No MEDEVAC needed

I didn't want anybody to be alarmed, so I waited to tell you this.....

Saturday night I was going to bed when I remembered something I needed to do (I forgot whatever it was) so I got back up. I suddenly experienced an excrutiating pain such that for several minutes I could only curse and moan.
"What did you do?" Peggie asked.
"I kicked the wall. I think I broke my toe." I wailed.
Fortunately, (strange choice of word) I had broken that toe (left little) before, so I knew the procedure was to tape it to the next toe and go on about your business. So Peggie taped it for me and I have been bravely going about my business for the last two days.
Don laughed when I told him. Laughed. About my broken bone.
"Have you put that in your blog?" he chortled.

Well, I have now.

Here Comes The Sun, Here Comes The Sun, And I Say It's All Right...

We agree with John, Paul, George & Ringo. The sun has been shining all day here in Skagway and it's all right. Just for the record, that was 17 days of rain...just another new experience for us desert rats. If we can believe the weather forecast (sometimes we can) we'll be having another day or two of sun before the rain returns.

With the season ending in a few weeks thoughts have been turning to the process of leaving. The last ship comes in on the 23rd and on the 24th buses are driven to storage in Whitehorse, shopkeepers close and begin the inventory process, Jeeps are winterized as is the RV park. It's a flurry of activity as employees AND we need to get our RV packed and returned to a traveling state at the same time. Bill, Don and I were talking about it the other night and I mentioned that we've never had to pack it etc. during rain--we just wait it out. Not going to happen in a town that shuts down and an RV park that closes up.

So, let's see if we can speak that sunshine into existence especially during that last week. Did I get that right, Caseygirl?

It worked!

The snarl in the last posting scared the rain away. There have been no drops in about 12 hours. Remember to live in the moment!

Enough Rain Already!

Today I took Peggie on my daily tour route. We took our own truck and made longer photo stops, but we went to Caribou Crossing. She got to eat the lunch I eat everyday. We went into the gift shop and Wildlife Exhibit. We have posted a few photos of some of the animals in the exhibit along with other photos in a new album. See the left side of the blog.

We went to Carcross to the Matthew Watson General Store, "The oldest operating store in the Yukon." It and the Caribou Hotel next door are two of the few buildings that survived a town-burning fire a hundred years ago. The store is currently run by Ron O'Connor and his family. The rest of the year they live in southern British Columbia.

We really went to see the turning Autumn leaves, and we saw many. We also saw a trumpeter swan pausing in its southerly migration, seven mountain goats, two coyotes, and a startling snowshoe hare. In her admiration of the fall foliage, Peggie wandered into the woods, and ever aware of bears, she was startled when the hare rustled in the undergrowth.

We had brief patches of sunlight, and a rain-free period to enjoy our ice cream in front of the general store.

When we returned to Skagway, we returned to rain. We went out to eat with Don, then came back to get some pictures posted, talk to Greg and Ariana, and then to Casey.

Noah? Is that you?

I got to the office okay this morning driving downstream. Nobody bought my tour, so I left. I was able to bum a ride in a neighbor's boat and got home alright. I did have to help row, since it was upstream. On the way, we saw a pair of moose, a pair of wolves, a pair of grizzlies, and a pair of shoes. There was an old grey-bearded man at the lumber yard demanding another 300 cubits of lumber. Skagway is a weird place.

Don doesn't have anything to do today either. (I hear you all saying "Uh oh.") So we are going over to Dyea to see the dying salmon. Low tide is at 1:52. If we are not back by about 5:00, we are stuck, come get us out. If we are not back by 7:53 (high tide) send the Coast Guard.

Old No. 73 just steamed by and blew its mournful whistle. They take the old steam engine (it is outfitted with pontoons for today's sailing) out on Friday and Sunday for a 3 hour tour, a three hour tour. Alert the Coast Guard and the syndicators, they could be lost in Tormented Valley forever and ever on channel 48.

Don't look at things too long. I just noticed in that last paragraph that our is pronounced or in mournful, ow-er in hour, and oo-er in tour. English is a weird language.

