Saturday November 3, 2025

The hangar hasn’t been this empty in 15 or 20 years.

Jody delivered rafters for the fuel shed. They are unloaded and up on the bank. We will put them up when the rain stops.

Adam coming into the landing in the skinny water. He had made a trip to Skwentna and stopped at Silty Slough on his way back to pick up the rear side by side wheels so that I could get the tires mounted. I will ride upriver with him in a few more days.

The fuel shed framed up. Kari made a solo trip in the Sea Ark with the metal roofing for this side.

The View from the Outhouse

Hello from Silty Slough. It was about 30 degrees outside when I made it upstairs. Kari was already having her coffee and soaking up some heat from the woodstove.

When we bought the stove, they said it was a convertible. I didn’t think too much about it. I never owned a convertible before. When I was in town this fall, I went by Alaska Stove and Spa to get a couple spare glass panels for the door just in case someone gets wild with the poker. I inquired about the convertible option and ended up buying one for $300. That’s really not that much in a bankruptcy of this size. It laid around for a few months, a couple of weeks ago I decided to install our new Cadillac converter. I don’t want to say catalytic converter because they are hot items for thieves in town…no pun intended. I don’t understand why they can’t quickly solve this problem; the thieves have to sell them somewhere. Find those people buying them and lock them up, they are just as guilty as the thieves. Anyway, the Cadillac converter was simple to install. It really evens out the temperature, and the stove puts out more heat with longer burn times. The 13 plus full chords of wood that Kari and Thor have in the shed will last at least two winters with some left over for a third

My last view promised to continue accounting for past activities over the summer and fall. Here is the second installment. BTW I asked for suggestions for naming the new ballroom at the White House in the last post. Teddy came up with “The Michelle Obama Memorial Ball Room” What do you think?

In the Summer I decided to go to our 55th class reunion in Indiana,so I booked a ticket to Chicago, rented a car, and made hotel reservations. Everything set, I never book anything when I travel, just wing it, this is a first. Thor wanted to come along since he has never been anywhere except Alaska and Hawaii, so he talked me into it. A couple weeks before we were scheduled to leave I came down with a case of shingles, I’m not talking about a bundle of cedar shakes but a full-blown case of shingles. It was the weekend of course, Captain Kari hustled us into Palmer to the urgent care place and I got some medicine. It took several days for the pain to subside and a couple weeks for the sores to heal. I had gotten the vaccine 8-10 years ago, the single shot one that is only 51% effective. As soon as I get to town in January, I’m getting the two shot Shingrix vaccine. I wouldn’t wish shingles on anyone….except maybe a few liberal Trump hating Democrats.

Summer of 24 I traded for a boat, motor, and trailer. It sat around until this summer when Kari wanted Steve, Thor, and I to inspect it. We pulled the floorboards out and found a lot of bad welds and cracks in the tubing where it had been repaired. I took it to Greatland Welding and they said that I could save hundreds of dollars if I bought a die grinder and ground the bad welds out. After about $400 worth of die grinder and burs and a week’s time, Steve and Thor had the welds cleaned up. Now it is back at Great Land to be welded, along with a flat diamond plate aluminum floor, flotation pods, air ride seats, and a beefed-up transom. Should make it into a great boat to support the compound at Silty Slough. The boat trailer is another project.

Late this fall I got the wild idea to rent out most of our hangar. I called a friend, and he jumped at renting the space, one slight problem the space he wanted was occupied by treasures that I had been collecting and hauling up the Alcan over the past 25 or 30 years.

The river was dropping so Kari, Thor, and the boys headed out in the boat for Silty Slough. I stayed back and started selling my treasures out of the hangar and hauling things i really didn’t need, but had been keeping around for 20 years to the dump. Scrap lumber, old parts that I had replaced with new, you never know when I may need them, empty containers, pieces of wire….you know the drill. Hangar cleaned out.

We were assigned our permanent spot in the storage lot at Deshka Landing so I decided to clear it off and get Newman’s to haul in a couple loads of gravel. I took the hangar Kubota to the landing to level it out,

then decided to leave it there for the winter fuel hauling. I’m too old to move 55 gal full fuel barrels around, so as Tom Brion would say, “Trade oatmeal power for diesel power”

I made a final Costco run, found a couple rear tires that were take offs at AMDS for the side by side and had them mounted. 2 tires $50 each and $50 to mount both at Diversified Tire. The best deal I’ve had in a long time. They didn’t have any take offs to fit the front, so i think some agency in the government owes me 2 front tires. The very least they should subsidize the difference between $50 and the actual cost. What do you think?

