Only in Alaska!

[Sandi22]

With a bear coming back to check out a food source, I'd be pretty concerned.

We had a friend who was a professional packer, who used to take parties up into the wild area behind Yosemite. That country is packed with Black Bears, not Grizzlies, which are a much milder mannered animal, not nearly as ferocious and determined as a Grizzly.

Mel was sitting telling us his funny bear stories one day, telling us there is no such thing as a bear proof house or cabin.

He told about another packer who was sick and tired of bears getting into his cabin and eating and destroying his cache of foodstuffs and camping gear, so he was building himself a "bear proof cabin". Mel Wass, our friend told him there was no such thing, that he was wasting his time, but he built it anyway, going to great expense and trouble with iron doors, and all sorts of things to reinforce it, hauling it all in with mules, and horses. He completed it, filled it with gallon cans of vegetables and fruit, sacks of flour and cornmeal, syrups, honey, preserves, cooking oils, shortening, his blankets, sleeping bags, horse feed and such.

That year, after the season was over, a big snow came and drifted up behind the cabin, and in the spring the drift was still high enough for a bear to get on the roof and tear a hole where the chimney to his cook stove was, and in it fell. It ate all it wanted, and then being trapped in the "bear proof cabin", he tore it all to hell, syrup everywhere, cherries and flour, you name it, he had had torn into it, smashing and ruining everything, just tearing the cabin to shreds. The fellow came back up on the hill and when he opened the door he was greeted with one ruined cabin, reeking of urine, rotting food and bear poop, he just set a match to it. Too cold for anything to catch fire Mel said, but the cabin wasn't worth saving he told us. If a bear wants in, most places aren't capable of keeping them out.

[shrugs]

Originally Posted by Ron Thorne

So, are you thinking about a visit, Dave? If so, please let me know if I can assist in providing links or tips. I'll be more than happy to help in any way I can, my friend.

Send me a PM with any details and we can exchange e-mails from there.

I'll let you know.

United is telling me I have close to 80K of frequent flier miles to burn.

Don't see myself hittin' Alaska w/o the help of that. Wud love to see that part of the country.

Maybe do a Seattle/Vancouver/Alaska trip.

While I'm still young that is.


God bless little children while they're still too young to hate --- Tom T. Hall

[Ron Thorne]

Retirement has its rewards. Patti and I can now do what we want when we want, with far fewer of the time constraints we've had for the past 40 years or so.

Last Wednesday, we got up stupidly early (5:00am) to catch the southbound Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic train to Seward, some 115 miles from Anchorage. We hadn't experienced that trip in decades. It's an amazingly scenic journey at a wonderfully slow pace, with opportunities to actually enjoy the incredible 360° beauty, including lots of wildlife.

The Alaska Railroad is a very cool way to see parts of Alaska, and is the only state-owned railway in America, to the best of my knowledge.

Here's a condensed photo journal of that trip, along with some commentary.




The Alaska Railroad Anchorage depot, completed in December, 1943, one
month after I was born.




Anchorage Depot interior, awaiting "all aboard!"




Patti (plaid shirt) boarding our train.




Distance/Elevation sign outside depot. Note old baggage cart.




Entering Turnagain Arm (body of water) near Potter Marsh bird sanctuary.




Three Dall Sheep grazing along the Seward Highway near our train. Glare from
train window.




Spencer Glacier. The face of this glacier is at least 150 ft. high, with massive
icebergs in Spencer Lake below the face.



2nd installment later tonight~

[Ron Thorne]

It's probably difficult to sense the scale of certain things in these photographs, such as the proximity of the Dall Sheep to the highway and train. They were within 50 ft. of the road and within 100 ft. of the tracks. These are wild animals, not some Disney creation.

Spencer Glacier doesn't look so enormous in the photo above either, but take my word for it . . . it's HUGE!

After following the highway for about 50 miles, the railroad heads into the backcountry and over a mountain pass before descending into Seward.




Crossing the Kenai Mountain pass.



Nearing the summit. Note the lingering snow and leaves just opening.



Through the "S" curves with snow nearby.



Peppercorn takes a break at the Tiki Railbar.



Trail Lake.



One of our first views of gorgeous, huge, Kenai Lake.



