Living La Vida Loca

Family on the Dock!

By now, many of you know that Mike has returned to Arizona to be with family. After much consultation with the folks at home, he made that choice. He didn't even know until he got there whether it would turn out to be the right choice or a premature decision. He says it was the right choice and I am happy for him and them that he is there. I do miss him so! And so do a lot of the Skagway people. Thank you to everyone here for their thoughts and good wishes.

Of course, leaving just wasn't going to happen without some kind of partying or shenanigans. On Wednesday, July 17 the three of us--Mike, Taylor and I--did a parallel tour up to the Yukon. That is one of our longest tours. Often, when it is absolutely cloudy and socked in at the White Pass, the Yukon will be overcast but without the blinding fog. So, it's a very welcome tour after days of fog.

The night before our parallel tour, we had talked about some shenanigans and with the blessing of one of the dispatchers (I won't say who), we pulled it off with style and panache. The idea was for us to drive each others' coaches....with each others' people still in them. We really hadn't discussed how we were going to go about this. Here's how it went down. At a picture stop, I went in to use the rest room on his coach since there was a line in my coach. As I came down the aisle of his coach to leave, I saw my coach pulling away. Mike's people laughed and were all in on the joke. It went off perfectly. Of course, my tour narration was totally shot, but more importantly, the people and we had a lot of fun together.

A lot of our tours require our passengers to wear a sticker designating to the vendor what tour they're on and what is included in that tour. This was no exception. Sadly, one of the most picturesque photo stops contains a guard rail that is plastered with these stickers. So many of us now give our passengers a choice. They can save it for their scrapbook, toss it in our very well designated trash bags or they can put the stickers on us. Many passengers have a lot of fun putting the stickers on their driver. This time, I told everyone that because Mike hijacked my coach, he needed to wear the stickers!

Sorry it's so dark, but it IS inside the coach!

Later on that evening it was taco night at the Dredge, followed by more drinks at the Pizza Station, then karaoke at the Bonanza. Mike did an amazing job with "Mack the Knife." And I don't think he looked at the karaoke monitor even once! A lot of folks came out to wish him well and that was much appreciated.

Lounge crooner

On Friday, the 19th, he was due to leave Skagway at 5:30 a.m. He got out of Skagway, but the plane only made it 14 miles down to Haines before it had to land due to fog. Lots of calls with our management to rearrange his flight from Juneau to Seattle....and he landed in Juneau twenty-five minutes before the flight was due to leave. The airline desk told him that he couldn't go because he had to check in THIRTY minutes prior to departure. He wasn't even checking luggage! You can imagine the frustration. Because I'm aware of the fog and how weather can really alter travel plans up here, I'd purchased travel insurance for his flight from Seattle to Phoenix which we pay for. The company will get you to Seattle...you're responsible from Seattle to anywhere else. After numerous calls to US Air and the travel insurance company, it turns out we have to pay the $150 change fee up front....and we're supposed to be reimbursed by the travel insurance company. We're waiting on that. After staying over an unplanned night in Juneau, he did get to Seattle on the 20th. Everyone at home was very happy to see him.

The question you're probably wondering is how I'm going to get home. I will be driving our pickup with the majority of our "stuff" at the end of the season. Yes, I'm driving alone. The 3,136 miles. However, no worries...I will be convoy-ing with several other vehicles at least as far as Seattle. After that, at least I'll be back in the U.S. Who knows...maybe your house will be one of my stops on the way.

Life does goes on here and Sunday, the 21st was a bridal shower for Daisy. Daisy and Chris are one of THREE couples who work for the company who became engaged this summer. Now this was a shower, Skagway style. What do you do when there just aren't a lot of stores to choose from?!?!?!? You just make do. You order online and have it shipped, you make do with what's at the hardware store, gift stores and clothing stores. Games were fun, delicious crepes. The young couples hosting the shower did a lovely job.

Shari, Daisy and Amanda at the shower

Other than that, it's been work, work work all week. Work...and more drivers leaving. We will be very busy in the last few weeks. Happily, a few of the highway drivers are staying on and will pick up some of those tours that right now we're scrambling to cover.

One day the sun shone through a crack in the clouds at the Yukon Suspension Bridge and at least the passengers were treated to:

"What does it mean?"

Generally, the Skagway River is a milky greenish gray color due to glacial silt being suspended in the water. But with all the rain we've had, it got very high one day and quite a muddy brown. The compensation for that was that the steep mountains again have many tiny waterfalls.

