GETTING READY
 

Sunday, August 15

We were up at nine thirty.
 

Outside it was partly sunny.

We had our coffee and tea with breakfast then dressed for church.

We were in our pew at ten forty five and briefly spoke to Tim and Julie and told them we were leaving this week. We hope to see them again next year.

On the way home we stopped by Kurt's to see how Bobby, the dry wall guy, was coming with the finishing and to pick up the things we are taking home for Becky.

Back home Don and Julie were getting ready to leave. We won't see them again until next summer so we said our adieus to them.

Onie got out at the house and the driver went back up to Kurt's to take some pictures of mushrooms.

Overhead it was cloudy. Down here on the ground it was warm.

Thirteen thousand fish came in yesterday and some of them were waiting to be caught but they would have to wait, for now.

The driver went in to Soldotna and the Central Peninsula Hospital to sign HIPPA forms so information gathered during his ER stay could be sent to his personal physician, Jonathon Shaffer.

He was back at the coach at two thirty.

Onie had been busy wrapping jars for the last two cases of canned salmon and worked on the fridge in the shed, defrosting it and cleaning it. Then she turned her attention to the refrigerator in the coach and cleaned it out.

The writer talked to his friend Jim Johnson, about a problem with the garage door on Lake Road. It is not serious and can wait until our return.

Outside the driver began getting things ready for the road. It had been warm all day so he worked in a tee shirt and shorts. Things were taken from the shed and stored in the car. That included over twenty cases of canned salmon. Eloise's things, Kristin's things and Becky's things all went in the toad. The big cooler, the mosquito zapper, a few tools, bungees and tie downs also were loaded into the toad. It was almost loaded.

The smoker was cleaned and placed in the shed along with the propane bottles and burner. The canopy was taken down, packed and stored in the shed. Onie helped. The buckets used for brining fish and general cleaning were cleaned and placed in the shed. Things in the shed that were going back to Texas were taken out and placed in the basement. The step for the shed was put in shed and then the gas grill was started to do chicken and rock fish.

Sixty six was the temp reading at six.

Onie had salad and Bokchoy ready when the rockfish came off the grill and we dined.

Later the writer talked to Jim again regarding the garage door.

Back outside our folding chairs were placed in their carriers and then in the basement. Onie packed a carton for the basement and then it was ready to go in.

Wheel covers were removed and put in the shed. Tomorrow they will be cleaned and stored.

Inside the navigator had the coach almost ready to travel.

By nine o'clock the driver had joined the navigator inside where he made the notes for the day.

Onie was checking her email.

After both chores were complete a game of dominoes was played before the couple retired.

LAST AND FIRST

Monday, August 16

We got out of bed at seven thirty.

Outside it was cloudy and fifty one.

Onie dressed and headed off to Curves with Kay at eight thirty. After Curves they headed off to The Moose is Loose only to find it is closed on Mondays.

The writer busied himself making notes and writing as well as checking his email..

Thirteen thousand fish came in yesterday and that means a limit, six, should be easy to catch.

While the writing was going on the rain started.

The writer paused to get something to eat, chicken and dumplings with hot cocoa.

As the writer was finishing his breakfast Onie got back home.

She heated biscuits for me which I ate with figs while she had an egg sandwich.

Well filled the writer returned to his laptop for more notes and witting.

The navigator cleaned the kitchen.

Kay and her grand daughter, Caroline, came by to tell us so long. They are leaving for Anchorage and won't be back before we leave. Hugs were exchanged and they were gone.

Writing continued while Onie worked on week eleven and got it ready to post. The writer had a final look and then she hit some button and the week was gone to the WWW.

Inga came by and invited us up to visit at five thirty.

When she was gone we went to fish at three thirty. The writer caught a humpy and a red hen while Onie caught a pink hen.

Back in the coach at four thirty the writer finished week thirteen while the editor, Onie, worked on week twelve. She downloaded pictures from the camera and began selecting and resizing them. The writer was busy starting on week fourteen.

Work on the stories stopped at five thirty when we went up to Frank and Inga's. Inga served some great salmon snacks and a good Cabernet. The writer had water as he was still on antibiotics. We visited a while before heading back down to the Marlin at seven thirty.

Onie decided to work in the house while I went to fish. After two reds and two pinks in thirty minutes the writer took a break from his fishing labors to go tell the navigator she should get her pole and come on down. She did. The writer managed to string one more red while the navigator got two. This may be the last of our reds.

