Some people like taking in stray dogs and cats….me, I like old wooden boats…..lots of rot but classic lines are a must. Here is the dory off the St. Lazaria which had been sitting on the dock upside down for about five years. She’s lost all her shape and is now like a canoe with her ribs all broken at both the keel and chines so there is a lot of work ahead.

One rib at a time–I pre-bend each white oak rib by springing it on our dock to shape it for the next day’s installation

Here I’m placing the pre-bent rib into the stern section carefully. Sometimes these ribs break–a real bummer because I then start all over–worst is when you’ve hand fastened each frame on each plank and the last bend breaks…..then, it’s start over time. (The next post will explain the copper fasteners.)

The ‘forefoot’ (bent section) was completely fractured which left the stem and keel separated–and this is a hard piece to replace. First you have to relieve all the planks where they land on the stem, remove the stem and then remove all the fasteners that tie the forefoot to the keel and ‘garboard’ plank (the one fastened to the keel).

Usually, you select a piece of wood from the woods that looks like this–a huge natural knee, but this is too big so, in my spare time, I make a wooden bench out of it instead:

This is sited on our point and we now visit there every evening.

OK, back to the stem–here it’s completely opened up. What a mess–it came out in about five pieces so I screw it back together to use as a pattern! Now comes the hard part which is to reshape a forefoot from a piece of wood 2 1/2″ thick, 13″ wide and three feet long–remember it laps over the keel and stem. And this is just the beginning. After all this stem business, I’ve got the same problems with the stern:

So this has to be removed and then I plug, glue and repair the stern section; here’ the boat is essentially only two halves–no stem nor stern. Fortunately, the stern-piece can be salvaged:

The stern has now been reinstalled and varnished awaiting gold leaf “SVEN” lettering but I’m pooped so it’s time to visit Juneau for a weekend–Martina is working there all week.

And the tourist boats continue to arrive. And I thought a rowboat was a hard project. How do people maintain these huge yachts? For size comparison, note the brown cover on my 73′ tug Katahdin on the right moored in front of the yacht–and this is a medium sized one!

OK….off to Juneau where we visit the Mendenhall Glacier which is a short drive out of town. An incredible place except for the helicopters hauling lazy people over to see it. Helicopters….bah, humbug!

OK–enough of a rant about helicopters. The SVEN is half done but this blog will have to be continued (and modified) as the project ensues. Stay tuned….

It had four sets of frames–I removed three keeping the best to hold the shape and filled the (approximately) 1000 holes in the hull from the old fasteners.

Here I’m bending a new frame into the boat. These are green (not kiln dried and therefore flexible) white oak frames which have been soaked overnight. On the Katahdin they are hand sawn frames 6″ X 6″ with 3″ planking–quite a difference! Today, vertical grain, air dried Douglas Fir old growth planking runs $14.00 per board foot (1″ X 12″ X 12″). Unbelievable–so I stick to small boats now.

Here I’m bracing the frames so I can fasten them with copper rivets and roves–all done by hand of course.

Here comes a visitor….

We’ve already had 6 or 7 sightings.

Here’s the boat all done up–and we named it after my uncle Ole….

It’s true–I really have an uncle Ole (actually a g-great uncle who immigrated from Norway).

Meanwhile, Merganzers launch their chicks–all 13 of them! Time to get moving and launch the Onkel Ole (note the ‘port’ and starboard’ oars):

Here another tug passes our house–the Paragon makes it’s way north out of the Wrangell Narrows into Frederick Sound on a beautiful June evening.

After 40 years, almost to the day, I returned to Washington DC to lobby for the Arctic Refuge. This ceremony took place at “the triangle” which is directly outside the US Capitol Building. Attending are Wilderness Society president Bill Meadows, Representative Ed Markey (D-MA), Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Mark Udall (D-CO) and, of course……..Ranger Doug.

The Udalls have walked the talk–by hiking the entire Brooks Range and rafting each of the eleven river systems. Mark stated that Udalls are so thick in the SW that you can’t spit without hitting one. Tom’s definition of wilderness is when something is out there that you can’t see but is willing to eat you. Of course, I tell my bear story….

But first, let me explain the 40th anniversary of my first visit here….

I met with Richard Nixon on May 14, 1970 after the Kent State shootings–we were the only student group to access the White House and the President: (“Don’t pay attention to the man behind the curtain!”)

