May 29, 2010

We are glad that we never succumbed to the temptation to buy a second home, cabin, or ski condo.  This constant moving back and forth is too much work and oddly stressful.

We are back in the condo after a quick two night trip up north.  Our previous trip to Bird Creek ended peacefully as the campground and bike trail emptied of the weekend crowd.  We took a bike ride to Bird Point before packing up on Monday.  We didn’t see another person using the trail until we were almost back.  It was a pleasant morning ride.

Monday’s stop at the condo was relatively easy.  We didn’t even turn the refrigerator off in the trailer.  We had to adjust the gear collection in the van, dropping a couple bicycles and the skis in exchange for some fishing gear and kayaks.  We are getting quicker and more efficient at everything.  We can hook up the trailer in about 15 minutes now with a process that is reminiscent of the teamwork that we developed on our tenting trips. 

My judgment on campsites is proving overly conservative.  Arriving on a Tuesday at Nancy Lakes’ South Rolly Campground, one of our favorite spots, gave us two choices for lakefront campsites.  I didn’t think the first one was big enough so I backed into the second one.  After seeing how long the site was compared to our rig, I realized that we could fit into the first site.  We walked the sites and decided the first site was more level and had much better lake access for the kayaks.  This gave me an additional practice at backing into relatively tight spots.  The long trailer and relatively short truck wheelbase make me feel pretty competent, although I still need improvement on judging the right point to start turning the trailer when it is that far behind me. 

We set up the trailer which took a little longer than usual as we made a couple of adjustments on leveling and positioning.  We still had most of the afternoon to begin exploring.  Our goal was king salmon fishing, although it is really early.  We investigated two locations, Caswell Creek and Sheep Creek Slough.  Unfortunately road construction consumed a little time out of our afternoon, but neither location looked particularly promising with no signs of fish.  I made a few casts with ultralight tackle looking for trout while visually looking for the big fish, but even the little fish didn’t show themselves.

We returned to the campground and took the kayaks out after dinner.  My goal for the evening was to catch a northern pike on a topwater lure.  I think it was the first time I had used a baitcasting reel from the kayak.  It took a great deal of practice to get used to casting from such a low position.  Lofting the lure only resulted in backlashes, but not nearly as bad as misjudged casts that slammed into the water right in front of the boat.  I wasn’t finding any fish so I headed through the narrow channel that Kris and I had explored on a previous trip to get to the next lake.  As Kris and I floated near the marshy shore, I explained that I was looking for a second wake to show up behind the wake my lure was leaving.  Just then, something splashed right behind my lure.  Soon I hooked and landed a pike on my old fashioned jitterbug, a fish so small that it had no business attacking a lure that big. 

On Wednesday, we returned our attention to king salmon.  We went to the mouth of Willow Creek, a popular fishing spot that was occupied by only a few fishermen on this weekday afternoon.  I started with the ultralight gear as we explored the channels and creeks that merge together at this point.  I landed a small but powerful rainbow before we took a lunch break.  After lunch, I took the heavy gear down to the water.  I worked my favorite spinner along the shore line, slowly walking from the fast water to the first deep pool, hoping to find an early arrival that was hiding from view.  Kris caught a small trout on the ultralight rod.  I switched lures and worked back out.  By this time, my arms were tired from casting the heavy rod which was hampered by the oversized line I have on it.  I spent another hour or so with the ultralight while Kris enjoyed the sunshine, wandering about a little and reading a book.  We didn’t find any big fish and only caught a couple of small fish in almost a full day of watching Willow Creek empty into the Susitna River, but we were both quite happy to be outside on a hot sunny day. 

We returned to the campground.  I went fishing in South Rolly for an hour before dinner, catching another pike, this one a little more interesting in size, as my casting technique improved to near Everglades perfection.

At 9:00 that evening, we decided to go for a bike ride.  Kris wanted to get some miles in as she is getting ready for another team effort at the Eagle River Triathlon.  I had suggested waiting until late evening because I thought we might see some animals.  It was still pleasant temperatures as the sun dropped low into the sky.  The smooth pavement on Nancy Lake Parkway felt like easy pedaling.  We saw more cars on the road at this late hour than I had been hoping, but we did see a beaver on South Rolly.  I also saw a moose, but forgot that I wasn’t in a habituated area and began talking to it before Kris had a chance to see it.  In Anchorage, I often talk to the moose and they just look at me.  This one ran off.  The real wildlife treat was a porcupine right along the side of the road.  Their nocturnal preferences make them such a rare sight for us and they are one of the cutest animals in Alaska.  Unfortunately they are also shy and the only pictures I have ever taken of them are of their backsides since they immediately turn away from anything that might be a threat.  We rode the entire length of the parkway, an out and back of thirteen miles.  I felt strong in spite of my heavy bike, charging up the hills and cruising the flats.  My neck was getting sore from constant scanning back and forth for animals.  It was a great ride.

