The Year of the Chicken Continues!

In case any of you were worried, my brother Matty wanted everyone to know that his chicken has returned!! It's back to making lots of noise in the morning and he's feeding it power bars for health and fitness.

More Shasta Pumpage

This site allows you to watch full days of Shasta on time-lapse speed. 

Future Adventures: Mt. Shasta

Since we are without camera, we must resort to pilfering the interweb for cool pictures of adventures that haven't actually happened yet.  That's not to say we aren't still wandering through the YK's muddy waters, dodging mosquitoes and hunting salmons.  But we just can't document it.

                

So... in about four weeks, I'll be standing on top of this, with members of team testosterone.  Actually, our technical name is Team Fellowship of the Mountain King, given to us by our incident commander (IC) Jackson Baures.  Anyway, I just randomly checked out this book from the Bethel Library called Wild Snow, which is all about awesome back-country skiing/snowboarding mountains in North America.  And wouldn't you know it? The book lists Mt. Shasta as the best mountain to ski down in North America.  Wow.  That's a bold statement.  Now, I'd hate to hike up to the top of the best mountain to ski down without bringing along a snowboard.  Will this future adventure feature a snowboard?  That's my big question these days.

Happy Summer Solstice!

Tonight we'll celebrate our longest day of the year by staying up until sunset, which is at 12:23 AM.  The sun rises tomorrow at 5:11 AM.  And even though the sun sets, after a full 19 hours and 12 minutes of sunny goodness, it doesn't actually go far enough below the horizon to get dark at all. 

Burqa Fishing

Dressed in our burqas, we help Tom fillet his set-net bounty of Kings and reds. 

We lost our camera in tonight's mission, so no photos in the near future.  Genevieve took a small unplanned swim in the Kuskokwim.  Pregnant lady overboard!  With her cat like reflexes, she made it back into the boat unscathed.  But the camera was not so lucky. 

Tom's Big King

Now that's a man...

Father's Day Canoe Mission

We've finally resorted to donning the bug suits, which the locals think is hilarious.  But we're not proud.

Flock

In case anybody is wondering about the spate of new postings, it's related to the fact that we've downloaded the Flock browser, which makes blogging extremely easy. If you've ever thought about blogging, this is a great tool. Thanks to Jodasm for the heads up.


At any rate, this article does a good job illustrating why my brother left Dallas for Anchorage.

Mosquito Heaven?

The pictures don't do it justice. Dawson was a target tonight. Hopefully all future pictures will involve bug suits and not 20 bites on his neck!

The pictures were taken at 10pm. We caught 7 salmons.

13000 Miles by Jet-Ski?

These guys are going for a world record mission. They left Anchorage yesterday on two jet-skis en-route to Miami via the Panama Canal. I think they'll make it.

But I'm sure we could beat that record. Who's with me? We can go all the way around Tierra Del Fuego. The sky is the limit, really.

On tap for us today: A breakfast World Cup soccer party, some fishing for Kings, and some firefighting review.

Oh yes, and yesterday the mosquito masses officially arrived. Oh dear!

Great Texas News

Exciting new updates from both Rani and Regan, my dear Texas siblings. Rani's daughter Dulcie got the results back from her MRIs, and all signs indicate that the cancer has been eliminated. She's not in the clear yet, and won't officially be until she's three, but things are looking great so far. The guy making Dulcie's new eye is kind of an ocular ninja, so that's another bright spot.

And Regan has accepted a job in Anchorage and will be starting June 28th. He'll also be working for the district attorney as part of the newly created "Rural Prosecution Unit". He'll travel all over bush Alaska to conduct trials and provide mentoring for bush attorneys - which means he and I will sometimes work together when he comes out to Bethel. Awesome!

Sitka Vacation

Sitka is an incredibly beautiful place, especially when the sky is blue. And the sky was blue the whole time we were there, so we pretty much just wandered around gaping at the mountains. And of course, I always love lollygagging around docks and perusing the boats, daydreaming and thinking about the names, so we spent a fair amount of time doing that. The best name we saw was El Princessa, which is kind of funny if you know a little Spanish. We also liked these boats, which brought up memories of friends and family – Matty Will, Thor Hammer, and Aunt Ardie.

The highlight of the trip was getting to hang out with our new friend Zerby, friend of our friends Matt and MB here in Bethel, who was kind enough to show us around some of Sitka’s awesome hikes. We checked out Indian Falls the first day, and a couple days later hiked from Harbor Mountain to Gavin Hill and back down
into town. The first hike was a light snack, and it filled us with a false sense of confidence. The latter hike was spectacular, full of amazing views, and just a great experience all around. However, we took a severe beating when it came to the descent. Even today, we are still waddling around on account of our extremely sore calves.

Basically the last part of the hike
involves thousands of stairs down the mountain. It sounds easy – but it’s surprisingly deceptive.

