2014 - The Year in Review

As the year began we were in Oregon… finishing up our first season as snowbirds.  (Snowbirds are those Alaskans who head south for the winter.) 

Klamath NWR

Winter  – We made a quick trip to Napa in January, going via Crater Lake and the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.  Scott can now say he has been to Crater Lake, but he still hasn’t seen the lake (except from the air).  The whole summit was in the clouds – everything was a whiteout… clouds so thick we could not see the lake! 

The wildlife refuge was fun.  While few ducks, geese and swans were there, eagles were everywhere!  Who knew that eagles and hawks like signposts?

view from our front yard

We got back to Oregon just in time for a snowstorm.  Half an inch is big news at the beach… we just laughed.  

back of the house with snow

 

BC peaks

Spring  – We left Oregon just as the rhododendrons in the backyard were starting to bloom.  As we worked our way north we hit a couple of snowstorms that made us wonder if we should have waited until late spring.  On the Cassair Highway we discovered that an official traffic report of "slippery" conditions really meant "We haven't had it plowed yet!"  North of the Cassair we did get better conditions... until we got to Tok, AK.  From Tok to Glenallen we were in a whiteout.

Alaska peaks

We just took it slow…  The weather cleared as we got close to home and we were treated to some spectacular views of the Wrangell and Chugach mountains.   

125 miles from home...clear road!

We experienced two springs… or maybe we should say one spring and one breakup.  At least this year it was a gradual breakup in AK so Scott did not get called out for any flooding in the villages. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer –  We were just getting used to being back in Alaska when the summer rental season for The Laughing Moose started unexpectedly early.  Normally Memorial Day is the kickoff, but this year we got a call May 2^nd from a family we’d rented to before, and they arrived May 3^rd.  And the rentals kept coming, and coming, and coming!  This season was our busiest ever… we went from having 10 reservations when we left Oregon to 20+ days with BOTH cabins booked in May, June & July.  Things slowed down a bit in August—only because the cabins were rented to fishermen who were here for at least a week each.  We shared info on good fishing holes, set up a fish processing line in the yard, and helped vacuum-pack the catch… and were rewarded with 26 pounds of silver salmon when one group didn’t have room to take more than 50 pounds on the airplane.  We even managed to do a little fishing for silvers on our own in August.

We both qualified as range safety officers for our local shooting range on the Parks Highway.  RSOs get to shoot for free… so we finally got some of the guns out of storage and into action.  Scott got his Marlin rifle repaired and was able to fire it for the first time in 50+ years!  RSOs can keep any of the brass that shooters leave behind, so Scott took up re-loading.  And at summer’s end we bought a new 40 caliber Desert Eagle handgun.  That was the week before we left for OR, so we haven’t even had a chance to go down to the range 

Scott helped our friends Linda and Harry with some building projects.  Their cabin was damaged in the 2012 floods, so it had to be repositioned and reinforced.  The big project was replacing the porch with a new, screened-in room…we all got involved. When the project was done we got to enjoy mosquito-less alfresco dining! 

Our chainsaw & log splitter got a good workout.  The big project was clearing 20+ trees from behind the house, opening up a larger area by the greenhouse and increasing the fire safety zone to 30 feet.  We also organized a one-day logging party for a friend who was facing back surgery – 8 of us cut, split and stacked 10 cords.   Then, a week later, 3 of us cut & split 5 trees that had been removed at our church (to be shared with two church families).  Oh, our aching backs!  We finished the summer with a very full woodshed.

 

We also expanded the yard a bit, taking out part of the slope in front of the garage to open up access to the Deere barn.  A month of rain slowed our progress; we had to wait for a dry spell to spread the crushed stone.  Part of this area, next summer, will become a shared picnic area for the guests, with a fire ring and picnic table.   There's even talk of making a stone pizza oven!

Fall – With summer over, we headed outside again.  We flew to Oregon this time, dropped the dogs with their favorite dog sitters and went off to Maui to housesit.   (It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it!) 

Maui north shore... surf's up!



 

We celebrated our 10^th anniversary with a special dinner at Mama’s Fish House.  The picture here is of a "Black Pearl" a special dessert that we enjoyed.  (It's a ball of chocolate mousse, dipped in dark chocolate, in a shell-shaped cookie atop a passion fruit sauce.  Yummmmm!

 

 

Depot Bay surf

We got back to OR just in time for the rainy season to start.   We adopted a “beach time” mode… it’s easy to curl up with a good book and listen to the rain hitting the windows.  We did explore the coast a bit – and it’s always fun to visit our favorite restaurants. 

Sunset from the Rogue Brewery

 

The dogs had not been to the beach while we were gone because there was an infestation of fleas.  By mid-November the cold had driven the fleas away and we were finally able to take them to the beach.  They love running and exploring... so far we've managed to keep them out of the really smelly stuff.  

X- A pumpkin?  It isn't even Halloween.

O- I only have one speed... fast!

 

Right after Thanksgiving we packed up and headed north to AK, arriving home to the first significant snow of the season (6″). 

The dogs jumped right in, showing us how much they enjoy and had missed the snow.

It’s fun to watch them race from one side of the yard to the other, checking out all their favorite corners.  As you can see, before Scott plows, five minutes outside means 10+ minutes of getting the snow off. 

Xander is worse than Orion.  She hops through the snow like a rabbit, while he snowplows.  He's the one who gets dipped in warm water in the deep sink.

 

Winter – The winter solstice officially marks the start of winter.  It's Scott's favorite day of the year because it means we are gaining daylight.  

We spent a quiet Christmas at home.  The highlight was watching the dogs unwrap their presents.  We hide a yummy chummie treat in the bags and they really tear into them. 

They even got into a tug of war over the bag containing their new dog bed.  Xander lost interest in the fight once his corner of the bag tore off, releasing the treat.

 

And, of course, all that hard work wore them out, so Xander promptly found a good use for the new bed.

 
 

As New Year's Eve approaches, we look forward to a quiet evening at home, curled up in front of a roaring fire. 

 

We'll be in Alaska for awhile...

       but further moose-adventures are coming in 2015,

       so stay tuned.