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!!!

Sunday December 31, 2023

The View from the Outhouse

Good morning from Silty Slough, everyone. I slept in this morning, let the fire go out but there is little change in the indoor temperature, about 68. The outside temp changed big time overnight. I knew it would be good when I turned the porch light on and saw snow falling. It is 35 degrees warmer than last night. Plus 10 degrees now. I started a fire in the stove, turned on the burner for the coffee pot, and started this post. The women woke up had some coffee and Jess started breakfast. Bacon, scrambled eggs, home baked sourdough toast, with a glass of tomato juice for $13.75 plus tip.

Prime rib and shrimp turned out excellent.

After breakfast I made a swing by the outhouse in my pj bottoms, t shirt, and Crocks. Figured I might as well try the heater one more time since I’m out strolling around. I plugged it in and pressed the power button. No 33 error code yet, it should appear in a couple seconds. But heater lit off, no code. I guess it was too cold for the overheat sensor to operate properly yesterday. Cancel that parts order. I don’t need no stinking repair parts now.

Jess spotted a moose across the river. I took a picture. It is the tiny black dot in the center of the frame. I titled it “Moose in the middle”.

With the warmer weather I should cross some things off my to do list.

Check the generator diesel tank quantity

Replace the shock in the rear suspension on my snow go

Dig out my freight sled

Water solar batteries

Carry in wood

Treadmill

That’s all crossed off. I’ll get to them later today or tomorrow.

Maybe time to take a nap so I can stay awake until midnight New York time.

From the Silty Slough, I hope everyone has a Great New Year!!

Thank you Lord for your many blessings!

I’ll be in touch.

Blue skies!!!

Saturday December 30, 2023

The View from the Outhouse

Good afternoon from Silty Slough.

-25 now up from -30 when I went outside at 4:30 this morning.

I shot myself in the foot with my post on Friday. I said I wasn’t going outside unless the generator failed to autostart. Guess what….Saturday morning Kari looked downstairs and a light was flashing on the autostart controller. I better check it out. -27 when I went out to check it and reset the control box on the generator. I attempted one start, didn’t start. Ok save the battery. This job is going to take more clothes. The heater in the generator shed that also semi warms the outhouse was flashing a 33 code. I made several attempts to reset it but I can’t get it going. I’ll get the Honda 2000 that I keep in the shop because it is almost impossible to start cold. I try it inside and it won’t start. No problem I have an outlet powered from the house system in the generator shed just in case. Under the deck I have a new bullet heater. Feels light when I pick it up, so I know it needs fuel. Carry it out to the diesel tank. The fuel hose there is so stiff it won’t bend or twist to get the nozzle in the filler. I finally get the heater jockeyed around enough to fill it. I know when it is cold the nozzle sticks and won’t shut off, so I quit early. Let the handle snap. The fuel slowly stopped flowing and the handle fell out of the nozzle and promptly rolled into the snow. I shut the tank valve off, will get to the nozzle repair on a warmer day. Ok take the heater to the generator shed. Plug it in and it fires right up. Position it so I don’t burn the place down. I’m not cold yet so I might as well try to see how much propane is in the 100 pound bottle for the heater. It is frozen down, so I picked up a chunk of 4×4 and give it a couple whacks. The tank rocks, the frozen rubber hose cracks and starts shooting propane at me. I rock the tank back and it stopped, so I shut off the valve. I guess the tank isn’t empty. I took the rubber line off and looked for a replacement in the greenhouse, which is 3 degrees inside without any heat source. Maybe I should move the generator into the greenhouse. Anyway the one copper line I have has too small of a fitting on the end that connects to the regulator. I have another rubber line with the end broken off. I’ll use an air hose barb and clamp to make it work. Ok now I have a good hose with a POL fitting on it to connect to the tank. Do you know why it is called that? Prest-O-Lite is the company that developed them and set the standard. Enough education back to trouble shooting and problem solving. I installed the hose, hooked up the POL fitting to the tank and turned it on. It has been long enough so I tried a start on the generator, started but died, second attempt it ran. We are in business….cooking with gas, diesel, and electricity. I’ll go in and google the 33 code on the heater. With a smartphone, an internet connection, and Google anybody can be a know it all. I need the model number so back out to the shed and photograph the data plate. I’m sure I have a photo in my phone but I don’t want to look through 30,000 picts. Has anyone heard from Kamala lately? She hasn’t checked in with me about this cats-ass-trophy I’m faced with. Probably couldn’t handle it anyway.

After some study a 33 code is a $6 switch. Of course it is a holiday and I can’t get one shipped until Tuesday. I’ll order a couple to have an extra one on hand to be assured that some other part will fail next time.

I’ll leave the generator run until bedtime so it won’t need to start until Saturday afternoon. What’s a couple gallons of diesel fuel in a bankruptcy of this size anyway.

