, a large great room to display trophy bears and some of my trophy stumps and mosquitoes. Quite an undertaking for a 68 year old guy. Oh well I don’t want to die with a bunch of money in the bank anyway. I remember flying with a captain that said when he got hired at the airline he had $420 in his checkbook. On his retirement flight he looked at his checkbook and had $220. He said, “Man, what a hell of a ride for only two hundred bucks.”
I need to make a few more trips on the Alcan for things we need for the addition. I still have a new trailer at the factory in Georgia to be picked up. I’m not in a big hurry to go south. I think the border is closed anyway. I’m not too concerned about the Chinese virus. For sure I will alter my route to avoid the war zones of Minneapolis and Chicago. I really can’t think of anyplace in the world I would feel comfortable going. I used to trek around third world countries never scared. I guess I could go to Mayberry, NC but not even sure about that now. They are taking down the statue of Don Knott’s in his hometown in West Virginia because he played a policeman. Where is this all going to end? I guess when there are only statues of the Obamas , Clintons, and Oprah.
I was thinking yesterday morning when I was having a pancake. I know working without tools again. We use Log Cabin. Lincoln lived in a log cabin so the next thing they will want to do is change the name of it. I also came up with the new name for “Aunt Jemima” it can be called “Aunt Teefa” but it would probably burn your pancakes. I guess it will come to a point that all packaging and advertising will be black and white, but I guess that may be racist too.
“And the liberal Trump haters have the nerve to say I belong to a cult and that I’m stupid.”
Time to get ready to make a quick run down the river in the rain. Need to file a tax extension and pick up the grand kids. Also looking for all the Goya products I can find. By any chance do they make pancake syrup?
Stay safe and healthy.
I’ll be in touch.
Thank you Lord for watching over us.
PS. Someone must have photoshopped that drink into my hand. I was having iced tea.
Blue skies!!!
Monday August 3, 2020
The view from the outhouse
Monday August 3
Hello everyone. It’s been a while since I’ve had time to post. The weather has been good 60s low 70s. It rained Saturday and a little yesterday. Roger and I have been milling lumber on the days it doesn’t rain. We milled up the logs here in the yard and moved the sawmill down to Al’s place. Most of the logs there are milled. We should finish them up tomorrow and Wednesday. I think I’m still about a hundred logs short of having enough to build Spruce Manor here on the bluff above Silty Slough.
Kari and I have been working in the yard sorting and stacking lumber. The grandkids came back out and stayed a week two weeks ago. Nikki and her husband were a big help splitting wood for a couple days. Kari finished all the birch that we had cut a few days ago. Tomorrow she is going to start splitting the spruce.
A couple weeks ago Roger and I went on an adventure about 20 miles up river to Donkey Creek. Lots of mosquitoes there, some as big as hummingbirds.
Last Friday we worked the fish wheel. The salmon run is late this year. We only got 23 fish in 7 hours. Last year spoiled us, about 70 fish in 4 hours. We are going to try it again on Thursday or Friday. It is a lot of work but worth it. I can tell my balance isn’t what it used to be. It is hard for me to walk the narrow plank to get on and off the boat that the wheel is on. You would think someone with a sawmill could come up with a solution. I guess I’m just being like the Democrats complaining about what is wrong but not offering a fix for the problem.
We are planning to go back to town to process and smoke the fish. We will see how it goes on the wheel.
We have our first mail at the very small condo #45 that we rented at the Skwentna Post Office. It is from Amazon, imagine that.
The well driller hasn’t made it here yet. We are down to about 150 gallons of water. Our neighbor Steve will be here on the 15th and we can haul some more from the spring down the river in his boat. We could do it in our boat but his is set up better. I really need a well so I can return to my Appalachian heritage and brew a few batches of shine.
The Shell Hills cell tower has been down a couple times. Then we loose all contact with the uncivilized world. It is really very nice. Things as you know are really messed up. The Canadian border is closed so we can’t drive south. Delta still flies to Seattle and Minneapolis I think. Alaska flies to Portland and Chicago. I can’t see any reason to go to any one of those Democratic managed cities. I guess I will sit here on my deck, have a Tiger Woods or two. (That’s a margarita watered down with iced tea, like a modified Arnold Palmer only tequila with the lemonade) I can watch the barges go up and down the Yentna River and look at the sunset on Mt. McKinley. It’s kind of like what I did before I retired. I hung out between charters on the Mosel river, watched the barges, and drank some great German wine.
