August 2-5, Wasilla

August 2  It was a leisurely day!  We visited with Grant and Debby after breakfast.  Jim came by so had coffee with him and Grant.  It's fun to listen to their stories about pilots, flying, and hunting.  Today's major topic was on the production and usage of energy.  Alaska is a state rich in natural resources, especially oil, natural gas, coal, and water.  A new power plant is being built that will run on natural gas which Grant and Jim are against.  They contend that there are enough canyons in the mountains that could be dammed and used for hydroelectricity.  They say that natural gas costs enough already without a new competitor for it, and that it is inefficient to convert natural gas to electricity and then have the consumer buy electricity and have to convert it to heat.  Have the natural gas go directly to the consumer for winter times heating needs.

Peggy took me along to get photos printed out to send to my dad and to buy some groceries.  We stopped on the way back to get the pickup fueled up only to find out they did not have any power.  Same with many businesses along that street.  Luckily we weren't desperate.

After lunch we went for a walk.  I don't think today's temperature got much over 70º so it was comfortable walking during the day.  And, I've noticed in the middle of the night that it is now totally dark.  Summer is noticeably waning here in Wasilla.

Peggy made a butterfinger pie!  The candy bars were on sale at the store.  She shared it with Grant and Debby.  Will be interesting to see how they like it.  Debby said that she'll make a peanut butter pie and share it with us.  YUM!

That pretty well sums up the day.  Like I said it was leisurely...and very enjoyable!

Today's Photo Uploaded to Picasa

August 3  Another leisurely day, but a breezy one!  Grant was expecting 2 planes to come today, but the wind prevented them from making the attempt.  Peggy cleaned the inside of our camper while I rotated the tires on the pickup.  We visited with Debby and Grant throughout the day. Grant was in the hangar working doing regular maintenance on his pickup, lawn mower, and skid loader.  I worked on the pavement just outside the hangar.  The place looked like Gasoline Alley!

Peggy and I went and got fuel for the pickup this afternoon and also drove along Charley St. that goes along the north side of Anderson Lake.  It's a street that we have walked a short portion of so we were curious as to where else it might go.  And, I got my ears lowered as the barbershop was open for business.  Fortunately the barber only had 1 client!

It has been sprinkling this evening.  Forecast is for more steady rains after midnight.  I hope the weather prognosticators are correct as many areas of southern Alaska are very dry.  I talked to a client of Grant's today who had just gotten back from several days in Sitka.  He said the smaller streams there are so low on water that salmon were unable to swim up them to spawn.


August 4  It was laundry day for us this morning.  So, while I stayed at the camper watching the NASCAR race at Pocono on the TV, Peggy went to do the wash and also get some groceries. The race started at 9:00 a.m. Alaska time so was over around 12:20 p.m., about the same time that Peggy got back.  I don't know if she was trying to put me on a guilt trip or not, but she said for a time she was the only female in the laundromat.  But, maybe she was the only person in the laundromat??

We went for a walk during the afternoon as there was again the chance for rain during the evening.  It was cooler today with temps in the upper 60s. We grilled pork chops for dinner. About the time we finished eating and had settled down the raindrops fell...all 10 of them.  We just are not able to get a sustained rain to fall.  The temperature dropped enough that we closed the camper's windows as we watched TV.

Tomorrow we make the necessary preparations to get on the road Tuesday as we're heading to Fairbanks for the rest of the week.  Preps include checking out the pickup's fluid levels and tire pressure, and dumping the camper's holding tanks and checking its tires.

We're excited to go to Fairbanks and have a boat tour, an Arctic Circle tour, and a gold dredge tour planned.  This will also be a good area to see the Alaska Pipeline up close and personal.


August 5  I'm thinking summer is beginning to transition here.  The past mornings we have awakened to low 50ºs and daytime highs are in the 60s.  And, we still haven't had that good soaking rain yet.  We got a few sprinkles overnight- just enough to waterspot my clean pickup.