The rain continues....the high and muddy Skagway River.

As for work, some great tours, some tours that were meh, some that tipped well, some that didn't. Essentially, all the usual. Happily, no problems, accidents or complaints for me. One day I had an afternoon Bridge and Bake where you drive up to the place in the pic above that has the rainbow. There was NO FOG!!!! There was no fog the entire journey up nor back. And we saw two black bears. What a difference being able to see the scenery can have on one's outlook on life!

Alas, it was just one day and then it was back to fog as usual. Today, I requested the day off for my fantasy football draft. I think I have a good team. It will be very, very odd to be watching opening games without Mike. Hope he's happy that I've got a couple of the Jets on my fantasy team!

Later on in the morning, despite the drizzle, I took a wee hike up to Lower Dewey Lake and hiked around it. I believe it's about a 3.6 mile hike. That doesn't sound like much, but it's the longest solo hike I've taken since breaking my ankle last November. I wish I could say that the picture is of blue sky, but it's clouds. But no wind on the lake, so a lovely reflection of the surrounding mountains. It is so special to walk through the mist as your feet crush the fragrant spruce needles. It was good to hike....even a little bit.

Lower Dewey Lake

Lots of Rainy Days

Brian and Mike setting off on the Chilkoot Trail 7/22/11

When I'd last written, Mike and Brian Vickers had just set off on the Chilkoot Trail. While it's not my story to tell, this is the only venue Mike uses for his stories. So his stories are from my perspective and cannot do them justice. Here are a few photos of their achievement. According to Mike, they hiked well together. Being a good hiking partner is a difficult thing. A lot depends on compatibility of pace and temperament. They're both pretty easy-going people and it was just a few days. Mike was expecting to feel crippled in his knees by the end of the hike, but he reports feeling quite well and in better shape than he expected. He had spent a few days doing multiple hikes to Lower Dewey Lake as training.

I asked him if hiking the Chilkoot would affect how he gives his tour about the Klondike Gold Rush. He said, absolutely! Actually, he said, "Those people were crazy!" Remember, they had to hike it multiple times during the winter carrying their year's supply of goods over the pass. Had to be pretty damned determined! I would love to hear his tour at this point.

On the Golden Staircase
(I like the line of people in the snow in the background.)

Summiting!

Mike owling at the summit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owling_%28internet_meme%29

After that weekend, things were "back to work," as usual. Mike does the highway tour with 1-3 days off in between runs. I'm working 4-6 days a week. Last year at this time, many of my co-workers were saying they couldn't wait to get back home. All I could think was, "I NEVER want to leave here!" Well, maybe it's being here for the second year. Maybe it's the fatigue of driving and being "on" for all the guests. Maybe it's thoughts of things going on back in Arizona and that we should be there. But I understand the sentiment of being ready to move on. There are 5-1/2 more weeks of the work season in Skagway.

Last weekend, August 4-6, we had three visitors up from Juneau: Todd, Dan and Rhonda! Now, Todd wasn't here to specifically see us. He was actually attending a wedding of a friend of a friend. The wedding was spectacular in a hippy-ish sort of way and the weather was actually half-sunny for a few hours. Wish I'd known the couple. Looks like a fun time.

But Dan and Rhonda came and stayed with a friend of a friend here in town. So, they were able to do this trip very economically! First, Dan and Rhonda rode on Taylor's Best of Skagway tour. Taylor said she felt a little nervous having people she actually knows listening to her tour. But Rhonda said that Taylor had "a good flow" with her narration and that they enjoyed it very much. Alas, Rhonda hadn't received her passport yet, so she couldn't go on any of the tours that go up into Canada. But they had a great time with Taylor. That night, Rhonda treated us to dinner at the Brewco to thank us for having her in our home during training. No need to have done that, but we enjoyed dinner and even more so, their company!

The next day, Mike had plans to go fishing with Joe Ashton. They did catch a couple of salmon, but we haven't yet downloaded those pics to our computer. Alas, you won't get to see Mike holding a fish he caught. As many of you know, there are already hundreds of pics of Mike holding a newly caught fish. But one of him with a salmon is a new thing entirely.

