October 3, 2007

Fall continues with its spectacular colors and clear crisp weather. We have been getting a lot of rain, but when the skies clear, they really clear.

This weekend we headed to the Nancy Lakes area. We hadn’t been there for awhile and it is beautiful in the fall. We made the hour and a half drive early on Saturday afternoon. We then hiked the three miles in to Red Shirt Lake. We saw a few people along the way, but the fresh bear prints reminded us that we were in the wilderness. We saw numerous spruce grouse. They would usually be in the trail and just walk away from us, but occasionally we would surprise one and it would come flapping out of the brush. The sound is quite startling when you are trying to be wary of bears.

The lake was not particularly accessible as it is shallow and weedy. Vast marshy areas make navigating the perimeter impossible. We found a few open areas from which to fish. It was perfect fishing conditions, bright sun on a fall day. The northern pike were hanging in the shallows, enjoying the last burst of warmth while trying to get fattened for winter. We threw a number of different things their way, but only really had luck with the fly rod. I landed three small ones, just over a foot long. They were fun to catch. The water was crystal clear and the fish would follow and strike. A slightly larger fish did take a pass a couple of times, but I couldn’t hook it. It was the first time Kris had seen a northern pike. She decided they were hideous and beautiful. Their clownish mouths and long skinny bodies being the negatives and their marking the positives.

We hung out for a couple hours before heading back up the trail to be sure we got out before dark. It is so strange to have to be concerned about darkness. We stopped at the campground and found an open campsite. The campground was mostly empty but all the lakefront sites were taken. We made dinner, lit a fake log, and relaxed for a couple hours. We didn’t camp because the weather forecast was not promising. We headed for home around 8:30, the first time we have ever really driven home in the dark other than skiing. We made a good choice as a few minutes up the road, we had the windshield wipers on.

Sunday was rainy. We decided to hang around and make elk chili. I purchased some shelving for the garage. The project didn’t go well. The shelving went up easily on one wall but I have yet to find the studs in the other wall. It must have very strange construction.

I had my interview on Monday. It went well. There was a glitch in the process. The job classifications have very strange twists. They say they want someone with management experience, but the qualifications simply require someone who has worked in the technical role and has an appropriate degree. I think personnel choked on someone moving that many grade levels in one step. I was rather irritated, but was given the chance to provide more information about my technical experience. I think it worked. I got a pretty good clue that things are moving forward for me. I got a call from my boss this afternoon. He was surprised that I answered. He let it slip that I had made an error on my email earlier in the week. I went back to see what I had sent him and it turned out to be my list of references. Sure enough, I had accidentally put my phone number on my first reference. I hope he didn’t think I was being sneaky.

The last couple of evenings have been awesome. The sun has been bright. The mountain snow absolutely glows. The bright yellow leaves are still hanging on. Last night we ended up hiking four miles up on the hillside. We found some trails we haven’t hiked before and we just kept going. Tonight we just walked down to Taku Lake. We didn’t get to see any wildlife on either hike, just a few ducks on the lake. It was still nice to get out and enjoy the weather. It has been awhile since I saw a moose.

I had to take my truck in for service. I got a check engine light. $850 later and my truck is in reasonably good shape. The quote for all the things they found was $950, but I recognized a part and suggested that it had already been replaced once. They pulled up my records and confirmed that they had worked on it before so it saved me $100. So there goes about half my dividend check from the state. We had ours direct deposited today. $1654 each, $3308 total. Thank you for living in Alaska.