Our BEST FRIEND

This post is long overdue and will be very short. I have lots of reasons for it being overdue. This summer has found us both working lots of hours...too many really. But that's not the whole reason or what this post is about. This blog has been about our lives in Alaska, the 3 of us...Me, Lori and Spaz and we have enjoyed sharing it with all of you.

It is with the greatest of sadness that we must now also share the loss of our best friend, Spaz. We found out she had cancer in early spring and it took her from us on July 25th. She was the greatest dog to have ever lived, a once-in-a-lifetime dog and we miss her. Our adventures will go on but I'm sure there will be fewer smiles.

Here's to you our SPAZ WAD

(Wilderness Adventure Dog)

Wake up...Spring is here !!

Ahhh...Spring. What a wonderful time of year. Everything seems to come alive. Change is everywhere you look ! The changes here in Haines have been dramatic to watch and experience. 

 

Pussy-willow blossoms

Our days up here are getting noticeably longer. The sun rises at 5:30, sets at 8:30 and we are gaining 5 minutes of daylight per day. We have had lots of sunshine and highs of 50 degrees. 

After our record snowfall this winter (over 30 feet!) we weren't sure it would all melt before next winter...or at least July. But instead, we have been amazed to see it disappear quickly and it is almost all completely gone now. 

It seems like everything is waking up for spring; plants and trees, all kinds of birds and animals, even the town itself.

We still managed to get a few days of skiing in the last week of March. We can drive 25 miles out of town where there is still plenty of snow in the forest and it is good enough to ski on. The elevation is only a couple of hundred feet but the temperature near the coast is much warmer than out the highway because the ocean actually warms the air. 

These Trumpeter Swans were also out enjoying the spring weather where we were skiing. When you hear their calls, you know why they got their name. It's fun to watch as one group calls out and then the other group trumpets back.

We also saw fresh moose tracks in the snow so we started looking around to find her. When we finally spotted her, it was amazing how close we were. We never heard her and would not have seen her if we didn't see the tracks. Check out this photo and you will see what we mean. It is incredible how half a ton of moose could be so invisible.






Now that it is spring, I guess it is time for us to wake up and get back to reality. The reality is we are not rich and we have to get back to that four letter word I don't even like to say...w-o-r-k, especially if we want to eat and stuff. Staying the winter here and not working was an amazingly fun experience. We have been kind of easing into the idea of w-o-r-k this past month.

For example, Lori worked a week in her old occupation tending bar at the Elk's club. The regular girl went on vacation so she asked Lori to fill in for her. She even worked burger night on Friday. The sad part is, the Elks club closed its doors permanently two weeks later. Something about losing their charter for lack of interest. Now where are we going to get a burger, there's not a Five Guys for hundreds of miles!!

Lori has a really cool job lined up for this summer. She won't start until the middle of May but she is very excited about it. It is a little bit different from her last job back home. Watch this video and she will show and tell you about it.

You can also check out Chilkat River Adventures and book your reservation at  http://www.jetboatalaska.com/

  

She will be going from no job to 2 jobs. She will be working on the river 3 or 4 days a week and 2 or 3 days a week back at the Hitch Up RV Park where we both worked last summer. We will also be moving the MLS back into the park next weekend and living there. We will find out then how we did winterizing the 5th wheel and hope for the best.

We are excited to be moving back into our own place but will definitely miss the king size bed and the incredible view. 

I will be going back to work for SE Roadbuilders and have been easing into it for the past month. They sent me to some training courses because they want me to assist with contract administration as well as surveying for the project they have right here this summer.

I flew to Anchorage for a 2 day course at the end of March. The flight from Juneau was spectacular! There were no clouds and blue sky as we traced the deserted frozen coast north. The view was staggering. Miles and miles of a vast frozen landscape for as far as you could see. Huge mountains, ice-fields, frozen lakes, glaciers and not a sign of civilization anywhere. My face was almost frozen to the window the entire flight.

The end of March is also when "the Iditarod...the last great race" is held. In case you don't know, it is a dog sled race that has a very interesting history. The race starts in Anchorage and ends 975 miles later in Nome.

