Story Aunt Gus and Little Bear's Adventure Book 3 (Complete)

[sssarawolf]

Thank you Kathy.

 

[beaglemama]

Thanks, Kathy!

 

[Kathy in FL]

Aug 14: Katmai National Park – Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes Tour​

According to a sign-thingie at the park, not far from Brooks River, the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century began on June 6, 1912. The eruption was so violent that the summit of Mount Katmai collapsed, villages were abandoned, and explosions were heard as far away as Juneau. In the wake of this violence, hardy adventurers and scientists discovered the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a spectacular ash covered landscape.

We explored that volcanic landscape on a day-long tour. Very cool.

The Katmailand bus is the primary way to access the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. It only leaves once a day, in the morning at 9am – so we had to make sure to leave plenty of time to hike down from the campground (0.6 miles) and get across the floating bridge (sometimes bear traffic jams keep visitors stuck on one side or the other). Then we boarded the bus for the 23-mile drive to the Three Forks Visitor Center.

The 23-mile drive was broken up with stops for scenic views and wildlife viewing. The road to the Valley crossed three streams before arriving at the Robert F. Griggs Visitor Center. At Overlook Cabin we had a short break for lunch and to look over displays and historic photos. After the break for lunch – nothing more than a meal bar - a ranger led an optional hike down to the Valley floor. You know doggone good and well we took that option rather than hang out at the visitor center. The hike covered 3.4 miles round trip with 1000 feet of elevation change. Going down wasn’t hard, coming back up was a might strenuous for some in the group.

I glad that we took the suggestion of the rangers and dressed in layers. It was easier to adjust clothing as exercise and weather warmed us up and cooled us off. A raincoat and comfortable walking shoes were essential as well. We were also instructed to bring safety goggles or ski goggles because when the wind blows through Katmai Pass, it rages hard enough to rip the contact lenses right out of a person’s eyes or so some of our group found out. Not our personal crew – Lev, Diego, Chan, and Benny and I – but a couple of other people on the tour.

Guess what? The Valley of 10,000 Smokes is one of the only places in Alaska where access to water can be difficult which meant I was glad I had all of us carry more water than we have been on our hikes. Some people emptied their Nalgene bottles or canteens before we were scheduled to start the return trip.

Listening to the ranger: In June of 1912, the eruption of Novarupta Volcano altered the Katmai area forever. Severe earthquakes rocked the area for a week before Novarupta finally exploded with cataclysmic force. Enormous quantities of hot, glowing pumice and ash were ejected from the volcano and nearby fissures. The molten material flowed over the terrain, destroying all life in its path. Trees were snapped off and carbonized by the blasts of hot wind and gas. For several days, ash, pumice, and gas were ejected causing a haze that darkened the sky over most of the Northern Hemisphere.

When it was over, more than 65 square kilometers (40 square miles) of lush green land lay buried beneath volcanic deposits as much as 700 feet deep. At nearby Kodiak Island, it has been said that one could not see the light from a lantern held at arm’s length for nearly two days. Acid rain from the event caused clothes to disintegrate on clotheslines as far as Vancouver, Canada. The eruption was 10 times more forceful than the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens.

Eventually Novarupta became dormant, but innumerable small holes and cracks developed in the volcanic ash deposits, permitting gas and steam from the heated ground water to escape from the valleys of Knife Creek and the Ukak River.

Unnamed when the 20th century’s most dramatic volcanic episode took place, it was Robert Griggs who gave the valley the name we know today while exploring the volcano’s aftermath for the National Geographic Society in 1916.

Only one eruption in historic times – Greece’s Santorini in 1500 B.C. – displaced more volcanic matter than Novarupta. The terrible 1883 eruption of Indonesia’s Krakatoa belched out little more than half as much, yet killed 35,000 people. Vastly isolated, Novarupta killed no one. In fact, as Robert Griggs calculated, if the eruption occurred on Manhattan Island in New York City, residents of Chicago would hear it plainly. The fumes would tarnish brass in Denver. Acid raindrops would burn your skin in Toronto. In Philadelphia the ash would lie nearly as deep as this folder is wide. Manhattan would have no survivors.

The men were all about the project on the return bush ride. Fine by me, I was busy keeping Benny on the bus bench. He fell asleep.

There wasn’t much time to do anything but grab a quick dinner once we were back in camp … and had made it back across the bridge after waiting out one of those bear traffic jams we’d ben warned about. Tomorrow is going to be full day of bears and bear-ish things. Be still my heart … not. I swear if any of those fuzzy butts look at Benny the wrong way there is going to be a bear skin rug in their future.

Resources:
DataStore - Book - (Code: 2193893) (nps.gov) (firsthand account of the explosion)

 

[DIMDAL]

Just to show you don't need to camp to have bear (or other critter) problems in AK.
Anchorage is the largest city/town in AK, population around 600,000.
Anchorage PD
Update on 7/31/23: The bear was dispatched last night as it was charging people and causing a public safety risk. Thank you for your cooperation while we were working the call. Original on 7/30/23: Good evening, everyone! We are having Alaska problems. It’s a quarter to 10PM on this finally sunny Sunday evening (7/30/23) and we are currently occupied with an extremely agitated black bear in the neighborhoods near Baxter and Northern Lights. You will see police in the area. Please use extreme caution if you are going to be outside. It would be a great idea to not leave garage doors and people doors to your home propped open right now. If you see said grumpy bear, please give Dispatch a call

 

[Mr Bill]

How can you tell if a bear is Grumpy? If he eats you he is grumpy.

 

[DIMDAL]

He dresses as one of the 7 dwarves. That's when you know for sure.

 

[sssarawolf]

Thank you very much.
We're canning beets today, and tomorrow the rest of the beets and the carrots.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Aug 15: Katmai National Park – Bear Viewing​

Today we focused on the bears and nothing but the bears. Or so it seemed. As fascinating as it was, I was nearly beared-out. Found out today that we just missed “peak bear” which ended on the 10th. Personally, to me there were still more than enough bears hanging around. And they were no less interested in Benny than they had been when we landed.

The ranger guiding us around helped us to see why Brown Bears choose to make this place their home. Salmon streams, mountain backdrops, large lakes, and thick forests surrounded us. Brooks Falls is famous for the sight of brown bears bulking up for winter by feeding on salmon trying to make their way upstream.

As many as fifty bears live along the mile and a half long Brooks River during the salmon season, many of which can be observed from four elevated viewing platforms along the river.

• Male Brown Bears weigh 300 – 850 lbs
• Female Brown Bears weigh 200 – 400 lbs
• Bears usually live 20 – 25 years
• Brown Bears can run up to 35 mph

Our guide today was a “bear naturalist.” Uh, yeah. That was his working title. It was even on a badge sewn to his jacket. Some in our group called him The Bear Whisperer. Really. He seemed to know what the bears were going to do before they knew what they were going to do. Except for that time this one big male bear got annoyed by a younger bear and swatted him and then momma bear nearly tore him apart and … yeah, we were almost directed to vacate the platform until the bears all settled down.

It was all about the bears, even when they got cranky, but we also learned that there are forty-two species of mammals that inhabit the park. In addition to bears, our guide said we might also see seals, sea otters, and foxes. Visitors have also seen wolves, wolverines, porcupines, moose, lynx, whales, orcas, and sea lions. We’ve seen many of these and of those we haven’t actually seen with our eyes, we’ve seen sign. I will be honest and say I didn’t know whether to be grossed out, annoyed, or thrilled to step in “moose sign” and try to get it off my boots. That stuff is persistent.

I will admit though that it was kinda funny. You could tell which bears were older or had the most experience. You just stood there watching bears wade out into the water at the edge of the falls and then just stand there and then have their dinner of salmon jump right into their mouths. The younger bears worked harder to fish for their dinner, sometimes tumbling over themselves clumsily trying to bring one in. Next summer they might be the old hands at the task and people could be amused at the newest crop of cubs learning to fish.

I’m glad I slid Benny’s sketch pad into the Crew Quarters with a couple of pencils. He sketched an amazing picture and asked me to take plenty of pictures so he could make them, “the right brown Aunt Gus. It has to be the right brown, or the picture won’t look right.”

We did the bear thing for hours, occasionally having to take turns so that everyone got up front to watch them. We rotated around the four viewing platforms and watched them scarf up every sockeye salmon they could catch. If they were awake, they were eating.

Eventually even humans need to eat and the day came to a close. Tomorrow we fly out but I’m a little worried, the weather doesn’t look very good. I hope it doesn’t affect our ability to get out of here. It isn’t that I’m not appreciative for the opportunity but like I said, I’m bear’d out. And after that fight those two bears got into, I’m more convinced than ever that the last thing I want to do is run into a bear when there’s no electric fence between me and it.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Aug 16: Katmai >> Fly back to Anchorage (late due to weather)​

Interesting experience and that’s about all I can say about our flight.

“Aunt Gus?”

“Hmm?”

“Maybe the pink stuff will help Mr. Diego’s stomach.”

“We’ll give him a few minutes first. Let’s see if being back on the ground helps.”

“Didn’t he like the plane and flying and stuff?”

“Oh sure. He just didn’t like the wind making us swoop around,” I said trying to explain the green complexion some passengers had.

“Oh. But that part was cool. Like being on a roller coaster that I was finally big enough to ride.”

I bit the inside of my cheek trying to keep a straight face. “Yeah, but let’s not tell them that. Might not sit too well.”

“Is Lev okay? Him and Mr. Chan look a little funny too. And so does Mr. Pilot.”

“Nah. They’re just thinking business thoughts.”

“It doesn’t look fun.”

I had to just shake my head and quick walk us over to the hanger where the van had been secured so I wouldn’t start giggling again. I have discovered that I have an annoying problem. Apparently when I’m scared, I giggle. I’ve never had it happen at any other time that I can remember. Not even during the storm when I was out on the sailboat alone and nearly lost the mast. Nope. But put me on one of those little mosquito-sized planes in the middle of a storm and I will get the giggles worse than an entire bedroom full of eleven-year-old girls looking at a magazine full of guys with no shirts on.

It took about an hour to wind down from the flight. Diego and Chan drove off for a hotel room but will be joining us tomorrow. Tonight we are parked in the Golden Nuggets RV Park. Lev wasn’t too impressed when we pulled in and asked if I wanted a hotel room.

“Not if you don’t need one. Besides, it is getting late, you won’t notice things when you are asleep.”

“Er …”

I ran the risk of giggling again so bit the inside of my cheek. “Lev, Benny and I have stayed in worse. Remember some of the places I had to scramble to find in Florida?”

“Not the same,” he said stubbornly.

“Admit it, you just want a real mattress to sleep on.”

He opened his mouth then closed it slowly. “Eh, the platform is actually better than a lot of hotel beds I’ve slept in.” He sighed. “If you really don’t mind then we’ll just keep the spot here. I know the place is a little depressing but …”

“It’s only for two nights and this is one of them. Stop worrying. How about some butterscotch milk.”

He and Benny were both in the mood for that treat and while I fixed it Benny set up his bed, very happy he can have the Crew out en mass, and Lev prepped for tomorrow. I’ll be honest, the plane noise is a bit much but that is true of just about any place here in Anchorage. On the plus side, though the lots were tight, the rows were nice and wide. Great formation and that’s probably because the manager and many of the attendants are former military. The impression I got at check in was you keep things neat or you are “invited” to leave.

Lev looks like he is shutting down for the night so I might as well too. I don’t know exactly what Benny and I are going to do tomorrow but I hope it involves being able to do laundry. Geez that stuff is odiferous even sprayed with fabric deodorizer.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Aug 17: Anchorage (Workday)​

The entire team was back together for the day. They’d book the use of the conference center where some of the team were staying. Diego and Chan swung by and picked up Lev before he’d even got to finish his cup of coffee.

“I …”

“Will you relax. Benny and I can take care of some chores while you take care of your chores for the project.”

He would have continued with his objections but Diego gave me an assist by saying they needed to go or they’d be working later than scheduled. Finally going in the right direction all three men started acting pretty intense about getting all of the digital vids, stills, and sound secured and prepared for Bob who I understand showed up around lunch time with pizza, even remembering the gluten-free crust options as well as with everyone’s marching orders from the Director and Producer.

I spent the day doing laundry, cleaning shoes, checking gear, checking the van, including Benny to keep him from getting bored, etc. And before anyone gets bent that I’d been relegated to the “Little Woman’s” Role you should have seen their faces when I dumped their clean clothes on a table under the awning later in the day, telling them to take what belongs to them or I’d run it up a flagpole. I didn’t know whether to laugh at their surprised embarrassment or be the one that was embarrassed at how grateful they were.

We “adventured” on our own during the day much to the needless worry of Lev. While looking for a laundromat – the one at the RV park had too many people waiting for the machines – I spotted a flea market. I mean what the heck, it was fun for Benny and I when we were in Homer. Sure enough it was the same famous Anchorage Flea Market that used to be downtown based on my reading. They had about a hundred and fifty vendors, and a crazy number of people wandering through, but at least the parking was free.

Weather was kind of cruddy and we had chores to do so we only walked around for about an hour or so, but I did manage to find a few things. I’m not quite as stingy with the money as I was when we first started adventuring in the van. I try to stay away from tchotchkes and junk but things that are edible and will be used and/or used up is good, so long as they aren’t ridiculously expensive. Some of the things that I left the market with, much to Benny’s pleasure, were a couple of jars of fireweed jelly (I’ll eventually reuse the jars) and Alaskan dandelion jam. I also picked up a couple of bottles of Alaskan wines (to go with the sparkling juice that I drink on occasion) since I discovered by accident that Lev likes to relax with a glass every once in a while but hadn’t been doing it because I won’t drink. Well that’s ridiculous. I have nothing against people drinking so long as they drink responsibly, I just have to be careful because when I cut loose my tongue can hurt people. A bottle of blueberry wine and a bottle of raspberry wine isn’t going to hurt anything.

We also fed our face with a salmon quesadilla and a reindeer sausage burrito, both on gluten free tortilla shells. Mm mm mmmmmm. I wanted to bring something back to Lev. The salmon quesadilla wouldn’t keep but I brought him a reindeer sausage burrito.

I asked around and got directions to a decent sized laundromat so that is where we headed next. Just so happened that there was a farm stand next door to it and I picked up some fresh food including broccoli, zucchini, summer squash, some Yukon Gold potatoes, red and yellow raspberries, blueberries (super sweet), salmonberries (tart), and cranberry catsup.

Then it was back to the RV park and our chores there. I was just thinking about texting Lev to ask if he was going to need dinner when Diego dropped him off.

“Whew, the look on your and Diego’s faces doesn’t make it seem like it was a good day.”

Lev glanced to see that Benny was inside the van and happily watching a documentary with the Crew. “You got a minute?”

“Of course,” I said wondering if I’d done something wrong.

Lev must sensed it because he grimaced. “Sorry. Just … need to vent and didn’t want Benny to hear it.”

I waited him out but it wasn’t easy. He sighed. “I’ve had about all I can handle of the team for a while.”

“Anyone in particular?”

“A couple and none of them are you and Benny if that’s the impression I was giving.”

“Diego or Chan?”

“Not them either. Chan wound up putting on his headphones and ignoring everyone. Diego might have done the same thing if Bob hadn’t asked him to supervise a few of things the Director has asked for.” He looked like he wanted to kick something, so I slid a camp chair over to him and sat down in one next to him.

He flopped down and blew a slow breath out of his pursed lips like he was trying to bleed off feelings. He finally gave me a very general rundown of the day.

“Uh … I know you don’t like to trash talk anyone because you want me to form my own opinions,” I told him. “But you need to be a little more specific. I’m … I’m sorry. I’m just not …”. I shook my head. “I’m missing cues. I know I am. And I want to help so just tell me.”

He reached out and surprised me by running his hand lightly down my arm. “You get more ‘cues’ than you think. It is a matter of you had to be there I guess. And know these people. Man.” I was still waiting so I could clue in. “Apparently I’m getting privileges I haven’t earned.”

“What?!” I yelped when what he said finally sank in.

“Yeah, it does sound stupid. But that’s the best I can figure what all their snark and sly commentary boils down to. Essentially Bob isn’t riding my ass like he is theirs and they don’t like it.”

“Then tell them to do their job in a way that won’t make Bob have to fly around on a broom.”

He snorted. “I wish I could. Nearly did. But Diego was trying to keep things in order and then the man himself showed up and it was like being in school … and the teacher was using my work as an example to beat them over the head with.”

“What about Diego and Chan?”

“Theirs too I guess but they had me in their sights for some reason. Not getting it. Just want to be left alone to do the job I’m getting paid for. Oh, and apparently they don’t like that either.”

“Don’t like what either?”

“That your pay isn’t coming out of my pay.”

“Not that it is their business but how do they know?”

“That’s what Bob went off about. Apparently ‘they’ told them.”

“Who is ‘they’?”

“No one.”

“Huh?”

“It got stupid ridiculous but apparently everyone knew but no one knows who knew first. Convoluted clap trap. Bottom line is that Bob told them to read their damn contract. No one is supposed to be sharing salary information or gossiping about it even if it is their own. Contracts have a hard and fast privacy clause in several locations and if he finds out about it happening again, heads will roll.”

“Did you take heat because of Benny and I?” I asked, trying not to show that I was growing angry.

“People tried to throw some crap at me, but it was because of their own bad attitudes, you were just an excuse. That’s another issue that Bob said is going to stop courtesy of the contract rules. People behind the camera are not allowed to mess with people in front of the camera. That job belongs to the Director and the Director only.”

“So was the workday a wash out?”

He sighed and rubbed his neck muscles. “I wouldn’t go that far but it wasn’t as productive as it could have been. And there was nearly another argument when Bob laid down the law and said Diego, Chan, and us are going to head to Clark NP tomorrow as planned but the rest of them are going to catch up on their assignments … or else. They have twenty-four hours to pull their heads out of their butts and produce what is being demanded of them or it sounds like Legal is going to sue them for breach of contract.”

“Can they do that?”

“Which that?”

“Any of it … have 24 hours to do the job, Legal suing them for breach of whatever you said, Bob saying basically his way or the highway … any of that.”

“Yeah. And I hope some of them do get kicked to the curb even if that means more work for the remainder of us. A couple of them were acting like …”

“Lev! You’re home!”

I can imagine what Lev was going to say but he’d gotten side swiped by Benny’s greeting. Lev is good even without practice. He put his sour day to the side and asked Benny how his had gone. That’s when he found out about the burrito and we found out about the gluten-free pizza. And it also is when the hamster went a little catatonic when I started thinking stuff I have no business thinking.

Lev felt a lot better after using the showers after we ate dinner, and we spent the remainder of the evening prepping for our next park which is going to be another extended absence from the van.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Aug 18-24: Anchorage to Lake Clark National Park​

Driving to the next national park was not an option any more than it had been for Katmai, so once again we got on a little plane, this time on our way to Lake Clark. We’ve arrived but there won’t be a lot of time to write while we’re here so I’ll take notes and write things up for the blog once we get back.

[As promised, the summary of my notes follows:]

Aug 18th​

This morning we hooked up with Diego and Chan and then started the day with an orientation and gear check at Merrill Field prior to the flight from Anchorage to Port Alsworth. From Merrill Field (located in Anchorage), we flew west through Lake Clark Pass, and arrived one and a half later in the small community of Port Alsworth. Our guides met us when we landed and escorted us to where we ate lunch along the shores of Lake Clark. I don’t know what was better, the views or the food. It was a type of “getting to know each other” team-building event where we discussed the adventure and continued the trip orientation.