On October 2nd I headed up the river with everything in the barge with Adam and Joe Gabrazak. “River Dan’s Boys” Iron Dog Team 23. Our neighbor Jody Peyton is also running on Team 34. Let’s support our Yentna River friends and cheer them on February 14th.

October 3rd we pulled the Sea Ark out of the river, maybe a bit early, but better early than late. Even with the strong river current, Captain Kari put it on the trailer the first try. Like the “Dreaded Side Wind” in aviation.

No pictures were taken, in case we are captured I wouldn’t want to have to eat my phone. I dont think the government would give me a new one. Now we are committed, here until it is possible to travel the winter trail, probably after Christmas.

I have some things to do outside and I don’t want to get fired from my job, so I better get going.

Thank you, Lord for watching over us.

I’ll be in touch.

Blue Skies!!

Don

Sunday January 7, 2024

Look at the amazing color and the view of Mt. McKinley.

The View from the Outhouse

Good morning from Silty Slough. 27 degrees at 7 am when I went outside. About 2” of new snow. Sunrise is 10:20, we are gaining a couple of minutes a day.

Last Thursday Cory, Jess, and I headed down the trail to Deshka Landing. Jess has been here about two weeks and needs to get back to the uncivilized world. Cory was in the lead. I was next with a sled load of empty barrels, totes, and a dog kennel with Jess and Steve’s dog Artie in it. Artie is short for Artemus daughter of Zeus, she is the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, nature, childbirth, and the care of young children. A name befitting a black lab.

The run in was good, trail was fairly smooth. The light was flat in the middle of the trip and a few moguls appeared out of no where. I came off one sandbar headed down pretty steep to the river thinking “This is going to hurt.” Everything worked out for a really good trip. Cory gave us a ride to Wolf Lake since Jess and I came out to the cabin via helicopter.

Jess got her truck warming up while we broomed about 10” of snow off both the trucks. Then she and Artie headed home. I fired up the Kubota to snowblow the driveway. It is getting late and my big plans of shopping, buying fuel, and heading back to the landing to get the sled loaded for the trip back to the cabin tomorrow changed. Now it is Jersey Mike’s for a sub, Lowe’s for some bolts, and Carr’s for prescriptions and seltzer water. Last week I received a message from the bank that someone tried to charge $700+ dollars at Target and Best Buy on my card. I dismissed it as a scam. Guess it wasn’t, my debit card was declined at two stores and an ATM. I’ll fix it when I get back to the cabin.

Traffic is horrendous now. Wasn’t like that 28 years ago when we first got here. I’ve made a few observations about winter driving in Alaska. The posted speed limit is the minimum it takes to blast through the snow on the unplowed roads. It is best to draft off the vehicle in front of you to get through. You need to get right on their bumper and turn on all the brightest lights you have. This will blind you so you won’t be scared when the vehicle ahead of you has had enough and hits the brakes. If you come to an intersection and want to turn right on red after a stop. Don’t stop or you will be assessed a two stroke penalty and have to wait for traffic, let alone having the drivers behind you honking horns and flashing their lights. If you are driving a big lifted pickup with two snow machines on the tall rack in the bed all rules are suspended. You have the right to blast through red lights, pass on double yellow, and run little old ladies off the road just to get you to the trails quicker. There you rip up the groomed trails with your machine to make them miserable for civilized riders. I won’t get into the 80 mile per hour minimum speed limit for trucks pulling an enclosed snow machine trailer. If you happen to hit a moose you really need some momentum to knock it out of the road and not block traffic for the rest of the convoy to the trails. I’ll write about pickups with snow plows some other time.

I thought I woke up early enough Friday morning but time slipped away while I was packing up 16 eight packs of seltzer water the woman ordered, the mail, and a few other things in 3 coolers. I was planning on steak and eggs for breakfast but was running late so it is a hot dog and a root beer at Newmans in Willow for breakfast.

