July 30th

Here we are in another cove somewhere in Alaska. Since we are changing spots every single day I see no reason to keep track of where we're at or where we're going. Actually, today we are at East of Snug creek, I had to ask someone. The float plane landed right by the boat and delivered the project leader, Ben. He will be staying on the boat for a few days and hiking the creeks with everyone. Just one more mouth to feed but since we dropped off Dave in Kake the other day, we are back to a crew of 7. Which as I've said before, way less people than when I cook for my family. :-0 However, it's a way different story cooking here than at home, which by the way, I have decided my kitchen at home is plenty big enough after spending time in this one butt kitchen. When I was home in July, I marveled at the space I had to work inside the kitchen that I once cursed. Besides, our landlord bought us a beautiful new stove when the other one gave up the ghost so it's enjoyable cooking with such a nice appliance. Tonight, dinner is Cheeseburger soup and vege pizza. Also made a berry cobbler so there should be plenty of eats. Should have made rolls but I'm tired. Well, guess I could have done biscuits but looks like the group is on their way home, I can see the skiffs headed this way so too late. Way too crowded in here once they all show up. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. We are still out of cell range which means all these blogs will be posted at once. Sorry about that. I'm watching my phone for cell coverage, we are traveling around the south end of Admirality Island and may have a few spots of coverage. Will try to post if I get a couple of bars. Haha, we don't actually have bars out here on the water but the way we walk around here when the water is rough might make you think we've been to a bar. Dinner and dishes are done so the crew has set up a movie in the dining area and they've asked for popcorn. Going to wait just a bit, pretty sure they are full from dinner. They've been grazing since about 3 and ate dinner from 5 to 6, again, grazing. We're possibly going back to Baranof Springs tonight. It's about the half way point to our next stream survey. And no, I don't recall the name of that place right at the moment. Just got cell coverage so I am posting that few days of blogs before we get out of range again. Sounds like you guys are enjoying a heat wave down there, good grief. I was feeling blue about the rain and grey skies up here but won't whine about it after hearing about your 100+ heat. Take care and be safe everyone. Good luck on the SYL Banquet tomorrow night. Will be thinking about all of you!

July 29th

Happy Birthday Brother Eddie. :-) I won't get to call you but still want you to know I'm thinking about you and hoping you have a great day. You are officially a year older than me now, which suits me just fine. I'm sitting at the dining room table, on the boat, in Alaska, looking at a table full of chocolate chip cookies. I have a dessert waiting to be finished at the end of the table and some toast I'm making into croutons. Pulled pork is in the crockpot and I will be making a pasta salad and a corn casserole later today. I try to get a bunch done in the morning, take a lunch break (nap if I'm lucky) and then finish up the cooking later. Also need to vacuum, Brad actually vacuumed the other day, wonders of wonders. :-) Told him he did a great job and anytime he feels like pushing that monstrosity around he's welcome to it. Crazy thing has to be adjusted every time it gets used, if the hose has been jostled around at all, the beater bar won't work and there is no floor suction. I hate vacuums. Noisy, dirty things anyways. Got to enjoy the bath house at Baranof yesterday morning. For some reason I woke up at 6 am, after yesterday's blog that's hard to believe isn't it? Decided I might as well beat the rush, so grabbed my things and walked up the dock and the boardwalk to the baths. Met a lady coming back but didn't see anyone else waiting in line. Just walked right in, got the hot water filling the tub and proceeded to soak. Ahhhhh, so warm and cozy, stinky like sulfur but felt wonderful. Got back to the boat and was starting breakfast when Brad said, Let me know when you want to go up to the bath house and I'll pull the swim deck closer to the dock for you. Ummmm, hey Brad, I already went, been back awhile. The look on his face was priceless. First, he didn't know I had gotten off the boat. Second, he knew getting up early was not my favorite thing. Third, he couldn't imagine how I managed to jump off the boat. He said, Didn't you have a hard time going off the side? That must have been a stretch for you. Me - Yeah it was but I made it. Brad - Good thing, you would have gone straight down and there's no way up from there. Yep, I remember Minnie's story well so always try to be cautious when I climb up or down from the side. I've tried to listen to Minnie's experiences and learn from them. She went off the side of the boat, her foot slipped and down she went, right between the boat and the dock. She said it was so black and dark plus she shot straight down fairly deep. By the time she surfaced the guys were there to help her out but if they hadn't been there, she said there was no way she could have pulled herself out of the water. Scary. Really wish she would have started a journal all those years ago cuz she has alot of stories.