You can read more in the Newsweek May 25, 1970 edition in “Youth Wants to Know” where I’m quoted as the “clean-cut leader of….American youth” This quote appears prominently on my resume, of course.

But, Richard didn’t listen to my sage advice so I had him impeached….but I waited for him to first sign the Wilderness Act–my reason for coming back 40 years later….

About a year ago, the Sierra Club approached me about a poster design to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Arctic Refuge. And here is our design featuring Mardy and Olaus Murie who spent their lives preserving this wonderful place–a considerable effort given that Mardy lived to 101! For more information about the refuge, read Mardy’s book “Two in the Far North.”

Also see our previous post on this area here.

After our “triangle meeting,” our next stop was Joseph Lieberman’s office. Joe called me the “An Alaskan Real McCoy”….another quote I’ll have to include on my resume along with Newsweek’s:

One more stop: The Library of Congress. For years, I’ve been collaborating with the LOC and National Parks to try to rebuild an original set. Imagine my surprise to find five of the nine “Laurent Collection” safely held by the LOC; we had been bidding against each other–they bought five, I, two. Only four posters remain elusive: Yosemite which was sold by the Swann Gallery, NYC to a private buyer and three which have never been found: Wind Cave, Yellowstone Falls and Great Smoky Mountain. Here, Ranger Doug donates his contemporary collection to Brett Carnell of the Prints and Photographs Division:

After all this political stuff, Martina and I train up to NY to the Big Apple. This place is expensive!…but we have a good time visiting Greenwich Village–hear Ranger Doug’s interview here. We also do the museums, visit the WTC site, the Steinway Piano Factory and also King Tut–checking out his personal jewelry. I visited the top of the Twin Towers 25 years ago and here’s what it looks like today:

….and the Steinway Piano Factory–fascinating for anyone nuts about pianos. No cameras allowed here:

OK….one more mention: Gettysburg. We’re doing a poster on this incredible place. In less than three days, there were almost 53,000 casualties–and a large percentage died.

Gettysburg is about 90 miles north of Washington DC–the Union was clearly threatened. I once sat at the very desk upon which Lincoln wrote his Gettysburg Address–Richard Nixon had it installed directly behind the (green) curtain behind his presidential desk. I also sat at Nixon’s oval office desk–but was politely asked not to sit there–only the President could. Just trying it out for size…..OK, OK–here’s a Gettysburg canon:

ELDA is next….but we first stop by Beacon NY on the beautiful Hudson River–beautiful because of one man’s efforts to clean it up. That man is Pete Seeger. Here he’s still strumming the banjo on his 91st birthday party. We were lucky to be able to meet him and have a piece of birthday cake!

and Pete still making music:

Then we proceed to ELDA–which stands for Elizabeth, Lucy, David and Abbott–the four children of David T. Abercrombie, founder of Abercrombie & Fitch and my great uncle. In 1926-8, he built a castle just north of NYC near Ossining–home of Sing Sing Prison. Today ELDA lies open to the elements, vandalized and for sale. I hastily organize a family reunion of the remaining Abercrombies and we tour the castle.

About 5 years ago, I stumbled across original photographs of the castle taken just after it was built….in Wyoming of all places where his son ranched. Here is the “Great Room:”

….and what it looks like today.

In 1944, a paint company was experimenting with camouflage paint and blew out one wing. I don’t believe this story preferring the more exotic tale of the Manhattan Project igniting a nuclear bomb here. This place was built like a proverbial stone outhouse with steel reinforcement, only stronger. David T’s wife was from the Abbott steel family who built the steel cladding for the Monitor (that sunk the Merrimack in the Civil War) and also the steel trusses for the US Capitol Building (see first photo in this post). This wasn’t paint…. But today’s kids still are experimenting with paint; thanks Jeff, class of 2009. It’s good to see that our high schools are still turning out well educated and mature adults.

The ceiling collapsed and the front stone wall was blown out–later turned into a courtyard.

Here’s that north wing intact in another original photo. It would be nice to restore this place and turn it into a music center, library or museum. There are 53 acres with two ponds and a separate guest house (originally a stable for horses). The stone tower is four stories high and from the top you can see the Hudson River.

Hmmm…..another project…..stayed tuned.

