We’ve been working on a custom rec cabin down by Ninilchik off and on for two years. It belongs to our boss Jake and we work on it when there no other more pressing contracts.
It’s an open floor plan with a central vaulted ceiling. This light will be the centerpiece for the cabin.
It’s is of course meant to offer light but it’s mostly a decorative piece to bring that level of rustic Alaskana to modern times.
I used a piece of local Alaska White Spruce that we milled. I distressed it and sealed the 4×6. Then I repurposed a belt for two decorative straps and added some natural fiber rope to finish the straps.
Adding the decorative straps.
It’s hung by 4 eye lags capable of supporting over 100 lbs.
The lights are string Edison lights fixed by staples around the moose horns. Jake supplied the horns. I used my Makita cut off tool to cut the horns from the skull. I drill two holes in each paddle to attach them to the beam.
I lengthened the cord with a swag light kit to allow it to plug into the switch controlled ceiling outlet.
Temporarily hanging in my doorway.
I can’t wait to install it at the cabin. I’ll update with a picture once it’s installed.
When we have down time we work on the Boss’s cabin. So far we’ve got a couple weeks in of partial days between life in general and snow removal.
12 volt lights next to regular house lights 12 volt light conversionT & G prepped to go up nextT & G on the first level ceilingPut the backer board up around the wood stove.Vapor barrier done in the kitchen
We drove down to Homer so Cletus could go to the Salty Dawg Saloon. Check off that bucket list item ✔️. We drove to the end of the spit for some pics and a short, very short, beach combing walk. Like I think she made it 10 feet. Too cold she said. Giiiirl…
My addition to the place.
Afterwards we ate lunch at Alice’s Champagne Palace which was a hoot. Then a snowy ride home.
Dry docked for maintenance.A decommissioned ship being dismantled. Ultimate recycling.
I’m beat but we had a lot of fun. I’m thankful for all these fun times and getting to share my Alaska with my Seester.
This morning at work a nice little bull moose walked right out of the trees and headed right for us. We had to dodge into the nearby shed to avoid him. I tried to get a pic but wasn’t fast enough, just got a quick video of him walking off.
We spent Sunday morning foraging. Niki, Mo, Thing 1 & I. City Hall has some crab apple trees and an abundance of rosehips that we harvested for jelly making.
Loaded little crab apple tree.
While there we enjoyed each other’s company and solved all the world’s problems. We also enjoyed the flower beds and various different trees planted around the premises.
Dusty Miller in the Soldotna City Hall flower garden.
We found a large patch of wild roses and harvested a nice amount of rosehips. Thing 1 had a good time practicing plant identification for her Botany class.
We harvested enough crab apples for jelly, cider, sauce… You get the idea
Cut leaf weeping Birch.
Also enough to share with others. Part of the joy of wildcrafting is sharing with others.
Some ornamental foundation shrubs.More flowers at City Hall.Another bed relatively untouched by the frost.
We also had to harvest our own plants. Lil Bit planted several herbs for her Botany class last year. They did very well and we’ve enjoyed fresh basil, cilantro and parsley this summer.
Lil Bit’s parsley she grew from seed. Harvested to use in our matzo ball soup for Sukkot.
Alas, Old Man Winter is knocking at the door. Time to harvest as much as we can. Hoping for another cranberry picking soon. And a moose.
Sunshine, a little wind. Glorious big low bush cranberries. A few blueberries left and a good batch of crow berries too.
Children running amuck. Playing with their friends like they just saw each other yesterday.
Also a great day for a campfire on the beach. Roasting hotdogs and marshmallows, drinking a little homemade rhubarb wine. Enjoying the beach with my buddies.
Riding the Alaska Railroad is a dream come true for many a tourist and resident alike. It stays a dream for countless others who only venture to Alaska with their mind’s eye. We get to live that dream on a daily basis. And some days are more dreamy than others.
This was just such a day.
A vivid rainbow greeted us at the depot. So close it looked like we could reach up and touch it.
Portage Train Depot is right on the highway, near the Placer river, at sea level. We loaded up onto car A, the double decker with full glass viewing panels. We had quite the vantage point. We also had a Chugach USFS ranger as our guide for the trip. He had interesting local lore, history and flora & fauna information for us.
Off-loading rafts.
Sitting on the train while they off-load rafts on the Placer River, watching my kids unaware. Talking to their friends, sharing snacks, playing games. There may or may not have been some musical chairs with these assigned seats. They are in their element. The simple pleasures of life.
…what thrills me about trains is not their size or their equipment but the fact that they are moving, that they embody a connection between unseen places.
Marianne Wiggins
We rode from Portage to Grandview past Spencer, Bartlet and Trail glaciers. From the train station we traveled through marsh and flat lands, into cottonwood forests and gained more elevation until we were in hemlock and spruce forests. It’s cloudy with a little rain every now and then. Once in a while the sun pokes it’s rays through the fog and illuminates a mountainside. Glorious.
Spencer Glacier
Just a little past Grandview Whistle Stop we topped out at 1061′ elevation where we stopped to gaze at Trail glacier. We stopped to see Snow White falls, named for its seven drops, the source of the Placer River.
Snow White Falls
We had a short stop at Grandview so we could hike up to a couple if vantage points. One to see the train and another to see a waterfall. We enjoyed the remaining flowers and berries and mushrooms growing along the trail.
Huckleberries
Trail side shrooms
The view of the train.
A pretty little flower.
A lovely waterfall.
Our trail discoveries.
We rode through 5 tunnels and over one trestle 104′ above the raging river below.
We saw snow drops, rock slides and a lake full of ice floes.
We passed over sheer rock walls, roaring rapids and glacial erratic in kettle ponds.
We learned about T-Bone Clark and Alaska Nellie and back country road houses.
The kids were amazed that the telegraph and telephone poles were still standing with some insulators in place.
Trains tap into some deep American collective memory.
Dana Frank
Best of all we got to experience some of Alaska’s rugged beauty with our friends. Memories for a lifetime.
Alaska on my mind... 