Dock Flippage

Docks are an expensive luxury in remote Alaska. Buying and hauling the lumber and fabricating a dock is complex so buying a used dock made a lot of sense for us. Our dock is part of the salvage of the old Valdez Harbor dock...Russ, Randy and friends towed it from Valdez with the Wild Abandon and the Faith, Randy's old boat, to Port Ashton in June, 2005. All went well until in the LaTouche Passage they became concerned that gas was running low. They radioed a neighbor who brought gas. One friend fell through a dock hole as he attempted to tie up the neighbor's boat to the floating dock so Russ jumped onto the dock to assist.

It was rough and there was no cleat to tie up to so Russ was weaving the line around the bull rail when the boat and the dock surged together breaking his wrist!

So when we decided to bring in another dock it was an easy decision to hire someone else to tow the 120' dock.

"There's a submarine in the bay," radioed our neighbor. Our dock had arrived twisted at midpoint with half of the dock flipped upside down!
This predicament posed a whole new set of problems and Randy began ruminating about how to flip the dock back right side up. Caution is Randy's constant companion...he spent almost a week considering how to flip the dock safely.

During the contemplation week, Boulder Bay, captained by John McLean offered to help flip the dock. The plan was to submerge the front of the dock using the Boulder Bay thus flipping it as it was flipped on the way out from Valdez. In preparation, Randy disappeared one morning with Tristan, a chainsaw and the portable marine radio. He told Tristan if something went wrong to radio Port Ashton and then he cut the dock at the twist...so now there were two pieces, one upright and one upside down.

It was a sunny, warm day when Captain John had a break in fishing to assist. Randy, Russ and Boulder Bay crew tied and knotted the lines between the upside down dock piece and the seiner. Lia and I watched from the beach with some friends while the kids swam in the bay.

Full speed ahead, Captain John began pulling the dock. It looked as if the plan was working and then snap, snap, snap, a piece of the dock broke like match sticks. At this point, I dropped my camera and my mouth fell open, and I missed the shot. Come to find out Darren of the Boulder Bay caught the event on his video camera...I'm hoping to get a copy to include in the blog!

Everyone was so disappointed, probably Randy more than anyone. He knew there was more work ahead and we had lost more of the dock. This was not a project he wanted to revisit in the fall. So Randy returned to puzzling out a solution.

And, then it came to him. We could hang the dock from the old fuel dock pilings on high tide and let the tide do most of the work. Unfortunately, Randy had to return to Wasilla to teach school so it was up to us to prep the dock.

Captain John's 16 year old son, Jake, helped Russ, Russ' aunt and uncle and I run 6 lines under the dock to the outside "bull rail." Jake tied all the knots and wove the line under the dock using a salvaged 2x4 and gaff.

Fortunately, Randy was able to talk his workmates, Justin and Mike into coming out the following weekend to assist with the flip! Randy climbed up onto the creosote pilings and tied the lines to the piling header, completing the cradle.









Then we watched as the tide went out and the 15' tidal change tightened the lines and the dock moved increasingly vertical. Just before the extreme low tide of -.09 feet at 9:39 PM on Saturday the dock was about 80 degrees of vertical so we put one more line on top of the dock and pulled it over with the Wild Abandon.

Cheering ensued, we retied the dock to the pilings, and started the campfire.

I ran up to the Creekside during the celebration and heard a distress call over the radio. A seiner was taking on water just a mile from Chenega Bay. We use a trash pump to fill our hot tub so we radioed that we had a pump available. Some neighbors were rushing out their pump and so they felt they had enough pumping power...until they discovered the neighbor's pump did not work. Again, we radioed that we had a working pump...and eventually a tender arrived in front of our beach, launched their skiff and Randy and I floated the pump out to them on the kids styrofoam floats! It was dark and of course, the water went over our boots...about 52 degrees fahrenheit.

