10/2/05 The last fishing trip (of 2005)

As I was getting ready to put the toys away for another year, a friend I work with told me about fishing down on the Kenai Peninsula the week before, and catching all kinds of Dolly Varden, nothing under 18 inches. He was going back down the coming weekend, and would I like to come along. Well, duh!!

We met at Quartz Creek, about 2 ½ hours from home, down on the Kenai. There were still a few salmon spawning in the stream, but nothing like the week before. Alas, the fishing season is indeed drawing to a close. He managed to catch a few Dolly’s following behind the salmon and feeding off their eggs, but I got skunked.

The scenery was great however, and a bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work. While wondering up the creek, I noticed a bunch of interesting footprints in the mud. I knew they were fresh, as it had rained the night before. I was glad I’d brought along my “bear repellant”.

As I write this, Oct. 19, we’re fixing to get ready to freeze in the dark. We had our first snowfall two days ago. It was only a quarter inch, and didn’t last more than a day, but it’s coming. A white Christmas is assured, a white Thanksgiving is a given, and a white Halloween is a good, save bet.

The temps are usually around 20 in the morning, and don’t get out of the 30’s during the day. Sunrise is just about 9 AM now, sunset is dropping towards 6:30 PM, and we’re losing around 6 minutes of sunlight a day.

Got my first PFD check the other day. That’s the Permanent Fund Dividend check that’s sent to every Alaskan once a year just for living in the place I’ve dreamed of living in for quite sometime now. $845, which is the lowest it’s been in a while, but I never pass up free money!

I haven’t heard from too many folks back in Maine lately, and things are getting a bit lonely up here as winter closes in on me, so feel free to drop an e-mail off any time. The address is on the bottom of the home page.