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.