Peggy and I did our chores right after breakfast.  I checked tire pressures, and then we relieved our holding tanks of their contents.  I told Peggy she didn't need to help with this.  But I think she enjoys watching my facial expressions as the "contents" are disposed of.

Even though today is one of our "on duty" days, Grant and Debby did not go anywhere and said we could if we chose.  So, we decided at my suggestion to drive the Hatcher Pass Road again. The last time we did so was on a weekend and there were hoards of people up in the pass. Actually, I had an ulterior motive...to get another excellent chili dog on the way back!

There were very few people up in the mountains and after we got out of the pickup to walk around we found out why- it was very cold and a breeze was blowing.  We were not equipped with clothing nor our hiking boots.  While outside Macy called her grandma to tell her she had gone school shopping.  But the mountains soon blocked the signal, and their conversations had to wait until stronger signals allowed.

We did see marmots scampering among a rock pile.  They were the first we had seen in the Talkeetna Mts.  Peggy got a nice photo of one.  However, there was a huge marmot that was not willing to be viewed long enough for a picture.  At first Peggy did not know what it was as it was much larger than the others.

Later when the road was following Willow Creek, we came around a curve and out of the ditch in front of us bounded a cow moose.  But this moose, like others we've seen crossing a road, did not pose for a picture and ran into the opposite ditch and was gone.  Camera shy!!

A bit farther down the road I saw a large head sticking out of some bushes on the shoulder.  I quickly stopped and told Peggy, "There's a wolf!!"  Holy cow, take its picture!.  About that time the wolf walked out onto the road towards us!  Peggy snapped a photo of it before it disappeared back into the overgrowth along the road.  WOW!

Much to my disappointment when I later looked at the photo of it in iPhoto I realized that the ears did not match up to what a wolf would have, and its muzzle was not elongated.  My imagination had duped me...it was a dog!  :o(

We connected back up with the Parks Highway and drove to the little drive-in diner.  This time Peggy also got the chili dog and their good fries!  It tasted as good as I remember it!  We then stopped at Walmart for a few items before getting back to the Chapman's.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we go to Fairbanks with a Saturday return.  We will be exploring new territory again, and we're excited to see sights and have experiences that we've not been exposed to.

Today's Photos Uploaded to Picasa

August 1, Chitina to Wasilla

August 1  We slept in this morning.  Our bodies needed to recover from hiking around the Kennecott Mine and McCarthy yesterday.

We left our Chitina, AK, campground around 10:00.  We fueled up again at Kenny Lake.  This allowed us to drive all the way back to Wasilla.  Once we turned from the Edgerton Hwy northward onto the Richardson Hwy we stopped at a pull off and got some photos of mountains making up the western side of the Wrangell Mountains.  I hope I have them named correctly!  We survived the construction on the Glenn Hwy just outside Glenallen.  And, yes, we got more mud!

We were greeted by Grant and Debby as we pulled into their premises.  There first reaction was boy, you guys are dirty!  Fortunately they were talking about our pickup and camper...I think!  :o)

Debby grabbed her car wash materials, got a hose, and immediately set to work trying to get the dried, packed mud off.  Peggy and I assisted by using a variety of brushes and elbow grease to rid the mess.  After much spraying the goo finally relented and washed off.  Thank you Debby!

I had Grant do a couple of things to help me.  My car scrub brush's handle had broken off and the threaded head was still in the brush.  Grant had an extractor that worked to back the broken end out.  And we have had a bent foot plate on the front landing gear on our trailer.  Since Grant has quite a well equipped shop, he used his machine press to re-flatten the foot plate.  Thank you, Grant!

We set up our camper and although we had a great time traveling to and seeing the Kennecott Mine, it was still nice to have such nice creature comforts here: cable TV and Internet, full utility hookups, and a level spot to set up on!

