Welcome to Tetlin, part 2

After meeting the couple we were replacing, as well as the two park rangers who are Athabascan Native Americans, we were back on the road to drive 83 more miles west to the refuge headquarters in Tok. The road is paved, although there are areas of damage due to frost heaves. It’s a beautiful drive. We arrived at HQ and parked in the RV spot at the end of a row of cabins used by seasonal employees and volunteers. 

Although the site has access to power and sewer, the placement of both made it rather difficult to decide where to park. We knew we had to buy a power cord extension for the site at the visitor’s center so we parked close to the power outlet and didn’t immediately worry about being close to the dump access. The HQ maintains a really nice bunkhouse, which includes a living area with wi-fi and satellite TV, a kitchen, 2 refrigerators, and a washer and dryer. It also has a large enclosed porch area and provides 3-4 mountain bikes for staff and volunteers to use as needed.

The next morning, we shopped for and found the extension cord at, of all places, the Three Bears grocery store. We moved the RV to the other side of the sewer pipe so we could dump and used our new extension cord to reach the power outlet. During the move, we pulled up alongside the building and filled our fresh water tank. Later in the day, a second large RV arrived. We assumed it belonged to the other volunteer couple who would be hosting the refuge campground at Deadman Lake.

Patty and Ward are from Florida and are veteran public land volunteers. They have two dogs both mixed breed and both 13 years old. Next to arrive was Les, the summer maintenance assistant. He is from Arlington, VA and had volunteered at the refuge back in 1986. He travels alone so he stays in one of the cabins. He was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam but doesn’t fly anymore. It was July 2nd and after hours so several scientists and other employees that live in the cabins milled about and we introduced ourselves. We found the showers and the laundry facilities so we were set.

We went out to dinner at Fast Eddies Restaurant for pizza and were delighted to find that both the food and service were great. We ran into Gail and Bill, the couple we were replacing, and their partners Cliff and Nancy, who would be replaced by Ward and Patty. They invited us to join them at the Alaska music show across the parking lot. Sure enough, Alaskan Sweetgrass was an acoustic trio including two of the refuge’s seasonal employees, brother and sister Huck and Jordan. Huck plays banjo, Jordan plays the fiddle and they are joined by a local songwriter/musician on guitar. The group entertained us with tales about the building of Alaska and the AlCan highway, as well as jokes, poetry and blue grass and folk music. It was very entertaining and a wonderful welcome to Alaska. We highly recommend the show, which occurs every night of the summer for 90 days straight in Tok.

The next morning we walked the dogs down a wonderful path recently completed behind the headquarters. Low bush cranberries were abundant but only a few appeared to be ripe. We now know that they won't be ripe until the fall.  Frances, of course, found the squirrels and Keila just wanted to sniff around because snowshoe hares were playing hide and go seek with her.  We met Kay Lynn, the volunteer coordinator that Kathy had been pen paling with for several months.

We headed to town and shopped for groceries, the extension cord, a sewer hose extension, and mosquito repellent.  We found everything we needed at the local grocery store, Three Bears Outpost, but decided not to buy the sewer hose just yet.  We decided to be tourists at one shop in town because we had heard of a 5 lb gold nugget at the Jack Wade Gold and Gift Shop.  We were friendly and inquisitive enough to get an invitation to visit her house to learn more about diamond willow.  We each held the 24 kt lump of expensive mineral..  We finished the day with a short bike ride in what is a very bike friendly town, Tok.

On July 4th, we skipped the parade and other festivities in town in order to drive back out to the center to spend more time with the Bill and Gail.  We stopped at the refuge pull outs and read the interpretive signs to help prepare ourselves, discussing our questions for the current volunteers.  Bill and Gail were enthusiastic, energetic, and welcoming although not entirely ready to leave. They had a wonderful summer, learned a lot and had a lot to share with us.  Bill took us on an interpretive hike down a trail behind the visitor center to a pair of old trappers cabins.  They were even more interesting and intriguing than Joy had imagined after reading about them in the literature Kay Lynn had provided.  Joy suggested we ask if we could help inventory the cabins' contents since they had never been emptied.