Then we loaded into float planes to fly the remaining distance (thirty minutes) to Lower Twin Lake. We spent almost three hours setting up camp at Beech Creek near the stream connecting lower and upper Twin Lakes. It took that long because we were traveling with two families that didn’t have a lot of backcountry camping experience and both families had a teen and a younger kid and you could tell they were tired and while well-mannered, about close to cranky. Benny set a better example than those four did and I noted that our guides were scoping them out to see whether they were going to be able to hold it together or would need some extra assistance. I kept Benny and I to ourselves until I got my own feel for how the others were going to behave. I didn’t want Benny to get stressed out.

Once we were finished with our camp duties I sat with him to absorb the solitude of the wilderness and keep his mind occupied but relaxed. When I saw they were setting up the cook pot I volunteered Benny and I to help. It served two purposes. One, it kept Benny focused and let him practice some of his previously learned survival skills. And two, it let Aunt Gus know what was going into the soup to make sure I didn’t need to set some aside for Benny and Lev before something with gluten went in it. I was also watching the carbs for Diego’s sake.

After dinner and clean up and hanging all the appropriate stuff in a bear barrel in a tree, we had the chance to relax on the lake’s beach and even my eyes bounced open and closed (mostly closed) while I listened to the sounds of the water. I barely remember Benny, Lev, and I arranging ourselves in the tent for our first night of camping.

Aug 19th​

Breakfast was an easy fix of hot cereal … gluten-free grains in a separate pot for us thank goodness. Noticed the other kids were a little surprised, apparently it isn’t part of their normal. They wanted to know why Benny, Lev, and I got different “cereal” and I explained for everyone that we had to live a gluten-free diet.

“Oh. You're vegan.”

“No,” I told the thirteen-year-old that thought he knew everything. “Benny and Lev don’t have a choice. They get very sick if they eat gluten. I live the same dietary lifestyle simply because it is easier for all of us to eat the same thing.” When he still looked confused I added, “We don’t eat things made of wheat flour. Other stuff has gluten in it as well but that is the biggie.”

“No bread?” he asked in horror.

“No bread with gluten in it.”

“Geez.”

The mother looked over embarrassed, “Randall.”

I chuckled. “Better for him to ask than to assume. It’s fine.”

By then everyone was ready to head off and explore with their daypacks. I double checked Benny’s … the two other younger kids only wore camelbaks for water … and adjusted one strap. “Geez, it's like you sleep in fertilizer. I swear I just adjusted these straps a few days ago.”

Benny grinned hugely. He is just chomping at the bit to get too big for the booster seat.

The destination was an area locally known as “Death Valley.” It is what our guides called a fluvial filled wash, and it led us directly into the open tundra country above the lake. The area was spectacular and even with an elevation gain of 2000’ it didn’t feel like we covered very many miles at all though at the end of the day they said we walked five miles. We were navigating off-trail and I was having a blast practicing skills that had atrophied a bit from my high school survival training days. Benny and I could have done more but I noticed that Chan and Diego were exhausted along with the other two families and Lev was tired as well.

I’m glad I thought to bring along a sketch pad and colored pencils for Benny. They took up room, but it is already worth it in my opinion. He did an amazing job drawing the view where we went through a narrow pass and then got views of the mountains surrounding Twin Lakes. I wonder how much more we could have accomplished if we hadn’t had to slow down for some of the other hikers. Then again, how much would we have missed if we went as fast as we could?

Aug 20th​

Another good breakfast. Forgot to mention that lunch was basically energy snacks while we hiked, and dinner was stew over rice. Real stick to your ribs food. Even the other kids ate last night and tonight without complaint though I can tell they aren’t partial to the trail lunches we are eating. And I’ve heard one of the moms wishing for a diet soda. That cracked me up.

Today was so much fun. I had no idea and Lev had saved it as a surprise. Kayaking. Seriously. Kayaking in the Alaskan backcountry. When I realized what was planned, I had a hard time not getting the fidgets while the guides gave everyone a thorough kayaking orientation. We spent the day paddling around the shores of Lower Twin Lake. Oh. My. Word.

Lev was in a tandem with one of the guides so he could take pictures … he is providing some new photos to the guides for their website at no charge as a way to build good will. He isn’t going to photo edit them, but he takes great photos even without his editing process. All of the parents tandem’d with a kid … me with Benny, etc. … and then Chan and Diego were together. The remaining guides had singles. I’ve grown so used to kayaking tandem I’m not sure what I’ll do when Benny can go on his own though at some point I need to start teaching him. I was kayaking and canoeing solo at his age.

We spent the day kayaking, had a fun picnic lunch, and basically just enjoyed the day and the scenery. The mountains provided a constant backdrop for every photo. I made sure that our guys got sufficient food when I noticed the two teens and one of the dads being pigs with the supplies. The guides caught it as well and one of them winked at me as we rearranged how things were portioned out. Lev saw the wink and apparently got a little jealous until I whispered what was going on. No flirting … as if … and then he got all sweet on me because I was looking after him. Guys, I swear I’ll never completely understand them after they get a little age on them and get strange.

As a surprise, after bringing the kayaks back in and since we had plenty of light left, we grabbed a couple of energy bars and started another hike in search of more wildlife. Yikes, we found it. A freakin’ huge herd of caribou.

“Aunt Gus? They don’t bite do they?”

“No. Why?”

“Oh. No reason. ‘Cept there’s one behind you.”

I turned around and Lev said my face was priceless.

“Don’t move Gus,” one of the guides told me.

“Not planning on it. I’ll let the big guy make the first move.”

Eventually it snorted at me then pranced away to rejoin the herd. I looked over at Lev who lowered his camera quickly. “You took a picture,” I accused.

He finally starts giving a wheezy laugh and nodded, tears all but running down his face. I sighed, “I swear crazy Alaskan animals need to be on meds. Was that thing smiling at me, laughing at me, or trying to give me resting bitch face?”

Even the guides were laughing. Oh well. I didn’t mind making everyone’s day. Kinda made mine too. I stood up to a caribou that was trying to freak me out on purpose. I just know it was. Animals don’t make those faces without reason.

During dinner we reviewed the day, and I can now say we kayaked four miles, hiked four miles, and had an elevation change of about 1500’. Cool beans, but sleep was pretty sweet that night. Benny didn’t even wake me with a knee to the kidney.

Aug 21st​

We were up a little extra early for a hearty hot cereal breakfast and then it was back to the kayaks after packing up camp. Today Benny and I wore the neoprene boots we picked up in Ketchikan. Hiking in those things was a different kind of experience but they were better at keeping our feet dry. We had to walk our boats up the creek to the access point for Upper Twin Lake, where we paddled toward Hope Creek and our base camp for the final 2 nights.

We took a short pause in paddling at Emerson Creek to hike up to Emerson Falls. Emerson is a spectacular Alaska drainage fall. After a couple of hours exploring Emerson, we jumped back into the kayaks and continued toward Hope Creek.

Alaska mountains dominated the panorama surrounding us and the solitude of kayaking Upper Twin was as relaxing to me as anything I had found in Florida. We camped near the mouth of Hope Creek. Everyone was pretty tired. Carrying those kayaks for a couple of hours was definitely work. And then add the camping gear? You could tell who was in shape and who wasn’t. One of the families definitely wasn’t. Sure, their kids were in sports, the father had an active job, and mom went to the gym but this was a different kind of exercising. The other family was a little more experienced, but their teen daughter needed a dump truck of Midol in my opinion. They could have left her up in a tree in a bear bag and had a lot better time.

After a hearty dinner, we hiked to a cabin for some stories of early Alaska. As Benny said, “That was cool.” Round up for the day is that we hiked four miles, kayaked five miles, the elevation change was only about 500 feet.

Aug 22nd​

Today was one long hike to Eye of the Needle. Meh, it wasn’t actually to the Eye but to a view of the Eye. It is a rock formation at the head of one of the many tributaries of Hope Creek. The hike took us up to the Cowgill Benches before heading into alpine tundra. Some of the landmarks around here have strange names but it can’t be worse than how people pronounce the Indian place names we have back in Florida. Withlacoochee, Suwannee, Chocochatti, Weeki Watchee, Kissimmee, Osowaw, and one of my personal favorites Chassahowitzka. I guess calling something Cowgill Bench may not be that strange after all.

The animal of the day were Dall’s sheep. Another name for them is the thinhorn sheep, or their scientific name which is Ovis dalli. They are an even-toed ungulate. Uh huh. They look like mountain goats to me as they are white, and the males have curved horns like rams. Most dall’s sheep are homebodies as they are born, live, and die in a very small area … anywhere from 20 to 60 square miles.

The trail we were hiking started out as a thousand-year-old game trail. Talk about you compacted-by-many-feet surface. Then it was into an alpine valley. We were lucky and the weather was clear. It made for a very cool day – glad I had Benny in layers because he needed them – and we got a glimpse of the Eye of the Needle from the high point of our hike near a glacial cirque and source of the crystal-clear waters of Hope Creek.

About half-way back to camp it started clouding up and then a light rain started to fall. It stopped right before we reached camp and though it was damp, we were able to eat our dinner in peace. In addition to the warm stew – welcomed by everyone – we got a home baked dessert of stewed bluerries. While everyone else had theirs over biscuits I showed our guides a new uber simple recipe in case they had customers in the future with special diets; Blueberry Rice Pudding[1], its warm, creamy, and definitely a crowd pleaser.

We packed up what wouldn’t be needed because tomorrow after breakfast we will get picked up by the float plane bringing the next group out. As for today, we earned our dessert as we’d hiked eight miles with an 3000’ elevation gain.

Aug 23rd​

I was ready to get up and get going but everyone else was really into a leisurely breakfast … this one with fried potatoes, slices of ham, and biscuits. Good thing I came prepared and that the guides had no problem with me using the griddle and making cornmeal pancakes for Lev and Benny. I helped with kitchen clean up while I turned Benny over to Lev (wink, wink) to help the men break camp. We also had to make sure our gear was packed down for the float plane flight back to Port Alsworth.

Turns out there was time for one more short hike. We went to Teetering Rock. By early evening we were back at the Farm Lodge in Port Alsworth, and checked into a lakeside cabin. No one made mention of the fact that Lev, Benny, and I were in a cabin together. I guess everyone just accepts it … including Benny and I … though Lev gave me the option for some space.

“Oh please,” I groused. “You are the only guy I’ve ever met that I didn’t want space from so knock it off.”

He grinned in good humor. “Just trying not to take advantage. I’ve been sleeping better lately but …”

“No buts. And so have I. I really don’t want to dig at it though. Please.”

He gave me an understanding look. “It’s okay Gus. You’re still a ‘good girl’.”

“Er … thanks for understanding.”

“Hey, I’m … look, I don’t want to dig at it either. For me this is the best of both worlds. I get to be with you, and I get to know you aren’t like my mother who didn’t necessarily mean to … er … uh …”

“I get it,” I told him lightly pushing him towards the men’s showers. “We’ve both got some er and um in our family tree.”

He looked around for Benny and then bent and gave me a quick kiss near my ear making me jump. “Yeah, I think about it,” he whispered. “But anticipation is lots of fun too,” he added before trotting off giving me a different perspective on what we are doing. One I don’t know if I’m comfortable with or not.

After hot showers and a celebratory dinner in the lodge dining room, we tallied up our wildlife sightings and the amount of hiking and kayaking. Between one thing and another we hiked roughly 25 miles and kayaked around ten. The hiking we might have done a little more than that between all the short walks we took but I’ll leave it at twenty-five for organized hiking. Then we can add another two or three from today’s incidental moderate hikes.

Aug 24th​

I thought everyone was going to lick the pattern off their breakfast plates. After an amazing breakfast at the lodge, we got in one more hike, this one a really good one that was almost five miles long but only an elevation gain of 880’. We spent the first part of the day hiking to Tanalian Falls. The trail took us through birch groves and up spruce covered hillsides to a stunning view of Lake Clark. But more was yet to come when we rounded a bend. Here, dwarf dogwood lined the trail and you could just make out the sound of what was coming. The closer you got to the falls, the more deafening the raw, icy glacial water as it fell over a 30-foot cliff of ancient lava. The mist from the falls was so cold it could take you breath away. I for one would have liked to have stayed up there longer but we needed to head back. The hike didn’t even take the entire morning because we started right after breakfast.

After we got back, we went to the Lake Clark National Park visitor’s center where we spent a little money we shouldn’t have on things like maps and postcards. Benny enjoyed the interpretive displays and videos, and since there wasn’t an organized Junior Ranger program, we made one up for him. One of the rangers there was a real good sport about it and played along then surprised Benny by asking for “Little Bear’s” autograph … with Aunt Gus’ permission of course. Benny actually drew a pretty dang good Dall’s Sheep and then signed it “Little Bear Barrymore.” Cool kid. The Ranger thought so as well.

While we waited for our later afternoon charter flight back to Anchorage, I took some time to learn about Port Alsworth. It is a community of roughly 125 residents, located on the east shore of Lake Clark about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage and is the only community within the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, which makes Port Alsworth a major gateway for people seeking a wilderness experience in the national park. There are a number of private lodges operating there, most oriented around fishing which we heard is superb. There are no grocery stores in Port Alsworth. All supplies must be flown in. That is what came in on the flight that we took out.

We arrived back in Anchorage late today while Lev worked with Diego and Chan to provide Bob with things he could package up for the Director and Producer, I’ve been doing laundry. Tired of stinking. Benny is already asleep and I’m going there myself after I get the edited post for the blog posted. Lev said he will have to crash with the team. First time in a long time that it has been back to just Benny and I. Must admit it feels a little strange.

---

[1] Granny Gertrude's Blueberry Rice Pudding Recipe

 

[Kathy in FL]

Aug 25: Anchorage >> Talkeetna​

Yes! We can get back in the van and drive. Or at least sorta. Chan and Diego are riding with us. Crazy. The rest of the team have split off and been assigned to other areas of the state. Lev thinks that this will work a lot better. Team members will be less likely to feed off each other but there will be just enough accountability for those that don’t do well working alone. Sleeping arrangements were wild but I wasn’t opposed, much to Lev’s surprise.

Benny wasn’t too sure what to make of sharing “his” bench for the drive, but he was completely cool with he, Lev, and I all sleeping in the platform bed. “Cool! This is like when we were all in the tent!” We each slept in our own sleeping bags with Chan taking the floor – he grew up sleeping that way at home and prefers it – and Diego crashed in the front passenger chair and leaned it back because he told me to stop worrying about it because he fell asleep most nights in front of his sound monitors that reclined the same way.

This adds two to my crew list of who I take care of, but I’ve been operating like that for the last couple of weeks anyway. No one is complaining about the food. Everyone is as clean as our activities allow and clothes and equipment in good repair. Chan and Diego are, of course, free to go it on their own as far as food and stuff goes but after a brief discussion, they were more than happy to throw a few bucks in the pot to get fed without having to think about it. Chan doesn’t do caffeine, alcohol, or tobacco … essentially anything mind altering. For personal reasons he also watches sugar and carbs. Diego has to watch his starch, carbs, and sugars for medical reasons. All that makes my job as chief cook fairly easy since the five of us fit pretty well together in that sense, though Diego gets the hangries if he doesn’t have regular food intake and that makes me want to thump him way too often. He snacks constantly. Thank goodness he’ll eat the Nature Valley gluten-free protein bars, and that I was able to find a good supply of them in Anchorage last night after a quick run to the grocery to stock up.

This morning, after refueling, we hauled tail to this crazy place called Talkeetna. The crowds. I mean THE CROWDS. It is a major stop for several different types of tours. You have the train, the buses, the land cruise packages, people who drive all over Alaska, people who come for the float trips, and of course the nearest national park which is Denali. Today we stuck to Talkeetna and will do so tomorrow as well.

First thing we did had Benny pinging off the walls. It was only two hours between Anchorage and Denali so we made it there before noon with time to spare, which is when the first activity started. It was a three-hour zipline extravaganza.

It started with the expected safety orientation and instructions and gear fitting. We started with a few short zips from tree to tree to make sure everyone knew what they were getting into. From there we progressed into longer and faster zip rides. Yes, the ziplines are fun as heck but what made these so unique were the mountain vistas of Denali and the Alaska Range in the background. All total there were nine ziplines, two suspension bridges, and one spiral staircase. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know how much it cost and I know that I’m grateful for the sponsors so that I don’t have to be concerned for the price. Whatever it was, there were plenty of people willing to fork it over. The lines weren’t huge, but they weren’t nonexistent either. It looked like you had to book your time slot well in advance, no just walking up and buying tickets. I don’t know if that was a function of how popular it was or if it was a remnant of the old pandemic mandates. In all honesty it could have been some of both. The tourist season is fairly short in Talkeetna.

We had a little less than an hour to grab a bite to eat and one of the guys running the zip line recommended this little hole in the wall called Talkeetna Spinach Bread. That’s their name and their specialty. Well I told him no bread for half our crew and he says, “Oh they have other stuff because the bread sells out every day.”

We troop down to the tent that is fronted by a food truck and sure enough they have stuff we can all eat. Today’s special was Thai Curry or Ethiopian Beans and Rice. The Thai Curry was a bowl of “buckwheat soba noodles or brown rice immersed in a creamy, deeply flavorful spicy coconut curry sauce topped with crispy pan-fried tofu, sauteed locally grown kale, cilantro, crushed peanuts and a fresh lime wedge for a zing of tanginess.” I grew up on rice and beans and went with the Ethiopian dish; “Black turtle beans cooked with Ethiopian berbere spice served over brown rice. Topped with cheddar cheese, red bell pepper, purple onion, fresh cilantro, yogurt and crushed peanuts.” Benny got a bit of both as Lev and I dished up some of ours because he wouldn’t have been able to finish a whole order on his own.

“You don’t have to do that Lev.”

He shrugged. “Not a prob. The bowls are pretty big. ‘Sides, this way we know he is eating good stuff and not …” He watched a kid walk by with a large bottle of red Mountain Dew. “… something that is going to set him off. He’s pretty jacked up from the zip lines.”

“He’ll calm down in a minute. He knows he’ll need to for our next activity.”

“Oh I know that, just trying to help.”

“So long as you aren’t shorting yourself.”

“Nope. Doing fine with all the good eats you’ve been cooking. Never felt this good.”

He gave me a soulful look and I heard Diego snort which cut our conversation short.

At four o’clock on the dot we started our evening activity. We got in another one of those mosquitos with wheels (air taxi) to fly over Denali. Wow. The weather was freaking unbelievable, and we got an incredible view of the 20,000-foot summit.

I almost asked who the sponsor of this activity was but left it alone so I wouldn’t spoil the mood. It was called the Summit Tour and spends more time at higher altitudes and gives a broad overview of the Alaska Range than other, similar tours. We saw glaciers that blanket the slopes of the Alaska Range, and learned about the area's natural history from our plane's pilot. It was very cool to follow the river systems of Talkeetna across the Susitna Valley into a landscape of icefalls, glaciers and snowy peaks. A highlight was when we touched down on a glacier and got out to walk around. O.M.G. Yes, we’ve walked on other glaciers but on this one it was like being in the middle of nowhere with no trail to follow. I couldn’t believe that we’d been flying for two hours when we touched down back in Talkeetna. Found out that Lev had tapped into the onboard cameras and was taking film of the flight, both for his job and so that Benny and I would have a copy. When I told him it was a thoughtful thing to do, he lit up like a torch. No hiding a blush on that Scandinavian complexion.