Today's Photos Uploaded to Picasa

July 31, Chitina to McCarthy and the Kennicott Mine

July 31  We left for McCarthy and the old Kennecott Mine right at 7:00 this morning.  The drive from Chitina to McCarthy is 60 miles of gravel road which follows the old railroad bed.  Many parts of the road are in gravel road condition while other parts are very rough.  It took us about 2 1/2 hours to make the drive.

About 30 miles along the road we entered the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.  We were surprised to find that the park entrance has a rather nondescript sign.  Especially surprising was to find out that this national park is six times larger than is Yellowstone NP, making it the largest national park in the US!

We pulled into the parking lot on the west side of the Kennicott River and were intercepted by Jim, the parking lot attendant.  He was very friendly and gave us good suggestions like: go to the mine first and eat lunch at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge on the balcony, don't be sorry for the fools back at Chitina who left their RVs on the sandbar 'cuz the river's flooding- DUH!  We took him up on both suggestions regarding the Kennicott.

However, our first need was to walk the footbridge across the Kennicott River to McCarthy.  The river was flowing fast and high.  The warm weather is taking its toll on the area glaciers, and they are melting at a rapid rate.  The same was true of the Copper River where yesterday we saw several RVs parked on a large sand bar and now in water due to the raising levels of the river.

Once over the footbridge we caught up with the shuttle service.  A shuttle was leaving immediately to go up to the mine.  We paid our $10 total round trip fare.  From the footbridge the shuttle drove to and stopped in McCarthy.

McCarthy has a colorful history.  Since the mine was declared “dry” by the owners, McCarthy grew to take advantage of 2 things most men want- liquor and women.  And McCarthy provided both and more!

The shuttle was approached by quite a number of persons.  There was already 5 on the 11 passenger van.  But by squeezing tighter and tighter, we were able to take on about  9 more people many of whom were from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.  The van then left for the 5 mile drive up to the Kennecott Mine having to leave 2 behind to wait the hour for the next shuttle or walk.

The Kennicott Mine opened in the early 1900’s in thanks to the development of a railroad from Cordova on the coast up through various river valleys to the mine.  Here ore rich with a high concentration of copper was shipped to Tacoma, WA, for smelting.  The mine produced the most copper and with it, the largest profit of any copper mine up to that time.

The Kennecott, now a national historic site, has many of its old buildings being restored.  If you look closely at our photos, you can see workmen and scaffolding.  As a result of the construction, most buildings were closed to the public.  

We walked around the mine’s grounds taking photographs and reading about the function of the various buildings.  The largest attraction is the concentrator mill where the copper was extracted from the limestone in which the copper was contained.  Because this mill was on the side of the mountain, much of the process relied on gravity to move the ore from one stage down to the next stage.

When the ore had been concentrated as much as possible, it was loaded onto railroad train cars, shipped to the coast, and then loaded onto ships and taken to the smelter plant in Tacoma.

We walked a trail which took us up and behind the mine.  There we could see the old tram lines which were used to move the ore from the actual mines high on the mountain down to the mill.

We continued to follow the trail, but must have missed a turn and ended up in a creek bed with a fairly good amount of water flowing down it.  Fortunately, my long legs allowed me to rock step across fairly easily.  However, Peggy had to work at finding a route across the creek.  And she did so without getting wet or falling!  We found where the trail picked up and continued on our way down towards the mine’s main road. 

We came to a chute that must have been used to move high quality ore down a level skipping some of the concentration processing steps.  At the bottom of this chute was what appeared to be a crusher that broke the large pieces of ore into smaller ones.  I hiked up a steep incline to this crusher and there in a hopper was copper ore!  I couldn’t resist the temptation to grab a handful of this ore and put it in my pocket.  I’m assuming that this would be some of the last ore to go through the Kennecott Mine right before it closed forever.

By now it was lunch time so we found the Kennicott Glacier Lodge which is an old boarding house of the mine.  It has been remodeled to accommodate guests.  The lodge has a balcony with tables and chairs on the second story.  So up the steps we climbed to find a great view of the river valley, the terminus end of the glacier, and the mountains across the valley.

