Wednesday, July 26, 2006

ETC

Jim and Polly seem to be getting off their Texas wake schedule and rose at eight this morning.  That would be eleven in Coldspring.  Those who know Jim and Polly well know that means there would be several upset horses and one very distraught pig had they been at home.  Not to worry, friends, Richard and Ina, were on hand to take care of the feeding and watering chores.

Polly beat the crowd to the wash room and had her clothes washing shortly after rising.

Onie was up at nine fixing a new pot of coffee and my tea.  When the tea was ready I rose to the occasion and had a cup.

Biscuits, scrambled eggs and stewed apples soon appeared from the kitchen courtesy of Onie.  Everyone agreed she had put another superb meal before us.  While she was preparing it I had spent a few minutes making more notes and wondering how long it would take me to flesh them out once the opportunity came.

We were falling behind on news as well as email since the web has been inaccessible for several days now.  The hot spot had gone cold and no one knew how long it would take to resuscitate it or bring it up to the proper operating temperature.  Time would tell.

While emptying the gray water and taking on more fresh water we threw the breaker to the coach and ran the generator.  The manufacturer recommends running it at least half an hour each month to keep all the gaskets and other parts well oiled.

Polly cleaned the mess left from breakfast including the kitchen utensils while Jim continued reading about Doc Holiday and Onie cleaned the coolers, riding them of all that fishy smell.

Sonny saw me puttering around outside, while the fresh water tank was filling, and came over to give me a lesson in how to tie snells with a bait loop.  After a few tries I had the procedure down if not the smooth product that was the result of his efforts.

While this was taking place Onie and Polly drove off to Soldotna to shop at a cute little mall we had discovered a few years earlier.  A particular shop there has a great variety of items suitable for gifts for friends and oneself.  When they finished there they went on to Safeway and the post office before coming back to the Marlin.

Ardith, Pricilla, Ted, Sonny and me visited about the alleged lack of reds.  Some of us felt the small limit, one, had its basis in politics while others thought it necessary to insure a good run in later years.  What was decided was that there were several opinions and that was that.

Jim had decided to try his luck again with the trout and enjoyed the warm sunny weather as he stood on the grate and drifted a hook baited with fresh salmon eggs down to the salmon lair.  Yes there really is such a place here.  It is thirty feet or so down river from the grate.  To get there it is necessary to throw the hook far out into the current and drift it in to the lair.  If one should attempt to send it directly downstream the small, six to eight inches long, trout grab the bait and you never get to the big ones, over twenty inches long.  It is true these larger trout can’t be kept but they are a lot of fun to catch and release.  When the fun is over one can always catch a small one for the table.

Just to prove that we had trout for supper.

The trout was preceded by a great salad and accompanied by turnip greens and cornbread.  As the five of us gathered round the table, Drew joined us, Polly offered thanks to God for our meal, friends and family as well as remembering those who are ill.

Later a campfire glowed in the failing light as we gathered near to roast marshmallows and make samores.  Ted and Pricilla drifted over as darkness came on and stayed to visit for a while.  As embers glowed in the fire ring we each found our way to our respective beds.  It was midnight.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

GOLD

Jim and Polly were up at seven thirty and hit the brew button on the coffee pot.  Soon Polly was enjoying some of the brew while Jim made himself a cup of International flavored coffee.  Their movements were quiet as mice and we slept on until seven o’clock, Hawaii time.  You do the math.

Tea was made and enjoyed while Onie put together the eggs and sausage.

Yesterday we had planned a big gold panning expedition at Quartz Creek and now we set our plans in motion.

Jim and I got our gold panning things together including our boots, so we could wade the gold laden waters, then went to check with Ted and Pricilla to see if they were ready.  Andrew came down from the cabins with his boots and gear in hand.  Everyone was ready so we set off.  Ted and Pricilla rode in their Jeep and the rest of us rode in Jim’s car.