These fish are heavy and the water is COLD.

The writer, now turned fish processor, began fileting the fish.

The fun is over and the work begins.

Perhaps our fishing is coming to an end at the right time. While the last of the reds were being processed the first of the mosquitoes appeared and began chewing on the processor's ears, nose and face.

The couple were back inside at ten when Onie vacuum sealed the fish before cutting up an avocado and serving it with an oriental salad for supper. The fish she packed will be used in Nova Scotia when she again wows our friends with her culinary expertise.

While she cleaned the kitchen the writer went back to his laptop to make notes of the day.

When both chores were done GSN played for us at eleven, in the bedroom.

Later we went to sleep.

THE DEVIL AND THE FRYING PAN

Tuesday, August 17

The sound of heavy rain had awakened us several time during the night.

Now, lying awake in bed at eight thirty with the rain still beating on the roof it was hard to crawl out of bed but crawl we did, to the kitchen where Onie made coffee and tea.

We had expected this to be our last day here, in camp, but with the heavy rain it looks doubtful that we will leave tomorrow. The screens on the front of the coach are soaked, they need to be dry to store them, and our rug is wet on one end from the blowing rain. We think if it clears off and the sun comes out early in the afternoon we might still be able to leave tomorrow. Time will tell.

Fresh blueberries topped our steel cut oats and new crosswords challenged us as we ate.

Frank stopped by for a minute to exchange phone numbers and a short visit.

Before we knew it the clock was telling us noon was approaching AND the sun was trying to break through the clouds and rain.

The sun did break through but the rain continued to fall. We knew it was a bad day in Hell as any good southerner knows that when it rains and the sun shines at the same time the devil is beating his wife with a frying pan. One can only imagine how hot that pan must be.

Onie was finishing up week twelve and getting it ready to post. When she was finished the writer got a last look while she stripped the bed and got the rest of the dirty clothes together. Whenever we leave we want to have as many clean clothes as possible. After the writer's last look and a couple of corrections Onie noted that needed to be made, she sat down to post the week to our site.

The writer, now the pack mule, gathered the several containers of dirty laundry and took it up the hill to the laundry room. Two trips were needed to get all of it there.

In the meantime Onie had gotten week twelve posted and checked to be sure it had loaded properly. She headed off to the laundry.

The writer took out the trash and visited with Sidney a few minutes. He and Barbara were still catching reds and they were still nice and bright. Thirteen thousand came in yesterday and the run shows no signs of slowing yet. The total count is now over nine hundred thousand. The pinks are almost no shows with very few being caught up until now. The reds are running long and strong and the pinks are running late and weak.

The sunny skies were short lived but at least the rain had finally stopped giving rise to a dim hope that things would dry today and we might be able to leave tomorrow. The weather will determine our actual departure time. NOAA says the weather should be improving, no rain, the rest of the week.

Sidney and the writer took a storage box of things the navigator and driver are leaving in Alaska but don't want exposed to freezing temps up to Kurt's and put it in the back of the GMC pickup. The truck will be in the heated garage all winter so the items will be fine. A wood box Kurt had brought down to us, full, was returned. The unburned wood had been given to Donnie.

While at the house we had a look inside. The drywall work is coming along nicely and Bobby should soon be finished.

Back down the hill Sidney dropped me off at the coach.

The sun finally broke through the clouds and came out strong and hot. It wasn't long before the screens were dry, off and stored in their tubes for the ride to Lake Road Once there they will be taken out, washed and allowed to dry before being stored for the winter.

Our holding tanks would need to be empty as we started our journey out and east so the honey wagon was fetched and the tanks were drained. While they were draining the fresh water tank was filled. With the fresh water tank filled the hose was coiled up and stored in the basement. The service compartments for the holding tanks and the storage compartments for the water hose were now closed for the trip out.

Onie had washed and dried four loads of clothes She brought what she could to the Marlin and the driver retrieved the rest.

Our large landing net was placed inside our shed and then the driver went in to help clean up inside and tighten a screw in a cornice.

Mike and Margarete came by and took us to St Elias for pizza at five thirty.

The sun was still high and hot.

Sidney and Barbara caught eight reds today between the two of them. The fish were all bright. In addition they caught two pinks.

