Remote Ranger Station - just me and isolation

This is pretty weird. 2 days from now, I will travel to a remote ranger station and take it over. I will take care 7 historical buildings and mountain bike and hike.

I will also help any hunters or campers that happen by. Last weekend, there were about 5 people that dropped by the compound. I might also have some Forest Service Employees drop by to work. They can even spend the night in the bunk house. I sleep in either the Ranger House or the Office house or camp. I have been there 5 nights this summer and have always tented. It is now getting colder, so I will probably stay in a house. I do hope to get up in the middle of the night to see the stars because it is such a wide open sky. We have few clouds so there are an amazing amount of stars. I was shown a path last weekend that goes right through an Aspen Grove. The changing of seasons should be spectacular with the leaves changing colors.

I am quite thrilled at the opportunity but it is really weird. Even when I was in the Yupik Village at 20 below zero, I was at school and had people around most of the time.

I will decide what I work on each day and decide if and when I take a hike or bike ride. I am at 8000 feet so exercise is more work than normal. It is also very dry and I find the roads are slippery for a mountain bike. I fell on the bike 2 times last weekend. The tire got stuck in loose rock and I lost control and fell - ouch.

I will have no internet so I will only post once or twice a week. It will be whenever I get to Twin Falls, Idaho (grocery store) Jackpot, NV or Wells, NV when I can get on the internet. I am hoping I can get internet in Jackpot - that is the closest place.

10 Tons of Hay! Buck Away! Ruby Station

I was splitting the wood we pulled out of the mountain today. I then get a call saying help is needed to unload hay for the horses. I went over, new hay was there so I figured the job was done. I get another call saying, we need help with the hay. I go over and no one is there. Then the pickup and trailer are coming around the corner - full. We unloaded that trailer. I went to the ranch to load the trailer up again and unload it. Then we went to the ranch and loaded it up again. The last trailer is still sitting by the barn - unload tomorrow. I was supposed to go to the Ruby Station to do some work but that will be on hold now.

There were 8 or so people helping to unload the trailer so we had help. In unloading the trailer fast, we put some hay on the ground, which we later had to put onto pallets. Lesson learned - put pallets down first.

We had 80 degrees today so it was a bit warm for bucking hay which weighed 85 pounds. I survived though.

My new home for a month or so

This is Pole Creek, NV and I will be living here starting 9/20/09. I have been here 3 times, 2 for firewood. This weekend, the two people, (now friends) told me they needed to leave 9/21/09 and they asked me to finish out their stay. This Ranger Station is open until the snow and freeze happens. It usually closes in Sept or Oct. I was told how to winterize the place and what it means to close it down. I will be there to help firewood folks, hunters and just those who get lost. I have a list of chores which I can do but I must also take time to enjoy the country.

The couple who are leaving have been at Pole Creek for 5 or 6 months yearly for 4 years. They may not be able to return next year. They asked me to take it over if they could not come back. (Medical Issues) I am trying to work out a deal where they return, I could take the remote station 45 miles away and they could call me to help with work they cannot do.

I will be here in a week and stay for at least a month. The views are spectacular! It is 70 miles off a highway. 15 miles of that 70 is on a dirt road. I see wilderness areas in Nevada and Idaho. The house is at 8000 feet so when I travel, on bike or in truck, I see mountain tops - spectacular. There is no internet and just emergency phone service. I have a diesel generator which I can start up to have electricity for the whole village. There are about 7 buildings.

Ruby Guard Station - coyotes

I spent two nights in a remote Guard Station this past week. It happens to be a historical site but it has not been lived in much for the past few years. Every now and again, someone stays there to do work on it, which is what I was doing. I mowed a lot of hay sized grass, fixed barb wire fences to keep cattle out. There were a lot of cow chips on the property and the fence was down in 4 or 5 places. I need to do more fence work when I return next week.

The house itself was hot because we had 85 degree days so I slept outside in the bed of my pickup truck. The first night was a full moon and it was hard to sleep. I finally got to sleep to be awakened by coyotes. I realized that coyotes are communicating. One would howl and then another would howl. Each one had a very distinct howl, growl, groan and bark. The sounds they made were fascinating.

The sky was clear which made it spectacular with the full moon. I even saw a shooting start that looked like it landed in the Ruby Mountains. The night was warm until about 4 in the morning and I started to get cold.