Strange and Stranger

So there I was, sitting in the office talking with Dave when my cell phone rings. Brother Don wants to go to breakfast. Nothing strange there.
I return from breakfast, and there I am sitting in the office waiting to go on a run when my cell phone rings. It is Dolly from Coronado wanting to know when I will return and be ready to sub.
THAT, I did not expect. It was good to hear from her, but it was STRANGE.
So there I was at Carcross, killing time while my passenger (1) is riding a horse, talking with the usual suspects up there when one of them mentions that it was 0 degrees that morning. That is freezing even in Canada. STRANGER. I mention this to two other locals there, and they both agree casually that it was 0 that morning. IT IS AUGUST!!!!!!!
It has been raining day and night, almost without cease, since the 14th. No lightning, no thunder, no....okay, one rainbow,.... We used to have puddles everywhere, but now there is only one puddle and it is everywhere. And it is hitting freezing on my daily drive!! What is this place, Alaska?

Whitehorse via white mountaintops

We all decided that an awful sound made by one of the buses was a failing water pump. We had to get it to Whitehorse before it failed, so I told Dave I would feel more comfortable if a chase vehicle came along in case it failed on the way. Therefore Dave followed me in his SUV and we headed for Whitehorse.
Last week at our Friday card game, Lynn mentioned that the first time it snows on the peaks they call that Termination Dust because it is almost the end of the season.
When I finally got to a point about 30 miles north, the clouds had lifted enough for me to see....Termination Dust! I estimate the snow level at between 5-6000 feet. But it is still August. None of the locals is surprised. I also learned that the leaves will all turn and be gone within 10 days or two weeks, so this Saturday we must go for a drive and get some pictures.
It wasn't the water pump, it was the A/C compressor. They couldn't get it fixed, so Dave spent the night and sent me home in his SUV. But first a friend of his invited us to dinner. Pot roast, mashed potatoes w/gravy, cooked carrots, and pasta salad followed by apple pie ala mode. It was worth the delay.
I set out from Whitehorse at 7pm. Traffic was light, so at Carcross I started counting northbound traffic. In the 65 miles to Skagway I met two cars and a black bear northbound. The bear wandered on the road until I stopped, then jumped over the guard rail and was gone. When I got to customs I asked about southbound traffic. I was the second car in more than an hour. You've heard of towns that roll up the sidewalks at sunset, this whole country folds up. In November both U.S. and Canadian customs will close at night.
It was about 9 when I got home. The dusk was a little brighter than a full moon, so the view from the summit down the valley was beautiful with the patches of fog floating up and down the canyons.
Well, it is tomorrow now and it is raining, but I have to get dressed and go to work.

10 MORE days of rain???

On August 14, Margie was kind enough to inform us that the Skagway weather forecast was calling for 10 days of rain. Seems the weather forecast is somewhat accurate up here.

Tonight, August 24, I'm eating stew, wearing sweatpants, listening to the rain and finding this new weather forecast. You'll probably have to click on it to enlarge it enough to read.

Just for the record...I'm not complaining...yet.

Blogfodder or Research-depends on your point of view!

As you saw in the photo of the jeep in the earlier post, we got fog.

When Don decided to go explore a possible new trail for his jeep tours on our day off, we decided to go, too. Now, you know whenever we do something like this (remember hair-brained?) there is the possibility of a good story. We now call that "blogfodder." (Peggie: Blogfodder came about when Don and I watched Bill "hop-skipping running" and we were laughing and Don said, "What is he doing?" and I said "Oh, he's just out there collecting blogfodder." He had the camera and was "running ahead" to catch some photos. We were really wishing we had the camera so we could take a movie of the hop-skipping running.)

Well, on this particular day we could have used some 'fogblotter' instead. We have had fog at the summit all week. It usually breaks up within a few miles on the other side. On Saturday the cloud cover stayed low. We were back in fog after climbing just a few hundred feet off-road. We could see 100 yards or so, but could not tell what the views would be like from up there.
The experimental trail is about 35 miles from Skagway.