We got back from St. Elias as nine thirty where we had sung along to live music. Mike and Margarete stayed to visit until ten when they went up the hill.

A few clouds had moved in but it was still basically clear and fifty two.

By ten thirty the Marlin couple had retired.

WORK

Wednesday, August 18

After a long night' sleep we rose at eight. There had been bright sunshine since five thirty when it was forty four. Last night the skies had been clear allowing thing to cool off.

Bacon and eggs, biscuits, home made preserves, coffee and tea along with crosswords started our day.

Onie was up from the table and moving at ten while the driver had a breathing treatment and lay in bed for half an hour.

Outside the navigator cleaned wheel covers and laid them out to dry. When he driver was moving he removed the de-flappers from the awning, placed the supports that had been on the ground all summer, back on the coach and let the awning dry a bit more while he and the navigator picked up the big rug, shook off the dirt and rocks, took it to the drive and laid it out to dry. Then more things were packed in the basement.

While the driver was packing the basement the navigator was cleaning the gas grill.

When the basement was packed the driver crawled under the coach to service the jacks then he and the navigator put the awning up. The rug was rolled up and stored in a tote along with the wheel covers. That tote and a large cooler were placed in the basement before the front side windows were cleaned.

Onie got in the slides and got us off jacks before moving the coach forward two feet so the driver could pick up the jack pads. The two large ones that had been supporting the back jacks were placed in the shed and the two small ones were placed in the basement. Wood that had kept the tires off the ground all summer was also placed in the shed to be ready for use again in two thousand eleven.

Now the couple headed off to Soldotna in the toad. The driver talked to Dawn on the way. In town the post office was visited to inquire about forwarding forwarded mail as well as dropping off mail. Next a stop was made at The Moose is Loose for apple fritters for breakfast for tomorrow morning. A tobacco shop was visited for the purpose of buying some corn cob pipes for Kurt's father-in-law. The pipes were not in stock. Just down the street we stopped at the car wash to rid the toad of a big load of dirt then it was on to Freddie's for some last minute shopping. It was the first time this summer we had shopped together.

Back home we got the groceries in and Onie started supper.

Outside the driver put the cover on the clean toad.

Supper was avocado, tomato, Bokchoy, beets, butter caramelized onions and rice as well as grilled chicken.

While we were eating Martha called but we missed answering the phone. We called her back. Her long time good friend, Steve, has had a heart attack. She was at hospital as we talked. It was eleven o'clock there. Steve is resting now and tomorrow a stent will be put in place or open heart surgery will be done. We will pray for him and trust the stent will be all that is needed.

Before going to bed we checked out email and sent an email to our Belle Baie friends telling them we will be there on or before September third.

Notes on today's activities were made. Today had been hot and sunny with a high of sixty nine. As we prepared for bed it was sixty and partly sunny.

HEADING OUT

Thursday, August 19

We were up at eight, had our coffee and tea along with bacon and eggs before heading off to the showers. The showers were long and hot. We wanted to really enjoy them because it will be marine baths for next few days.

One hundred ten thousand two hundred eighty four will be our beginning mileage. We had hoped to be on the road by nine but it was nine thirty when the wheels began turning and then stopped. Mike had risen early to come down to say adios. Then is was time to say so long to Sidney and Barbara. They have said they won't be back next year, but will the following year, so it may be a while before we see them again. Then we stopped to say “see you later” to Jay and Kay before one last stop to say see you next year to Chuck and LaVon. Our deposit has been paid for two thousand eleven.

As we left camp at ten thirty we were leaving on a morning after one of the coldest nights since our arrival, thirty eight at two and thirty five at six. As the wheels turned toward Morgan Road and the way out the sun shone brightly. Beautiful high clouds floated overhead.

The Cummins and Allison were performing seamlessly after their long summer hiatus and we rode along with a smooth quiet ride.

On the Sterling Highway a call was placed to Clair and the driver visited with her ten minutes before losing the cell phone signal. It would be sometime before the signal returned with any certainty.

Headed toward Anchorage we could see there was not as much snow on the mountains as when we arrived. Most mountains had no snow at all and one wondered how long it would be before it snowed again.

Eleven thirty saw us turn left onto Alaska One and head toward Anchorage.

Onie began preparing salmon salad which would be our lunch for next the several days.