I went for a midnight hike, without much flashlight because I could not sleep too well.
I was thinking of my choices. Should I stay in Wells, NV and work on remote sites or go back to Portland and sub or should I seriously look for another teaching job. I thought of the uniqueness of the Alaskan Villages. Maybe I should go freeze again in a village. I decided to check out jobs - It is so very weird for me not to be teaching at this time of year. If I get offered a contract, I will probably take it.
I do plan of a wilderness station next summer though. I fell asleep after my walk and concert by the coyotes.

I worked my butt off the next day. That monster mower did the job but I had to jump it with my truck every time and I had to muscle it to turn, which was often. It gets me into shape. Ruby Guard Station is great! I am so very lucky to have gotten this opportunity.

The second night, I slept outside but zipped up the sleeping bag and even put on more clothes so I would not get cold. The coyotes were back but seemed to be right near the guard station. One howled near the house and it woke me up. Another loud howl came from up around the mountain. The chattering back and forth of the animals was so very fascinating. It quieted and I fell asleep.

The second night was cloudy but the full moon lit up the land. I woke up when I started getting wet - rain. I looked up at the sky and saw a dark cloud. The other clouds were lighter. I figured it was just a singular cloud burst and fell back asleep. When I awoke, I was not soaked so I made the right call.

Going to stay at Ruby Ranger

I got approval to get some equipment and go stay at the Ruby Ranger Station. I will take a lawn monster and weed whacker with a metal blade to start for weed control. I will also take a chain saw because there are some dead trees which must come down. One dead tree is hanging over the outhouse - what a way to die. Sitting on the outhouse hole and wham a monster tree takes you out. (Note: I did see a dead guy being taken out of an outhouse once when I was rafting.)

The place is right up to a wilderness area so they want me to hike the trails too. I will certainly volunteer for that. I am putting in for a few jobs but I did not work as hard on my resume as I normally do. I am kind of hoping I get passed over so I can act like mountain man for a while. By the way, the Ruby Mountains are very spectacular. Unlike the mountains covered with trees that I am used to really. They are solid rock, with some dirt and patches of bushes and/or trees.

I need to run to Portland for a physical and check up with the dentist too. I will also pick up my sprayer because now we want to paint this house. I also have a larger ladder which we will need to paint this place in Wells.

Kind of excited about the Remote Ranger Station. No internet or cell phone or phone coverage there.

The horses - Remote Ranger Station

I was on horse duty this weekend. I had to feed them and while there, I raked the manure up into a pile so they could get the Bobcat and scoop up the crap. It needs to get done before the rain starts because then it would stink - a lot.

I should find out tomorrow more about staying at the remote ranger station. Right now it has no power so I would have to live without electricity. I hope to get it approved.

More Ruby Guard Station

If things go as proposed, this could be my new home for a few weeks or months. This is a remote station which has not been lived in for a few years. It needs some work and I would do fence mending as well as knocking down dead and dangerous trees. i could be living out there in as little as 2 days.

The pictures are of the barn and the house. The dead tree in front needs to come down.

I might stay in a remote station this week.

Ruby Guard Station: This is where they need some work. I might live and work out here starting this week. I was taken out to it today and they said they need someone to work on it and I volunteered. We will work out the details this week. If I move to Ruby Guard, I would not have internet or phone. They say I can get a walkie talkie for emergencies. Looking forward to it. it has wood heat and no electricity hooked up right now.
i just checked the pictures I put up and I goofed. The photo with the pickup truck and lift happens to be the house where I helped roof. The other photo is Ruby Guard and the view from the back yard.

Mahoney - Active Blogging Again

I am planning on active blogging again. I just found my camera, so I can get pictures up. The pictures are so much less than what I really experience is the only thing.

Mahoney Guard Station: I spent over 2 days at Mahoney Guard Station in Nevada. IT WAS AMAZING! It is in a town of less than 100 people and most people ride around in ATV's.

I was asked to ride an ATV and help GPS roads for a new map. I saw deer, 5 mines, trees and unbelievable views. We were mostly above 5000 feet and even got to 9000 feet. There is an old mine at 9000 feet and we had to check the road in to it. There was a bridge up but in poor shape and we made it across to explore.

I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO STAY AT A REMOTE RANGER STATION NEXT SPRING AND SUMMER. I told them to pencil my name in.