It is 30 miles closer than the one they use now. That would save an hour of drive time to be spent on photo stops and off-roading instead of racing on the highway. The trail is a bulldozer-created mine road. It starts out with a 4-lo climb and has tight hairpins and at least two creek crossings.
We had to back off after three attempts to climb a steep, loose, muddy stretch three and a half miles up. It would be climbable on a dry day, so Don will be forced to go again. We are hoping against the forecast that we might get some dry weather.

The leaves are really beginning to turn up north. We want a clear day so we can go get some pictures of that, too.

Fabric!

The other day I mentioned to Bill that I've bought more fabric than I thought I would while working in the quilt shop. He laughed and said, "Well, you knew you were going to buy fabric, right?" I replied "Yes, but I bought a little more than I originally figured." He said, "Well, it's not like you have a trunk full or anything like that."

Ha, Ha, Ha, chortle, snort, Ha, Ha, Ha, sniff, sputter, tears streaming down my face, Ha, Ha, Ha...

"Well, that rubbermaid container over there is full of fabric." "The whole thing?" "Well, no I have thread and beads in there that I brought with me." "That's not so bad" he said. "Yeah, of course I also filled that rubbermaid container under the bed...and my tote bag next to the bed...and the two shoe boxes next to that...and stored some in the overhead compartment over the sofa...and some in that red shopping bag..."

And, Becky, Aimee, Mary Ann, Peggy, Sandy, the punchline is "My gosh, you must have $200 worth of fabric in here." Ha, Ha, Ha, chortle, snort, Ha, Ha, Ha, sniff, sputter, tears still streaming down my face, Ha, Ha, Ha....

It's a good thing Mary Ann emailed me that she and Aimee have some "outrageous fabric projects" planned for when I get home.

Here is a preview of some of the fabric I bought. That little granddaughter has been going camping with her Mommy and Daddy. So, Grandma had to make something today so I can mail it tomorrow so she'll have it for her next camping trip. Priority mail from Skagway to New York isn't very fast but I'm hopeful.

P.S. Janie is winning. She must have $300 worth of fabric!!!!! Ha, Ha, Ha, chortle, snort, Ha, Ha, Ha, sniff, sputter, tears still streaming down my face, Ha, Ha, Ha....

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

We slept in this morning and woke up to rain and clouds and temperatures expected to be in the low 50's. So we decided to go to town and do a little Christmas shopping.

Screeeeech....whoa.....what's going on here? There is no Christmas music. There are no Christmas decorations (except for the Christmas Shop). Wait...it's August and it's Alaska. It's not December and Tucson.

Oh my, finish that Christmas shopping and go jeepin with Don. So that's what we did!

Random thoughts on a rainy day

For many of you school is back in session and already becoming routine.
Karin, can you believe that just a few weeks ago you were standing by an Alaskan stream watching grizzly bears catching salmon? It wasn't a TV show, it was real! And you were too close!!!

I made a list of the animals I have seen since we got here. Peggie hasn't seen the number I have, but she has seen the variety. I used an * to denote animals I have seen on tour that Peggie didn't see at all.

wolf............................1
harbor seal................many
sea otter....................2
stellar sea lion...........many
orcas..........................7
humpbacks...............6?
bald eagles................many
grizzly.......................6
black bear................lost count
*moose.....................2
*black tail deer.......2
fox............................2
*lynx........................1
Dall sheep................lots, but probably the same ones over and over
mountain goats.......ditto

This just blows me away.

Coming up here has been, and continues to be, a real adventure. This is a very different place where people lead very different lives from the ones we know.
Just one example: The highway follows the shore of Tutshi Lake for about 10 miles. The lake is from one to two miles wide and 40 miles long in total. Over its entire coast, there is one permanent building (a summer cabin), and one access point where a boat can be launched from a trailer. There are no picnic sites, campgrounds, outhouses or other development of any kind.
Okay, two examples: Carcross is 65 miles from Skagway and has approximately 430 residents in the vicinity. Between them there is one permanant, year-round residence where a couple who work for the YTG road crew live, and also the Fraser Canadian Customs quarters. There are no roads into the hills, no logging has been done, no range cattle, nobody. Early tomorrow morning I have to go to Whitehorse. Last time I did that, I saw not one other car in that entire 65 miles.