Kenai Lake. The turquoise color is caused by glacial silt suspended in the water.


Cont'd.

[Ron Thorne]

Old Seward train depot.



Aboard our pedicab in Seward, headed for lunch.



Patti and Tim (pedicab operator) in front of Railway Cantina.



An old retail building in downtown Seward.



A Seward landmark since 1900.

_________________________

After lunch, we headed for the Alaska Sealife Center, which is a rescue, research and rehabilitation facility, built with settlement money from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. It's a wonderful place where you can spend hours observing Alaska's sea life and learning about their cutting edge scientific work.

We're proud of the way in which they've designed and built this center, too. It's beautiful and functional, while being one of the few shining examples of life after March 24, 1989.



Puffin in sea bird exhibit.



Harbor Seal swimming away in dedicated tank.



Common Murres.



Tufted Puffin which I nicknamed "Mr. Cool".



Sleepy Tufted Puffin.



Homeward bound near Grandview.



Patti at our dinner table overlooking Kenai Lake. Fabulous!



"Sheriff" Billy, our travel guide . . . a smart, affable Anchorage high school senior.


The End~

[cookie]

What a grand place! Thanks for more good pix, Ron (and the heads up).

I put two bucks down on the $57 million lottery tonight. If I win, I'm goin' to Alaska, man!

[Ron Thorne]

Thanks, Cookie. Fingers crossed.

I left out a few important details of our recent rail journey to Seward, so want to provide them here.

It never ceases to amaze me that this railroad was ever built, knowing the rugged country it's carved through, back at the turn-of-the-century with hard-working men with mostly picks, shovels, dynamite and determination.

The Alaska Railroad is famous for being a people-friendly railroad, with enjoyment of the scenery and having a good time of paramount importance. While capable of much faster travel, ARR takes its time getting places, though has an excellent on-time record if you're making connections for a flight, cruise, etc.

Our trip to Seward was slightly less than 115 miles each way, but the trip took 4½ hours each way. We left Anchorage at 6:45am, arriving in Seward at 11:15am, had lunch, went to the Alaska Sealife Center for several hours, walked around town and did some shopping, and enjoyed some coffee, tea and snack before catching a cab back to the depot for our return trip. We left Seward at 6:00pm, enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the dining car at 7:00pm with a backdrop of the Kenai Mountains and turquoise Kenai Lake, arriving in Anchorage at 10:15pm.

The Alaska Railroad engineer slowed down to a crawl when we encountered a group of Dall Sheep and Mountain Goats grazing along our route, typical of their style of travel, especially during the summer months.

Here's a partial list of wildlife seen along the way:

Hundreds of (various) ducks & Canada Geese
Trumpeter Swans w/ signets
Bald Eagles (5-6, with one flying within 20ft. or so of our train)
Moose (3 within 50 yards or so of us)
Black Bear
Arctic Terns
Ravens
Dall Sheep w/ lambs
Mountain Goats
Marmots
Beaver

[tippy]

>>Hundreds of (various) ducks & Canada Geese
Trumpeter Swans w/ signets
Bald Eagles (5-6, with one flying within 20ft. or so of our train)
Moose (3 within 50 yards or so of us)
Black Bear
Arctic Terns
Ravens
Dall Sheep w/ lambs
Mountain Goats
Marmots
Beaver<<

Yum! Now that's what I call a menu! Nice pics, Ron. It is great to see such beautiful pics you take of the place where I was (ill-)conceived even if I've never been there. Maybe some day.

[jesus marion joseph]

Wow, that looks like a great day trip. I would never get tired of that scenery, that's for sure.

[Ron Thorne]

It's easy to become complacent after living here as long as we have, jmj. You can begin to take the enormity and beauty of this place for granted. That's one of the many reasons why we do these excursions.

You can also add a 3-hour cruise on Resurrection Bay in Kenai Fjords National Park in conjunction with this day trip and see even more wildlife and glaciers. You'll often see Whales, Dall Porpoises, Sea Otters, Sea Lions, Puffins and much more on this extraordinary cruise.

And, believe it or not, the train trips and wildlife cruises are amazingly affordable, perhaps the best buys in the entire state.

For instance, this Web Special ends tomorrow, but even the "regular" price is surprisingly reasonable.

