A Railroad to Somewhere?

 Over Memorial weekend, Bryant and I made our way out to the cabin.  First though, we rode up Hatcher's Pass and then went out to eat, so we didn't make it out there until quite late.  Late in Alaska this time of the year doesn't equate to dark, and nothing unusual caught our attention as we drove into the cabin site and unloaded our belongings.

The next day, I suggested we go take a look at what our railroad neighbors were up to.  We didn't have to walk too far to see that the Railroad to Nowhere was making some impressive progress to get Somewhere.  Regardless of the fact that it is unknown whether it will ever be economically feasible to actually use the tracks to transport whatever goods or natural resources this state might find to extract. 

Looking south on the railroad bed

Maybe I'm not being quite the visionary that William H. Seward was when he negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia.  But in the meantime, I take comfort in the idea that hundreds of people are employed and laboring to lay some infrastructure for future generations. 

Looking north on the railroad bed

 Most of the time, I don't get too caught up in whether I'm pro-development, conservationist, or a preservationist, but this project literally was in my backyard and I went through a whole range of emotions and found a seat in each camp at different points.  In the end, the idea that one can never really own any parcel of land was reinforced and because we never did settle into the idea of developing the land more for future use, it wasn't too hard to let it go. In the beginning railroad phases, we feared we'd end up with the worst case scenario; they would build the railroad, but not purchase a slice our property in the processes.

Railroad property to the left; ours to the right.  In the
background is a washed out view of the Alaska Range.

Luckily they didn't.  They wanted our hill, which they will eventually completely rip down to railroad grade elevation and use the gravel underneath to fill low areas.  If a diamond can be found among this destruction, it has to be that when the trees were all cleared it left behind broad expansive views to the north of the Alaska Range. I now own land that has a view of North America's tallest mountain, Denali. Never mind that 100 feet below my soon to be top of the hill with a view, there will be a set of railroad tracks and a train that may someday carry something to somewhere. 
For another perspective on the railroad project:  http://www.frontiersman.com/news/officials-hail-rail-construction/article_3a467a5e-cf1b-11e2-8d4d-0019bb2963f4.html

More like Spring

Seeing as last week was so crummy, I postponed the 2nd Grade Bike Trip until today.  We were lucky enough to have a real spring day even the cold breeze disappeared.  After biking 8 miles, the class enjoyed a pizza picnic, playing on playground equipment, and believe it or not, more biking as they race around in circles in the park campground making me nervous as they barely round each corner and avoid the tires of others. It was so nice when I got home from work, I joined Bryant on an evening bike ride.  Now I'm just plain worn out!

There was a Big State

There was a big state,

That many called great,

Many who visit adore it.

And when it was good,

It was very, very good,

But when it was bad, it was horrid!

Need I say more . . . after all it is May 18, 2013. 

Counting Down the Days . . .

 For many years, I brought Wyatt and Gus to early morning Jazz band sessions.  Then when Wyatt transferred to online courses in January and Gus wasn't in band, early mornings drives to Palmer ceased to exist. The 1/2 mile walk to the bus stop at 6:30 in the morning became the new daily routine. I was a little taken back when he said wanted me to walk with him, but then again Gus does have some hang-ups about being alone in the dark with moose lurking in the nearby forests.  Throw in some minus February temperatures and winds and its not too surprising he wanted some company each morning. 

When it started getting lighter, I would hint at not joining him on this jaunt as going back to bed for 45 more minutes seemed much more appealing. After all why would a 15 year old want his mother tagging along beside him to the bus stop.  Then I pulled in the whole situation.  His entire bus has about 8 sleeping apathetic teenagers on it and the neighbor boy still gets driven to the bus stop, so he's not really drawing any extra negative attention to himself.  Because I have the desire to want him to keep going to school, the 1 mile walk each morning is a minor contribution on my part. Beside at some level I find it kind of cute. But by this time of the year, we are ready to be done and we are both counting down the days . . . . 4 more. 

Sunsets Aboard Sol Searching

In the fall of 2007, we bought a 26' MacGregor and spent our first night on the hook on Big Lake, located just north of Wasilla, Alaska. Mostly, I remember the beautiful sunset, star filled skies, and our first of many conversations in the cockpit planning the places we needed to explore in this powersailor boat we named "Sol Searching."

Gus, Wyatt, and I aboard Sol Searching on Big Lake.

Between work, family, and house obligations, we were able to squeeze many hours of sailing, fishing, and exploring in Alaska's waters. 

Sunset in Port Graham near Homer, Alaska

Kachemak Bay in Homer, Prince William Sound in Whitter, and Resurrection Bay in Seward were the ports and places we visited most often during the Summers of 2008 and 2009. I never dreamed of going beyond Alaska with Sol Searching.  I thought the idea of "Sol" meant finding the few pieces of sunshine that Alaska offers each summer.

Perry Island, Prince William Sound

But sometimes life takes a different turn.  This happens when one person in the relationship thinks of a crazy idea and the other one is crazy enough to say, "Sure, why not."  And it works our best for things to go this way.  Sailing takes a lot of time, energy, and money; couples need to buy into the idea together or get used to the idea of spending a lot of time apart. Luckily we were both on the same page.  Bryant and a buddy trailered "Sol Searching" to San Carlos, Mexico in November of 2009.  After a few days of hard pack rutted snow on the Alaska Highway, they eventually found better roads through the mainland of U.S., then south toward San Carlos, Mexico and of course, some "Sol."  His buddy predicted that this boat would never see Alaskan waters again.  

Sunset from Bahia San Pedro north of San Carlos

 After a few vacations in San Carlos cruising the eastern side of the Sea of Cortez, we wanted to go further west where the sunset.  There wasn't a ripple in the water on that 15 hour motor crossing to Bahia Conception on the Baja.  When we couldn't make it back across a week later due to rough seas, we had to rethink our plan and only being vacation cruisers, the option of  "waiting out weather" didn't exist.  Eventually, Bryant flew across to Guaymas and drove the trailer back around with the truck we had in San Carlos.  At the end of our vacation, the boat and trailer stayed in Baja and we drove the truck back home to Alaska.

Santa Rosalia Boat Harbor

The Baja Cruising Guide book became tattered and torn as we worked our way in and around the islands and coastline between Santa Rosalia and La Paz.  It didn't take long for 2010, to roll into 2011, and then 2012.  We visited Mexico a lot more than I had ever dreamed I'd visit Mexico. This past January while we were on an after Christmas vacation basing out of Marina Palmira in La Paz, we decided to list "Sol Searching" with La Paz Yachts.  We hit a point where we were revisiting spots we had already seen and as fun as it is to be on the boat, being an absent owner was taking its toll on the Captain.

Anchored in Ballandra near La Paz

Within 3 months, we had someone interested and it wasn't long before "Sol Searching" had new Canadian owners, who planned on keeping the boat on the Baja.   A few evenings later, Bryant was downstairs on his laptop and I was upstairs on the desktop and we both had "Craigslist" open and looking at what sailboats were for sale.  While we both agree we don't want to get into another boat investment while we are still working full-time, we haven't closed off the option of traveling and exploring by sailboat when we have a little more leisure time.  I guess time will tell . . . . but most of all, I'll miss the sunsets.

But living in the land of the midnight sun, I am still able to enjoy an occasional sunset from my back deck.

 

I've compiled pictures from over the years aboard "Sol Searching" if anyone is interested. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/SolSearchingMemories