Recent add-on alert!….for all you East-Coasters. Our first bears show up right after we return to Alaska–here’ I’m gracefully tip-toeing after our fourth sighting (a big one!) to get a better pic–OK,….not too close…..

Spring has sprung as you can see by this rainbow in our saltchuck. It’s time to get working on more projects. First is the smoke house–Martina comes from Bavaria and many of the Germans here in Petersburg have encouraged her to start smoking meat…..and I want to smoke fish.

So I build a smoke house for that purpose–this is a big one to hang meat from the ceiling and place filets on removable racks. The success of a smoker is: 1.) lots of ventilation, 2.) all wood construction and 3.) carefully following marinating recipes. We’ll keep you posted on our results….

Then it’s on to the guesthouse outhouse:

Don’t laugh–you may be sitting here someday. It’s all recycled from other boats–including the Katahdin’s pilot house doors–another room with a view and fairly good library. Next step is to sand and paint. This is where a straight flush beats a full house….

So it’s on to the next project: Always wanted to build a bat house. The internet is the place to start so I redesign the basics: 1.) use untreated wood, preferably cedar, 2.) allow landing areas, 3.) add ventilation, 4.) score the interior shelves for climbing, 5.) allow a ‘crawl-over’ at the top where the temps are warmer, 6.) seal totally (bats don’t like drafty/wet roosts, 7.) tar paper the outsides to heat the house, and 8.) place on at least a 10′ pole SW/SE facing–morning sun/afternoon shade is best.

OK, here is the basic structure–note the scored interior baffles to allow bats to climb up. They are all staggered and open at the top where it is warmest.

Here is a view of the top before it is enclosed. Note the top (at left) has a screen attached to the underside so bats can hang there. The baffles at the top clear the ceiling by at least 3/4″ so bats can crawl over between baffles.

And here’s the bottom. The landing area has screen door material stapled to a 4″ panel so the bats can land, then crawl up into the warm house. The baffles can be seen here. I made the first (back) baffle 1″ instead of 3/4″ on the advice of one internet site.

And here’s the finished bat house. I’ve stapled tar paper on the upper (roosting) half, added vents on the bottom 1/3 (about 5″ to 10″ above the bottom opening). What got me started on this project–Martina and I were boating up Petersburg Creek last week and bats were flying around like cliff swallows catching insects in broad daylight.

Bats do not interfere with birds or their pollination efforts–in fact they actually pollinate some flowers. They are the only mammals that fly! They can eat a gazillion insects and are generally (no, absolutely) beneficial to the environment. Bats fly and hunt at night and return in the early morning to bat houses like this–if they can find one…..Visit this site for more information. Here’s the final installation…..holy cow, Batman….

OK–more projects await: Last summer, we completed our greenhouse, then carried water all summer (it was a very warm, sunny summer) into the greenhouse, let it warm, then poured it carefully under the tomatoes. This summer, we’re going to catch all the water off the roof and recycle it into the greenhouse with this system:

We’ll attach soaker hoses inside the greenhouse. I’ve added a valve to direct water to the rain barrel–a source close to the garden beds instead of running hoses from the well house and energy is conserved!

Well, that’s it for now. While Martina is visiting relatives in Germany, I’ve started all the plants inside–as you can see here looking through the front window where the sun streams in. Best lighting for not only plants but also for the keyboard. On the music rack is Brahm’s Intermezzo in A major–a piece I started years ago and am now determined to complete. And this is the view directly behind me while I practice:

Stay tuned…..

In February it’s time to head back down to Palm Springs, pick up our trailer and drive south to San Diego for our annual APPL (Association of Partners for Public Lands) trade show where we preach the good deeds of the WPA-CCC artwork of our National Parks. We use our trailer as a prop. The centennial for the NPS is 2016 so we’re hustling to complete an image of each park by that time. We’re at #32 and here we are presenting our latest eight images. I built a cellophane fire that I could control (a la’ The Amazing Randi) with a rheostat when I fanned it with my fake ranger hat. Now that’s schtick! Shown are Brian, my artist computer guru, Martina and Sharlene in our outback monogrammed shirts. After all this hucksterism, I find a piano…..

I’m a sucker for a grand piano–I can play a little bit of everything but all of nothing. The only positive thing I can say for my playing is you get to hear a different piece every time I play the same work.