Skagway is NOT Tucson in August.

We were out of butter and cream cheese so we needed to go to the store after work. We also decided that we would go to The Fish Co. for clam chowder since it is cold and rainy. Now read carefully.....today is August 19th, and we left the butter and cream cheese in the truck the whole time we were at the restaurant. Knowingly, and with full knowledge that it is August. We had no fear that the butter would melt or the cream cheese would curdle because it is cold and rainy. In August.

Peggie mentioned the wind previously. I had to take down the rain tarp to keep it from being ripped to shreds.....now that it is cold and rainy. So we are getting rain on the door and steps and our nice porch because the rain tarp didn't last long enough.

No good segue here.

Today I saw bears again. Seems like its been a long time. A mother with two little cubs crossed the road in front of us. She was like a crossing guard. She came halfway, then the brown cub bounded across the road. Then she turned back and the black cub walked sedately across the road. That was when we finally got stopped. The mom looked at us nervously (yes, I read bear expressions) and the cubs climbed a tree. I got my camera and snapped this picture. There are two cubs up the tree, a black one and a brown one. Honest. Before I could even get a second picture, the cubs came down and all three disappeared into the high brush. Passengers were excited. I was excited. These were younger cubs than I had seen previously. Cool.

What wind?

Mention the recent wind to a local and they scoff. Wind, they say, is what blows in the winter....from the North! That's nasty.
Okay, I get that. I felt the same way about the "heat waves" with temps in the 80s. It isn't hot if you only use two digits to express it.
I suppose it has to do with what you are used to.
Segue. Most of the summer Barry and I traded tours every other day. I got used to that and it was fine. Then we went through that spate of customer complaints and Dave made the decision to have me do the "long" tour and for Barry to do the local tour. That was fine with us. I wanted to see the country change and have more opportunities to see animals. Barry, who depends on the money more than I do, wanted the chance to get two tours a day. Yesterday we had demand for three local tours so I did one of them. Booorrring! I didn't realize how much I prefer the long drive. The customers were a fine bunch, interesting as always, fun. But I am looking forward to the long one today. After a day's absence, I expect to notice the changes more.
BTW, the weather has settled a bit. Less windy and rainy, still cloudy and cool. Tucson people think December rainy days. Also, though, the wildlife is hiding out. Food is plentiful everywhere so they are not on the roads. The goats are too high to see well. We saw a dall sheep ram the day before yesterday, but in a place where we couldn't stop.

Remember, Skagway means WIND!

The wind is blowing and blustering and howling and ripping tree branches off trees and awnings off trailers!!! It is WINDY, WINDY, WINDY here. I think it got up to about 59 degrees today. We've had rain off and on and weather alerts for wind. It was pretty quiet on the streets today but Janie said the quilt shop did a bustling business; everyone wanted to get in out of the wind.

We Skyped with Greg, Tomoko and Ariana. Okay, mostly with Ariana. That little granddaughter is one smart little girl. She pointed to mommy, daddy, grandpa and grandma, high-fived us on the computer monitor and talked into the telephone. FYI--there was about a four word delay from the phone to the computer. We watched her play a match game with mommy, create her own game and bump her head into the doorway. Except for the head bump it was a great visit. And, she blew us kisses as we said goodbye. OMG, she's wonderful.

Happy Birthday, Bill

Too bad, Bill is working on his birthday. As a kid his birthday was during summer vacation so he always had the day off. As a teacher his birthday was always during the school year so he seldom had the day off. If he were a teacher in Skagway his birthday would be during summer vacation even if it does seem like a cold, windy day. As a retiree working on his birthday has been his choice. I guess this year he made the choice months ago.

Fortunately, I have today off so he will have: his laundry done, his bathroom cleaned, a nice dinner with Wife Peggie and Brother Don at the Starfire, GREAT homemade brownies, the gift of a future helicopter ride to Mead Glacier, and a HAPPY wife. What a lucky guy! What a lucky girl!


