Back On The Mainland ...

Greetings Everyone!

Friday was a big day for us - we left our cabin for the first time since October 2010.  We crossed the lake with our friend who had shown up the day before - and he gave us a ride to where we have our truck stored.  Crossing the lake by snowmachine was not as bad as I thought it would be - just a bit bumpy - but I was 'just' a passenger.

We went into the small town of Sterling, Alaska - for about three hours - to get our mail, drop off Ernie's chainsaw for repairs, pick-up a new snowmachine trailer hitch, get ice cream (Ernie loves his ice cream) and a couple of other supplies.

Upon returning to the Lower Landing to travel back to our cabin - another friend had just shown up with his snowmachine.  So we crossed together.  After we reached the island and stopped to say good-bye to our friend at his cabin - two other snow machiners' showed up.  They were out exploring the lake - looking for a place to ice fish.

Ernie heading for a spot to park the snowmachine before heading into town.

Looking back across the lake towards Caribou Island from the Lower Landing.

When we arrived back at the Lower Landing to return back to our cabin - a friend showed up to take supplies to his cabin.  So we crossed together - approximately 4:40 PM.

 After we arrived at our cabin and were relaxing for the evening - we heard the winds beginning to pick-up.  The winds are predicted to remain strong - gusting to 50 mph through Monday - along with warmer temperatures ---- so we will not be leaving again for a few days.  We had planned to hitch up our snowmachine trailer - with the new hitch - and haul four bags of trash to the local dump - plus pick-up Ernie's chainsaw - but those can wait.

Take Care!

Interesting Day's

Greetings Everyone!

It's been quiet for the past few days.  Last Sunday we had planned to go into Sterling for our mail but turned back. We had started out across the lake (with the neighbor building his cabin)  - setting trail markers along the way.  As we got close to the ice ridge that is at the 'handle' of Frying Pan Island - the winds began picking-up on the lake - in turn, blowing snow. 

Looking at the horizon - towards the Lower Landing and the increasing winds - Ernie decided we should turn back.  It was a good decision.  Within a hour a snow storm arrived - creating whiteout conditions.  Later that evening strong winds came and blew two days - followed by warm temperatures that melted snow - as well as creating overflow on the ice.

For the past few days we've experienced below freezing temperatures which have now frozen the overflow on the lake.   Yesterday, Ernie went out to test the ice and reset trail markers.  While he was doing that - another cabin neighbor came zooming over the ice ridge following the marked tail.  It was great to see him - at first we did not recognize him because he was wearing a helmet and cold weather gear.

He followed us back to our cabin and surprised us with fresh veggies and real eggs!  Later that evening we had our first fresh salad since October 2010!  Bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers and lettus never tasted sooooo good - topped off with toasted pecans, dried cranberry's, feta cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette.

Making the decision to turn back last Sunday.

The snow storm last Sunday. 
 Ernie is packing down snow in front of our cabin with the snowmachine.

An ice ridge in front of our cabin - one of the very few places around the island - our luck.

Today, we plan to cross the lake to get our mail.  We've not had mail since last October.  With the lake now frozen - we expect to see more folks coming to the island.

Oh - last Sunday - when we first set out to cross the lake - we saw someone on a snowmachine across from our cabin - on the mainland - zipping along the shore pulling a sled behind as s/he was headed way up lake. 

Take care and thank you for checking-in!

Water and Ice ...

Greetings Everyone!

We are doing well and have been occupied with projects - as well as getting out and exploring.  With the recent snow fall - we have been playing with the snow machine - zooming around - middle age folks playing 'Easy Rider' - but without the bugs in our teeth.

Ernie putting up the interior walls of the shed - he's using recycled plywood.

Arctic entryway - the window we removed was to the right - its all boarded up now.  Come spring, we'll remove the door next to the boarded up window.

The window's new location in the shed.

My new waterhole - we used an auger to drill down 16 inches.

Ernie brought the snow machine down to the waterhole --
 to haul the water containers (100 gals) up to the cabin.

Ernie out on the lake taking ice depth measurements - Frying Pan Island is off to the right. 
Ernie took readings every 150 - 200 feet and I followed him on the snow machine.  My job was to place stakes in the holes. Ernie used a portable 13 inch drill bit - when the two battery's died out - he used an electric drill plugged into a power pack. Ernie drilled a minimum of 8 inches - every other hole was 12 -13 inched deep - he never 'hit' water. 

