Is heat like pain?

It was hot here today. Well, really all this week.
How hot was it?
It was above 75.
We remember that 75 is hot here. Maybe like 95 is hot in Tucson. But remembering isn't the same as feeling.  Like pain. You remember that it hurts, but you don't re-feel it during the memory. Otherwise women would each have only one child, and nobody would have more than one tooth pulled.
So, when I picked Peggie up from the popcorn shop where she works on the reservation system after driving her tour, I took her down to the harbor. It was probably closer to 100 in the shop. Not only is it enclosed, but they have those poppers putting out steam all day. A/C?  Nobody here knows what that is.
So we drove down to the harbor where the wind off the water reminds us that it is cool here. We didn't have a thermometer (except the one in the dashboard that I didn't think to look at until just now) but I think it was more like 45 there. We could only stand it for a few minutes. But it sure cooled us off as well as an A/C.
So the tours are going well. We are seeing a few bears. I am up to seven for the season. Saw the same sow and cubs I saw the other day. No, I haven't named them yet. Peggie has seen one. But we aren't keeping score. wink wink

Happy Birthday Jane

I tried to do this yesterday, but couldn't get connected. So it's a day late. But, you're young so you will get over it.
We are enjoying the sunshine and warmth and watching the snow melt. We are wearing short sleeves. The natives and young seasonals are wearing shorts and tanks. Kids were playing in the melt-water at Lake Bennett. Not me. The air is warm, but that is cooold melt-water.

Temporal anomoly

I just noticed, from reading a few previous posts, that another week has passed. I seems to me that it happened more quickly than is normal. My current working hypothesis is that at higher latitudes time passes more quickly because the circumference of the earth is smaller. I will try to design some experiments to test this theory. Since this journal is peer reviewed, I welcome input from other temporal observers. At the moment, I am discounting the temporal distortion created by sitting at a computer, since I get very few chances to do that with our iffy internet hookup. It has been well documented that being busy has an accelerating effect on time, so I will factor that in as well.
It is a day off, and laundry has to be done. Laundry is the kind of busy-ness that actually slows time down. It should create a nice balance to the speediness that causes a day off to pass by so quickly.
So t t f n, I hope your Saturday does not go too quickly.

Finally!!!

Today Peggie was stuck in the office, which is happening too frequently since Heath found out she is good at it, but I went out on tour. It was the day I have been waiting for. Yes, bears. We had a fairly close look at some dall sheep. We saw a moose in the road, but she ran into the woods when we were still 50 yards off. Then, in the section of Tormented Valley where bears are rare, we rounded a curve and three buses were stopped. Atop a twenty foot cliff face was a black sow with two cinnamon cubs. They stopped right above us and the sow stood up to grasp a small tree and bring it to the ground so she could eat the new growth at the top. The two cubs emulated her in typical child-like clumsiness. My passengers were afraid they would tumble down the cliff. They were on the right, so I had to practically lie on my back to get a look. Couldn't shoot movies, which is too bad, because it was so cute. I like that stuff when I'm not on tour. I would have stayed for hours watching if I could have.
On a sad note, our friend and fellow rust gatherer from two years ago is leaving tomorrow. She was just here for a month helping get the quilt and yarn shops up and running. We took her out for dinner to say goodbye.

Just like before

When we came up first in '09, we were amazed how the weather could change so quickly in a day. We still are. This morning we were snowed on at the summit, then this afternoon the sunshine had us seeking shade. Peggie got to take a fun group on tour today. They saw a moose. My group yesterday saw three moose, a cow with two calves. All we saw today was a lone mountain goat. This afternoon, Bryan came into the popcorn shop with four people who had gone on his summit tour, and who had been promised a special additional private tour to Dyea. He didn't know anything about Dyea. So I offered to go along. He eagerly accepted my offer. So I talked as we drove out there, mentioned the possibility of seeing harbor seals and bald eagles. We stopped to watch some harbor seals when suddenly a huge bald eagle swooped down and tried to grab a duck on the river. Right if front of us. It was spectacular. He missed the duck, but landed in a nearby tree. I looked up and saw the mate just a little higher up the hill. Then we went to the head of the Chilkoot trail, took photos of them at the beginning and told them they could now claim to have hiked a section of the famous Chilkoot trail. So the group were thrilled with their little bonus tour and excited to have seen the eagle so close up. Bryan really appreciated my help and the learning he got from it. I liked being a tour guide on the Dyea road without having to pay attention to the driving. Later, the road will be better, as it is being widened in some of the narrowest places, and some of the curves are being straightened.