We have a unique boondock for tonight and I want to give a shout out to it. The Susitna Salmon Center[1]. Well, maybe not boondocking exactly because there were hook ups. Only two spaces and it was in what amounted to their parking lot, but it is the best little secret out there. Benny adored the exhibits, especially the aquariums with juvenile salmon in them as well as the ones with other local fish “schooling around” in them. Then there were the documentaries on salmon. Aunt Gus caved and got him a coloring book on salmon as well.

I’m pretty sure Lev did it on purpose but he wore his salmon socks to bed. I don’t know who had the giggles worse, Benny or me.

Resources:
Susitna Salmon Center - Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce
http://www.arrialaska.org/

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[1] Susitna Salmon Center - Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce

 

[Lake Lili]

Thanks Kathy! Great read.
Lili

 

[Kathy in FL]

Aug 26: Talkeetna​

Man it was cold this morning but all the wet-gear we wore for our float trip made that a good thing or I bet most of us would have been sweating buckets. Our first activity of the day, which started at 10 am, was a scenic float trip on the Susitna River out of Talkeetna. The float provided wonderful views of the Alaska Range as well as the occasional Moose, Bear, and Eagle. Well, not occasional eagle as there were quite a few. Good grief those birds are huge! The excess of salmon also explained several of the other animals we saw.

For four hours we floated and then would occasionally stop and explore the large islands and gravel bars along the river. I tell you, despite appreciating them, I was glad to get the gear off when we got back. I’d sweated through the layers closest to my skin so it was a good thing I had brought an extra shirt for just in case. Lev and Benny weren’t quite as bad but Lev was happy to take a couple of handi-wipes and spruce up his pits which he’d sweated out. Benny got his head toweled as the back of his neck got sweaty and his hair damp. I let him use a gaiter as a headband the way Lev does on occasion now that his hair is getting a little shaggy and the little turkey thought he was hot snot as we caught up with Diego and Chin who didn’t smell like they’d come as prepared as we had. Whew.

We all ate on the go this time with a snack bag I’d prepped, though after the big breakfast none of us were all that hungry, and then headed to the next activity. A two-and-a-half-hour ATV/Side-by-Side tour had the guys more interested in driving than taking pictures. We were picked up in town and driven to the location where we began riding. Despite the tour supposedly taking two and a half hours we were only on the trail an hour and a half, the other hour was transportation and then the safety talk. It did cover ten miles so that was good, it just seemed too short. There were four types of ATVs available: one single-rider option and three multi-rider side-by-side options. Each ATV is 4-wheel-drive and has automatic transmission, and the side-by-side ATVs have roofs and windshields. The guys picked single-riders and I picked the side-by-side so that Benny could see, and I knew he’d be in a seat belt. He was giggling and laughing quite a bit as I was secure enough to go some of the faster speeds we were allowed to, and I hit as many potholes as I could to bounce him around. He was the only young kid on the tour and the guides hammed it up a bit just for him. He loved it and that made me love it. I made sure to tip them really well in addition to what the company was tipping them, and it didn’t come out of my per diem either.

After that we had time for dinner and the guys needed to charge their batteries, both figuratively and literally. Dinner was at the Denali Brewpub. They were at least as packed at all the other restaurants on “the strip” which is the main road in Talkeetna. They didn’t have a kids’ menu per se, but they did have stuff that Benny could eat. I ordered him a Teriyaki Chicken Bowl which was grilled chicken tenders over Jasmine rice and diced carrots with a teriyaki drizzle. The bottomless pit known as Levinson Hargis had something called “The Bachelor” which was reindeer meatloaf with mashed potatoes. Diego had the same which I figured. He had been good about his carb allowance for the day and had been hankering for potatoes for some reason. To the point I was going to make him a baked potato just to shut him up. Chan had the Alaskan cod version of fish n’ chips because of course he wanted potatoes if Diego wanted potatoes. Gus wasn’t feeling it just to be contrary so she had Cajun Rice and Lentils with grilled chicken mixed in. And yes, I know I sound stupid. I am stupid tired is my only excuse.

We had one more activity today and it started at 6 pm which would give us a unique view, an Upper Nenana scenic wilderness rafting adventure. The Nenana flows north through the Alaska Range and is the most popular whitewater river in Alaska from what I read. Once we were geared up and looking more like Atlantic fisherman than Alaskan tourists, we floated an 11-mile scenic section of the Upper Nenena River. Man did Benny ever have fun playing what I’ve come to call wildlife bingo because we saw them all … grizzly bears, moose, caribou and dall sheep. We saw an eagle but most of them had headed to their nest for the evening. Of course there were salmon as well. There were also some Class II and III whitewater but only enough to keep it interesting so no one went to sleep, it was that relaxing. We didn’t get back in until 10 pm and Benny was really dragging but didn’t have to be carried thank goodness, he’s getting too big for that.

Everyone was tired but the guys needed to save their digital work and secure it and I for one needed to clean up a little. A little is all I got due to there being four males – three of them adults – sharing my space but I felt a little less grungy. Tomorrow night I’ll get a real bathroom thanks to one of our sponsors. There’s also a heck of an adventure planned assuming the weather cooperates. I really hope it does.

 

[sssarawolf]

Many thanks.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Aug 27: Denali National Park – Heli-hiking​

Lev kept Benny entertained so that I could have a good soak in a tub. Last few hotel rooms were just stand-up showers and a soak felt sinfully good. I swear I was filthy and felt disgusting, but the tub bath still felt divine. Yes, divine. I had to look things up in a thesaurus but yeah, so sue me. It felt “divine”. I had to clean the tub just so Lev and Benny could take their showers afterwards – gross – but mmmmmm, all the hot water you could want. “Ha!” As Lev would say. If that doesn’t say I’m female I guess nothing else does.

Tonight we are staying in the Denali Wilderness Princess Lodge. Apparently the Princess Corporation is sponsoring some of the documentary to get their “landcruise” lodges mentioned. The place was really busy but we still got nice rooms with Chan and Diego sharing one while Lev, Benny, and I were across the hall. Lev still insists on giving me the option of having some privacy with Benny but what the heck, in for a penny, in for a pound, and we have less than a month to go before the Alaska Assignment is over with. All good things must come to an end and I’m not going to be a hypocrite about it since we’ve been sharing space (if nothing else) for a while now.

I try really hard not to focus on the ending and pay attention to what is happening now. Thinking about the ending makes my brain hamster want to suit up and play roller derby inside my head. Doesn’t do a thing for the rest of my psyche either. Everything comes to an end eventually. That’s why you have to enjoy what you can while you have it. That is what I’ve been trying to do.

We were up early to drive the two and a half hours from Talkeetna to the Lodge. The guys made happy with their coffee that we picked up on our way out while I drove. They worked and Diego and Chan got to see for themselves that Benny could sleep through a stomp concert but would wake up at a whisper. We needed to get to the Lodge and signed in so we could start the first activity by 10:35 am. It was a “heli-hike” and I was still puzzling that one out when we arrived. Diego and Chan stayed at the Lodge working on stuff to send to Bob, while Lev took Benny and I on the outing. It would mean that he had to stay up, but he said it was going to be worth it.

And wow, definitely worth it. Whether you hope to climb a steep slope to a mountainous ridge overlooking the peaks and valleys of Denali, or wander the tundra in search of Alaska's wildlife, the heli-hike is a guided tour created just for adventurers in mind. We set off from a private helipad. From there we flew with a pilot and an expert naturalist to the Denali National Park area. We flew over the mountainous terrain of the Alaskan backcountry keeping an eye out for wildlife (caribou, moose, bear, and Dall sheep) on our way to a landing zone in a location suited to each groups hiking ability. Everyone had fun at Gus’ expense while Big Mouth Benny told the story of me and a caribou having a stare-off. Fine, I can laugh at it now myself. However, I will stake Lev out with the gators if he EVER shows that picture to anyone else.

Since Lev, Benny, and I have a lot of experience we got to go to one of the more remote locations. We were dressed appropriately, which made the experience enjoyable. We were layered up, prepared for damp (though we didn’t have any) and had sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses. I also brought my daypack filled with water and snacks and we had our binoculars around our necks.

Talk about your peace and solitude. Benny and I soaked it up with Lev watching and getting in on his own enjoyment of what the brochures all call “true Alaskan wilderness” has to offer. Benny was all ears for the naturalist who got a real kick out of a kid being so interested in his job, not just in what he was saying. We increased our appreciation for nature untouched by human hands.

With transfers the activity took nearly five hours with the hike taking three of those. We were only in the air fifteen minutes each way but even that was breathtaking, and Lev got some incredible film for Bob … and for our memories.

The sponsor was top drawer. For dinner we had vouchers for Fannie Q’s Saloon. Despite its name it was family friendly venue and just … Oh. My. Gosh. It was so corny Benny and I found it hilarious.

First it is important for me to remember that Fannie was a real person. Fannie Quigley[1] was a famous Alaskan character known for being a prospector, trapper, and cook. Fannie Q’s Saloon features “locally-inspired dishes in a modern saloon setting.” The place serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner with both indoor and outdoor seating and live entertainment. I knew as soon as I looked at the menu it was going to be a hit. Among other offerings there were Bison Sliders, Braised Pork Shoulder and a dish Fannie Quigley was known for – Bear-Lard Pie.

I ordered Benny the Bison Sliders without the brioche bun. Technically they were an appetizer but when I told them Benny was extremely gluten-sensitive they went out of their way to be helpful. Not every place can do that – or will – but the people at the Fannie’s were more accommodating than they had to be. Lev had blackened salmon tacos on corn tortillas. Plus, he insisted on ordering a starter of reindeer sausage stuffed mushrooms for the three of us to share. Who can resist reindeer sausage? I was the one that splurged by having the seafood chopped salad because I was craving seafood. The bowl was huge and a twist on a classic Cobb salad. Fresh romaine topped with tomato, bacon, hard cooked egg, but then they added crab & shrimp as well. Garnished with black olives & lemon. After making sure with the kitchen staff that the black olives were gluten-free I dug them out and gave them to Lev as I’ve seen him sit and eat a whole can of those things. Bleck.

Diego and Chan weren’t with us for the meal. They’d left us a message they had already eaten and would meet us tonight. After that we took a short nap though I would have preferred to walk around. We needed the rest however as our next activity started at eleven pm. I’m actually writing this in the wee hours while I chill out and relax so I can hypothetically go to sleep for a couple of hours.

I can’t believe it. Most sailors dream of seeing the Northern Lights and I thought I’d never get to after my life changed. But I did see them, and Lev managed to capture them on film so I can see them over and over as much as I want to in the future. Late August and September is one of the best times to see the northern lights, but you have to stay up late to get a good look at them.

The activity started at 11 pm and ran three hours and we (I) were really excited. The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) are one of the world’s most spectacular natural phenomenon, and Alaska is one of the best places in the world for viewing them.

This has been a trip of a lifetime. Alaska is a place I didn’t think I would ever be able to take Benny, never take myself for that matter. Then all the things we’ve seen and done, like kayaking by the glaciers, getting sneezed on by a whale, the crazy caribou encounter, all of it. And all of it shared with Lev. On top of that I thought it would have been too much to ask to see the Northern Lights. My chest is tight just remembering it all.

As part of a small group, we were picked up by a van and travelled away from the lights of town – not that there were all that many that time of night. The area around Denali makes an ideal spot for stargazing and catching the often-elusive Aurora Borealis. Our guide provided commentary and conversation on the area’s history, climate, dynamic geography, and separated scientific facts from fictional myth. It duplicated some that we’d heard during the heli-hike but none of us cared.

We were beginning to think we wouldn’t see any and were standing at one of our last stops drinking warm cider when … wow. Nature’s fireworks put on an incredible display. Let’s get real and scientific for a sec. The Lights are the result of collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth’s atmosphere. They aren’t a reflection of the Valkyries’ armor or any of the other legends and tall tales associated with the lights. But what a bucket list experience.

The Northern Lights are visible only during the winter months (August to April) and sightings are not guaranteed, but boy did we have a sighting. It was really strange how emotional they made me feel. I have no idea why my imagination kept forming pictures of my grandparents, Dad, and Lawrence in the Lights. And I swear, though I’ll never tell anyone, that by Dad it looked like a woman was standing next to him.

Lev noticed. “Hey, you’re shaking. You okay?”

All I could do was whisper, “Bucket List.”

“Er … okay. That’s a good thing, right?”

“Yeah,” I answered after clearing my throat. “Sailors dream of this but … I’m not …” My throat started tightening up as the Lights were fading and so were the mirages of my family.

He put his arm around me. “Sure you are. The van is the Ark. You can do crazy things with a kayak. You ..”

I turned in the arm he’d draped over me thinking I was cold. “Lev?”

“Er … yeah?”

“Thank you. For everything.”

“Hey, you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah,” I sighed, but not in a disappointed way. “This is just something … and then to be able to share it with Benny and you … I …” I cleared my throat. “Brain hamster on overload. Sorry.”

“You kidding? I’m lucky I’m breathing. This is just … the best.”

And then Benny snuggled between the two of us and it felt … like I knew incredible pain was coming because all good things come to an end. But I decided to store up as many good times as I could for when the ending came as things always have. I have a feeling though that getting through what is coming is going to be a lot harder than I’m prepared for. But I need to be, for Benny, and for myself.

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[1] Fannie Quigley, the Alaska Gold Rush's All-in-One Miner, Hunter, Brewer, and Cook

 

[sssarawolf]

Well you made me have wet eyes. lol Thank you.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Aug 28: Denali National Park – Wildlife Tour​

Weather: 55F/38F

Brisk morning and thank goodness; we hadn’t had much sleep and the cold kept us awake and on our toes. We got in at 2 am, carried Benny in when I couldn’t stand the scritch-scritch of him dragging his boot-covered feet. We all fell into bed by 2:20 am and I typed until three, and was straight back up at 6 am for breakfast and to catch our bus at 6:45 am. I’m used to short hours so was the most awake. Chan was okay and so was Lev. Diego was struggling until I forced a meal replacement bar on him and made both him and Benny drink a nutrition shake on top of it.

“Call me Abuela and you see what happens Diego. I’m not playing.”

“Fine, fine. Just find me some coffee.”

I snorted and presented all three men with what they were craving … the café had opened at 6:30 am. They just barely had time to inhale their brew as no drinks were allowed on the bus. Bwahaha.

“You think you are funny,” Diego growled.

“Lev, what happens when I drink coffee or most caffeinated drinks?”

Lev snorted. Then coughed. Then out and out laughed causing the other two men to look at us suspiciously. While Lev laughed I said, “I fall asleep. As in I can be talking to you one moment and then next I am out like a light and not much is going to wake me up. And that is why I only drink tea, sodas, and my caffeinated waters when it is nighttime and my brain doesn’t have to remain functional.”

“You’re kidding me,” Diego asked with a truly suspicious look on his face.

“Nope. Lev accidentally bought me a caffeinated water one time in Florida – no taste so I didn’t notice – and I face planted in the middle of the day. Completely freaked him and this guy we were working with out. If not for Benny asking to see the can and recognizing some of the ingredients, they would have hauled me to the hospital.”

“Fine. If caffeine doesn’t do it, what will.”

Lev, Benny, and I all said “Something red” at the same time. I added, “But I wouldn’t recommend it unless you want a potential disaster on your hands.

Lev shuddered. “I’ve seen it. Don’t want to see it again so no artificial red dyes in the future. Let’s stop talking about it and get on the bus.”

Diego and Chan looked doubtful until Benny and I gave them twin evil smirks. I’m still laughing at their resulting expressions.

The tour was from a school bus. Hard bench, no seatbelts, funky windows school bus. I didn’t mind it but I noted Lev, Diego, and Chan struggled to get the kind of film and recordings that they needed. I told Benny to let Lev have the window but it was so cold that people complained about the window being down. We moved to the front of the bus but still had to sit behind the two “handicap” reserved benches. People also complained about the telephoto lens he and Deigo were using. See the trend? When the bus was moving people tended to have too much to complain about unless there was a wildlife sighting. I don’t get it myself and Benny and I mostly tuned them out, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t recognize what was going on.

The bus driver was also the guide and provided most of the narrative as we moved along. How he concentrated on his driving and was able to narrate … now that’s talent. We were on the extended tour which took us to the historic Kantishna area, which most visitors of Denali National Park never see. We also had lunch once we got there at the Kantishna Roadhouse. I had a bag o’ snacks to get us to and from as well … which allowed Diego to focus on the job and not on his potential glucose issues.

The weather in Denali National Park can be changeable which we’d already experienced. I followed the suggestion of having everyone dress in layers. I had also made sure to have all of the extra external batteries recharged after yesterday’s activities and they were needed. All three men blinked when they realized what I had done and I got a thank you from Lev with a kiss on the side of my head. Diego said, “I ain’t doing that Chica, but you did good. Thanks.”

Diego is all right and Chan the super quiet type that prefers his tech to people. Both men said thank you in other ways like Chan recorded some sounds for Benny and Diego took a pick of Lev, Benny, and I and put it on a digi-dot so I can transfer it to my digital photo frame.

We saw a variety of wildlife, incredible views, and at lunch, a historic gold mining district. The animals we saw included grizzly bears, moose, black bears, caribou, wolves, marmots, squirrels, and ptarmigan. The wolf back we saw was so extraordinary that our bus driver called it in. Wolves are very aware of human behavior and usually make an effort to avoid contact, especially along roadways. Not sure the reason for being where they were this time, but it was awesome. One of the bigger goodies of the day is that we got to see Denali without any cloud cover. It is the tallest mountain in North American and totally amazing.

From start to finish, the tour lasted about 13 hours. This included our bodacious lunch of steak and potato at Kantishna Roadhouse and frequent stops along the way for passengers to take in the views of Denali National Park, stretch, and use the restrooms. The reason for the amount of time it took – besides the stop and go – is that the lodge is 93 miles from the park entrance and accessible only by travel along a narrow, mostly gravel road that winds its way through the park.

A couple of people got motion or height sickness and one guy had to take a Dramamine and slept through most of the return trip, much to his wife’s disgust because she didn’t know how to operate his camera. Our crew was tired bordering on exhausted. We still needed something to eat as lunch had been a long time ago. We grabbed some of the last burgers to come off the grill from the Grizzly Burger restaurant and willingly ate them outside (it was still light) so the wait staff could clean sections of the place before closing time. That got us some sweet attention and plenty of refills on our drinks.

Lev and Benny are asleep and I assume Diego and Chan are as well. I’m … still processing. I used to hate that phrase when my friends used it but I get it better now than I did then. It was so overused yet here I am, day late dollar short, finding myself using it almost every single day. I suppose I better hit the hay. In the morning we drive to Fairbanks so that the crew can have a much-needed workday. Not sure what Benny and I are going to do yet but primarily our job is to say out from underfoot.

 

[sssarawolf]

Yay verily yay Thank you.

 

[CGTech]

Love the chapters Kathy! Thank you!