It’s then on to Hawaii for 11 days of relaxation despite three rip-offs: United Airlines, Thai Thai restaurant and Dollar Rent a Car:

1. United has totally lost it. They pulled our frequent flier miles when we flew to Antarctica 5 years ago and it took me three years of letter writing to get $1000 worth of replacement vouchers which paid for this trip. We flew a 767 with only two flight attendants and they couldn’t keep up with crowd so it was a long 5 1/2 hour trip. On the return, we flew a wide body 767 completely full with four attendants (two isles on this baby). We sat in seat 40 so were next to last seat and were offered the last stale turkey sandwich. Sensing the dry turkey, I took my dinner in liquid refreshments only to be told they were also out of wine. No such thing, I retort–go rob first class….which they did at a premium price. I rarely fly sober due to a perilous flight back from Vietnam which involved a missing engine, flaming wing, 12,000′ dive, a missing window and a seat partner with a missing leg. On my last trip to Hawaii, I sat next to a Sumo wrestler (honest) who took up two seats. On this flight, across the isle, was a 400 pounder who sucked his thumb the entire trip…you get the idea. If you pay extra for bags, why not for body fat…? And I’m not the only one with a gripe–check out United breaks guitars on You Tube.

Alaska now flies direct to Hawaii and I highly recommend them. The best pilots in of the lot.

2. We rented a car from Dollar Rent a Car. Have you ever gotten a straight answer about car rental prices? Me neither. We were initially told they had no cars, inquired on the internet purchasing a voucher for $236.55 for a 7 day compact car rental. Taking the voucher to Dollar, they gave us a car but the contract stated a lower price of $193.00 which included all taxes, etc. OK, lower is better. It also stated a $32/day extension if we wanted to keep the car another day or two but they told me to extend only if I was sure I needed it because there’s a $50 early return fee. OK, we call them on day 6 and want to extend one day–then realizing we rented at 10am and needed to check in at noon, what would an additional two hours cost. They told me $142.26 for the total cost of eight days, two hours….. Something’s fishy so I asked the attendant again, what the total price for the rental from Dollar and their agents would appear on my credit card bill; $142.26 again. This was neither the $64 I was expecting nor the $193 plus $64 nor the original voucher cost. Turns out my total cost was $378.81 which was the voucher plus the higher amount for the one day, two hours. So I called Dollar and had them explain the extension costs–here they are: Two day extension $64 (no hourly with them), $28.11 airport tax, $2.34 vehicle license, $11.81 excise tax, $6 road tax. Well this adds up to only $112.26–$30 less than their bill–but still no explanations. Plus these taxes are already covered by the initial $193.00 contract. Dollar states if you extend, it’s a separate contract and you have to pay all the taxes a second time…. Dollar Rent a Car are thieves so I’m lodging complaints with the BBB and Attorney General’s office. Boycott Dollar and United…..

Followup: Dollar’s customer service called me back only after I filed a complaint with the BBB and the State Attorney General’s office and refunded me almost $60. In the future, my advice is to get a ‘bottom line’ estimate in writing before taking the keys.

3. Thai Thai Restaurant, Volcano Village, HI: Martina and I decide it’s time for Thai food and are told the food is worth the one hour wait. Again, understaffed we cannot get even a beer during that time. Finally we order dinner and when we ask for the medium hotness–the waiter, David, a self described ‘bad boy of Honolulu’ asks us if we’re sure–no we’re not so we lower it down a notch to Mild-Medium. After much semantic positioning, we finally get our point across we want to enjoy the meal and not raise blisters on our lips. Well, guess what. Blisters so bad I can’t even eat the rice and no water anywhere as the service is poor. Finally to ward off further injury to my mouth, I bring the bowl of soup to the front counter and ask for some water. David turns on me and starts yelling that I will have to pay for everything. I immediately decide dinner is over and offer to pay for the beers (even though we didn’t start on the second round) but they refuse. When Martina doesn’t follow me out, I go back in to find David pestering her and calling her a dumb-ass and that she didn’t listen–well, David, you didn’t listen. Naturally the restaurant by then was absolutely silent except for an occasional fart. We drop $20 off at the Chamber of Commerce the next morning and register our story with the local gendarmes. We highly recommend the Kiawa Kitchen there. We loved the pizza and had live Hawaiian music all night and the friendliest staff. Boycott Thai Thai, Dollar and United….enough of this rant.