We listened to the action until 12:30 p.m. Around 11:30 p.m. the captain gave up the fight...even with three pumps they could not overcome the rushing, incoming tide. They abandon ship. We offered to host the crew at Port Ashton but they needed phone service and so they stayed at the hatchery.

It was an exciting day filled with ups and downs and we were proud to be part of the Sawmill Bay community who rallied to the rescue.

Moon Over Sawmill Bay

Summer moons require late night viewing. Lia and I are typically up until 11 pm (unless I sneak off early to bed), finishing dishes, baking and planning for the next day...and sometimes a little late night internet shopping.

Whenever we see the moon rise we grab our cameras and try to capture the magic of the moment. We both agree that we need to learn more about photography so we can improve our photos. So with that caveat enjoy the photos.

One evening, we saw the dogs arrive loaded with porcupine quills...the worst case ever. Licorice's face was covered in quills but Heila had them everywhere. Quills were down her spine, in her tail, on her hips and thighs, between her toes and all over her face and head.

We love the dogs but poked up dogs find little sympathy from the Port Ashton crew. Licorice is not cooperative when it comes to removing quills so Lia put on her rain gear, laid on top of her, I held her head and Tasha, who is 9, pulled the quills while Licorice snapped at her. Luckily I paid attention to Tasha's technique as I would be Heila's surgeon. Heila had to wait for Lia and I to finish the dishes and prep breakfast for our full service guests. (One of our guests was a plastic surgeon so of course, I asked him to perform the quill pulling operation. He kindly declined.)

Heila and Licorice were embarassed. You know how that feels when you get caught doing something stupid...well, they were busted and needed our help. They hung their heads and patiently waited for the quill removal.

Finally, at 11:30 pm I geared up...with glasses, head lamp, leather gloves and pliers. Tasha had gone to bed and I was now the designated puller. Heila is not always friendly. She is our bear dog and can be ferocious when bears are in the area. I wasn't confident that she would allow me to pull her quills. But Lia assured me she would be easier than Licorice so we proceeded.

Lia was right. Once the quills were removed from Heila's back she relaxed into Lia's lap with her legs in the air. It took us about 30 minutes...and our night ended with taking photos of this beautiful moon.

Late night chores have their perks.

Feeding Dogs & Bears

Every morning it is somebody's job to feed the dogs, Licorice and Heila. They work hard for their room and board keeping the bears at a distance.

Licorice lives under the Creekside cabin and that is where she is fed. Dry dog food mixed with leftover fish or meat is their regular fare.

July 31 our first black bear appeared in the cove...on the opposite side of our dock. Bears enjoy fishing in the cove...it is easy pickings. We can see the cove from our dining room and it is always exciting to see the first bear of the season.

Russ and Bjorn arrived August 4. The weather improved with their arrival and Russ decided to take on the job of painting the new Freezer House. His second day on this project I assisted him so we were painting together above the dock ramp.

We were aware of the bear activity...we had discovered bear scat on the trail to the Freezer House a week ago. And, about an hour before I started painting Licorice chased a bear down the cove, past the Freezer House where Russ was perched on a ladder. So when Heila and Licorice sounded the alert we figured it was a bear. I continued to paint assuming I was fairly safe on the ladder. Moments later I noticed Russ was gone.

"Get out of here," I heard Tristan and Russ yelling. I was unsure of the bear's location so I stayed put...painting but very curious. Tristan had grabbed my camera and shot 84 pictures out of the Creekside dining room window. This excitement continued for 15 minutes. Eventually Russ returned.

A bear had moved into Licorice's zone to eat her dog food! And that bear was not going to leave until it finished lunch. Russ tried throwing rocks at it. And, that smart bear hid behind a tree and then continued to eat. Finally, Randy heard the noise and approached from the south around the front of the cabin. Randy picked up a piece of wood and threw it in the bears direction. The bear was feeling out numbered by now so it ran just into the alders behind the cabin and considered its options. Russ finally found a good throwing rock and with a lucky shot hit the bear in the head from about 35 feet away. It ran off.