And the food was superb.  We each had the salmon Caesar salad with carrot cake for dessert.  And of course we found the scenery much to our liking, too.

From there we roamed the mine area until the shuttle came.  We rode it down from the mine to the town of McCarthy.  Sonny was our driver and is originally from Texas.  All you needed to do was ask him a question and he would talk in his drawl.  

He told us if we were enjoying the history and scenery of the area, that we should cross the McCarthy creek and follow a road about a mile up a hill.  There you will get very nice  looks up the Kennicott River valley towards the glacier and the mine.  And, if you go a bit farther you can see “Mudhole” Smith’s cabin.  “Mudhole” was a famous area bush pilot back in the early days of the mine.  You can see photos we took of this walk by following the link below.

Once we were back in town we had to look up an ice cream shop because we were hot and tired.  Peggy estimated that we had been on our feet for nearly 5 hours not counting  lunch.  Whew!  Fortunately McCarthy does have an ice cream shop which satisfied our needs!

We then went to the McCarthy museum which has many items from the towns early history on display.  The raciest item I saw was a whale bone corset!  But there were many items and photographs from the early 1900’s to 1938 when the mine stopped producing copper.

From the museum we walked back to the footbridge over the river, took a few last photographs, climbed into the pickup, and bounced our way back down the McCarthy Road to Chitina.  Enroute we finally encountered rain while on the McCarthy.  In fact we were in a 5 minute downpour and had to have the wipers on high to be able to see.  And like a construction zone, the McCarthy turned momentarily into a muddy mess.  

We we pulled into our campsite and wearily got into our RV around 7:00 after 12 fun hours of exploring, learning, walking, eating, photography, and just plain fun!  I’m sure we will sleep well tonight!

Today's Photos Uploaded to Picasa

Video of Kennicott Glacier's meltwater

Video of the Kennicott River at McCarthy, AK

July 30, Wasilla to Chitina, AK

July 30  We visited with Grant and Debby and gave them our travel itinerary for the Kennecott Mines at McCarthy this week, then Fairbanks the following week, and finally halibut fishing the 3rd week .  They can then plan any other trips they want to take.  We left Wasilla around 8:00.  

We drove the Glenn Highway to Glennallen.  Just outside of Glennallen we hit major road construction.  We were stopped for a while before the pilot car arrived to escort us to the other end.  However, Alaska is big on dust abatement, so a semi water truck preceded us and flooded the dirt.  And yes, it made instant mud.  Our 5th wheel trailer again bears the badge of construction- two caked mud streaks on its lower front.

At Glennallen we fueled up and turned south onto the Richardson Highway.  We have traveled both the Glenn and Richardson (to Valdez) before.  However, after about 15 miles on the Richardson we made a left onto the Edgerton Highway and headed easterly.  At Kenny Lake we filled up with fuel again as this is the last diesel station for us until our return trip on the same highway.  

We followed the Edgerton to the Wrangell View RV Park 5 miles from Chitina.  It has electric and water hookups but is on the side of a shallow hill.  With a small amount of effort Peggy directed me into a site and we were reasonably able to get level.  Thankfully we had AC as the air is quite humid and the temp was near 80º.

Debby, our hostess in Wasilla, is going to be jealous as she is trying to grow a crop of raspberries.  However, this year they are creating all canes but very few blossoms and fewer yet berries.  Right next to our campsite is an area that is full of wild raspberries which are ripe!  

After setting up and having had our lunch we drove to Liberty Falls.  It is on a small creek and looks to have a nice waterfall.  However it is hard to get a good vantage point for a picture unless you chose to hike to the very top which these two travelers decided not to do as we only had our tennis shoes on.  At some point in time a large rectangular boulder broke away from the canyon wall and positioned itself directly in front of the falls making a photo difficult.