On the road again, we drive down to where lava has obliterated the road and discover just how rapid the advance of lava is.

The entire south side of Hawaii is getting daily additions of lava with a new island building to the south. As the continental plate is dragged to the NW, new islands are punched upward and the older line of islands slowly sinks creating multiple island summits (Maui, Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai). Two places to visit in Hilo are the Pacific Tsunami Museum and the Lyman Museum. We learned a lot!

This is the south shore of Hawaii–the southernmost point in the US lies 40 miles distant. A good jeopardy question.

One more rant: Don’t you just hate these needless Handicapped parking spaces?…which are used by tubbies who can’t or won’t walk. OK, I’m a bigot but first you fly, then drive to this remote place and you’ve got to park near what?? There is no advantage to getting out of your car at one end of this parking lot over the other. A waste of taxpayer’s money in my opinion. Even REI has preferred parking–so tubbies can buy their climbing equipment with less effort?! I try to take up two, even three of these when I find them.

This is Akaka Falls–a state park and very beautiful–located just north of Hilo.

OK–vacation is over. Time to turn in the rental car, paying double, and board a United jet and be starved and insulted in the process….. We need more natural selection on this planet, handicapped parking should be relocated the farthest from the store and fliers should pay by the pound (we had to chip in another $14 for our single bag). Next time we’re taking a Tramp Steamer. Check out Martina’s version here.

We start with a drive across the North Cascades. I cut my teeth climbing these towers in the 1960s with Fred Beckey. We pushed a very nice route up the center of the South Early Winter Spire (left tower) over the summer of 1968.

The North Cascades highway was under construction that summer and Fred and I decided to climb a few of these classic faces before the hordes descended. Just before the road opened to the public in 1973, I skied this route from Western to Eastern Washington in a three day push across the last of this virgin wilderness. I forgot to pack my foodbag and subsisted the entire trip on about a dozen frozen hamburgers that I picked up at the last burger stand in Marblemount….but I digress….

Speaking of cold hamburgers, next stop is Chico Hotsprings enroute to the Yellowstone Plateau and Jackson Hole Wyoming.

In addition to it’s Olympic-sized naturally heated hot pool, this place has a Hamburg Steinway in the front lobby. After about twenty years of staying here, when I ask for the key, they hand me the one for the piano, not the room key. Boasting a 5 star wild game restaurant (try the Hutterite Duck or Elk Medallions) and a wine cellar that would make most Frenchmen weep, it’s a must-stay if you happen to drive between Livingston and Gardiner Montana.

On to Jackson Hole where we find a moose with her twin calves in our front yard. We’re there only three days hosting a Jenny Lake Ranger reunion commemorating one of the finest people I’ve known and worked with, Pete Hart who died of cancer last Christmas.

In the early 70’s only 7 of us worked on the mountain rescue team at the Jenny Lake Ranger Station; today the team numbers 25 with jet powered helicopters. We flew a Bell Turbocharged 280 (the glass bubble with an erector set tailpiece) with a ceiling of 11,000 feet on a good day; still 3000′ short of the tallest Teton summits. Here’s the team:

On to Southern Utah….the best kept secret when it comes to red rock. We are now hauling our Bambi behind our Toyota as we near Capitol Reef National Park in Torrey Utah. Decked out with Navaho Sandstone overlaying Kayenta Sandstone, white domes greet us with every turn of the road.

Downtown Torrey Utah….

A flute shop stop…. (say this three times fast)

In the center of Capitol Reef National Park winds the Fremont River which attracted ten Mormon families in the late 1800s and who occupied the town of Fruita until about 1960. You can still buy fresh baked pies (perfect for a campers breakfast!) just a short walk from the campground in the old cottonwood groves.

On to Bryce Canyon–we’re working our way south and ‘digging’ our way down through geology to the Grand Canyon below.

Bryce Canyon is the typical eroded uplift that practically dissolves in front of your eyes but it was 20F degrees with 40 mph winds so we move south to Zion in search of warmer hikes.