The dogs in this photo were on their way home after having had to leave the race before finishing. They had run over 600 miles and had just arrived back in Anchorage by plane that afternoon which explains why they are all sound asleep...or dead.

 My company also sent me to Juneau for a day of training a couple of weeks ago. Since it cost them the same amount if I flew down or if I put my truck on the ferry, I opted to put my truck...and my wife...and my dog on the ferry so we could stay a few days and all have some fun before we had to get serious about work (not Spaz, she's never serious and she doesn't ever work).

The ferry ride is always a treat and this trip was no different. We were treated to an encounter with a pod of Killer Whales traveling our direction.

We went to the movies, ate at McDonald's, did some shopping and enjoyed everything the BIG city had to offer. We stocked up on food at CostCo and Walmart which is always what you try to do when you get the chance to go to Juneau. We also went out to the Mendenhal Glacier. You can drive to within about a mile of the glacier and then hike almost to the face. I guess I could have walked right up to the face on the frozen lake if Spaz wasn't such a chicken about the ice breaking and us falling in. 

On a fun side note...for any of you who are fans of the Discovery Channel's TV show "Gold Rush Alaska", you might recognize the guys in this photo. The man on the right is my boss Roger who owns SE Roadbuilders. The other guys are his father and son. For those who aren't fans, here's the brief story; 92 year old John has given his "Big Nugget" gold mine to his 17 year old grandson Parker to run. Parker still goes to high school and runs the mine almost single handed. Tune in for season 3 to see if Grandpa's hunch pays off and they hit the mother lode on Smith Creek. For some real fun you can check out Parker's Facebook

The commercial fishing seasons are starting to open and the harbor is waking up. A couple of weeks ago the whole town seemed to show up at the harbor on a sunny Sunday afternoon for the annual "Blessing of the Fleet". The preachers from every church in town came down and said prayer blessings and asked for the safety of the fishermen. A small choir sang a song and the names of everyone who died last year in Haines was read...all 48 of them! The nearby church bell tolled for each one while people dropped palm leaves in a basket for the names that touched them. The leaves were taken out and tossed to sea by one of the boats afterword. 

Stan heads out for a week of fishing for halibut

Speaking of fishermen. Stan, who is 80 years old and owns the house we stayed in this winter returned last week so that he could go out long-lining for halibut. Stan, who was also one of the towns first doctors has fished commercially for halibut for 49 years! The fishery is based on an allotment system. Stan has a 9,000 pound quota that he hopes to catch in 5 days about 20 hours from here in "Icy Straits". 

This town is full of characters like Stan Jones and John Schanbel. Long time pioneers of Haines, hearty men (and women) who are tough and full of stories that make me feel like a wussy. Maybe some day I could write a post about all these characters and their stories but not tonight...I have to get to bed...

I gotta wake up and go to w-o-r-k tomorrow. 

It' been SNOW much fun !!

Well, if you watch this video it will pretty much let you know how we have spent most of our time this winter in Haines.

It hasn't all been fun and doing nothing...okay...yes it has !! 

 

It is official now !

Us desert rats have survived a record winter here in Haines. This winter has seen the most snowfall ever recorded in the history of Haines. As of March 11th, we have received 354.7" (over 29.5 feet) of snow this winter smashing the old record of 309" set in 2007.

REALLY want to walk through those trees but can't get through the snow to get there!

 If you want to check out some snowfall stats and other cool Alaska weather you can go to my friends blog at http://www.williwaw.com/

These are "wind driven" snowballs in the Hitch Up RV park

It's been fun experiencing many things we have never seen, or even heard of before, like "wind driven" snowballs (which by the way are exactly what they sound like). When snow conditions are just right and the wind is blowing hard, little balls of snow will start rolling across the ground, growing as they roll, just like when you start to build a snowman. It's amazing fun to watch them grow and leave trails behind. 

Alaskans find many ways to have fun in winter. In fact, many locals in Haines have winter cabins 25 miles from town on Chilkat lake. There are no roads to get there, so most of them (and their dogs) ride in on their snowmachices (only non Alaskans call them snow mobiles). These cabins are rustic, they have no electricity or running water and are heated by firewood.

Sounds like fun to me!