We also found a memorial someone had made for 5 people. There were huge metal crosses with the peoples names on them. They also have plastic flowers and beer cans, whiskey bottles scattered around, a dog tag and a roll of barbed wire too. it is illegal so people are going to figure out how to contact relatives and tell them to take it down or it will be taken down. The view of the memorial area is spectacular though. If my ashes got quietly scattered in a place like that, I would not object..

I found my camera this AM, so I will start putting pictures up. Honestly, I have been a bit overwhelmed by the beauty of the places I have seen. I have been soaking it in like a sponge - there comes a time to share. I have had some amazing experiences.

I locked myself out of the cabin at 4 AM and had to wake people up inside to let me back in - oops. Not a good thing. I went out to use an outhouse and to see the stars. There were no clouds. we had a bathroom inside and they thought I was an idiot for going out to use and outhouse when there is a good flush toilet inside.

Mahoney was a blast.

Another Ranger Station

I am heading off to another ranger station tomorrow. it is 70 miles off a state highway.
I know the country and it is beautiful but I was also told it is not as great as Pole Creek.

I will be there 2 or 3 nights and am planning on bringing back a load of fire wood.

Pole Creek Ranger Station - heaven.

I just got back from a remote ranger station and it was so very spectacular. You travel down a paved road for 50 miles and then travel on a dirt road for 15 miles to get to the place. It is open fields with stands of timber in places. I camped out but I could have stayed in a bunkhouse.

I spent some time helping gather up downed limbs and put them on a huge fire pile. This morning it rained so we were able to set the pile on fire. Imagine a pile of dry wood as big as a 1000 square foot house and that being set on fire. It was mostly burned down within 40 minutes. We could do it because it was a rare rainy day.

I also helped to get fire wood to take back to Wells, NV. There had been a major forest fire in Pole Creek one year ago. People can cut dead trees for firewood. I was in heaven really. Cutting wood, helping around a remote camp. Mountain Biking down the dirt roads. 2 Grandkids as well as my son in law and daughter were there too. During the night a wind storm blew threw and that was neat. I walked out in an open field and watched the clouds and stars as the wind tried to pick me up. I put the tent under a covered area which was fortunate since the rain started about 6 AM.

Hiking, Horses and roofing

I have hiked about 25 miles (12 uphill) in the past 3 days. I have been helping get items to a trail crew that is volunteering for the forest service. Today I hiked because the fellow who was supposed to do it had his car break down and could not make it. I was a sub today. We had 6 horses taken up to get their supplies back down to the vehicles. I hiked. The horses got spooked and bolted on the way down. I was not there but it sounded scary. The horses got fidgety, one spooked, broke and ran and then the others followed. It took an hour to gather them up.

I was down waiting for them. I got tired of waiting and started to go back uphill to see them and there were some wild stories about the horses. The horses did great before and after the incident.

I was supposed to be on the roof today but the fellow not being able to go got me off the roof and hiking.

My feet hurt and I have a blister which is a pain.

Amazing!

I was at a remote Forest Service Guard Station camping last night - it was a truly amazing place. We traveled down a 2 60 miles and then down a country road for 40 miles and then 20 miles on a dirt road. The climb up the dirt road was up all the way. When we finally got 15 miles up the dirt road, we saw Southern Idaho and Northern Nevada - It was an amazing sight. We went the last 4 or 5 miles and saw some trees. Right among the trees was the Ranger Station, built about 1930. It consisted of about 5 or 6 buildings. A volunteer couple have lived there for 4 years and getting the place back into the glory days. It was a truly remarkable day, evening, and much of today.

I helped cook for about 25 people. We cooked Top Sirloin Steak, Salmon and Chicken Breast - barbequed all of it, on charcoal.

I heard coyotes howling as I went to sleep last night. I camped out in the middle of a field and woke up this AM and looked out to mountains and just a few people. It was so quiet, peaceful and beautiful too. We were so high up that we could see a vehicle coming up the road when they were about 4 or 5 miles away. We just watched for the dust plume.

NO Pictures though. Before we left for camping, I had to get on the roof and get all of the tools down. When I got done with that, it was time to finish loading and leave - forgot the camera.

I was invited back so I am planning on camping out there when I leave Wells in a few weeks. I will get pictures then.

High Plains

Wells, NV is a small place. Kids can safely bikeride around town. Three cars in a row is unusual. There are some truck stops along the freeway which have traffic but not in town itself.