The women are still cooking like some army is coming over.

Needed to get the prime rib to room temp to cook it last night. I guess sewing and quilting got in the way so we had Portillo’s Chicago style hot dogs. One twist, Kari had some relish made with green tomatoes that she canned a couple years ago. Awesome!! Jess made bearing sausage gravy, sausage patty, biscuits, and scrambled eggs for breakfast this morning.

-21 now. Couple more degrees and I will attempt a start on the generator. Their sewing and ironing have sucked some juice. Made sure they took the prime rib out. I’ll carry in a couple loads of wood. Surprisingly we aren’t using very much. It stays about 70 in here. I suppose all the cooking and baking helps. Rattle those pans ladies. Next week is going to be diet city for me.

One more thing… the dogs were going crazy, barking, and carrying on. Jess looked out and 3 coyotes were running down the river. Must have missed the roadrunner.

Everyone stay safe and healthy, and stay out of Walmart.

Thank you Lord for watching over us!!

I’ll be in touch.

Blue skies!!!

Thursday December 21, 2023

The View from the Outhouse

Ready to depart as soon as I move the snow machine.

Turning these on has to waste a lot of electricity.

Hello everyone from Silty Slough. Today is the first day of winter 7 below zero at noon on the shortest day of the year. The sun rose at 10:28 and will set at 3:37 5 hours and 9 minutes of daylight. Tomorrow we gain a few seconds and the salmon turn around and start swimming back toward Alaska.

After Thanksgiving Kari and I trimmed out the beadboard walls and ceiling in the master bathroom.

I plowed snow and did other cabin chores.

I figured flying was over until spring but received the welcomed call letting me know I had won an all expense paid trip to Kelowna, BC, overnight, then to Yellowknife, NT and back to Anchorage. The river is still not frozen good enough for travel so Chris from Pollux Aviation came out and picked me up in one of their R44 helicopters. Life isn’t all skittles and beer flying the jet. Up at 2:30 am to show up at 5 for a 7 o’clock departure. Short day though only a little over 3 hours to Kelowna, have lunch then take a nap before dinner. A lot of my job is efficiently wasting time between flights. Next day, non stop to Yellowknife. It is dark and cold when we arrive. Bought some fuel and the crew we are transporting arrives. They jump off their plane and hop into ours. Back home to Anchorage and in bed by 11pm. Could have been a little earlier but I made a stop at the Country Store for a scoop of butter pecan ice cream. I figured I owed it to myself. Day after tomorrow we do a quick day trip to Fairbanks. That should do it until spring.

I’m going to hang around Wolf Lake a few days. I need to dig the trailer out and go pick up my new snow machine in Anchorage. It has snowed a lot this year and my main chore is blowing snow followed by replacing shear pins in the blower. Got 3 at once when I picked up an 18” piece of 2 x 6 that the trailer tongue I plowed out was sitting on. The stupid operator makes the snow blowers life a hard one. A lot of things are like that with machines and life. I have a few more days to wait to fly back out to the cabin. Our grandson, Thor has a test on the 14th so I’m flying out on the 16th and he will fly back in to go to Hawaii to visit his family there for Christmas.

Kari has a list of food and supplies for the holidays along with all the packages that arrived in the mail. I’ll take the R-66 helicopter back out. It has a turbine engine that takes up less space and leaves room for a baggage compartment. I spent a couple days shopping at Costco and Fred Meyer. I hit the mother lode, Friday is 4x fuel points.

Saturday morning the 16th Jess and Steve Gahan showed up to help me pack everything and get it to the other side of the airport to Pollux. I think they just came over to make sure I was really leaving, since they have been feeding me almost every night. Chris did an amazing job packing the helicopter. You couldn’t have fit another popsicle stick in. Nice flight. Still quite a bit of open water on the rivers. Glad I took the helicopter. Kari and Thor were waiting when we arrived at the landing spot at the top of the ramp.

Chris left it running while we unloaded. Do you ever notice how much taller you feel when the rotor blades are spinning over your head? Everyone always ducks. We load Thor’s bags and give him a hug. He is off for Hawaii. Meanwhile in Silty Slough there are things to put away, snow to plow, things to repair.

While I was away they turned the Northern Lights on. Thor took pictures and wanted me to post some.

There is some traffic on the river now. Mostly iron doggers, no heavy freight haulers yet. Temps are colder now so it won’t be much longer until we can start hauling.

Jess is coming out for Christmas since Steve has to work. We have the R-66 loaded again with food, supplies, and quilting fabric.

Roger and Andy are going to try to make it to the post office today. First trip in almost 3 months. We are going to try to head to town by snow machine right after new years.