Quartz Creek is back toward Anchorage, past Cooper Landing, and the long ride only excited the gold fever we had been experiencing since finding out that there was gold in the water.  Andrew opined as how he might pay someone to finish the restoration of his ’51 Chevy Coupe or maybe buy a new truck, with the rewards of his panning.  Jim was less ambitious, which I put down to the age difference, and said he would just like a larger tractor, a new barn, a few hundred acres of prime grazing land for the herd of horses that would surely expand with his new found wealth.  For myself I only wanted a few hundred acres of my own on which to hunt.  A nice ten acre lake fed by a running creek would satisfy me.  As our castles rose higher in the air we wondered if it would take more than an hour or two to get the necessary nuggets.  Being older and wiser I reminded Andrew not to bother with the small, marble sized, nuggets but to go for the big gold.  Our next trip would undoubtedly be in individual chauffer driven stretch Hummers.  Andrew wondered, aloud, how long it would take to get them once we ordered them. 

At long last we were at Quartz Creek where our new fortunes waited.  Unknown to Jim, Drew and me Ted and Pricilla were more interested in trout than in gold.  Seems they have a creek running through their property back in Maine.  It has gold in it and any time they need some they just go out and pick it up.  Good trout are more rare.

Andrew, being the youngest, had his boots on first and was off to the creek.  Jim and I followed gold pans in hand.  At the water we found Drew in the creek splashing around, turning over rocks, picking up stones, discarding them then moving on.  The gold wasn’t right here but it was close, to be sure.  Jim wasn’t so sure.  He had panned for gold in Colorado and had fore knowledge about the geology of creek beds where gold might be found; whatever that meant.  He translated and said the rocks didn’t look right but since we had reliable reports of gold here we were sure to find some.  Kneeling in the creek we turned rocks and I swirled the fine gravel in my pan.  I knew how this was done since I saw John Wayne do it in North to Alaska.  He was better at it the I was because he found gold.  What I had found was a million mosquitoes waiting to carry me off.  By the time the pests had become intolerable Jim was watching from shore and Andrew was down the creek fishing.  Ted and Pricilla had taken a break and were eating snacks they had brought with them.  Slightly disheartened by their early retirement and plagued by the state bird of Alaska, I walked to the car where a generous coating of mosquito repellant was applied to all exposed areas.  Then the search resumed.  Just as I was about to go back in the creek I saw a native.  Seeking his help inquiries were made as to where the gold was found in this mineral laden creek.  It was very easy to find for those who had the proper knowledge, he told me.  Perhaps he was going to reiterate Jim’s geological gibberish but no, he told me the gold was to found just a little way upstream.  One only need get in the car, drive back to the highway, park and cross the road.  There one would find a vendor that sold buckets of gold bearing gravel.  Each bucket was guaranteed to contain some gold.  I would recognize the place by the stretch Hummer parked out front and the liveried driver waiting next to it.  The proprietor had hit real pay dirt himself, tourists.  With my dreams of wild turkey stalking about my clear running creek while my deer browsed nearby and my squirrels ate their fill of pecans from my native pecan trees the gold pan was placed in the car.  My dreams were laid down with the pan.  As I came back to reality a plan began forming to visit Ted and Pricilla.

At the creek the rest of the party was ready to escape the flying pests and call it a day.  Loaded back in our vehicles we headed back to camp.  It was a long drive.

At camp we talked about the trout we had seen swimming with the spawning reds in Quartz Creek.  We also mentioned the magnificent scenery we had seen coming and going.

We also showed them the fillet knives Jim had bought at a shop, on the way home.  They were much better than gold and we could use them today.

Fred Meyer had also been stopped at on the way home, for fuel and then we washed a few pounds of grime off Jim’s car.

Jim set about catching some trout to try out his new fillet knife on.  Andrew headed up the hill to begin packing for his trip home.

Onie and Polly began preparing the evening meal, baked halibut, salad and broccoli.  Jim watched one of Onie’s favorite movies, March of the Penguins, on the laptop while I went to shower.