Kite boarding on the "Valley of the Eagles " golf course

This Haines local has a pretty exciting way of having fun. In the fall I watched this guy kite boarding in the Chilkat river on a wake board. He would speed back and forth across the mile wide river delta catching BIG air from the waves that were being generated as the tidal current fought the river current. Now I see him at the golf course where we sometimes go to ski, zipping around on a snow board, but only when it's windy. I'm trying to get Lori to do it but...

Haines doesn't have a ski resort but has still become world famous for skiing and boarding thanks to "heli-skiing". Some of the most extreme riders in the world come here for the (very) steep mountains and deep powder to film movies and commercials. They come in March when there is still plenty of light snow up high and clear weather to fly and film. Type "Haines heli skiing" in Google or YouTube to take a peak...get it...a peek.

Note "extreme Spaz" waiting to launch at 33 mile

Out the Haines highway, 33 miles from town is a tiny wide spot in the road where most of the heli skiers stay, eat and launch from. There are a couple of small cabins, this cafe and a gas pump. They were rumored to have the best cheese burgers for hundreds of miles - a rumor we have since disproved. They are actually found at the Elks Club in town every Friday night at the "burger feed" and sometimes we volunteer to help out  so we get a free burger.

We do go out the highway to ski often. The terrain may not be quite as steep and the skiing not really extreme (unless you are old like Lori...not me) but the snow is light and deep and the scenery is difinately extreme. Those tracks are part of the 10 mile loop along the river we made about 2 weeks ago. The tree trunks are evidence of some very severe flooding in the past.



That is the end of Alaska's shortest river coming from the frozen lake



As you can ski, we have been doing lots of cross country skiing this winter. We can be at the golf course in 4 minutes where they have about 6 miles of nice flat trails that volunteers keep fairly groomed. We have also done some snow shoe hiking. We did a 5 mile round trip up to Lily Lake which is the natural lake reservoir for Haines drinking water. This is Lori skiing along the Chilkoot river where we fished last summer. 

There is a lot more wildlife running around in winter that you might think. We see lots of Ptarmigen - a chicken sized fowl that has white feathers in winter and brown feathers in summer.

There are always bald eagles along the water and lots of ravens.

We have seen a grey fox who was too shy and quick for pictures (or I was too old and lame to shoot him).

There are also lots of moose around down low in winter (we even had moose tracks in our front yard a few weeks ago). We saw this cow coming home from skiing right around dusk. As I was taking this shot, we could hear a pack of wolves howling and barking that sounded to be nearby although we never saw them.

It is kind of sad to think that winter is coming to an end because as you can see, we have found many ways to have snow much fun this winter.

Some are funner than others and this would have been more fun if I had not messed up the "e" so badly...guess I needed to drink more water.

Well, snow much for this post and for winter. Have fun!

Sorry to add a sad footnote to a happy post:
        

I told you all about the extreme heli skiing that Haines has become world famous for. Well, I'm very sorry to say that the day after I posted this, the news was NOT fun and 2 young souls paid the ultimate price for chasing their passions and dreams.

http://www.adn.com/2012/03/14/2371015/second-man-dies-from-haines-area.html   

Wow...Mother Nature !!

Wow...Mother Nature sure can be spectacular !!

And since we returned to Haines 4 weeks ago, she seems to be showing off a little more than usual. On Valentines Day she gave us a special treat...the "Northern Lights"...one of the most spectacular phenomena there is.

We were doing our usual evening dog walking on a very calm and partly clear night (both a bit rare for the past month) when we noticed a green glow behind the mountains to the north of town and thought "that's an odd color sky". We soon realized what we were seeing as the aurora seemed to rise from above the mountains silhouette and start streaking and dancing across the sky. We were almost to the edge of town as we watched the spectacular light show when we decided to walk back to get the camera. I know what you are thinking "typical Dave, never has the camera at the right moment...what a surprise". By the time we got to the house, the aurora display had faded away and spotty clouds were moving up the canal from the south. The strange thing is, the northern lights reappeared briefly again later that night. That is when I grabbed the camera and went down to the marina. The photo above was taken that night...after the clouds had moved in. You can still see the green from the aurora shining through the thin clouds. Maybe I'll get a better shot next time Mother Nature treats us to a show. The locals say March is the best month...usually.