Me - placing a stake into the ice. 
 There is about 1 -2 inches of snow on the ice.  I had fun driving the snow machine across the ice. 
 I'm learning how to drive it - and its not too much different than a big, fat, flat motorcycle.

Starting out..placing a stake - Swan Cove is way in the back ground. 
 It was a beautiful day to be out on the lake - no winds and the temperature was 15 degrees F. 
While we were on the ice - an eagle flew over - very majestic.

I wish the English language had a multitude of descriptive terms to use to describe the snow - like the Eskimos have.  The snow is so very different - sometimes the snow appears like interlocking crystals - and even those are different.  The snow changes according to temperature - wish I could describe them - I suppose the closest I could get would be - some are like salt grains - others are similar to coarse brown sugar - but even those terms don't describe the snows uniqueness.

One reader had a question - so I'll response here:  Question from reader: With all your planning for menu's, what do you eat for breakfast?  Answer:  Well, here is an idea - some days we eat Sourdough pancakes or waffles, oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit, scrambled eggs with lox or sausage and toast, yogurt with blueberry muffins - all breakfasts include a canned fruit of peaches or pears and coffee.

Also, we'd like to thank each of you for checking in with us and following our adventures.  Take Care!!

The Lake Continues to Freeze...

Greetings Everyone --                                                      

                                                                                  

Although we've not posted lately, we have been busy - mainly watching and listening to the lake freeze.  Well, I do need to add that we've continued to do our daily chores - and yes, constantly  working on renovations and additions to our cabin projects. 

Ernie is finishing the inside of the storage shed - putting up plywood walls and constructing storage shelves/benches.   Oh - and we removed a window from our cabin and installed it into the storage shed.  The recycled window was one that we didn't need in the cabin - it had no significant use - it faced a wall into the artic entryway. Now the window can truely serve as a window - letting light into the shed and providing a view of the cabin.

With the temperatures dropping to below zero for the past few days - we've been treated to unsual lake sounds. Ernie compares the lake noises to recorded whale 'voices' and/or distant artillary.  To me, the lake sounds like distant thunder and the grumplings of a hungry stomach. Sometimes the lake noises are loud enough for us to hear while we are inside our cabin.

Someone told us the lake makes these noises while making ice - pressure, shifting and cracking.  No matter what - the sounds are unique and at times - errier.  With all that said, we've been taking walks around the island and witnessing the slow closure of the lake from the north shore of the mainland to the northside of the lake - east to west.

As below zero temperatures continue - we anticipate measuring the ice further out so that we can evntually use our snow machine to cross over to the mainland.



Looking east from the southeast corner of the island. The mounds are thin sheets of ice pushed up onto thicker ice near the shore.




View looking towards the Lower Landing. 
 The snow is actually hoar frost. We've not had any snow since it all melted a couple of weeks ago.



View looking towards lower landing on the north shore of the mainland.

Standing on the ice looking down through thick shore ice.
 The ice here is approxmiately 12 inches thick.  However, ice further from shore is 3 - 4 inches thick.  Ernie will go further out to measure ice in the next few days - temperatures are predicted to go 10-20 below for the next few days.

Tonight - we will stay snug and warm - temperatures are expected to go down to minus18 degrees!

Take care -- we'll keep in touch!





Out of the fog ...


Hello Everyone --

For the past couple of days we've been clouded in fog. The fog finally lifted today and we got out and about to enjoy the sunshine.  Although the fog restricted our visibility, we did have a visitor on Sunday - a big surprise since the lake only recently opened up along the north shore.

Our neighbor, who is building his cabin, boated across the lake from the Upper Landing.  He not only navigated his way through the fog to work on his cabin - he surprised us with some treats - fresh milk, eggs and ICE CREAM!! 

Open water - looking east towards the Kenai River.



Open water  - looking at Round Island and towards the Lower Landing.

Today, as we were taking in the view of the lake, we spotted a landing craft (boat) zooming from the Lower Landing and motoring along the north shore - heading towards the Upper Landing.  Not sure where the landing craft was going.

Open water - Looking towards the Upper Landing.

Hoar frost clings to the trees - they appeared to be covered in powdered sugar.

During the days that we were covered in fog we kept busy with projects and walked across the island on trails - exploring.  Since most of the snow has melted away - we were able to see a number of rabbits bounding along.  The rabbits look out of place in their winter color (white) - they stand out like sore thumbs against browns and greens.

