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Friday, July 24, 2009

Dozin' off...


Spent the last few weeks driving a dozer out on Nome Creek off of the Steese Hwy. The BLM is doing a reclamation project on the old dredge tailing piles that are left over from mining in the 1920's and 30's. Their aim is to move the piles away from the creek to reduce the erosion and sedimentation and flatten the piles to promote revegetation. This should improve the fisheries, since there's a small run of salmon near the mouth of Nome Creek, and create moose browse. Besides all that, it's just a lot of fun to get out and drive a new piece of heavy metal every year, especially one that's nearly as big as the garage.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Road Trip...


After flying to Chicago to attend our niece's wedding, we stopped in Portland on the way back. Rented a car and drove down to near Coos Bay where our friends Larry and Jeanne live. The drive down the coast was pretty spectacular and, unlike Alaska, the roads were in great shape. Larry and Jeanne love the area and took us on a long hike along the coast to see the sights. When we left, we went the long way back to Portland stopping at Crater Lake and then through the high desert area near Bend. If it weren't for the ignorant drivers, it would be a really great road trip.