We check this website http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/1 for the "Aurora Forecast" and hope for clear nights. Haines is near Juneau on the map.

Spaz WAD and her trusty sidekick Toby...stranded.

Wow...Mother Nature does produce some very unusual creations (but I'm not talking about the dogs). We found these pieces of sheet ice where the Chilkat river empties into the canal. We had some very cold days with temps near zero and much of the river froze over. These pieces must have broken up and been floated at high tide. Mother Nature must have decided they should settle into this unique statue when the tide went out and we were lucky enough to find it before it melted.

Notice the lane stripes...they used to line up straight.

The day we got back to Haines from our holiday trip we had an interesting event that has the whole town talking. It seems there is a slow land slide taking place. The worst part, and why everyone in town is so concerned, is it is taking the road with it. Not just any road, the only road from town to the all important ferry terminal.   

Wow...Mother Nature sure is powerful.

The area is roughly 1/4 mile wide and is shown outlined in red in the Google earth photo at left. The yellow arrow shows the general direction the slide is creeping. The whole hillside seems to be heading to the ocean. The borough began taking daily measurements to see just how much the area is moving. So far it is about 2 feet horizontally and about 1 foot vertically.

Notice the road crack headed right for the house

The saddest part is the beautiful house you see in this picture seems headed for disaster. The black arrow in the Google earth photo points at the house and the direction the photo at the left is taken. The owners have abandoned the house for fear it could go suddenly at any moment and they don't want to be in it if it does. There are already cracks in the foundation and the walls throughout the house. It should be interesting to see what happens when spring comes and all the snow and ice melts...stay tuned! 
Check out the reports here if you want http://hainesborough.us/slopemovement.html 

My 3 best friends look small there don't they?

Wow...Mother Nature can sure be creative and beautiful as you can see in this photo. Yes, of course I was talking about Lori, but also the ice masterpiece behind her. We seem to find many of nature's treasures while we are walking the dogs, which makes walking the dogs much more enjoyable.

It's not always while out walking. A couple of mornings ago, while having coffee, we watched an incredible scene from the kitchen window. We noticed some splashing in the water just offshore so we grabbed the binoculars to see a bald eagle swimming the breaststroke! The poor guy was swimming furiously against the wind trying to reach the rocks and getting tired. Lori and I were cheering him on "c'mon buddy, don't give up, you can do it". We don't know how he got into the water but once in he could not fly out and might have drown but...he made it! Wow...Mother Nature's drama.

Haines is really a very beautiful place, full with the beauty of nature any time, and in winter, it seems like almost anywhere you look you can find a masterpiece. Even something as simple as this leaf on the ground, having melted down into the ice and then beginning to freeze over, is a one of a kind treasure soon to be gone and never again reproduced exactly. 

We have really enjoyed being able to slow down our life and take it all in here.

Sometimes, it is just the colors Mother Nature uses at certain times of day to make the same scene more spectacular and different that when you looked at it just an hour ago.

This area, 20 miles from town got 42" in 16 hours on New Years day

It seems that we picked a record winter to stay in Haines. We have had over 300 inches of snow since November 1st...that's over 25 feet...and just a couple of inches short of the all time record snowfall for one winter! And, we still have 6 more weeks to go.

You can check it out on the Haines community website http://hainesak.com/
There is some other cool stuff there to check out if you want to get a sense of this place.
 

 Wow...Mother Nature !!

     

Merry Christmas...we headed south !

Our frosty friend

Merry Christmas everyone!

Sorry for the late Christmas wishes and post but we were gone south for the holiday. Besides, it's best if we all try to keep the spirit of Christmas alive the whole year isn't it ?!?

We were a little torn, we kinda wanted to stay to see what Christmas in Alaska was like but we really wanted to spend Christmas with all of our family also. But after a record setting snowfall in November (130") the thought of some sunshine made going south even more appealing (besides, we bought the tickets months ago).