Here and there Alder leaves were starting to change and some vegetation was starting to yellow as well even though it was still mostly green. It had been a very wet summer and there had been no wildfires that we were aware of, because of the wetness. Wildfires have been the norm in past years. Now the fire danger is low.

There was no snow in Turnagin Pass where there was a lot when we got here but there was lots of snow in the mountains to the east and north. There were some bald peaks but mostly the peaks were snow capped here in this small range.

Coming around the inlet it was very windy and the tide was extremely low. Rocks and sand we had never seen before were laying bare. Nearing Anchorage the Alaska Range mountains were visible, their tops were solid snow.

The Kenai Peninsula is the warmest place year round as a rule so this summer was par for the course. The southeast portion of the state may be warmer but for the northern and main portion of Alaska it is the Kenai and it attracts a lot of retirees as a result.

Some of the fire weed had bloomed out at camp but here near Anchorage almost all fire weed is bloomed out so a killing frost will be here earlier here than at camp if the local lore holds true.

We stopped for fuel at Fred Meyer in Palmer at three thirty. We took on ninety gallons, we had averaged nine point five miles to the gallon, and topped off the tank in the toad. The bugs were cleaned off the front of the coach and cling wrap applied. We were doing a little experiment. If the cling wrap stayed on all we would have to do to remove bugs from the front of the coach would be pull off the cling wrap and apply a new film. Time would tell if our idea would work.

Wheels were rolling again at four.

Not having a clear plan on where to stop we decided to see just how far we could go before fatigue or darkness or both stopped us.

The navigator thinks she has our trip through Canada planned. The route will be more northern than any we have taken before. We won't be dipping south until we get to Ottawa.

Two hundred miles from Anchorage we were nearing the Matanuska River Valley. More trees with leaves turning yellow, gold and brown lined the road as we drove along. Some of the leaves looked like they were ready to fall at any moment. Grasses were losing their bright green shading and browns are beginning to creep in. Fall is coming.

Six thirty saw us turning into a pullout at mile post eight point seven on the Tok Highway. Outside the warm coach it was fifty six degrees.

Onie prepared supper and we sat down to eat at seven thirty. Salad, warmed up rice and caramelized onion, along with squid steaks filled our plates and then our tummies.

Two games of dominoes saw a winner on each side of the table.

Both winners went to bed at eleven.

Tomorrow we would continue our trip outside (Alaska talk). Today the coach had carried us three hundred thirty nine miles.

DESTRUCTION BAY

Friday, August 20

An outside temp of forty one greeted the driver when he rose at a quarter to eight. He started the generator, turned on the Keurig and heater and headed back to bed 'til eight when the place was warm.

When the traveling couple rose they had their camping breakfast, eggs, bacon, onion and potato all cooked together and eaten in a corn tortilla. Of course coffee and tea accompanied the meal. All the while the generator was running keeping the items in the freezer frozen

Tires began moving the coach, at ten, through the fifty three degree air.

Overhead the sun shone through partly cloudy skies.

We were back in rock and roll county on the Tok Cutoff bounding along at thirty five miles per hour. Passing mile marker twenty one we paused for pictures of Mount Drum and Sanford, both in the Wrangell/St. Elias mountain range.

The coach came to a stop in Tok and telephone calls were made to family and a few friends before we headed for the border at one.

Five miles out of Tok we stopped for construction. Crews were still working on the new bridge across the Tanana River. This new bridge has been two years in the making, so far, but looks like it will be ready upon our return.

The road leaving Tok was good and continued past the new bridge but in the distance we could see it looked like our sunny skies would be leaving us. Huge thunderheads hung over Canada promising rain when we we got there.

Since we left Anchorage it had been real driving with no cruise, lots of braking, use of the exhaust brake and foot fuel feed. On the Tok Cutoff sharp curves, steep grades, bumps, frost heaves and pavement breaks called for constant vigilance. Sometimes there were good roads like through Chistochina but for the most past it had been intense driving for the last day and a half.

The last fourteen miles of road before the border were under reconstruction. Crews were working on it when we came in and from the looks of the progress or lack there of may be working on it in November. We followed a pilot car over loose gravel, dirt, broken pavement, good pavement and mud. We had all kinds of surfaces to drive on.