At the landing I loaded the coolers on the sled and filled the two 55 gallon barrels with gas, suited up and I’m ready to go. Cory and I had a good trip out, it was warm, the trail smooth, and the sun shining. When we got past Fish Lakes Creek and by Roger’s, Cory waved and split off for home. I have about a mile to Silty Slough. Kari has been out packing our trails, she and the dogs were happy to see me. I had stopped and picked up a few dog booties that had come off along the trail from the dog teams we passed. The boys like them and will add them to their arsenal of doggie toys. I’m hungry again. There is leftover prime rib for a sandwich on sourdough bread that Jess made. First we need to unload the sleds.

Saturday afternoon Kari and I went to the Phillips for a visit and to pick up Al’s Arctic Cat that Roger put a new track on. Then we went to Cory’s to pick up Dave Reed’s freight sled for our next trip to town. I managed to squeeze in a few minutes on the treadmill. Studying for the stress test the FAA requires for my medical exam in March.

Everyone stay safe and healthy!!

Thank you Lord for watching over us.

I’ll be in touch.

Blue skies!!!

Thursday July 6, 2023

The View from the Outhouse

Good morning from Silty Slough. It is 51 degrees at 7am with more light rain. I read yesterday was the hottest overall temperature for Mother Earth ever recorded. Well they need to fire up all those windmills and spread it around a bit, but I guess that would take too much electricity. The plus is the cool temperatures keeps most of the riffraff out of the area. River is high and running fast, nothing like the current in the Yukon though. Now to post the last day of the trip and close out this adventure so I can start another.

Monday June 19

Ed and I are up early again. Places to go and things to see. 290 miles home today. We are cruising down highway 1 from Tok. It is pretty good with only a few frost heaves and loose gravel patches. Better than most years.

Alaska highways are just single digits since there are less than 10 and most have names. No interstates. I found it odd that Oahu Hawaii has interstate highways. Actually after extensive research (Google) Alaska does have interstate highways designated A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4. The are however exempt from interstate standards. The segment of A-2 from the border to Tok must carry a double exemption.

On down Interstate A-1 near Gakona we pass a big building off in the bushes. This is HAARP- High Frequency Active Auroral Research Project. Supposed to be studying the ionosphere. Some think they are controlling the weather, causing a drought in North Korea etc. I think it is how the Northern Lights are powered. Just my humble opinion. The scenery is beautiful along this stretch with Wrangle-St. Elias National Park off the left. It is clear and the mountains are beautiful. Check with my brother Ed, he has all the pictures.

Then it is on to join H-4 for a dozen or so miles to Glennallen. You want to tanker enough fuel to get through here because the fuel is approaching Canada prices $4.84 a gallon. I’ll be glad to get to Palmer Fred Meyer so I can get a dollar off a gallon with my Kroger fuel points. Didn’t stop at Glennallen. Shortly after turning right and leaving H-4 we crossed the Trans Alaska Pipeline. It is above ground off to the left and right side of the road. On past Slide Mountain and Eureka where we spent a lot of time snow machining before we started the cabin at Silty Slough. Now our snow machines are always pulling sleds of supplies in the winter. Gunsight Mountain comes into view. When you see it you will know why it is called that. Soon we are passing Matanuska Glacier off the left. This warrants a photo stop. Then it is on to Palmer and a lunch stop at the Sunrise Cafe. 5 more miles home and Steve is there to help us unload the trailer. He needs a ride to the airport at 8 o’clock. I think we will let him drive alone and pick his truck up tomorrow when I go to the airport to start my new job and next adventure.

Nice leisurely trip, left June 10 arrived June 19. Could have trimmed off a few days but I had stops to make to purchase much needed treasures along the way. 3945.6 miles from North Judson, Indiana, 427 gallons of diesel fuel for 9.24 miles per gallon. Trip number 36 in the ships log. I still need a few more things from the lower 48.

From the Asylum at Silty Slough, friends I wish you well.

Thank you Lord for a safe journey and for giving us enough.

I’ll be in touch.

Blue skies!!!

Wednesday July 5, 2023

The View from the Outhouse

This is the highest diesel price we saw $2.049/ liter.

Boarding the ferry in Dawson City to cross the Yukon River.

Ferry ride. Very strong current.

Good morning from Silty Slough. Things got busy and my post are lagging behind as usual.

