Busy Times

Sunrise on the Yentna River





OK where to start? It has been a busy week. At least for Roger. The temperatures are climbing and the snow is getting really soft so everyone is pushing to get the last of the freighting done before the river trail is no longer usable. Therefore most of the freighting is being done like from 3-4 am until mid morning. The temps are still dropping low enough to harden up the trail during the night so the freighters have to "make hay" while they can. Trying to haul during the day is just asking to burn up your machine. Which several of the haulers have done in the past week. Which was kind of to our advantage cause then they have been calling Roger to haul while they fix their machines. The bad part about it is that we had to cancel our day trip up the "ice road". Well I guess you just can't have it all.

I have been working on various things around the cabin as well as just doing the everyday things that need done i.e. bring in wood, make sure generator gets started on time, empty buckets, vacuum, laundry, meals at strange times (Whenever Roger can manage to stop in for one, Friday night was @ 11:30 pm). I also did some data entry this past week for Shan over at Northwoods Lodge.

The "Harvest Moon"

On my way back home from Northwoods on Wednesday I managed to put the 600 on its side. Tom from Bentalit Lodge (which is between Northwoods and our place) has been bulldozing snow around the upper airstrip and also the trails that run near it, getting ready to start using that airstrip again. They use the upper one spring, summer and fall and the one down on the swamp during the winter. I was heading for the trail into the woods and hit the "bank" wrong where he had dozed the snow  and OH CRAP! Over I went. It really was pretty comical, seemed like slow motion. Oh and of course I had an audience. Tom and Willy were just beyond that point loading wood to haul to Bentalit and saw the whole thing. Tom can move pretty quick for a 70 year old I do have to say. He was scared I was hurt. I wasn't, just kind of embarrassed. I let Tom know that I was OK and he did slow down. I had the machine righted by the time he got to me and Tom of course let me know that it happens to everyone. OK so got the machine started, took a different approach to the woods trail and made it home in one piece. Whew!

I really hate it when that kind of thing happens, but at least with the 600 most of the time I kind get it upright by myself. Not the Skandic that is for sure! Had to walk home and call for help the time I put that on its side. Thank God for good neighbors.

I have managed to finish a crocheted wool hat for Roger and started on a "paper clip" hanging light this week. By the way Christy, thanks for the hoop thingy and I am doing it in the colored paper clips. The silver ones were just too fancy looking for our cabin. It is turning out pretty neat looking but I have run out of paper clips so Roger will get more for me when he gets back from Ohio. He leaves tomorrow afternoon for Anchorage, flies out at like 1 am for Ohio where he will be doing his CE class to maintain his Ohio electrical license. He will be gone for a week so I will be here by myself. Wishing I was going with him so that I could see the kids and grandkids but...... someone has to take care of the "homestead" and the critters. I will be in Ohio from mid July until mid August for Mandy and Rick's wedding. They will be getting married on August 13th but I am going early so that I can be there for the shower and to help with some stuff. This week while Roger is gone I am hoping to spend the majority of time decorating the favor boxes. I am stamping and embossing them. It is quite a bit of work but it is a labor of love. I can't be there to do a lot of things but this is something I can do.

King of the Wood Pile!

Nap Time on the Wood Pile

So this past Friday I went to Northwoods again to finish the data entry, and on Saturday went up to the Skwentna Roadhouse for a potluck and a meet and greet type deal with representatives from 2 companies, one that put in the ice road to move heavy equipment upriver for the new mine and is the one putting in the natural gas pipeline to the new mine. The other company is the one putting in the new mine. I rode up and back with Eric and Shan from Northwoods Lodge. On the way home from Northwoods I thought "OK lets try  a different approach to the woods trail so that maybe I won't tip the snow machine over." It was late afternoon, the snow is soft and I am on a short, narrow track machine. Not the best combo. I decided to run between the air strip where Tom is busy bulldozing the snow off and the old trail that we used before he dozed it to haul his wood through. Had to keep some speed up so that the machine didn't sink too far in the soft snow, doing OK, made it across the snow, across the bulldozed trail, hit the beginning of the woods trail and one ski overshot the trail and OH CRAP, not again. Nope didn't tip it over but it sunk all the way down to the seat. GRRRRRRR! I really am getting sick and tired of this. It is a royal pain to get machines out when this happens. Got to dig out some of it, pack a path in front of it, etc. etc. Takes a bit of time and energy that is for sure. Oh and that is after you get through the snow that you have sunk to your thighs in. I started working on getting the machine out and I look up and here is Tom coming over on his dozer. He hops off, comes over helps lift the back end and says, "The heck with this I have a chain and a bulldozer, I'll pull it out". Of course about every other step you take right now you sink to your thighs so it was a challenge just to hook up the chain but Thanks again Tom! You are my "Hero". Made it the rest of the way home without any more problems but even the woods trails are getting soft.

Hans wants in & Isabelle wants out! Grass is always greener
on the other side of the fence eh!

Won't be long now and we will not be traveling for a bit. There will be a period of time when the snow is too soft or not enough left to run snow machines and it will be too mucky and watery to run the four wheelers, unless you want to get stuck in the deep muck. So when Roger gets back from Ohio he will do one more stock up grocery shopping, fuel etc before he heads home. I only hope that the river trail holds out til then. If not he will probably forgo the fuel, get the groceries and fly back out. Not much choice if the river isn't safe to travel. Most of the guys that haul freight say that you can usually run the river safely until about mid April. Praying that that holds true this year but a lot of folks have been saying that it has warmed up earlier than usual this spring. Time will tell I guess. Oh and it is out of my control!

Sunset on the Yentna River

Well it is about time to end this. Need to find a bite to eat, (can't cook anything right now cause Roger took all the propane tanks in with him to get them filled), probably should get started on making some space to bring in the dog food and other food stuffs that we have stored on the back porch this winter. Time to move it inside, the bears will be waking up soon and they LOVE dog food! That is what is used for baiting them if you have the proper permits to do so! Roger hopefully will be home in the next hour or so and then we will need to make sure a few things are done before he leaves tomorrow. It seems like there is always something that needs done, or fixed or whatever!

Bald Eagle along the Yentna River

Thanks for taking time to share our adventures. Hope you all have a great day! Blessings, Myra