After more research, we discovered that the next big project the refuge was working on was cleaning out the cabins and rebuilding the roofs, making them safer so visitors can go inside them.  Joy offered to use her metal detector on the dirt floors to see if there are any other treasures hiding beneath their feet and the refuge director told her to go for it. Kathy learned about the sprinkler system for the grass roof, the generator, how to fix broken sinks and some of the store activities.

On Sunday we washed the Jeep and the RVs by hand and brush. It took most of the day to remove the "Yukon gold" and the 4000+ miles of bugs we'd collected. We used dryer sheets to remove the bugs and, with a little extra elbow grease, worked like a charm. We cleaned the inside too before realizing it was going to rain. We re-read some of our materials, jotted down a few questions and waited for the night to pass so we could anxiously begin our new lives as paid volunteers.

An Unexpected Wonder

Village Creek State Park in the Big Thicket of East Texas was our January trip.  Since I received a metal detector for my December birthday I reviewed the "laws" regarding their use in state parks and other areas.  I learned their use is not allowed without permit in state parks due to the National Historic Preservation Act.  So upon arrival I decided to ask how to obtain a permit.  First I assure the the lady rangers that I had not brought my metal detector but wanted to inquire as to how to obtain a permit.  The first ranger started raising her voice and level of enthusiasm saying, "metal detectors and not allowed, ever!"  I repeated the ordinance said by permit only, and asked again.  The second ranger Kathy Smith ironically agreed the ordinance did say by permit.  She said she could check with her boss and get back to me when I stopped back in the office.  The first ranger reintegrated the rule was absolutely no metal detectors and said my boss goes nuts when he sees them!  Just the the boss appeared through the back door.  Hello I introduced myself, "Your officer was just telling your nuts about metal detectors!"  I didn't say that!  She snapped as she left the room saying I'll let you address her question.  I began again, I'm Joy Nyberg, I was just asking about the ordinance regarding metal detectors, I assure....he interrupted you cannot use them, they are not allowed in any state parks.  The ordinance says without permit so how does one go about obtaining a permit.  The ordinance does not say that....they are not allowed period.  Officer Kathy Smith grabs the pamphlet with the ordinances with a grin and handed it her boss.  He opens it abruptly and point straight to the the line that says metal detection is not allowed...without permit.  So I'm asking how to obtain a permit...oh that's not for the general public and your the general public...that's for professors and historians....ok, I said I'm an educator, how can I obtain a permit.  You have to contact state headquarters.  Ok I'll do that I said as I walked out of the office.

Set up was a breeze, Kathy backed in and the site was nearly level.  It only took a few levelers under the front tires to get the bubble in the circle on the leveler for the fridge.  Now what?  I'm always ready to go, don't want to waste time.  We call EastTX canoe outfitters for a quote.  Forty five for a hour canoe rental and twenty five for a ride.  We'll drive you 20 miles north let you float three miles and pick you up there and then drive you back.  The landing site at Village Creek is too hard to get in because it's a steep cliff to drag the canoe up.  Walk down there and see and then call me back if you want I can drop off a canoe there and you can use it there for just the fourth five dollars but I don't recommend it.  Let's call the next one on the list....piney woods outfitters quoted thirty five ca should pick up us at our site, how about 10:00 am?  Great, we'd better walk down to the landing site and check out if we'll be able to get the canoe out of the water.

A nice bike ride down past the parking lot seeking a place to beach the canoe...our first possibility would be portaging the canoe through the woods for about a half mile back to the parking lot.  Other shore areas didn't seem much better.  Finally we found the actual canoe landing site with a sandy hill.  Steep but not impossible...we're going canoing tomorrow, yeah!

After desert, fire roasted marshmallows we watch old TV reruns and are in bed by 8:00 pm.  The train horns and children kept us awake until midnight or so but the electric heater and the dogs sleeping in the living room allow us to sleep until 5:00 am.