Sunday June 18

Brother Ed and I are up early in Carmacks, YT. It’s a pretty quiet place. Heading up the road toward Dawson City paralleling the Yukon River. Yes the same river that Ed stripped down and jumped into last night. Something on his bucket list, not on mine. We met the first car coming toward us at mile 21 from Carmacks, the next at mile 27-36-40-52-63, you get the picture no traffic. At about mile 50 there was a dead coyote in the middle of the narrow road. I ask you my friends, just how unlucky does this coyote have to be to end up dead crossing a 20 foot strip of asphalt with all this traffic. I don’t think the Roadrunner had anything to do with this. This shows that when it is your time, it is your time.

On to Dawson about 150 more miles. The pavement ends here and all the streets are gravel. We had some lunch and checked out the sites. Ed had some places to research for another book he is writing. We are on the east side of the Yukon River and Alaska is on farther west. There is no bridge but a ferry. We were ready to head west and got in line. Only had to wait for one short trip and we were ready to drive on. The ferry ride is only 5-10 minutes. Loading and unloading takes the most time. The current in the river is so strong we were pointed almost straight upstream with just a slight right crab to get us to the other side. Now we continue our journey on the Top of the World Highway. After climbing a steep grade the pavement ended in a few miles and we were on a good gravel road with no traffic. The road is almost all on the mountain ridges. They don’t waste any money on guardrails here. If you ever went over the side you would starve to death before you rolled all the way to the bottom. The views were magnificent, I’m concentrating on keeping the rig between the white lines so no pictures. There are no white lines. Somewhere along here we reached the northernmost point of our trip 64 degrees 14 minutes North, the Arctic Circle is 66 degrees 34 minutes a little over 100 miles north of us. On my bucket list to drive up there sometime but near the bottom of the bucket. I’m not sure how much further it is to the US border but after a while we can see the buildings up ahead. I told Ed that if they won’t let a couple of Americans cross here we will swing around and come in from our southern border. Will only take a few more days/weeks. We could unload the Vette for him to drive across and I will fill the trailer with illegals. Should cover our expenses and make a tidy profit. We could drop them off in some sanctuary cities along the way. I’m thinking maybe Seattle and then taking the ferry to Alaska.

Border was no problem. Same questions. Where do you live? What’s in the trailer? Did you buy anything in Canada? Have a safe trip.

The road is paved for 10 miles from the border. I would venture to say the best 10 mile stretch in the state of Alaska then it is back to gravel, not quite as good as the road in Canada but Ok. This route is closed in the winter from outside of Tok to Dawson. Kari and I have ridden it a few times on the “Trek Over the Top” snow machine ride and party in Dawson. The highlight in Dawson is the Sour Toe Cocktail. Google it, I don’t have time here. Anyway back on the road and back to the trip and on to Chicken, Alaska. When the prospectors discovered gold here they wanted to name the place Ptarmigan but no one could spell it so they just called it Chicken. Tastes like ptarmigan. After a brief stop to see the big metropolis it is on to Tok and our room for the night. After fueling and a good meal at Fast Eddie’s it is time for a nap. Fuel is cheaper here about $4.09 a gallon so we added enough to the big tank to get us home to Wolf Lake. It gets expensive again in between at Glenallen.

I had planned to write about the next day when I started but this is too long now. I will try to finish the next leg of the adventure next post.

I hope sometime soon I will get these posts and pictures transferred to my blog at www.siltyslough.com.

I hope everyone had a great 4th. Thanks for listening.

Thank you Lord for a safe trip.

I’ll be in touch

Blue skies!!!

Saturday June 17, 2023

Mile 0. The beginning of the Alaska Highway.

Sign Post Village at Watson Lake. More than 77,000 signs

The Yukon River flows way faster than the Yentna.

The View from the Outhouse

The adventure continues

Thursday June 15

I got a late check out from the Edmonton Airport Holiday Inn and hung around until 1 o’clock. Then I headed for the WalMart to get some items for the trip. Still had time to kill so I stopped in at Costco. A good place to park to wait until brother Ed gets in at 4. I will have a hot dog and a sundae to pass the time. Ed arrived and we headed up the back roads on the west side of Edmonton to one of my usual fueling spots and then on to join Canada 16 headed west. It’s about 300 miles to Grande Prairie, Alberta one fuel stop from the big tank and on to our room for the night. Pretty boring ride but thankful for no problems.