With Mike busy fishing, I went with Rhonda and Dan to go zip lining out in Dyea. This is the newer of the zip line adventures here in the Skagway area. This one has TEN zips! The first couple, you're still getting comfortable. By the third or fourth, you're hanging upside down, swinging around, going forwards, backwards, etc. It was a blast. Truly wonderful to almost feel like you're flying. Of course, since the lines are constructed for the tourist trade, there are enough corporations involved that the safety issue is pretty bomb-proof. We were tethered and cabled at all times. Very little sense of danger. Lots of exhilaration!

Rhonda, Dan and Shari...having a LOT of fun!

Me...reaching up to slow down at the end of a zip.

We continued to spend time together, meeting Betty, the woman they were staying with. We shared a couple more meals together, before they had to return to Juneau. I would love to go to Juneau and partake in some of the adventures there!

The days since included a company barbecue of tri-tip, brats, etc. Sadly, the day was rather cloudy, windy and cold. So, that party broke up pretty early. Mike's pretty bummed because he's been on the road for almost all the barbecues this summer except perhaps the first one. This one was held in honor of the fact that we have had no DOT violations so far this summer. Last year the management hosted a feast for us each month. This year they're tied to DOT performance. Ok. We're pretty good. Unless you've lied in your logbook, all you need as the driver to pass is to drive decently, have your license/medical card/logbook up to date and have the paperwork for the coach up to date. I've been stopped twice. It is so non-threatening.

Yesterday, Mike and I hiked to Upper Dewey Lake. It's a popular, moderate/strenuous hike with a 3080 foot elevation gain from sea level in 4 miles. It was one of two things I didn't do last year that I wish I had done. (The other was the zip line!) I had attempted this hike last year, but got about 3/4 of the way from Lower Dewey to Upper Dewey before returning due to snow on the trail being too deep and due to fatigue. Well, I was every bit as fatigued this year... just no snow. We'd hoped to have a good day, but we haven't seen a sunny day here in weeks. In fact, it was one of the rainiest days of the summer...and certainly one of the foggiest.

We reached Upper Dewey Lake after more than twice the time it takes the average person to hike to it. That was due to me being so very much out of condition. Happily, it was NOT due to my ankle being so out of condition. My ankle did hurt and I was being uber-careful, but it wasn't what was slowing me down. We knew we were at the lake because we reached the two cabins that are up there. We were able to see just the edge of the lake. The fog was that thick.

We stayed up there for about an hour. We found the geocache up there and Mike built me a fire in the stove in one of the cabins. He's good at building a fire...even with all damp wood!!! And since the cabin is just at the edge of treeline there, there wasn't much wood to be found...especially in the fog. Then we headed down. I wasn't much faster going down than up. My right knee is pretty much kaput for downhill hiking. Our hiking paces were not at all compatible. However, Mike was there to make sure I was safe at all times. I can't say that either of us "enjoyed" the disparity of our hiking paces. I certainly didn't enjoy knowing that in this condition, I'm a miserable hiker. At least this time, I didn't wig out from fear of being hurt again. Let's just say that the hike was an achievement, if not enjoyable. What this means for the future, I don't know and don't even want to consider. Unfortunately, I didn't think to download the few photos we took of our hike before Mike left for Whitehorse on his next run today and took the camera with him.

5-1/2 more weeks. Tony left. Chad left. Jaz is leaving tomorrow. The diaspora has begun. People are talking about their plane/train/bus tickets. People are talking about their winter plans. Two are going to work with dog mushers for the winter. Tony is going to China. Several are going back to college. Many have no idea. Many have plans in the works for various jobs. We'll definitely be returning home to Peoria, AZ.

The colors began changing the last couple of days of July. The temperatures have certainly gotten colder. The salmon are running...far more in number than last year. Wildlife sightings for me have decreased, though we did see a marten up by Upper Dewey yesterday. That was interesting. Mike has seen more wildlife, but he's on the road covering a larger territory than I am. However, we did happen to see the same bear and her THREE cubs in about the same area...but on different days. I was unable to get a photo, but Mike did:

Mama Bear and 3 cubs...one is hiding in the fireweed just below mom's head.

Mike knows I love flowers, so he took this photo in Dawson City just for me.

I know I haven't said it, but reading your comments, e-mails and posts to Facebook have meant so much to me. We're apart by the miles, but please know that you're each in my heart. And when you comment, it reminds me that I'm writing to you as individuals and not as a group or for mass publication. My blog is not intended to be a book for the general reader, but something that is my way of talking to each of you and including you in this wonderful adventure that is Alaska. Much love from the land of the midnight sun...no longer sunny at midnight at this time of year.