Follow up on hiking the Trail...

Like 70% of gold rush stampeders, we did not go all the way to the end. We went about 4 miles and it was a walk in the park.
Really. The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.
The first quarter mile is a 200 foot climb and descent back to river level. The rest is level. It is also pretty wet.  Look at Peggie's photo album. We walked across several beaver ponds. Did not see beavers.
Oh, and after hiking 7 3/4 miles, the LAST quarter mile is a 200 foot climb and descent. We were sore in places when we got home, but two Tylenol and in bed at 8:00 and we woke up fine. Mostly. But in an hour we were really just as good as new. So we will probably go again. Hopefully on other trails, also.
We rewarded our hardiness with beer (root beer for me) and burgers.
And, we finally got to skype with our wonderful granddaughter, who showed us her first permanent tooth! And her little brother, who is toothless.
That's a pretty good day off.

Can you guess what we're going to do?

Yep, we're going to hike the Chilkoot Trail tomorrow. NOT the entire 33 miles, in case you're wondering. AND, we're not taking 2000 lbs of goods so we won't have to make 40 trips.

Stay tuned for results and pictures!

Why me?

Today I volunteered to drive the one remaining "old" bus to check out a perceived problem Bryan had yesterday. To wit, 2nd gear did not hold back enough on the downhill.
It was a summit tour with 18 on board. Got to the summit with all going well. Tried to leave the summit and the ignition did not connect. No clicking of dead battery. No grinding of starter. No nothing. All other electrical systems worked fine. I tried jiggling the neutral safety switch. I couldn't even find the starter. I moved the shift lever in and out of every position. Nothing.
The code of the trail. Another driver tried to help. But it came down to him going on up to Fraser and getting the train master (our friend Allyson) to call back to town and inform our office. That meant we could expect relief of some kind in about an hour or so. So, since it was windy cold outside, we all stayed on the bus and I regaled them with tales of the gold rush that would have come on the return to town. Three fell asleep. I thought I was more interesting than that. When I ran out of material, two men got in a joke telling contest. That was fun. Luckily, I was surprised when Jack drove up with the old-I-will-never-drive-it-again Ford. We gratefully loaded up and he entertained us on the way back to town. I promised everyone free popcorn for their inconvenience. One woman asked me privately and I think only half jokingly, if we could leave her husband there. Only 9 took me up on the free popcorn, and two groups actually gave me tips.
Not to leave you hanging, Heath took me back up in his Suburban, sat in the driver's seat, pumped the gas pedal 10 times hard, and the darned old thing started up! That was not the problem. Based on my experience with our Wagoneer in '95, I think it is a computer issue. Either way, if I have to drive it again, I will leave the engine running at stops.
Meanwhile, Peggie got to get out of office work and drive her second tour today. Then she got to do office work when she got back in town. Long day.

Congratulations Peggie

Long story, short version.

Peggie and I are both supposed to be driving tours this year.  But we got here and learned that we needed to pass a drug-screening urine test before we could start.  So an appointment was made, and we did our thing. Now we are still waiting for results five days later.  Meantime, tours have been sold and drivers are needed.  Yesterday, (May 10) we only had 2 guests on “my” tour so I was allowed to take them in one of the green jeeps, since the CDL is not required for that. Jaimie has to go home for the oldest son’s graduation and will be gone two weeks.  Michelle, who is supposed to be here managing the office, is delayed in Wisconsin. So Peggie, who can’t even take her CDL driving test until the end of the month, was tapped to learn the office routine while Jaimie is gone.  The small bus she is supposed to drive doesn’t require a CDL, so she could be driving.  She is disappointed, but she’s a team player. She has been studying all the gold rush lore, riding along with other drivers, including me, on both practice and actual tours. Yesterday, Jack sold a city summit tour (2.5 hours) for five people.  All the drivers were out, so Jack would have taken it, but they offered it to Peggie.  She took it.

It was the best way. No time to get nervous. Even less time to panic. When I got back in town I learned that she was out on a tour. We went to celebrate and rehash the tour at Brew Co. Since Bryan also took his first solo tour, and I took my first this season, we had much to celebrate, and good stories to share.

Now THIS is FUN!!