Here is pre-birthday boy enjoying the bi-weekly newspaper at the local cafe on his day off. Most places in Skagway have the front doors open to welcome people in so sometimes it's as cold inside as it is outside. We were dressed for the weather so it was fun to be in/out and about.

Best laid plans

Things never work out exactly. We did sleep in. We did dawdle over breakfast, but we fixed it at home. We called Margie because Casey is visiting and talked with them while we cooked and ate breakfast. For future reference, sizzling bacon and phone calls don't go well together.
We lazed around until noon. Then we drove to town because we had to take Don's truck to the ferry dock and the wind was blowing, so not a nice day for a stroll anyway. We had lunch at the Sweet Tooth Cafe then began our tourist walk of the shopping district. We were comfortably dressed, Peggie in her Edmonton wind breaker, and me in my leather jacket. There was only one big ship in town, so the streets were pretty empty. We went first to The Loom. Corrinne (Barry's wife) was working, so we stopped to say hi. We ended up buying an area rug. It is designed by the owner's wife, and woven in Turkey, where he is from. It will look great in our house.

We were not surprised to find that most of the stores carry interesting things that we don't need. Because business was slow, we could talk to the clerks. It is unanimous that the season could end now for the summer workers, but the owners need more sales. Several shops, and all of the small tour companies were closed. The owners of the fudge shop (you didn't think we would skip the fudge shop) are teachers in Juneau. The wife is returning to work next week, the husband substitutes during the winter instead of taking a contract because the tourist season overlaps.
We found some small gifts for Ariana and six greatnieces and a grandnephew. Shh, don't tell. We originally thought we would support the firefighters by attending a BBQ for dinner, but the weather changed our minds, so we had dinner in. After we turned in, the wind was rattling the awning so hard I had to get up to secure it. That's when Don got home. He did catch some short naps on the ferry, but we didn't talk much because we both needed to get to sleep.
I have to work today. Happy Birthday, Bill.

Saturday off!

We've decided we're going to sleep in. Then we plan to get up very leisurely. Then we may stroll into town and dawdle over breakfast. After a little more strolling it will probably be time for a nap. Relax over drinks and then early to bed!

Sounds great!

Farewell, Karin

Karin is catching a plane today. Don is going with her to Juneau, then riding the ferry back tomorrow. It will be his most relaxing day of the summer. We finished off the halibut chowder last night by adding peas and cornbread to it. We got a total of 11 meals from free fish.
Trish (Peggie and Karin's boss) treated us all to spaghetti dinner as a farewell for Karin Wednesday night.
The locals say that summer is over. Fall is here. The leaves are turning yellow at about the same speed as the snow melted in May and June. The weather has turned "normal" as temperatures stay within the 50-60 range and clouds and rain are more common than sunshine. The highs and lows are often within 5 degrees. The rain is 90% at night.
Business this week has been unpredictable. Today I am the only one in the office so either I will be swamped and turning people away, or I will be the Maytag repair man, no telling.
Deer are not indigenous in the Yukon, having migrated north in just the last half-century. Nevertheless, my best sighting this week was two pretty 4 point mule deer (black tail variety) posing for Field and Stream.
I am liking having large Indian groups on board. The previous group sang songs, and the last group shared their homemade snacks with me. Thelpa, puri, and homemade mango chutney. mmmmgood.

Fresh from the barge!

I think we mentioned earlier in the season that groceries are shipped to Skagway on the barge and arrive on Tuesdays. Much of the food arrives in boxes and unpacking and restocking takes most of Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday. If one wants fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy or bread it's best to get to the grocery store right after work on Tuesday and again on Wednesday. Sometimes tourists are amazed at the cost of groceries and restaurant food but that's TWTWS...



Today I struck gold and I only had to walk a block instead of the whole Chilkoot Trail. Look at these fresh grapes and cherries. They are sooooooooo good.



