Nothing exciting, just a short video of the surroundings as we paddled into the Bartlett River. We had two double kayaks so could only take two of the boys. John and Jonah can be seen in the second kayak to our left. Jayden went up with John and me the previous day and caught five nice Dolly Varden trout, which come in along with the salmon. We were excited to take the other two boys for the same fishing experience. After a lot of fruitless trying I managed to hook one fish that evening, handed the pole to Micah, and twenty seconds later the fish got off the hook. Unlike the fantastic bite the night before that was the only fish we had on a line all evening.

The fishing site on the river is about a 45 minute paddle if one keeps moving. Plenty of daylight in early July in Alaska. This is taken about 8:30PM. We got back about 11PM with plenty of light to spare.

It's a lot of work for those little eleven year old arms to move a 19' kayak. When I urged Micah to help paddle a bit on the way back he was silent, then finally exclaimed, "My arms are frozen."

We made a fast trip north to pick up the boat, then to Oregon to register it. The boat will be used only in Alaska so I tried to register it in Alaska, but they said their law stipulates the boat must be physically in state before registration can be issued. So we registered it in Oregon for the interim months. I am doing some re-fitting and preventive maintenance before we transport the boat north. Paulette nicknamed the vessel Mel's Dream. I told her boats should be named after women. She responded that Mel in this case is short for Melissa or Melody. Tricky lady.

Das Boot

Last summer I dreamed of taking grandkids fishing for halibut, but nothing opened up to get them out in neighbor's boats during their stay. A boat for Alaska had been on our five year plan, but after the inability to get the grandsons out I stepped up the search for our own boat. We located what I hope is a suitable craft. A private party posted it on Craigslist in central California. The boat is a 2004 20' Alumaweld Intruder, 150hp, 10hp kicker, marine radio, electric downriggers, GPS/chartplotter/sonar, and other seaworthy (for fair weather) features for up north. I talked to the mechanic who serviced this craft for the last six years and he said the engine only has 198 hours and if he had not recently bought a house he would buy the boat himself. We pick it up Wednesday. Friends chide me that a boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into, but I suspect their thinking is clouded by the fact they don't have grandchildren.

Memories

We have been cleaning out closets. Paulette found the following on a sheet of paper, each entry in a daughter's own hand....

Jamie 6-1-83 336,150
Mel 6-3-83 280,500
April 6-5-83 193,950
Joanna 6-17-83 193,100
Beth 8-8-83 277,400


You will recall you had to have a witness. :-)

Too Cute to Keep to Myself

I smile every time I look at this picture so had to share it with you. Double click on the picture to get a bigger smile.

Fishing for a Boat

Paulette and I are pretty much caught up, settled back in, and doing well. I managed to repair the A/C and heater on the fifth wheel trailer myself. Bela helped me paint my office and replace the carpet. I have too much junk, so am throwing stuff I haven't used in years away (I know Jamie won't believe that). That means I can delete one file cabinet in the office and have a little room on top of the bookshelves again.

At one time Alaska was just a dream. With a few cautious intermediate steps the dream became a reality. I feel like God gave us the desire of our hearts. I am still dreaming, this time about getting a fishing boat for AK. (Perhaps I am never satisfied.) I have never shopped for a boat before. In this economy I expected boats to be selling for distressed prices. If they are I haven't seen it yet.

Looking for a boat for Alaska in California is somewhat like looking for mukluks in the tropics. Boats for the southwest are entirely different than what is desired for Alaska. Most boats down here are fiberglass. Aluminum is preferred in the northwest. You can beach an aluminum boat without doing damage to the hull. Plus aluminum is lighter and therefore requires less horsepower to push through the water. Aluminum fishing boats down here are usually less than sixteen feet in length, and have flat bottoms. That would be fine on a nice day up north. But I would prefer something more all weather in the twenty to twenty-three feet range with an 18-22° deadrise. (Alaska is unforgiving if one makes a mistake so a bigger boat is better than compromise in the smaller craft direction.) A pilot house or enclosure is part of the criteria to provide shelter on inclement days. Outboard engines made recently are very fuel efficient so that option would be desirable also. Now that I have completely bored you with details...

This is a pix of a new boat. I'm looking used. But this style should work for us.


We looked patiently for years before finding the riverfront lot in AK. I hope it doesn't take that long to find a suitable boat. I try not to make emotional decisions on major purchases. To remove emotion I need to divorce myself from the desire to see grandkids catch a fish as big as they are. At some point my age becomes a factor. Paulette is urging me to get ANY boat I want. I'm having to throttle her back.

Home

After two weeks on the road we arrived in Mentone at 3PM Sunday. Now a lot of work awaits to get everything from the trip organized and in its proper place. I anticipate more than a week getting bookkeeping and maintenance covered. Living in the 5er for two consecutive summers has dictated need for a number of repairs to the rig as well.
All the local grandkids are coming over for pizza. I'll try to keep the blog active once we get settled back in sun country.

South in the Lower 48

We crossed the border into Washington Labor Day Weekend. Not that we realized it was Labor Day Weekend. After living much of the time in AK without paying attention to the calendar that caught us by surprise. We spent the weekend camping with a cousin near the Canadian border. Then south again Tuesday AM to Portland, OR for a few great days with Jon, Elisabeth, and the grandkids. Daytime highs have been in the low to mid 90's, higher than we have seen in almost a year. We planned to leave early (7ish) Friday AM but they sealed the asphalt in the RV park and the note on the door when we returned said they won't remove the barriers until at least 8:30. So we are taking our time getting ready. From here we head south and will drop in on a Manx Dune Buggy Club run in the Mammoth Lakes area of California. We haven't been to one of those in a year. Then perhaps home to Mentone on Sunday afternoon.

Pop Quiz

As we traveled the Alaskan Hwy up by Yukon Territory in Canada I saw this road sign. A free halibut dinner in Gustavus, Alaska next summer to anyone who correctly interprets the sign. (fine print... travel not included lol). Please post your answer in the comment section.

Yesterday afternoon we turned south after traveling east for over a day. Tonight we are in Clinton, British Columbia. The season for road construction is short way up north. Travel today was slow due to road construction delays. One area between Ft. St. John and Prince George had about 30 kilometers (18 miles) of consecutive construction! About the time one picked up speed another flagger would stop you. We did miles and miles of slow escorts after waiting for oncoming traffic to get through. This made it possible for us to average a whopping 38 mph for 12 hours travel, and we only stopped for fuel once. I should have expected this. We had the same thing last year. Fortunately we are not in a hurry.