Peggie has created an album to go with this post. Check it out.
Today was the orientation at Caribou Crossing and Peggie, Bryan, and I were the only ones who chose to go. I was just curious to see if the new owners had changed anything, and Peggie and Bryan needed to see it for the first time. We had been there twice with passengers, but didn't get any of the inside on what is new. Peggie drove the mini bus for the first time, and I sort of gave my narration, with many modifications caused by questions. Also, I haven't done this in two years so there was some rust in my delivery. We arrived in good time to see a ring of drivers from a competitor company standing in the parking lot. I know and like most of them, but three of eight were new to me. I met the husband side of the new owners for the first time, also. As soon as introductions were done all around, including some of the CC staff, the owner got attention and asked, "Is there anyone who does NOT want to take a helicopter ride." We all looked at each other and saw confusion but no raised hands. Why is he asking that?
Well, one of the new "staff" we had just met has a heli-ski company in winter, and looking for a way to get year round income thought that offering short rides to our passengers might work out. And to help us sell it, he gave us a free 10 minute ride around the Carcross area. In a helicopter, you can cover a lot of ground in ten minutes. We went into the mountains and over Bennett Lake and the town. They haven't worked out the price yet, but when they do, we both can enthusiastically sell the ride. I mentioned it was worth going today for free lunch and beautiful scenery. I didn't expect the aerial view of that scenery.
Speaking of scenery, it has only been three days since our last drive there, and the loss of snow is amazing. Water is running off everywhere. Rocks are pushing through. Soon there will be.......ANIMALS!

Day Off, no ship, no tour, no problem

I just decided that I will take some pictures today of our little RV park so you can see where we are living.
In the meantime.......
We are parked next to a long yellow-brown storage building. The slideout is about two feet from the wall. So one of the things I got at the hardware store on Wed. was a thermometer to hang on that wall so we could see it when we eat. It is always good to know how to dress. I drove a nail into the wall and stuck it up there. It was raining, and water dripped in my face as I did it. Within an hour it blew down. It came with a hanging strip that clips in place. So I attached that, got another nail, stood in the roof drip, and hung it with both the original and the new nail, on opposite sides. It blew down over night. Thursday, I asked Macky if he had any loose screws. Well, he is a Skagwegian, so there is an obvious answer. Badumpbump. He did. So I put two screws through the hanging strip and the thermometer has been solid ever since. It showed 46 when we went to bed and 48 when we got up. It will be a few days before the temp changes enough for us to see if it is an accurate instrument.
Oh yeah, the hardware store did not get in the sewer piece I needed, so I adapted and put it together differently. It required some cutting and gluing. You don't need the details, but we have sewer hooked up now. It looks very Skagwegian, but it works.
We are across the street from "Gravel City" rv park, so we went over there after work yesterday to do laundry. There are 10 regular washers. At least two don't work. The soap dispenser took my four quarters but produced no soap. There are three oversized washers, one is broken. But a man taking his clothes from another one offered us his soap. That is also typical Skag way. There are eight dryers, six work. The office is not only closed, but the junk piled in it shows that it has been closed for a while. Next time we will go to the laundry at the gas station. All their machines work, and there is always someone there to refund money or make change. But we did run into another old friend and got caught up on her adventures. We like our adventures much better.

Day Two, with ship and tour

Today went the way yesterday was supposed to have gone.
Peggie got to ride along on the 8:00 summit tour with Alyssa training Brian because there were some empty seats. I stayed to help Jaimie and Heath with whatever might come up. Alyssa locked the keys in her bus, so I had to run to the bus lot, get the spares and bring them back to her. Then Jaimie and I got to spend some time getting acquainted while manning the desk. She had to run out for coffee so I hung out alone for a while.
The streets were empty. It was raining pretty hard so most folks just stayed on ship.
When it came time to take the Carcross run, I decided to go along again. Free lunch, beautiful scenery.
Not surprising me at all, there were visible changes in the snow cover. One of the things I always say is that the scenery changes every day, all summer long. When there are moving clouds, it changes while you are watching it. I love getting to see it without the distraction of driving and talking. We will all go up again on Tuesday for the driver orientation since new owners may have made some changes. Free lunch, beautiful scenery.
Today's trip, Brian took the wheel while Alyssa did the narrative. It is a good way for a new driver to make the connection between the story and the various stretches of road. On the return, he tried to contribute bits to the narrative, but he botched it every time. The passengers joined us in teasing him and laughing. He is so good natured that he usually laughed first and last.
We have Sunday and Monday off. No ships. Peggie will get some training in. No ships on Tuesday, that's why the orientation is that day.Peggie and I should be cleared to drive by Wednesday. She can drive the smaller bus without the CDL.
Our friend Barry, with whom I worked the first two years, has been desperately hunting a place to park his trailer since Mountain View has shut down. Tomorrow I will tow him to the site he landed at Pullen Creek which normally does not take seasonals. He does not have a truck, since he just leaves the trailer here year 'round
We won't be going to Dyea soon, since bears aren't out yet and the road is reported to be a muddy mess while it is being widened.
I will keep y'all posted (get it?) if any adventures crop up.