Zion is equally beautiful, especially to the geologist and rock climber. Great chasms of red rock and green slot canyons lure visitors. Here I’m walking out on a chained trail to Hidden Canyon–one of the park’s best hikes (time 2 hours)

We finally drive south past Lake Mead (dry, dusty and desolate) onto the salt flats of the Mojave Desert to Palm Springs. Enroute we encounter Amboy, now nearly abandoned on the old Route 66.

I wonder if our Bambi Airstream has ever been here before…. Even Palm Springs has some good hikes although after hearing of 120F temperatures, I began to doubt it. East about one hour’s drive through wonderfully kept irrigation farming, we wind our way up into the Mecca Hills to Ladder Canyon.

After a week in Palm Springs (where I attended a three day conference of the American Institute of Oral Biology), we fly north to Seattle, then Bellingham where we catch the Malaspina Ferry to Alaska.

It’s a stormy passage north as the November storms sweep into Queen Charlotte Sound and Dixon Entrance. Here an AML barge/Western Towboat combination works it’s way south with half of the containers obscured by a wave trough–note the 50′+ waves ahead of the barge–about 5 miles distant…. It’s a heck of a ride–all our household items were shipped on AML when we moved north, including the grand piano.

We’re back in Kupreanof now and have already shoveled a foot of snow. We will remember our last campground in Zion:

We had a great summer–nearly three months of sunny days with up to 80F temps. We’re long overdue for some R&R–here is Martina and her niece Alex (visiting from Munich) canoeing in our slough at high tide. Doug’s got that work ethic so he’s off building projects:

First, after delivering and schlepping 5000 board feet of lumber up the beach, I cut it up and finish the boardwalk–now totaling over 300′ in length and crowned by our gazebo in the saltchuck, where the canoe photo (above) was taken.

The diesel shed, begun two years ago is finally cleaned out, sealed and painted, then the upper structure framed in and skip-sheeted to match the woodshed. And a roof–what a concept. Now I can contain any oil spilled and recycle it.

Our greenhouse worked fantastic. Here we’re about mid-way through the summer. We must have harvested 500 tomatoes and they are still ripening. We also grew dozens of cucumbers and more lettuce than we could eat. Outside, we did fairly well except for beans. We’ll keep you posted on the harvest in the next blog

The guest house was the biggie. We began with new floor beams which allowed me to lengthen the porch to a full six feet. Next was a new roof, then we gutted, insulated and paneled the interior in yellow cedar with red cedar bunk beds. Add a nice bamboo floor and a spiffy (and expensive) Norwegian Jotul stove. Finally, we clad the exterior with waterproofing and shingles. We’re open for visitors….

Here’s the woodshed–finally full of dry wood and skip-sheeted to keep out the snow drifts. We extended the floor, raised the log splitter (it’s on the left), wired for electricity and tied it all together with the boardwalk. Whew! I’m getting tired just writing about it.

It’s time to climb Petersburg Mountain–shown here clouded with smoke from BC fires. It tops out about 3000′ above our house. We’ve been looking at this mountain for four years and it’s time to ‘knock the bastard off’ in the words of Sir Ed.

Our USFS crews have built a marvelous staircase up this thing–it’s about half done and you rarely touch ground.

The only problem I have with this trail is it destroyed the forest you walk through–here’s the clearcut. These trees are over 250 years old! That’s the Alaska mentality. If they’d cut the rest down, the view would be terrific…..

But we prefer to hike for our view–here’s Martina on the summit ridge–nice relief with the Baird and Patterson Glaciers across Frederick Sound looking north.

And here’s a 180 degree view (south) to Petersburg, airport and all. The Wrangell Narrows runs south to Sumner Strait about 30 miles distant separating Mitkof Island on the left and Kupreanof Island on the right. Here’s a close up showing our property:

You can faintly see three buoys #58, #56 and #54 (with a little boat southbound) just to the left of the tree-top. Our little point is to the right on Kupreanof Island–our dock is almost white in this telephoto.

Descending, we find lots of Chicken of the Woods (Sulfur Shelf) mushrooms–we carefully cut off about 1″ off the border allowing it to continue producing mushroom. We fry it up like you would chicken tenders and add it to pasta and season with garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese! Stay tuned….

Had to post this. This morning at 7:30am my neighbor rings and tells me a wolf is heading my way. I grab the camera, binoculars and rubber boots and run out to the point. This is the first wolf we’ve had since mid-winter.

