Daylight Dwindling, Rising Utilties, and Animal Leaves Us

Brady asked me what time the sun came up in Klawock, so here is a snapshot comparison between San Diego and Klawock, taken at 8:15 AM Wednesday the 30th:

Temperature:  58.8 °F        Feels Like 59.0 °F

Sunrise / Set

6:31 AM / 4:42 PM

Temperature:  33 °F        Feels Like 33 °F

Sunrise / Set

7:54 AM / 3:27 PM

San Diego still has about 10 hours of daylight, while we have just 7.5 hours.    


I finally figured out what we are paying for electricity.  The last bill for our San Diego house crossed over from summer rates to winter rates, but overall, a kilowatt cost 13.8 cents, while in Klawock, we pay 25.2 cents, 82% more.  At least we aren't getting any electricity from nuclear power, oil or coal.  It's all certified green hydro.

Speaking of oil, we've been in our log house about seven weeks, and never received a bill for our heating oil.  I called the company to ask about this, and they said our balance was zero.  Okay, maybe we are sipping it, which would be great.  Twenty minutes later, however, the oil truck showed up.  I said howdy and asked, "Is this a coincidence, or the result of my phone call?"  The driver said it was the result of my phone call.  They told him to stop delivering when the previous renter left, and never told him to start back up.  Luckily, it only took 50 gallons to fill the tank, which the driver told me holds 110 gallons, so we weren't at risk of running out.  I'm told the cost is about $4.80 per gallon, so that fill cost about $240.  That's for about two months of use, but even so, that means $120 for oil, $45 for electricity, and $106 for propane each month.  Welcome to Alaska, and where can I buy a nice wood stove and two cords of wood?!

Waterfalls on the Craig-Klawock Highway, along the Klawock Inlet.

 I had my permanent crown installed on Tuesday, the first of two.  Check out this picture, out the window from the dentist chair:  

Sunnahae Mountain, Craig.

Brady and Faith had to put down their beloved cat, Animal.  He developed a wheeze, and they were working with the vet to treat the symptoms and figure out what was wrong.  He would respond, then decline.  An x-ray on Wednesday showed an enlarged heart, very serious.  They made the tough decision to put him down.  Animal was part of their family for about three years.  Our thoughts are with you, Brady and Faith.

Don't Mess with Snowbanks

I've seen it twice now, a carcass, no, a skeleton, by the side of the road, picked completely clean, ravens and a few bald eagles still hanging around.  These are bright orange-yellow, for some reason.  They must be deer, as nothing else on the island has rib cages that big.  It makes sense that it's a deer by the side of the road, too.  I'll have to stop and take a picture next time I see one.  You really have to see it to believe it.  Winter hasn't even officially begun, either, so I'm guessing there will be a few more opportunities for pictures.

I found out 'four wheel drive' does not mean go anywhere and do anything.  Right on our own driveway, I got stuck this morning, trying to get Kathy to work.  Kathy was near panic attack as I slipped and slid and finally came to a dead stop.  Hey, I didn't hit any trees or stumps or the house!  I had to get the shovel and work it for 20 minutes to get it out, then shovel a path through the small snowbank at the head of the driveway, created by the snowplow as he cleared the road.  Okay, now I know better.  Shovel first, drive second.  

It's been years, longer than a decade, since we had to park a car outside, so we are a little spoiled.  Wouldn't you know it would have to be in a northern climate, where a garage would really come in handy, that we have to learn to do without a garage?  It would be very nice not to have to scrape ice off the windows and snow off the car, before pulling away.  

Kelli and Jared and Henry are coming for Christmas!  We were hoping, but since they were just here, we weren't sure they could swing it.  This is a happy surprise!  They will come early in December, and then be here for the first two days of Brady and Faith's visit, so that will be fun.  As much as we'd like to have them all here together a longer time, this way no one will have to stay someplace else.  We will have a crowded house for those two days, but it will be nothing but fun.  We can hardly wait!

I picked Kathy up at lunch at we went to the TruValue store to look for Christmas lights  (somehow, we brought NONE of our Christmas decorations with us!  We are still baffled by how this happened.).  We are liking our TruValue store.  It has lots of stuff, and good prices.  