 

[teedee]

Dear lady, I can not wait to see where you take us!! Thank you muches.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Aug 29: Denali >> Fairbanks (Workday)​

Weather: 67F/46F

I drove, and I liked it. LOL. I’m afraid this captain has a difficult time allowing anyone else to drive her ship … or in this case her van. It took just a little over two hours to get from the Lodge to Fairbanks, but I’m the one that drove it.

I suspect that Bob is starting to require some proof that we aren’t all just fooling around. He (or his assistant) had booked a suite – bedroom on either side of the living room – and an early check in. While Lev, Chan, and Diego worked Benny and I took off on our own.

Lev hesitantly asked, “Do you think I’m a total idiot for asking you to please be careful?”

“No. But I was doing this months before you came on the scene. And Fairbanks isn’t the backside of Poseidon’s buttcrack. There’s this thing called a cell phone and …”

“All right. Just try and pretend you aren’t Wonder Woman and that I’m not …”

I did something I’d been wanting to do for a while. I kissed him. Then had to nudge him to make sure he was still breathing. “Uh … you okay?”

“Uh huh,” he said, his voice a little higher than normal.

“Good. I’ve been wanting to do that and got tired of worrying that you would think I was a floozie for doing it.”

“A … did you say … when in the last century has anyone even used that word?!” he asked still trying to stuff his brain back in his ears where they’d been leaking out. Then he looked at me and said, “The only thing I consider you to be is my queen.”

“Good. Because I consider you a king among men. Benny and I will be careful because that is what I do. I also made sure that there is food in the frig that you just need to nuke. If they order in, make sure you eat right. Just because we are temporarily back in civilization doesn’t mean that I want to see you risk your health. Now is there anything you want while we go do a little bit of exploring?”

He looked and then said, “Some of that mineral water you like to drink. If I know Chan and Diego they’ll probably want a bottle of wine or something tonight and I might have a glass or two, but I’ll have water as well.” Then he made a face. “If Bob and the others get in early, I might have to go out. I think we are still waiting to see what the weather is going to do before we head to Kobuk Valley.”

I nodded my understanding and then got Benny and I out from under foot, trying really hard not to think about the fact that there were only two national parks to go.

Our first stop was at the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor's Center. While there we received a great introduction into the culture and history of Fairbanks and Alaska. Even thought we’d already been in Alaska, I found out some things I didn’t know. It also gave me some further ideas of where we could go now that we were in this part of the state.

Just for the heck of it we also visited the University of Alaska Museum of the North. Dramatic (thank you Mr. Thesaurus) architecture and exhibit galleries made the museum a place well worth the time we spent there. The sign-thingies and exhibits gave us some fascinating stories about Alaska’s cultures, places, and wildlife.

Next, top … the Trans Alaska Pipeline. The pipeline viewpoint was a perfect spot to explain all of that stuff to Benny … the engineering of the pipeline, the oil field in Prudhoe Bay, and the Alaska oil industry. There were even a bunch of sign-thingies that helped me out. I’ve got to be more proactive with Benny’s school stuff. It is permanent record time. He’s a good kid and smarter than I was at his age. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking myself down. I think I’m over the fear of not being able to do it. But I’m being honest. I was clever but not necessarily academically inclined. Grandma Barry would have had a lot more to work with if she were still around to help Benny. But, Aunt Gus isn’t doing awful, I just need to keep up with the logistics of it all so that there are records if or when we need them.

And to that end our next activity was an other lesson in Alaska’s economy. We panned for gold. Between the two of us we got a descent amount of flake gold that looked like more than it really was when it was put into water in the little glass tube they gave us. The place was called Gold Daughters[1] and had a good family history story to go with it. To go without our gold we found a lucky strike full of garnets. I like garnets better than my own birthstone which is diamond. Grandma Barry had a bunch of garnet jewelry because it is her birthstone (January). I was supposed to inherit her collection but I don’t know what happened to it and I never asked. Never seemed appropriate and Lawrence used to get really angry when that time came up so I avoided bringing it up. Probably why I didn’t know about how Grandfather Barry had set up his estate.

For graduation Lawrence and Penny gave me an antique stickpin that had a garnet stone in it. It is in my treasure box. I need to show it to Benny so he’ll know what it is, where it came from, and how much it means to me. Gah. Memories. They have a bad habit of taking the hamster down rabbit trails. All I meant to write is that garnets are one of the oldest precious stones in use. The history books say they’ve been around since the Bronze Age. In other words, old as crap and then some because people valued them as signs of good fortune. There, now leave me alone you whiskered demon. I’m trying to recount the rest of the day.

Finally, we headed to the Santa Claus House in … wait for it … North Pole, Alaska. I had a good friend in school – she had to move to help take care of her family because she’s the caregiver type and could be counted on totally – that had relatives in North Pole. It gave me the chuckles when I pulled off for Benny to see the sign and finally notice it. He knows that “Santa” isn’t really the big, fat jolly guy but then again, just like The Crew, sometimes he lets himself pretend enough that it is real. I don’t have a problem with it so long as he prefers the real meaning of Christmas. I don’t want to overcomplicate things, he’s freaking six years old for pete sake. So we goofed around, had his picture taken with Mr. and Mrs. Claus and the Santa Claus House, and even bought a Christmas ornament that Benny found that had three elves on it. He didn’t want the one with two, it had to be three. Oh boy, this is going to be a hard ending if I’m not careful.

He napped a little on our drive back to Fairbanks but rather than returning to the hotel we headed to Pioneer Park because I saw a brochure for it and it looked interesting. The Golden Heart Revue shows nightly at 8:15 pm during the summer months. The Palace Theatre is in Gold Rush Town in Pioneer Park – Alaska’s only Historic Theme Park, and just a short walk from the Alaska Salmon Bake. I heard it used to be an all you could eat buffet years ago but not anymore. There was so much stuff there that we couldn’t eat, but just as much we could. Or should I say that Benny could. But it wasn’t in the kid plates. So, what I did was order the Mother Lode option for two people and then asked to substitute out because of special diet. And they did it. I couldn’t believe it. I also substituted the keepsake serving board for ½ pound of Alaskan snow crab. Benny and I split everything. He ate a lot and I nearly had to roll to the van, but I managed to save Lev a crab leg and a piece of salmon. Geez, I was miserable … in a good way but I still shouldn’t have eaten so much.

We are back here in the hotel room and the team – who arrived – is still at it. Wish we could have snuck in. Had we been able to the sitch may not have happened. They smelled the food coming in and Lev took a break to eat. Diego and Chan looked a little shamefaced. Apparently some jackasses scarfed the food that I had left for Lev.

I can’t explain why I was so angry, but I was. I hadn’t forgotten how they’d messed with Lev early on and I wasn’t willing to just lay down and take it this time. I walked out and said, “What if I had poisoned Lev’s food just the for the hell of it? Or, that I’d left some a booby trap additive to the food? Was what you did smart?”

“Oh knock it off,” someone said. I didn’t catch who but when I turned three of the team backed up.

“Okay, how about this? You touch food or anything else that isn’t yours and I play fun and games with you behind your backs. And no, I’m not messing around. You mess with Lev, Benny, Diego, or Chan and I’ll make your lives more than a little uncomfortable.”

“Looks like Lev is screwing another crazy chick,” said one of the team I’d had the least to do with. He’d been one of Gretchen’s play toys.

The guy snorted and tried to brush by me, bumping into me on purpose when there was plenty of space to go around. Stupid move to make when you don’t know your enemy. I grabbed the back of his Fruit of the Looms and gave him a nuclear wedgie. He couldn’t even make a sound. I got in his face and said, “You have no idea.”

Diego jumped in and said, “Turn him loose Abuela.”

The jerk started to say, “I’ll …!”

Diego rounded on him. “Shut up Cogan. They have it on Zoom that you touched her first. Don’t be a dumbass and start something you can’t finish ‘cause you were told at least twice to stay out of the frig, that food had been ordered and was on the way. You ate my food too and you’re lucky I didn’t have any glucose issues. You’ve already been written up twice while on this assignment. You know what happens if you get #3. Not to mention you got off easy. No guy in this room is just going to let you hit a female, even one that can take care of herself. And shut up whatever is about to fall out of your mouth about Gretch. She picked her path and the consequences that went with it.”

I was still boiling but at Diego’s look I nodded and turned to find three guys trying to keep Lev from coming in from the balcony and I don’t know what. I walked out there and said, “Let him go.” They did and I said, “I apologize for popping off but …”

“No. I get it. You okay?”

“Yeah. Still angry but gonna stay in control because of you and Benny and because Bob is probably having a coronary and it ain’t cool to be the cause.”

I heard a snort behind me and, “I’m not having a coronary … yet. Cogan has been looking for a target for the last couple of days. His sister isn’t doing well. He hooked her up with a journalism apprenticeship and the idiots got busted up covering a story on gang issues in LA.”

“She okay?” I asked, surprising everyone but Lev with my question.

After Bob blinked he answered, “Yeah. Or will be. But she’s gonna have scars.”

“Guilt. Got it. Like I said …”

“No. Just let it go. Been enough stressors getting this project in the can.”

I nodded and looked at Lev. He nodded back and I could see by his expression that there were things he wanted to tell me but not in front of the others. I said, “I’m going to get Benny ready for bed. Did he see that mess in the living room?”

“No. But he heard it.”

“Crap,” I growled moving at speed to go to the bedroom and I didn’t care what it looked like.

I got lucky. “Did you smash him Aunt Gus?”

I sighed. “I let my anger get ahead of my commonsense. I should have asked whether the situation was already taken care of before having a hiss fit.”

“You like taking care of Lev and me.”

“Yes I do, but that’s not the point but I’ll drop it for now. It doesn’t make me look very smart.”

“But …”

“Let’s just let it go. ‘K? Aunt Gus isn’t perfect, and I should have been smarter than the way I acted.”

He shrugged and it was gone without another thought. I made sure he got washed up and to bed after I asked him how he liked the day. With that noise gone I overheard Bob and Lev talking out on the balcony. I think they thought I had gone to sleep. Basically Bob was asking if Lev would ask me to take another day off and just head out for the day. Lev was insulted on my behalf, but Bob said that he didn’t want me to be seen as “slave labor” by fetching and carrying and figured it might be easier on “the boy” to get out and have some fun as well.

“You just want to avoid Cogan and Gus getting into it.”

“That too,” Bob admitted. “Can you blame me?”

Lev sighed. “I know how the others are going to view it.”

“Maybe a few of them. This isn’t kindergarten. The producers want finished product, and we are nowhere near giving them anything.”

“That’s not Gus’ fault. Not mine either. I’ve been getting you more, ahead of schedule, and it’s good content.”

“It is. But one man does not a team make, and you know it.”

I slid the slider open. “Let it go Lev. I could have handled it better. Cogan set me off. He got in my personal space but that’s no excuse. Benny and I will go do something tomorrow. I already have a couple of possibilities in my head after listening to some people today. I’ll take some film and you can play with it to see if anything is worth it for filler or whatever.”

“Gus …”

“You told me that things aren’t all nicey-nicey in your industry. This is an example. Let’s just let it go for everyone’s sake, including mine, and move along. Just make sure that you and Diego get the right food.”

So that’s what we’re doing tomorrow … we as in Benny and I. One more day in Fairbanks at least. It isn’t sitting in one place that is bothering so much as who we are sitting in one spot with. I need to watch my Ps and Qs better.

In all honesty I know what is making me too sensitive. Only two parks to go and I still haven’t got the foggiest idea what I’m going to do afterwards. Even worse, I’m worrying what Lev will do and all that comes with that worry.

---

[1] Home

 

[CGTech]

The hamster needs to take a vacation....

thanks Kathy!

 

[sssarawolf]

Thank you.
Beets are all done with, yippee.

 

[Lake Lili]

Thanks Kathy!
Lili

 

[Kathy in FL]

Aug 30: Fairbanks – Chena Hot Springs​

Lev said they would need another day to make a dent in editing and uploading. I got Benny and I out again since it was just better all the way around. Today’s adventure? We were off to the Chena Hot Spring Resort.

Took us a little over an hour to get to the resort. It was on the other side of the Chena River State Recreation Area. When Benny found out we were going to get into the springs he was almost over excited but settled down after I told him the price of admission was good behavior. Children under 18 and pregnant women are not allowed in the outside rock pool. However, they can stay in the pool and hot tub and that was good enough for me.

The resort was founded over a hundred years ago by two brothers – Robert and Thomas Swan – that had originally come to Alaska to do some gold mining. In 1905, Robert Swan was suffering from rheumatism and needed a place to recuperate from his pain and be comfortable. After hearing rumors, the two brothers set out to find the hot springs. It took them a little over a month to reach the hot springs after searching for it in Interior Alaska’s harsh landscape. By 1911 they’d built twelve small cabins to accommodate visitors and the resort grew from there.

No matter how long I wanted to laze around in the warm water, we couldn’t spend all day there. When we got out Benny got curious and wanted to know how the hot springs worked. One of the men – obviously a native Alaskan – encouraged Benny’s curiosity and helped him to learn about the renewable energy projects being used to increase the resort's self-sustainability. It isn’t just about bringing in tourist money, it is about geothermal energy. We learned about similar projects and experiments in some of the national parks and Benny was able to put all the pictures in his head in a way that surprised the adults listening in. When I explained, someone figured out who we were and we got a little more attention that I bargained for. I played nice and we got a tour of the resorts greenhouse that was also part of the geothermal project. Very cool. And bonus, they gave us free tickets to the ice museum.

The Aurora Ice Museum was frankly simply wow. The museum was built with over a thousand tons of ice and snow and is kept year-round at a temperature of 25F. I was freaking my freaking Florida tail feathers off even wearing one of their parkas. Keeping the museum icy cold in the heat of summer comes from the patented absorption chiller, the first of its kind in the world used for this purpose! An appletini comes with the tour normally but they understood I wasn’t a drinker. Instead, Benny and I got a taste just the apple without the tini. The ice sculptures were beautiful and while I’m not one for all that kind of frou-frou, even I could enjoy them and wonder what it would have been like to have something like that at home. Benny, almost as literal as I was at his age, told me, “melty and wet.” It made me laugh rather than buy one of the crystal reproductions in the gift shop. I did get a small, glass charm that looked like a camera but it went in my treasure box and not even Lev knows about it.

I came back to a surprise. Ugh. We are leaving tomorrow. As in first thing. Ready or not, Kobuk Valley here we come. No more time to write. Need to pack and catch some zzzz’s.

 

[Mr Bill]

Being an optimist I see a diamond in Gus’s future, and not because it’s her birthstone.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Aug 31 – Sep 12: Kobuk Valley – Noatak River, Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, & National Park​

Note: I am typing this from notes that I took while out in the backcountry. Good thing I took notes, or I wouldn’t remember more than just the highlights. I mean I would but for now everything is coming in flashes rather than in nice, neat order. Lev’s pictures help but I’m mainly just overwhelmed.

The last two parks in Alaska are the most daunting and remote considering they’re both north of the Arctic Circle. We’ll have to fly into both parks.

Aug 31st​

Late afternoon we met our guides in the hotel lobby. Once all the handshaking was over, we had an orientation dinner at a nearby restaurant. Thankfully it was casual and had food that Benny and Lev could eat. They better have, I filled out a freakton of medical forms this morning. Our guides saw how serious I take the dietary restrictions of our team and got with me to make sure the food would work. We also poured over maps and discussed the route. Even in summer, Kobuk Valley is remote and rarely visited. Winter visitors must be very experienced and prepared for winter survival.

Summer temperatures are generally in the 60s, but can be below freezing any time of year and can also get quite warm at times. The sun does not set at all in June and early July, and only dips briefly below the horizon the rest of July. Fall conditions last from mid-August to mid-October. We were told that the sky is often bright with sunshine and the fall colors on the tundra rival that of any hardwood forest. The average temperature for this time is 38 degrees F, with possible highs of 78F and lows of -4F. Looking at Benny especially they asked us all if we had the correct gear. I had no problem confirming for Lev, Benny, and I. Diego and Chan, after looking over the list one more time, nodded. The others in the travel group seemed more or less sure as well.

One of the guides said, “For many local residents, Kobuk Valley National Park is more than a national park; it’s their back yard. There are many parcels of private land through the park. If you see any sign of personal property, buildings or habitation, respect their property and steer clear. Unlike in many national parks, local residents are allowed to hunt and gather resources from the land. Please respect these subsistence activities and give people a wide berth so they may finish their work without interruption.”

Sounded similar to what we’d seen in Wrangell-St. Elias so Lev and I would need to make double sure that we were careful where we took Benny.

Rather than sleep in the van this night, we had a hotel room along with our other tourmates. I was glad to have it as it forced me to relax and get some sleep without excuses and to appreciate the expense. I still drank an entire bottle of caffeine water. I needed it as I was caught between excess excitement and some serious mental stressing.

Sep 1st​

Today was a long day. After breakfast at the hotel, we made our way to the airport for our bush flight from Fairbanks to Bettles. We stored the Ark in a warehouse and Diego and Chan’s jeep was temporarily reassigned to other team members. There, we transferred our gear to an awaiting floatplane for the 1-hour flight to Pingo Lake, near the headwaters of the Noatak River. Our guide surprised Benny with a Junior Ranger booklet for the area. To say that the man made Benny’s day is an understatement. Lev was a little jealous but a good sport about it when Benny grabbed his hand and said, “Look what we can do Lev!”

I told him that it’d have to wait until nights in camp and that until then I needed his muscles to help with our equipment and supplies. “Sure thing Aunt Gus!”

“Indoor voice Sport or you are going to freak out the animals and then how are we going to see any?”

“Ooops. I’ll try not and hurt their ears.”

“Good. I’ve already had to deal with whale snot, I don’t think I want reindeer snot from their offended snorts.”

That made him laugh but we got down to business as we completed a short portage of the equipment and food. We set up camp along the river, and then stretched our legs with an incredible hike into the tundra covered mountains above the river. That got the wiggles out for sure.

Handwritten note I want to remember: Hiking in this amazing place will help us gain a sense of the arctic landscape, and the true scale of the Alaskan wilderness. Distance: 3-5 miles, Elevation Gain: 500'-1000'.

Sep 2nd – Sep 7th​

We spent six adventure-filled days floating and hiking along the Noatak River. The normal put in site is a still water slough just below the confluence of Twelve Mile creek and is called Twelve Mile Slough. Imaginative, no? This place does involve a bit of work carrying gear, as the slough is not connected to the river. A portage trail exists that leads 200 yards across tundra to a beach where boats can be assembled, inflated etc. The work involved surprised a few people, but most were a good sport about it.

For boats on this trip we used an Innova Baraka. The Baraka is an inflatable canoe, with plenty of room for gear and supplies, very stable, shallow draft, easy to paddle with a kayak paddle; a perfect boat for the trip so we were told. I would have preferred our kayak but the inflatable wasn’t horrible and I’ll admit it did have more room and kept the cold water out more effectively. It reminded me of the river rafts we’d been in up to this point.

On days when we traveled, we spent about five hours on the river paddling about 15 miles each day, longer than any other trip. Alternating days were layovers where we explored on foot from camp. Our hikes took us into the glacially carved mountains that make up the river drainage in the area. We climbed peaks from every camp, but there was also lots of walking along the river, or up creeks.