It has been hot here. 90 degrees plus is the norm. I wish it would could down a bit. I am enjoying the place - quite different in topography than what I am used to seeing. Wells is not an elegant place by any stretch of the imagination. I am only getting a few minutes of internet these days.

hurt owl, Wells, NV

At camp, there was a hurt owl. We kept him at camp until a rescue/rehab group could pick him up. He was found on a road in a dazed state.

Wells is open land. Not many people and some beautiful scenery in a cowboy kind of way. I have gotten into mountain biking and this area is perfect for it. I am a camp host this week which means I clean 5 toilets 2 times a day. It is a great site. I went for a mountain bike ride at night when it finally cooled down and the sky was loaded with stars - beautiful. I did not even run off the road.

Mt Hood & camp hosting

It is raining in Juneau, AK

I am going to be a camp host for a few days. I will be camped at a site by Angel Lake, NV. I was there this morning and saw a deer at the site where I will be camped. I will be in a great camp trailer, actually it is more like a small house. I was going to Bend, OR to tow back a trailer with scaffolding for the roof job but the camp host owns the stuff so he will get it if I watch the camp. I will take my bike and Kayak. I figure I will Kayak at Angel Lake while I am the host. My big job is cleaning the toilets 2 times a day and dealing with any rioting type behavior. (Juat kidding about rioting - sometimes loud music past 10 needs a warning.) The host idea came up the last 12 hours.

Camping Pictures

Trillium Lake on Mt Hood in OR>

I just went mountain bike riding yesterday and ended up on a ridge which had a spectacular view of Northern Nevada. It was pretty awesome really. I will start taking pictures of this area because it is quite unique. I spent the last few days getting used to the place and it is just now hitting me about the unique terrain here.

Camping Pictures

First: My computer has not allowed me to download pictures until today. I have been deleting stuff like crazy. I just had too many pictures on the hard drive. I hope it is back to 'normal.'

It is 99 in Wells, NV today.

Camping was at Trillium Lake near Mt. hood, OR. The pictures are from there.

dirt and smoke smell

I am back from Camping on Mt. Hood, OR and smell like camp fire smoke. I feel like massive dirt and grime. Weather was quite good too. I had grandkids and kids as well as cousins and their kids. We had about 15 people total. The kids got to bike ride like crazy. We also took out a canoe.

Pictures later - I hope.

Horse Back Riding

Wells. NV: I went horseback riding for about 3 hours. They use horses here to work in the field. There are 8 horses which need to be rode regularly to keep them in shape. I was asked if I would ride and I did. That was fun. We rode out of Wells and onto a farming road. We then took off cross country and back to the barn. My horse was a mustang who liked to go faster than the others. My job was to keep him slowed up a bit. My horse is also skittish about lightning and cars. We had a few cars go by and a couple of cars but we just went off the road and into the bushes which kept him settled down.
I did not have a camera on the ride.

The pictures are of Stadium High School in Tacoma, WA.

FrIday Harbor, San juan Islands

On San Juan Island, you can see Canada. I had to take a ferry there. I only stayed there one night but I mowed a 7 acre lawn. I like riding the lawn mower. I only drove through about 1/2 of the island. It sure is nice and peaceful on the San Juans.

A Tribute to Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson has been gone for almost a week and I have been bothered by the sensationalization and overkill of tv exposure and I have not been able to watch much TV.
Here is a link to a fitting tribute. Thanks Greytdog on the Margaret and Helen blog for finding this link.

http://adriennemareebrown.net/blog/2009/06/25/michael-jackson-whos-loving-you/

Michael Jackson was a part of my life with his music. He was a true genius and he will be missed by me.

1000+ feet Glaciers and 1000 feet glacial lakes

Western Montana looks a lot like the Juneau, AK area. Not a lot of people, Mountains everywhere, good sized water, etc. It is intereesting how the Clark's Fork River valley got dug out. It was ground out by Glaciers millions of years ago. Imagine ice 1000 feet and more high. Mendenhall Glacier is 250 feet at the deepest, so we are talking huge. then a warming took place and there was massive lakes being blocked by ice . All the while, the ice is slowly moving down the valley grinding away dirt and rocks. Some ice breaks off which causes massive flooding of the Clark's Fork valley and even goes on to the Columbia River in WA and OR. The water in these lakes blocked by ice was up to 1000 feet deep, so we are talking massive amounts of water. When the ice flow cracked - the flooding was unbelievable.