While at the falls, we met a lady who was wearing a Nebraska t-shirt.  Peggy had hers on, also.  When I mentioned to the lady that we were from Nebraska she said she was an Alaskan, but that her daughter had moved to Whiteclay, NE!  The daughter and granddaughter were visiting the Alaskan, and the granddaughter was having her high school graduation pictures taken at the falls.  Small world!  When I mentioned that Whiteclay had been in the news again recently they said that they ran the grocery store. (Whiteclay sells alcohol directly to the Native Americans who live on a reservation right across the state line in S.D..  The SD reservation is dry so the Native Americans drive or walk the short distance to Whiteclay to get their booze.  SD is trying to convince NE that Whiteclay should not be able to sell alcohol!)

From the falls we drove into the very small town of Chitina.  Chitina grew up in the early 1900s when copper was discovered in the Copper and Chitina River areas.  It became a railroad center for the ore trains that took the copper to Cordova on the coast.

However, trains at that time needed coal.  The US government enacted legislation that prevented Alaska from utilizing its own coal fields to provide for the railroad as the syndicated (Guggenheim and Morgan) railroad was considered a monopoly.  Because coal had to be shipped in for the railroad it was very costly for the railroad to continue.

Once the copper ore was gone and the mines closed, the railroad also left, so towns like Chitina and McCarthy, where the Kennicott Mine is at became virtual ghost towns.  Slowly with the development of roads the old mining areas became tourist attractions.  In 1980 Wrangell-St Elias National Park was formed.  Tourism to the old mine at McCarthy increased.  The old railroad bed from Chitina to McCarthy was covered with gravel to convert it to a road.

I was fortunate in that Grant had a book that he loaned me, “The Copper Spike”, on the history of the establishment and decline of the railroad in this area. 

Chitina is little more than a couple of B & Bs, a hotel, and a few private residences.  Salmon fishing on the Chitina River is big and there are several fish wheels being used to catch them. There is usually a large sand bar on the east side of the Copper River at Chitina.  However, because of the very warm temperatures the Copper is running high and the sand bar is pretty much under water.  There were at least 3 RVs who got caught by the rising water and either are in water or surrounded by water.  And, the fish wheels on this side of the river are about 50-100 yards away from the new shoreline.

We grilled our supper after which I put photos on the computer and edited them.  I then started writing today’s blog.  At about 8:45 p.m. Peggy and I went for a walk.  Was this a mistake?  I’m sure if you asked the mosquitoes they’d say it was a perfect time for a walk.  All I can say is that we kept up a pretty lively pace while swinging our arms wildly trying to keep the suckers (figuratively and literally) away.  I’m sure anyone who might have seen us would think, “Those crazy Nebraskans!”

Regarding our walk- when we self-registered for our campsite there was a sign that a bear had been seen in the campground on July 27.  So, Peggy armed herself with bear spray before we left on our walk.  I armed myself with a camera.  

Tomorrow we drive the 60 miles from Chitina to McCarthy and the old mines on a gravel road created on the old railway bed.  We’re very excited to do this!

Good night, Gracie!!

Today's Photos Uploaded to Picasa

Fish Wheel on the Copper River at Chitina, AK

July 28-29, Wasilla

July 28  Well, Omaha, you were colder overnight than we were here in Alaska!  Our low was 57º, and you set a new record low at 48º!  Next thing you know you'll be hiking on glaciers there!

It was an on-duty day for us today, as will be tomorrow.  Peggy fixed pancakes for breakfast. And since it was Sunday the NASCAR Sprint Cup race was on starting at 9:00 a.m. here.  Peggy not being known as a NASCAR fan went to the laundromat and grocery store.  She got back just shortly after Ryan Newman's victory.

Peggy was also on the phone today making reservations for activities and a campground in Fairbanks. If everything goes according to plan we will be there for five days starting August 6. We are excited to be taking a paddlewheel boat tour, a dredge museum tour, and going to the Arctic Circle!  Getting to the Arctic Circle is one of our bucket list items.  Since we have heard some horror stories about driving the Dalton Highway on your own, we opted to have a tour company get us there.  On the flipside, we have also heard that there is nothing to worry about when driving the Dalton.  We chose to side with caution, and also to alleviate collecting any gravel road damage to our pickup.  And, this time someone else does the driving...a novel idea!!