On a side note, I just read the truss plant roof in Anchorage caved in from snow. I thought these were the people that knew all about roof design and snow loads.

From Silty Slough, Kari, Mayor Cooper, Teddy, Oden the cat, Piper, and I wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Thank you Lord for your many blessings!!

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!!!

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 October 24, 2022

The foam insulation is being sprayed from the top. Then the last of the purlins will go on followed by the metal roofing.

The View from the Outhouse

Hello all from Silty Slough. I know it has been a while. I post about as regular as I did my homework in high school over 50 years ago. I squeaked through with good test scores. Some things never change. Please don’t refer to my post as only “The View” when you are sharing it with your friends and family. I wouldn’t want to be mistaken for the program on the main stream media and my ratings go down. I copy most of the posts to my blog on WordPress at siltyslough.com. I have to get a pitch in because it is time to pay up to renew my domain, so I hope both of my readers will kick in a little bit. I also thought about paying for the app Grammarly to improve my grammar. Mr. Whitenack would have been happier, but the rest of you would have thought it wasn’t me doing the writing anymore, so I decided to save the money.

I’m not sure where the last post left off. I can’t go and check the archives at Mar-a-Lago because the FBI confiscated them in the raid. No, in all seriousness the one and only cell tower we get a signal from has been down since the 18th. It is on top of Shell Hill and they have to fly there by helicopter to service and fuel it. They fixed it, it worked about half a day then it ran out of fuel, then they flew fuel out, it worked for about an hour, then it failed, then the fog rolled in and they couldn’t fly. It finally cleared up Sunday. I guess they don’t fix cell towers on Sunday. I watched all day today Monday for the helicopter to fly by. Must be waiting for parts for the helicopter or the cell site. Maybe tomorrow. My Spot emergency locator is supposed to be able to send and receive text messages but so far no joy. So, it’s pretty lonely out here. BTW did I mention Kari went to Michigan for family stuff on the 12th. I have a couple more weeks before she gets back. So far I can’t find the onion soup mix so I can make dip with the sour cream that needs to be eaten before it spoils. I also cannot find the fingernail clips or my mini-iPad. Now I have to clip my nails with diagonal cutters from my toolbox. They are called dikes but I can’t say that. I also have to type this post with my index finger on my iPhone 7plus. We like to keep up with the latest technology here in the slough.

I’ll pick it up with the foam insulation. Statewide Foam came out and foamed the roof, walls, underside of the first floor, crawl space, septic tank, and greenhouse. I wanted to have the underside of the second floor foamed over the hydronic heating plates and also have the root cellar done, but that got screwed up. I talked them into leaving their equipment and having a guy come back the next weekend to do the underside of the floor for only a thousand bucks extra. The root cellar didn’t get any foam. I think I can get a couple foam packs from Lowe’s and do it for about another $800. Too many cooks usually spoil the broth. Anyway the foam is in, the metal is in place above it, completing the roof. In the dry, feels good. After about 3 months of dry weather the rains started the next day. I can’t remember how long it has rained, but trust me, a long time. The river stayed high enough all summer that there was only one time that we could not park our boat in the slough.

Roger took off 3 weeks to guide a fishing trip then another month to work on his honey do list. Kari and I were in town part of the time for FAA doctor stuff. We made a couple trips in the boat hauling more material. When we were at the cabin Cory, Kari, and I did a bunch of interior work while it rained. During the dry spots we finished the porch over the front door. Kari and I tiled the wall and floor in the great room to make a place for the wood stove. We all three hoisted the wood stove up the outside of the deck with a chain hoist, Amsterdam style. The front of the buildings in Amsterdam all lean out. I thought they were just slowly settling into the canals. But they were built that way because of the narrow stairways, the furniture is hoisted up and down the outside of the buildings. Each one has a beam and pulley sticking out. Cory also hoisted a treadmill upstairs for us. Wait till Kari brings the piano out.

A few days during the last couple weeks Roger worked on the electrical while Cory and I tied in the heating for the addition to the boiler and plumbed the rest of the drains that were stubbed through the foam in the crawl space to the septic tank. We also did some outside chores to get things ready for winter.

Late last week Roger’s boat had to come out of the river because the ice man is coming to get us. So no more crew until at least Thanksgiving depending when the river is solid enough to ride snow machines on.

It was 18 degrees this morning with ice chunks floating down the river. They thinned out a bit when the temperature got up to 37. I’m sure they will be back thick in the morning. I’m hoping the snow will hold off until Kari gets back out here so she can land in a plane on wheels. That’s a lot to wish for. Otherwise it’s a helicopter trip for her to get home.

That’s about enough, actually too much for now.

Next post I’ll talk about the wood stove, the treadmill, and why Pete Butegeig is qualified to be secretary of transportation.

Thank you Lord for watching over us.

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!!!