The pictures are the before and after of the yard here at the cabin. Kari cleaned the outhouse window so my outlook on the world has improved just a little bit. There were a couple dead spruce trees blocking our view. I was happy just letting the wind blow them over the bluff. Kari was afraid they may blow over on us or the dogs so she devised a plan. I have a huge spool of rope that I bought at Mark Bailey’s and hauled it 3500 miles up the Alcan just because it may come in handy someday. Today is the day. She is going to lower me over the bluff with the Kubota and the new blue rope. Anyway she tied the rope really tight around my ankles because I needed my hands to operate the chainsaw. The only other option was around my neck. I saw where some NASCAR driver got in trouble with a noose so I didn’t want any part of that. Over the side, timber!! The tree missed Kari and the Kubota and she pulled me back up. I hope she and the dogs feel much safer now. I know I do.
Be safe and stay healthy my friends.
Thank you Lord for watching over us!!
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
Wednesday September 2, 2020
The view from the outhouse
Wednesday September 2
The weather has been very good. Lots of sunny days. It is starting the annual transition from warm to cold. The night time temps are dropping and a lot of mornings there is thick fog on the river.
Since my last view at the beginning of the month we had one more session at the fish wheel. Got our 35 fish in about 4 hours. I worked the wheel, Roger filleted them, Kari kept count for the fish and game report, and the both of them made remarks and laughed at me. Kari and Myra headed into town the next day to process the 70 fillets and pick up more supplies. The dogs and I stayed home to work on Spruce Manor.
I have been designing and redesigning. I think I may be close. The addition will be 20 x 32 two stories with a 16 x 20 covered deck facing Mt. McKinley. It will be a modified post and beam construction similar to the outdoor kitchen I designed for the Long’s in Indiana.
A lot of stars need to line up to get the well rig here to drill the well and drive the pilings for the addition. Kari I went to back to town to get more pipe for pilings. I borrowed a trailer and went to Anchorage for 5 – 20 foot lengths of 6” pipe. Brought them home and started to cut them in half with a plasma cutter. The rain started when I was ready to cut. I have completed all of my shock therapy treatments and don’t need another session. So it’s move the trailer, pull the airplane out of the hangar, and move the project indoors like a normal person. All cut, now I need to take them 40 miles up to Deshka Landing and drop them off so Eric Johnson can barge them up to his place. Some time later we haul them to Silty Slough in Roger’s boat. We now have the 18 pilings we need. The river level varies greatly. Silty Slough varies from zero to about 5 feet deep. When it is low we keep our boat out on the main river. I can also land our airplane in the slough. The barge that hauls the well drilling rig needs to have about 4 feet of water to get into the slough or if the slough is dry enough we can drop the rig on the island and drive across the slough. Lately the slough is staying about 3 feet, not high enough and not low enough. Now throw in that the well driller is only available on weekends to make the move makes the wicket even stickier. Hopefully everything will align for this weekend.
My friend Cory came over a couple days last week and we dropped a few more dead spruce trees. We now have 36 more logs to mill into beams and lumber for Spruce Manor.
Kari has been picking berries and vegetables. She and Myra have been jamming and canning. Kari is taking inventory and making the shopping list for the final trip to town before freeze up. It is quite a chore to figure out what we are going to need to have on hand from the end of September until the first of January. Then we need to go shopping and get it all out here.
It is raining a little now off and on. I don’t like to work in the rain. I would rather work in the snow. Cooper is chilling out on the bed. He doesn’t like the rain much but he likes to swim in the slough. Teddy doesn’t like to go out in the rain or swim. The cats are being cats. They have to stay inside so the eagles can’t get them.
I hope the Election flu Dem-panic is over soon. I need to make a trip south to pick up things I need for the addition.
People say, ”If the good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise”. I need the creek to rise just a little bit, otherwise the woman needs to start hauling water for the winter.
Keep safe and healthy my friends.
Thank you Lord for watching over us!
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!!
