Sun! Fees! Where are the Salmon?

I'm writing this on Wednesday from the Craig Library.  They provide free wi-fi, and a quiet place to work, with big windows looking out to the water.  I've posted several new pictures on my Facebook page.  Kelli and Jared and Henry are on their way home now from Maine, three days late thanks to Irene.  Kathy has caught my cold and is at home nursing it. 

Kenny Quigley tells me there should be thousand and thousands of salmon in the inlet below us by now, but there are very few.  Commercial fisherman have gone down to Puget Sound looking for fish.  Bummer.  The local economy depends a great deal on salmon, not surprisingly.  Kenny has a fish packing plant, with Whole Foods as a prime customer.  Halibut is also a mainstay.  The Chinese want him to start processing Sea Cucumbers, but apparently that is labor-intensive, and Kenny has trouble getting enough labor as it is, partly because it's a hit and miss deal, hot for a day or two, little work the other three or four days.  It is really fascinating learning about life in a small town, life on an island, and life so dependent on very few industries. 

We found out that all ATM's are not alike:  turns out we cannot access our California Coast Credit Union account without getting charged an ATM fee, even at the Tongass Federal Credit Union!  Who'd a thunk it?!  We get with a fee by this credit union, and another from ours, each time we do a withdrawal!  This, obviously, isn't going to work, and we will be opening a local account.  We ARE still in the United States, so don't feel too foolish with having had the assumption otherwise. 

Tuesday, the 30^th of August 

I took Kathy to work today again, so I could have the car.  I can now do the 5.3 miles in 10 minutes, and the Craig Klawock Road in another 10.  Back to Craig, and the Wheelhouse Coffee Shop, and on the Internet for the next three hours, doing stuff:  updated my blog, adding recent pictures, very cool.  Looking up phone number for our next utilities.

Kathy calls me and asks me to pick her up for lunch.  I pick her up around 12:30, and we get chicken burgers at the store, and go to the ball field for lunch.   Quick food places are very, very limited hee, as in two choices.  We meet Jenny and her black and white toy poodles.  Kathy had a tough morning, and we talk about what's going on, and what's not going on!

Back to SEARHC, then Craig, and I take the dogs up the Sunnahae Mountain Trail for about ten minutes.  It’s pretty steep, and apparently not re-opened yet.  It is beautiful, and follows a fast-flowing creek.  I find out it will be official re-opened this weekened.  It's two miles up, with a 2,500 foot elevation gain, so much more of a workout than my favorite in-city hike, Cowles Mountain.  We'll be back another day to conquer it and enjoy the view.  Back down, and we follow the paved trail along the road, to the Peace Health Center, near Crab Creek, and back, a good long walk in the sunshine! 

I go to the US Forest Service office, and pick up some information on trails and roads on the Tongass National Forest, and talk with Katherine about trails.  She is very helpful.  To the store, and pick up some dinner.  Back home, a little rest, then get dinner cooking, and leave to pick up Kathy.  Her afternoon was much better, although the receptionist quit, declaring today was her last day!  This isn’t an altogether bad thing:  she wasn't happy, and so provides an opportunity to continue the rebuilding.   

On the way home, we decided to continue driving up Port St Nick Road to see more of it.  We go as far as the two one-lane bridges, both under repair, then turned around.  There isn't a single house on either side of the road between Quigley's where we are staying and the bridges where we turned around.  We know there are more homes along the road, because we can see them across the inlet from Quigleys.  On the way back, I spotted a young bear running across the road.

We have a nice dinner of baked chicken, baked potatoes, and green beans, yum, with a little help from Susan. 

There are no squirrels here, or at least I haven't seen any.  A flying squirrel lives on the island, but that's it, and there is another of my assumptions shot to hell:  when I think of forests, I think of squirrels.  Nope, not a one.  I thought I heard one once, but it must have been a bird.  No chipmunks either, or snakes.  Lots of mushrooms though!  Geez, this is mushroom, moss, fungus land, not suprisingly. 

Have I mentioned that gas sells for $4.51/gallon?  Yep, it's true, and hasn't varied since we've been here. 

New Exploring, New Pictures

Saturday, it's raining, and we take it easy all day.  We take the dogs for a couple of walks, that's about it.

Sunday, August 28, starts very rainy.  It rained all night, too.  We have the metal roof of the first floor right outside our window, which we like to keep open for the fresh air, so the rainsounds are magnfied.  I can barely see across the bay.  It’s a uniform grayish white across the entire view through the window.

A little later the sun comes out, and we go for a walk in between rain showers.  The air is fresh, and quiet.  There are two places in the grasses and bushes that are beaten down by bear-size paths, and I can’t help wondering if this is where black bears bulldozed through.  We get up to the bridge and there are kids trying to bag a salmon by throwing rocks down at them.  I’m pretty sure this is illegal.  They aren’t having any success, and give up. 

A view from along the Craig-Klawock Road.

On the return, we run into the neighbor with the tree dogs.  She and Kathy already know each other, having met at a meeting in town.  She lives in the home called The Castles, which is one house away from our place.  She and Kathy talk for a bit, and then continue toward home.  We run into another woman, whom Kathy also has met.  This is life in a small town, or in our case, towns.    