Speaking of the bucket list, we are looking to reschedule our canceled halibut fishing charter. Hopefully the week of August 12 will hold some promise of getting back in the boat.  And the tides are also favorable at that time.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!

This afternoon I regenerated our camper's water softener while Peggy attended to Joey, the hangar cat.  He bears watching as likes to take off on his own giving whoever watches him some exercise.  Since he is declawed he can't defend himself very well.  A bear might think of him as a snack should he get away from us into some of the surrounding undeveloped areas.  We know that there are moose close by and there have been bears, too.  Two years ago Grant had to dispatch a bear that was attempting to get into their house via a first floor window.

We watered the garden and flower pots around the compound, and then sat outside as the temps and breeze felt good. We grilled our supper and then watched the latest installment of "Falling Skies".  That series will be coming to the season's end next weekend.

There are thunderheads building over the Talkeetna Mountains just north of us.  It would be nice for them to bring us some needed rain.  A walk through the neighborhood again brought closure to another Alaskan day.

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July 29  No much new to report for the day.  It got into the upper 70s again but no rain.  The clouds continue to build up over the Talkeetna Mts. in the afternoon, but nothing (no rain) for the MatSu Valley yet.

We did the unsavory job of dumping our holding tanks in preparation for our trip tomorrow to McCarthy, AK, and the Kennecott Mine.  This will be new territory for us again.  The area has great historic significance for Alaska especially regarding copper mining and the building of the railroad.

We also finalized and made reservations for our Fairbanks trip and our return to attempt halibut fishing at Ninilchik.  

Grant and Debby returned from their weekend at Hope and Whittier.  They seemed to enjoy their time away.  It was surprising to hear that Whittier's temperature was in the 70s.  Typically coastal locations are cooled by the more temperate ocean temps.

We went shopping for salmon this afternoon.  It is awesomely good when fresh and grilled. However, salmon is to Alaska as the steak is to Nebraska.  As a result it gets top dollar even on sale.  But, it's worth it to those of us who think a rock bass in Minnesota is awesomely good. Actually, in that case, it's the company (charter member Leech Lakers) who influence the flavor!

The salmon fishing is strictly controlled.  In some places the salmon runs upstream have been less in numbers than typically expected.  Yes, they monitor and count salmon.  As a result many streams have either been closed to salmon fishing or the limit has been reduced.  It is all supply and demand.

Grilled our supper again, did our evening walk, watched some TV, and called it a day.

Today's Photo Uploaded to Picasa

July 27, Wasilla and Air Show

July 27  Started the morning helping Grant and Jim disassemble the Beaver.  The engine cowling,  propellor, flaps, ailerons, rudder, and elevators had already been removed.  This left the wings for the next items to go.  With retaining bolts removed and Jim and I holding guide ropes, Grant maneuvered his skid loader and the wings were taken off one at a time.

The next thing to go will be the engine, but Grant is saving that for another time.  When you go to our photos using the link at the bottom, the photos show the sequence of disassembly up to today. However, we only removed the wings today.  The rest was done over the past few days.

After lunch Peggy and I drove out to the Wasilla Airport to attend an air show to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first airplane flight in Alaska.  Several older vintage aircraft were flown in.  Some of them did flybys over the airport.  Once on the ground the public was able to walk among the planes for closer looks.  I was able to take some photos of some of the more unique-looking planes.

Next week Peggy and I hope to go to McCarthy, AK, and the Kennecott Mine, a national historic site where a turn of the century copper mine was located.  It is approximately 270 miles away. Grant loaned me a book, The Copper Spike, depicting the history behind the establishment of a railroad to move the copper to the coast.  It was amazing to think about how the exploits of developers tried to take the railroad right of way away from others, and especially to imagine the large struggles made to lay the track over the Alaskan environment.