While we were there, I saw something I haven't seen in over a decade.  There it was, a common product, right out in the open, no cage and key!  Whoa, this is crazy!  I can just reach out and pick up a can of spray paint?!  I don't have to find a clerk?!  You won't find this in San Diego, folks!


California and rainy Prince of Wales that I've come across!  Crazy, right?!

Snowy Thanksgiving Weekend, and the Christmas Bazaar

Sunday, and time for church, at least for me.  I try the Presbyterian Church today. 

I’m not inspired with the pastor, and I only recognize one person in the assembly.  I’m not feeling it.  I enjoy the message of the sermon, if not the sermon, and decide not to stay for lunch. 

Saturday, and the long-awaited Craig Holiday Bazaar.  Our windshield wipers are working, thankfully, so off we go.  (There is still plenty of snow on the ground and slush on the roads.)  We are anxious to see the island crafts and buy some Christmas decorations and gifts.  We park across the street, and very carefully negotiate the slippery street and parking lot, both of us managing to stay upright.  The city gym is packed with tables and shoppers.  One person on the island is very creative, using her pictures for greeting cards, and doing beautiful glassware.  Our favorite bakery is there, too, and we get some cinnamon buns and apple-sourdough bread, yum.  We see our landlord’s son, who is also named Doug, and meet his wife; we see my POWER Thrift Store volunteer friends, we see the Pt St Nick Fish Hatchery person, and buy a raffle ticket from her to support the hatchery; we see the Prince of Wales Marathon table and buy four raffle tickets to win a roundtrip on Alaska Airlines, and get Kathy a fun Bling Ring (she later makes a little girl’s day by giving it to her. J); we see the everywhere volunteer and leader Victoria, and we see Kathy’s boss and his wife; and we see Craig High School students selling raffle tickets to support a state-wide art presentation coming to the island.  We find some nice Christmas decorations and a gift or two.  It’s a fun time, a big and festive event on the island. 

We had fun last night trying to knock snow off our roof.  Some had already fallen on its own, built up at the bottom near the eves in a big drift.  I got some to fall, but it was too high up to get a got shot.  Later, we heard what sounded like thunder, and knew it was the rest of the snow avalanching off.  We have a pretty steep roof, too, and the snow still accumulates.  This is all a new experience for us.  So far I’ve been successful at driving through the drifts that the snowplow creates at the head of our driveway, but I’m not sure it’s good for the car to charge these things.  I’m going to start using the snow shovel to clear a path.  

Ravens at the Craig Harbor.  There were about ten of them, hanging around, waiting for scraps.  See the weather coming in, and the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

 There are no signs for tire chains, surprising me.  The explanation is that this is Alaska, land of independence, and Alaskans don’t take kindly to being told what to do, so the government limits laws, leaving it up to the individual to properly equip his or her car, at least for winter driving conditions.  It’s also rue for building codes:  there are none, at least on the island.  Of course, if one is borrowing money from a bank, the lender will have their own requirements, but these are not the same as building codes.

A sunny but snowy day, at the Craig Post Office.  I took this picture from Annie Betty's, where I was having a hot chocolate while the wiper motor was getting fixed. 

 Kathy is having spotty success getting the hours of supervised counseling she needs to gain her certification.  It’s a good day if three of six clients with appointments actually show up.  For this and another monetary reason, looks like we will be hear closer to three years.  This bothers me a little:  I’ve met more than one Islander who tells me to be careful:  “We came here for two years, 17 years ago!”  There are certainly a few things about home I could learn to live without, such as traffic and crime for starters, but I don’t think I can live without the good things, such as family and friends and sunshine, for starters!

Sometimes I have the urge to look down on the ruralness of our new home:  the lack of culture, the second class credit union, the occasional electrical blackouts, the very slow speed limits, and a few other issues.   Even as I think this way, it strikes me as petty.  Not having a job and regular exercise plays into these feelings, I know.  We are working on the second issue, trying to buy an elliptical, but running into the combination of Alaska and island hassles.

I love the habit of people waving at each other as they drive, or pass pedestrians.  This is very common, whether they recognize you or not.  How cool is that?!

The birds don’t seem to realize it’s colder and snowy.  The ravens fly and call as much as ever (they have many different calls), and so do the bald eagles.  There are blue jays around.  Seagulls, maybe, are fewer.