One of seveal waterfalls along the Craig-Klawock Road

We load up the dogs and drive into town, to catch some Internet time, do some shopping, see what’s up.  The coffee shop is closed.  We sit outside and use the wi-fi hotspot, and get some Internet tasks done, sitting awkwardly in the car.  We call Kelli and talk to her for a while.  Their flight out today was cancelled due to Hurricane Irene, but it expected to be much weakened by the time it reaches Maine.   They have new travel plans, now leaving Wednesday and flying through Chicago.  Yesterday was Jared’s birthday, his first with his family in about eight years, and so extra special. 

One of many interesting geologic feature along the Craig-Klawock Road

Next, we go to Cemetery Island for a walk.  My back is still bothering me, so I stay behind as Kathy walks the dogs, although the Aleve has helped tremendously. I stepped of a fallen tree the wrong way a day ago, and tweaked my back, just a little.

Back home, and I head downstairs to put the milk in the fridge, and run into Kenny, who shows me the fridge and a microwave in the large room with the bar, more convenient for us than using their kitchen fridge.  We get to talking and I spend a half an hour with him, learning about his fish processing plant, fishing on the island, the abundance of gooeyduck clams and sea cucumbers in the inlet right in front of our, his, place.  Kenny and his wife have been here 13 years, and I learn a lot about the island in talking with him.  His wife, while a Native, is actually a Blackfoot Indian, so grew up right next door to Glacier National Park in Montana.

I had an epiphany!  It came to me as I approached the end of the riveting book I’m reading, Power Down, by Ben Coe.  While reading, I wanted to look up something from the book, and of course, I can’t, because I don’t have access to the Internet!  Then, it hit me, out of the blue:  Kathy did all of this, on purpose, her grand scheme to try and get me off the Internet!  There is so much to the Internet, from news to exactly how much rain we have received, to my family trees, to emails and Facebook and updating my blog, to name just a easy few uses.  I can hardly stand the very, very slow speed, but at least it’s something!  Here, at our current place, we have nothing, no access, NADA!  Kathy planned this!  I've actually felt faint and a little nauseous at times:  is this withdrawal?

First, we drove north from San Diego, through familiar territory all the way to Bellingham, to the border crossing at Sumas, Washington, and then new, fun territory, all that time my BlackBerry functioning as it should.  We crossed into Canada, and the BlackBerry still worked.  Driving further north, it began to sporadically lose connection.  No real problem, as each motel we stayed in had Internet access, so I could use the laptop, check my emails, update my blog, etc.  I had taken many pictures of our travels with the BlackBerry that I could now not access, but I could wait until we landed and got unpacked and I retrieved the cord.

Then came the six-hour ferry ride, and I was very disappointed to find there was no wi-fi onboard.  Come on!  I really don’t want every place, even in the US, to be the same, but access to the Internet is just a basic need today.  Am I right?!

Next, we arrived on the island, and the slowness began.  Most places we stay have Internet access, but it’s slow, excruciatingly slow.  I even buy a subscription to a wi-fi hotspot service, which has one in Craig and one in Klawock.  It, too, is slow.  The Craig Library has wireless, too, and provides computers with a printer, and also has wi-fi, so that’s nice, but it is also slow.   The lack of speed is killing me, KILLING ME!

View toward Craig on Craig Klawock Road

But, this was not the end of Kathy’s plan.  We finally found a place to land for more than six days, a huge improvement.  It is a real luxury.  It gets so old living out of the car, moving every couple of days.

So here we are, for the next six weeks, 5.3 miles, or 15 minutes, out a gravel road.  Neither number is really much of a problem, except that there is NO INTERNET!  It’s only been two and a half days, and I’m in serious withdrawals, not funny.  The riveting book I can barely put down is helpful, but doesn’t fill the entire void.   

This is no intervention, even if she did bring it without me seeing it coming, at all.  Smooth, very smooth.  Is it working?  NO!  No.  No.  I’m still as hooked as ever.       

Monday, August 29, 2011    I take Kathy to work, then head for the wi-fi hotspot.  It doesn’t work, and after trying several times, I realize the sign in the window advertising the hotspot is gone.  Great, only two on the island, and now one is gone. 

My Bald Eagle and Sea Otter picture.  This is from the deck of our room at Alaska Pacific Lodge, about mile 1.5 on the Port Saint Nicholas Road.

It’s raining, again, another day of rain, some relief, even a little sun, then back to rain.  I decide to go looking for bear, down the road I was on last week where I saw two.  There is a huge late, Big Salt Lake, very scenic.  I don’t see any bears, keep driving to Black Bear Creek, where Kenny told me is a good place to see them.  But, there is no trail, and it’s still raining, so no luck there.  I do see two Steller’s Jays, still can’t get over how different they act here versus the mountains of San Diego and the Sierras.  I’m so disappointed in the lack of birds in this rain forest. 

I get my blog updated at the Wheelhouse Coffee House, catch up on the birth of the owners first child, a 9 lb 22 inch long boy, born via c-section, the parallels with Henry uncanny. 

I finish at the Wheelhouse, and we head for Cemetery Island for a nice dog walk.  As we cruise down the road, I see a flock of birds, my first!  Wow, are they Evening Grosbeaks, the pretty mustard-yellow and brown birds?  Nope, no such luck.  They are a new bird for me on this island, but far from exotic:  they are starlings!  I didn’t even know they lived on the island!  Stupid parasites!  There must be 40 of them. 