We woke up on Thursday morning and hopped on the kayaks for an early morning paddle.  Kris made a quick lap of the large lake while I took a more leisurely pace with my fishing gear.  I had intended to try fly fishing for pike, but after a few minutes, I realized that my arm was too tired from the previous day’s effort for kings.  I returned to my baitcasting rig and found a shallow cove that produced some fast action.  After landing a decent pike, I had another small one follow on the very next cast.  A few casts later, I saw a v-shaped wake shoot out from under a tree toward my lure right after it hit the water.  The shallowness of the water made the fish seem bigger than it was, getting my hopes up.  The fish didn’t strike.  It only followed.  As my lure approached the kayak, I stopped reeling and the fish stopped moving right under it.  I moved it forward and the fish moved forward.  I tried to figure-eight the lure, but the fish swam a short ways off, unsure of what to make of me.  I couldn’t entice a strike, but I was amused by the encounter.

Our return to civilization was another effort at efficiency.  We picked up, hooked up, and drove off.  We stopped at a dump station at a Holiday gas station that used to be free.  We were disappointed that they were charging $5 to use their facility, but paid the price just to avoid trying to find another location.  We seem to be developing some efficiency and teamwork at the dump stations, as well.  We are both pleased that we bought the seemingly expensive hose kit as it has been problem free.  It just doesn’t seem like a good piece of equipment on which to try to save money.

With the end of this trip, we completed six nights without refilling water or dumping tanks.  We still had almost a third of a tank of water and had barely crossed a third of a tank of grey water.  The black water tank levels are unreliable, so we really don’t know how close to full we were.  It read two thirds full for at least three days, but we don’t think that makes any logical sense.  We were intentionally pushing it to see if it would fill up, but we never arrived at full.  We now know that we can easily get through a week without hookups, although battery management was much easier in the warmer weather.  A week of cold could still produce some power management challenges.

We spent almost half of May in our trailer and the experience was very positive.  This is a good thing as the real estate market does seem to have picked up a little.  We are having relatively regular showings.  We are getting quite a bit of interest, including a third showing that doesn’t seem to have worked out and one crappy offer.  The offer is from a first time buyer who thinks they can avoid the assistance of an agent by using some forms from the internet.  The problem is that they have no clue as to what is important to a seller.  We countered with an intelligent and generous offer, but we suspect that their unrealistic understanding will not result in a deal.

We also made more progress on getting rid of stuff.  Kris went to a movie with her friends on Thursday evening and they all stopped by to see our stuff.  One of them is furnishing a cabin so she needed some things and our prices are unbeatable.  We sold several more of our nicer, larger items, and gave away a bunch of small things that look like they are going to be used, the best one can hope for their unwanted items.

We have long passed the point of no return, but each step adds to the reality of our situation.  It is exciting, but also a little scary.  Dramatic events like ridiculous reactive swings in the stock market and an oil spill that could change the course of the oil and gas industry add to the uncertainty.  We are executing our plans with near perfection.  We are beginning to realize a decades old dream of living in an RV.  It doesn’t seem real and time is passing so quickly.  I hope we have the time to enjoy the moments of our experience rather than always scrambling to get to the next point in the plan.  We want to be focused on the present, but the future is always driving our actions.  I wish we could freeze time for awhile.

Today worked out pretty well.  We had the best spring skiing of the season.  Temperatures soared into the seventies at the base.  Temperatures at the top were quite comfortable, actually warm, with just a light jacket over a short sleeve shirt.  The snow was a little sticky, but the steeps were great, the salted sections that will be used for race training this summer were relatively easy, and the moderate slopes provided slow speed bump skiing that made me feel like a mogul expert.  We even took three runs off high traverse, a surprise opening for this time of year.  The first run was on one of the steepest sections on that part of the mountain.  It felt like jumping off a cliff with each turn, only to catch ourselves gently with the next.  The penalty was a difficult flat run through sticky snow on the exit, but I am still enjoying the memory of those turns.

I shaved for the first time in a couple of weeks last night.  I forgot my shaver on our second camping trip, the four day trip down to the Kenai Wildlife Refuge.  After four days, I decided to keep going to find out what I look like with a beard.  My chin was nearly all white so it does make me look old.  I had never gone that long before so it was somewhat amusing, but it was also somewhat annoying and not really a look that seemed right to me.  I am glad I did that.  It wasn’t something I would have ever done while working or even could have done at many of my jobs due to policies against beards because they interfere with effective respirator use.