Finally I have a little energy left to catch up on the blog. We slept in this morning until after 10:00 and had bacon and eggs for brunch about noon before we started working. It has been a long time since I have had a morning like this one. It felt really different, almost one of those guilty pleasures, like Awe I shouldn't have but! At least there was no hangover or ill feelings involved.
Where to start?
OK, I live in Alaska on one of the best Salmon fisheries in the world. My boat stays in the water and it is my main mode of transportation. I have 3 great clear water creeks within 6 miles of me and I have one Salmon in the freezer. I have been fishing 3 times for a total of about 15 hours this entire year. Last year I lived in Ohio, had to pull my boat at least an hour to go to any fishing water. I spent nearly a month fishing in Canada and several day trips around Ohio and the lakes. Hum, I am really going to have to fix this next year.
I am done whining (at least for now).
We have been in this cabin since June 10th. We have cleared a fairly large area of what will become yard eventually, right now it is just trimmed forest floor. We have a lot of bark, twigs, weed mulch, dirt, twigs, past occupant debris, twigs, downed wood, more twigs and more still to clean up. We will weed whack one more time this fall and call it good for this year. Our yard will be white before you know it and the stuff on the ground won't be seen for 6 or 7 months. We do clean continuously while walking around but it is a huge task. The forest floor is about 6 inches thick at least before you see any signs of dirt and this 6 inches covers a lot of stuff that just keeps coming to the surface. Eventually we will have it exposed long enough that it will decay and we will be able to plant grass.
I have jacked up the cabin 3 times since June 10th. As you know I dropped it twice. Like most things I did get better at dropping it. It fell from much higher the second time than it did the first. The cabin is now at what I believe is its final resting height and we have started building the back porch, even though the cabin is not on its permanent pilings. We will put
it on the pilings next summer, we have got to move forward with things before winter.
We have logged over 1600 miles of river travel since June 10th. That sounds like alot until you think that it is 130 miles round trip, just to go to the landing. Do the math and this is 10 trips to the landing, 3 trips to Dan and Jeans and fishing since June 10th. When you think about hauling all groceries, gas, propane, fuel oil, most household belongings, 2 ATVs, building materials and everything in ten trips, that is not very many trips. How many times have you stopped at a convenience store, gas station, grocery store or other store in the last week, or the month of August?
Where to start?
OK, I live in Alaska on one of the best Salmon fisheries in the world. My boat stays in the water and it is my main mode of transportation. I have 3 great clear water creeks within 6 miles of me and I have one Salmon in the freezer. I have been fishing 3 times for a total of about 15 hours this entire year. Last year I lived in Ohio, had to pull my boat at least an hour to go to any fishing water. I spent nearly a month fishing in Canada and several day trips around Ohio and the lakes. Hum, I am really going to have to fix this next year.
I am done whining (at least for now).
We have been in this cabin since June 10th. We have cleared a fairly large area of what will become yard eventually, right now it is just trimmed forest floor. We have a lot of bark, twigs, weed mulch, dirt, twigs, past occupant debris, twigs, downed wood, more twigs and more still to clean up. We will weed whack one more time this fall and call it good for this year. Our yard will be white before you know it and the stuff on the ground won't be seen for 6 or 7 months. We do clean continuously while walking around but it is a huge task. The forest floor is about 6 inches thick at least before you see any signs of dirt and this 6 inches covers a lot of stuff that just keeps coming to the surface. Eventually we will have it exposed long enough that it will decay and we will be able to plant grass.
I have jacked up the cabin 3 times since June 10th. As you know I dropped it twice. Like most things I did get better at dropping it. It fell from much higher the second time than it did the first. The cabin is now at what I believe is its final resting height and we have started building the back porch, even though the cabin is not on its permanent pilings. We will put
it on the pilings next summer, we have got to move forward with things before winter.We have logged over 1600 miles of river travel since June 10th. That sounds like alot until you think that it is 130 miles round trip, just to go to the landing. Do the math and this is 10 trips to the landing, 3 trips to Dan and Jeans and fishing since June 10th. When you think about hauling all groceries, gas, propane, fuel oil, most household belongings, 2 ATVs, building materials and everything in ten trips, that is not very many trips. How many times have you stopped at a convenience store, gas station, grocery store or other store in the last week, or the month of August?
Since June 10th I have cut down, cut up, split and stacked eight cords of fire wood. I still have more to do because we need more dry wood as previously described.
Since June 10th we have cut a clearing to the river so we have view from the cabin. It rained 31 days straight before we could see the mountains through our clearing. We cut an approx 1000 foot atv trail to our boat landing from the cabin. Some day I am going to have to measure that trail. It is a different length every time we mention it.
Since June 10th we have added a water pump and running water in the cabin (sort of). We still have to haul the water to the pump but we pressurize it and have it come out a faucet now. We have installed our RV refrigerator through the wall of the cabin (no longer using the hole in the ground). We have relocated the stairs in the cabin and made some new hand railings. We have caulked and sealed the windows. We have started installing the new fuel oil (back up) furnace. We have started installing the water heater. We have installed 2000 amp hour batteries and a 5000 watt power inverter for electricity. (we still use extension cords for a wiring system, all except the fridge). We have to run the generator every two or three days to charge the batteries.
Since June 10th, we have had the bears visit the cabin 4 times while we are here and 5 times while we are gone. I have blown up one grouse and we have eaten one of the freshest Silver Salmon possible without it being sushie.