We hit Cemetery Island for our walk, take a familiar trail, trying to stay under the trees and out of the rain.  We walk much farther along, get in a good walk, and return to the car, the dogs tuckered out from the walk and all the bush- and trail-sniffing.

Back to 5.3 home.  There is laundry to do.  Soon it’s time to pick up Kathy, and I leave the dogs and drive away, first time I’ve left them at this place.  They are now right at home, should be fine. 

Kathy has had a good day, four clients.  She has to have clients to gain the hours she needs for her license. 

It gets late, time for the dogs evening walk.  It’s almost dusk as we walk up the road.  We head for the bridge to watch the salmon.  Kathy gets my attention and points ahead:  35 yards away is a medium size black bear, ambling along toward the forest!  Nice!  He is completely silent, and apparently far enough away that the dogs don’t pick up his scent.  Wow, how cool!  I’m sure he saw us, just keep moving along.  It’s getting darker by the minute, and we move it along back to our apartment! 

You all may know that Montana is called the Big Sky State.  Alaska could claim that title, too.  It’s not because the sky is any different, really, it’s because the horizon is different:  when all you can see from horizon to horizon, 360 degrees, is forests or forested mountains or water, the sky looks so much bigger than it does in the city, development, houses, buildings, cars, in every direction.  Really, it’s the difference of the horizon.  The view out our windows alone is just, well, from a calendar, another world, simple and breath-taking at the same time, half a mile of water, then forests rising almost out of the water, climbing up to mountain ridges, and blue sky beyond.  Fish often jumping from the water, sea birds ravens and the occasional bald eagle flying high and low, just a beautiful place. 

Another Move, to 5.3 Port Saint Nicholas Road

We moved, again, and this time there is no Internet connection, and it's 5.3 miles out of town, on a gravel road, complicating my blog updates.  This should be resolved soon.

Thursday, August 25, and yet another move, and another new place. At least with this move we will stay put for six weeks, a real and overdue‘luxury.’ We are at 5.3 miles out on a gravel road (our address and the distance), on Port Saint Nicholas Road. It follows the shoreline, so all homes on the right are on the water. We have an apartment, overlooking the bay, a beautiful view. There are six bedrooms/apartments in what was once a bed and breakfast. We are across the road from the Craig Water Treatment Plant and Fish Hatchery. The owner, Kenny, tells us there are bears around every night, and to be careful when walking late. He doesn’t have to tell us twice!

After packing the car, handing in the key, and taking Kathy to work, I drove to Craig and our new place, and moved us in. I was anxious to get to the Harris River Restoration Celebration and Tour, so got to the Craig High School early, gave the dogs plenty of time outside the car, and talked with the bus driver. He has lived here for decades, is a retired Special Education teacher. His daughter is on summer staff with the Forest Service as an archaeologist, for the sixth year. I had just read a paper online written by the local FS geologist, who it turns out is the daughter's boss. We get to talk some island archaeology. There are several caves on the island, and nationally-important finds have been made in them. It's fun to learn more about the island from a local, and be able to talk archaeology, thanks to all I learned during my four years at the San Diego Archaeological Center.

I went to the Harris River Recovery Project dedication today. The first of three stops was down the road to Hollis, where a new Nature Interpretive trail has been completed.  It's through a demonstration forest, where different methods of increasing timber production are being tried.  It's all about increasing production on the forest and Native lands, whether it's trees or salmon.  They do incorporate richer habitat for all species in their projects now, which is excellent progress over decades past, but the focus remains on increasing production.  There are good nterpretive panels, along the trail, explaining the different methods being explored.  

I met a lot of new people on this tour, and saw some great restoration work. The sun was actually out much of the morning, and the rain stayed away the entire day. The Under Secretary of Agriculture traveled here for this event. There was about 20 people from the Forest Service, from district supervisor to stream engineers, etc.. The director of The Nature Conservancy for the Pacific Northwest was there, and representatives from the National Forests Foundation, Hyda Native Corporation, and others.  Nils Warnock, director of Audubon Alaska, was there, and ate lunch at my table, along with FS Stream Engineer Brian Barr and David and Cindy.   Nils lives in Anchorage, and attended San Diego State at one time!  David and Cindy have just moved to Thorne Bay. David is the retired director of the DEC for New York State. They had looked at the McCormick house, too! They had a fascinating story to tell about the cougar killed this year in Connecticut.  More on this later.

The tour went to three different places along the Harris River watershed.  The last stop was at a tributary creek now known as Fubar Creek.  The highway department is tired of replacing the Fubar Creek sign, so there is a concerted effort to change the name to a Native one.  See the sign in the picture. 

With the tour completed, it was time to take the dogs for a nice long walk.  Next, I picked up Kathy, went to Event Dinner at the Craig High School, and had an delicious salmon.  Here we got to see the Klawock Native Dancers for the first time, very cool.  There were literally people of all ages, down to three years old.  It was a very tribal experience.  We also met the Craig City Manager.  He's had the job for nine years, and was a Craig City Planner for 11 years before that, a good guy to know as we learn more about our new home.

Back to our new home, and we meet Kenny, Susan's husband, and talk with him a little.  He tells us of the 80 to 130 mph winds that whipped through here last year, and tore the entire roof off this place!

What?!  Geez, talk about an insurance/weather/family nightmare!
Friday, Kathy takes the car to work, first time we’ve tried this way.  It may not be the right place, since we are so far out, and I’m basically stranded in the forest.  It’s a beautiful day, the sun peeking out from the clouds off and on.