After dinner the ladies packed for their outing tomorrow, a tour of Kenai Fjords National Park.  When everything was ready Onie and I went to bed.  Jim and Polly were still watching the movie.

It was ten.

Friday, July 28, 2006

ON OUR OWN

The alarm on the telephone began beeping.  It was six a.m., time for the girls to get up.  They and Drew were to leave at seven to take the Kenai Fjords tour.  It left from Seward and they needed to allow time for the construction between here and there.  The door closed behind them at seven and they were on their way.

Jim was up at seven thirty and had his coffee and a breakfast bar.  A little later I made my way to the kitchen where I feasted on tea and two hard boiled eggs.  We were on our own and doing just fine, thank you.

Mail and agency work had stacked up in the last few days so that occupied me while Jim read on about Doc Holiday, his life and times.  Free Cell interrupted the agency work then the newspaper demanded reading and finally a shower was in order.  Being on our own was tough.  Jim read on.

When the day was a little older we hied off to Soldotna and the post office then motored on to Peninsula Furs where Jim found a couple of treasures.  I found some also but none I couldn’t live without.  While there we checked on Bill Hager’s beaver house shoes.  They hadn’t shipped yet but would, soon, perhaps tomorrow.

We headed back to the car wash where we washed Onie’s car and then stopped in at the Chinese buffet.  We were too late.  The lunch buffet was over and it was too early for the dinner buffet.  No problem.  We went right on to Suzie’s where we both had clam chowder and clam strips.  For a couple of guys on our own we were eating pretty good but not good enough.  We followed the chowder and clams with some fresh blueberry pie.  We waddled to the car and drove home.

At the Marlin Jim read while I caught up on some writing.  Later he went down and caught some more trout.

Andrew, Onie and Polly got home around ten.  They were all tired from their big day so warm ups served for supper before we all retired at eleven.

Here are some of the photos from their day.

First stop of the day, Exit Glacier in Seward.

Polly on quick hike around Exit Glacier National Park.

Polly and Andrew ready to board the Kenai Star.

Onie and Andrew, same spot.

Sea Otter as we're leaving the harbor.

Bear Glacier, first tidewater glacier on the tour.

Holgate Glacier. The captain cut engines so we could see and hear the calving

(glacier breaking and falling into the water) of this tidewater glacier. Calving

sounds like gunshots as the ice breaks off.

Sea Lions sunning.

We feasted our eyes on this site (Bald Eagle with chick) as we took a short side trip

on the way home looking for bears.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

SHOP TILL YOU DROP

It sounds like a broken record I know but Jim and Polly were up before we were.

When we did rise we enjoyed some coffee and tea before putting pancakes and bacon on the table at ten thirty.

Jim and Polly were seeing the minutes and hours tick away before they had to leave on the morrow.  Now they spent some time deciding what they could carry home in their carry ons and what could be left with us to bring later, in their storage boxes.  When the first round had been completed the ladies left in one car, to shop, and we left in the other car, to shop.

In Soldotna we saw the ladies as they were leaving the Homestead Jewelry Store just as we were entering.

Later we stopped at the post office to find the box empty.  They had been there too.

Now our paths diverged as we went to Fred Meyer to fuel the car for the trip tomorrow into Anchorage.  Our next stop was a mall where we looked for some Artic Nights perfume for Onie.  We didn’t find it but we did find a nice lady at Subway who agreed to sell us some ice cream in our size, large.

We carried on to the old Malfunction Junction location on the Spur Highway, got the phone number and called the new location.  It was right where I had looked a few days ago, next to Ben Brown’s, except the name had been changed to Northland Wildlife Studio.  We headed there.

As soon as we walked in we were both impressed with the airiness of the store and the tasteful displays.  Closer looking impressed us even further as we saw very good prices.  Jim got some Alaskan medallions for Van Brookshire and Richard Chambers, friends who had helped him recently.  For himself and Polly he bought a beautiful ------ --- pelt.

The Artic Nights perfume I wanted for Onie was right here on the shelf.  I got it.