We are now waiting for the lake to freeze - maybe we will get some snow too so that we can ski and get the snow machine out again. 

Take Care --

Finally ...

Hello Everyone --

We finally had a break from the winds - which provided us with the opportunity to make roof repairs.  Since some of the metal panels were bent - Ernie bent them back into shape as best he could.  Come spring, we'll need to replace the bent panels with new ones.  In the meantime, the repair job will just need to do.

Ernie repairing the cabin roof.

Just about finished with the repair job.  We'll see how it does when it snows or rains.



Now we will move on to the next project - cutting up dead spruce trees that fell down during the windstorm. We will also take a walk to the other side of the island and check things out.

Ice ...

Greetings Everyone --   

The winds continued again - but not as strong.  We did manage to get outside and do a few chores - but came back inside because of the wind. 

Ernie also attempted to make repairs on the roof - but the wind made it a bit difficult for him to work with the metal panels.  So he will try again Wednesday.  As you can imagine, we are in a race against possible rain or snow.

                                                                                                                         

The ice broke up in front of our cabin - we can see open water out towards the slot and Watson's Cove.

Lots of 'ice puzzles' piled on top of each other.

One of the chores we managed to accomplish was pumping water - we pumped 150 gallons of water.
We also did two loads of laundry before pumping water - our washing machine uses 15 gallons per load. 
Later, we took a sauna and hung the clothes up.

Me - standing along the shore in front of our cabin.

More ice - you can see how thick it is.
  Ernie measured some of the ice chunks close to shore - some pieces were 6 inches and other 9 inches - but this is after all the melting has been going on.

White ice bubbles locked into the ice close to shore - it's only a few inches deep - so you can see the rocks below.

Since Ernie couldn't get on the cabin roof to make repairs - he settled for securing the solar light onto the work shed -- it illuminates our path to the sauna. 

After we repair the roof we will walk over to the other side of the island to see what the winds have achieved. 

What A Day!!

Greetings Everyone!

We are still experiencing temperatures in the mid-40's with lots of strong winds.  The winds now are continuing to blow very strong from the southwest and seem to be the strongest on the other side of the island.  All night (Jan 2nd) we could hear the winds blowing over on the other side - so on the 3rd we checked our cabin site and our closest neighbors cabins.  Again, items were tossed about - and this time some trees had fallen down. Although the strongest winds were on the other side of the island, we were experiencing gusts up to 45 mph on our side.

 

With all the warm weather and strong winds - the lake in front of our cabin is opening up. From our cabin window we watched the ice undulate and crack as the wind blew.  Rather fascinating.

A 'growing' lead.  The winds were blowing 45 - 50 mph with gusts up to 65 mph.   According to the weather service, winds will continue through Weds - seems strong winds are blowing through Turnagain.

Another view of the lake lead and the glassy ice surface.

Out in the wind.

The lake opened up just over by Watson Cove - it was interesting to watch the lake as the wind pushed white caps onto the edge of the ice and the water continuing on across the ice.

Because of the winds, we have not gotten up on the roof to make repairs - hopefully, we can tackle that chore on Weds - snow is in the forecast.  We would also like to walk over to the other side of the island to see what the effects of the winds were - but we've not ventured far from our cabin.

Some Winds ....

Greetings Everyone --

Yesterday (Jan 2nd), we continued to have winds - but not as strong on our side of the island.  We could however, hear the winds howling and blowing from the southwest.  The temperature was in the high 30's to mid-40's - so the snow continued to melt and the lake to thaw.

We spent the day outside picking up items tossed about by the wind and checking our close neighbors' cabins. 

The day after - Hi-Lift jacks that held the panels down while Ernie secured the roof with roofing nails.  He had to lay on his stomach during the wind storm to nail the panels down.  The winds are still continuing - so we will need to wait until the winds calm so that we can make repairs.

Ernie removing a broken portion of the windmill tail fin.

The little moose showed up on New Year's Day.

The sun coming up over the mountains across from our cabin - approximately 10:30 AM

Southeast view down our beach - all the snow is gone.

The lake with no snow - the wind blew it all off.

View southeast of the lake.

The winds are suppose to continue - so we will see how things go. 

2011.In with a ROAR!!!

Greetings Everyone --

Our New Year's Day came in with a roar!  We awoke to moderate winds blowing about 15 - 20 mph and the temperature at 38 degrees. Ernie put on the morning coffee and I opened the curtains.