I take the dogs for a couple of walks in the morning.   At around 4:00, they get antsy, and we go out again.  We’ve already explored the small accessible shoreline, and up the road.  This time we walk down the road, where I know there are other dogs, and so far I have avoided because I’m not comfortable walking our dogs off leash when there are other dogs off leash nearby.  Just two houses down, I hear kids playing.  A blond dog comes into view, looking friendly, a Labrador maybe.  Then a black dog, same size, and a ‘dust mop.’  They all eventually spot us coming up on the opposite side of the road, and come over, one by one, to see check out the new dogs in the neighborhood.  The blond dog is very friendly, never makes a sound, just wants to say hello.  The dust mop is yappy, but calms down quickly, and they all make friends as we continue walking.  There are two men talking at the house, The Castles, and I wave and say hi, deciding to introduce myself on our way back, when we are on their side of the road.  The black dog eventually comes over, also nice and quiet and just wanting to check us out.  Suddenly Lakota yelps like she has been stepped on, and Quinlan immediately comes back to rescue his sister.  The black dog gets the message and backs off, good doggy, bad Lakota.  All is good, and we keep walking.

It’s a nice day, me in only a tee shirt and only a little cool.  We get to the nice new concrete bridge, and look down to the creek and see salmon in it!  Wow, this is so cool!  They are almost all 20 to 24 inches long!  Many of them have cream-colored patches like the ones I saw on the field trip yesterday, so must be spent dog (“Chum”) salmon, and some humpies.  You can see maybe 15 in several groups, heads pointed upstream, working easily to stay put against the current.  We circle down to the edge.  They are harder to see, with the reflection and lack of heighth hurting our view.  We walk downstream.  A salmon occasionally gets frisky and splashes about, breaking the surface of the shallow creek, which scares Quinlan, pretty funny.  We keep going downstream, and the creek pinches down.  The dogs find a spent salmon on the shore, broken in half.  I watch to see what their reaction is, but they just sniff it some and back off.  

We climb back up the embankment and return to the road, and head home.  The Castles is now deserted, too bad, a missed opportunity to meet neighbors. 

I can look outside across the bay right from where I sit writing this, on my bed.  It's about half a mile to the opposite shore, and the hill, solid green mostly evergreen trees.  The tide has been out and in and out, no news here, but it goes in and out about 40 feet.  The owners have salmon pens, a square of four squares, each one about 45 feet on a side. 

I’m reading a really good book, an article in the Nature Conservancy Magazine I picked up at dinner last night, and listening to the CNN coverage of Hurricane Irene.  It looks like Kelli and Jared will not be boarding their plane at 6:30 am Sunday as planned.  I guess this proves I won’t die without Internet access for hours and hours, but I have been feeling faint and nauseous……..

Bears, and more rain

Kathy with her new rainboots, at the entrance to the Cemetery Island Trail

Today, it rained again.  :-)  These dense forests must get water from some place! 

I took Kathy to work, then back to get ready for the meeting of the Prince of Wales Watershed Council, across the island in Thorne Bay.  After the meeting would be the interviews for the part time Coordinator position. 

Just four miles out of town, I spot a black bear clambering down the bank on the right side of the road, and slow down.  S/he lopes across the road, about 40 yards in front of me, jumps up to the guard rail on the left side, and disappears into the forest.  He was good size, very cool.  I drive just a mile further and, from the left side of the road, I spot a black space, and see a young black bear cross the road and climb up the bank on the right side, and disappear into the bushes.  Now that's what I'm talking about! 

It's a 40 mile drive - I see several deer along the road.  This is a rainy paradise! 

Cemetery Island has an active cemetary, dating back to the late 1800's.

The meeting goes well.  There are four other candidates, three of them very strong.  I meet a Native while waiting my turn, a very nice guy who says he is a Raven.  My city mind jumps without thinking, is this like the Crips and the Bloods?  Dumb.  He tells me some good place to hike, and see wildlife.  He also lives in Klawock, so we will run into each other again.  Another of the candidates works for the Fish Hatchery, and so I learn much about it.  They released 5,000,000 coho salmon last year!  Their mission is to build up the fishery, for commercial fisherman.  It's a nonprofit.  I went to the annual fundraising dinner on Saturday.  Along with the fishing derby held last week, they raised nearly 50% more than their previous record!  I need to get down and take the tour.

I have a voice mail from the company holding our crates.  Virgil says he has talked with his supervisor, and they've decided to let them sit until we need them, instead of requiring us to take delivery around September 1st, great news!  The pieces are all falling into place!

After lunch, the rain begins to fall harder and continues all afternoon, keeping me from giving the dogs their daily walk.  Maybe tomorrow will be better.  People tell me this weather is normal, for October!  They all say there really wasn't a summer this year. 

Sunday, Monday, and Lots of Progress!

Monday, a busy day.  Kathy starts her fourth week of work, and looking forward to a much better workload, 12 clients scheduled.  She will also participate in the interview of a second MFT, someone up from, wait for it, La Mesa!  What are the odds?....