July 28

Happy Tuesday people. I missed the blog yesterday guess I was busy doing other stuff. Baking and cooking no doubt. Didn't take a nap but I did today. We've been traveling over Chatham Strait and had to button down the hatches again. This one was a four hour wild ride, one of the surveyors got sick but I think the rest were okay. Finally curled up on one of the cushions in the seating area and took a nap. Guess Brad was back here once and couldn't decide if I was still breathing, I was curled up in the fetal position and not moving at all. That was called self preservation on my part, I blocked out all the rocking and rolling, closed my eyes and let go. Much better than watching stuff fall off the shelves or waiting for the next big wave to hit. I've decided that I liked the spring weather better than this trip and I've only been on the water 7 days. There have been more yucky travel days this time and we still have weeks to go. Crap. Goes with the territory so I'm not complaining just stating facts. Will be in Kake in a few minutes then to the SOS grocery/hardware/auto parts/toy/home goods/clothing store. And it's maybe the size of a Circle K, maybe. Pretty interesting to walk around and find items that may have been on the shelf forever and then others that are current. Have my grocery list and hope to find everything we need. Vege's and produce are two of the biggest needs but I'm sure to have a full cart before I leave. The kids (surveyors) want Honey Bunches of Oats so I'm hoping to find those. That just means I don't have to cook breakfast!! YIPPEE. Those 7 am breakfast times are killer. I know, I know, its not that early to most of you but consider this, my previous job had me at the computer at 6:30 am four days a week. I got up, grabbed a quick shower and was in my chair within 5 mins of waking up. Then my dear, sweet hubby would make me breakfast and a coffee or go and get me a coffee and deliver them to my desk. So I didn't have to actually do anything but turn on the computer and put on my glasses. He took care of the rest, gotta love that man! Anyways, I'm just not a morning person, never have been and probably never will be. One of my first jobs was during my junior year when I worked at the Albany Mennonite home. I was hired for the kitchen (imagine that) and I had to be at work at 5:30 AM.....that's right, AM. And did I enjoy getting up at that hour? NOPE, not then, not now. I did enjoy the old folks though they were sweet. My main job was to make toast, that's right, I perfected the art of making toast. But flash forward 40 years later, (cripes, I'm old) and Brad had to scrape black off his toast this spring because I served it just a little too dark. I happen to prefer it that way but guess not everyone does. Well, we are about ready to dock, will catch up with you later. Sorry, I didn't get this posted yet, we are currently out of cell coverage again. I got my groceries in Kake and the kids were a great help putting things away. Plus I was able to get their cereal and more avocado's, they are happy. We are headed to Baranoff Springs but it will be late when we get there. Hoping to enjoy the bath house while we are there. I will post this when we get back in range........dj