Our days on the river we watched the hillsides for wildlife and practiced paddling techniques, depending on if the weather was with us or against us. On one such day a grizzly spotted us and I swear when he stood on his hind legs to get a better look he reminded me of Benny. “Oooo, what’s that?” It wasn’t until another bear came on the scene that I realized he wasn’t fully grown. Crap that Momma bear was big. She basically told him it was time to go back to the den, but the younger bear kept looking back, nothing but curiosity written on his face.

There was free time each and every day after camp was pitched giving Lev and the others ample opportunities for photographs and filming. There was also some downtime for fishing for those so inclined. Guess who was so inclined? And with Benny as a good luck charm I brought in quite a few. The evenings were ours to enjoy however we chose, including watching the golden arctic sunlight.

Average Daily Hiking Distance: 6-8 miles, Average Daily River Distance: 15+ miles, Average Daily Elevation Gain: 1500'-3000'.

9/2: We had a canoeing lesson to brush up on our skills, then spent the rest of the day either hiking to the top of the nearest ridge for remarkable views or ambling along taking photos, learning about the plants underfoot, and looking for wildlife. We returned to camp as we foraged berries under the watchful eye of a guide. The berries became the night’s dessert.

9/3: We loaded the boats and shoved out into the lazy current of the Noatak. We paddled at a comfortable rhythm, made camp, and had fine views of the mystical Oyukak glacier.

9/4: We hiked up a spectacular river valley and then walked up to the top of a ridge. These valleys seem endless and our hike gave us profound insight into the delicacy of the Alaskan tundra.

9/5 & 9/6: We took two days to cover this meandering part of the river. We spotted numerous bands of caribou on the slopes. I swear I saw a couple rolls their eyes and mutter to their herdmates, “Great, more humans. We’re getting way too many of those crossing the border. Someone needs to send them back where they came from.” While we paddled, we passed the Kugrak River, a stream that hosts a large Dog Salmon run in the fall. We saw several grizzly bears cruising the shoreline for beached fish. The place we were originally going to camp had been taken over by a mother with cubs so we found a different location. It is really difficult to explain exactly how big a grizzly is. Even the cubs are big. Because of the unusually large numbers of bears, in addition to the portable electric bear fence, we set a watch each night. I only slept because I was too tired not to but Lev and I both remained hyper aware for Benny’s sake.

9/7: On this day it wasn’t bears but migrating caribou crossing the tundra plain that had us picking our camp carefully. Reindeer poop anyone? I wasn’t interested in getting my head stepped on at night either. On surrounding mountainsides were ewes with lambs. We also spotted merlin, peregrine falcons, great Northern harriers, gyrfalcons, golden eagles, and other forms of wildlife. Spotted plenty of their scat as well. For whatever reason a man in the group kept “finding” scat and would then have to clean his boots.

The main piece of advice our guides were constantly reinforcing was to watch the river. We saw several times how the river could come up quickly after rains and suddenly what had been the easy Class II river suddenly became a challenging Class III+. Strong upriver winds were often encountered, especially on the lower sections of river.

I think next to the grizzlies, the craziest animal encounter we had were musk oxen. Those shaggy and cranky things are fast and defensive animals and can charge quickly if they feel their family/herd is in danger. Reminded me of the buffalo in the West. We avoided them … until a couple decided to prance through camp one evening. I vacated with Benny up a scrawny tree that marked our camp, then one of the blasted things decided to pop a squat right beneath us. I thought we were going to be there all night until the bear. Yeah, bear. It was a sow with a cub, and it was like she’d decided to do me a favor and get the ox moving. Benny thought it was cool. Lev and I? Not so much. I mean yes, it was cool, but it was an experience that I don’t want to repeat any place else but my memories. And on the film that Lev took. Luckily dinner wasn’t spoiled and none of the animals had gotten curious about it before leaving the area. Especially the bear.

The Noatak was a great river to travel on. It was relatively easy and meandering for the first few days and it gave the less experienced of our group a chance to practice. Further downstream the current picked up with a series of easy Class II rapids. As I mentioned, the rain turned a few of the Class II’s to III+’s. At the end of paddling days, I was always tired. Paddling an inflatable canoe is different than using the tandem kayak. Since I wasn’t paired with another adult I had to do the bulk of the heavy lifting for Benny and I and our equipment. I was embarrassed to be as sore and tired as I was the first couple of days. I didn’t find out until later that the guides were surprised how well I did on my own.

Many lakes dot the landscape, and willows and balsam poplar are the main shrub vegetation. Every pool has Arctic Grayling in them, eager to take lures and land in your frying pan. Or that was the tall tales told around camp at night after a day of fishing for our dinner. The still evening silence was often broken by the haunting call of loons or the howl of a wolf. What ripples our oars didn’t make on the quiet waters, marked the passage of fish below such as Grayling, arctic char, pike and lake trout.

The willows were gold and the dwarf birch and bearberry were brilliant shades of red and it looked like an early winter was coming to that part of Alaska. There were also blueberries, salmonberries, and cranberries that we foraged as treats. Berry season was late this year so we managed to catch the tail end of it and have fresh berries every day, but our guides were careful not to over harvest in any area so that the local wildlife could also dine on them before the weather got too cold.

Thank goodness we missed mosquito season which is in June and July. In September it was nearly bug free which our guides said was a relief to man and animal alike.

Sep 8th​

After our last day on the Noatak River, we made camp for the night at the gravel airstrip known as Otter Bar. Lake Matcharak is a large lake, full of northern pike, where floatplanes landed to take us back to Bettles. It was along the river and involved a short carry of gear to the pickup beach. We packed up our boats and stowed our river gear one last time before preparing for our morning bush flight to the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes. As we enjoyed our last night along the river, we’ll tallied our wildlife sightings and relaxed to the sounds of the wilderness.

Sep 9th – 11th​

As our small plane lifted off the gravel runway, we told the Noatak River and Preserve goodbye and made our way toward Kobuk Valley National Park. The Great Kobuk Sand Dune is one of three clusters of sand dunes within the national park and is one of the least visited places in the entire national park system. With light daypacks, we spent our days exploring the landscape of the largest active dune field in arctic North America. We returned each evening to our basecamp for a great meal and conversation. Average daily distance was 7-10 miles, with an elevation gain of 500'-1000'.

As was explained by our guides, “Kobuk Valley National Park in northwestern Alaska is the site of the historic Onion Portage. Here, for thousands of years, Native Alaskans have come to hunt the caribou among the Kobuk Sand Dunes. The Onion Portage has preserved over 10,000 years of human activity, providing invaluable archeological resources to help us understand the history and culture of Alaska’s aboriginal peoples. Kobuk Valley National Park preserves and interprets the archeological sites of the Onion Portage, while protecting the natural features of the Kobuk River Valley, the Kobuk Sand Dunes, the migration of nearly half a million caribou, and the plant and wildlife that have supported the Native Alaskans' subsistence lifestyle for thousands of years.”

Wow. Benny soaked it all up like a sponge. He was a tired sponge at the end of each day, but we all were. It wasn’t the level of activity, it was the weather and zero privacy from the crew. I was enjoying myself but at the same time I felt constantly on guard, unwilling to turn Benny’s safety over to people I didn’t know. Hard to explain. I’m just no longer the type of person that can just turn over everything to someone else. Benny was my responsibility. I was my responsibility. And we were in a totally new to us wild environment with dangers and wildlife that could take us out at the knees. At the same time … oh forget it. I loved what we were doing but the hamster could occasionally start acting psychotic which took a lot of energy to deal with.

In addition to the sand dunes, Onion Portage on the north bank of the Kobuk River was another popular destination. Around Labor Day, caribou can typically be seen swimming across the river here on their migration south, and hikers can climb the bluff for drier ground and spectacular views of the Jade Mountains. Giddings Cabin, located on the bluff overlooking the cabin, isn’t open to the public, but is a nice example of traditional log building methods. Built in 1964 for an archeological excavation, builders from the nearby town of Ambler used moss to the fill in the chinks.

Another nugget from the guides was, “Nearly half a million caribou migrate through the Park twice a year; north in the spring, south in the fall. Their tracks crisscross the 25 square miles of the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes. As does their scat so check your boots before getting in your tent. The dunes are a sculpted desert in the middle of a wilderness of wetlands. The Kobuk River on the north side of the dunes winds roughly 61 miles through the park, providing a travel path for people and wildlife.”

We also looked for Kobuk locoweed (a flowering herb)--this is the only place in the world it exists. No matter how much I wanted to pinch off a piece and press it for my keepsake box I kept my hands to myself and recited, “Take only photos, leave only footprints.” For Benny it was a good reminder of the Leave No Trace principles. Kobuk Valley preserves the ecosystem of Beringia, a thousand-mile grassland that connected Asia and North America during the last Ice Age. No way was I going to be the one that caused the plant to go extinct because I picked the one plant that was needed to reseed the area for viability.

Sep 12th​

After savoring our morning coffee – none for me thanks - and our final wilderness breakfast, we attempted to absorb the last of our wilderness experience. By mid-morning we boarded the bush plane for the short flight to Kotzebue.

In Kotzebue we visited the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center. This is where you go to borrow bear-resistant containers, get generally oriented to the park, or get your National Parks passport stamped (they also stamp passports for Noatak National Preserve and Gates of the Arctic). I made sure to get all three though we hadn’t gone to the Gates of the Arctic yet. Might have been cheating but I just wanted to make sure for Benny’s sake. And mine too I suppose.

From Kotzebue we flew back to Bettles for the next trip.

Resources:
Virtual Tour: Virtual Tour - Kobuk Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
Junior Ranger: https://www.nps.gov/kova/learn/kidsyouth/upload/jr_ranger_booklet_2015_accessible.pdf
Kobuk Valley Map: http://npmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/kobuk-valley-map.pdf

 

[sssarawolf]

Nice additions, thank you.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Sep 13 – 21: Gates of the Arctic National Park – the Arrigetch Peaks Backpacking Trip​

Our last park in Alaska, Gates of the Arctic is similar to Kobuk logistically speaking, with no roads, few trails, and limited services. There is the lodge in Bettles, and backpacking is permitted but only recommended for experienced people with excellent survival skills.

The most important considerations for Gates of the Arctic National Park are, just like with Kobuk, it’s extreme remoteness and very short season. As I stated, there are no roads, services, campgrounds, or scheduled transportation into the park. We needed to bring everything with us as there are no places to buy any supplies.

We were also told to keep in mind that poor weather can ground planes any time of year, so we needed to give ourselves a few days of flexibility in the trip to increase our chances of good weather for our flight. I worried briefly about the van but I really needed my full concentration so slapped the hamster every time it tried to ping me with those concerns.

Sep 13th​

After breakfast at the hotel in Bettles, we made our way back to the airport for our bush flight to Gates of the Arctic NP. We transferred our gear to a waiting floatplane for a one-hour flight to Circle Lake - a small oxbow lake near the banks of the Alatna River. As we told our pilot goodbye, I realized there had hardly been time to appreciate the trip we’d just been on because our thoughts had to so quickly turn to the expedition ahead. I’d given Benny several once overs but tried to stop after the last one he got a little boy-man irritated, like I was pinching his pride. Sigh. This shouldn’t bother me, I know he is a capable little guy, but this has been one heck of an addition to our adventures and if I’m honest, the ending of this part of our lives is creating in me some anxiety.

We made camp near the lake, ate a camp dinner, went over the itinerary in a belated orientation, and spent our first night in the wilderness so that we could start our backpacking adventure into the Arrigetch Peaks at first light. I didn’t have to worry about cooking because all meals were pre-planned and included and mostly made up of backpacking single serving meals. Distance: 1-2 miles, Elevation Gain 300'.

Lev came to sit beside me and asked, “You okay? Sorry you didn’t get to do the laundry like you wanted.”

I looked at Lev and wondered if I looked as rough as I felt. “I’m fine.”

“Benny is in the tent and already asleep. The others will give us some space. I want you to tell me what is bothering you. Was the last trek too much?”

“Lev …”

“Is it me? Am I too much? Am I pushing?”

A little frustrated but trying to keep things private I asked, “You really want to do this now?”

“I need to do this.”

Sigh. “The adventure is ending.”

“Huh?”

“Lev, the trip … Alaska … it is coming to an end. All of it … and I’m trying to … enjoy … make good memories to have when … look, I’m holding it together. I have to, but it isn’t … look, I’m sorry if it is making your job harder. I’ll do better.”

He just looked at me and I started to get up and walk around camp but he put his arm around me despite how public it was.

“I’m not leaving Gus.”

“And Benny and I won’t be anchors keeping you from living your life, or making your living which amounts to the same thing. You have rights beyond being our babysitter.”

“I thought I would have a little longer to have this discussion.”

“Everything eventually ends Lev. I’ve learned that lesson way too many times to hide from that reality. It just is … harder … when it is a good thing coming to an end.”

“Sure as hell is and that is why I am saying this isn’t coming to an end. Yes, Alaska is. It is an assignment, and it has a beginning and an end. But us … we … me, you, and Benny … this isn’t the end.”

“Lev …”

“I’m working on it. I have an offer. Bob said some things and there’s possibilities. Just … hold out until this is over. Enjoy yourself. Stay with me on this. Please.”

My frustration and anxiety turned to worry and I asked, “Lev what are you cooking up? Because if it was just me, I’d probably jump at whatever it is. But I can’t … not … I mean …”

“Benny. Yeah, I get that, and it is part of why I’m being so careful. Just … give me until we get back to civilization and I can confirm some stuff. Trust me. Please?”

“Geez Lev … please don’t … I mean … yes, I’m going to trust you. I already do. Just … I have to …”

“I know.” He leaned his head over on mine. “Let’s just get some sleep and try and show a good face for Benny. And I will earn all your trust August Summer Barrymore Jr. I will.”

Sep 14th-19th​

I decided to trust Lev. I didn’t have much choice at that point, but I was going to give him the time he said he needed. But one way or the other I was going to need to start making plans when we got back to “civilization.”

Sleep must have helped. Or maybe it was the routine of us sleeping in the same tent with Benny between us. I told Lev I was trying to make good memories for when Alaska was over. Instead of trying I decided it was time to do.

On this morning we put on our packs and began the steep and challenging climb out of the Alatna River valley and into the alpine high country that would be our camp for the next 6 nights.

There is very limited camping between the lake and the upper valley – so it was going to be a long(ish) day of hiking with full packs. We were told to expect wet feet and some tussocks (grass clumps that were too easy to trip over). I felt lost in an area too big and wild for my brain to absorb until we were on the game trail and continued up the creek until we reached the alpine zone.

Once in the alpine zone of the Arrigetch peaks, we looked for a hard durable surface to camp on. (Remember Leave No Trace?) From there we explored to our heart’s content. The climb out of the Alatna, despite being strenuous, rewarded us with spectacular tundra hiking along ridges, views of deep glacially carved valleys, incredible camp locations, and gorgeous vistas of the Arrigetch Peaks. Whether ascending a high mountain pass, walking along a tundra-clad ridge, or hiking alongside a high alpine lake, exploring this area provided us with what our guide called the essence of Gates of the Arctic National Park.

All meals were prepared in camp, and I was happy to see that so long as I made the bread, 99% of the meals were gluten free. And what wasn’t gluten free was easy to avoid … such as no crackers. For everyone’s fun and giggles, I taught our guides my version of “fry bread” and they taught me a thing or three as well. Yum. I have no idea when I’ll ever have access to moose meat again but if I do, I have the recipe for a crazy good stroganoff that I could even adjust to make it gluten-free.

Average distance traveled per day was six to eight miles with an elevation Gain of 1500'-3500' per day. That 3500’ day was exhausting but … worth it.

For posterity here is the recipe that I shared. I’m glad that I had left a couple of bags of pre-mixed ingredients in the gear we changed out back in Bettles.

Gluten Free Fry Bread

2 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose gluten free flour blend
1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
6 T. tapioca starch
1 T. baking powder
1 t. instant yeast
1 T. granulated sugar
1 ½ t. kosher salt
2 T. vegetable shortening, melted and cooled
¾ c. (6 fluid ounces) warm milk (about 95° F)
3 oz warm water (about 95° F), plus more by the teaspoon as necessary
Oil, for frying

In a large bowl, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, tapioca starch, baking powder, yeast and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the salt and whisk again to combine. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, add the melted shortening, milk and water and mix to combine until the dough comes together. With clean hands (not always easy in backcountry camping), squeeze the dough together into a ball. It should hold together well but not be so stiff that it is hard to knead. If it is hard to knead, add more water by the teaspoonful, kneading it in after each addition, until the dough is pliable but still holds together very well. Transfer the dough to a large piece of plastic wrap, and wrap tightly. Allow to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Unwrap the dough and divide it into 6 equal portions. On a large, flat surface, roll each piece of dough into a ball and, with a rolling pin, roll into a round about 6 inches in diameter and about 1/4-inch thick. Alternately practice over time lets me pat the “tortillas” into the correct shape and thickness. Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 30 minutes or until beginning to puff.

While the dough is rising, place 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottom saucepan or cast iron skillet or even a dutch oven. Bring the oil to 350°F. Place the risen rounds of dough, one at a time, in the hot oil and fry until lightly golden brown on both sides (about 1 minute per side). The dough will bubble and puff. Tongs are useful in flipping the dough from one side to the other, but take care not to pierce the dough with the tongs or oil will rush in to the dough and your bread will be quite oily. Remove the dough from the oil, and place on paper towel-lined plates to drain. Dust lightly with confectioners’ sugar if you want them sweet or leave them alone and use them for something savory. Makes a good “pocket” for stuffing with leftovers, taco or fajita fixings, or scooping up stews and soups. I also just tear them and dip them in olive oil and seasonings.

Sep 20th​

On this afternoon we descended from the high alpine terrain and returned to the Alatna River valley to await our bush flight for the return to Bettles. We had one more night to camp, this time along the Koyukuk River. We were all tired, and not a little filthy, but that wasn’t much different from the few other guided groups that were also in the area. Once we got back to Bettles we went straight for a celebratory meal at a local restaurant, and no one said a word about our stink. Distance hiked: 4-5 miles, Elevation change 1000’-1500’

Sep 21st​

I woke up anxious but determined that no one, not even Lev, would see it. After breakfast in Bettles, we returned to Fairbanks via another small plane and the conclusion of our trip. Our flight was late taking off due to cloud cover from a front heading in. After having such an unusually clear time out on the tundra, this is what the locals said the weather was usually like this time of year. Seems we were taking the last of the good weather with us. We touched down in Fairbanks around 5 pm and I don’t know what reeked more, us or our gear.

More important than our odiferousness was that Benny needed a couple days of rest. Frankly so did I but I didn’t know if I could afford it or not. I’d been playing Simonz Sez (or Lev Sez) but I couldn’t do that anymore.

“Don’t think about it yet. You said you’d give me some time.”

I looked at Lev and sighed. “I …. Oh gawd … all right. But … 48 hours? After that …”

“72 just in case. We have to make arrangements for the entire team to go back and it looks like we are going back at the same time so we can work together on the ferry. A day here in Fairbanks and then by the first stop on the ferry I should know. Just give me that much.”

I threw caution to the wind and said, “Okay. But if Benny starts asking questions, I won’t lie to him.”

“I wouldn’t want you to. Just let me do the answering.”

“Fine. So Admiral, are we bunking in the van tonight?”

“No,” he said with a grin because he knew that was my way of saying he was in charge … at least for a while longer. “Chan is checking in with Bob, Diego went to go check in with his doc. The weight he lost may mean he needs to adjust his meds. When they finish, we’ll head to whatever location that has been secured and then we are crashing and burning.”