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving.  We missed family, of course, but made the best of it.  

POW-WA, POWCAC, and the Value of Carpooling

Today I went to my third meeting of the Prince of Wales Watershed Association, or POW-WA.  Organizations having to do with island-wide issues normally move meetings around the island, so this time we met in Hollis, at their new Fire Station.  One of the volunteers gave us a tour, and he told us he had done something this morning he had never done in his 70 odd years, and this was to put tire chains on inside a building, on a solid flat surface, and could even do so with the rollup door down to preserve the heat!  They love their new building!

I carpooled to the meeting with someone who has not only lived on the island for 17 years, she has also been extremely active, serving on or with many organizations, so brought me up to date on recent history of the island.  This was even more valuable than the gas I saved, and she wouldn't even take my money for gas.  

Hollis is about 35 minutes from Klawock and to the east, and the closer we got to Hollis, the worse the road conditions got.This group is just beginning, so our time is spent on forming bylaws, which we almost have finalized, and other preliminary issues.  One today was whether we need a logo, and how we should go about getting one.  All agreed the organization did need one, and we tossed around some ideas on having a contest, etc.

Random Picture Insert:  When we first arrived on the island, we headed for South Thorne Bay, and the log house we thought we would be living in.  We followed the owner 25 minutes down a gravel road, and just before we arrived at this house, we see this car, just off the road.  It was part of the reason we decided against staying at this house.

This is a good group of people, and there is no better way to join a new community than to get volunteer and get involved.  This being my third meeting of this group, I'm finally remembering names and faces.  

Next, as part of the POWCAC meeting, there was a potluck lunch, which was delicious.  POWCAC stand for Prince of Wales Community Action Committee, and as the chair told me, is a poor man's county government.  Alaska doesn't have counties though, it has boroughs.  Because it is so huge in size and has relatively few residents compared to it's size, much of it doesn't fall within a borough, which I think is the strangest thing about government in Alaska.  

Alaska is not divided into counties, as most of the other U.S. states, but it is divided into boroughs. Many of the more densely populated parts of the state are part of Alaska's 16 boroughs, which function somewhat similarly to counties in other states. However, unlike county-equivalents in the other 49 states, the boroughs do not cover the entire land area of the state. The area not part of any borough is referred to as the Unorganized Borough.  The Unorganized Borough has no government of its own.  Whereas many U.S. states use a three-tiered system of decentralization—state/county/township—most of Alaska uses only two tiers—state/borough. Areas in the Unorganized Borough are administered directly by the state government. Currently 57.71% of Alaska's area has this status, with 13.05% of the population.

 So, POWCAC works on island-wide issues.  One hot topic currently is the exploration of two mines on the southern tip of the island.  There are no roads leading anywhere near these mines, and so all supplies, etc., are barged or boated out of Ketchikan.  If these mines prove out, POW would not be able to capitalize on new jobs to providing supplies.  POWCAC today passed a resolution asking the state government and the Tongass National Forest to work with it to build a new road to service those mines.  POW is suffering greatly from a lack of jobs, which results in people either working somewhere on the mainland during the week and returning for the weekend, or moving off the island altogether.  

The temperature has dropped enough that it's snowing again.  Snow is much better than slush, which is what you get when the temperature warms up and it rains on snow.  The snow turns dirty gray, it melts during the day and freezes overnight, making walking and driving a challenge, so not nearly as fun as snow.  

 

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Sunday evening, watching the nice warm AMA Music Awards.  I love watching the stars, seeing the performances, hearing the best of todays music!  It's 9:00 PM, and the temp has risen to 34 degrees, from 27 this morning.  It's overcast,  but not snowing.  

We got some culture this afternoon, a play put on by the local theatre group:  Alaska, The Secret of Yonder Mountain.  It was campy but fun.  

Yesterday I had a good opportunity to check out the bad weather capabilities and performance of the Subaru, and me.  I drove to Craig, on the state highway, which was plowed, and still too cold for any icy conditions.  Then I drove out Pt. St. Nick Road, which was not plowed.  I wondered what the law says about chains, but no one else had them on.  The car performed fine, and so did I, taking it easy.  The only real issue I had was when I tried a few panic stops in the snow, and the ABM (?) took over, pumping the brakes automatically.  I've never liked this feature, but it worked okay.  I also discovered a new "idiot light:"  when I punched the accelerator hard to break the tires lose, a couple of times a red light lit up on the dash, showing a car skidding.  Good to know.