July 26

Good evening! It's 6 pm and I'm waiting for the crew to get back from their survey, probably around 7:30. Dinner is cooking, chicken in the crock pot, rice and stir fry veges. Made a strawberry cake for dessert. Debating on whether or not to make some biscuits. Had an off day today, woke up at 5 with a splitting headache, went back to sleep and got up at 7:30 to make breakfast. Headache was better but still didn't feel great, told Brad I was going back to bed and when I woke up at 11 am, everyone was gone. I'm trying hard not to catch what the crew brought on board with them, sniffles, sneezes and all that crap. Taking some Emergen-C and advil, hoping and praying not to get sick. I've felt really good the whole time I've been up here, would hate to ruin my record. Got a pocket of cell coverage in this cove so enjoyed visiting with Byron several times. He got to go see his mom, who by the way is 94 yrs young. She is amazing, always has been. Her eyesight is failing which has now stopped her quilting, darn it. Over the years, I watched and learned how to put a quilt together from her. However, I never ventured into the hand quilting that she was so good at. My background didn't include sewing get togethers or quilting bee's. So my start came from her and all the blankets and quilts she made for people. I also learned alot of cooking techniques from Gramma J. Every Thanksgiving we would walk in the back door at their house on Hwy 20 in Sweet Home and she would hand me a spoon to try the stuffing cooking in the crock pot on the back porch. Then when dinner was almost ready, she set me in front of the stove and had me make the gravy, good grief, throwing me right into the fire. I had never made gravy before but she was confident I could do it. We canned beans and peaches together, made applesauce and jam. I loved every minute of it. Gramma J also showed me how to make cinnamon rolls and bread and rolls. My own mom was a good cook too and she taught me how to bake an apple pie, which I did my sophomore year of high school. She also taught me one of my favorite dishes to this day, green beans and red potatoes, simmered together and served with butter. Yummm.......simple but yummy. Guess I can thank those two ladies for my love of cooking and baking. We will be heading back to Ralph's Cove tonight, which was our first stop of the survey. They are hoping to be more successful on the second trip. The stream opens up to a gorge with high walls and cliffs on both sides, which is where they encountered the bears and had to wait for them to leave. The problem with that is the bears can only go further up the stream or straight down the stream, right where the crew is trying to catch the fish. I'm hoping today's survey went well, weather was pretty good although it rained here at the boat this afternoon. They don't mind the rain and wind, they stay fairly dry with their waders and rain gear. Well, going to go cut up the vege's so they are ready for stir fry. Headache is coming back, dang it anyways. Would appreciate your prayers for good health, thanks much. Yak at ya tomorrow....dj

July 25

Happy Saturday! Thinking of Byron and all his volunteers at the soccer camp today. He told me yesterday was possibly the best soccer camp day ever. He has a great coaching staff, volunteers were awesome, food was a hit and the speaker shared his story from the heart keeping everyone's attention. I'm so glad it turned out so well. Hoping today is the same way. Wish I was there but so glad all of you were there to help. Sitting up on the deck again, enjoying the morning. Breakfast was at 8:30 (YIPPEE), so true to my word, Sneezy got his biscuits and gravy. He pronounced it his favorite breakfast so far...out of three.....hahaha. Anyways, they made their lunches and left, I cleaned up all the mess and started dinner. We'll be having BBQ hamburgers, macaroni salad, pork n beans, maybe jello salad and maybe something else, never know what I'll come up with between now and then. That's why a menu doesn't work real well for me, I have to be able to change my mind once in awhile. When I woke up this morning, dinner was going to be rice and stir-fry vege's. But Brad said the weather was going to be warm and I might not want to heat up the galley since it stays warm all the time anyways. That's when I changed my mind. See, flexibility people, try it, you might like it! :-) Or don't, no matter to me. Brad told me where we were but I can't remember. Will go check my map in awhile. Beautiful spot, waters are calm, anchored at the back of a large cove, facing out to the open water. Saw a sow and her cub this morning with my binoculars! That was fun. Still learning how to use them, it's not as easy as just putting your eyeball up to the lens and looking through them, that's for sure. We heard about a different survey crew yesterday that was charged by a sow and she had to be shot in order to stop her. There was also a boar in the same area and they think he got the cubs. By "got" I don't mean saved, if you get my drift. Anyways, that must have been an awful experience. Happy told me that they are so thankful to have the bear guards with them. They work in the stream with their heads down most of the time and can't be watching around them very easily. I think I like my boat job, not interested in walking down stream to catch and measure fish and then worrying about walking up on a bear. But I do want to take the skiff out one of these days, that would be a good skill for me to have. I can see Byron cringe right now, he's seen me try to row a boat and he usually just says, put your oar down and let me do it. But with this skiff, I would have a motor so I bet I could do it. On our way to the next stream survey, Whitewater Creek. We just left Chalk Bay. Weather is still nice, water is smooth and no wind. I love it when a plan comes together. Not that I had any control over the weather. Got to visit with Byron a few minutes ago, he is pleased with the soccer camp and all the volunteers that were there. So glad it went well. Well, guess I better post this before we run out of coverage. See you tomorrow....dj