On Sunday, we went out on a surfing mission to Sea Lion Cove, a two hour boat ride from Sitka.

It was just us and a few sea lions on a mile long sandy beach. Our guide was Kevin Griffin, a former Coast Guard helicopter mechanic with no shortage of practical joke stories. If you are looking to surf Sitka, Kevin’s your man. He’s been scoping out all the best spots and pretty much has them dialed in. Incidentally, the day after we got back from our vacation, we heard Kevin’s voice on the radio – Alaska Public Radio Network did a little feature on his role in Sitka’s growing surf scene.

We had a good time. The seas were pretty rough getting out there, and both Zerby and I were concentrating on taking deep breaths to avoid any inopportune vomiting, but it was worth the effort. It was Zerby’s first time surfing, and he caught a few waves. We were pretty stoked about the mission. I do intend to surf Alaska again, but hopefully it’ll involve a slightly more mellow boat ride. Our wetsuits kept us quite warm, which is nice.

(Genevieve foresaw the potential seasickness and wisely abstained from this mission, and instead joined Kevin's wife Willow, their rugrat Kai, and several other new mothers with rugrats on another short Sitka hike).

And now, we are back in Bethel, living the tundra dream. I'll be starting my new job as assistant district attorney in a couple of weeks. Today Genevieve is exactly 20 weeks pregnant, so Revel is currently the size of a large sweet potato. Exciting. We took this shot in his or her honor:

And a Dulcie update: She's doing great. Her bandages came off today. She gets her new prosthesis in six weeks. They are still waiting to confirm that the cancer hasn't spread, but all signs are looking positive. Thanks to all of you who sent out the positive vibes!

Totem Pole 

The Update

We're on a little mini-vacation in Sitka, AK right now, but have been receiving updates from Dawson's mom and wanted to send the news along. The surgery for Dulcie went well on Wednesday morning and they made it back to Dallas on Wednesday night. Amazing, I think! Dulcie was treated by 5 of the best surgeons in the US for her condition and all hope is that everything looked good. She sports a big bandage over her eye which will be on for a week. She actually has her MRI today to make sure that everything else is OK. So two anesthesia episodes in a week is a tough road, but she's a little fighter. In six weeks the doctors in Dallas will follow up and the ocularist will fit her with a new prosthesis. She'll be checked every 3 months until she is 3 years old to make sure that her other eye is OK. We watched an amazing clip on the internet on prosthetic eyes...technology is amazing. Thanks to everyone who wrote with well wishes or who put Dulcie in their thoughts. I'm sure it helped and we can all be thankful for the little things in life. Rani said that instead of thinking that Wednesday was the day Dulcie lost her eye, she is thinking that it is the day that they saved her life.

In other news, Sitka is treating us well. It has been a great trip so far...yesterday was sunny and beautiful (a rarity in these parts). Today, the fog rolled in a bit. We're staying at a nice bed and breakfast owned by a guy who is originally from Columbia Falls and went to college at Carroll College with my parents. The Montana connection up here is serious. Our shuttle driver from the airport to the B&B was also from Missoula and a different cab driver knows someone who Dawson played football with at Montana State. (Actually it was Kurt Whitehead, who played at Wyoming but is from Kalispell. I have very distinct memories of hanging out with him on a recruiting visit to Wyoming. Anyway, it was crazy. We got in the cab, said we were from MT, and the driver goes, do you know Kurt Whitehead? Yes. But it took me a minute to figure out how I knew him).

We probably walked 12-13 miles yesterday which considering there isn't even 12 miles of road in Bethel, was a big undertaking for our feet! We're relaxing today and maybe reading some books in a coffee shop. Dawson is going surfing on Sunday with ColdSalt surf shop here in Sitka. He says "we" are going surfing, which means that he will surf and I'll ride in the boat and take pictures!

Dulcie

As you read this, please send positive vibes, or a prayer, or something along those lines, to our little sixteen month old niece, Dulcie. She was recently diagnosed with retinoblastoma, an extremely rare form of eye ball cancer. Tomorrow morning, she'll have surgery to remove her eye. For the next couple of weeks, she'll be wearing an eye patch, so she'll be a little pirate of the Caribbean. I only write lightly in hopes of relieving some of the stress of the matter, which needless to say is large. But as they say in some situations, if you don't laugh, you'll cry.

And really, it's pretty darn serious. We are all hoping for the best. At this stage, the best outcome would be a safe removal of the eye, a diagnosis that the retinoblastoma is a random condition and not a genetic condition, and most importantly, a finding that the cancer is limited to the affected eye. The stress is serious, particularly because the alternative to the positive outcomes is not even worth discussing. The good news is that the surgery will be short, will be done by the world's experts in retinoblastoma, and Rani, Danny and Dulcie will be able to go back home to Dallas by Wednesday night. And another good thing is that the miracles of modern technology have led to major advances in artificial eyes, such that when this whole thing is over it will be nearly impossible to tell the difference between the real and the artificial eye.

