After working at a remote lodge where you separate your bottles, cans and burnables I'm back to paying the price of garbage removal.
Be it an anorexic anxiety attack of too much trash and not knowing what to do about it or simply too easily amused by consumption noncomsumables.
Alaska State Troopers seized this bull moose from the shooter right as we were leaving TRI. We happened to catch up with it in Glennallen where the troopers were parked next to the new store.
It would have been a legal bull had a brow tine on the right (in the picture) not have been shot or somehow broken off.
Other illegal bull is a narc in Valdez town took down a rumored 21 citizens, some for as little as a half gram of cocaine shared with the narc, with bail set at $10,000.00 each!?!
With pictures to prove it. Mr. FishTaxi was right not to trust the Shitzubitchi. Coming down Thompson Pass it died and did not want to start. It ran fine before that and I even took the old road while the guys took the main road. We had walkietalkies in case I did break down.
My car wasn't the only breakdown. Coming out of Tangle Lakes on the Denali Hwy about 4pm the alternator went out in the Chevy. I booked to Paxson Lodge and called Napa in Glennallen and told them Aaron was on his way in his Ford (he dropped the pulley) and to please wait for him. He got there at 5:59 and the parts guy was shocked. He didn't expect him til 6:30 or so. I went back and told Mr. FishTaxi I would wait for them at Meirer's Lake Lodge where we had dinner and stayed the night.
So without the Ford we would have been dead in the water twice. What was weird was when we got back the Montero started right up. That thing is possessed.
We're home! It was a good thing my guys brought the car pulley.
I'll update later. After I set up my desktop and download the pics.
Its good to be home.
and we are caravaning out of here. No moose yet for Mr. FishTaxi but it won't be from the lack of trying. Him and his hunting buddy are camped out at the river again tonight.
I'm doing laundry and packing tonight in between dishes. They shut the cabins and the big shower house down for the winter today. We still have guests staying in Moose Hollar and Swan Lane. I'll clean Moose tomorrow and the boss's right hand lady said she'd take care of Swan Lane as those people are staying a couple more days. I'm hoping they cut me loose tomorrow afternoon but it could be Thursday morning.
I got Roxy staying in the back of the Montero as I am dehairing the cabin. The boss's husband will be staying in there for another week or so and since I'm the housekeeper I better leave a clean cabin.
Its been a fast fun five weeks and its pretty much gone as planned. I made some money and some friends. Plus, I'm getting a layoff. Unenjoyment here I come!
Here are the cabins I've been cleaning every day for the over a month.
Things have slowed down so now they have me washing all the bedding so its all ready to go next spring.
Since my daughter is here we put her to work helping me for room & board. A godsend to me!
Mr. FishTaxi is up camping on the McClaren River still waiting for his moose to come sauntering by. Him & his buddy don't want to hang around here too much as we might put them to work. This is his vacation though so off camping they went.
TWO DAYS TO GO!!!
Mr. FishTaxi put the new starter in my Montero and my daughter drove it here to the Inn! A friend followed with his truck and a car pulley just in case. They will be staying here with me til the shutdown and will make sure I make it back home to Valdez. Mr. FishTaxi does not trust the Montero any more and doesn't think it would be a good idea for me to take it down the Denali Hwy to Talkeetna this trip. That bums me out but just the thought of getting out of here is making me happy!
FOUR DAYS TO GO!
We are packed this weekend and I woke up this morning with that head cold going around. Luckily I only had 3 cabins today but tomorrow I'll have 17! I hope I feel better.
Naidine read my blog and corrected me on her age (oops!) and the year they started operating the lodge.
FIVE DAYS TO GO!!
of the Tangle River Inn.
Naidine Johnson is 69 years young today. She and her husband Jack have been owner/operators of this lodge since 1970.
This lady is still walking the walk. We had a family style dinner at the bar tonight. Filet mignon with a garlic spinach parsley mushrommdipping sauce, baked pot atoes and veggies. It was lovely and I was glad to be a part of it.
I made her a CD of songs I thought she would like. She used to sing in the USO and met Patsy Cline and Elvis Presley. Every once in a while she fires up the karoke machine and entertains the customers and employees alike.
They are thinking next year year will be the last year they will operate the lodge. Its up for sale for $1.2 million. They are ready to build their retirement home on Big Lake.
I hope whomever buys this place puts the heart and soul Jack & Naidine do into this lodge. And keep up the friendly Alaskan hospitality. No Princess Tour busses!
Took this pic yesterday. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Today was nice and tonight Mr. Fishtaxi showed up. Without my Montero. Its sitting down at Paxon Lodge. It almost made it until the starter went out. He ordered one and it will be at Glennallen Napa Saturday. So its close!
Now, if it were a plane, I wouldn't even think of flying it unless in was in tiptop shape.
7 days to go!
I took a lot of pictures yesterday but this one just jumped out at me. I have it as my new wallpaper. Today was another beautimus day.
Bad news about my Montero. The shop can't figure out what is wrong with it. If I can't get it up here I won't be driving the Denali hwy out of here. Mr. Fishtaxi will have to come and pick me up and we'll head straight home. boohoo I wanted to go visit Whole Wheat Radio.