July 24

Hard to believe we've only been on the water 2 days, feels like it's been way more than that. Today we are at the small village of Tenakee, about 100 people live here. Many of the houses are empty during the year as they are used as vacation homes by Juneau residents. The village is nestled right at the edge of the water and snugged into the bottom of some beautiful mountains. Cell service is minimal, optional, hit & miss, scarce, pick a descriptive word. Met several residents that are helping with the stream survey today. One of the ladies has been here since 1976, the other one came in 2001. I think Nick said he's been here about 25 years. He's originally from Connecticut, how on earth he found his way out here must be quite a story. I am enjoying seeing the vastness of Alaska and the abundance of wildlife but pretty sure Oregon is my home, have no desire to actually live in the back country. I'm quite comfortable with my flush potty, running water and cell service, thank you very much. The weather has cleared! I'm sitting on the top deck in a nice deck chair Minnie purchased. Heck of a way to spend the day, I tell ya. Actually, I was up and had french toast and bacon on the table by 7, AGAIN. Still trying to work on Doc and change breakfast time to 8. Now I've got Sneezy and Happy helping me cuz they asked if I could make biscuits and gravy some morning for breakfast and I said sure enough, just get Doc to change the schedule! I'm crafty that way. I'm thinking of changing Doc's name to Foghorn, truly, I have never heard a woman blow her nose as loud as this chick. I almost thought my grandpa had come back to life and blessed us with his nose blowing talents. Could you all get used to it if I changed her name now? Considering this is a 5 week gig with these Chum experts, now would be a good time. Have decided to make enchiladas and corn casserole for dinner. Just finished a cheesecake so it's in the fridge. The chummies (my nickname for the 3 of them) seem to be enjoying the food, they always grab their dinner spots and start making funny sounds, like oooohhhh, aaahhh, yumm and an assortment of other sounds I can't begin to describe. Then as they are eating, they create some more new sounds. Thankfully, Foghorn waits until she's away from the table to make her sounds! I am also getting a chance to try out my new binoculars, they are Leupold ones, Mojave style. Figured out how to adjust them to my eyes and now I can see things far away. Very, very cool. I've actually been watching Tenakee trying to spot people along the shoreline. Is that considered bad taste? I'm not being snoopy, well, maybe I am. Mostly it's just fun to play with the binoculars. Maybe when I'm on the two hunts in September, I can actually spot a bear too. Everyone returned safely to the boat and enjoyed their dinner. I really boo-booed though. Before they all left this morning, I invited the three Tenakee surveyors to stay for dinner. After they left I realized what I had done. Every evening we have to travel to a new stream which can be a 3-6 hour journey. Which means Brad fires up the boat as soon as they return in order to get to the next spot at a decent time. Oh crap, maybe they won't stay but guess what? Yep, they stayed and visited with Foghorn while the rest of us are, I finally said aren't you guys going to eat? By then I knew Brad was chomping at the bit to get going. Finally they left the boat and I apologized to Brad, I said I forgot where I was and invited them to stay just like it was my own home. He smiled and didn't seem too upset but I felt bad. I hate to be the one to throw a kink in the schedule. Won't be inviting anyone over for dinner anytime soon! Going to try and post this while we have cell coverage. Love ya guys....dj