Friday September 4, 2020
The view from the outhouse
Friday September 4
It rained most of the day Thursday. I did some inside chores like sharpening chainsaw chains. The water level in the slough stayed pretty much the same. Kari made a very good dinner, jambalaya, hush puppies, and a home made rhubarb pie. Our neighbor Steve joined us. Tomorrow afternoon is the plan for the well drilling rig to arrive but the water is still very low.
Friday morning Kari and I took our boat “Wine Down” and Steve put on chest waders to mark the deepest channel in Silty Slough. The water came up a bit overnight but I still didn’t think we had a snowballs chance of getting the barge to our ramp. Our cell phones only work close to our cabin where the booster is. When we finished and came back to the cabin there was a message from Eric Johnson that they were on the way with his barge “Mammoth” with the first light load 20 minutes ago. We hurried back down to the ramp. Kari and Steve took our boat out to meet the barge in the river since I hadn’t been able to send Eric a message to stay tight to the left of the stakes for the deepest water. Kari and Steve followed the marked route with the Mammoth close in trail. I’m holding my breath hoping they don’t run aground The big barge kept coming. Eric nosed right in to the ramp. Nice landing Captain. I greeted them, “Where the hell you been? I’ve been worried sick about you.” When everything was tied off, the ramp was lowered and I backed a 4 wheeler onto the barge and towed a welder off. This is easy. Tom Lord, the driller and the rest of the guys were unloading drill stem and the tools required to drill a well. The last piece to be unloaded is a 4,000 pound air compressor. It has a pintle hitch that is just a big round ring. With the help of Amazon Prime and the Skwentna Post Office I have a receiver hitch with a pintle insert that clamps on the front bucket of the Kubota. I know backing up the ramp pulling a heavy air compressor with the front bucket is not going to be easy. Tom hopped on the back and extended the hoe to give us more weight on the rear tires. We made it a little way and then things stopped. Next idea, hook the side by side to the hoe and both pull. No work. Ok, Tom tried to pull me with the hoe like a giant inch worm. Worked a short distance, just to get the compressor clear of the ramp. We have been pulling, blocking, digging, and not a lot of swearing. So now it is time for plan C-1 revision B, They are going to go back to Eric’s and get his Kubota to push from the barge while pulling with my Kubota.
The rain started while they were on their way to get the other Kubota. I sort of wanted to hide until they returned and got the compressor up the ramp. I didn’t though. Eric pushed, Tom pulled with my Kubota but we still didn’t have enough traction to get up the steep beginning of the ramp. Finally we ended up pushing the compressor back on the Mammoth unhooking it, turning the Kubota around and hooking it to the backhoe bucket with a strap. Worked fine with Eric’s Kubota pushing for the first 25 feet up the steepest part of the ramp. Then my Kubota made it the rest of the way with the air compressor in tow. I’m sure that I will never have a use for the pintle hitch for the bucket again. Oh well what’s $130 compared to the Democrats 2.2 trillion dollar Chinese virus relief package. Just take it out of my $1200 check.
Now the barge is leaving to take the second Kubota home and return with the 17,000 pound drill rig. Did I mention the water level is starting to drop a bit. The crew told me to take the Kubota and take the hump out of the lower part of the ramp while they were gone. I cut about 2 feet off and pushed the gravel all the way to the water. The ramp is now a thing of beauty. If I had done this earlier, I’m confident it would have avoided a lot of trouble and a round trip for the barge.
The Mammoth is in the channel heading for the ramp. Heavy load low water, what can possibly go wrong? It looks as good to me as an aircraft carrier sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge. Here comes a shower anytime I want it, clean laundry, power washed equipment, and no more hauling water from the spring. The barge is tied up, ramp lowered, and Tom drives the drill rig off and up the ramp without too much difficulty. They hooked up the compressor to their pintle hitch and followed Kari and I the quarter mile to Spruce Manor. It is in our yard tonight looking better than a new GMC pickup. I can’t wait to drill baby drill.
Thank you Lord for a nice stressful day and keeping everyone safe!!
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
PS. Sorry it’s so boring. I’ve been too tired to get many digs in for the liberals. Please feel free to share so I can irritate more of them.