Friday June 16

Our planned stop for the evening is Toad River, British Columbia. I woke up early and aired all 8 tires up to 80psi and checked the oil while Ed was getting ready. The Caterpillar jump start compressor combo from Costco did just fine on the tires. Felt good to use the free electricity I charged it up with at Jim Long’s. We topped off the tanks at Costco first thing then headed to Dawson Creek, BC and mile 0 of the Alaska Highway. A stop at the visitor center for Ed to buy a tee shirt and hat. Then it is on up the road to Ft. Saint John to top off of the fuel tanks for $1.689 per liter. This should get us to Alaska and a refuel at Young’s Chevron in Tok. We are getting 9.1 mpg not bad if you average in the Vet in the back not burning any fuel.

In a few hours we arrive at Ft Nelson. A food stop at A&W for a burger and root beer. In about 50 miles the really pretty part of the trip begins. Up the steep grade over Steamboat Mountain we were able to maintain good speed, about 30 mph, without the transmission or engine overheating. We are really heavy tankering the 100 gallons of extra diesel, but it will come in handy the next couple days. Down the backside of Steamboat “trucks use lower gears” keeping my big #8 shoe off the brake pedal. Anytime your foot is on the brake you are wasting money. On to Stone Mountain Provincial Park and Summit Lake. Then it is a very steep grade downhill. As they said at Mt. Kilimanjaro “Pole, pole” Swahili for slow, slow. Then on to the Toad River Lodge, a Moscow Mule, some cheese and crackers, and a nap.

Saturday June 17

We are up and on the road before 7. Muncho Lake is beautiful as usual even with the clouds and fog in the mountains. This is the very best part of the trip for scenery and wildlife. On past Llaird Hot Springs and the Buffalo on the roadway sign. So far we have seen dead porcupines, a coyote, several brown bears, several black bears, a moose with her calf, buffalo in the roadway, and one live porcupine. At Watson Lake we stopped at sign post village and took some pictures. It’s on to Teslin for a fuel stop and then to Whitehorse for 1 more A&W burger and a root beer. It is reported that the road from Haines Jct to Tok is extremely rough. We are going to deviate and leave the Alaska Highway and head north to Dawson City. 100 miles north of Whitehorse is our stop for the night at Carmacks, Yukon Territory. Same drill. Mule, snacks, nap.

That’s about all that happened except for the Kubota buckets shifting in the bed of the truck. We got those strapped back down. Should be good for the rest of the way. Fuel at Whitehorse was $1.98 a liter x 3.8 liters a gallon divided by the exchange rate of $1.34 Canadian to $1 US equals $5.61 a gallon. Happy to have the extra 100 gal tank and not having to buy any there.

I’m not saying that this trip is expensive but the receipts alone weigh over 6 pounds, but that’s only about 4 pounds Canadian.

Thank you Lord for taking care of us.

I’ll be in touch.

Blue skies!!

Sunday October 30, 2022

The View from the Outhouse

Greetings from Silty Slough. 24 degrees this morning with a little less ice floating down the river. Clear and sunny but pretty windy. I think it may have gotten up to 36 degrees in the afternoon. Day 13 with the cell tower down. I have sent many messages to Kari with the Spot Emergency locator. Only a couple of her replies have made it to me.

Yesterday I took my ready heater apart to see why it wasn’t working. This mornings project is to finish checking it out. When I took it apart the motor would barely turn, I freed that up and fired it up on the bench. I could see that no fuel was getting up to the nozzle, since Cory and I had replaced all the hoses last year with clear ones. I pulled the air pump off and cleaned the filters. Fired it up again and the fuel started up the line but didn’t quite make it to the nozzle. Maybe the nozzle is plugged a bit or the pump is weak. I know, I’ll disconnect the line from the pump and blow in the line to the nozzle with the air compressor. I finally found the blow gun by looking for a tape measure I lost. You know that you can’t just look for the item you need and expect to find it. You have to be looking for something else and suddenly the other item you need appears. I still need to find the Milwaukee 16’ tape measure and my good pair of Knipex wire stripping pliers. I blew in the line with the compressor and a fine mist came out of the nozzle. Why don’t I flip the switch and fire it up using the air compressor. What could possibly go wrong. Well I did. The thing lit off and blew a flame out past the end of the heater about 3 feet. Looked like the Bat mobile. Pretty cool. I got it shut down right away so nothing got on fire. Guess I’ll get a new pump on order when the cell tower starts working again.