“You keep an eye on Benny. I will do some laundry.”

“No. We’ll send it out.”

“Uh no. I wouldn’t do that to my worst enemy. I need to clean our boots and …”

“Fine. And Benny will help.”

“He should sleep.”

“He will. We all will. But we’re a team … and team members work together, not one always picking up the slack. If he falls asleep in the middle of cleaning his boots then he does, and I’ll carry him, but I don’t think he will. The boy has more go than most adults I’ve met. These last two parks have more than proven he’s ready for more responsibility than he was getting. And please don’t take that as a criticism. It’s just … I know boys having been one myself and … please don’t take it as a criticism.”

Since it was the truth, I didn’t deny it. And Benny is getting older, and I can’t keep treating him like he is five years old. He’s going on seven years old. We’ve been doing this almost 18 months. It is going to be a huge shock for him to have to suddenly have the same kind of schedule that most kids his age have. Heck, it is going to be a shock to my system when it happens. I don’t know if I’ll be able to home school him like I want. I must have a job and most of the ones that would pay enough require me to work full-time away from home. Looks like something else I’m just going to have to suck up and deal with.

Benny and I had gone to the local laundry and come back and I had just stepped out of the van, putting some gear away when I saw Diego was back. When I got a look at his face – he’d finally taken the time to wash and shave – I hurried into the van and grabbed a bottle of apple juice out of the stash we’d started keeping for him. I asked Benny to stay in the van and put his clothes away until I could figure out what was going on. I hurried back and he looked at the bottle then at me and I twisted it open and pushed it at him to drink.

“Thanks,” he said.

Then I looked at Lev and saw he too looked pale. “What’s happened?”

Diego said, “Wait until Chan gets here. I don’t want to tell this more than once.”

 

[Kathy in FL]

(con't.)

# # # # #

“And they’re sure it was Gretchen?”

We were all sitting in the open living area of the BnB Bob had rented out for the entire team. I was washing more clothes and under the circumstances I had also volunteered to cook dinner. One of my easier throw together meals of Gluten-free Pasta Caprese with Flaked Salmon mixed in.

“Definitely her though official ID is going to require … more.”

That was Kent answering and given that they used to be lovers I was surprised to hear anger rather than grief in his voice. I poured a mug of chamomile tea and took it over to him. He blinked and then sighed before taking it from me.

“Thanks. I didn’t mean to sound like it came out. I’m …” He shook his head and looked at Bob.

“During the blow up where she was … let go … Gretchen said she would prove that she was better than the rest of us. That this project was just kid stuff, and we were wasting our talents fetching and carrying for the elites when we should have been focused on the injustices of this world.”

I turned away and tried to not let anyone see the eye roll that was threatening. It sounded more like Gretchen was the kid.

Huntley must have sensed something because she all but snarled, “You and Gretchen never got along. Why was that?”

I could hear the anger though she tried to keep it under control.

Rather than be drawn in by Huntley I responded to everyone. “Look you guys. Gretchen was your friend and a very talented person in her field. Neither of those things has anything to do with … whatever was sour between her and me. I wasn’t interested in whatever fight she kept trying to have. Why she wanted to compete or whatever? I didn’t know then and still don’t now. If I’m intruding …”

“No,” Lev said with a snap. “Gretch was an adult. If she chose to go from observer to participant that is on her. No one held a gun to her head to pick up that placard and join that march. She was in the business long enough to know that some people don’t like having their picture taken.”

Kent nodded. “She made a stupid choice out of pride and emotion instead of using the smarts she used to use.”

“Hey!” Huntley snarled.

“Joan, take the time and think and you’ll know it is the truth. She looked like a Cali beach queen, a Sunkissed blonde with a Day-Glo peach tan complexion. She stood out like a sore thumb in that group she’d started running with. She did nothing to tone herself down. Nothing at all from what we saw and heard. She never even tried to dress like them. And if rumor is true, she was screwing one of the group leaders as an in.” Everyone could hear the hurt in his voice that time. He continued, “How she thought she was undercover is beyond me. And then to hear how she was going around interviewing people and then adding the camera? Idiocy. You don’t mess around like that. What’s worse, she might have pulled it off, but it would have been from the sidelines using partners or informants. Her journal makes it clear she didn’t want to share the glory. It had become all about Gretchen, and nothing but Gretchen. She hadn’t even been cleared by her doctor to take the brace off her leg, but she wouldn’t listen. Her brother said their mother is a mess and their father …”

“She and her father weren’t on speaking terms.”

Kent snorted. “Sure they were. Daddy Big Bucks paid for nearly everything she had.”

“But Gretch said …”

“Yeah. I know. I only found out by accident when she hit up her old man and me for money for one of her projects at the same time. Her dad found out about me and came to have a man-to-man. He didn’t like the age difference between us. Didn’t like that I was divorced with kids. Didn’t like that we’d been living together for a few months between projects. When he found out I didn’t know about him … and a few other things … we cleared the air and that’s when Gretch started putting some distance between us … until she said she forgave me from going behind her back and messing with her business that was none of mine.”

Huntley shook her head. “She said the distance was because you and your ex were talking.”

“Tina and I have never not talked. You don’t do that when you have kids together. Hell, they thought that Christopher’s leukemia had come back. It hadn’t but …”

I fed them and most of them seemed to eat on auto pilot. Gretchen had spun some stories and her friends were hurting after finding out just how much they hadn’t known the woman … and that it was intentional on her part. It was a little like when Lawrence and I had to clean out Grandfather and Grandma Barry’s personal stuff and we found out Grandma Barry had a son and daughter. They’d died when they were little because her first husband was a douche and had fallen asleep with a cigarette when she’d been working, and the house had caught fire and you can imagine the rest. You find out things, or find stuff, and they aren’t there to explain it … or get rid of it if it was something they didn’t want anyone else to uncover. The explanations are left to those that have been left behind.

Even Lev seemed to be confused and he’d known Gretchen almost as long as he’d been in the business. “I don’t get it. Why did she have to lie about stuff?”

“Because the girl had some self-esteem and ego problems,” I said truthfully to the group at large because they kept trying to pull me in. But I was only going to go so far. “I’m not going to get into all the personal stuff. None of my business. Not my place. But maybe she was so talented because she shorted the attention she needed to pay in other areas. Sometimes you have to pick. Sometimes you don’t.” Looking towards the closed door where Benny slept I added, “And sometimes, even if it means completely changing plans and your life being different than you ever conceived of it, you need to find a new way to paddle your boat through life. Where Gretchen was on that path I have no clue, and it was and is definitely none of my business. But she seemed to prefer the rapids to the calm spans and there’s risks to that.”

I finished the dishes and it was like Lev just noticed what I’d been doing. He came over and I could tell he needed something, comfort maybe. “Aw hell, you did the dishes too?”

I’d give him comfort when there wasn’t an audience around in case it backfired but for now, having walked this road a few times I gave him the best I had that would help. “Sit down and stop worrying about it. You all need to grieve for your friend. And talking it all out is how you’re doing it. Just remember, grieving doesn’t mean you get all the answers. Take it from me, sometimes you’ll never know. I’ll never know why Dad didn’t tell anyone about the change in his blood pressure meds and how it was making him feel. The only reason Lawrence found out is when the coroner called his doctor. I am unlikely to ever know all the details of why or how Lawrence died. Maybe Gretchen really did believe in what she was doing, just the way she was going about it … didn’t work. Maybe that’s not it at all and it is something else. Could be the people that set the bus on fire were just sadists or psychopaths. Either way, this isn’t just about Gretchen anymore. It made national news, and she wasn’t the only one that died. Let’s see if the DOJ and all the rest of the hen-brained, cluckers in DC do something more than stammer and create a committee this time. Just because the perpetrators identify with the special interest groups doesn’t mean they aren’t liable for the consequences of their actions.”

With that I headed to the bedroom that Lev, Benny, and I were sharing to fold the fresh laundry so I could put it away. I’d said all I was going to say. I hadn’t liked Gretchen. I hadn’t particularly disliked her either when I wasn’t her intended target. She tried to push into my business and I pushed her out, nothing else to it on my side. She’s just one of those people I would have preferred to have as little to do with as possible. Now no one is going to have her to deal with. I didn’t want to feel what I was feeling, but I did. That was making it too much about me. The shame of it was I felt worse about thinking about losing Lev than I did about Gretchen’s murder.

And then I realized I was just too tired to think about any of it and laid down beside Benny, fully clothed, and fell asleep.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Sep 22: Fairbanks (workday)​

“Aunt Gus never sleeps late. Is … is she sick?”

“I don’t think she is. She’s just tired, and has had a lot on her mind.”

“Like she’s worried that you’re going away like Daddy even though you said you weren’t?”

There was silence but I was just too tired to try and fill it. It sounded like Lev had quietly pulled the chair that sat in the corner out. “Benny … Buddy … I need to ask you something.”

“Ok.”

“Would you mind if I found a way for the three of us to stay together?”

“Like you would be Aunt Gus’ boyfriend?”

“I want to be more than her boyfriend. And … I’d like to earn the chance to be more than a friend to you too. But we all start friends. Right?”

“Yeah. Do you want to marry Aunt Gus?”

“Geez Little Dude … you are just like her. You cut to the chase.” I could nearly hear him swallow. “Benny, I want to stay with your aunt … and my heart is saying forever. But feeling something is one thing. Making sure that it is the right thing to do for everyone involved … that is serious and grown-up life stuff. My mom got married a bunch of times and … it sucked. Not because she got married but the part where the guy … didn’t always think about the fact he was marrying someone that already had kids. And then when things went wrong, got hard, showed where they were weak … look, it was just a bad scene for me and my sister when we were growing up.”

“But you had Uncle Cyrus.”

“Uh … I did. But only sorta because he had his family he needed to deal with and my grandfather … and my Dad dying and … look it was just rough. Your Aunt Gus isn’t like my mother. She is putting you first. And that is one of the first things I really lo-uh … Uh … that I really liked about your aunt. And I’ve learned stuff from her too. And then I really started liking you Benny. And I know you and your aunt are a package deal. So, I’ve been trying to pull my crap together … er … don’t tell your aunt I said it that way. What I mean is that if I’m going to be a man, the man, I need to make sure that I’m ready for what a package deal means. And while I think I got it going on in my head, I got real life I have to prove it in too. Follow me?”

“Sor … ta …”

“Okay. Here it is. I got a plan. The plan includes you and your aunt. Forever is on the other side of that too. But your aunt, she can’t wait for the other side because she still needs to put you first. You’re a kid and I could have used someone putting me first when I was your age, so I get where she is coming from. It’s just I am down to the finish line and … I just need a little more time to pull off making sure the details of the plan I have are going to work.”

“Shouldn’t you and Aunt Gus be making the plan together?”

“Ha. Smart kid. But see, I want this to be a surprise. Or part of it. I want to show her that I can put you two first, not just my job. I want to keep having adventures … together. It is just a little more complicated than when I was by myself.”

“You should ask Aunt Gus. She’s good at untangling complicated stuff, like knots in my bootlaces. She always says that people make things more complicated than …”

“… they need to. And she’s right. I … I just want some of this to be a surprise. I might not be able to give her a lot of surprises Benny. What I do for a living doesn’t always pay the bills and leave a lot left over, sometimes doesn’t leave a lot of room for surprises because everything has to be planned and scheduled so that the work gets done and turned in on time. I want this one to be a surprise. A good one. And until I can do that I gotta get some stuff worked out. I just want your aunt to trust me.”

As matter of factly as only a kid can be Benny said, “She does. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t let you help take care of me. It is a big deal. Aunt Gus never even left me with Uncle Groucho and she could have. He just had weird friends sometimes.”

“Er … I tell you what, let’s go see if we can get that mess out of the microwave that Chan made with his lava cake before your aunt sees it and asks why we had cake for breakfast.”

“But it was good. It was even gluten free like it has to be.”

“Yeah but I’m not too sure Gus would think that was a good reason not to eat the eggs she had planned for breakfast.”

“We didn’t eat the eggs because no one can cook omelets like Aunt Gus.”

“I’m not too sure she’ll think that’s a good reason either.”

“Will she be mad we ate the cake for lunch too?”

“Er … let’s just go clean the mess up.”

My brain was almost all the way back to sleep when I sat straight up and thought, “They ate the cake for lunch too?! What the heck time is it?!”

# # # # #

“I cannot believe I slept so late.”

Lev watched as I threw another skillet of stir-fry together. “Stop worrying about it. If you hadn’t needed it …”

“Yeah, yeah. You two ate cake … for breakfast. And for lunch. Thankfully it was only almond flour. And how have you gotten any work done if you had to take care of Benny?”

Lev snorted, his eyes still following my hands and the skillet, telling me he at least had needed more than cake. “Benny is a good kid. I had that paint program downloaded on my tablet and he’s mostly been messing with it. Gus … I know you don’t want him on electronics all the time, but he should have more time on stuff like that paint program. And maybe some introductory lessons. The kid has an eye for detail. I put one of my throw-away digital photos on there for him to play with and … he found a bear.”

“He what?” I asked as I started putting food on plates, unsure if I had actually heard him correctly.

He took the skillet from my hand and just dumped it on the platter I’d dumped the first two pan fulls on and said, “They can serve themselves. Sit down and eat. Benny is shoveling his second bowl. I’ve eaten. Everyone has had at least one plate. Your turn.”

“Lev …”

“Here. While you eat look at what Benny did.”

Lev was more than right. For a kid Benny’s age, I was looking at near professional grade stuff. Maybe not prodigy, but close. Where I’m going to come up with the money to get Benny art lessons. I don’t know but he definitely deserves a chance to see if this is something that is his gift and purpose or just a hobby.

Later that night …

“I don’t know why I am so tired. Not even Benny is like this. None of you are.”

“It happens. Just do me a favor and drink that purple immune stuff in the morning when I get it out of the van. It kicked that cold you had in Florida. Sam something or other.”

“Sambucocl. It is an elderberry extract my grandmother swore by.”

“Ha! That’s it. Just promise me.”

“Fine. And I’ll be fine. I’m just stupid tired for some reason. And … um … thanks for being there for Benny. I’m sorry that …”

“Uh uh. He’s a good kid and you needed some rest.”

“I just don’t …”

“… get it. You said that. Maybe … you know … you’re low on iron. My mom and sister used to say stuff like that. About … you know …”

He was trying so hard. “Maybe. That trail food was okay but not really what I’m used to us eating when I’m training. I had Benny taking his daily chews; I should have done the same thing.”

“Uh, you really don’t mind that I stay up with the team?”

“You have a job to do. I get that.”

He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. He was trying to not be too quiet and wake Benny up who was out like a light on the twin bed on the other wall. “This thing with Gretch. Yeah, we needed to talk but it’s also put us behind. Bob is catching hell from the Director and Producer … who didn’t like Gretch after what she put them through and that’s a fact. They aren’t being as tough as they could be but we gotta get some things in the pipe for them to work with. We’ll be up off and on through the night and same thing tomorrow. Tomorrow night we’ll pack up and … aw hell. I can’t wait.”

“To … to leave? Yeah, I guess it has been rough for you and …”

“No! I mean I can’t wait to ask you.”

“Ask me what?”

“Come with me – you and Benny both – come with me on my next assignment. I wanted to make this special, but I got the okay while you were asleep during that afternoon catnap. You’re covered. Rules are the same … no pics of Benny that make him identifiable … yada, yada, yada. I know you were thinking about going back to Florida … or someplace … putting him in school so he could be around kids his own age … socializing and all of it. And I’m not saying that might not be a plan but … he’s fine, a good kid, and from what we’ve seen he runs rings around most kids his age. You saw how he was with James Lee and the other kids. He’s not missing out on anything, we’re just doing it different for him.”

“Lev …”

“Wait. Hear me out. This is a good opportunity for him. Lot’s of experiences and memories. A chance for him to work ahead.”

“Lev …”

A little desperately he asked, “Aren’t you interested at all?”

“Where are we supposed to be going?”

“Huh?” I just looked at him and then he said, “Oh crap. Look, a little different this time. We’ll have to put the van in storage. Wait, wait … just let me finish. We’ll be island hopping. Or, we might be boating between a couple of locations. They’re working on finalizing some of the transportation issues because … look … just promise you’ll think about it.”

“Where?”

“I … look … promise you’ll think about it. Please.”

“Lev …”

“Polynesia.”

“Excuse me?”

“Polynesia … or at least the national parks out there. Whoever is paying the tab on this gig likes the first two draft Alaska episodes so well they want to expand to the other non-contiguous park areas.”

I reached over and pulled my writing tablet towards me. “Tell me.”

“I don’t know what the order will be yet.”

“Just give me an idea.”

“American Samoa. Guam.”

“That’s not Polynesia. That’s Micronesia.”

“Don’t make my head hurt. The parks in the Pacific Ocean.”

“So American Samoa. Guam …”

“Saipan and Hawaii. Once we wrap up there, they also have proposed an episode or possibly two on the US Virgin Islands.”

“That’s definitely not Polynesia.”

“No. And we don’t necessarily know who is going to get contracted. I know some of the team already have prior commitments they need to honor. Chan and Diego are up for it. Bob for sure. Maybe Kent but that’s going to depend on if he gets the contract for redoing the Ken Burns documentary on the Contiguous States’ national parks. It’s getting really dated. Why are you looking at me like that?”

With total honesty I answered, “I’m trying to figure out how to say yes without you thinking I’m only saying yes because of the locations. Because … oh my gawd incredible … but I want you to know I’d say yes even if the location was an infected bed sore on Poseidon’s left buttock. Just say we’ll be together, that you aren’t leaving.”

With complete sincerity Lev told me, “I’m not leaving, and we’ll be together. All three of us. For as long as you can stand me.”

“That’s … that’s a long, long, long time Lev. So, before you start saying things like that … you better make sure that … I mean Benny is going to grow up one of these days and … well, you just better think about it.”

“It’s almost all I do think about and …”

Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by Bob calling him to come look at something.

“Better hustle Lev. You’re on the clock.”

“Uh …”

“But since it looks like Benny and I are going to be around … as long as you can stand us … you just take care of business. We’ll be here.”

He bowed his head and then stood up with a huge smile on his face. “You won’t regret this Gus. You won’t.”

As he hurried back out to the living room I thought to myself, “You know, I don’t think I will.”

 

[Kathy in FL]

Sep 23: Fairbanks to Anchorage (Part 1)​

I feel better. The Sambucocl might be some of it. Healthier eats might be some of it as well. I hadn’t realized how much weight I had lost until I put on a pair of pants that I’d gotten laundered. Not worrying when Lev is going to leave us is definitely a lot of it. But life still rolls along. I can tell the team members are still processing Gretchen’s demise. I’m staying out of it. It is none of my business, and I might make things harder on them.

The news isn’t happy, happy either. The pendulum swung and there are other people in certain positions in DC that have a different idea of how things should work. Now they are wanting to change it again with the upcoming elections. Hasn’t made much difference in the volume of the riots and protests though it was predicted. Might get worse towards Election Day but it is hard to tell.

The media isn’t helping things at all, and we found out that Gretchen was part of some group of media personalities that were out to “lend their voice and talents” to keep things stirred up to try and force some kind of social revolution. Again, making themselves the story rather than just reporting the story objectively. Do you know how many times even I have heard that in my short life span? Diego, Kent, and Bob are the oldest team members and they say even their parents and grandparents mentioned hearing those same themes. This is Social Revolution IV or V now I think. Most of that occurred before I was born but the riots are never-ending.

