New Road

There's two seasons in Alaska.  Winter & Road Construction.

By the time I get back from summer fishing on the Kenai the road job by my house should be finished.  I won't be around for all the detours, closures & dust.  Oh, darn.

New Valdez Blog

Living Alaska Project

Lots of pictures of Valdez, the local foods & lifestyle.  The Northern Lights time relapse photos are awesome!  Check it out.  Tell them FishTaxi sent you!

Old Tsaina Lodge Phone Booth

I got a thing about phone booths so whenever I see them I take a pic. 

Phone booth in Cold Bay, Alaska

Red Phone Booth

Tok Thai Food

Though the name is "Tok Thai Food" this food truck is by the Hub in Glennallen.  (Tok is on the Alaska Hwy almost to the Canadian border.)  And the woman who does the cooking is from Laos, not Thailand.

Close enough.  The food is excellent & everything is 10 bucks.  Special - 10 bucks.  Egg Rolls - 10 bucks.  Spring Rolls - 10 bucks.  All good.

She was open all winter & last time I went by she was still open at 10 at night.

Slammin' berry

The city of Valdez opened up "Salmonberry" ski hill this past winter.  After a 20 year hiatus the kids have a place to learn to ski.  Why the locals call it "Slammin' berry."

6th Snowbank on the Right

When I was in Valdez last week I drove by my old house & snapped this pic.  With all the snow this year it is buried.  The mountain behind it I named "My Mountain".  That way, anybody looking at it could say "That's My Mountain!"

I have to say I am glad I'm in the Mat-Su valley where the snow accumulation is dissappearing fast.

Beautiful Earth Day



Gillnetter heading towards Valdez Harbor with the named peak in the Chugach Mountain Range "Sugarloaf" in the background.



Hippie 420!!!

New Summer Tennis Shoes

Love this time of year when the studs come off & the summer tires go on for a smoothe quiet ride.  Last fall, when I had my winter tires put on, the guys at All-Around Tire threw my bald summer tires away.  Today they gave me a good deal on  4 used (new to me) Michelen tires for $200 AND switched them out ($50) as part of the deal.  Also, if anything goes wrong I can go back & they will fix it for free.  Course, their shop is in Wasilla and I will be on the Kenai this summer fishing!  They look like good tires with lots of tread so I'm not worried. 

I'm ready to roll this summer.

Boat Spotting



Boat spotting in the Valdez Harbor Dry Dock last week.

Moonrise over Tsaina

Top of the World Cafe

Top of Thompson Pass

Tsaina Lodge is about 10 miles north of  Thompson Pass.  I like to drive up there before work & tune into Public Radio KCHU Valdez.  Listening to the World Cafe on top of the world & watching snowboarders  shredding is a great break from the lodge.

Last guests leave the 29th.  The 30th is a day off paid for everybody.  Then the first 3 days May are for packing & cleaning the kitchen up.  Done for the season May 4th! 

Once Upon a Time

At Mile Post 79 Richardson Hwy there was a gas station here...

Big Mountain Taxi

Their taxi's are snowmachines!

Shady Grove

My commute to work (before spring breakup) behind the lodge.  You can see the yurt village in the middle background behind the snow steps. 

Now that its warming up during the day the snowmen are melting.  Breaking down during the heat of the day and freezing at night.  The heli-skiers are having to fly further up & away to find good conditions. 

Spring has sprung! 

Up in Smoke

Little fire at Tsaina Lodge the other morning.  Luckily, no one was injured or property damaged.  Happened at 7am outside the kitchen door.  The chef, Maxim, left a note on what to do with the pork butts in the smoker. When the breakfast cooks smelled smoke & it wasn't the bacon they found the smoker ablaze.  Thinking quickly they grabbed a fire extinguisher and screamed for help. 

When help arrived they decided to move the burning smoker away from the building and let it go up in smoke.  Photo of smoker by Norma Treat & photo of the note I found in the garbage can & snapped a pic for prosperity. 

Glacier Blue

This is the Matanuska Glacier that you can see from the Glenn Hwy.  Took this pic a few weeks back when I went to the valley.  Blue is the only color of the rainbow glaciers don't reflect.  The cloudier the day the bluer the glacier. 

Halfway through the ski season at Tsaina Lodge.  I'm hanging in there although people are coming and going.  Lodge work is not all fun & the hours are long.  Hence the fact that I am not blogging much.  I am on the night schedule going to bed at the time I get up in the summer.  Today I am going in an hour early to help count the cash tips.  Worth it to me.  Thats what we are here for is to make money!