We did get to have some Haines Christmas fun before we left. If you remember from the last post, we got to see the town tree lighting at the library and we decorated our house (actually Stan & Kathy's house). We also patronized the Christmas candy/bake sale at the catholic church where we gained pounds for a good cause.



We were lucky enough to see the Christmas Parade before we left which was the talk of the town. Everyone seemed to really look forward to the parade and anyone who wanted could create a "float" or "march" in the parade. Of course Santa would be the star but the "Snow Dragon" was the real talk of the town.  I don't know where it came from, why it became tradition or what it means but we did hear concern about what shape the dragon was in. Word was that the costume is like 30 years old and everyone worries that each year it may be it's last. With an intro like that I know you can't wait to watch the video. Enjoy!

Also before we left town, we spent a day and a half working back at the Hitch Up RV Park. The snow had piled dangerously high on the roof of the office and needed cleaned off. The snow was so deep we had to snow shoe from the road to the building with our shovels and a ladder (which we barely needed to get onto the roof and definitely didn't need to get off the roof). Remember what it looked like in June?

Click on this if you want to take a look back http://lordaveus.blogspot.com/2011_05_29_archive.html

The days were really getting short by the time we left. The shortest day of the year, Dec. 21st, was fast approaching. In Haines, we never get the 24 hours of darkness per day that they get further up north. Here, the sun just never rises very high in the sky (as you can see from this photo taken at noon on Dec. 11th) and the steep, tall mountains keep it hidden for most of the 4 hours it is up. It really throws off your body clock and does take some getting used to.

Heading south over the inside passage about 8:30 am (yes, that is the moon)

We headed south for the holidays at midnight on Dec. 12th. You may think that seems like a strange time to leave (and you would be right) but getting in and out of Haines in winter is never going to be easy. Midnight is when the ferry left on the four hour trip down the Lynn Canal to Juneau where we would fly out of at 7:00 in the morning. Juneau is the capitol of Alaska and the largest city in North America (pop. 31,000) not connected to the continental highway system, so the only way in or out is by water or air - we would use both.

We had a great time visiting all our family everywhere. We spent Christmas day in Casper, Wyoming with our son. We visited Las Vegas to spend time with Lori's mother and brothers. We were in southern California to visit all our other children, grandchildren and my mother and sisters. We had a great time, soaked up some sunshine and all too soon it was over and time to head back north to Haines and a new year.

 Getting home was just as not easy.

When we left California it was sunny, 80 degrees and we were ready to get away from the crowds, freeways and pollution. Less than 24 hours later, when we landed in Juneau it was dark, icy, 3 degrees and blowing like h*@# and we thought "why did we come back so soon?!?"

We spent the night in Juneau and were on the ferry at 6am the next morning, Jan. 18th. It was dark when we boarded and the whole ship was kind of eerie looking - everything and every inch was iced over. It looked more like one of the crab boats from "Deadliest Catch" than something we should be getting on for a ride home. I had the urge to look for a sledge hammer to start busting the ice loose so we wouldn't roll over and sink. The ride home was pretty rough at times and it soon became obvious how everything got iced over.

Waves crashing into the bow of the ship would send water spraying over the entire ship and at 3 degrees it freezes almost instantly.

Within an hour of setting sail the windows were iced over and you couldn't even see out...guess the captain could because we made it home safely. You can watch part of our episode of "Deadliest Catch" in this trailer below.

After surviving...uh...I mean arriving in Haines the sky was clear and the sun was shining but it was still only 5 degrees. That was the last sunshine we saw. Since we have been back, it has snowed every day - about 4' so far. But we are still enjoying it very much - no crowds, no freeways and no pollution.

The red roof on the middle left is our house (for now)

The bakery Lori worked at is still closed for the rest of winter and we are back to delivering the paper every week. 

We are also now dog sitting 2 dogs for Pat and Ivanca for the next two months. We take all 3 dogs for two long walks every day - morning and evening - in snow or dark of night. I think about putting on the skis and have them pull me but then I think of me crashing and it doesn't sound as fun. But I bet it would make some good video. And yes, that is Spaz W.A.D. in the blue jacket.

She is looking very, very chic in her new Christmas Winter Adventure Dog cold weather ensemble with matching snow booties.