If it bleeds it leads is a way of life for most news organizations and always has been, but I think they may have just bitten off more than they could chew this time. They were believing their own hype. As a result, several in the media have paid some serious consequences. They were shocked at finding they were being used as much as they were using. At first certain people tried to spin it that it was white supremacists (the most convenient boogie men) who instigated the incident. But that went down the tubes when some highly placed members of an opposition political group basically admitted to knowing who was on the bus and that it was pay back for recording their faces and letting slip some of the plans their group had. They needed to shut them up and shut them down. And the women, in particular, were targeted to put them back in their place instead of trying to take over. You can guess what religion and nationality has infiltrated the opposition group given how much support they are receiving from places like Dearborn, Michigan and from funding groups overseas. You can also tell the media is trying to quiet the story, but the international news media now has it and is running with it as Europe is again having a lot of similar trouble with such groups. Even places like China and Russia have their issues with it and have been criticized for how harshly they deal with said groups.

And Lev and I have gotten rid of one set of worries only to be faced with more decisions that will have long-lasting repercussions. Lev’s cousin has made him an offer to buy out his interest in the Hargis homestead, an offer that wouldn’t break the life estates. The offer came with the incentive that Lev’s sister has already agreed to it, but she only had a small interest to start with.

“You know, Kenny asked me about it in passing at the 4th of July shindig. I didn’t think he was serious, but it seems he is. This … kinda … I mean I was thinking …” He shook his head. “Right when I think … hey, you okay? You got a funny look. Bad news in your emails?”

“Nothing I didn’t expect. Sorta. Judge Phelps …” Lev nodded as he knew who I meant. “Judge Phelps says that Uncle Daniel is going to lose the property to unpaid property taxes and there is also now a lien by the River HOA. With the existing cloud on the title no one has been interested in buying the place. I … I could.”

“You could what? Get a tax deed?”

“Yeah. The bill …” I wiped my face. “I have to tell the Judge now. My claim would take precedent, plus it would clear up the cloud on the title for me to take full ownership.”

“Do it.”

“What?” I asked, startled by his quick and absolute certainty.

“Do it. The way you talk that place would be a perfect home base for us … er … I mean …”

“If you meant ‘us’ I’m fine with you saying ‘us’.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But … the taxes are three years in arrears. I’ve got it … I haven’t used all of Dad’s estate monies. Doing it this way I wouldn’t have to buy Uncle Daniel out … he’s down to only having 25% of Grandfather’s estate anyway. But …”

“But what?”

“I … thought … we … I mean us …”

“Look. Hear me out. If I sell out to Kenny, I’m only going to get a down payment up front. I know he has it because he sold some hunting land in Georgia to some developer that purchased the acreage next to it and pretty much ruined the hunting he could do, but he has to put it into new real estate like now, like in the next week now, or he’s going to be hit with a big capital gains bill. He had his eye on another piece of farmland but he lost it to some Mennonites who were willing to pay all cash upfront. And yeah, I know about this stuff … had to learn after my own grandfather passed away and left what I thought was an albatross hanging around my neck. The remainder of what Kenny will pay will only come in dribs and drabs after each harvest season and he wants to know if I’ll take some of the payments maybe in what the farm produces. But it will take a couple of years to get it back up to full production. I don’t know about that part but if I take some of the down payment and you take some of your money, will that cover the tax deed without creating too much pinch?”

Talk about nearly losing my teeth. We’ve never even made out and it looks like we are talking about moving in together permanently.

But bottom line, yes. I took him up on his offer after he told me that we would need a home base and that he really wasn’t interested in trying to deal with all his family issues in Tennessee. He and his sister do much better when they keep plenty of distance between them. And the land probably should have gone to Kenny to begin with, but his grandfather and Uncle Cyrus disagreed on some things at the time. His sister was the bigger problem with regard to selling out and Kenny’s wife and her managed to work things out to everyone’s satisfaction to get a deal. About the only time Lev and his sister communicate is at the holidays and usually that is because of family expectations rather than full on inclination by either of them. He’ll want to keep up with Uncle Cyrus but not so much live with them. His family never has fully understood him or given him room to be different. They try but he is just very different from the rest of his family … plus family history always colored his differences and acceptance no matter how people tried. My family may have been small in comparison, but I got a lot more understanding and acceptance than Lev ever has. And he needs some place. He usually takes a few months off after every major project. It gives him time to try and put some of his own work out and he also looks for his next project or assignment. He only got stuck on the homestead once during winter and he said it was a disaster.

“The place is in really bad shape. It was built in the 1940s when the TVA created the Land Between the Lakes and the family had to move from a town that got flooded out. As far as I know it hasn’t been remodeled since then except to throw a new layer of linoleum down every decade or so, even the curtains are older than I am. The original wallpaper is still up on all the walls, just some of it is buried under paneling from the 1970s. Kenny is talking about renovating it and … trust me, it is going to be a lifetime money pit but that’s what he wants. He is real hung up on family history and stuff and so is his wife. Bonus points if you can ever unknot the roots on my family tree because Kenny’s wife is some kind of cousin of my sister’s husband and real close friends from childhood kind of thing to my sister’s sister in law on that side … geez, did they even make sense?”

I chuckled but then got serious and asked, “What do you want?”

He startled for a moment then answered, “To have a place all three of us can be together. Where isn’t so much important as who.”

He’s saying all the right things but just to be safe, and because I’ve seen the disaster this financial stuff can make, when I emailed the Judge, I had him make sure that Lev’s name and ownership percentage is written into the legal paperwork. I’m not sure what the Judge thinks of it exactly, but he did approve that I wanted everything in writing.

In addition to those life-changing decisions I did maintenance on the van and brought some of the more perishable food into the BnB kitchen to use up rather than worry how to put it in storage with the van. Tomorrow we are going to drive back to Juneau and the next morning we’ll all get on the ferry and take it back to Bellingham. Chan and Diego will be riding with us from the ferry into Bellingham then they will break off to run to their own home bases for a couple of days. They are going to meet us in LA which is where we are taking off from to head to American Samoa. I have to say, I never expected those words to exit my mouth. Lots of things I’ve been thinking and saying lately that I never expected. All that is proof the Creator has one heck of a sense of humor.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Sep 23: Fairbanks to Anchorage (Part 2)​

When we did finally get on the road it took more hours than the six that I expected it to take to drive from Fairbanks to Anchorage. Lev, Chan, and Diego wanted to stop several times to add some more pics and vids to the library of digital data they had to work with. Then there was the weather. Freaking slush storm. Chan and Lev drove since I’d never driven in that kind of weather. I felt like an idiot until I found out that Chan and Diego both had been jonesing to test out the van because they are both thinking of building something similar in the off-season. Guys. If it has wheels, they wanna play with it. To be honest, I don’t blame them, but it made the brain hamster more difficult to contain.

The extra stops they made were in Healy, Talkeetna, and Wasilla as well as some of the pull outs. Made for a long day and then our room reservation in Anchorage mysteriously got cancelled. I had it happen that one time as well. Computers. They suck.

We wound up boondocking in the ferry parking lot. We weren’t the only ones either. Benny and Lev slept with me in the platform bed, Diego took one of the captain chairs up front and just leaned it back … he said he sleeps in a lounger a lot at home and this wasn’t any different … and Chan took the floor because his family still keeps “Chinese style” sleeping arrangements which means they sleep on firm bed platforms rather than mattresses, on the floor that are put away each night. I still find it uber unusual that there is a Chinese Mormon family living outside of Salt Lake City, UT. The picture just will not form in my head. Chan isn’t strictly Mormon these days and neither are his parents and siblings, but his grandparents are very strict Mormons. Like I said, the picture will not form.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Sep 24 – 28: Ferry to Bellingham and on towards Los Angeles​

It has been a heck of a reverse trip to get back to Bellingham, WA. Traveling with Lev and Benny alone was easier in many respects. Weather was worse this time as well. The team trying to work together under those conditions made for even more stress as personality issues really came into play. Benny and I stayed out of it as much as possible. Made for a boring trip for us; no internet, no decent weather to exercise in, difficult to work on plans with Lev unavailable. As a result, Benny slept a lot and I did battle with the hamster.

Sep 23rd – Benny’s 7th Birthday​

A cold rain all day made worse by having to miss doing anything for Benny’s birthday. I’d already had the conversation with him that we would celebrate it after we got off the ferry. He doesn’t seem to care one way or the other. He is under some kind of assumption that the whole going to the Pacific and all the parks out there is somehow his birthday experience just like going to the Grand Canyon had been for his 6th birthday. Lev did his best to add to this by telling him that an exploding volcano could be like candles on a birthday cake. So Benny drew himself a picture of a volcano cake and nearly laughed himself silly. I couldn’t decide whether to laugh with him or cry.

I had thought about trying to take him off the ferry but didn’t bother getting off as it wouldn’t have been worth it. Departed Juneau at 7 am and arrived in Petersburg at 3 pm. Had a two hour layover then departed Petersburg at 5 pm and arrived at Wrangell at 8:30 pm. Weather had worsened and stayed awful for the two-hour layover there. At the 8:30 pm arrival time it was so dark that my flashlight barely helped. The ferry rolled a little bit, and I was happy to leave at 10:30 pm heading to Ketchikan.

Sep 24th – 25th​

Very short stop in Ketchikan, arriving at 4:30 am and leaving at 6 am. I was thinking of getting off just to see if they had a green tea or a decaf root beer in the machines on the pier, but it was just another day of not being worth the hassle in the rain. It just would have been nice to have something to break up the monotony of the flat taste of boiled water which was all we had access to on the ferry. There was coffee and hot tea but I don’t drink coffee and the tea was caffeinated. Oh well, color me getting spoiled and needing to watch myself from setting a bad example for Little Bear.

Then we were off on the 38-hour stretch to Bellingham and for the life of me I can’t tell you anything constructive that I did during that time beyond making sure that Benny and Lev ate properly and did what I could to keep our gear and bedding dry. It had been raining intermittently since right after we departed Ketchikan. By the time we arrived in Bellingham at 8 pm on the 25th it was raining steadily once again.

By the time we got off the ferry with the van and had driven to our beds for the night at Bay City Motor Inn – Lev apologizing for not being able to find anything better and me wanting to hit Diego for mocking him – it was raining very hard. Diego and Chan thought it was funny, have no clue why, but they gathered I’d had enough when I told them to go find their room and then shut our room door in their face. I still heard them laughing as they went to do that very thing, so I know nothing was irreparably broken though they were both lucky I didn’t have enough energy to make a good effort at breaking them.

I later realized they thought Lev and I just wanted “alone time” which just reinforces that guys have sex on the brain even when they are supposed to be adults with all the evidence we were “circumspect” from the last three months. I guess they think of Benny as a piece of furniture or something. Because with him around “circumspect” was all we were.

I turned and realized that the room had two queen-sized beds. I said, “Help me with Benny? Then if you don’t mind I need a shower.”

Lev was so tired he wasn’t firing on all pistons so I changed it, “Why don’t you grab a shower and I’ll roll the bear cub into his night clothes and then bed.”

“You sure?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah,” I said with a tired grin. “Just leave me some hot water.”

He grunted and practically sleepwalked into the bathroom. I thought about waking Benny up to take a shower as well but decided it could wait. The room hadn’t completely warmed up yet.

I knocked on the bathroom door and told Lev his bag was hanging on the knob and dug through the clothes that I’d stuffed into (bag?). I had all three of our morning clothes laid out and my ditty bag in my hand and walked in as soon as Lev walked out.

I used a shower cap to keep my hair dry despite really wanting to wash it but there was no hair dryer and I wasn’t going back out in the cold rain for vanity’s sake. I brushed in some dry shampoo and called it good enough. I wasn’t fit to greet the queen, but I didn’t smell sour anymore either.

I came out to find Lev asleep in the chair. Lev startles on occasion so I was careful to wake him up.

“Why didn’t you get in bed? You’re exhausted.”

He mumbled, “Wanted to wait for you. You still sure about … about Benny’s birthday?”

“I’m not happy about it being postponed but I explained it to him, and he acted like I was being ‘weird’ about worrying. He’s happy whenever we do something or not doing anything so long as we stay together.”

Lev sighed. “I still feel bad.”

“Me too but real life is what it is. Better for him to learn to be flexible now. He honestly thinks the whole Pacific Assignment is his birthday present. Thanks for winding him up by the way,” I said with a fake frown. “He really wants to see an exploding volcano. Better than candles on a cake.”

Lev gave a tired groan and then said, “How about sea turtles instead. Think he’d liked that better than lava?”

“Guaranteed,” I chuckled. Changing the subject as we climbed into bed I asked, “Oatmeal okay for in the morning?”

“Guy in the lobby says the diner across the street serves a decent breakfast. Let’s just do that.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Unless?”

“No objection on my part, just don’t know what the budget is yet so …”

“You were being careful. Got it. Got a few ideas but … pretty useless right now. Mind if we talk about it tomorrow? Can the hamster wait?”

“Hamster better wait if it doesn’t want to be duct taped into submission.”

He sighed and then in the next breath snored. Benny was snoring as well. I got up to make a couple of notes but didn’t stay up. Too dang tired.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Sep 26th – Celebrate Benny’s 7th Birthday - Bellingham, WA >> Eugene, OR​

Weather in Bellingham 65F/56F

Morning was damp but thankfully no rain. Not happy about Benny’s 7th birthday being postponed but Lev and I both promised him a birthday celebration as soon as we could slow down long enough to make it special for him, and not just a rushed afterthought.

“That’s okay Aunt Gus. We’re together and you say that’s what counts.”

“I … Lev and I … still want you to know you are special Little Bear. Only Little Bear is outgrowing his name. Can you believe you were only five years old when we started our adventuring? And now here you are a whole entire seven years old. Wow.”

I got a hug for that. So did Lev. He’s a good kid. Maybe this traveling isn’t so bad. But I do need to plan a little further ahead when I can. I can’t believe I hadn’t even shopped for a present since we normally did something rather than bought something. At least he understands that it isn’t a particular date that makes things special but who you spend the day with. Just like Dad, Lawrence, and I had always treated such things. Still, need to be prepared to give Benny a little more structure since everything else has to be flexible. Won’t make this mistake again if I can help it.

After breakfast that we all ate together after checking out of the motel, Chan and Diego picked up a rental and took off in their own direction and we will all meet back up at the LA airport for our flight out.

We didn’t have a lot of time to dilly dally so we stuck to I5 all the way, but Lev insisted on stopping for a fun dinner at this place called Papa’s Pizza that he looked up online for Benny’s birthday celebration. It had pizzas for special diets and this huge, covered play yard right outside with a ball pit the kids could jump in. He also had a gluten-free cookie cake pre-ordered and I thought Benny was going to freak out, especially as the cookie was in the shape of a bear.

“Thank you,” I told him while Benny was otherwise occupied watching some insane bear character dance on stage singing some ear-bleeding kid’s song that I was praying would not turn into Benny’s new favorite theme music.

Lev appeared to have the same feelings on the music as I did but was still laughing at Benny’s enjoyment of it. “What?!”

A little louder and closer to his ear I repeated, “Thank you.”

I finally had his attention, what we weren’t splitting with keeping an eye on Benny. “For?”

“This. I couldn’t have done anything like this for Benny without you.”

“It was the assignment that caused us to have to … you know … and I just wanted the little guy …” He shrugged.

Having a good idea I said, “Let me guess. You missed out on birthdays as a kid because of the split custody thing.”

“Didn’t really celebrate them until Uncle Cyrus found out and tried to … anyway Grandfather could be forgetful about stuff like that. Was kind of a family joke so I grew up understanding it wasn’t malicious on his part, he was just an old guy that didn’t think about that kind of thing very much since he hadn’t been raised with it. Dad was the same way supposedly, but I don’t really remember, it was one of the things Mom said she had hated as she was very much into dates and things.” He shrugged again. “I’m middle of the road myself I guess, but it just sucked to think it was my fault Benny wasn’t going to get a birthday.”

“Oh stop. You can’t not have a birthday. That’s how the Creator put time together for us humans. And it isn’t like we haven’t had to be flexible before.”

“But?”

“But thanks for making it so we didn’t have to be that flexible this time. Whether Benny remembers this or not, I’ll never forget it. You’re a good man Levinson Hargis.”

The other nice thing that Lev had done was to book us a hotel room instead of just trying to boondock. Benny got a good scrub down and then Lev helped him to build a “fort” using the hotel furniture for him and the crew to watch a documentary under while I washed my hair and waxed my legs in privacy.

For a couple of hours after that Lev and I both took care of some adulting … bills, legal paperwork, the blog, him looking over his equipment for any maintenance, and me looking over some belated correspondence. We are latey hitting the hay but at least we got things knocked out that needed doing.

 

[sssarawolf]

Very enjoyable, thank you.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Sep 27th – Eugene, OR >> Sacramento, CA​

Rain. Rain, rain, rain. Gah! Normally I like me some good rainy weather but apparently people on the West Coast don’t have the same feelings on the subject and get entirely too cranky. Thank goodness we did something for Benny’s birthday yesterday because there is no way we could have done anything today.

What should have been a seven- or eight-hour journey turned into a nightmare twelve hours. Lev and I took turns driving but that wasn’t the point. Rain had washed out several coastal highways and dumped a lot of people onto the interstate trying to get around the mess. Usually that is the other way around but whatever. Then there were the accidents in the rain that seemed to have followed us from Alaska. The back ups were legendary.

Then on top of that, the hotel that Lev had booked gave away our room despite the fact that we had called and said we would be late. I must admit they were embarrassed by that, especially since the room was paid for in advance. They said they had a note of someone calling in after us and cancelling the room but then found out the phone number that called wasn’t our number and was disconnected when they called it back. They refunded us the money and tried calling around to find us a room, but unfortunately due to the storm all the other hotels in the area were already booked. They are allowing us to boondock in the back where the semi’s park, but neither Lev nor I are feeling the love for this location, so we are taking turns sleeping. I am staying up first because he drove the last stretch. This is not a good way to start things out.

Neither is the email from Stella that let me know that some of Groucho’s memory issues may be permanent. He keeps forgetting who Benny is. He remembers Penny, knows she is dead but a lot of the time we were in Key West is foggy though he does have partial recall, but often winds up with a headache when he starts struggling. She said if we were around that it would probably stick better but that she thought it best not to put Benny in that position. I agree but I haven’t got the foggiest idea how to explain this to my nephew. He still talks about Groucho, Stella, and Kirkland often enough, despite all the time and distance, that I have a feeling that being “forgotten” would hurt him, at the very least confuse him.

I don’t know what to say so I’m sticking with saying nothing at all. I hope that doesn’t bite me on the backside at some point.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Sep 29-30: Sacramento, CA >> Los Angeles, CA >> Pago Pago, American Samoa (Part 1)​

Weather in LA: No rain; instead there is nasty crap smog
Weather in Hawaii: Gentle Rain;
Weather in Pago Pago: 88F/78F

We got out of the parking lot from hell way before first light. God, I was glad to leave that scene. Trucks coming and going all night and the rain was steady. In fact, we didn’t escape the rain until Bakersfield.