There were two kids on ATV's driving the road, doing power slides, drifting, having a blast.  It looked like a lot of fun.  

Friday morning, and It's 27 degrees outside as I write this post.  I thought maybe that was a new low for me, but Bellingham WA gets that low, and lower.  We lived in Bellingham 32 years ago.  Today, here we are, even farther from 'home.'  For many reasons, Klawock makes Bellingham look so much more attractive as a place to live, beginning with the fact that it is so much closer to home, and has none of the logistic challenges we have here on the island.

Kelli is so good about sending us pictures of Henry.  She texts these to once or twice a day.  He is getting so big, and mobile.  I called her yesterday when she sent a picture of him walking at Murray Ridge Park.  She said he was having a great time, a stick in each hand, wandering around.  Two older boys came to the park, and he sat right down between them and watched their every move.  Often he is talking, too, and we would love to hear what his 14 month old thoughts are, he seems so serious in his 'talking.'  I miss him so much!  I took him to that park often, and loved holding him as we walked around it.  He's too big for that now, but it would be just as fun seeing him walk on his own.   Henry loves being outdoors, exploring, walking, talking, hearing the birds and getting fresh air.  Jared has even back-packed him up Cowles Mountain several times!  

Brady and Faith have their reservations for a Christmas visit!  They will be here for eight days.  Brady is looking forward to a white Christmas, and he may just one!  

Thanks goodness we don't get weather like this:  

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Alaska's second-largest city is used to cold weather, but few residents expected record-breaking cold this early in the season.  A temperature of 41 degrees below zero - the first 40 below temperature of the season - was recorded at Fairbanks International Airport. The National Weather Service in Fairbanks says that broke the old record of 39 below set in 1969.

We are lucky to have a progressive power company serving us here on the island.  Alaska Power & Telephone is employee-owned, for starters.  The rest of this post details other successful efforts they are making to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels.

Have a good week everyone, and a Happy Thanksgiving!  Thanks for following this blog on our Alaska Adventure. 

Alaska Energy Systems

Alaska's electric energy infrastructure differs in many ways from that in the rest of the United States. Most consumers in the Lower 48 states are linked to an extensive electrical energy grid through transmission and distribution lines.

Alaska does not have a vast infrastructure of transmission interties that span the horizons throughout the rest of the North American continent. Alaska also lacks an extensive interconnected road system to link our many cities, towns and villages. The absence of transmission lines to share cheap power among communities and a road system to transport fuel to remote areas has a profound impact on our members' efforts to bring affordable and reliable power to consumers.

Most electric power in Alaska comes from fossil fuels, natural gas or diesel fuel. However, some alternative energy sources are already in use. More than 50 hydroelectric power plants supply Alaska communities, from the six-megawatt Power Creek plant serving 2,700 Cordova area residents to the 126-megawatt Bradley Lake plant near Homer that generates power for Alaskans from the Kenai Peninsula to Fairbanks.

Recognized as one of the most progressive utilities in Alaska, the keys to AP&T's continued success lay primarily in its willingness to promote and develop long term reliable energy and communication solutions while capitalizing on the innovation and technical expertise of its skilled and dedicated employees.

We maintain systems on windswept mountaintops and storm-battered islands. Our power and telecommunications lines cross rainforest, taiga and tundra. We operate facilities in places that are among the wettest, driest, windiest, coldest and most remote regions on earth. We live and work in Alaska.

June 22, 2010

SOLSTICE ON THE YUKON USHERS THE DAWN OF IN‐STREAM HYDROKINETIC ENERGY FOR AP&T IN EAGLE ALASKA

On June 21st, Alaska Power & Telephone Company, (AP&T) is poised to take an historic plunge in the Yukon River near the towns of Eagle and Eagle Village this week with the cutting edge deployment of Alaska’s first 25‐Kilowatt low‐impact hydrokinetic river turbine. The first of its type to be placed into commercial service, the in‐stream turbine, manufactured by New Energy Corp., is a 4‐blade vertical axis unit mounted on a floating platform. The slow spinning turbine (22 rpm max) produces no emissions, requires no dam and poses very little risk to marine life.