WEB SPECIALS

Surf & Turf with Major Marine
Full-Day wildlife rail-cruise adventures to Kenai Fjords or Prince William Sound, just $149 plus tax & fees.

• Roundtrip scenic rail to Seward or Whittier
• Spectacular scenery, wildlife, and glaciers
• All-you-can-eat salmon and prime rib meal

Save 20% when you book and pay by June 15th. Travel anytime this summer. Payment due at time of booking. Discounts for kids 11 and under. No other discounts apply. No changes or refunds.



Note: If anyone on Jazz Corner is planning a trip to Alaska in the near future and would like some recommendations or advice, feel free to send me a PM or ask a question on this thread.

[Sandi22]

I think the Common Murres are quite beautiful, they need another name, and your photo's of those birds look as if a professional wild life photographer took them. The laid back Mr Cool, legs stretched out, just buoyed up by his feathers is a terrific shot as well. Beautiful pictures Ron. Beautiful state.

Rich's aunt and uncle had traveled quite extensively, and one year, several years back, they took a cruise up to Alaska, after which they said they were sorry they'd wasted their time on so many other places, as that was the best trip they'd ever been on. They were astounded by Alaska's beauty, and had hoped to go back again one day.

[sonic1]

Hey Ron, what is the latest in that whole senator scandal. Is Ted Stevens gonna fry?

[Ron Thorne]

Originally Posted by Sandi22

I think the Common Murres are quite beautiful, they need another name, and your photo's of those birds look as if a professional wild life photographer took them. The laid back Mr Cool, legs stretched out, just buoyed up by his feathers is a terrific shot as well. Beautiful pictures Ron. Beautiful state.

Thanks, Sandi. I appreciate the compliments.

I agree that there's nothing "common" about the beauty and elegance of the Common Murres.

I also quite agree that Alaska is an extraordinarily beautiful, complex place.

Rich's aunt and uncle had traveled quite extensively, and one year, several years back, they took a cruise up to Alaska, after which they said they were sorry they'd wasted their time on so many other places, as that was the best trip they'd ever been on. They were astounded by Alaska's beauty, and had hoped to go back again one day.

I've heard that comment more times than I can recount.

I've also discovered that for some people, an Alaska cruise up the "Inside Passage" means that they've "seen Alaska". Most Alaska cruises only touch upon a miniscule portion of the state, and all of that in southeast Alaska (Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Petersburg, Haines, Skagway, etc.). While that's gorgeous country, it's totally different from southcentral Alaska (where we live), northwest Alaska, the "interior" and western Alaska, including the Aleutian Islands. There are many Alaskas!

[Ron Thorne]

Originally Posted by sonic1

Hey Ron, what is the latest in that whole senator scandal. Is Ted Stevens gonna fry?

Please give me a little more detail on the "scandal" to which you refer, Jared.

Bear in mind, that Stevens is not only powerful, but was hip to Teflon® long before Ronald Reagan.

[Sandi22]

I forwarded your photo's to our daughter so she, and our grandchildren, can see how you played light and shadows, as well as how professionally you framed your shots. They are sort of new to photography, and liking it. I asked them to notice all of what you did. Besides the animals being interesting themselves, the way you framed and used light is great.

Rich's mother and stepfather, went up to Alaska as her new husbands father had been in Alaska back near the turn of the century during the gold rush and he wanted to travel and see where he'd been, to discover for himself what it might have been like for him. While there they traveled up into the old gold fields, and then to the Artic Circle, they got a big kick out of being there and being able to show and tell everyone about the experience. We saw a few of them in photo's while they were there, as well as the other touristy things they do for the ones who travel up and into the Artic Circle. They had the document saying they'd been there prominently displayed. They acted in a skit put on for the ones who were there. But they didn't get out their other photo's to show us, as we were all in a rush; they were preparing for a dinner and wine tasting party they were hosting the next day; big hooptydo; and we had just stopped in while attending to some business. They too said they enjoyed their trip immensely, however, I can't remember what else they had to say about it.

[sonic1]

Originally Posted by Ron Thorne

Please give me a little more detail on the "scandal" to which you refer, Jared.

