alaskanviki

Making a dream a reality

alaskanviki — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 06:26:19 +0000

Sometimes you dream but so often they just don’t happen. Part of life I think. I always dreamed of having a house at the lake property, really never knew if it could become a reality. It has been the hardest battle I have ever fought. I can’t say I actually have a house there, no flushing toilet or shower, or heat. But I have a roof, insulation, sheetrock and paint. Biggest deal is that I camped out and spent the night there, 31 years after purchasing the property. I had lots of trouble sleeping, kept waking up and watching the lake. There were nine loons singing and dancing as only loons can. The sun rose over the mountains and I cried. The photo is me in bed, check out the view. The other is the view out of my window. Now-to get heat and lights and flushing potty!!!

Final flight of the Peacock

alaskanviki — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 07:57:59 +0000

This weekend heralded the final flight of the peacock. For those of you who are unaware of this poor birds plight for the last two years; I will attempt to briefly explain the flights of this animal. The peacock came to this family at Christmas two years ago, my dear mother found this iron monstrosity in Phoeniz welded together from Mexican tin cans with a body made from a genuine large rock. She proudly presented him to me as a gift; I promptly asked how she thought I should get this back to Alaska, she informed me that I would find a way. I measured and found that it was too big to go with the post office, too heavy to Fed Ex unless I was able to find another job to pay for it (remember genuine rock as body, metal feathers). Thale graciously talked to her friends who drive up every year who agreed to strap the Peacock to the back of their semi, in front of their 5th wheel and drive it north. Thale and Jeff drove the bird to California so that it could catch up with the semi; they then drove it to Idaho where it rested peacefully for the balance of the winter. With the migrating birds the peacock drove the Alcan north to Valdez, where a welder made repairs to feathers from the wind of the trip. Once delivered to Valdez, Thale brought it to Fairbanks on its way to Anchorage; then it came to rest in my backyard for the winter. This weekend the final flight brought it to the lake where it had perched atop the septic tank in glorious rocking fury. It is surrounded by ferns and shrubs and seems finally to be at peace. Oh what a trip!! And Mom-thanks for the peacock.

Back from the River-Off to the lake

alaskanviki — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:57:45 +0000

I returned from the river and immediately went to the lake for two weeks. I have been working on getting a place to live. I think I will be able to camp out come August sometime, probably no kitchen but hopefully a shower and toilet. Insulators have been there, sheetrockers are there now. They should do the texture on Friday, let it dry and paint it up. Moving in then.

The final stretch

alaskanviki — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 05:59:45 +0000

We prepped all the meals for tomorrow and saturday breakfast. I leave tomorrow. I am fatigued and ready to go home. Want to get my house done and get moved. Camp has been wonderful, lots of good friends, great fellowship, many many cookies. The new bath house is all framed, the final section in the back needs roof. The goal was to get it dried in with plumbing and electrical. There will be crews in the fall to finish it out, with flushing toilets by next year-looks like they will make it. Electrician and plumbers will go home with me tomorrow. Weather broke and it was a beautiful day. Three members of my team from the Crossings went home this afternoon. 6 of us leave on Sat; another team comes in. The next week will be a runway crew-then the kids comes. Pray for the kids camps; that they will be blessed by the work the teams this last week accomplished.

Days in Camp

alaskanviki — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:28:50 +0000

The days are beginning to run together-finish breakfast, start lunch, finish lunch, start dinner, finish dinner, start breakfast. Oh, with cookies and more cookies in the middle. The Mamma Robin sucessfully hatched out the babies, she is feeding them even with the people all around. I saw the little bodies with beaks in the air yesterday, how wonderful. I am going home tomorrow, I am ready. My feet will never be the same.

Living at Camp

alaskanviki — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:36:53 +0000

The sky opened and downpoured all day. No concrete poured, they spent all day building a tent. The plumbers and electricians came in late yesterday, are working fast now. They are starting the concrete today. Gave up on the well until after kids camps, the well digger and wife left last night while the weather held. I am going to miss Debby in the kitchen, she has been so wonderful. They are coming back in the fall and we will be so glad to see them, wonderful people. Food continues in quantities and quantities. There is a move afoot to limit each of the the workers to 12 cookies a day. Should it come to a vote I am sure it will fail. With 46 in camp today that makes for a lot of cookies-can’t even do the math any more, we just bake and bake and bake. They still eat two sheet pans of cinnamon rolls for breakfast with 120 eggs. Such is life.

More wildlife in Camp

alaskanviki — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:48:38 +0000

The change out went well. New Yorkers gone and North Carolina and Oregon are here. Most came in tired from long travel. Ashley are princess from last year had the wildlife incident; of course. She shows up in the dining hall with a satin sleep mask crooked along her head and a duck has come down the chimney into her cabin. Priceless was Roger trying to understand what she was saying. I think he thought he was hearing wrong. He kept saying, Duck??? Duck???. Finally she announces a mallard has come into her cabin. Only Ashley

The Change out.

alaskanviki — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 21:59:05 +0000

We woke up to a very early breakfast and loaded the New Yorkers on the boat for the trip to Tanana. We will begin to see the new crew arrving in a couple hours. I am not sure how this is going to work. We have been up very late and we are really tired. The next ones in are going to come in roaring to go. Fortunately, we printed some union laws to regulate the days here. We put them up on the side of the breezeway just in case these guys coming think we are going to work crazy long hours.

Beaver Jerky

alaskanviki — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 20:56:04 +0000

The New York boys wanted to share their beaver jerky making with Roger; hence, the beaver hunt to start with. Of course, they need my kitchen to make jerky. We dried it in the oven on low and then in the convection using the fans. They are all liking it-I am still not eating beaver. Roger wanted to see what they did to the beaver-he is going to share it with other beaver hunters. Might be anew craze on the Yukon-then again…

Hunting and Fishing on the Yukon

alaskanviki — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 15:55:34 +0000

We took the boat out fishing tonight. I caught a large Shee fish but lost it at the boat. The Texan couldn’t fit it in the net-it really was a nice

fish. In Texas if you lose a fish but you have a picture and someone else in the boat saw it-it counts as catching it. I like the Texan rules

better than the Alaskan ones. We caught two Shee fish and three pike that we threw back. Great fun, lots of mosquitoes.

After coming back to the camp, telling out fishing stories and then heading off to bed the hunting began. We hear the Texan lady yell, Bear.

And sure ‘nuf there is a black bear running through camp. The guys say, leave him be. I , who has to go the bathroom says, we are not

leaving a bear roaming around camp used to humans, nor are you going to bed and leaving me in the outhouse with a bear. Then begins the

scramble to find a gun and bullets that go with it. Roger had gone to bed but is quickly roused-he has the gun at his house. The first shot

brings many from the cabins, but surprisingly many slept through the hunting. I got a new prospective of how tough Texans are though,

Miss Debbie sees the bear, still has to go to the bathroom, finds herself a stick and goes to the outhouse anyway. She had decided that if

the bear got close she would just smack it over the head. And I always thought Alaskans were tough. There is a possibility that the bear

was better off finding the gun than in finding Miss Debbie and her stick.