Rocks from Montana are found in Oregon - the only way they could have gotten there was from the ice breaking and carrying the rock to OR.

The pictures are of Mendenhall Glacier and sunset in AK. I saw some great sunsets in my travels the last couple of days.

Ellensburg, WA to Missoula, MT

In the last 24 hours I have gone from Portland, OR to Ellensburg, WA and on to Sand Point, ID. Today I have gone from Sand Point, ID to Thompson Falls, MT where I happened to run into and old friend. I got the latest of people I know. Many still live in Western MT. I called up one and hope to get back so we can get some hiking in and going into the mountains. We had some great hiking adventures back in the day.
Going back in time is great - my old school looks the same. Teacher houses are still there. Interesting day. They are doing a lot of road work which slows me down a lot.

I also went through Hope, ID and Beyond Hope, ID has changed it name to East Hope. I liked Beyond Hope myself. I thought it would be a great place to retire: Beyond Hope.

Back into the car.

Pictures are from Alaska: Ketchikan and Mendenhall Glacier

Ketchikan, AK

4 cruise ships the day I was in Ketchikan. There were lots of float planes taking off. I had 2 hours to walk around and just missed the tourist shops I guess. I was told that Ketchikan has about 20 miles of roads. I saw a spot with at least 10 eagles flying around - amazing stuff.

After Ketchikan, we just sailed on and on and on. I was able to see mountains, islands and green topped with snow everywhere. There were also homes on a few islands.
I think it would be great to live on a place like that for a few months.

Misc shots on the inland passage, AK

I was on the ferry and way out in the inland passage and I would see boats or light houses. Here are some pictures.

evacuate the ship in open water

Since I was in the boat that went out relatively close to the beginning of the cruise season, we had an evacuation drill. The sounds were super loud and we were also told that it was not real. All the people who worked on the ship, except for essential personnel who were operating it, went to the boats and practiced lowering them. The boats did not touch the water but they took them down, and then put them back up. It went pretty well. I got to watch but ran into a problem when my batteries wore out. On this ship, you cannot go back to your vehicle unless it is in a port, so I did not have fresh batteries and did not get all of the exercise that I wanted.

I am not able to post daily because I am running out of time. I was in Seattle this past weekend and I am helping with yard stuff with my daughter and I have to go through my stuff and repack. I will be leaving for Nevada in a couple of days.

Father's day was great and hanging out with grandkids and kids is always a pleasure.

Evauation: I was able to call my daughter because we had cell phone coverage then and was able to leave a message that we had to evacuate the ship and hope I am able to call later. She was worried when she called but I knew that it was just a drill.

Kayaking in Seattle

I went to Seattle and kayaked on Lake Union. It is great to kayak right in the middle of a big city. I saw fishing boats, yachts, float planes flying in and out, house boat - great one, and all kinds of neighborhood festivals with bands playing as we kayaked by them. It did not rain either. One of my fellow kayakers got caught in the wind and went over. Great day!

Petersburg, AK

Petersburg was a night stop. The ferry got there at night, let off a few people and a few got on and we were on our way again.
We left Petersburg and went into the midnight sun. It never really got dark, dark in Alaska - the midnight sun is true. It got light about 4:30 in the morning.

Palin: Sarah was making noise about a joke by David Letterman. Letterman apologized and some Palin freaks made dumb comments outside the studio where Letterman does his show. If you looked, you find at least 10 jokes by other comedians but they did not upset Sarah. I think Sarah needed some attention so she made a lot of noise about this one particular incident. If you see Sarah: Ask her how much they have to pay for Todd's Snowmobiles and How much they pay for Arctic Cat clothes. (They get them at cost, I am very curious how much they saved from what you or I would pay.)

Sitka, AK

We stopped in Sitka and here are some pictures. Looks like a nice small town. I was not able to get off. They have 10 miles of roads in Sitka. I had one fellow from Sitka say, 'I wish we had a long road like you do in Juneau.' Roads are a source of jealousy in AK. There were no paved roads in the village where I was last year.

The coast guard is aa big employer in SE AK towns.

Midnight Sun

As I was on the ferry, I went out and took pictures at midnight. In Oregon it is quite different - dark by 10 PM. It looks like it is raining in Juneau.