Maybe a miracle will happen and I still can.
Eight more days to go!
Everybody that put in for a Tier II caribou permit got one this year. Lots of hunters heading down the Denali highway and stopping in here. The huge rack on the left was got by the boss lady's husband. He also got a 48inch bull moose on the 28th of August. It was in full velvet which they trimmed off before I got a picture.
Today was gorgeous and I snapped a lot of pictures but no time to download them today.
I'm glad we are busy because that makes time go by fast. Only nine days to go now!
As the days get shorter and the colors turn to fall I reflect on a wonderful summer. I'm looking forward to going home via the Denali Hwy (which I can see out the kitchen window) to Talkeetna and visiting the good folks at Whole Wheat Radio.
When I got all loaded up to come up here to the Tangle River Inn to work the last 5 weeks of the season my Mitsubishi Montero died in my driveway with a full tank of gas. I'd come home for one last thing and that was Roxy and it wouldn't start. So Mr. FishTaxi gave me, Roxy and all my stuff a ride here. He got it fixed but wants to take it to the shop and have it checked out on a computer before they bring it up here. I don't want it to break down with all my stuff in the middle of nowhere.
So hopefully I'll get my rig back this weekend. Mr. Fishtaxi dropped it off at the shop this morning. Then he took off hunting for 3 days. A friend said she would take a day off work, if she has to, to drive it up here.
It was a good rig all summer. It got me to Lake Louise, Chitina a couple of times, Fairbanks and now I'm hoping it gets me out of here. In 10 more days!
Check this guys hunting rig out. They stopped in the cafe the other day for lunch. Thats pretty much who we are catering to now is hunters and a few late tourists. We've really slowed down but they are still staying open til the 20th.
Looks like they are cutting me loose on the 21st. 10 more days to go!
Got a chance to go canoeing the other day. Took Rodney, the guy who helps me, with me. He'd been here all summer and never went canoeing. He never did anything but work while he was here for 4 months. Today was his last day of work and he's heading home to Sacramento, California tomorrow where he lives on a houseboat.
Once he's gone I'll be on my own cleaning the cabins and doing the dishes. No biggie. We are slowing down and I'd rather be busy so time goes by faster. Found out today it will be the 21st or 22nd before they cut me loose.
This is where I've been spending my evenings the last 22 days.
When I get done with the cabins I take a break til 6pm. I usually take Roxy for a walk then download my pictures. Since I forgot my camera software I have to download to my desktop then burn a CD to take up here to download to my laptop so I can post pictures here.
Down in my cabin I can't get wireless so I leave my laptop up here. My project at the cabin, on my desktop, is downloading all my CDs to my computer finally. I am still about halfway done. I have been keeping a daily journal since I got here. I call it my bitch book. I get it all out and its done and over with. Thats how I get along with everybody here so well and they all think I'm so nice. heheh
About 11pm is movie time. I watch the movies on my computer. The lodge has hundreds of DVDs for my choosing. Last night I watched The Notebook with James Garner and Gena Rowlands. It was wonderful and I'm going to watch it again tonight. It was that good.
I know how to have fun in the middle of nowhere!
12 more days to go.
This is my little cabin at Tangle River Inn. Its pretty comfortable. Roxy even has her own bed!
I don't have my own bathroom but theres one not too far away. Small price to pay to have Roxy with me.
I get a salary, room & board, plus tips. Tonight we are all sitting around sipping blueberry brandy. We are booked through the next two weekends so my last couple of weeks should go by fast. I'm glad I came up here. Its a nice lodge with nice people and that can make all the difference in the world. They are already hinting at me to come back next year. I haven't committed yet but I am thinking about it.
Who knows where the fishTaxi will be next year?!?
This is the view looking outside my cabin. The picture was taken a week or so ago. The fall colors are changing fast. This morning there was frost on the windows. The lowbush cranberries should be ready for picking. This is my 20th day straight working here. A new cook arrived today which made everybody happy. Less of a workload now. 14 days to go til closing down for the season. The state of Alaska does not maintain the Denali highway from Oct. 1 til they clear the road the second weekend in April.
So if you plan on coming out this way you better hurry up!
Cleaned a five gallon bucket full for the lodge. My fingertips were dyed blue until I did a mountain of dishes over Labor Day weekend.
Mr. FishTaxi arrived last night forLabor Day Weekend and brought me my new laptop! So I'm sitting here at the Grizzly Bar using the wireless at the Tangle River Inn. Tonight when I was doing the dishes I had it set up on the counter listening to Whole Wheat Radio. The first time in over two weeks! I was in heaven. This will make the the next 18 days I have left here a lot more fun.
I don't have a lot of time to read blogs or blog though. Working in a lodge there is always something to do. I clean the cabins during the day then take an hour or so off to walk Roxy, take a shower then back up to do the nightly dish duty. I don't mind. Time is going by fast and I'm making money. The people here are nice and are hard workers so nobody is slacking.
The fall colors are changing daily and the views are incredible.
I hope everybody is doing well and I'll be back reading your blogs and answering emails soon. Time now to head to my cabin and get in some quality time with my man.