Since June 10th we have fixed atvs, installed satillite, hung shelving, rearranged the rearranged cabin then rearranged it again.
Since June 10th, we still have the same old daily chores as everyone else like; we have to Haul our water into the cabin, haul our waste water out of the cabin, haul our water from a nieghbors place. We have to add gas, change oil etc to the generators to make our electricity. Change propane bottles, pump gas from our storage barrels into gas cans, We have to burn trash, cook, do dishes, sweep, laundry, fix what breaks (alot of stuff), check on the boat a couple times a day, lawn care, bear watch etc. You know, all that mundane daily stuff just like everyone else.
Since June 10th, who knows what we have done that I have forgotten or it is too small to mention.
As Myra told you, we have virtually all items to the cabin now. The only thing left at the Deshka Landing is the wooden box we built on the trailer, the stainless steel we had on the floor of the trailer and of course, the trailer its' self. What this means is we have a lot of "stuff" to deal with at the cabin. I was able to put all of the tools in the "Tarsp". This is what we have affectionately named the blue tarp workshop. It took me another full day to stack and sort stuff in the tarsp so that I could actually use some of it and be able to move around in there. We have one tarp covering things by the front door. About 8 totes and some wicker baskets and a folding table and whatever else is under it. The cabin, well it got overwhelmed for a few days but much progress was made.
Myra has worked like a squirrel packing things away. I think she even buried some nuts in the process. We have to make ONE MORE TRIP to town for final stock up for fresh meats and freezer items so that we will be all set (I hope) for our isolation time. Myra has managed to make room for all of the items that can't freeze inside the cabin. She is a master packer.
We have hung the TVs on the wall upstairs and down. We don't get any stations but the one upstairs has a built in DVD player and the one downstairs will work for movies, the Wii and I am hoping I can plug in my laptop to it and watch Internet TV. Internet TV is OK. I use a service called Hulu, that is free to use. Most of the programs are from one week to 40 years old. I can watch Tele Savalas on Kojak. Who loves ya Babe'? Anyhow, there are commercials and stuff just like regular TV and it works to get a TV "fix" once in a while. We can't use the service until after 10:00 pm because it uses so much Internet download capacity and we are limited in how much satellite time we can use except from 10:00pm until 3:00am. Between 10 and 3 we can download all we want but only then, so that's when I can watch TV. I don't watch much TV anymore as you might have guessed. We catch the Nascar races on Internet Radio stations most of the time but it is not always available. Other than this all of our entertainment comes from our surroundings, our work, the dogs and cats, the Internet and especially each other. The aging thing and being together nearly 100% of the time is pretty cool. More on this later, Myra has something to say about this.
Myra has worked like a squirrel packing things away. I think she even buried some nuts in the process. We have to make ONE MORE TRIP to town for final stock up for fresh meats and freezer items so that we will be all set (I hope) for our isolation time. Myra has managed to make room for all of the items that can't freeze inside the cabin. She is a master packer.
We have hung the TVs on the wall upstairs and down. We don't get any stations but the one upstairs has a built in DVD player and the one downstairs will work for movies, the Wii and I am hoping I can plug in my laptop to it and watch Internet TV. Internet TV is OK. I use a service called Hulu, that is free to use. Most of the programs are from one week to 40 years old. I can watch Tele Savalas on Kojak. Who loves ya Babe'? Anyhow, there are commercials and stuff just like regular TV and it works to get a TV "fix" once in a while. We can't use the service until after 10:00 pm because it uses so much Internet download capacity and we are limited in how much satellite time we can use except from 10:00pm until 3:00am. Between 10 and 3 we can download all we want but only then, so that's when I can watch TV. I don't watch much TV anymore as you might have guessed. We catch the Nascar races on Internet Radio stations most of the time but it is not always available. Other than this all of our entertainment comes from our surroundings, our work, the dogs and cats, the Internet and especially each other. The aging thing and being together nearly 100% of the time is pretty cool. More on this later, Myra has something to say about this.
One more Time; Since June 10th, this has been an amazing adventure. I would not change a thing about this summer (except maybe dropping the cabin or losing the boat). I cannot wait to get up each morning and see what the day is going to bring. What I think I am going to do for the day and what God has planned for me is usually different and I have found it best to go with his plan, when and if I am able to figure out what his plan might be for the day. I never know what I am going to see out the window or while walking to the river. I never know what I am going to see while traveling on the atv or in the boat. Some of the sounds in the forest send chills down my spine and some of them make me shiver with joy and amazement. You should wake up to an eagle screach as it soars above, That is amazing! We have met people that willingly give of themselves and their things and they welcome us to the territory. Each person out here, is here for there own reason but the commonality of the adventure seems to bond us all together. I am yet to meet the rude store clerk or desgruntled worker out here, and that too makes this an amazing place. By the way, there are no stores or jobs out here but those personalities don't seem to exist out here either. I think we have met a total of 7 residents and 9 land owning (part time) adults and a handful of kids out here. I might have missed one or two.
Sunset at our place last night. I wish you could have seen it in person, The fog rising from the river and the colors can only be described by God and your own Minds eye. I surely can't put it into words.
Sunset at our place last night. I wish you could have seen it in person, The fog rising from the river and the colors can only be described by God and your own Minds eye. I surely can't put it into words.
Thank You for letting me Share this with you,
Roger
Roger
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