Now that it warmed up outside the next project is to get a wood splitter going. Worked out good just filled the tank with fresh gas and it started right up. Nothing like a Honda “Easy Start”

Back inside to use the canned foam around the upstairs windows and fill some gaps the insulators couldn’t. I did a little better this time.

I was just taking a break and having a tuna salad sandwich so I could use up another boiled egg. By the way I made deviled eggs last night, turned out good and used up 8 of my boiled eggs. Now it’s Don 35 eggs 15.

I heard this rumble and the boys started barking. Probably the guys from the Air Guard checking up on me with a C-130. I went out on the deck and waited, a Cessna that I didn’t recognize came by for another low pass. I waved and it circled again this time lining up on the cabin. Just as he went over, out the window came a small black package with bright green streamers. I’m thinking it sure is nice that someone is thinking of me. Brought tears to my eyes. Then I remembered the car warranty guy that can’t get in touch with me since the cell tower is still down. The wind blew the package over the bluff about 20 feet so I had to climb down to get it. It is pretty steep so it took me a while in the snow. I’m excited, can’t wait to see who it is from. I went back inside the cabin and finally got it open. It was really packed good for the drop. Inside was a Garmin Inreach Emergency Locator and an Icom aviation band radio from Jess Gahan and Cody Kreitel the pilot. There was a printed message from Kari letting me know that our Mother had a stroke Friday and everyone was just waiting and praying for her recovery. I sent Kari a message right away with the Inreach and asked for any updates about Mother. The dreaded message came back that Mother had passed away 30 minutes earlier. She has had a good long life of 92 years, we would have liked to have had her with us even longer, it is comforting to know that she is in heaven tonight.

Kari is in Michigan with her dad. Her stepmom had surgery on the 17th and is still in the hospital not doing well at all. So she can’t leave Michigan right now.

Tonight I really feel all alone, stranded here for now. I can’t call and talk to Kari or the rest of my family. The boys can tell I’m really sad and have been hanging very close to me. I really can’t thank Jess and Cody enough for getting the Inreach to me.

Well friends, a sad night at the slough, everyone stay safe and healthy.

Thank you Lord for watching over us and for saving a spot in heaven for our Mother for all these years.

I’ll be in touch.

Blue skies!!!

This and all previous posts are at www.siltyslough.com

Tuesday October 25, 2022

The View from the Outhouse

Hello friends. I would say good morning but no telling when the cell tower will get repaired, so you may be reading this in the afternoon or the next day.

On thing I forgot to mention in the last post. A few weeks ago while Roger and Kari were milling logs, Cory and I finished up the drain field for the septic system. Now that the work is finished, we are complete from the bathrooms to the septic system. The next thing is to set a toilet and connect the water line to the existing cabin. The guys can’t get here now so it is yours truly. I set the toilet in the main bath downstairs and connected the cold water to the system. A few minor leaks to tighten up and we are good to go, if you know what I mean. I mentioned in an earlier post that once this happened, The View from the Outhouse should change to The View from the Septic Tank but I don’t think that will attract many readers. Never know, like the septic tank pumper told me one time, Buddy it may be poop to you but it’s bread and butter to me.

The wood stove. It was an after thought for Kari and I. First consideration was an outdoor wood boiler. Still not out of the question, but the glycol antifreeze to fill the system could be almost the cost of the boiler. So the only place for the stove was on the second floor. We went to the Vermont Castings stove store in Anchorage and ordered what we needed. The double wall pipe to run 20’ from the stove,through the roof to the top of chimney was almost the price of the stove. Kari and I had a fire going in the stove before she went to Michigan and it kept the upstairs plenty warm, but it was 30 degrees outside. I have had it going since I came back out on the 12th and it has kept both floors warm. It helped that Roger installed 2 ceiling fans to help push the heat down the stairwell to the lower level. I try to get things warmed up to 72 before I go to bed, then if I sleep too long and the fire goes out it still won’t be too cold before I wake up. So far 18 degrees outside and 64 in the morning.