Bear in mind, that Stevens is not only powerful, but was hip to Teflon® long before Ronald Reagan.

Isn't the FBI investigating most of the local and national alaskan reps? Here is one article about ted stevens I noticed a while back. There was more damning evidence on others, but since stevens is the big fish to fry this one caught my attention more than others:

Investigators eye remodeling at home of Sen. Ted Stevens


The Associated Press

(Published: May 29, 2007)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Federal agents are looking into U.S. Sen. Ted
Stevens' role in the ongoing investigation into the remodeling of his
Girdwood home, according to two law enforcement officials familiar
with the probe.

The two officials said Stevens was not considered a target of the
investigation. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing
inquiry.

The investigation has been open for some time, and is linked to the
VECO Corp. bribery case that earlier this month saw guilty pleas from
two of the oil-field service company's top executives, the law
enforcement officials said.

The FBI and Justice Department are investigating corruption in Alaska
- which may extend to the state's federally elected officials in
Washington, the officials said.

Three contractors who worked on the remodeling project said the FBI
asked them to turn over their records from the job, the Anchorage
Daily News reported Tuesday. One also said he testified about the
project before a federal grand jury in December.

The remodeling work in summer and fall 2000 more than doubled the size
of the house, a four-bedroom structure that is Stevens' official
residence in Alaska.

Ted Stevens and his wife, Catherine, declined to answer questions
about the Girdwood house. Stevens' office issued a prepared statement.

"While I understand the public's interest in the ongoing federal
investigation, it has been my long-standing policy to not comment on
such matters," he said. "Therefore, I will withhold comment at this
time to avoid even the appearance that I might influence this
investigation."

Federal agents last summer raided offices of six state legislators,
including those of one of Ted Stevens' sons, Ben Stevens, who was then
the president of the state Senate. The FBI said then that it also had
executed a search warrant in Girdwood. The location of that search has
not been officially disclosed.

VECO, an oil-field service company with a long history of lobbying and
donating to political campaigns, was a target of investigators,
according to search warrants that became public. On May 7, the
company's longtime chief executive, Bill Allen, and a vice president,
Rick Smith, pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy, bribery and tax
charges. They are now cooperating with authorities.

Four current or former Alaska state lawmakers have been indicted on
federal corruption charges.

Augie Paone, owner of Christensen Builders Inc. of Anchorage, said
Bill Allen hired him to complete the framing and most of the interior
carpentry at Stevens' home. He was directed to send bills to VECO,
where someone would examine them for accuracy, before sending them to
Stevens, he said.

Paone said that as far as he knew, Stevens and his wife, Catherine,
paid his bills. He sent at least $100,000 in invoices to the Stevenses
in Washington, he said.

[sonic1]

Of course this would not be an "only in alaska" story, unfortunately.

[Ron Thorne]

Originally Posted by sonic1

Isn't the FBI investigating most of the local and national alaskan reps? Here is one article about ted stevens I noticed a while back. There was more damning evidence on others, but since stevens is the big fish to fry this one caught my attention more than others:

No, not most of our state legislature or national senators/representative. There are likely others who should be scrutinized, though.

Only two state politicians have been under intense scrutiny in connection with bribery charges connected with Veco (oil services company), plus Ted Stevens and his son, Ben. The two top executives for Veco have pleaded guilty to federal bribery and conspiracy charges and resigned.

While I'm not a huge fan of Ted Stevens or his son, at this point it appears as though they're really "fishing" on this one related to his Girdwood home remodel.

Of course this would not be an "only in alaska" story, unfortunately.

I'm glad that you added that remark.

[Canuck Don]

Great pics..Ron....I enjoyed looking at them a lot...Nice trip you and your dear Patti went on. Oh yea....went fly fishing to-day...4 nice sized small mouth bass..Not like the big ones in pics. that you emailed me but ok..I remember about 4 years ago,, you told me that if I ever came to your end and fly fished, that I would have thought I died and went to heaven,, the fish in your parts...Maybe one day..and for sure take that train trip....

[Ron Thorne]

Thanks, Don.

I've only been fishing once so far this summer, but my son Darren will be here with his wife and son in a couple of weeks and we plan to throw some flies, especially in the direction of our beloved Arctic Grayling.