And here’s the Lone Toad. It hopped through our garden yesterday northbound like the wolf. It’s a western toad and no one has seen one of these for years. Our nearest neighbor, Russ, saw one also–maybe the same one…..?

Ever want to take a time machine back 100 years? We got that privilege when our neighbors gave us three large photo albums full of the history of our homestead. Above is a photo that came with the house taken sometime during the 1920s showing only the net shed, boathouse and small cabin where our guest house is today. Fish and pelts are drying on racks to the left. All that remains today is the engine of the boat beached below the cabin.

Here is a photo of Frank Wyatt and the date 1960 written on the back. I’ve no clue who this person is–perhaps the former owner? This photo is taken standing where the current log house is. Early newspaper accounts state this is the ‘old Garner property’ and later the Franz Gaff Hook Factory. It was first cleared in 1927.

This is what the old house, woodshed and net shed looked like from a float 100 yards off our beach. This float is officially on the nautical charts and we use this feature to find our house in the winter in the fog using our GPS.

Remember our aerial fly-by (see prior post)? Here’s one taken perhaps in the 1960s. Note the extensive gardens and the dead yellow cedar trees interspersed in the forest. There are none 50 years later; perhaps logged off for fuel. We do have some cedar groves up near the borders of the muskeg but they are dying back fast–thought to be the result of less snow which normally preserves the root system in winter. Global warming??

Here’s Harry, the former owner, laying the first course of the cabin we currently live in. He built the sauna first–July 1967 is inscribed in the cement floor. Harry had the foresight to lay the first course of logs in yellow cedar to prevent rot. The logs today are still in perfect condition.

This photo is taken May 1969 showing both houses.

Here is the original woodshed. Harry put in new pilings on the dock/net shed from where this photo is taken. Our boardwalk follows this original path, instead of under the eave of the netshed which is a huge avalanche problem in the winter.

Getting close to finishing the logwork

The upper structure is nearly finished. This project took Harry and Emily 5 to 6 years to complete. Harry also built a 30′ water tower which stored water on the third level so it would gravity feed to the house. It still works although we’ve replumbed and pressurized the system for better flow

The house today.

We have friends over to see our garden–they read about it on our blog of course–and they suffer some serious garden envy but we have serious fish envy because they supply us with their fresh King Salmon catch.

It’s a very clear day–one of these spring days you spend all winter thinking about. They’re flying to Sitka this morning but no room for another passenger–only my camera. Here’s a photo of our house as they fly by. Note our skiff which hangs on a ‘clothesline’ like back-haul that we reel in when we need it.

Here you can see the saltchuck behind our house and also our garden and greenhouse just north of the house. The snow has just left our beach which is still brown but will green up very fast with the long days ahead.

Here’s an eastward view showing the creek behind our house. Animals parallel the shoreline and stumble into this cut–great for the wildlife and our wildlife viewing–we expect bears any day now. Their first order of business is to gorge themselves on sedge grass to clean out their system after hibernation.

Whoa! No sooner than I published this post, a black bear shows up–May 22 and stays all day–the first seen this season and a real piggy weighing in at over 300lbs. If I saw him in the lower 48, this would be a grizzly; his facial features, claws (at least 3-4″ here), shoulder hump resemble his larger cousins. Brown Bears (Grizzlies) are primarily on the ‘ABC’ islands (Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof) but they are seen here occasionally.

As my camera heads off to Sitka, it snaps one more photo towards the NE–our house is just beneath the lump of trees on the near shore. The muskeg in the foreground is our winter playground and ski touring center. Devils Thumb is a ‘blip’ seen straight ahead across Frederick Sound with Petersburg Mountain on the left. My camera will follow Petersburg or Coho Creeks west (left) over Duncan Canal and eventually across Chatham Strait.

Here’s my camera nearing Sitka. After crossing Chatham Strait, my camera flies across Baranof Island. Sitka is located on the west coast of Baranof with Mt. Edgecumbe in the distance embracing Sitka Sound. This is one beautiful place–we lived here for a year.

When my camera returns to Petersburg it snaps one more photo of our point; this time looking south down the Wrangell Narrows. All Alaska-bound inside passage traffic must pass through the Narrows which are about 25 miles long and span about 60 buoys or turns. Currents can run fast here on the big tides so you have to be careful crossing to town. Stay tuned….