We headed home and on the way the phone rang.  Onie and Polly were home, had been for a while, and were locked out.  The question was when would we be home.  The answer was in a matter of minutes and we were.

Onie and Polly spotted this moose close to the road on the way home and

enjoyed watching him cross the road just a few feet from them.

While Onie mixed some beer batter to cook halibut in Jim and I started a campfire.

Pricilla’s electric skillet was perfect for cooking the halibut and the salad the ladies made along with fresh corn on the cob filled our supper plates.  We ate around the campfire enjoying this last evening together in Alaska under the setting sun.

When paper plates were burning in the fire ring neighbors begin to drift by to tell Jim and Polly adios and wish them a safe journey home.  Though they had been here less than two weeks they had come to be known and loved by many of the regulars.

As the last to the well wishers left the glow of the campfire Jim, Ted and I went to the fish grate where Ted and I tried our hand at silvers.  We caught none.  Perhaps it was too early and they weren’t in the river yet.  Jim fished for trout.  Later Ted and I switched to trout and we each enjoyed catching some nice ones. At eleven thirty, with the sun behind the hill, we went to our rigs.

Jim, Polly, Onie and me visited until midnight when we turned out the lights.  Tomorrow was another day and it would be an extra long one for Jim and Polly.

Sunday, July 30, 2006

SAFE TRAVEL

On our last day together we finally rose together.  Inside the hot coffee and tea steamed in the early morning coolness while outside a slow drizzle fell through the fifty two degree air.  Clouds hid the sun but spirits were high regardless.  The time together had been great and now a parting was coming but great memories would fill the days until we saw our friends again.

A new wrinkle we had learned earlier, here at camp, served us well this morning.  Since time was at a premium Ziploc omelets had been prepared the night before.  Now they were put to boil while the bacon and sausage heated.  When all was ready we sat down to our hearty breakfast.

As soon as breakfast was over Jim and I went off to retrieve the four boxes of fish they would be taking home, half in their freezer and half in ours.  First we had to stop at Northland Wildlife Studio for a little last minute shopping.  We got there at eleven.  They didn’t open until noon.

We headed to Custom where we waited our turn then checked out, got our fish, loaded them in the trunk and back seat and were on our way back to Northland Wildlife Studio with an intermediate stop at a horn and antler shop.  There was nothing there that convinced us to part with our Washingtons or other quiet money.  Back at Northland there was still some folding money left and a few things beckoned from the shelves, namely birthday gifts for Polly.  The jade necklace with matching earrings and bottle of Artic Nights should make her very happy come Thursday as well as serve as life long remembrances of her Alaskan vacation.

Back at the coach there was just time to load the carry ons into the car before Shirley appeared with mini cupcakes and a wish for safe travel.  While we stood at the car Ted and Pricilla hustled over to extend their well wishes and say they hope to see Jim and Polly again.  Time had run out.  It was one o’clock, Jim and Polly sat in the car, waved goodbye and were off to Anchorage and Coldspring.  We would see them in a few weeks.

Jim and Polly with new friends Priscilla, Ted and Shirley.

Friends say goodbye for a few weeks. Sadly, our time in Alaska

was over, but our special memories will be with us for a lifetime.

Under threatening skies we placed the chairs and Jim and Polly’s travel boxes under the awning before heading inside.

The rain came and brought fifty two degree temps.  It had been a busy morning and it only seemed right that we should take a nap, with the rain falling and all.  We retreated to the bedroom, closed the door, climbed into bed, pulled the covers tightly under our chins and slept until four thirty.

Then we began our second day by filling the fresh water tank and visiting with Marv.  His Mom had passed away the day before and he would soon be leaving for the funeral.  His guests, Lee and Barb, would be staying until Saturday and he asked that we help them as needed.  We assured him we would and extended our condolences and told him we would remember him and his Dad in our prayers.

Before we went back inside Chuck came by to say the river opens at 12:01am, tomorrow, for reds.  The limit is three per day per person.