Grayling are the reason I became a fly fisherman, some 30 odd years ago. They're absolutely gorgeous, unique, and great fun to catch-and-release.

[Ron Thorne]

My oldest son, Darren, returned to Alaska for a one week visit on August 23rd to button up a few things—find a log cabin builder for his 5 acre lake front property, walk on his newly acquired 10 acre creek front property, and do some Arctic Grayling fishing with Dad.

We were blessed with phenomenal weather, especially for this time of year. It was gloriously sunny and warm, ranging from 70° to nearly 80° during the peak of the day. And, it was a very successful trip, all the way around, as you'll soon see in this little photo journal of our three day excursion covering over 750 miles, round trip.

First, a few photos from the beginning of Darren's trip, before we headed north. These were taken on the Kenai Peninsula while visiting his grandparents, Patti's folks. Here, we're fishing for Dolly Varden in a stream we've fished together for over 25 years. This was only about a 200 mile round trip.

Page One -



Fireweed on Crescent Creek. Note spawning Red Salmon
in the background.



Darren fishing from log on Crescent Creek. Note Red Salmon in stream.



Closeup of Darren fly fishing for Dollies.



Closeup of spawning Red Salmon in Crescent Creek.



Quartz Creek, fed by Crescent Creek, which flows into Kenai Lake.

[Ron Thorne]

Darren's Alaskan properties are near Trapper Creek, which is about 115 miles north of Anchorage on the Parks Highway. One is lake frontage with creek frontage; the other, road frontage with creek frontage.

We decided to take his boat so that we could visit his Amber Lake property and mark some potential cabin sites with survey tape. Then, we would meet with some log cabin builders we'd heard and read great things about in nearby Talkeetna, before heading much further north for some much-needed Arctic Grayling fly fishing.


Page Two -



Early morning view of Mt. McKinley (Denali) from our Trapper Creek B&B.



Darren's property is 2 miles away, at the far end of the lake. Serenity.



Amber Lake boat launch.



Darren motoring his way toward his property.



Darren's boat at neighbor's dock.



Me on Amber Lake property, just above proposed cabin site.



Lily Pad Cove. Darren's property wraps around to the left and deeply back.



View toward lake from cabin site.



Darren checking his GPS and staking cabin site.

[Canuck Don]

Nice pics. Ron, and looking at them I think there is droll running down my lip from envy.

[Sandi22]

Fun to see Ron. Great photo's as always. Thanks for sharing.

Great life you and your family are getting to live up there. Keep enjoying!

[Sandi22]

Ron, I just thought to ask, do the people out where your son is planning to live use generators or is there electricity available to them? Or do they just rough it with whatever?

If they use generators, do they Gerry-rig something up, or do they use a commercial type? We knew people who lived out on the desert in Southern California, my aunt and uncle were two of them and they had a home made generator using a large diesel motor, and they would turn it off at night when they went to bed, as it saved fuel and it was quieter with it off, even though it was about a city block from the house. They were up in the hills between San Diego and El Centro, at Boulevard. They lived on the ranch the 49'ers ended up buying for a training camp. Rattlesnake heaven. One woman got bit going out to turn off the generator by 6 foot plus rattlesnake inside their generator house and had to spend something like 6 months in the hospital. She had grown up on the desert and loved it, but never went back, that was it for her. It was a long and difficult recovery.

Anyway, we're planning to move to Costa Rica and if we buy where there isn't power, we can save a bundle on the purchase price, and buy a much larger plot. We have about four people going in on it, or at least wanting to do it, and if we can all buy together and then split it off we will be able to get the land with waterfalls, vistas, springs, and creeks, if not a river. This will give us great potential as far as buying a better piece of property, and if there aren't power and telephone lines, we can get a lot more for the money, but would like to find out about generators, which are the most reliable and their cost, or is Gerry-rigging still the best way to go for the most power, at the cheapest price? Hoping you'll know. They have them out now that cost around $4,000, and they have all sorts of computerized features, but that could be a prob.em, something to go wrong and it invaribly does with computerized items, so we are wanting a more simple, yet powerful generator, not ones to just hold us over until power comes on, but a powerful one that will run everything in a normal household. Hope you or someone out there knows about these things.