Carrying wood to the second floor is part of my get in shape program. Every time I go downstairs for something I try to bring up an armload of wood. We don’t have good seasoned oak here just spruce and birch so it takes a lot. The best part is how good it feels to come up the stairs without an armload of wood.

32 degrees in the greenhouse yesterday morning with 18 outside. That foam insulation really works. Next year I will try to have a heat source to extend the season on both ends. Cory and I brought the tamaders into the great room the last day he was here. Hopefully a few more will ripen on the vine.

The other part of the get in shape program is the treadmill. Our neighbors at Wolf Lake gave it to us and it had been in the shed here at the cabin. I have it facing the windows upstairs looking at the river and Mt. McKinley. Makes the time pass quicker as I look at the mountain thinking about Marty Rainey of Homestead Rescue fame, telling me about carrying a guitar to the top so he could play a song he wrote, “Strum it from the Summit”. I knew him back when he wasn’t so famous. I also think and try to calculate in my head how many gallons of water goes past in a minute or 20 minutes while racking up steps on the mill. It would be like Joe thinking about”How many wheels would a canoe have if a duck lived in a doghouse?” Just the way he runs the administration. Stupidest man to ever enter the Oval Office, bar none.

Anyway current about 3.5 miles an hour, river maybe 100 yards wide, depth maybe average 4 feet. 3.5 miles per hour equals 308 feet a minute times 300 feet wide times 4 feet deep equals 369,600 cubic feet. At 7.48 gallons per cubic foot equals 2,764,608 gallons of water. That’s at low and slow water conditions. What does that weigh? Friends that is one heck of a bunch of water to strain with a fishing lure hunting for a salmon.

Well that occupied 20 minutes on the treadmill.

Another thing I do is to think about what to write in the view from the outhouse. I have ideas go through my mind while treadmilling that would split a normal man’s skull wide open. Luckily by the time I have finished my cool down I have forgotten most of them.

Now as I promised. How is Pete Butigeg qualified to be Secretary of Transportation? He has been rear ended numerous times.

From the treadmill high above Silty Slough, I hope you were entertained and or enlightened. I wish you well.

Thank you Lord for your beautiful creation.

I’ll be in touch.

Blue skies!!!

Monday July 4, 2022

The View from the Outhouse

Happy “Independence Day” from Silty Slough. It’s been 3 months since my last post and a lot of water has gone down the river since then. We have been working a hard to get the Asylum ready for the foam insulation. We are headed to town today with three boats to pick up the equipment and crew. We brought the material out 10- 55 gallon barrels winter before last and have been “babysitting” it to be sure it didn’t freeze. It will be nice to have it out of the shop and in the walls and ceiling stopping the propane leaks this winter. We only need two boats but last trip out our boat started making an unfamiliar noise so Cory is going to come in with his boat along with Roger in his boat, and me in our boat, just in case. Quick trip, in today and back out at 8 tomorrow morning. The weather has been very dry, one small shower in the past 3 months. Pretty unusual for here, but we are happy since we had to open up the cabin roof for about a week while we tied in the roof to the addition. As soon as the roof is foamed from the top we can get the metal on and be in the dry.

Mayor Cooper and I are always looking for ways to make this place tax deductible. Last trip to town we came up with the ultimate scam, I mean plan. Everything will be in Cooper’s name. They don’t send dogs to prison do they? I guess not Hillary.

Anyway when we were in town last trip, Kari and I went to the courthouse to get me registered to be able to marry Jenny and Ben in August. Special thing in Alaska.

I thought you were only ably to perform the ceremony for only one couple once in your life. The court clerk printed out the paperwork and said it was good for a year and an unlimited number of marriages. The Silty Slough Wedding Chapel is born. Some people say the asylum looks like a church from the river anyway. We can have destination wedding packages. Transportation to the Slough, catering, maybe line up a fishing trip or bear hunt on the side. We can rent out the neighbors cabin on the sly to the newlyweds. I think I can design an inflatable steeple for the roof to be inflated on wedding days. We will deflate it while we are having wild parties on the deck. Wouldn’t want to tussle in a church. This makes everything deductible. The new suit I bought. The $25 to get registered. The trips to town. Cooper, I can see a new boat and maybe even a new airplane in our future. BobbyRay will be having Joe and the Ho sending us money on April 15th. This is just about the ultimate scam, almost as big as the Clinton Foundation. If any of you have friends that want to get married let Cooper or I know. We have been listening to Neil Diamond’s “Dr Love’s Traveling Salvation Show” just to get into the spirit.

