Finally ended my first hitch. As I sat waiting for my flight in Deadhorse, I did some people watching. The predominately male crowd was clean shaven (unusual for Alaska but it’s a slope rule since you have to be able to wear a full face respirator and it has to fit tightly around your face, which it cannot do with a beard), ranging in age from early twenties to a few in their early sixties. I waited to get on the plane last. It was hard to believe a 737 could hold all those in the seemingly endless line, but as these are charter flights, the oil companies want every last seat filled. When I finally got on the plane, I saw that goal was met – not a single empty seat.

No alcohol is allowed on the slope. Not sold or brought in with luggage. There is no booze served on the flights north. However, on the flight south, alcohol is served, and at a discount price. Everyone is allowed two drinks, at $2.00 each. As the stewardesses moved through with the beverage cart, wads of 4 one dollar bills passed to the middle, and doubles of Alaskan Ale, Budwiser Beer, and Crown Royals shorties passed towards the window. It was a practiced orchestra, and the cart moved quickly to the back, doling out it’s precious cargo to thirsty Slopers. As I sipped my drink, I thought I’d never tasted one so good – and that was the same look I saw on those around me.

As I touched down in Anchorage, I scurried to the check in doors, where my buddy Todd was waiting in his truck with 3 tires I’d purchased from Craigslist. He’d bought them for me, and delivered them to the airport so I could take them home as baggage. Luckily, instate travel still allows 3 free bags in Alaska. Each tire and rim weighed over 50 lbs, so I had to pay $50 for each tire, but the tires were in great shape and as luck would have it, the rims look like they’ll fit my Chevy 3/4 ton. I only paid $75 for all 3 tires, so $225 was still a good deal. These 3 match the 2 I’d bought a few months ago, so now I’ve got 4 fresh tires and a matching spare.

Today’s 4th of July was cool here in Juneau. Funny to be cold coming this far south after being just right or even hot on the Arctic Ocean for the past 3 weeks.

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

Hundreds of caribou showed up today during the time we passed through to work about 530 am and the time we returned to our housing about 6 pm. Several were bedded down right on the black sand beach, along with a couple new calves. Looks like they’re there to get some breeze and keep the bugs down.

A few chicks are hatching from the water fowl. Also saw a fox running under one of the pipelines along the road.

All the caribou out on the tundra remind me of other deer family out on the east Africa plains, especially under the bright arctic sun.

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

Lots of open water now. We saw many caribou cows with brand new calves crossing the road in front of us on our way to work this morning. Another beautiful day in the high arctic, with sun and a breeze which kept the mosquitoes down. More and more caribou moving in. No chicks yet from the waterfowl, but it won’t be long now.

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

Today was to be the day! I sold my boat to a crab
fisherman down in Washington State. We agreed to put
the boat on the ferry for the buyer. Easy, right? So
he schedules for May 31. On May 31, the only ferry
that goes to Bellingham has what a friend at the ferry
termed the “annual generator fire”, and the ferry was
canceled. The ferry was full the following week, so
we rescheduled for the 13th.

On the 13th, I wanted to get the boat out to the ferry
early in case any little thing happened. And it did.
A wheel bearing went. We called a tow truck, and
headed to Western Auto hoping they carried the right
bearing. When we arrived there, they had closed
early. Due to the high electric prices from the
avalanche. The tow guys even thought they knew of one
of their trailers that had the same bearing/wheel
assembly that we could swap. He went and took it off
and brought it back. But it didn’t fit.

So, we rescheduled for the 20th. I contacted my
marine mechanic, who said he couldn’t do it that week
because he had other deadlines. I had to leave for my
new job the next day, so I hoped myself and/or my
buddies could find someone. They found a guy who
would try to do it in the evenings. By the time he
got to it, got the other wheel off to see what kind of
bearing was needed (because the makers of the trailer
couldn’t tell us!), there were none in Juneau and he
had to order it…and not in time for the 20th ferry.

So this week, my buddy calls to say his friend had
redone all four wheels. I think, “Finally, this boat
is headed south”. My wife and buddy coordinate with
the tow guy (same tow guy from above) to take the boat
to the ferry. The tow guy takes the boat out there
early, so all he has to do is show up at the appointed
2 am time to put the boat on the ferry, and it’s a
done deal. He shows up at 2 am, just as THE FERRY IS
LEAVING, and my boat is still in Juneau. The ferry,
which has left at 430 am like clockwork for the past
month, changed the schedule for THIS WEEK ONLY 2 hours
earlier….

If the buyer backs out now, I will not hold a grudge..

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

Solstice was yesterday. High was 66, and my face is
sunburned. Today, little white flowers are blooming
on the tundra. More waterfowl are showing up, as are
more caribou. The pack ice was moving offshore for a
couple days, but today is back in with the wind shift.
Although we drive the same (one and only) road to and
from our lodging everyday, I still see new things I
hadn’t noticed before at roadside industrial sites.
It’s hard to wrap my arms around this place, but I
learn more everyday. One of the most striking things,
really, is how clean the whole place is. It’s really
no foolin’ on any type of spill here – even if you
miss the funnel on refilling the oil like on the small
generators we were doing preventative maintenance on
today. The units go into “duck ponds”, which are
little square duckie-yellow pool-like things about 8
inches deep. You place absorbent pads in these, then
your engine on the pads. It’s called “secondary
containment”, and is the law of the land here in the
oil field. All the soiled absorbs go into a double
bagged “oily waste” bag, and these go to a separate
handling facility. There’s no garbage or other type
of dump here that I know of – all garbage is shipped
out.

I’m alot less apprehensive now about drilling in the
state for oil. From seeing things here, I’m sure we
can do the drilling and extraction safely. What the
oil itself does to global warming, global warfare,
etc., is another question, as is transporting the oil
safely. And of course, I don’t think new production
will drop the price of gas significantly anywhere –
not even here in Alaska.

Our quandry is people demand their free annual money
from the state – called the “Permanent Fund Dividend”
above all other governmental functions. That check
depends on the price of oil (at least in part). So,
people here bemoan the high oil prices, but also
demand their checks be as high as possible – which
means selling the oil here as high as possible.

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com

The nicest day yet today. Actually got sunburned on
my face today. Saw an arctic fox while we were
pressure testing oil spill response hose. More and
more pairs of geese, ducks and song birds are arriving
for the big nest. Much more open water, it seems
today, and water so blue.

–
Mark Stopha and Sara Hannan
Alaska Wild Salmon Company
Wild Salmon and Salmon Pet Treats
4455 N. Douglas Hwy
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-3115
www.GoodSalmon.com