The refrigerator was bursting at the seams with heat ups so we selected some and had them for supper.  Outside the rain came down.

After supper we watched a movie classic, The Misfits, with Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe.  Onie ventured as how she thought it was both of their last movie.

When the movie was over at twelve thirty Onie went to sleep and I went to the river.

Before two o’clock I had missed two but landed none.  The rain was still falling and the cold had become more intense.  I gave up and joined Onie under the warm dry covers.

Monday, July 31, 2006  

LIMIT LIMIT

The cold of two o’clock continued and finally reached thirty nine before starting to rise.  The rain continued and greeted Onie when she rose at nine, for coffee.  At ten I joined her for tea and boiled eggs and sausage.

She was ready to fish, got her gear and went to the river to join others already there.

Remaining inside I typed away as outside the rain that had been falling gently turned into a South Texas rain coming down hard and steady.  The sound of the bluegrass coming from the CD player was almost drowned out by the hammering of the rain on the roof and side of the coach.

When my fingers needed a break I donned my rain gear and emptied the gray water tank.  The sound of the river rushing by caused a lapse of resolve to write and catch up.

Rod in hand I joined Onie on the grate.  Other folks were catching fish.  We were breaking off, losing gear with each hookup.  For some reason our lines were not up to the task of catching second run reds but at last after a number of tries we each had three on the stringer and headed off to Custom.

Whoopee! Fishing again!

We also took our reels and stopped in at Trustworthy Hardware where we had the line stripped and new thirty pound test Big Game line re-spooled.  Hopefully that would end the break offs.

On the way home we stopped by Swiftwater to see the action there.  Folks lined the river on both sides and the action was steady as reds were brought in, some headed for canning, others for smoking some for freezing and some for the table, tonight. 

Back at the Marlin a campfire was started.  Sitting around it in the drizzle we snacked and visited with neighbors until three in the morning.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

CARE PACKAGE

We were up at noon to rain and fifty five degrees.

Outside the grate was lined with folks fishing.

Onie got on line and checked the latest weir count and found that the escapement had reached nearly six hundred thousand and the run had begun in earnest. While she prepared out breakfast of coffee, tea, oatmeal and sausage I wrote as bluegrass played in the background.

 Dirty clothes had piled up and now Onie set off to rectify the problem.  While we hate to wash on Sunday we were out of under clothes so we had to wash.  One could say we had an ox in the ditch.  I don’t think we pushed it there but some might say we had as there are always folks around who see the mote in others eyes while missing the beam in their own.

Once Onie had the wash going she began fishing.  I joined her.  It was deja vu all over again.  She caught her three fish so fast I only had time to help her while I managed to get in one.

Then it was time to fold clothes.  With the clothes folded, in the coach and put away we made our way over to Sonny and Birdie’s coach.

They were having a fish fry, beer batter salmon and halibut.  In addition to the fish, there were lots of finger foods as well as side dishes.  He had set up a ten by ten canopy with a picnic table centered under it.  As we arrived a drizzle set in.  It dampened the backs of those in attendance, almost everyone in camp, but not their spirits.

Finished eating I headed back to the river to catch two more fish.  Time was short if I was to get the fish to Custom before they closed.  With Onie netting, bonking and stringing we thought we could get the job done but with repeated foul hooks it was looking pretty glum.  Neither of us had broken off with the new line and there was plenty of fish.  There just seemed to be a problem getting the hook in their mouth.  With twenty minutes left before I needed to leave we still needed two fish then the first one came, a nice big male.  A few minutes later another big male went on the stringer.  That was two fish in ten minutes.  Onie had brought the cooler and car close to the grate and we quickly loaded the fish and cooler and headed for Custom.

This is not Camelot and the rain does fall here now and then and this is now so it was falling when I was back in camp.

Ted was out walking Rosie, his dog, and I stopped to visit for a while before going on to the coach where Onie was waiting.

The World’s Fastest Indian was cued up and ready to play.  As it rolled we snuggled under the covers and when it was over we went to sleep.