Drove to the offices and the van was stored in a secure storage area of the production company and I had the only key besides the head of Building Security. I am very uncomfortable doing this, especially given some of the things that are locked in certain compartments that only I know about. Well, me and Groucho, assuming Groucho even remembers. His head injury still has him in rehab for some things, in addition to the memory issues. I’ve gotten very little info about their situation though I’m going to continue to make sure they know about Benny’s location and health. Nothing I can do about it now and I’m not going to make Lev potentially liable either by telling him.

We wound up staying at the office overnight because our flight was changed at the last minute. Little more than a closet with a pull-out sofa in it but it is something used by staff that get stuck there similar to what happened to us. Cheaper than a LA hotel that’s for sure. And after last night and the kind of days we’ve had, we had to get some sleep.

At the moment we are sitting here in LAX waiting for our flight that takes off at 10 am, and that will last a little over 15 hours with part of that being a 3-hour layover in Honolulu. I wanna squeal like a kid but I’m trying to keep my excitement under control so it doesn’t impact my situational awareness. We need it.

Having an extra night in LA helped despite the insanity. It started with LA being like a shadow of Mogadishu on most days and the Chicago Gangland Wars on really bad days. Areas of the city are fenced and cross fenced with security type stuff including razor wire topped cyclone fencing – by protest groups, by private property owners, by the homeless – and it is like everyone wants their own slice of the pie that they can run as they please, regardless of the rights of adjacent property owners.

Supposedly homelessness is completely illegal in California. How it works is that in LA a lot of buildings have been taken over to house the “unhoused.” Basically they shut down the Refugee and Immigration Housing locations that have been operating for years and years. Everyone loved the idea – except of course for the people they kicked out, until they discovered housing rarely, if ever, corrected the problems that put people on the street to begin with. So, they added counseling services, job training, etc. Only people were only haphazardly taking advantage of those free services and rarely doing anything with them that moved them out of the transitional housing and back into stable lives. Usually all that happened is people were either temporarily propped up or they kept sliding, depending on their personal motivation. So counseling, job training, and in many cases medication became mandatory rather than optional. They also started having their income, such as it was, docked for a nominal amount of rent … before it got into the hands of the unhoused.

Transitional housing became very similar to prisons for many of the unhoused that couldn’t or wouldn’t follow the community rules. They’d escape one transitional housing block only to get caught and moved to a stricter transitional housing setting. The funds they once spent on their med of choice – cigs, alcohol, drugs, etc. – were controlled by payees and guardians that could only operate within the tight and often harsh confines of the state and federal regulations and guidelines. People started trying to re-disappear under the radar which was no longer possible and as people were now tagged as criminals of some sort they were often returned to the State of California’s guardianship, regardless of where they were caught, including in other states. Then California took the ”bold step” of making it illegal to donate funds to any but the most tightly regulated social services and charities. Because taxes, naturally. If you were caught giving anything to someone defined as “unhoused” you might very well wind up in the same situation as the person you were trying to help after all the fines, penalties, and jail time associated with that “illegal” act of unregistered and untracked charity.

As a result of that and many other policies of the last couple of decades … bail reform, defunding of law enforcement, skyrocketing income tax and property tax that drove many of the well-to-do taxpayers out of the state, environmental policies that were so onerous that rather than making Cali a better place to live, it made it an economic wasteland. Benny and I saw some of it when we came to visit the National Parks in the state, but those areas were kept spiffy for the tourists and their dollars; I never saw anything like what I saw in LA.

A big thing is people hire private security just to travel from one area to the next. And then the armored taxis just added to the Twilight Zone feel. It looked a little like that old movie called Blade Runner. I thought it was really weird that we were stopped at the outskirts of LA and then instructed by our employers to load onto a hard-sided car hauler. We were instructed to drive the van in and to remain inside it for the ride to our meeting. Bee-freakin’-zar. It wasn’t a joke or prank though because there were a couple of other cars in there already and the people were riding like it was no big deal.

Last on, we were the first off and I got a thumbs up from the truck driver that I could “dis-load” on my own. That’s when I saw there were people with automatic rifles riding shotgun. They were definitely mercs of some flavor. Lev and I both tried to keep Benny from seeing the strangeness, but it wasn’t easy, and we shot each other silent questions, like what the heck was going on. Geez. We aren’t in Kansas Toto and I’m wondering if we are even in the USA given some of what I’ve seen since. I mean it was nothing like this when Benny and I went through California last year, it wasn’t on the news … and still isn’t as far as I could find when I started looking. How had things deteriorated so quickly and why was it being kept so quiet?

“Lev?” I asked in a whisper while we were waiting in the parking garage for where we needed to go next. We’d been told in no uncertain terms not to move from the spot until our “guard” showed up.

“No idea. I’ve never been to this location. Usually paperwork comes to me. Er …”

What else we would have said was put on hold when the security guard/mercenary showed up and guided us to the storage area the van was going to be secured in until we returned for it. We were told to just leave everything in the van, that we could pack later. I didn’t even get a chance to tell him that we were already packed because I wanted to make sure we had everything and it was under the weight limit for the smaller planes Lev said we would be flying on.

We met the lead director for the project but when he got a look at our clothes he was not impressed. Things happened so fast after that I never even got to make an objection and Lev was too busy going over the contract and getting his marching orders for this part of the project to realize I was not liking being measured and primped like Dorothy before she met the Wizard. I guess they thought they were treating us special, but I could have done without the mani-pedi (not liking strangers touching my feet) and the hair blow out they gave me. Corkscrew curls do not appreciate blow outs. Trust me on this. Luckily someone in “Make Up” took pity on me and gave me some oil to calm the curls and not look like a demented poodle. They also directed me to a different “stylist” who took one look and asked if I minded that she “adjusted things” a bit.

“I would prefer to not go back to a pixie cut but if you need to take off a couple of inches be my guest. I’d like to be able to get through a door without my hair touching both sides of the frame.”

She laughed and went to work. “You know who Zendaya is?”

“Vaguely. She was a kid actor and grew up, still acted, modeled, sang … she’s in politics now isn’t she?”

“Was. She’s still in the biz, just on the other side of the camera. Has her own production company though it is small and usually just does indies. Anyway, she used to have hair like this in her younger days. You gotta have some Hispanic in you.”

“Yeah. I take it that means something.”

“You lack the skin tone Chica, but you got the hair. I’m gonna teach you how us brown girls take care of ours.”

A little late to learn but after she trimmed off the frazzled ends and gave me a few tips and some hair care products designed for curly hair I actually think I might be able to pull off some of the styles she suggested. Easiest, as always, was the two French braids running down the back but with the stuff she gave me, the hair actually cooperated and stayed the way I put it for most of the day.

I came out to find that Benny and Lev were entertaining each other by drawing mustaches on the current crop of stars using Lev’s editing tablet. They looked up and Lev did a double take.

“What?”

He raised his hands in surrender and said, “No matter what I answer I could be in trouble quick. Just tell me that look doesn’t mean there’s a dead body I need to clean up.”

I rolled my eyes. “No dead body but my patience is at an end where my hair is concerned. Hopefully if the curls come out of these braids they won’t poke anyone in the eye and blind them. So, where to next. More torture?”

“Er … mebbe.”

“Lovely. Let’s get it over with.”

Our new hard sided Uber nifty TSA approved and secure luggage … provided by some assistant to the assistant of one of the big wigs … now holds a new wardrobe and a few pieces of our former wardrobe. Apparently Benny and I are special people. I keep hearing that and wondering how they define “special.” I’m a little concerned with being dressed up like a doll but the Assistant told me I would have stood out more in my old clothes than with the new stuff that was eventually packed. I’m playing along but she better not have picked something out that makes me look like some of those chicklets that have vlogs. I don’t have that much cleavage and what I do have I’m not interested in advertising on a big screen worldwide. Uh uh. Nope. Nope. Nope.

Benny turned his nose up at some of the “cute” things the women wanted to dress in him. The Director came along and agreed, saying Benny has good sense so let him pick his own stuff out. He wants a kid, not a kidlet supermodel. Whether that is what he really thought or not? That’s anyone’s guess but Benny told him thank you which surprised the man. I was so focused on Benny that I didn’t get a good look at what they put in my luggage, and I won’t until we land in Pago Pago. The only stipulation I added was that the clothing did not have tags at the neck or waist. As for me I told them not to waste time with makeup, but I did see them put a small bag in there anyway. At least I managed to get my preferred sunscreen and bug spray into the bag before they zipped it closed and put the TSA locks on them. The stylist also told me she put in a few hair care products and tools. What am I getting myself into? Ugh.

I only had a little time on my hands to think, not that anyone wanted me to. I met people left, right, and center and I doubt I’ll remember half of them. We were in Alaska from July 14th and left Anchorage on the 24th of September. That was much longer than I had ever thought about it being. It won’t be quite like that for the Pacific locations. Longer than most people get but not as long as we were in Alaska. I’ve only gotten a glimpse of the itinerary because we’ve been in such a rush, but it is something like ten days in American Samoa, ten days on Kauai, 14 days on Oahu, 14 days on Maui, 14 days on the Big Island of Hawaii, possibly a few days bouncing around on the smaller islands but that’s not certain yet because of some kind of permission from some association of real Hawaiians or something like that. Then there is supposed to be a week between Guam and Saipan, and then potentially off to the US Virgin Islands. But I’m not really worried about it. The plans may not be mine, but Lev has promised that when possible, he’ll get my preferences and opinions, especially with regard to Benny. Besides, there are other things to worry about.

I signed a Limited Power of Attorney so that Judge Phelps can take care of my business regarding the Barrymore Estate and hopefully get the legal stuff managed. Lev spoke with his cousin – I could hear the man hooting and hollering happily on the other end of the phone – to say he agreed to the transfer of ownership of the Hargis estate. They are going to sign on the dotted line after we get back and drive the van back to Florida via Tennessee because there are some things that Lev wants, and that includes telling his uncle how much he appreciated everything while he was growing up that he can’t remember if he ever came right out and said. From there we are going to drive to Jacksonville and empty what we can out of the storage facility and get that expense off my back.

I’m not sure what to make of Groucho and Stella. I know I’m not family, but Benny is. Well sorta anyway. I know they are somewhat “incommunicado” because of their lawyer’s instructions, or that was the last reason/excuse I heard, but it still makes me wonder if I’ve done anything to offend them. At least Stella is sharing some things but there’s a wall there that I never noticed before. I guess at some point I’ll ask but that is going to have to be in the future. Kirkland still drops the occasional hello and I always make a point of responding. I don’t know. I just can’t do anything about it for now. I have enough of my own incomprehensible insanity that I’m dealing with.

I tell you I must really be out of touch. I’m looking at the people in this airport and I swear they act like they are completely disconnected from good sense and any kind of … I don’t know … internal peace or moral compass or something. They act like they need to be medicated more than I ever did. I know that sounds strange and maybe judgmental but that really is how things appear. Several of them are acting squirrelly for no good reason that I can see. All of us have already gone through the TSA security check so you would think that would screen such people out. I’m hoping that most of these people are on a different flight. I can see them going off like a bomb unless they are tranq’d before boarding. And they’ve taken booze off flights again so the meds would have to be the psychotropic kind.

Have I just been around different people until now? Or are these just normal LAX lounge lizards? And I don’t want to discuss this with Lev because people are listening in to each other’s conversations and look like they are seeing a reason to have a debate or argument. I see most people texting each other or showing each other notes. It looks like I’m as nosey as everyone else. But I’ve also seen a few fights try to start and want to make sure I can get between any bad news and Benny. I hope this crap doesn’t carry over to the flight. I swear everyone is losing their minds. The airport blasting the news networks on all the TVs with “if it bleeds it leads” stories can’t be helping. And it looks like they are calling for our flight to board.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Sep 29-30: Sacramento, CA >> Los Angeles, CA >> Pago Pago, American Samoa (Part 2)​

We are in Hawaii. We’ve already given statements and processed through another TSA check point and are about halfway through the layover before we head to American Samoa. The people on this flight seem to be less inclined to join the idiot brigade, thank goodness, because the previous six-hour flight had way too many of them.

I hadn’t told Lev that I’d never flown in a big luxury liner and was already nervous about it but having some of those people on the flight with us made it worse. Chan and Diego showing up late and nearly missing the flight didn’t do anything for either of us. The reason they were late is there was a fight on their previous flight, and they had to walk from the tarmac all the way to the correct gate with their luggage.

All five of us were in “business class.” That’s not first class but it isn’t economy class either. We actually had room for our legs to fit. I know Lev was relieved on that point. It saved us some of the issues that were towards the rear of the plane, but one incident almost created a disaster, even with the Air Marshalls on board.

It is like they knew exactly when to start fighting because we were already a little over halfway to Honolulu and couldn’t turn around. This one guy got up and started going up and down the aisles the entire length of the plane, acting like a head case, lecturing everyone on who was in control of the country and that we better get on board, or we could take a flying leap out of the plane right then. Holy crap. I’ve seen some homeless people act saner than that guy was behaving, even off their meds.

Thank goodness Benny was asleep. He wasn’t the only kid in that condition. That kid-Dramamine is recommended these days for good reason. I don’t know if the man smelled fear or what, most predators are like that, but the guy went to grab some poor little kid for some imagined disrespectful act and that’s when the Air Marshalls went from polite control to full bore butt whooping. I mean they hit the guy hard and mean. Apparently making noise like he was doing wasn’t great, but it was when he touched someone … and a kid someone at that … that the Air Marshalls put him down hard. But the guy seemed to know what he was doing and was prepared for a fight … and built for one as well.

What made it worse is that the guy or perp or crazy dude or whatever you want to call him was part of a group of like-minded individuals and when their guy went down, they tried to take over the plane or something insane like that. Lev got clocked on his eyebrow as he was in the aisle seat and had been trying to protect Benny who was waking up but was very disoriented. Some female then tried to take Chan’s eyes with her claws. I’d had enough and was admittedly close to freaking out myself. I jumped the seats and did what apparently the men on board would not and took down several females with well-placed fists and a couple of stomps on those stupid clawed up hands when they wouldn’t stop. I guess when I moved several other women on board decided they’d had enough as well, and things were over within only a couple of minutes. And let me say, that group’s women weren’t just crying about broken nails at that point. One grandma in particular turned out to be former army and whooped on one woman that thought she could use a broken wooden spoon as a weapon. Glad Grandma and I were on the same side ‘cause she could dish some whoopin’ let me tell you.

Benny was very upset and close to having a panic attack. Lev and I got him under control, but he absolutely will not allow Lev out of his sight now despite having calmed completely down. Lev thought he’d done something wrong until I explained how bad Benny’s PTSD used to be. Now he is on board with it and Benny is relaxing. Hopefully by tomorrow he will be back to his normal again. That’s how he has cycled in the past. I’ll have to see how he acts about the future flights. I still have some of the pills the psychiatrist prescribed for him back in the beginning. I was about to flush them – they are getting close to their expiration date – but now it is good that I didn’t. I may have to give him one just to get him through the next flight. Sigh. Three steps forward, two steps back. He hasn’t had an episode in so long. Poor little guy.

Too many people volunteered their phone videos for the other people to say they were innocent victims of racism and colonialism. I didn’t realize it until we were off the plane but one of the Claws Brigade had tried to grab my hair and had gotten the skin on the back of my neck. Nothing major and certainly not as bad as Lev and Chan, but it still resulted in some blood spillage. Diego has a knot on his shin from the chair arm where he had to move to pull Chan out of the wench’s grasp. It was a nasty final two and a half hours in the air. Once we were down, we arrived early due to being expedited in the landing order, we all had our statements taken while we received some first aid. Luckily Chan and Lev don’t need stitches. Came a little too close to the corner of Chan’s eye but it will only be uncomfortable when sweat gets in it and stings until it is healed more. Diego and I will take care of it. I could tell he was embarrassed, and I told him to knock it off.

“The world needs more people like you willing to act their worldview. It gives the rest of us justification to try and act our worldview too. We need pacifists and soldiers to balance life out; different parts of the same picture, different course to the same desired ending. Doesn’t make you a coward. Unfortunately, the asshats of the world want to screw that up and that’s when things get bloody. I won’t forget how you set a good example for Benny when that drunk tried to push the envelope on the ferry. This is my version of paybacks. Let me. Or I swear I’ll turn in to a girl and really embarrass you.”

Chan turned red but then laughed. “You are way too much like my sisters for comfort. They probably wished you on me.”

I didn’t tell him, hadn’t even journaled about it ‘til now, but I’d gotten an email from his oldest sisters asking for help to keep Huntley off his back. I told them I wouldn’t get directly involved but that I wouldn’t mind creating a distraction if he looked like he was falling for her again. Apparently once was enough for Chan and they both kept their distance. I emailed “Big Sis” when we all split up in Bellingham but asked her to keep my name out of it, especially since Chan showed lots of good sense. I got an affirmative and a request that I not mention to Chan that “Big Sis” was keeping an eye on him. Virtual handshake and I haven’t been contacted since. I don’t know if this will change things. Ugh. I remember this in high school when people would ask me to look after so-and-so without letting them know. Whew. I thought those days were over. I can hear Pei Shin now. She’s already squealing about Lev, wanting to know everything about him, etc, yada, ad nauseum.

Just got word that the Air Marshalls will be filing charges on our behalf on top of the other charges they are bringing against whoever those people are. What comes of it I don’t know. Usually they just make a plea deal, get put on a temporary no-fly list, and it is over. But the news says the government is talking about removing that option from here on out as well as putting arrestees’ names on a permanent no-fly list. We found out there were a lot of these incidences taking place and the latest conspiracy theory (otherwise known as probably and likely) is they are coordinated. It is a new type of social control riot or something bonkers like that. And some of them have been linked to Chinese sympathizers banking their payroll. Lev and I have agreed to talk about things, but not until we have more privacy. Benny keeps nodding off like the Dramamine hasn’t completely worn off, but he could still hear us and I didn’t want it to turn into nightmares and more anxiety.

“You sure that candy bar was enough Gus? Even Benny ate more than that.”

I looked at Diego and said, “Uh huh. You got your apple juice?”

He wouldn’t be distracted. “Listen Abuelita, you might pull that I’ve-got-brass-ones off with Lev and Chan but I see the truth. That GS diet Lev and the kid need doesn’t appear to be all it is cracked up to be for you. You lost a lot of weight on those last two backcountry trips. Your body needs something it isn’t getting from what we were eating.”

“I eat healthy.”

“Yeah, you do, I’ll give you that. You do it because of the kid … and Lev. But you are also used to eating a lot of citrus and getting a lot of sun and we haven’t been doing much of either of those. Could be that being up in Alaska as long as we were ‘caused you some issues. Sambucocl is good, but it doesn’t replace the other immune nutrients a body needs. If you start feeling better without assistance, then you know that from here on out you’ll need to plan for potential issues the further north you travel.”

I nodded thoughtfully. I know there is something called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) where you have a bad reaction to not getting enough light, especially during the winter months. Maybe. It isn’t like I’m not dragging around a bunch of other letters as a diagnosis, what’s three more to the pile? String them all together and I might have an entire alphabet or even a new language. SAD is something to think about and watch for. But it is just one of many things.

We have to line up for boarding. Everything here is outside and it is raining so we’ll be in the rain as we cross the tarmac and climb the stairs to get on the plain. I feel like I’m in a 1940s or 50s movie. This is just too much strange for me to take in all at once.