July 23

Well, welcome back to Alaska Debbie. We've been gone from Sitka 24 hours and the fun has already begun. We anchored in Ralph's Creek Cove last night around 10ish after a fairly uneventful trip. Before going to bed, Doc asked me if I could have breakfast ready at 7 so they could leave the boat at 8, AM! Well, yeah, I guess so, kinda hard to say no when that's my job, so I stayed up late baking muffins knowing there was no way I could get them done in time in the morning. So then.....about 2:30 am I woke up to waves slamming hard against the boat and dragging the anchor. I sleep underwater level in the front of the boat and I hear everything. The noise was incredible and the boat was rocking. I laid there waiting for Brad to come tell me we were under attack or there was a surprise storm. Finally drifted off to sleep figuring if it was important, he would let me know. I pulled myself out of bed at 6:15, that was a lie, the alarm went off at 6:15, I hit the snooze several times. Then I tried to find my hat to cover up the bad hair day and it was nowhere to be found. Just gave up and came out to the galley to get breakfast going. Brad popped around the corner and asked "did ya get any sleep?" Um, no, did you? He ended up sitting in a chair for 2 hours watching the anchor gauge, the wind speeds and how much we drifted. He said he was getting prepared to pull anchor and move the boat when the winds tapered off around 5ish. This storm was not predicted and we happen to be sitting in the right cove if we want all the wind to hit us with full force. Lucky us! Finally got everyone fed, they packed their own lunches and then we got the talk. Brad was very concerned with the wind as it had picked back up and was dragging the anchor again. He didn't want to leave me on the boat and have a problem with the boat being pulled into shore, I wholeheartedly agreed. It was left that if he felt the boat or any of us were in danger, he would cut the survey short and get out of this cove early. But wait, there's more. He took me too the wheelhouse and showed me how to read the computer program that shows us where we are, how deep the water is and where the dangerous spots are located. And if the computer shows "this" spot crossing "this" red line, it was time to get my survival suit on and be ready to board the skiff. WAIT a gol darn minute here, it's way to early in the morning to be hitting me with that kind of serious stuff. And again, we're not done, he takes me to the back of the boat so he can show me how to start the skiff and run it to shore in case I need to get off the boat quickly OR come and rescue them, depending on the tides. HAHAHAHA and good morning to me! Plus, one more thing, he had dropped off the surveyors and the guides so they could start the lower stream then he would join them after he made sure the boat was safe and stable. While he was back here, the group radioed in and said they were not able to continue the survey until a sow and her three cubs left the area but guess what? The bears weren't leaving so the group had to wait them out which meant we got up early for nothing! Dadgummit Conrad Grehbiel. Brad got ready to leave after he also explained the tides and how the water level would drop which would make the shore appear closer so I MIGHT think the boat was drifting and get nervous but he was confident the anchor was holding and would be fine. HOWEVER, if the depth finder goes to 3 or 5, get the survival suit and be ready to put it on. Oh for crying out loud. Enough already. As he left he mentioned that now he had to walk the mile or so up the creek to catch up with the group and since they were running into bears he was pretty sure he would see some also. Well, that puts me even more at ease, thank you very much. I'll beach the boat and the captain with tangle with a bear, all in a day's work I guess. Just checked the computer, everything looks good and the depth finder shows 12.6 so that number is where it should be. So far so good. Will come back to you later and let you know how the survey turns out for the day. The name of the survey program is "Interactions of Wild and Hatchery Chum Salmon in SE Alaska". Okay, they all survived the day and came back for a dinner of Polenta, veges, bread and salad. We are now on our way to the next stream for tomorrow's work day. Remember how I told you about Doc, Happy and Sneezy? These kids are a scream, seriously. We just hit a rogue wave (or the rogue wave hit us) anyways, stuff went flying. Doc and Happy jumped up and tried to grab the coffee pot as it flew across the room along with bread and other misc counter stuff. Sneezy on the other hand, grabbed the two canisters of cookies and the leftover birthday cake. He then promptly sat on the flour and hugged all the containers. What a goof. I happened to be sitting out on the back deck and almost went over backwards, not in the water, just on the deck. So this weather is being unpredictable, annoying and a little scary. Not going down to my room until we anchor tonight and I hope we find a nice little, quiet cove with no wind. That would be nice. Going to post this now since we only have cell coverage for a little longer. Take care and be safe everyone.....dj

