Just Like Camping

The weather has warmed up and the sun is coming out more often, which made me realize it feels like we are camping!  Sure, we live in a house, but it's a log house, with lots of trees around it and a lake about 200 steps away.  There are eagles and blue jays and chickadees and juncos, snow-capped mountain ridges in three directions:  doesn't that sound like camping to you?

Work was very good this week.  We conquered a particularly vexing issue, and got two grant proposals submitted.  I started the week down by the city docks, greeting the group from the tour boat Wilderness Adventurer, from InnerSea Discoveries.  It has a capacity of 60 people, but I think there were only about 40 or so aboard. 

As they were returning from their walking tour of Klawock, I had a table set up, and sold nine tee shirts.  I was pretty happy with that amount.   

The tour boat comes in each Monday about 8:00 AM.  The Tribe wanted to do the tours, but the City has the contract, so their Administrator gives the tours.  We plan on getting the contract next year.  In the mean time, we are working hard on our own walking tours, to entertain and educate the 80 or so mostly hunters and fishermen who stay in the local lodges.  There's probably about that many staying in Craig, too, a short six miles away.  
We will have an Alaska Native dance troupe perform, too, but not this week or next, as the biennial Celebration is taking place in Juneau.  This is a gathering of tribes from all over Southeast Alaska, and this year even attracted tribes from Washington State and beyond.  

This is a great picture of the Coming Ashore ceremony.  There were 55 dance troupes that performed!  Kathy and I went to see one of them in their final dress rehearsal before leaving for Juneau.  It's very impressive.


Kathy had a good week, too.  She experienced a breakthrough with one of her couples, something that doesn't always happen.  


I made my reservations for a trip to San Diego, too!  I'm so excited I can hardly contain it!  I'm flying in just under one month, and will be there for about eight days.  It will have been about seven months since I saw Henry!  


Henry and parents are moving to Maine, just about the same time we moved to Alaska last year, funny.  Kelli and Jared both got jobs at Jared's alma mater, Maine Central Institute, a private high school.  It is part of a school district.  However, it has about 140 residential students, from other states and countries.  They will have a three bedroom, 2 bath apartment in the dorms, as part of their compensation, and be in the same town with Jared's parents and several siblings.  What a great opportunity!


So, I must return, take care of a few maintenance issues, and get the house ready to rent to strangers.  We may get lucky on that front, and rent to a nephew, which would be much, much better.  


Well, with pictures and all, this is a pretty good catchup.  Off to the kids fishing derby at the Prince of Wales Fish Hatchery, just down the road.