15 August 2007
Leaving Keno

I am getting paid
in shares
so
I am packing the bag
for in the morning
to drive through Mayo and cross the Stewart River
then the Yukon River
on the way to Whitehorse
for a day in Vancouver
then the big bird on to
Auckland

and I need it since my body is severely
depleted in chardonnay molecules
and needs a recharge

I will give you a weather report once there

11 August, 2007

in NZ

and they are celebrating Noa's first birthday

a day early

since it is only the 10th August here in Canada !!

Those silly mooses.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR TOMORROW

NOA

From BIG AL

4 - 6 August, 2007
Pelican
SE Alaska


It was the company fishing trip
to Pelican which is located west of Juneau on Chichagof Island,
just a short distance from the Pacific Ocean


For me it was a 7 hour drive from Keno to Skagway, a 40 minute flight to Juneau, and then another 45 minute flight to Pelican.



Where there are no Pelicans - just Eagles
and the small town with a reported 100 permanent residents is supported by a fishing factory. The whole town is built on piers over water along a steep forested shoreline.


Accomodation was at a very comfortable sport fishing lodge - but a holiday it was not - breakfast at 6am, on the water by 6.30. Trolling at depths of up to 100m for the KING salmon, and bait fishing for the elusive Halibut. Long days on a the back of a small boat (of which there were 3 for a party of 12 guests) bobbing in the ocean even though the odd pod of humpbacks trucked on through the fishing grounds. And looming thought the misty swells the commercial salmon fishing fleet was also right there with us.


We caught our quotas of salmon, King, Coho, Pinks
- a few halibut and some wierd cod sorts as well.


An interesting few days - with some good food and just a little wine to wash it away.

And I arrived back at camp with a 50lb box of filleted and frozen fish - I have to get rid of it in the next week before I come home since I dont think Mr NZ Customs will be too keen on a box of melting fish.


keep on listening in

2 August 2007

Keno Hill

Well as I travel about the hills here at Keno

there is evidence of old silver mines from the turn of the century

but apart from the more recently closed workings,

most are of the 1920's and 1950's vintage.

Occassionally you see one of the old miners still hard at work after all those years and sometimes on a good day, when they have discovered a galena vein containing 2000 ounces per ton of silver,

they will invite you home for a brew,

or take you down to the local pub for a beer.

They are a weird mob.

31 July 2007
Keno Hill

Well I've been back for a couple of weeks now with my friends here in the silver mines.

The weather is unbelievably good - warm days into the 20's and not below 10 at night. The sun still has a bit of a problem about going to bed - shining out at 10.30pm - but I am told that we will soon start loosing 7 minutes of it a day as the fall comes around.

I have had to leave the computer and put on the old Nepalese hiking boots to get some field work done - and when necessary I take some loud young geologists with me as anti-bear devices - and it must be working as none sighted to date.

And ......
just about to go out for a short break
back to Alaska
to go fishing ........

tell you about that later