I'm not sure, but it may not have gotten to 70º today.  If it didn't, it will break a string of 70º days that was approaching setting a record for consecutive 70º days set back in 2004.

Today's Uploaded Photos to Picassa

July 25-26, Wasilla

July 25  Oops!  Forgot to make this posting last evening so Peggy and I are racking our brains trying to remember what we did...darned sometimers strikes again!

We stayed on the premises here at Anderson Lake.  Even remaining here is fun as there are airplanes buzzing around, and then there is the lake with views of the mountains in the background.  Grant worked on finishing putting floats on an airplane while I "supervised" playing the role of hangar rat.  Peggy played Betty Crocker and made muffins for the hangar crew in the morning.  It was a nice day temperature-wise with mid-70s allowing Peggy to sit outside and read in the afternoon.

Debby had been so kind (again) and given us a salmon fillet.  Peggy found a good recipe (pretty easy for us rookies to do) using aluminum foil, soy sauce, and brown sugar.  The fillet was cut into spatula-sized pieces.  Aluminum foil was cut so that they were just larger than the cut salmon pieces.  A mixture of soy sauce and brown sugar was liberally applied to both sides of the salmon  which were then put skin side down on the aluminum foil.

A low to medium setting on the grill was used.  The fish was put aluminum side down on the grill for 6-8 minutes.  The fillets were then turned.  The aluminum foil was carefully peeled off and with it came the skin!  Another 6-8 minutes on the grill for the 2nd side and VIOLA!!  Awesome eating!!

And another very nice treat we got from Debby was some smoked salmon.  Jim, who works part time with Grant and Debby, has a smoker.  Jim and Debby get fresh caught salmon and cut it into narrow strips, dip into a brine solution, and then hang the strips in the smoker.  And, OMG, is it good!

The evening was spent indoors as the clouds rolled in off of the Talkeetna Mts., and we got a very generous, much needed rain.

Today's Uploaded Photo to Picasa

July 26  Yesterday the bedside window day/night shade on my side of the bed broke.  The string in the blind had broken away from the plastic spool which is attached to the wall.  I had emailed the Jayco support line, and they suggested going to youtube.com and look up shade repairs.

I found a very helpful how-to video.  But in order to make the repair, I had to removed the valance, decorator curtain, and hanger hardware before I could even get to the shade.  Once I had the shade removed it was relatively easy to get the loose string, rethread it, and put it back on the spool.  Luckily having a full working repair facility in the hangar was nice as Grant allowed me to borrow his drill to put a new hole in the plastic spool.  

Then I had to put the valance which contains the shade back up.  It only took 2 screws, but Harry Houdini would've been challenged to do this work.  It would have been easier if I had a phillips head screwdriver with a 18" shank as the screws went in through a bracket which had to be affixed to the inside, underneath part of the bracket.  And everything was black colored, so I could not reference where exactly the original holes were.  

After a few choice words and much trial and error to get the screw to balance on the screwdriver head and then to thread it into the hole, I finally got the valance hung.  Everything else took little time to put back up.  Jayco engineering on this sure leaves a lot to be desired!  And, all this because a small plastic piece that probably costs about 25¢ had broken.

It was now late morning, and as I went out to the hangar, Grant had already removed the rudder, elevators, ailerons, and flaps from the Beaver airplane he is disassembling.  I was able to help remove some access panels and the cowling from around the engine.

In the afternoon we moved some landing gear sets and the parts removed from the Beaver into storages areas so they would not be subjected to the weather.  I was then going to help replace some light bulbs in the ceiling of the main hangar.  Grant was going to put a basket on his skid loader and lift me to the ceiling.  However, the skid loader had a dead battery.  Off Grant went to make a new purchase.

Upon his return he put the basket on the loader and I met him in the hangar.  However, he did not have enough light bulbs to make all the replacements.  With that we called it a day as he'll go get bulbs tomorrow.

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