When we looked out the window we saw the corner of our boats' gray tarp cover flapping in the wind - a sure indicator that we needed to go immediately and resecure the tarp before it took off into the wind.  When we went outside to take care of our chore, we discovered the yard was mostly one slick sheet of ice as a result of all the melting taking place.

We put on our crampons and with caution, we walked down to our boat and began re-tying the tarp.  As we continued with our task, the winds picked up - creating more of a challenge to hold and re-tie the tarp.  Just as we were almost finished with the tarp, the winds picked up some more and began to rock the boat back and forth as though it were on an invisible high sea. Ernie looked at me and shouted above the winds that we'd need to go get the old tires - so off we went to retrieve old tires.  Once we brought the old tires to the boat, we began stuffing tires under the boat, and the rocking stopped.  Satisfied, we went back to the cabin for breakfast as the winds continued to increase.

As the winds continued to blow, Ernie assigned us an after breakfast task - to go around our cabin site and make sure everything was secure then, go and check on our nearest neighbors cabins.  So out we went after breakfast to check things around our cabin and pick up small, fallen branches. Then, we set off to check our neighbors cabins. I took my portable wind meter and took readings along the way - gusts clocked at 30 mph!

As we walked along the now exposed rocky beach - we were distracted and fascinated by the winds pushing large waves of 'standing water' across the ice then, dropping the waves which continued forward - scooting across the lake ice as rippling sheets of water.

While checking cabins, we noticed the winds were becoming stronger - clocking at 40 - 45 mph - so we turned around and headed back to our cabin.  WOW - when we turned around the wind was pushing us back and 'throwing' small bits of lake ice at us. With that surprise - we left the beach and headed into the tree line to bush whack our way to our neighbors back cabin trails - we reached his place to find stuff on his deck tossed about - we picked things up - staggering about the whole time like two drunk sailors.

Afterwards, we continued on through the back trail - looking up at the tall spruce trees bending and bending - the winds were definitely very strong. We arrived back at our cabin and settled in - working on projects and making comments about the wind seeming to increase in velocity. 

After dinner, we heard strange scooting noises out on our side deck.  Ernie went out to discover that our freezer and coolers were gently being pushed towards the edge of our side deck.  Ernie secured those items as the wind continued to blow harder.

Then, as I was drawing the shades for the evening, I spotted the little moose just outside of our side kitchen window.  It was good to see her since we've not seen her for weeks. She looked fine and was staying out of the wind but then she did something odd.  She knelt down on her front knees and began licking our drain pipes - which we've not used for quite sometime.  It then occurred to me that she was licking the rain water off the pipes - so I turned on the water faucet and let the water drain down through the pipe - when she saw the water she moved to the end of the pipe and began to drink the flowing water for quite a few minutes.  Ernie told me that was a bad idea - that now she'd come to the drain pipe for water.  Oops.

So we settled in for the evening - or so we thought.  As we were reading we began to hear a strange flapping sound.  Ernie jumped up and yelled out some descriptive adjectives before ending with "...the cabin roof!!!"  We quickly got on our wind gear, grabbed flashlights and headlamps and went out onto our front deck.  Sure enough - the cabin roofing was peeling back, flapping and vibrating in the strong winds!! One metal panel was rolled back three-quarters of the way - bent backwards and crumpled - two others were lifting and fighting the wind like wild horses at the end of a rope

Ernie yelled " I've got to get up there!!!" -- I yelled back "Are you freaking nuts! These winds are clocking at 50 plus mph and you'll get blowen off!!"  A lively discussion followed regarding the merits of climbing onto a roof with strong winds blowing -- the discussion ending with me reluctingly following Ernie's directions.

Together, we retrieved three 'shepard jacks' from the workshop, a ladder, hammer and roofing nails.  Fortunetly, our deck makes reaching the roof only a seven foot climb. I held the ladder so that I could block the wind and provide a safety weight support as Ernie climbed the ladder.  Up and down he went with each Shepard jack as he placed a jack onto a flapping panel.  Then, he went onto the roof and began nailing the 'flappers' and 'could be flappers'.  All - while the wind was gusting and blowing so hard I was being pushed into the side of the ladder and worried about Ernie.

Finally, Ernie set the last nail and came down stating "that's one lousy job but, it'll have to do until morning."  We left the Shepard jacks on the roof.

Once it is light, we'll need to go back and see what sort of damage there is exactly and if we have materials to make repairs.

Well, that is how we began our first day of 2011!! 

The wind ----