We've decided to pay for a PO Box, instead of waiting until we are entitled to a free one, when we have an actual home.  The postmistress tells me, for the first time, that we will be eligible for a refund on the six month charge, so that makes it even more of a no-brainer.  PO Box 147 is ours, and makes me feel like, finally, we are putting down roots, are part of the town.  :-)

I finally get to see the inside of our log cabin, and it is even better than we expected it would be.  It could be bigger inside, but then we would just have to spend more on heating it.  It's completely furnished, minus a dishwasher; the bathroom was redone a year ago; the couch is a pullout, and it looks like we can squeeze our queen bed into the upstairs bedroom with the existing one, ready for Kelli and Jared and Henry and Brady and Faith to visit at Christmas!  White Christmas or not, it will be a special Christmas!

Back to our cabin for lunch, then back to Craig to see the place we might have for the whole six weeks or so before we can move to our 'final' cabin.

I drive back down the Port Saint Nicholas Road, looking for the 5.3 mile marker.  I find the house, and it's got as good a view as the Alaska Pacific Lodge we've stayed in several times on the same road.  We would have an apartment-like space on the second floor, our own bathroom, and share the kitchen and washer/dryer.    The windows look right out on the bay, wow.  It will cost us less than half of what we have been paying, so again, a no-brainer:  we have a place to land for the entire six-plus weeks, YAAHOOO!  It's a half hour drive to SEARHC where Kathy works, but it's one of the most beautiful drives I've ever seen, and there is no traffic.  :-)  Wow, things are definitely looking up.

Next stop, the transfer company that is holding our two crates of household goods.  I explain the situation, ask if there is any way they can hold them until October 8, for a charge of course, and the answer is no.  It's not a very big operation, so somewhat understandable.  They refer me to a couple of storage places.  I don't want to break these crates down until they are at our house, if I can help it.  Maybe there is a better answer: next door to our final home, there is a house with a huge parking area, and the owners owners have already left for the year, if I remember correctly.  All we would need then is a tarp to keep out the rain.  Have to tackle that one tomorrow, or later this week:  the transfer company already agreed to hold them until Sept. 1, so no emergency on this task, and I have an interview tomorrow across the island that I have to prepare for.

Now to the Craig Library, with computers and a printer:  I need to print out my job history for tomorrow's job interview, and some other documents.  It all works fine, and I'm on my way to pick up Kathy from work, just in time. 



Sunday, more rain.  In the evening, we talk to both Brady and Kelli, and get up to speed on what they are up to:  Faith had a good first week at her new position, always nice when that happens.  Brady says they tinted the windows on the Volvo, and I thought he was kidding, but he wasn't!  They went on a 10 mile hike in Big Basin State Park on Saturday, and came back to find a flat on the Volvo, and the spare flat, too!  What can I say, they made it all the way home, 500 miles, just after they bought it, so it was in good shape then! 

Kelli and Jared and Henry are having a nice time in Maine with the McCannells.  Henry is really enjoying blueberries, by the handful, according to Kelli.  He's also enjoying his six cousins. 

I made it to the Prince of Wales Salmon Hatchery Salmon Dinner Funraiser last night, and met some new people, including the science teacher at the Craig High School, and a physical therapist that also works at SEARHC in Klawock (this Clinic has both a medical component, making up the bulk of the building, and a mental health one)  The salmon was all you can eat until they run out, which they did, and was delicious.  The waterfalls along the highway were really amazing, about twice the normal number and really flowing strongly. 

A Place to Stay, where we are now, can accomodate us from Sept 7 to Sept 30, leaving two large gaps on either end, for one, and a lot of money, for another.  We get our laundry done, go to our favorite coffeeshop for hot chocolate, and run into Victoria, our main housing connection, for the first time.  It's Kathy's fancy rainboots that get her attention, starts the conversation,  which leads to the discovery of who they both are, pretty funny. 

From Victoria's friend, we learn there will be a Coastal Cleanup effort in late September, part of the one we've worked with in San Diego, a nice connection.  This and other efforts have cleaned up 40,000 lbs. of fishing line, fishing nets, and other serious hazards to marine animal, fish and birds, over the last four years. 

We drive out Port Saint Nicolas Road to try and find the lead we got to cover the entire gap we have in housing, between August 25th and October 5.  We can't find it, but it's a beautiful drive.

Our first lesson on why it's called a RAINforest!

August 20, Saturday, and it’s been raining nearly constantly since early yesterday.  See the rain totals below.  Hence the name, RAINforest!  J  We are nice and snug in our favorite cabin, listening to it continue to pour down.  We get to keep our windows open and enjoy the fresh air, it’s that warm.  The two big hairy dogs throwing off heat in the cabin probably don’t hurt!

Precipitation Amount 0.79 inches In the 3 hours preceding Aug 20, 2011 - 04:53 PM EDT / 2011.08.20 2053 UTC 1.33 inches In the 6 hours preceding Aug 20, 2011 - 07:53 PM EDT / 2011.08.20 2353 UTC 1.57 inches In the 24 hours preceding Aug 20, 2011 - 07:53 AM EDT / 2011.08.20 1153 UTC

Technology, yea, how naive was I, thinking everyone in the US was plugged in. I've read about initiatives to improve cell phone and Internet access to rural communities, but it didn't sink in until we got here.  I guess you don’t miss what you don’t know? They do have their DISH TV's though, virtually each and every house and trailer.

Kathy's work needs some technical help, too:  having to fill out three different forms for each case, two of which are paper forms, is not very efficient, or necessary, in this 21^st century.