We've been picking fresh lettuce, zucchini and basil from my garden and there has been plenty to share with the neighbors. One neighbor, Brother Don, was given a great gift on Sunday of fresh halibut. Karin and I both had to work on Sunday (we usually have that day off). Bill grilled the halibut and sure enough, by the time we called in the fish and the loaves, we had meals aplenty. Halibut chowder was on the menu yesterday.



Bill has been noticing more and more signs of Autumn as he drives up to the Summit and to Carcross each day. We're noticing signs in town too. The Mountain Ash trees all over town are now filled with clusters of red berries. They are gorgeous. There are three across the street from the store and the center one has gold leaves with the red berries and the other two are deep green with the red berries. I need to take some pictures! The fireweed is mostly gone and the cotton does cluster at the base of the seed pods. The rain has returned but mostly at night so we're still able to ride our bikes to work. Today I even had to put a jacket on inside the store for a while because it was too cool (or I wasn't working hard enough). It's dark by 10:00 p.m. and I'm finding out that Skagway has quite a few streetlights. I guess that makes sense when there are only five hours of daylight in mid-winter.

And today, a man walked into the quilt store and said, "Do you sell quilt fabric here?" We all, customers and workers alike, burst out laughing. Some days are just more fun than others!

Frolicking Grizzlies??

Hiking the Chilkoot Trail

I don't think Don and Karin look dressed for hiking the Chilkoot Trail. Bear hunting, maybe, but not hiking...

They forgot to take their 2000 lbs. of food and supplies. Guess we'll head on out to the tidal flats to see how the salmon and bears are doing.

The salmon are not doing so well but the bears are having a great time...these guys were pretty funny. They ran up and down the creek but didn't catch a lot of fish. We think they are second-year cubs and have probably just left their mama. We didn't see mama.

While waiting for the bears I walked around and could see signs of Autumn. It's amazing.

Next post: video of the bears.

I also have some Arizona beach front...

Background: You may or may not have noticed in our pictures, the pipeline next to Pitchfork Falls. The waterfall is a popular photo stop. The pipeline brings water to the hydroelectic plant we visited earlier, and which we featured in our blog. Naturally, we have to explain the prominent pipeline next to the falls to the tourists.
I told Don that on the last tour day I am going to tell tourists that several years ago the glacier feeding the falls finally melted away and the falls stopped flowing. The city tourist bureau, knowing how popular the falls were, decided to do something, so they had the pipeline constructed to take river water up to the top of the canyon and make the picturesque falls flow once again. Don told his (young naive) drivers this.
Today Don and Karin got to go as tourists on the jeep tour. The guide informed the crowd that the pipeline carried water to the top of the falls. After waiting a bit for the punchline, Don realized what had happened. The guide was aghast. "Do you know how many tourists I've told that to?"
I wondered if I would be able to sell that story to tourists. Apparently it was an easy sale.

