Tag: remote-living

Saturday November 3, 2025

Good morning, morning, hello sunshine.
Our resident eagle.
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

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!!!