First ship day

Photo Album Should Post Soon:
We had an employee meeting yesterday to communicate procedures and expectations for the near future while Peggie and I are unavailable. I have worked for this company for three years, but that was softball compared to the hardball we are now playing.
Apparently there are DOT rules and regulations that Dave did not bother with. In 2011 he was audited by the DOT. So now all those rules have to be followed. Hence, I need a drug test before I can drive. We have paperwork to fill out for every run which I have never seen before. We have to keep a log. Two logs. One for our driving time, and one for the vehicle miles and maintenance and fuel usage. We have a maintenance man who will fix things at the end of each day. No waiting for three weeks when it is that vehicle's turn to take Dave for his weekly Whitehorse weekend. We have two new-er buses (2006 and 2010) to replace the 1999 "new" buses (one of which literally burned to the ground on the last ship day last year) and the 1991 piece of $&#@ "old" bus that cost me hundreds in tips in 2011.
So, back to the meeting. Everything seemed so squared away. All the pieces were in place, and each person knew what to do and where to go today. We all meet at the buses(which are conveniently located 30 feet from our trailer) and do team pre-trip inspection, both for training the two newbies, and because it is difficult to see your brake lights working while you are in the driver's seat with your foot on the pedal. This would happen at 6:40 so we could drive the buses to the popcorn store for our daily 7:00 am staff meeting.
Good plan.
At 6:40 Peggie and I walk over to the bus parking lot. One of the buses is missing.
Time to introduce the cast:
Heath and Jaimie  ----own the popcorn store, bought the company at the beginning of the season last year after not completing the sale the year before. Over the winter also bought the green jeeps, including the land where we live, and opened popcorn stores in Juneau and Ketchikan.
Macky---born and raised Skagwegian (yes, that is what they call themselves, and it is a nicer term than I would use) our maintenance man.
Jack---seasonal who has been coming here since 1991, which means NOBODY CAN TELL HIM ANYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING because he has seen it all and it was better then.
Brian ---40ish semi-retired engineer who sold a successful company two years ago, ran into Jack on the Appalachian Trail, was talked into taking a job driving tours in Colorado, followed by coming here.
He lives in a "bunkhouse trailer" next door to us that he helped Heath, Jaimie, and Jack drive up here along with the two new buses and the two new green jeeps. We like him.
Alyssa ---twenty?something high energy, efficient, returnee from last year who previously drove the big buses and is married to a man who still does. She was training Brian before we got here and is now also training Peggie. We like her, too.
Okay. One of the buses was missing.
Jack shows up. (He lives in one of the six trailers, Jaimie and Heath in one, and the other two are leased to kids who work for Sockeye Cycles) We ask him how he wants to do the pre-trip inspection. He pooh poohs the idea and reaches in to start the small bus that will be Peggie's later. Dead battery. So he starts the new bus that is still there. At this point Alyssa shows up on her bike. She says to Jack, "Why are you starting my bus?" He says the other one is dead. She says how am I supposed to check the oil with it running. He says the oil has been checked 14 times in the last two days while you guys have been training.
This is the oil and water relationship Jack and Alyssa have already established in the last few days. She was trained by the big bus companies to follow the letter of the rules, he is....old school Skagway.
Upshot, Alyssa, Peggie, and I get in the running bus and head to the popcorn store for the daily staff meeting. Jack stays to help Macky get the jeeps ready for the prebooked renters. Oddly, they have not been cleaned and stocked prior to this moment.
At the popcorn store, Jaimie is putting together last minute paperwork and juggling phone calls with Heath, who stayed to help Macky and Jack.
There is no staff meeting.
Alyssa heads to the dock to pick up her passengers for the 8:00 summit tour. The "missing" bus and Brian are at the popcorn shop, he took it to get gas because it was the training bus and hadn't been filled up. He goes with Alyssa because he has to learn the tour. Peggie is given a green jeep to run some errands for Jaimie because half the office work is still down at the old Southeast office and half is at the popcorn store. I am dispatched in the "missing" bus to shuttle jeep renters up to the lot (remember, I can't do this yet, because I haven't done my urine test) so I make three trips, including a pickup at the dock, wherein Peggie has to go stand in the cold with a green jeep sign, so I can stay with the bus in a loading zone where the driver can't leave, or it is called parking.
Finally, Alyssa and Brian are back from the morning summit run and Peggie and I are allowed to join them for the Carcross run.  This has been accomplished by Jaimie convincing two people to change from a 9:30 to an eleven that also only had two people, and moving four people from a shorter tour to a free upgrade to this one, so that Jack could use the other running bus for an eleven o'clock summit run. Jaimie is a good juggler.
This is only the second time I have been a passenger on this tour, the last time was four years ago. It is a great tour. Alyssa did a great job. Not as good as me, but who is? The passengers were happy and that is what counts. It was good for me to get a refresher after missing a season. Peggie and I got a free lunch.
Sgt. Brown was our customs officer when we got back and he came on to check passports with his customary (no pun intended) query: "Hi folks, did you see any critters today?"
No. We did not see any critters today. There is snow everywhere. Bears are sleeping. Sheep and goats are invisible. Moose and caribou? Probably somewhere with food.
But we had fun.
Tomorrow? Are you kidding? I (he means "we") am planning to meet Alyssa and Brian for pretrip at 6:40, drive to the 7:00 staff meeting and roll with the flow. Just like today.