Saturday September 5, 2020
The view from the outhouse
Saturday September 5
I woke up early this morning just to go outside and touch the drill rig in case I had been dreaming. Sure enough it is here. Tom Lord the driller is going to hunt for the moose. I’m still hunting for the moose and squirrel after taking a trial of the Russian developed vaccine for the Chinese virus. Tom will be back with more pipe and fuel when he finds the moose or after moose season ends on the 25th.
Our neighbor Cory Olson came a couple days and dropped more dead spruce trees. Our neighbor Steve and I dropped a few more and Roger dropped more so now we have about a hundred logs piled up again at the Silty Slough Log and Milling company. There are a few more good trees left and then they are gone forever.
I have a hundred or more things on my to do list. I’m glad I’m retired, I would never have time to work a job and do all of this. Some times the only thing I cross off is the name of the day and move everything to tomorrow’s list. I think it was my friend Robert Howard that said if something can’t be put off until tomorrow it isn’t worth doing.
Saturday September 12 is potato digging day. About 60 members of the local community gathered at the potato patch along Bentalit airstrip that we had planted in the spring. We dug almost 12 thousand pounds of potatoes. People take some home to store and eat in the coming year. Most are flown into town by volunteers to be donated to the food banks. We took our potatoes home and laid them out to dry and toughen up the skin. If you don’t wash them they last longer. Kari will sort them in a few days and she will can any damaged ones. We will store the rest in the root cellar.
Our friend Brandon texted to let us know he was coming out and wondered if we needed anything. We are running a little low on some things. Here is the list.
3-30 packs of beer
1 bottle of Crown Royal
8 bottles of pre mixed margaritas
1 bottle of Bullet bourbon
1/2 half head of lettuce
The next evening the grocery order was delivered to our boat.
Kari and I needed to haul water for the winter just in case we don’t get the well drilled or end up with a dry hole. We loaded a couple 55 gallon barrels and four 15 gallon jugs in the boat and headed to the spring. There is a two inch pipe that the water flows out of. We attach our hose and start filling the barrels. It takes about an hour and a half to fill up. We are heavy so it took a little longer for Kari to get the boat on step. Back on the island we have a Honda generator that powers the pump to transfer the water from the boat to the barrels on the trailer. Then we haul the barrels across Silty Slough and pump the water into the tanks in the root cellar. The water in the slough is only a foot or so deep so it is not hard to cross with the trailer. We made to complete trips today for about 350 gallons. The next day we made another trip. While we were pumping the water from the boat there was a beautiful rainbow right over it. I hope this is an indication that this is our last time to haul water. A well is so important since we are spending most of our time here.
Friday September 18
Kari decided that Steve and I should make a run to town for more propane and diesel fuel to run us through the freeze up. We left fairly early to make a quick overnight trip. The river is very high with all the rain we have been having. When it gets high it picks up a lot of sticks and debris, it isn’t trash just natural things that wash down the streams and into the river. Once in a while you may see a cabin that was built too close to the river. We were about 4 miles upstream of Yentna station when we picked up some debris in our jet. Steve was driving so he shut the engine off and I went to the back of the boat to exercise the stomp grate. This should clear anything in the intake. Steve started it back up and the pump was just cavitating and not producing much thrust. We tried several more times but couldn’t get it cleared. One more try and the starter just spun not engaging into the flywheel. We are dead in the water. Throw the anchor so we don’t drift under a sweeper or onto a sandbar. One boat stopped but didn’t have the 5/8” socket that we needed to remove the starter. Aron Petersen came by in the Carolina barge and loaned us a couple sockets. No cell service here. We had already sent a text message via our SpotX locator to Brandon and Kari. Brandon was on his way from town and would be there in about 2 hours. Kari called Roger and he was on his way from the other direction. Brandon arrived and had a spare starter with him for his airboat. Both have Chevy engines but his was too new to fit. Did I mention that I have a spare starter at home in the hangar. Soon Roger and his son Mike arrived, we removed the starter for about the 4th time but still no work. Plan B, Roger is going to tow us downstream to Yentna Station and we are going to leave the boat there until Adam Gabrazak can tow it back to Deshka Landing. Roger delivered Steve and I back to Silty Slough.