Crossing into Canada, at four, we were greeted by a really good road as well as the loss of an hour when we crossed an imaginary line. The road must have been repaired this summer but we felt that when we reached Canadian customs, twenty miles inside the border, the road would deteriorate to worse than nothing. We were too optimistic. No sooner had we voiced our belief about the road than the good road disappeared and we were on loose gravel. The dreaded red rags, a phrase with a nice alliterative ring to it, were waving along side our route. Actually what we were seeing was the welcomed orange flags that mark the worst of the worst pavement and keep us from death and destruction which would be our fate if we met it at high speeds, which I might add is almost impossible in a rig of any size. Yet we were blessed with a few good stretches of road, four or five miles at a time which allowed the driver a bit of a respite before the white knuckle, tense shoulders, driving returned.

The clouds that had promised rain made good and delivered rain here and there adding to the interesting driving.

Distant mountains made a nice backdrop for the beautiful rainbow placed in the sky to remind us there will never be another worldwide flood. 

In fact we saw two rainbows and one was a double.

The road around Pick Handle Lake had received attention for the highway maintenance folks and was very good.

Here and there on the roadside lakes and ponds we saw swans. By now the goslings were gone, eaten by eagles, mink, otter or other predators or had flown to be on their own.

In a Destruction Bay turnout at seven thirty Alaska time, eight thirty local time, we were looking at Kluane Lake. She sparkled under partly sunny fifty three degree skies.

Our table was set for supper at nine. We had salad, warmed up rice and onions and venison back-strap with mixed veggies. Grandson Kyle had killed the deer that provided the back strap and we remembered him as the tasty morsels slid down our gullets.

The street lights of Destruction Bay shone a few hundred yards distant and we wondered who paid for them. Destruction Bay is but a small village and the acquisition, installation and maintenance of the lights for so few people would seem prohibitive.

With that question unresolved the travelers went to bed at ten fifteen.

Outside ragged low hanging skies were threatening rain here and perhaps snow at higher elevations. Lowering temps were accompanying the clouds and it was a comfortable fifty one as we dozed off.

We had traveled three hundred twenty nine miles today.

RESTING AT SWIFT RIVER

Saturday, August 21

We were further north and fall was coming. Outside it was thirty five at six under clear skies. The bright sun had risen at five thirty and by eight had warmed the air to thirty eight, under clear blue skies, when we started the generator and electric heater as well as the Keurig and tea pot..

The surface of Kluane was flat. There was no breeze.

Traffic on the road next to us was light. A neighboring rig that had pulled in after us, last night, was gone.

We had our tea and coffee with our steel cut oats.

While breakfast was being prepared the writer took notes off the recorder.

Back on the road at ten fifteen we continued our way out on the Al-Can.

The little feeder creeks and streams that feed Kluane were dry when we came up but now, due to heavy rains, they were running full, with muddy water, not the nice clear ice melt water of spring. Kluane was several feet down earlier when we came up but is now full. In a more temperate setting the lake would be covered with boats, skiing, fishing and sailing, today no hull breaks the water.

We completed the big arc around Kluane and headed on to Whitehorse. Around the lake we were greeted by big white, lazy, puffy clouds laying on mountain tops.

In Burwash Landing where we passed yesterday there is a merchant who has out a sign that says “Long Live the USA”. We don't know if he is an expatriate or just a realist. Eighty five percent of the traffic north of Whitehorse is US in origin. As a result the US pays one hundred percent of the maintenance and improvement costs on this portion of the highway.

A fair number of vehicles were on the road, and most bore US plates but there was not as many as prior to '07. It seemed there were more RV rigs and a lot were still headed north, several dozen a day. In '08 we met maybe a dozen all day and now there may be half a dozen an hour.

The only animals we had seen so far were swans and whole multitudes of ducks. That may be because we start late and quit early.

We climbed for quite awhile until we were up above some of the lower clouds that were laying around the base of the surrounding mountains. Then we were on a long descent of several miles with the exhaust brake engaged on a fairly steep grade. We were looking out on top of clouds that lay below us. Surrounding us the broad leaf trees were sporting leafs of red, yellow and brown. Under them lay a carpet of brown grass. We were still descending into the valley and driving into the clouds. They did not bear rain or mist or fog. They were just clouds.

The road around Kluane was not seamless or state of the art but did allow fifty five mile per hour travel but as we neared Haines Junction the road did become seamless asphalt, a smooth, quiet ride. On either side farms with cows, horses, haying, etc. lined the road.