Amazingly the weather was near perfect but we dressed in layers just in case the wind would get at us on the water.  Both dogs properly walked our driver David was right on time.  A quick drive to the drop off point and we we launched down a canoe down the boat ramp.   The glassy river bent back and forth every other curve opening up to pristine virgin white beaches amongst the cypress edges along the rust colored waters. What an unexpected wonder!

The current carried most of the way so we didn't have to work hard to paddle except when trying to avoid dead fall or cypress islands.  The only challenge should have been choosing each area of the bridge to go under when they all appeared to be blocked by vegetation or rocks.  After about an hour we finally came upon fellow river travelers.  Soon we spotted the state park sign and a third canoe.  This canoe slightly out of sight rounded the bend to the landing and were out of the river quickly.  We spotted the landing as the paddled hard into the sandy beach, a man on shore stated we may want to try the other side of the point as it was an easier place to pull out.  As he did, I jumped into the loose sand from the front of the canoe.  I held tightly unto the short rope tied to the bow.  I fell into the sand and pulled the canoe forward.  The sand too soft I slipped and the canoe pitched and I turned toward Kathy rising from the back of the canoe yelling I'm going over.  Sure enough it did and she fell into the icy water grabbing the backpack with my phone from the water.  She didn't yell.  Three men ran to our aid.  The canoe half filled with water too heavy to drag out.  We had to dump the water before we could pull it up the beach.  Kathy drenched and me full of sand headed to the bathhouse so she could take a hot shower.  She didn't laugh she didn't cry.  I apologized and waited.  She was ok and said it was too soon to find amusing.  After a dry afternoon and romantic al fresco dinner of a creole and rice, she at least smiled.  A wonderful campfire and marshmallows eased the humiliation while the aches began to set in.

Kathy's wet clothes

Early to bed and late to rise made our MLK Day a quick departure from Village Creek State Park.  It allowed me to snap a few more photos of the areas unique landscapes and historical features.

Keila, The Hangdog

Surfside Valentine

Celebrating 11 years together Texas coastal style has been a fabulous weekend after a hectic week.  Seven years ago, on Valentines Day 2007 we conducted a private commitment ceremony in our then Austin home with Keila as our witness.  We'd actually had a date scheduled to get married in San Francisco, complete with hotel reservations and plane tickets, but then the court injunction nixed that.  Years later, all three of us are going strong in love and life.  

With less than four months to D (departure) - Day, a weekend away seemed nearly overwhelming earlier in the week. Work duties and purchasing our "toad" kept us away from the house just trying to take care of business.  But we agreed to go camping at least once a month and Joy loves exploring Texas beaches in the winter so Surfside, here we come. Weather in the sixties meant fabulous beach combing and metal detecting.  The dogs, Frances and Keila, loved it too.

We stayed at Beachfront RV resort.  It boasts professional horseshoe courts and illuminated large size chess.  Unfortunately, both were in need of repair.  With the WIFI not working and the private dog run allowing Frances to escape, the park is extremely over priced for the peaceful day we did enjoy.

Just a short walk over the dunes to the beach via a board walk, we went metal detecting.  Since technically we're on private property we can actually use Joy's birthday present.  Texas, like most other states, doesn't allow use of metal detectors on state property without permit and according to a state park ranger, permits are only issued to university representatives for research.  Our finds this weekend, a Hyde brand scrapper, a plastic rake, a piece of iron, and a coin, probably foreign.  According to Facebook friends, our hunting is improving.  

 Our Saturday night fare consisted of delicious homemade cheese infused bbq burgers.  They were awesome!  Thanks to Kathy's dabbling in the kitchen.  In fact, we used one of these tasty patties with a couple of eggs for breakfast tacos on Sunday morning.  One of our current practices for camping is menu planning.  With a small fridge and tiny freezer this is a must.  Maybe we can start sharing recipes with you as well.  Blogging just opens up so many possibilities.

Well, check out time is in a few hours so we're headed back out to the beach for one more metal detector trip.