Saturday September 19
Plan is for Roger to take us back to Yentna station and ride our boat back to Deshka when Adam tows it. No word from Adam yet on a good time so we decided to have Roger take us all the way into the landing. Good choice. Adam made it to the landing the next night and put the boat on our trailer.
Monday September 21
Steve and I took tools and the spare starter to the landing. I had to stop for propane and Steve had the starter changed by the time I arrived. Starter engages but won’t turn the engine over. I held the key a little too long trying to get it to turn and smoked the spare starter. Now I suspect that we got water in the wet exhaust manifolds when we were trying to clear the jet back on the river and hydro locked the engine. We pulled the spark plugs 7 came out fine and the last one was very rusty and broke off leaving the threaded part in the engine. Dead but not in the water, we won’t see Silty Slough today. Time to take the MV Wine Down home to the hangar at Wolf Lake. Steve ran by the landfill with the cabin trash and I had the broken spark plug out when he arrived. The engine turned over very slow with the smoked starter, water shot out of most of the spark plug holes. Time to search for a new starter and 8 spark plugs. NAPA at Wasilla is the closest place and it is almost 5 pm. NAPA doesn’t have the starter in stock but they have it at the distribution center in Anchorage and can have it by 1130 tomorrow. I asked if they could put it on will call and I would pick it up at 8am when they opened. No can do. Ok plan B. I’ll check with the can do boys at NAPA in North Judson, IN and see what they can do. I texted Joe at 5am my time on Tuesday morning and then laid back down for a nap since I didn’t need to leave for Anchorage until 7. Joe called as I was rolling into the city to let me know my starter was available for pick up at will call. Funny they couldn’t do that for me here in Alaska. Oh, by the way it was over a hundred dollars cheaper than the Alaska price. It helps to have friends in high places. I keep a shopping list of all the spare parts I need and when I’m in Indiana I pick up what I need and cart it 3500 miles up the Alcan. I have my own mini NAPA store in my hangar.
Back to fixing the boat. I was back home shortly after 9. We installed the new starter, changed the oil and filters, turned the engine over for 15 seconds to get all the water out, then installed the new spark plugs. It fired right up when I turned the key this time. I shut it right off because you can’t run the Hamilton pump out of water. Now it’s time to get fueled up and take the boat over to Finger Lake State Park for a test run. I’m another $20 lighter for the launch fee. Steve backed me down the ramp and the boat started right up. I ran it around the lake and I could only get about 3200 rpms out of it. Normal is way over 4000. Good news though the jet was clear of debris. Back to the ramp. The wind is really blowing hard from the right. I line up on the trailer with my best 747 crosswind crab to the right, wings level, and rolled it right on the trailer. Of course the park is deserted so no one except Steve is watching, no pressure. Back home we found that two spark plug wires were crossed on my side. The only excuse I have is they were long and dangling. I know I should have marked them. Back to the lake for another attempt. Everything is good. Back on the trailer again just like last time. Steve and I already decided to wait until morning to head to the cabin. We didn’t want to have trouble on the river after dark. Besides we could make one more trip to the Palmer Ale House.
It’s Wednesday morning. We got up early, loaded the boat and headed for the landing. Got the boat launched and headed down the Susitna River. Life is good, boat is running fine carrying a load of diesel fuel, propane, and another half head of lettuce.
Kari and the dogs were waiting for us on the island so we got everything unloaded and up to the cabin. Feels good to be back at the cabin, it’s like I’ve been gone a week on this overnight trip. Oh, Tom Lord called a couple days ago and he will be here Saturday morning to drill the well.
Thank you Lord for keeping us safe!!
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!!
Thursday September 24, 2020
The view from the outhouse
Thursday September 24
Last week we had plans of going into town. I made doctors appointments on Friday and the following Wednesday. Kari had a hair appointment on Monday. She cuts my hair but I guess she doesn’t trust me to cut hers. Kari’s left knee has gotten really bad so she made an appointment on Monday after her hair appointment with Dr Powell at OPA. Steve is planning to ride back in with us and hang out until his flight to Seattle on the 30th.
Since Tom Lord called and will be here Saturday to drill things have changed. I canceled my appointment on Friday and we are planning to go back in now on Sunday.