The native town of Eagle Village will likely become the first in America to become powered solely by a renewable river‐turbine hydrokinetic energy source. “One of the primary objectives of this project is the continued displacement of fossil fuel based energy within our company portfolio,” noted Ben Beste, AP&T’s lead project engineer. “In fifteen short years we’ve transitioned from 98 percent carbon‐based generation to a 70 percent renewable‐based platform.” If expanded, the project could displace up to 57,000 gallons of diesel generation fuel annually for the approximately 200 residents of the two Yukon River communities.

 Black Bear Lake Hydroelectric Project, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

Black Bear Lake Project becomes the first hydropower facility to earn LIHI certification in Alaska and the twenty-second nationwide.

PORTLAND, ME – (December 19, 2006) —The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) announced that at their December 14, 2006 meeting they certified the Black Bear Lake Hydroelectric Project as Low Impact. The Black Bear Lake Hydroelectric Project is a 4.5 Mw hydro project at Black Bear Lake on Prince of Wales Island, Tongass National Forest, Alaska. The Project is located about 8.6 miles east of Klawock. The facility is owned and operated by the Alaska Power and Telephone (APT), and licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Total project costs were approximately $10 Million.

The Black Bear Lake Project meets LIHI's eight environmentally rigorous Low Impact criteria addressing river flows, water quality, fish passage and protection, watershed health, endangered species protection, cultural resources, recreation use and access, and whether or not the dam itself has been recommended for removal. The Black Bear Lake Project became the first hydropower facility to earn LIHI certification in Alaska and the twenty-second nationwide.

The lake's spill elevation is 1687 feet msl, with a surface size of 215 acres. The lake is used as a reservoir, rather than using a dam, which is accomplished by using a siphon.. A siphon, which is set up on the crest of land at the edge of the lake, is used initially to draw water out of the lake. Once the siphon is established, water passes through both an HDPE and steel penstock to the valve house where flow can be turned on or shut off without losing the siphon. The valve house also has a bypass pipe for bypassing flows to the creek when additional water is needed in the anadromous reach below the powerhouse. When the valve is opened at the valve house, the water flows through approximately 4,900 feet of pipe, some of which is buried and other above ground, to the powerhouse and the turbine.

The water is pressurized by the amount of head the project has (i.e. 1,500 foot drop in elevation) and the small nozzle (needle) the water must pass through as it strikes the runner (a series of spoon-like protuberances on a wheel) in the turbine, which in turn turns the generator creating electricity.

The electricity then goes to the substation where a step-up transformer adjusts the current to the voltage that is wanted on the electrical grid,in this case 34.5 kV. Switchgear in the powerhouse is located in the office where the operations are monitored and adjusted to meet load demand. Operations are also set up to monitor them from a remote location (i.e. one or more of our central offices).

As mentioned, there are rainbow trout in the lake that were stocked there in the 50's. ADF&G had been concerned that the Project's annual drawdowns may be impacting the trout's sustainability by dewatering their spawning beds. Population surveys were conducted for 7 years and a habitat survey was conducted in 2002.

The Black Bear Lake Hydro Project consists of the following features:

(1). A 215 acre reservoir (Black Bear Lake) at elevation 1,687 with storage capacity of 3,200 acre feet

(2). A 600-foot-long Siphon, 30-inch-diameter HDPE penstock with a vacuum pump assembly and structure at the high point elevation of 1,695 msl.

(3). A 30-inch HDPE penstock with a total length of 4,900-feet (820-feet buried intake and siphon, 1,930-feet supported on concrete saddles, and 2,150-feet buried to the powerhouse).

(4). A 44-foot by 67-foot powerhouse with two horizontal Twin-Jet Pelton turbines operating with a gross head of 1,490-feet

(5). A 4.5-mile long 34.5 kV overhead transmission line

No New Snow Today, But Still Plenty of Snow!

Parking Lot at Klawock Heeyna Mall.  The car tracks lead to the covered pickup area.