So, the end result is, we are sending maximum positive energy towards Dulcie Isis Garcia in Philadelphia, and Dallas. And we are also sending positive energy to Rani and Danny, and West and Torin, as they lovingly escort Dulcie through her time of healing. We hope you'll send some positive energy, too.

Back Blog

We've been a bit lazy as far as blogging goes over the past week or so. So, for all of you who have just been dying to know what we've been up to, here's a back log of a few activities.

The river broke up on May 23 and we've been treated to a string of beautiful days. Approximately one week later, the smelt arrived. Smelt are a small whitefish that swim up river in drones after break-up. Words spreads around town when they have arrived (their location is tracked from all of the villages down stream) and people head down to the banks of the river. Here's a few shots of people lined up along the banks.

It's an amazingly easy process. You dip your net into the water and sweep it downstream. When you pull it up, it's full of fish! We didn't catch too many because we were afraid to waste them, but it turns out they are a very delicious, delicate little fish. We had them pan-fried and then went over to a friend's who prepared them barbequed. Both were delicious. Just wait til next year smelt....we'll be after you!



























This little girl caught a pike with a half-eaten smelt in it's mouth. She was pretty excited to take it home as a pet....and then she said, "well have it as a pet, or eat it." I thought that was pretty funny.










As for other exciting activities, we go for daily canoe rides in Brown Slough (the waterway behind our house). Yesterday, we even canoed from the slough, onto the main channel of the Kuskokwim, then portaged over to a small lake and canoed across. Then we were in the middle of town and had to go get the Subaru to get the canoe home. But it was pretty fun. Dawson is a big fan of barges. I think if we live here for a few more years, we'll probably have the world's biggest collection of barge pictures. Although I will admit that canoeing past the parked barges and looking up at their towering size from our small little boat was pretty impressive.











On our daily canoe trips, Dawson is fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a treasure hunter. We salvage all kinds of valuable goods from potential burial in the slough. We got enough wood to build a small raised bed/greenhouse for our garden, an outside plastic table for eating (just one small hole through the top) as well as a few other valuables such as a football and this hammer. OK, it's missing it's handle and value is in the eye of the beholder....but who knows when you might need a hammer without a padded handle??? Plus, as Dawson never fails to point out as he drops a valued treasure into the bottom of the caone, there's always the wonder of duct tape.













Well, we have to go now for our daily canoe ride and accomplish another of Dawson's goals....daily viewing and picture taking of his favorite dream cabin......and more on the "dream" cabin from the dreamer himself.......

The Dream Cabin

W’ve been daydreaming a lot about this cabin. (We mostly means me, but I'm pretty sure Revel and Genevieve like the idea, too.) We canoe past it daily. The owner is asking $121,000 or best offer, and it’s been on the market for at least three years. I know that’s a bad sign, but I see so much potential for that cabin… it’s hard to contain myself.

What is awesome about this cabin? It’s not there right now, but imagine a little dock in the water there, maybe a canoe or a kayak or even a small boat parked there. Easy access to the river, where floating adventures await. And imagine a small deck, a place to barbecue and enjoy the views of the slough. It would be a great venue for some extreme birding. And a great place to fillet our tasty salmon. I imagine friends and family coming up to visit, hanging out, fishing, etc, in the summer, maybe in the winter some snow-machine adventures, skijoring, dogsledding, or cross-country skiing adventures. The sky is the limit, really. All these great adventures, right there on the doorstep.

From the second floor, on clear days we’d enjoy views of the mountains to the south.

The rest of the yard is perfect for an excellent garden. Watering would be a breeze because we could pump up water from the slough. (For those who don’t know, we have to have our water delivered around these parts.) And there’s plenty of room to build a little sauna. Or a chicken coop.

Not only does it have awesome water access, it’s very close to Swanson’s, one of our two grocery stores. And it’s close to three fine dining establishments, which makes it close to nearly 50% of the eateries in town. And it’s about a 15 minute walk to work for me. Genevieve pretty much has to drive to work no matter where we live in town… but from the dream cabin she could drive nearly all the way to work on the river.

There are only a couple of minor hurdles to overcome. There’s a small matter of wood rot, the extent of which is currently unknown at this time. And a few other minor things, but nothing insurmountable. I've been trying to educate myself on wood rot.

We've been inspired (and encouraged in our daydreaming about the cabin) by a local nurse practitioner named Hoppy. She has built herself an amazing place, complete with probably the best garden in town, a duck pond, chicken coop (no chickens - slaughtered due to an unfortunate case of succombing to bird flu hype), rabbits, cats, dogs, boat parking out front, a set net, an awesome deck and one of the best views in town. Last Wednesday she shared some raspberry shoots with us, as well as some sod and some barbecued smelt. Thanks for the inspiration, Hoppy!