East of Haines Junction we were greeted by a large cloud of smoke, almost horizon to horizon. Somewhere there was a big fire burning.

The road is constantly being improved and sometimes this means realignment. Now we were driving next to the old road. Before the realignment on this portion we had driven it a couple of times. It was more scenic and definitely more challenging. To discourage use of the old road the highway department has removed culverts and bridges but the road bed remains. Grasses and shrubs are now growing in the roadbed but it is still identifiable by its raised condition Some small trees are beginning to grow and in a few years the ground will be entirely reclaimed by vegetation.

Sixty miles from Whitehorse the fireweed was still in full bloom. Some had bloomed out to the top but still held all the blooms. In a week or two the plants will begin shedding the blooms and then it will be six weeks until the first killing frost.

Fifty five miles north of Whitehorse there was considerable road damage that forced us to reduce our speed to twenty five to thirty miles per hour for several miles, Frost heaves, pavement breaks and loose gravel were all in abundance. After a bit we were able to drive forty five but only with great care. Maintenance of this stretch of road is the responsibility of Whitehorse and they are doing a very poor job.

Forty miles north of Whitehorse only the highest mountain peaks had a dusting of snow. Most are sporting brown grass and spruce forest as we are traveling through the Takhini burn. The burn is being reforested by voluntary aspen and a few spruce. Once again we were able to travel fifty five but the road was not really that smooth.

Our first glimpse of the Yukon River came twenty three miles north of Whitehorse where the road has deteriorated again and we were back to thirty five miles an hour.

Driving through Whitehorse at one fifteen we were under mostly sunny skies with an accompanying temp of fifty five degrees. Ahead of us big thunderheads threatened. We had no rain last night even though it did look threatening when we went to bed.

Whitehorse was disappearing in our rear view mirrors at one thirty as we passed Pioneer RV Park where we have had welding done a couple of times. Inside the park there was a good crowd of campers for this time of year and day. The front row was almost full.

Once again we crossed the Yukon and passed Marsh Lake which is part of the Yukon River system.

A porcupine that had been unsuccessful in its attempt to cross the road lay dead in the bar ditch.

We were motoring under overcast skies but it was warming up a bit.

Just east of the Yukon River lunch was served; salmon salad and bell pepper for the driver and a sandwich for Onie.

Near two thirty we were under the clouds we had seen at Whitehorse. They delivered light sprinkles which soon turned to heavy rain. As the rain fell the navigator napped. She had been reading most of day. As the rain continued falling so did the temp and as the temp fell the coach ran cooler, even on grades.

We drove next to Teslin Lake for quite a while. The lake is formed by the Teslin River. A few cottages are built next to it and there are lots for sale as one nears the hamlet of Teslin.

As we headed south of Whitehorse the road switched back and forth between the Yukon and British Columbia. We would be in the Yukon for a while and then in B.C. for a while. For now we were in B.C.

Just before Smart River a little sleet visited us as we left B.C. and headed back into the Yukon.

Five o'clock found us crossing the Swift River bridge, slowing and turning into one of our favorite places to boon dock, the large level grassy gravel area next to the river. The odometer read one hundred eleven thousand two hundred ninety one miles. We had traveled three hundred thirty nine miles since leaving our pullout at Destruction Bay.

Overhead were mostly cloudy skies. When the driver stepped out to look at the river he was met by forty nine degree air. It was chilly. The river was lower than we have ever seen it before. A gravel bar was visible in the middle of what is usually the stream and the two large culverts under the road seemed to carry hardly any water.

Note the fireweed in one of it's last stages (all bloomed out)  in right hand corner of picture.

The clouds gathering. We were lone campers in this beautiful turnout. We assume

new travelers on the Al-Can just aren't aware of this spot. There are no signs

noting it on the road. It is listed in Milepost, however.

With the coach at rest for the day the navigator settled in with a book while the driver opted for crosswords. The cloudy skies delivered rain but once the rain fell the clouds broke and the sun shone again.

Supper; avocado, back-strap and veggies was eaten at seven thirty.

Outside the clouds had returned as the temp fell to forty seven.

The traveling duo was tired from the day's travel and were ready to turn in at eight. It was nine at Castaway. By then the thermometer had dropped another degree to forty six and the skies that had been clear just a little while ago were once again threatening rain.