It's so beautiful here!  No new snow today, but a high of 33 preserved what had fallen earlier this week.  It was fun to go out this morning and find the bear tracks and follow them up the road.  They are very obvious, with the toes showing.  The dogs were growling in the middle of last night, so must have heard or smelled it.  I wonder if s/he knows it's trash pickup day, and so follows the road checking trash cans for food.  Ours are bungied shut, and most people keep them in a little shed to keep the bears from making a mess.

I usually drive down the road to Craig after I drop off Kathy in the morning, to see how the waterfalls are doing, wondering if they will freeze overnight.  So far, they are all flowing as usual.  The sawmill on the edge of town, the only one left on the island, even looks ready for Christmas, it's mountains of wood shavings covered in snow.    

It's really pretty, like a Christmas card, with snow on all the tree branches and houses.  Tonight it's clear again, and the stars are extra bright.  The day started out clear, too, and the birds were all happy, even though the temperature was only 28 degrees.  

East side of our house

Hemlock Road in front of our house


And here is why we miss San Diego so much, not the weather!

More Snow!

Today, Wednesday, started out cold, 34 degrees.  Luckily we came prepared, and so have all the right clothes, and boots, and car.  We also have a nice tight log house:  despite leaving a window open all night in our upstairs bedroom loft, and the heater turned off, it was still 56 degrees this morning when we got up.  This house is almost too tight, keeping the house warm and stuffy, so we experimented last night, and will now leave a window open every night for nice fresh air.

I took Kathy to work, then came home and did some work.  Today is my volunteer day at POWER Thrift Store in Craig, from 10 AM to 2 PM.  Victoria always brings us a nice warm lunch.  I've finally got the 1,000+ books sorted and organized.  I found one last week that is worth $100.  I'm going to sell it on ebay and fatten up the donation box.  We've also read several good mysteries I found there and brought home.

Leaving the store I found rain, which turned into sleet on the drive home, and snow in Klawock.  I stopped at the mall to check the mail and get a few things, and by the time I came out, the parking lot was covered in snow!  It snowed off and on the rest of the day.  Look for pictures in tomorrow's blog.  The chances of making Brady's dream of a White Christmas here come true is looking better and better.  :-)  The dogs don't seem to mind the snow, although Quinlan was a little more anxious to get in the house this afternoon, but that might have been due to the 33 degree temperature. 

After picking up Kathy last night we went to Craig and did some Christmas shopping, which is more fun thanks to Henry!

We are still trying to figure out how to get an elliptical exercise machine to our house.  We find them on the web, but they won't deliver or ship to the island, which is understandable since they weigh 300 lbs.  We desperately need a way to exercise regularly, without driving somewhere.  I'm going to contact the barge company tomorrow and see if they will pick it up and deliver it, from the Sears store in Ketchikan.

One Duck Trail, Snow, and Veteran's Day Show

November 13, 2011, Sunday

Windy and cold all day, reaching a high of 40 degrees just one time.  Wind gusts hit 37 mph today.  It hailed several times, and snowed just a little.  It’s nice to be in a warm house.  Kathy cut my hair today, and it looks good!  It’s her first time using the haircutting kit we bought. 

November 12, 2011, Saturday

At 6:30 PM, the temperature was 40 degrees.  The high today was 45.  Through the afternoon, the sustained wind hit 24 mph, with gusts to 45, which seems more like at least 60, judging by the sound of the wind on the house and the swaying of the trees.  Luckily, it was calm in the morning.

The view from the top of One Duck Trail

 I went on an organized hike for the first time on the island this morning.  I definitely needed the exercise, and was looking forward to meeting new people.

This was my first time on the Out in the Rain hikes.  There was a pretty good storm last night, scared people away from the hike:  it turned out to be Bob, the leader, me, and two other people, a couple I had met once before.  There was discussion about whether to cancel the hike or go ahead.  Happily for me, they decided to go ahead.  Jared and I had this hike on our list of trails to tackle, but hadn’t made it.  I rode with Bob and the other couple drove their car.  At least it wasn’t raining, and I had layered up so I was fairly confident I was ready for any temperature. 