The fun of the road trip, then the busywork of getting settled are winding down, and the reality of being so far from family is settling in.   Text messages and phone calls and emails from Brady and Kelli and family and friends grow more special each day.  

We’ve received two packages from home, with nice cards and pictures of Henry, thanks to Kelli and Jared.  This reminds me of another hitch in our move:  we can’t get the free post office box until we have an address, and we won’t have an address until October 5.  General Delivery works, but it doesn’t help us feel ‘moved in.’ We may break down and pay for a PO Box.

We found out Craig has a nice indoor pool, with some exercise equipment, that we hear is lightly used, so we will be taking advantage of that place.

Speaking of feeling at home, the City of Craig, six miles away, is having elections soon for city council.  There are three requirements to run:  one must be 18 or older, a resident of Craig for the previous 30 days to the Oct. 5 elections, and a registered voter.  Darn, too bad our place is in Klawock, or I’d be very tempted to run! 

This is the front of our home, beginning October 5th.

Next year, when I turn 60, I become eligible for exemption from paying city sales tax!  Cool!  There is no state sales tax either, so this is a very nice benefit of being, no, not a senior citizen, but an ‘elder!’  I like that label much better, sounds more about experience than age.  J  This exemption also works on a city tax on gasoline, sweet!

I guess raccoons can’t handle the rain, as they don’t occur anywhere north of mid-British Columbia.  The association between forest and raccoons is one I didn’t know I had until I heard there aren’t any here.  There are no horses on this island either, due to the fact they would contract hoof rot.  Seems odd to be in a rural area without horses. 

Friday was another moving day, oh joy.  I was homeless for the hours between check out and check in, and Kathy needed to visit the Hydaburg Clinic, 50 miles south, so I went with her.  I bought a book to read, and got a nap during the two hours she spent there.  It rained the entire time, so didn’t get out for a walk.  The trip took an hour each way, and was, you guessed it, beautiful, and deserted.  Every view is a postcard! 

The otter was on the dock Friday morning as we packed up.  It’s so cool to see an otter in the wild! 

An Otter, an Eagle, and We Found a Place to Live!

Thursday, a rainy day, believe it or not.  J 

I applied for a job as the coordinator of a new Prince of Wales Watershed organization.  It’s a startup, so most of my part time will be getting it up to speed, 501(c)(3) status, etc. 

I keep a morning appointment to look over a small one-bedroom house for rent.  It’s in a good part of town, up a small hill with a view to the water.  It’s a converted garage, with a carport, but small, no closets, no washer/dryer, and comes complete with two cars and a trailer on the property, ugh.  I call Kathy to report, and she agrees it won’t work.  I go to the store for some groceries, and lunch at the deli counter.  I stop by the Whale Tale Pharmacy looking for the owners, who have a house for rent, but haven’t returned my voice mail.  A staffer says they are out of town, and offers to send them an email.  We have met so many nice people.

I head home to eat lunch, and continue the lodging search.  I call one lead, but she says she won’t allow pets.  It seems like a really good place, and she seems to soften about the dogs as we talk.  She gives me the address and directions, and so we will stop by when I pick up Kathy after work. 

I am working on the bed in our room when I see a bald eagle flying by through the sliding glass door, and watch him/her perch on a piling of the dock.  I go out on the deck to get a closer look, and see a perfect picture just waiting, so go to the car to get my camera.  When I come back and start setting up the shot, I notice a sea otter on the dock!  He’s rolling around scratching his back.  Wow, a bald eagle AND a sea otter, in the same shot!  Am I in a Disney movie?!  No, this is really happening!  I take several good shots of them both, hoping one of them comes out.  I packed the camera cables with the stuff we had moved, unfortunately, so won’t be able to download these for a while, darn it.  Maybe I can borrow someone’s cable.

The afternoon passes by, and it’s time to go get Kathy.  We are going out to dinner:  this place only has a small microwave, and we ate for free last night, so pizza is in order.  I pick up Kathy and tell her about the place.  She’s intrigued:  we find it, and are immediately impressed.  It looks really nice from the outside, and the location is great.  It’s not in the much bigger town of Craig, but it is within an easy walk to the Klawock Post Office, the grocery store, and only about a mile to the clinic where Kathy works!  We see a car pull into the driveway, and boldly approach the driver.  It’s the owner, and we introduce ourselves, and tell her a little about us.  We hit it off, so I get the dogs out of the car, and they are an instant hit with the owner!  A little more conversation, and we’ve got a deal!  Ha, we have a home, finally!  Downside, we can’t move in until October 5, but it is so nice, and such a relief to have found a place, we barely think about it.  Oh my gosh, we can hardly believe it!

Wednesday, August 17

I work on finding a place, making phone calls, leaving voice mail, checking CraigsList.  Kathy calls with a lead, in Hollis, 30 miles to the south, at the ferry landing.  It’s a very, very small town.  Kathy is really testing my limits, or getting more desperate, or both.  I pick her up early, at 4, and we head down.  It’s a beautiful drive, really:  most of drives on the Island are! 

We get down to the turnoff, get lost, get lost again, ask directions, finally locate the house, not so far off the road, but still in deep dark woods.  The owner greets us, and gives us a tour.  It’s an interesting but rustic place, and my back starts to stiffen.  It’s one thing to romanticize about living deep in the woods, and another to actually do it; it’s one thing to have a vacation cabin, for the good weather months, and another to live in a place year round.  I’m also discovering I’m more of a people person than I knew.  As much as I like to hike and enjoy the outdoors, often alone but not always. I still feel the need to enjoy the company and conversation of others. 

