Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Just one of those days

  Well, so far every day has been one of those days. HOT, HOT, HOT and Mosquitoes, Mosquitoes, Mosquitoes. I have not had the energy to do anything except sit around inside listening to radio or watching a movie here and there. Even going for a ride seems to be a chore with the heat and Mosquitoes. I don't enjoy spraying myself down with repellent. I did resolve my Mosquito problem at the town cabin. I recovered my eaves and I built a screen door and that did the trick. I have photos but, I forgot to download them.
 
  I was suppose to have a ride up to my remote cabin to take supplies and it was all set up and my pilot had to cancel out. He fly's for UPS and got called up for a long haul. I'm thinking my best choice now is to find a reasonable air taxi and pay the rate. Things are not working very well in that category. Seems my whole schedule is not working so well. I almost think, I would be better off waiting for Winter, haul all my supplies to the cabin, dig the snow out and build my addition. If I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any at all as they say.

  Funny thing is, when I went to Lowes, Home Depot and a few other places, they were all out of screening, fans and even the air conditioners were just about out. I swear, if I could find one that my generator could handle, I would have bought one, LOL. I have been running the air conditioner in my car just to feel the cold air. Talk about desperate.

  Anyway, I am going to spend some time re evaluating everything and approach from a different view. Everything will work out in the long run. Have a fun 4th of July.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Heat relief and more work

  It would seem we are finally escaping the heat wave that has plagued us for awhile and hopefully we won't have to go through this again. I for one can't stand high temps. I am comfortable with daytime highs around 68 degrees, 70 tops. These are the temps I have had to endure.









This next one was the temperature this past Monday. the most brutal of all.

  Not only was the temperature brutal, the mosquitoes didn't help any. Although, when it got to 104, the mosquitoes went away and I was able to open my door to the cabin. It didn't take them long to come back though. It was impossible to do any outdoor work without dousing yourself with repellent and wearing a head net. During this time I decided to put a roof over my deck with the idea of enclosing it and have an Arctic Entry. Then, put a deck on the front of the cabin being accessible from the Arctic Entry. My neighbor came over to help. He installed the roof supports and roof.











 As usual, my projects don't happen without some kind of mishap. Yep, fell off the ladder again. LOL

  Caught this little fella on my window screen

  And this guy on my door window



  For the news on going to my remote cabin. It should be happening in a couple of days depending on the weather. We are expecting rain and you never know what conditions it can cause. My first trips is to take food and stock the cabin for the rest of the Summer and the beginning of Winter. These containers of food are representative of about 6 more boxes that are ready to go.

  I have lots of canned stuff and tons of rice, beans, dry milk and powdered eggs. I am starting to feel the great effects of finally getting started on my move to my remote cabin. Guess you can say, I'm giddy as a child. Finally, I can start, hopefully exciting everyone with great new photos. Anyway, stay tuned for the next phase of AlaskaJohn's adventure.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

My weekend, part 2

On Sunday, I decided to take a trip to Talkeetna, hadn't been there in about 22 years. Loaded up the car and away I went. The Spur road leading there isn't really photo worthy until you get to the overlook.



Got a picture of this guy, a little fuzzy



After sitting at the overlook for awhile, I drove into town. I didn't take any photos as I was very disappointed. Talkeetna was jammed packed with tourists and not a place to park. I know it is their bread and butter but, way, way, to many people for me. So, I drove to the end, turned around and headed back out of town. As I was headed down the Spur road back to Parks Highway, I spotted this sightseeing air service and pulled in. This is a very nice place just to spend some time resting.





There is a young gal working there who is really fun to talk to and very friendly. I just may go back with snacks and spend time there just enjoying the view. Anyway, on the way back, stopped at Subway and then, back to the cabin and lounged around.

My Weekend

  Hi everyone, as everyone knows, I hate this heat and try to work in it but, it just isn't working out. So, I have been working mornings {sometimes} and evenings {also sometimes}, LOL. Quite frankly, I have been finding it a problem getting motivated in this heat and losing interest with this town cabin and am pretty much tired of doing it. It seems pretty much like having a full time job and that is not why I retired, as a matter of fact, that is why I retired, so I don't have to work. I am at the point of taking everything to my remote cabin and selling this one. Plus, it seems where my town cabin is, people are moving in all around me. Time for a change.

   Todays Blog isn't about that. I decided to take the weekend off to travel a bit and very glad I did. On Saturday, I took a trip up Hatcher Pass road which goes up to an old mining claim which is now a tourist attraction. You can go there from Willow and Palmer. It was a beautiful day, hot and sunny so, it made for a good day to get away. I stopped at Willow Townsite and got drinks and snacks for the trip.

   It is about 17miles up to the first gate going to the mine. The road is paved for a few miles and then it is gravel and dirt. It was breezy that day so dust everywhere inside the car and on me. Well worth the trip. I got some great photos and one special photo that I really enjoy. So, let me take you on the abbreviated tour.

Going up the road

























I saved the best photos For last, I am sure you will feel the wait is well worth it, I stopped for some lunch and to get water out of the creek and when I looked up and to my surprise! enjoy


This gal wondered out, nibbled a bit and kind of checked me out for a bit. I guess she figured I wasn't a threat and decided to cross the creek. What a shot.

Starting to cross

Then low and behold, another surprise, this youngin appeared

I gotta say, this was the best part of the whole trip.

This by far, is the best shot

This is the end of the trip, time to head back

The blue sign on the bridge is a notice of a mining claim.

Approaching the Parks Highway

I hope all of you enjoyed this post, this is one of my very favorites.

PLEASE REMEMBER: NOT TO COPY THESE PHOTOS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION, THANKS