Now for the disclaimer....bears are dangerous and an encounter like this can end poorly for humans but most often for the bear. The bears were here first and will still be here after we go home, so over the last four seasons at Port Ashton we have changed our habits and worked hard to not make our lodge site "unattractive" to bears. We keep all food in secure building, limit cooking to specific buildings and burn our rubbish several times a day.

The bears move down the mountain to fish in the cove but this year the fish are late to spawn, otherwise the bears would be fishing and minding their business while we mind ours. We have learned to live with the bears and find that we can be good neighbors if we remember that we are the visitors here.

Today the dogs have 30 minutes to eat their food or we pick it up and put it back in the cabin. We are taking many safety precautions to avoid another incident...ensuring that all food is secured in the dining cabins, the fish cleaning station on the dock is cleaned after each use, barbecue grills are cleaned and burnt off and that trash is burnt thoroughly.

Again, we modify our operating procedures so that we can become even better neighbors for our neighbor that were here first, the bears. We know that its worth the trouble because bear viewing is an important part of the "close to nature" experience we live at Port Ashton. On Friday morning the value of our bear viewing was confirmed as we watched a sow bear with three cubs walking along the beach in the cove while we were having our breakfast. We are blessed to live close to all of our wild neighbors, especially the bears.

Rocking & Rolling in the Beach House

Over the summer we sleep in most of our accommodations at Port Ashton at least once. Last Wednesday it was our turn to sleep in the Beach House. That night the tide topped 16' which means we were floating. Tides are high in Alaska but this was a really high tide!

Now I've been known to get seasick in choppy seas and Wednesday night there was a storm with 35 knot winds. Rain and wind were blowing so when the tide hit it's high, about 1:40 am, the Beach House began bucking and rocking. This 1100' home became a house boat.

Randy is very safety conscious so the Beach House is anchored to trees and pilings in five places. The Beach House has survived many winter storms so Randy was not concerned about us floating out into the bay. But I had not considered the effect the high tide and storm would have on the Beach House.

Tristan and I agreed that we would wake each other up to check out the high tide.

Kristofer and I were sleeping upstairs so I awoke to the swaying and bobbing motion. It was dark outside and I was apprehensive about getting out of bed. My strategy for avoiding seasickness is to stay prone. Yet, I really wanted to see how high the tide was in comparison to Port Ashton landmarks. And, I had promised Tristan that I would wake him. But I was afraid if I got up I'd start to feel sick.

Finally, I crawled out of bed to peer out the window. The water was just below the steps of the hot tub and next to the bank below Look Out cabin so there was no path to walk from the Beach House to Creekside. I'm not sure whether the Beach House ramp was floating but I was feeling that the only way off the Beach House was to swim!

It was too dark to get pictures and I chose not to risk any seasickness so I went back to bed. Later in the morning as the tide receded the Beach House began to settle in making a squeaking noise as it brushed against the floats. It was a wild ride!

In the morning I reported the nights experience. Randy started laughing. "I knew it would be a wild ride with the high tide and storm surge," Randy belatedly shared with me.

Fresh Eggs

Five dozen eggs...that is our inventory par. We eat and use plenty of eggs. Most baked items require eggs...and eggs are a common breakfast entree at Port Ashton. So when we run out of eggs it's an emergency!

Our nearest grocery source is a 3 hour boat ride away. The most resourceful folks in our area grow their own produce...so why not raise laying hens? Randy and Lia raised chickens four years ago so they are experienced chicken farmers! Thus began the building of the chicken coop.

The body of the coop is an old stand up freezer that has five roosting shelves. Randy enclosed it with reclaimed cannery wood...drew up plans for the fencing and left Lia and I the task to finish the coop.

More green painting, luckily we had help from Tristan and Tasha. It was 75 degrees the day we painted and I was too hot! Between the bugs and the heat I was ready to quit.

After painting we scavenged wood from the ruins of China Town and the Cold Storage buildings and began measuring. We cut the wood with a hand saw...which was no easy task, dug the holes for the posts with a little help from Heila and set the posts. We made sure the posts were level and started in on the fencing framework.