Friday September 25
I’m having trouble accounting for activities today. I think Steve and I retrieved a couple logs that we dropped into Silty Slough and added several more to the pile to be milled for Spruce Manor. Kari and I straightened up downstairs, rolled out a piece of carpet, and set up the cots for the drilling crew.
Saturday September 26
Today is the day. Like Sarah Palin said, “Drill baby drill”. Tom is supposed to be here at 10. Kari and I took the Kubota, 4 wheelers, and wagon across the almost dry slough and island to the river side where the Wine Down is tied up. Tom and his helper Charlie arrived shortly after 10 with a boat load. 100’ of pipe, tools, pump, wire, overnight bags, and everything else necessary to put in a well. You can’t forget anything it is a long way back to town. One plan was for me to go to the doctor on Friday and ride out with Tom on Saturday. I’m glad we just stayed. The boat would not have carried another 1/8 ton of me. It was dark and foggy when they left Deshka landing for the 60 mile trip. The river is pretty low, Tom said they only ran aground once, unloaded the pipe in the river, got the boat off the sandbar and reloaded it. Things aren’t always easy when you are trying to accomplish things. I guess it is much easier to sit around and watch MSNBC and complain that you have been slighted in life and those that work should give you something for nothing. I’m for giving anybody a hand up, but generations of handouts is about enough. Don’t get me started or we’ll never get this well in.
Tom and Charlie loaded the well pipe on the forks of the Kubota and everything else in the wagon. It’s like we are having our own Silty Slough Trump parade for a quarter mile to the cabin. Our grandson saved his allowance and bought himself and us Trump flags to fly at the cabin. Sad that not many people will see it. BTW I don’t think we get many Biden supporters coming up the river. We work up here and aren’t counting on a Socialist Democrat government to take care of us.
Back to the dig. Early this morning I aired up a low tire on Tom’s big air compressor with my little compressor. Somehow I should be able to relate this to the government, Biden, or Kamala. Not wanting to think that hard, I guess Kamala could just blow the tire up. Tom asked where I wanted the well. My first thought was in the ground but I’m sure he has heard that before, so I showed him where I already had a 1” pipe stubbed in to carry the water to the cabin. The diesel engine in the rig started right up. I will mention that Tom built this rig about 17 years ago, it is heavy duty with a 900 pound hammer to drive the pipe and a hydraulic motor with an unbelievable amount of torque to turn the drill. There were some other drillers up here this summer barging around with toy rigs that are under powered and took forever to drill. Time is money.
They are all rigged up over the spot, air compressor running to clear the tailings from the pipe, welder in place to join the next section. Here we go. Drill with the bit pound the pipe down with the 900 pound hammer, drill, pound, drill, pound. It is very noisy. First 10’ length went down in like 3 minutes. That was a quick thousand dollars. Charlie already has another section and drill stem ready to be hoisted up and welded on. I had Kari keep the dogs in the house because I’m afraid the welding may hurt their eyes, although I’ve been in the Philippines and seen guys welding without any eye protection many times. No OSHA there. I know how my eyes hurt after catching a couple flashes.
Tom grinds the ends of the pipe to bevel it and makes a beautiful weld while laying down below the rig. Wish I could weld that good on a flat surface standing up. Next section drill, pound, drill, pound…..the air compressor is blowing chips out of the pipe through about a 4 foot length of big blue hose into a pile in front of the root cellar. It isn’t long before the second section of pipe is in. Repeat the above for each section. I think it takes longer to join the sections with the welder than to actually drive them in the ground.
40’ in the ground and Kari had lunch ready. They are on a roll and are hesitant to stop, but Tom said that Charlie likes to eat real food. His food selection is limited on his regular job during the week. So we take a short break.
Back at the drill same thing except about 50’ down the bit hits a boulder things slow down, dust blows from the big blue pipe, the stem is inching its way slowly down. The bit fits inside the pipe so the hole in the rock is about 4”. The outside diameter of the drill shoe that is welded on the end of the pipe is over 5”. I was surprised how fast the big hammer pounded the big pipe through the little hole in the boulder. Tom said it was about 3 1/2 feet thick. He hit a couple more. Now we have 80 feet in the ground, nothing but gravel and the occasional boulder, no clay, and no water.
I think the 80’ of gravel is part of the reason we don’t shake so much during the earthquakes. Some places shake like being on jello.