The drive south to the trailhead took about 25 minutes, and we found six inches of snow covering all but the plowed roads (the trailhead was about 600' higher in elevation, and considerably farther inland than Klawock).  We parked and headed up the trail.  I knew it was a steep trail, and this proved to be very true, gaining 1100 feet of elevation in just 1.25 miles, earning it’s ‘most difficult’ rating (the Cowles Mountain Trail gains 733' in it's first 1.25 miles).  At first the trail was clear, but then we ran into new snow, about four inches deep.  Luckily I had worn my rain boots, and they have a very good grip, so my feet stayed dry and gripped well enough.   The trail was very well constructed, and beautiful in it’s virgin white snow blanket.  Bob brought his search and rescue dog Sweep, who was really enjoying the snow.    

For at least half the trail I kept up, and then I began to run out of steam.  It's a very steep trail, and watching my every step was taxing, too.  The trail gains either 1100’ or 1200’, depending on which source one reads.  We finally reached the shelter at the top, not a step too soon for me.  It is a beautiful trail, and I'm looking forward to hiking it again in the Spring.  

The last few steps leading to the shelter and end of the trail.

Sweep, ready to head back down the snowy trail.

November 11, 2011, Veteran's Day

We went to the Bob Hope USO Show tonight, at the Craig High School auditorium.  This was campy but fun.  One guy dressed up as Bob Hope, then Elvis, then John Lennon, and finally Johnny Cash.  Our friend dressed up as Phyllis Diller, and she was really good.  There was a band of high school kids who did a really good job.  It was fun to get out and see some entertainment.

November 10, 2011

I finally got the second crate broken down and hauled away.  Although still cold, one morning was sunny, before the rain returned, so I got busy and took advantage of it, clearing out the bicycles and bed frame and left over packaging, and went to work with my hammer to tear down the crate.  This was actually fun, since it wasn’t detail work, just simply demolition time, and I could swing away with the hammer.  Lord knows I could use the exercise, too.  I did save the two by fours, which were good lengths and in good shape, unlike the plywood sides. 

Next, a second trip to the Klawock landfill.  Jared had helped me load the first crate onto the top of the car for my first trip to the dump.  This time, I found a way to load the four by eight foot sheets of plywood onto the car top rails without touching the paint, and loaded it up. 

The grounds were four or five times muddier than before, with no safe ground visible.  The mud was about six inches thick, and soupy.  There was a tractor operator who seemed to be waiting for me to dump the load, so I figured if I got stuck, he’d be happy to pull me out, and in I went, a real test for the Ruby Red ‘Ru!    I got the load off, no problems, and then carefully got back in the car, my boots covered in mud.  Nice and easy, I pressed on the gas pedal, and away we went, no hitches.  How nice is four wheel drive?!  I was a little disappointed, really, that it was so easy to drive out.

I’m sitting in the Craig Library, catching up with a long overdue blog entry.  I suddenly remember Kelli and Jared and I bringing Henry here to the Storytime.  He had a fun with the blocks, and always enjoys being around other kids.  Seeing him walking was so fun!  Kelli said he blew me kisses at the end of our conversation on the phone the other day!  We miss him so much!

Kathy’s job continues to be worthwhile and educational.  Her boss and other co-worker are away this week at a conference in Anchorage.  Her boss barely returned from a long vacation in the Lower 48 before leaving for the conference, so she has had a lot of time on her own at the Clinic.  She is still running behind in hours of therapy needed for certification, assuming we expected it to take two years.  However, she found out she is eligible for a third year of tuition reimbursement, if she stays all of 2013, so we may be here longer. 

We are still seeing Canada Goose in the Klawock River and on the ocean inlet, and hear them honking overhead as they fly by.  I still think of the San Pasqual Valley every time I hear them, picturing hundreds grazing the fields.  Bald eagles continue hanging out in the usual trees and flying about, and the ravens, too.  The black bears are headed for hibernation soon, the locals tell us.  We haven’t seen any since Kelli and Jared left, and then we only saw one the whole time they were here. 

I continue volunteering once a week at POWER, the Prince of Wales Emergency Resource Thrift Store and Food Pantry.  It’s a humbling experience, as many, many people use this on a regular basis.  It’s packed with clothes, mostly, for all ages, with some household items, and thousands of books. I’ve been working on the books since I started, a month and a half ago.  I am really making progress now.  One or two more trips and we will have them sorted into broad categories, and a process in place to keep them sorted.