July 22

Hi everyone. I'm back in the northern United States in the southern part of Alaska. We left Sitka today and have a 10 hour trip to our first Salmon Survey stream, Ralph's Creek. There are 3 biologists on board and one retired guy who will be here for the first week. What a great group to travel with over the next 5 or 6 weeks. Going to give them new names for the purpose of this blog. The retired guy, we'll call him Cookie Monster is fairly quiet except when he wants cookies, then you can feel his presence all over the boat. Since Minnie made me a birthday cake (which is possibly the best cake ever), I wasn't going to make cookies but I could tell by the hang-dog look on Cookie Monster's face that I might want to produce something that looked like a cookie. So now we have peanut butter & jam bars cooling on the table. Next one is Sneezy, only because he carries around a hankie and told me not to touch it. I can take a hint. :-). The remaining ones will be Doc (cuz she bandaged my cut finger) and Happy, cuz I think she is happy and has a nice laugh. I am already enjoying them and will have lots of fun cooking for them. They range in age from 26 to 29, I think. You know the rest of the crew, Brad the captain and Thierry the assistant guide. This trip both of the guys will take the biologists to the creeks and spend the day with them as bear guards. Not an easy job, some of the creeks take 2 hours to hike up before they can start their survey. And all along the way, they have to watch for bears. If they startle a bear it could charge them and they don't want to shoot the bear, just keep everyone safe. It's not something for the faint of heart that's for sure. And yes, that's why I remain on the boat! This trip is so different from the hunting trips, I will have breakfast ready by 8 and then put all their lunch stuff out so they can make their own sandwich and pick what they want for the rest of the lunch. Then they all head out for the day and I won't see them again until dinner time, more or less. As soon as they return, Brad will fire up the boat and we head off for the next destination, which could be 3 - 10 hours away. We won't be in cell service everyday so if you don't see a blog it's only because we are out of range. I have to say being home last month was a refreshing change for me. I walked into my home, which is a small(ish) condo and thought I was living in a mansion compared to the boat. I flushed the toilets with one hand and now I'm back to shifting a '52 Ford in order to flush. The scenery is breathtaking here but also realized that Oregon can hold it's own in the scenery department. Getting to spend time with family and friends gave me a boost in the emotion category which I sorely needed. Really enjoyed our trip to Wallowa Lake with the kids, haven't been back there for many years. And we got to reminisce about all the years we traveled there with many of our friends. We have so many great memories and it was fun listening to Travis and Jake recall some of them. Now Maddy, Alex and Peyton are making their own memories of the same place their dad had so much fun as a kid. Isn't that cool? And Stacey loves it there too, she see's the uniqueness of the area and all it has to offer. Austin and Erika got to enjoy a quick trip to Seattle to finalize Asher's adoption...YIPPEE! Asher Thomas Johnson is a welcome addition to our family and we are so tickled he is our 5th grandchild. Byron and I got to take Ryder birthday shopping, what a kick that was with him. Even got him to try on some jeans, that lasted about 10 mins but it was long enough to figure out his size! We did lunch and then bowling, woowee, what a fun time. So, I tried to enjoy every minute while I was home knowing I would be leaving again soon. Now that I'm here, its bittersweet. I miss everyone already, especially the big guy but just knowing you guys are out there keeping me in your prayers gets me through each day and helps me to enjoy the time here. Well, this needs to end, we are running out of cell range. Hope to visit with you as many days as possible, thanks for joining!........dj oh yeah, thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. Like Brad said, Happy Birthday, you get a two month cruise!