They only have 100’ of pipe and drill stem with them today. Somewhere in the next section silt starts coming out of the blue pipe. We are on a bluff about 70-80 feet above the river, so now we are at river level or below. 90’ of pipe in the ground still silt, no water. The wicket is getting a little sticky. Kari came outside, Steve was there watching the drilling, she says if we don’t get water in the next section we are going to fill in the crawl space you dug for the addition and we are going back to town. Ye of little faith….. the next few feet and water is coming out of the blue pipe. Tom drills a bit more and says it is a good producer about 10-15 gal a minute. Wow, we can open up the Silty Slough Car Wash. In a few minutes the water clears up a bit, still really cloudy but I take a taste. Really good no taste. A lot of the time out here there is iron, sulfur, and other minerals in the water.
Tom let the compressor blow water from the well for a little longer then he and Charlie started pulling the 10’ sections of drill stem out of the casing with the winch on the rig, unscrewing each section and storing it on the rig. It isn’t long and the boom is down and they have the rig moved off the hole.
I took the Kubota and dug beside the casing as deep as I could, little over 7 feet. Tom cut a rectangular hole in the side of the casing and welded on a pitiless adapter about 7 feet below the top of the ground. They hooked up the pipe to the cabin and teed off to a freeze proof hydrant. If I played golf that would be funny. It just reminds me to have one of my famous Tiger Woods, half tea and half margarita. Charlie put a couple layers of blue board insulation on top of the pipe for added freeze protection and back filled the hole.
That’s a wrap. We will set the pump and finish tomorrow. Finally it is 5 o’clock, not somewhere, but right here. Time for beer, Tiger Woods, steak, baked potato, pineapple upside down cake for dessert.
Time to relax and visit for a while and then a nap.
Sunday September 27
Kari has breakfast ready at 7. The guys want to be started at daylight about 8. All that needs to be done is wire the electric line to the pump and attach the plastic tubing that will carry the water up to the pitiless adapter. All I need to do is go inside the cabin and cap off the pipe coming in from the well. Otherwise Kari would be very unhappy with 10 gal a minute flooding the cabin. When Kari is unhappy….. well you know the rest. She shoots a mean 338, that’s why I always walk to the outhouse in a z pattern. Glad to have water, in a year or so our outhouse days will be over.
We ran the pump for a while. Tom and Charlie loaded up their stuff and we headed for the river.
Kari, Steve, and I loaded up the trash, 6 weeks of laundry, the dogs, and anything else that needed to go to town into the Wine Down and headed down the Yentna River. The cats will guard the cabin while we are gone. They are self sufficient, I’m sure they will vote Republican if I can get them a mail in ballot. The river is skinny now but Kari did a nice job keeping us in the channel.
Kari and I can’t say enough good things about Tom and Charlie. They are knowledgeable, professional, extremely hard working, and just the kind of people you enjoy being around.
We highly recommend them. Can’t wait for them to come back in the spring to drive the pilings for our addition.
Thank you Lord for the water.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
Tuesday October 13, 2020
View from the outhouse
Tuesday October 13
Kari had her knee replaced last Tues and is doing fine. She spent Tues and Wed night at the OPA surgery center in Anchorage. After surgery I was waiting for her in her room. I had to drop her at the curb due to the Chinese Virus and wait in the parking lot until the nurse called when she was on her way to the short term care facility. The nurses discovered that one prescription for her meds had not been filled. The insurance was waiting for an authorization. The doctor wrote a new one and I headed over to Walgreens. I asked if they had Karis insurance info on file. No. How much if I just pay cash. $177. Ok I’ll go try Fred Meyer. Can’t fill it awaiting an authorization. Ok let me call the doctor. The pharmacist said that Kari also had a discount card on file and if I wanted to just pay cash it would be $22. Ok fill it.
What could possibly be wrong with this system $177 copay or just pay cash for $22. Kari had pt the afternoon after surgery and was walking and standing on her tip toes. The therapist said ok you have done everything we have to do for the first session. Do you want to do more? Sure…. Therapist says nobody asks for more. They went and did stairs. Thursday at noon we headed home. She is doing fine. It is my job to keep ice in her Game Ready machine and keep moving her exercise machine in and out of the bed.
