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