I feel like I’ve been very open to new things and flexible with this grand move, and condensed into a very short amount of time, too.  I’m also trying hard to keep being flexible and open.  But this place is just too far outside my comfort zone, at least for right now.  With our first house possibility, we were in agreement, but it was much more remote (by the way, to a person, each one we tell about that South Thorne Bay house, and how we felt a little bad about the last minute decision not to take it, they all say  not to feel bad, we absolutely made the right decision.  The six mile road off the pavement is one of the most neglected on the island in the winter.  This is very reassuring.).  This one, Kathy seems to be leaning toward. Between the rustic nature, the rough appearance, the depth into the woods, and the distance from even the few city amenities offered by Craig and Klawock, and despite the wonderful forest and water, I have to call No Deal.  Kathy is slightly disappointed, but doesn’t protest much.

We arrive back in Klawock just in time for dinner at Baxter’s A Place to Stay.  They put on a dinner twoce a month, for former and current guests and friends, nd have invited us.  It’s a feast, with grilled salmon, halibut, and all the fixings, delicious.  We meet Norma and Bill, longtime residents.  Donna Baxter owns souvenir shop, and Norma runs it for her.  They have just returned from one of their twice-annual buying trip to Seattle.  Bill is retired, from Nebraska, having worked for Union-Pacific Railroad.  He grew up in Seattle, worked at Boeing on the 737.   We share our housing plight, as we do with everyone we meet, and they commiserate, and promise to keep their ears open.  We say goodnight to all, and head for home, and a good night’s sleep.  We don’t have to move tomorrow, a luxury these days.  J

Another Whale, Another Move

Tuesday, August 16, 2011.  Last night we had very heavy rain nearly all night.  I finish packing up the car, for yet another move, and then drive through the development, looking for possible places to rent.  One house is not finished, and another, the owner wants to sell and is not interested in leasing.  I record some other possibilities to return to later.  Kathy calls with some leads, and I follow up by phone.  We get a few leads each day, and keep trying.

Moving the Whale Raven totem to Totem Park

At the store, getting some lunch, I run into Wayne, from the cabins we just left, and he feels badly that they can’t do more for us.  I tell him they have done a lot, and we really appreciate their helping when they can.  A friend of Wayne’s comes by, and tells us about the fish he caught this morning, right here in the bay, and the five whales that were swimming around!  I’ve got to get up earlier to see these myself!   

We head to the park:  It is again deserted, and I let the dogs roam free.  They just love roaming around through the forest.  Kelli calls me, and we talk for awhile.  It's great to hear her voice, and Henry chattering in the background.  Kelli gives me the phone, and I talk to him and tell him it's Grandpa.  Kelli says he gives the sign language for more!  Talk about melting your heart!  She has painted his room with trees from The Lorax, and other characters.  She says he loves it.  He's also standing more and more.  Oh, we just have to get our Skype working so we can see him!

Back to the park, I suddenly realize I’m hearing crows calling to each other, something I'm very used to in San Diego, but haven’t heard up here before now.  Crows are very rare, while the ravens are everywhere, and yakking all the time. 

I’m looking through a notebook I’ve had for over ten years, and see that my Dad started his Alaskan trip on June 8, 1998.  He and a friend drove his trailer all the way to Denali and back, and had a blast, fulfilling a lifelong dream.  I never really had a desire to visit Alaska.  The Pacific Northwest was enough for me, with its own dense forests, rivers, and wildflowers, and a much milder climate.  There is some commonality between the two forests, but significant differences, too.  I could always see us moving back to Bellingham some time, for example.  And yet here I am.  I’m still a little worried about handling a winter here, but the forests are different enough, and the animals and birds, too, that it will keep my interest for a long time. 

I drive to Craig and visit the Wheelhouse Coffeeshop for a hot chocolate.  I talk to the woman behind the counter, about us moving here, our predicament, etc.  She tells me the owner and his wife are in Ketchikan:  when a woman on the island has a baby due, she goes to Ketchikan two weeks prior to her due date, and stays there until she delivers!  I don't know all the details, but this seems like a major ordeal.  It's true their is no hospital on the island, but there are doctors.  Guess it's better to be safe than sorry.

We went for our evening walk about 8:30 pm, and ended up down by the shore.  We were just gazing out across the water, enjoying the view across the water and to the small islands, and both saw a whale spout at the same time!  Even a quarter of a mile off the shore, these are exciting to see.  We watched it surface and spout another four times before it disappeared.  We could even clearly hear it each time, partly because it’s so quiet here!  It’s amazing to be somewhere so wild as to have this be a common site.

I finally get pictures emailed off my phone, and uploaded to a new album on Facebook.  I may post a few here, but my FB page is the best place to see them.  Some show the totem poles from Totem Park in Klawock, which are always interesting to see.

Alaska Pacific Lodge Dock and bay beyond

Monday, August 15, 2011       Half way through August at the end of the day.  Kathy starts her third week, and has several appointments to look forward to, as well as cleaning up older cases.  It rained off and on last night, and  all day.    

Kathy some very cute insulated rain boots yesterday, which completes her rain gear.  Pictures to follow.