My response to the complainer

In the time I've been here, I have carried hundreds of customers on tour. I have spoken with other drivers and we all agree that the overwhelming majority of people are pleased with everything. They tell us how good it was as they get off the bus, and of course, they tip us. We get many more customers who tell us we were recommended by previous customers than we get complaints. Nevertheless, something in our psyche forces us to focus on the Negative Nellies we occasionally get.
An email came into the office from a customer on a tour I drove last month. Dave asked for my reaction. Here is the way I would answer if I was the boss:
Dear Soandso,
Thank you for your comments on our tour package. We always appreciate customer feedback so that we may continue to offer the best tour product at the most affordable price.
Let me address each issue separately.
I am aware that the buses can be a bit noisy at times. The combination of 18 people talking, the wind outside, the large open carriage, and the rattles that come of driving over poorly maintained highways for 20 years make for a noisier ride than a late model Lexus may provide.
I discussed the non-functioning window with your driver, who informs me that as soon as you informed him of the problem, he provided a temporary solution to keep the cold out, then repaired the window as soon as the bus was at the destination. I wonder why you didn't simply move to one of the seven empty seats if the window was such an annoyance to you.
We receive many enthusiastic compliments on the lunch provided at the destination. I am sorry it was not to your satisfaction. Perhaps you did not notice that in order to serve several hundred people in a short time it is necessary to have hot coffee and tea set out cafeteria style rather than providing table service. The rolls and donuts are likewise set out in advance for speed and convenience as well as to keep costs down. I will suggest to the food manager that the bread come straight from the oven, and the donuts fresh from the fryer so that future diners, who will, of course, pay more, will not have to suffer through room temperature bread products.
Puppies lives revolve through five cycles: sleep, eat, sleep, play, sleep. The breeder has informed me that, try as she might, she cannot induce them to play the entire time the tourists are there, as they wear out from all the attention and must nap from time to time. They do not perform by the clock as do trained circus animals.
Likewise, your failure to see wildlife is wholly due to their wildness. We cannot compel them to appear on demand without taking away the wild part of the description. Captive animals are available for viewing in zoos all over the world.
Finally, you say the gold panning was cheesy and boring. Really? You didn't find gold with greater value than the cost of the activiy? If it was gambling you were after, you might have chosen a different cruise destination. The panning activity is wholly for the purpose of learning the technique for isolating the gold from the sand and gravel. It is designed to be entertaining, not adventurous.
As to refunding all or part of your money, let me suggest that you come back to Skagway another time. At no cost to you I will provide the following: sourdough starter, coffee, dried beans, basic cooking utensils, tent, blanket, shovel, and gold pan. I will take you to a creek where you can prospect for gold while standing knee deep in near freezing water. I will stop by at the end of a week to see how you are doing. If you have found enough gold to pay your passage, I will return you to Skagway for the trip home. If not, you may stay at the creek for another week. Be sure to keep the coffee and sourdough hot so the meals will be satisfactory. Knowing that you must find gold to pay your way out will keep it from being boring or cheesy. If you have one, you may bring with you a dog who never sleeps. He might come in handy in alerting you when wildlife is in the area.
Again, thank you for your comments. We continually strive to improve our service and product while keeping the costs affordable.
Your request for refund has been denied by the board of review at this time.

Is the jinx off?

Sunday it rained and the smoke came in. Monday the rain was gone, but the smoke from countless fires reduced visibility to less than half a mile. At the end of the day my eyes hurt and my voice was almost gone from the smoke. Today the day started out smokey but it cleared as the day went on. My passengers were from the east so they thought this was a clear day. They were in awe at the mountains and lakes. But best of all, we saw a bear, a moose, and two goats.
The bear was one of the ones I saw on Sunday. The moose was the first one I have been able to show to tourists. The goats were two of the six that have been there since my hair-brained idea. My passengers were appropriately impressed with my animal spotting ability, so I told them I came by it genetically since both my parents were good at it.
Yesterday the smoke was so bad we couldn't have seen any animals even if they were there. But my passengers were really excited to see the salmon in Pullen Creek (which is like a ditch as it runs through town) because their earlier attempts had failed.
Peggie's addition: Bill just went outside to sit on the pallet patio, drink lemonade, eat peanuts and visit with Brother Don. Maybe he'll talk about the jinx later...or, maybe not. Karin and I just spent a couple hours visiting so we're finished for the night. We don't get to visit much at work although we're fellow schleppers. We just roll our eyes together!!

Speaking of signs...

There are some other signs we are surprised to see.
Signs of autumn.
Yes, I know it is August 3rd.
Several trees (species) are already turning yellow. Some shrubs are turning red. The berries are ripening. (raspberries, blackberries, elder berries, mountain ash, devil's club, blueberries) The fireweed is almost over. There is a rhyme-When the fireweed starts to look like cotton, thoughts of summer are forgotten. The grasses are losing their green. We already mentioned that it gets dark at night now (for a few hours). Last year's snow is almost gone.
How can this be?
It has to. Winter starts in October.