May Day, May Day!

It is Wed., the first of May. We don't have internet, so will post this later.
We arrived in Skagway at about 5pm last night. We had blizzard conditions the last five miles in Canada and the first two miles in Alaska. Apparently it was just above 3000' or so. Snow is falling in Skagway, but really light.
We were met by Macky, "our maintenance man," and he showed us our spot and helped back me in. Other employees, two drivers and the popcorn manager, who live here also dropped by after a bit to say hi. One of the other drivers, Alyssa, drove for Heath last year and for the large bus companies before that. She is
"in charge" of all DOT paper work. She has been training the "new guy" and immediately took Peggie under her wing, also. She went with them today to see the pre-trip inspection and some practice driving. (I am posting this on Thurs. and Peggie passed all three of the written portions of the test today. Yay!)
While she was out training, I finished leveling and setting the trailer up. I need a piece for the sewer pipe so that is the thing the hardware store is out of.
In running errands, primarily getting our Post Office keys, I ran into 6 people I know and like. Huh? Must be a small town. Speaking of the PO, I reserved our box last month so we could start getting some things sent directly here. But, somebody went online and reserved the same box. Really? Why wasn't my "reserved" box made unavailable for somebody as soon as it was assigned to me? If you had our first number and need the new one, let me know.
This is the coldest, wettest, windiest, May we have seen. Even the locals are complaining. Rain, mixed with snow off and on all day. High temps in the forties. We were told to keep water running to prevent freezing.
Some things are the same. Last minute painting, sign hanging, boardwalk building, and stocking. The bad weather made the barge 3 days late and everyone is panicking. There are new businesses in "what used to be there?" and closed businesses with FOR RENT signs in the windows, HELP WANTED signs everywhere.
Some things are different. The owner of the Pizza Station, that was the gas station when we were here in '95 has filled the tanks and sells gas by credit card only, with no personnel on hand. Twenty cents cheaper than the other "only station in town." There are some strong feelings about that! We saw all new faces at Customs, and the officer who checked us through was really friendly. We have since learned that three of the  crew from our last visit are still there.

Thursday, May 2
First ship is tomorrow. One on Saturday. Then three empty days, then it starts to pick up. Neither of us can drive yet, because Peggie still needs to do the driving portion of the test, (only done on Thursday) and we both have to have a urine-drug test that can't be done till next week. (Because it is the Skag way.) I never knew how lax Dave was with some of these requirements until I see it being done "by the book." So we will ride along tomorrow and Saturday. I will start driving next Wed. and Peggie on Friday. She will get to practice driving during those off days. I don't know what I will do. Maybe help teach her.