[Ron Thorne]

Originally Posted by Sandi22

Ron, I just thought to ask, do the people out where your son is planning to live use generators or is there electricity available to them? Or do they just rough it with whatever?

Residents in this area typically use generators, while some supplement with solar panels. One home owner on Amber Lake who lives there year-round also has a fairly sizeable wind generator. Sorry, but I'm not well versed enough to advise you on the latest generator technology.

Darren plans to use a gas or diesel powered generator initially, while studying the most efficient and cost-effective solar options. He'll use propane for cooking and to provide fuel for his indoor toilet which will incinerate. No outhouse for this lad.



Clean drinking water is another issue we're researching. We'll probably establish a pump to draw lake water into the cabin and use a reverse osmosis system for purification.

This will be a summer use cabin, primarily.

More photos coming later today, including some amazing shots of some of the projects we visited with the builders Darren is strongly considering using for his full scribe log cabin.

[sonic1]

Ron, nice pictures and all. Except for all those damned trees and nature. It's gotta be tough living in all that hyper-oxygenated atmosphere.

BTW, I enjoyed my visit to AK. I ran the Anchorage marathon in June. It was like running in heaven, compared at least to my usual desert training. I spent a lot of time in the taiga, mountains and foothills around anchorage and wrote out a flora while I was there. I avoided the lichen, as the task of identifying a group of species I am completely unfamiliar with was too daunting.


Species identified:

Betula papyrifera PAPER BIRCH
Larix laricina LARCH, TAMARACK
Alnus spp. ALDER
Salix spp. WILLOW (several tree species)
Populus spp. COTTONWOOD, ASPEN (several species)
Picea mariana BLACK SPRUCE
Picea glauca WHITE SPRUCE
Picea sitchaensis SITKA SPRUCE (Alaska State Tree)
Tsuga spp. HEMLOCK (unidentified, probably a few species seen)
Pulsatilla patens PASQUE FLOWER, SPRING CROCUS
Delphinium glaucum LARKSPUR
Viola langsdorfii ALASKA VIOLET
Myosotis alpestris subsp. asiaticus ALPINE FORGET ME NOT
Lupinus acticus ARCTIC LUPINE
Geranium erianthum WILD GERANIUM, CRANESBILL
Epilobium angustifolium subsp. angustifolium COMMON FIREWEED
Pyrola sp. WINTERGREEN (unidentified sp. of Pyrola)
Rosa spp. WILD ROSES (unidentified spp. of Rosa)
Silene acaulis MOSS CAMPION
Saxifraga tricuspidata PRICKLEY SAXIFRAGE
Saxifraga spp. SAXIFRAGE
Vaccinium uliginosum BOG BLUEBERRY
Lathyrus maritimus subsp. maritimus BEACH PEA
Several Ranunculus spp, and Ranunculaceae BUTTERCUP
Potentilla spp. CINQUEFOIL (unidentified spp)
Valeriana capitata CAPITATE VALERIAN (getting ready to bloom)
Spiraea beauverdiana ALASKA SPIRAEA, BEAUVERD’S SPIRAEA
Gallium spp. BEADSTRAW several seen unidentified
Cornus spp. DOGWOD at least one or two unidentified,
Trientalis europea subsp. arctica STARFLOWER
Arabis lyrata KAMCHATKA ROCKCRESS
Stellaria sp. CHICKWEED (little white flower)
Ledum palustris subsp. groenlandicum LABRADOR TEA
Zygadenus elegans DEATH CAMAS, CAMAS WAND LILY
Dryas octopetala MOUNTAIN AVENS, EIGHT-PETALED AVENS
Anenome sp.WINDFLOWER (unidentified)
Cassiope spp ALPINE HEATHERS (unidentified, several)
Arctostaphylos alpina ALPINE BEARBERRY
Vaccinium vitis idaea LOW BUSH CRANBERRY, MOUNTAIN CRANBERRY
Achillea borealis NORTHERN YARROW
Diapensia lapponicum subsp. obovata LAPLAND DIAPENSIA
Streptopus amplexifolius WATERMELON BERRY, TWISTED STALK, WILD CUCUMBER We encountered a few Asian hikers gathering young shoots for greens. At first I thought it was FALSE SOLOMON’S SEAL they were gathering, but upon further research I discovered THIS was the plant they were gathering.
Smilacina stellata FALSE SOLOMON’S SEAL
Ribes triste NORTHERN RED CURRANT
Shepherdia canadensis SOAPBERRY
Echinopanax horridum DEVIL’S CLUB The young shoots were also gathered by Asian hikers for “tempura”.
Aquilegia formosa WESTERN COLUMBINE
Rumex sp.DOCK (most likely Rumex arcticus ARCTIC DOCK)
Veratrum viride FALSE HELLEBORE
Heracleum lanatum COW PARSNIP
Empetrum nigrum CROWBERRY, MOSSBERRY
Lycopodium annotinum CLUB MOSS
Equisetum arvense HORSETAIL
Salix arctica ARCTIC WILLOW
Salix spp. WILLOWS several shrub spp.
Cryptogramma crispa PARSLEY FERN
Young fronds of a unidentified fern gathered and cooked as greens by the hikers.