I spent a couple days doing the get ready for winter chores. Snow blower on the hangar Kubota. Back hoe off, mower on to cut the weeds for he first time this year. I went to Palmer and got 100 gallons of diesel to use up my dollar a gallon off fuel points before they expire. When I leave Tuesday it will be 10 weeks at Silty Slough before I get back home. I say home but after being out here at the cabin for the better part of a year, I’m not exactly sure where home is. Kari will join me in two weeks.
I guess I need to establish permanent residency out here so that I can run for mayor of Silty Slough on the Republican ticket. I can’t run as a Democrat because I don’t have a basement to hide out in. I have a green new deal program that I’m sure you will all be in favor of.
Since the bank lobbies are mostly closed now they have online banking. You get a check just take a picture of it… and just like that it is in your account. When I’m elected mayor I am going to expand the system to cover cash. Somebody gives you a wad of cash, just take a picture of it and it’s in your account. If I owe you any money please let me know. I have the cash now. I will just send you a picture of it and you can forward it to your bank.
I woke up early this morning to get ready for the trip back to Silty Slough. Our neighbor Craig is going to fly me and the two dogs out to Bentalit airstrip. We are meeting Myra and Roger there to make the switch. Myra is going into town to take care of Kari and Roger is taking the dogs and I up the river to Silty Slough. It is always nice to get to see Tom Brion at the airstrip.
The water is way low and the ride is a bit chilly but it doesn’t take too long. Everything is good at the cabin, heat and lights on. The cats are happy to see me, I’m not sure about seeing the dogs. I have about 1267 things to do on my list. I think I accomplished 1/2 of one today. I was going to take some pictures but I always forget. A lot of the leaves have fallen and everything looks very open with all of the dead spruce trees cut down.
Thought about talking about the card carrying every Sunday go to church folks that support Biden and Kamala. If you support them you support abortion, the killing of helpless innocent babies. You say you are pro choice, pro choice is the choice you make to either put it in your mouth or between your legs to be crude about it. After that you are the one responsible, not the baby you made. You libs say the conservatives are against abortion but don’t want the government to take care of the kids after they are born. Hello, not the governments problem. Step up and take responsibility for your actions. Abortion is not to be used as a method of birth control. There are cases where for health reasons or rape that that a medical procedure needs to be done to terminate a pregnancy, this is completely legitimate in my opinion. Like I posted before you shouldn’t vote to kill an innocent baby on Tuesday then go to church on Sunday and not think about it anymore. Just my humble opinion but I don’t have time to talk about it right now.
I picked up another prescription for Kari last night at Fred Meyer. With insurance the co-pay was $114. I told the pharmacist that Kari had a discount card on file. How much if we forget the insurance and just pay cash. $27. I gave them my health savings account credit card and I also received 150 fuel points. $.15 a gallon off 35 gallons of fuel $5.25. Two prescriptions in a week same story. Screw Obama Care. It isn’t Trump setting the drug prices. I can’t figure out the business model for drug pricing. When I’m mayor of Silty Slough I’m going to launch an inquiry. I’m also going to launch an inquiry into UHaul. How can there be so many UHaul dealers so close together with so many trucks and trailers in the lot. These aren’t cheap trucks, most are relatively new. Millions of dollars of inventory just sitting around. As soon as we get more roads in the Slough I want to get a UHaul franchise. Just wondering.
I asked the doctor the other day how long Kari’s new knees would last. He said she would take them with her. He then told us about being at a conference and asked a mortician what they do with all the artificial joints. Now I don’t know why a mortician would be at a medical conference, drumming up business? Anyway he said they cut them out and throw them away. Can’t cremate them, they would really rattle in the urn. Could hit someone in the head if you are scattering ashes from an airplane. Anyway a new business venture, I’ll go to the mortuaries and pick up the joints, throw them in a bucket of beetles or maggots to clean them up and recycle the titanium. Any investors?
Sorry again for no pictures. The mountain was beautiful this evening.
BTW if anyone has anything they want to sell I’ll take it. Price is no problem. I’ll send you a picture of the cash.
I’ll be in touch.
Thank you Lord for a safe trip!!
Blue skies!!
The View from the Outhouse 