"Stupid is as stupid does..." F. Gump

Well there are days and there are days. Sometimes you should have stayed in bed.
Today was back to "normal" with chilly air and clouds threatening rain. My run today was to Emerald Lake and Carabou Crossing. For the first time this summer we were in rain every foot of the way. After about 20 miles the color of the air changed. It became obvious from the coloration, then the odor, that much of the grayness was due to smoke from wildfires, not just rain. There were no photo ops for my passengers except the "Welcome to Yukon" sign due to the poor visibility, about half a mile. No photo ops means poor tips. Horseback riding in pouring rain also did not bode well. When some people stayed on the bus rather than photograph rain on the Carcross Desert, I really got worried if they were enjoying themselves at all.
But I couldn't leave it there. No, I had to RUN OUT OF GAS!!
Now, understand, today was what we call an early ship day. All the ships leave at 4:30 or 5:00. The cardinal rule of tour running is to get people back to the ships on time. We ran out of gas an hour out of Skagway, two hours before final boarding. The first few people who stopped had no room for more people. But in about 15 minutes that seemed longer, we got everyone back on their way to Skagway with messages to call Dave with my location and problem. And not one of them gave me a tip. They have the best story of the entire cruise, and you know they will tell it forever, but did they thank me? Nooooo.
However, after the first group left and only one couple remained, a bear crossed the road about 50 yards away. We wouldn't have seen it if we hadn't stopped. Still no tip!
After just two and a half hours of waiting(and that bus is now cleaner inside than it has been all summer), I was gassed up and on my way back. I saw another bear and a coyote I would otherwise have missed.
Besides cleaning the bus, I had time to figure out how a bus could use a whole tank of gas on a trip that usually consumes just 16-18 gallons. Leak? No smell of gas. Running too rich? Nope, running just fine. Some punk siphoned it while I was parked at Carcross? Maybe.
Then it hit me. Our usual (always) procedure is to gas up after a run, so the bus is ready in the morning. I had done that on Friday, as usual. But this was not that bus. This was the bus I brought back from Whitehorse at 11:00 at night. No fill up.
So, stupid, here's your tip----always, always, always actually read the gas gauge along with the rest of the pre-trip inspection.
Karma got me. I was wearing my secret "tourists are stupid" shirt. tsk, tsk, tsk.

Priceless time off

I am secretly wearing my Moratorium shirt which Peggie featured in the previous entry. I wear one of my solar shirts over it. But I know the message is there.

Peggie is having a rare treat, three consecutive days off. She traded with Janie because Janie's daughter is coming for a visit next weekend.

Friday night after work I took a bus to Whitehorse for repairs, trading it for a bus already there. Peggie went along for the ride. On the way up we saw a fox. Cool, but no big deal. However, the return trip held our interest. We left Whitehorse at about 10:00pm local time. We were treated to a real southwest-style sunset, complete with golden clouds and pink and orange sky. It was the first sunset we have seen this summer. Then it started to get dark. Then we saw the moon rising. We have not seen the moon all summer either. It was barely above the southern horizon and was beautiful above the mountains. Then we saw a planet. Probably Jupiter or Saturn.

We did not see any stars since the sky never achieved full blackness and there was thin cloud cover. Then we saw a bear. He was black. I saw him in the headlights (first time we really needed headlights to see) by the road. We had to turn around for a look-see. He obliged by crossing the road and he was the largest black bear we have seen up here. His coat was glossy reflecting the headlights. He did not stick around long, but his size and the darkness made him more ominous.

Saturday we both had off so we took the Fjord Express to Juneau. It was the best recreation we have done so far. First off, the boat ride was amazing. Just watching the coast mountains and waterfalls and glaciers with no names was all amazing. But we also saw harbor seals and sea lions hauled up on the rocks, lots of bald eagles and eagle nests, and on the return trip, orcas and humpbacks and Dall porpoises. There were lighthouses and gold mines on the islands and mountains. In Juneau, we took the cable tram up Mount Roberts. The mountain has hundreds of miles of tunnels from gold mining. Much of downtown Juneau and the airport are built on the waste rock from the mines. The tram ride was spectacular. Over 3100 feet on a single span of cable, rising 1800 feet above the port. Then the bus took us to Mendenhall Glacier for a too-short visit. One could spend a day there easily. All in all it was a great day. We will probably have to do it again.

Bill's New T-shirt

I couldn't resist getting this for Bill. It was an impulse buy that was just the "perfect thing".