I called the local transfer office and told them we did not have a place, so no place to deliver the two crates of household goods.  They were understanding, agreed to hold them until the first of September, despite saying they were huge.   

Brady and Faithanne picked up the Volvo and drove it to San Francisco on Saturday, so Kelli and Jared now have another space in the garage, and Faithanne has a way to get to her new job, as Studio Director!

Relaxing weekend, and a possible place falls through, :-(

Sunday dawns bright and clear.  We have to move from Cabin Two to Cabin Three.  This was a move we won’t complain about, since it was just 20 feet! 

Our landlord tells us that a bear was on the grounds last night from 11 p.m. until 2 am, and knocked over the trashcan right outside our cabin, scattering items around, and his dogs had been barking for hours.  We heard nothing!  The dogs did not react either, very strange!  The landlord says that in September, there will be a parade of bears right by the cabins as they head to the Klawock River to take advantage of the huge fish migration.   That will be something to see!

We go church at St. John’s.  Afterwards they have  virtual breakfast smorgashborg and mixer.  We meet the physics/chem teacher from Craig High School.  Her daughter graduated from Yale with a degree in Environmental Engineering, and is now working for a private contractor on a jet fuel pipeline project in Mesquite NV, interesting.  Her husband is an ex-Alaska State Trooper.  They have been here 15 years.  She lives in Old Craig, a block or two from the duplex we are hoping for. 

Kathy goes to do laundry, and I stay out of the rain which has moved in, reading my Grisham book.  After a while it stops raining and looks okay, so I take the dogs for a walk.  As we did back in San Diego, we try to take them for at least one long walk every day.  I’ve seen a map that shows a trail into the forest and done to the Klawock River, and it begins right across from the grocery store.  We find it, and the dogs have a great time exploring the forest, which is deserted.  I see a wren, and bunchberries and wild blueberries and lots and lots of hanging moss.  This moss is literally everywhere, one of the constant reminders we are in a temperate rain forest.

We get down to the river, and immediately hear and see fish jumping.  There is nothing for them to jump over at this part of the river, but jump they do, sometimes clearing the water by more than a foot!  They are good size fish, too, 10 to 18 inches or so.  I hear them splash down more often than I actually see them.  We walk along the shore, and see three small groups of Canada Geese at different parts along the way.  Lakota manages to sneak into the water when I’m distracted, darn it.  Oh well, we walked down here, so she can dry off on the walk back.  We find what I suspect is a pile of bear poop.  This has the dogs complete attention.  Lakota makes a move as if she is going to roll in it, and I yell just in time!  Why they like to roll in weird stuff is beyond me.

We take a short after-dinner walk  up and down the streets around the cabins.  The dogs behave so well I've stopped using the leash.  Most dogs at their homes are leashed up; others come only to their property lines and then stop.  We walk about ten blocks, and then a Klawock Policeman stops his truck and informs us we are in the city limits, so the dogs must be on leashes.  Bummer.  He's nice enough about it, but guess that ends that.  We go by the house we like that is empty, in really good shape, and makes us wonder if it available.  There's no for sale sign, no contact info at all.  Guess I'll ask the neighbors if then know anything about it tomorrow. 

When Kathy flew up here for her interview, she called me and said it was a much slower pace of life, and wondered if we could adjust.  My immediate thought was sure, but the return to San Diego, if that comes, would be much tougher.  In San Diego, we live about half a mile from the I-805/SR136 Interchange, and there was a habitual roar of traffic, sometimes very quiet, sometimes very loud, depending on the atmosphere and the time of day.  We got used to it and it very rarely bothered us.  I’m sure it had an effect on the air we were breathing, too. Between the pace of life, the speed of traffic, the noise, and the change from what has to be some of the purest air on earth, that transition back could be a real challenge.  Besides having a very small population, no traffic congestion, very dense forests of trees, and the air getting ‘washed’ virtually every day, it has to be fresh air!  Oh well, that’s two years away, not to worry.

We didn't get the duplex we really, really wanted, very disappointing.   

Saturday, and it’s raining much of the day. We stay in and stay warm.  We go out around 7pm our time, to Craig to Skype with Kelli and Jared.  We get to the Wheelhouse Coffeeshop a little late, and start trying.  Turns out our connection is fine, but Kelli has computer problems, so are attempt fails.  Kathy calls Kelli to talk, and ends up talking while I drive home to Klawock.  Now we know there is solid connection all the way down the highway.  They have a good talk, with Henry interjecting his two cents too. 

Late Friday night, both dogs abruptly jumped to their feet, ears up and Lakota doing a low growl.  I don't remembe ever seeing them react like this, and we immediately suspectd a bear is near.  We muted the TV, but didn’t hear anything.  They definitely were uneasy about something odd.  After several minutes, no sound from outside, and a look through the windows, we opened the front door and the dogs swept out, but froze on the deck, still on high alert.  They would not venture off the deck at first.  We looked around, listened, and heard and saw nothing.  The moon was coming up through thin clouds, looked to be almost full.  The dogs finally went down the three stairs to the ground, but stayed right close.  Quinlan was breathing in deeply, then almost snorting to clear his nose, in a way I’ve never seen before.  We called them in after a few minutes, and they were fine after that.  it will be interesting to see how they react when we do see a bear, and if it's similar to this reaction.  We figure it's only a matter of time before this happens.