I’ll do a quick overview of the happenings at the Slough.

February 24

Had cataract surgery on my left eye. Got the patch off the next day. Now my distant vision is 20/20. Near vision not so much. 3 different eye drops 3 times a day, no lifting or straining for a week or so. Same for right eye 2 weeks later.

As soon as I could drive and ride the snow machine Kari headed to Minnesota, Indiana, and Michigan for 3 weeks.

I started jumping through the hoops to get my FAA medical back. Cardiologist appointments, sleep doctor, hospital records. Got everything together and went for my medical exam. Squeaked through the eye test without my final near vision eyeglass prescription. Everything ok. Still waiting to hear from Oklahoma City on their review.

Cory kept the fire burning and took care of the cats while we were in town. Kari got back from Michigan mid March and we made the last trip on the snow machines for the year. Her one and only trip BTW.

April

Cory suggested that we harvest some more logs while we can drag them with the snow machine, so he and Roger came for a few days and now we have almost a hundred logs to mill.

Now we are just waiting for the river to thaw.

May

The river level is low so the breakup was very gentle. It is different every year. Kari and I started working in the addition now that it is about 40 degrees. We got the tubing in for the in floor heat on the second level and roughed in the plumbing drains and vents.

May 18

Kari and I were watching a movie. Cooper was outside. He came to the door and laid quietly on the step. We didn’t pay much attention and about 20 minutes later she let him in. He had a nose and mouth full of porcupine quills. What now, no boats in the river yet, no way to town except by helicopter. Call Roger. Take needle nose pliers and pull them out. Be careful and don’t break them off because they will migrate through the body over time and can get into the heart, lungs, or other organs. Kari held Cooper and I pulled. He didn’t make a sound. Got 32 out, one may have broken off. Pulled one out of his nose from between his nostrils and the blood squirted. Still Mayor Cooper didn’t make a sound. I know he is tougher than Joe Biden, smarter too.

Roger got his boat in on the 20th and ran us to town. Direct to the vet. They checked the Coop and didn’t find any more quills.

Gave him some medicine and said to watch him for a week.

3 weeks in town this trip.

The next day we met up with high school classmate Claudia Huddleston and her husband Dale for a short visit. Later in the week they returned to Anchorage and we met them and their traveling companions again. Very enjoyable.

While we were waiting on Cooper to be sure he was ok, we got the boat ready to launch. At some point I started coughing more than normal so I went to the doctor. Kari was coughing a bit also. I tested positive for Covid. Doctor prescribed some meds made by Pfizer, yea that’s the same people that make the vaccine that doesn’t work. No cost to me, all paid for by the government. Goes to Pfizer then back to Joe and the Ho to get there cut. Remember folks nothing is free. Where is the Ho anyway haven’t seen anything about her. Must be working nights.

Kari and I are healed Cooper is ok, although we pulled another quill out that was sticking pointed end out of his lip.

June

Back to the cabin. Fixed the slow fueling problem on the boat. Ran fine. Don’t get me started about fuel. Boat holds 96 gallons. Don’t see too many Biden supporters by the gas pump. If I did I would probably punch them in the face. I know I can’t do that. Cooper could bite their balls off, but they don’t have any, so I guess that’s out too.

The weather forecast still looks good. Still no rain. Can’t put it off any longer. Time to take the roof off the existing cabin and tie in the addition. It took Roger and Cory about a week to get everything done and ready for insulation.

Cory and I are working in the crawl space on the tubing for the heat and the water lines. Roger is doing electrical. He and his grandson Keith are milling beams and framing the front porch. We are quickly approaching the deadline to have everything in the walls and ceiling before Tuesday when the foaming starts.

It’s been pretty hectic for a while but the new deck is usable. Nice to sit and look at the mountain, watching the river while sipping on a Bloody Mary or margarita after work.

Other than that not much happening in the Slough.

From the Silty Slough Wedding Chapel, I wish you well my friends.

Thank you Lord for no rain. We could use some after Thursday.

I’ll be in touch.

Blue skies!!!