[Ron Thorne]

Thanks for the kind words. I enjoy sharing some of our adventures with my Jazz Corner friends.

Originally Posted by sonic1

Ron, nice pictures and all. Except for all those damned trees and nature. It's gotta be tough living in all that hyper-oxygenated atmosphere.

Yeah, Jared, it's rough some times. But, someone has to bear the burden of living in this remote wasteland.

Now, on with the slideshow:

Page 3 -



Mt. McKinley from the car near Talkeetna.



Meeting Chris Mannix at their log yard & office. This is a new log building.



Top Notch Log Builders office corner detail.



Corner detail closeup.



Chris' new sauna. Note robust nature of logs & construction.



Chris describing scribing method.



Corner joinery detail. Building is settling, so not totally tight
. . . yet.



Chris and Art's mother's home. Art & Chris are brothers and
partners in the log building business.



Mother's log home interior detail.



Glenwood gas stove in Mother's log home.


To be continued—

[Ron Thorne]

Chris & Art Mannix devoted 3½ hours to us, showing us their work, answering questions and getting a feel for what Darren's expectations were for his lake front log cabin.

They're very smart, incredible craftsmen, and very cool guys, who I'm pretty confident Darren will have construct his long-awaited log cabin in Alaska. Darren's an artist/designer, so he's working on some drawings to send to them for comments and a cost estimate. The cabin will probably be 18ft. wide X 24ft. deep with a sleeping loft, and (possibly) a dormer on one side. It will have a sizeable front porch and a boardwalk leading to the lake and boat dock.

Some of the methods for getting the logs and other materials to Darren's site include snowmachine (in winter, obviously), DeHavilland Beaver on floats and helicopter next summer. The cabin will be constructed in their log yard in Talkeetna, then taken apart, transported to the site and reassembled.

Now, on to brother Art Mannix and his bag o' tricks. By the way, Art's carved rafters are an indication of craftsmanship and the value he places on aesthetics. Over-the-top would be an understatement. They're absolutely beautiful, though.

Page 4 -



Chris & Darren approaching Art's home(s).



Meeting Art Mannix, hard at work on his latest project—a new guest house.



Darren & Art discussing techniques.



Some of Art's carved rafters awaiting installation.



Art's carved rafters installed.



Art's shop/living quarters.



Art's timber frame/log home. Incredible craftsmanship is evident everywhere.

[Ron Thorne]

After an immensely enjoying show & tell from Chris & Art, we headed further north to our fishing destination . . . the Denali Highway, an unpaved gravel road stretching 135 miles from Cantwell to Paxson. This, my friends, is true and utter wilderness, with only a couple of minor interruptions—two places to eat and sleep, both of which are generously called "lodges".

The weather could not have been kinder to us for this entire 3-day journey. We kept remarking on how unusually clear and warm it was for this time of year.

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Denali Highway vista. The Susitna River and numerous glaciers in background.



Colors of early fall on an Aspen tree.



Gracious House Lodge cabins, where we stayed.



Darren headed into the Cafe. Good food & reasonable prices.



Crossing the Susitna River.



Anticipating . . .



Darren fording stream in his Isuzu Trooper.



Old cabin in the wilderness, further down the road near our fishing hole.