With only a few pieces nailed in place Randy arrived from his supply run to Anchorage. After unloading and putting away the supplies we returned to the chicken coop project now with Randy's supervision.

He laughed when he discovered we cut the wood by hand and then the lesson began. We had tried leveling the framework but it was crooked...he informed us that you cannot level on uneven ground! So we dismantled some of our work and measured this time. We also learned that if we blunted the ends of the nails the old wood was less likely to crack.

Complete, except for the chicken wire...so we thought. Randy just saw my post and informed us that we need one more 1x4 in the center of the overhang.

Chickens next season!

Overwhelming Laundry

Laundry is constantly arriving at Creekside - clothing, table linen, sleeping bag liners and bed linen. Between July 2-5 we had 40 guests, 6 dogs, 4 kids, 13 boats and 36 loads of laundry!

Here is our personal laundry...notice the towels in the shower...we have found the shower to be a great place to stage dirty dishes as well as laundry!

We have a full size stack washer and dryer in our bathroom that is constantly running. This means closely watching the water tank level so we don't lose the prime on the pump...see last seasons Water blog posting.

Lia is the laundry lady...she keeps the washer and dryer running during the day. Sometimes though the amount of laundry is overwhelming. Usually, she powers through it but the other day she collapsed...into the laundry!

With the beautiful weather we were hanging the laundry...Port Ashton style, on the dog run! We have a laundry line that needs to be hung up...the big decision is where to locate it. In the sun but out of site of the guests? Serious questions for us to consider...

Any thoughts?

Fish Alaska Story

We were so excited to have a writer as a guest. Les Palmer, a columnist for the Kenai Peninsula Clarion newspaper, and his fishing buddies were guests at Port Ashton Lodge last season. Getting publicity for the lodge seemed very important and having a professional writer and experienced Alaskan fisherman visit was ideal. Lia and I looked forward to having Les’ impressions of PAL documented hoping that his words would describe the essence of our offerings.

Palmer planned to write and submit a story about Port Ashton Lodge to Alaska Magazine, Alaska’s premier publication. A story in Alaska Magazine would mean incredible exposure for our business. Visitors as well as Alaskans read Alaska Magazine. We couldn’t wait to see our lodge displayed on newsstands!

When Les, Dave and Rod arrived at that dock we were all there to greet them…kids, dog and moms. Our overwhelming desire to please them exuded our every action. We wanted Les to know everything about Port Ashton Lodge…but he was tired and hungry. So we hurried to finish dinner.

Dinner was wonderful…fresh Lingcod they caught with raspberry chipotle sauce and red salmon, purchased from a local seiner, served with a vegetable kabob and mango salsa. We finished the meal with blueberry cobbler and homemade ice cream. Les and his friends reminisced about fishing in Prince William Sound and we got to know one another.

We are hopeful and anxious to read Les’ story…not knowing when it will be printed we wait patiently through the summer. In August, I forward more photos to Les…and we keep in touch awaiting news of the printing date. In January, Les sends the bad news that Alaska Magazine has killed the story…they are cutting back on stories due to the economic down turn. We are all so disappointed.

Finally in April, Les sends news that Fish Alaska will print his story over the summer. We are overjoyed, thankful and eager to read the story. June 2009 the story is published and I search the Fish Alaska website for a copy. Unfortunately, it is not one of the stories featured on the web…so again I must wait.

Kristofer and I arrive into Anchorage June 20th and begin the shopping marathon. We spend five days looking for supplies from new shower knobs to cilantro. During each day, I look for something to do with Kristofer to break up the monotony of shopping. So we go to Barnes and Noble for some new books. After checking out we walk past the check stands and I see it, Fish Alaska magazine.

Going Back: Reliving Adventures in Prince William Sound, story by Les Palmer, photos by Les Palmer & Paige Talvi. Yahoo! Port Ashton Lodge is in print…