Edibles

Bucky grew up both hunting along the train tracks near home and using the train tracks to access the river and fields that held game.  Things are no different near our cabin in Talkeetna.
Hunting season is in full swing in AK now that fishing has drawn to a close.  On this particular day, we took the short walk from our cabin to the tracks.  During the summer a temporary staging area is set up here to allow passengers to board who are not stopping in Talkeetna, but headed to Fairbanks.  This keeps the buses out of town, but sends them our way.  On Wednesdays and Saturdays a trail of Princess buses head down our dirt road to the tracks, The only benefit to us is, they put chemicals on the road to keep the dust down!  Bucky and I had hoped to beat the buses to the tracks, but we spent too long walking a trail called Lady's Loop that Carlisle hacked out for her 17 year old dog, Lady, to walk.

 Bucky was able to pick off a few Spruce Grouse along the way which won't be as tasty as Ruffed Grouse, but hopefully they had been in the berries.

                                                                      colorful heads
Right now the blueberries are past, but the cranberries are at their peak along with certain mushrooms.  I am weak on mushrooms so I only dare to pick one, called a gypsy.  I have no idea if that is its real name.  They are super tasty.

                                                  Carlisle and I hunting for grouse and gypsies.

                                                                                 Gypsies

                                                              Bucky among the Princesses

                                                  Lots of game trails....mostly moose.
From the tracks, it's only a little further to the Susitna River.  Bucky was still hoping to find some late Silver Salmon, but I think he needs to let go.  Because we spent the summer in VT, he missed salmon fishing and hasn't faced this fact.

                 Bucky behind some  Devil's Club, on Lady's Loop.  This plant is hated by all Alaskans and avoided if at all possible.

            Beautiful berries of the Devil's Club loved by bears....hated by humans, note the thorns.

                                                              of moose and men

                                                            Rosehips, great for jam

                                         A lingering blueberry even good when dried.

        Delicious high bush cranberry, a treat to suck on while walking and high in vitamin C.

Watermelon berries, great thirst quencher.

                                     The Alice in Wonderland mushroom, amanita, don't eat.

                                                                    mature amanita

                                           These looked delicious but, I only pick gypsies!

Alaska is rich in edibles, both for humans and wildlife.  Our afternoon walk put some food on our table.

                                                                            grouse breasts

Land, Water and Air

Alaska is a state unlike others in that there are very few roads by which to access a huge amount of acreage.  Those folks who have chosen to live in these more remote areas must rely on modes of transportation not requiring road.  Around Talkeetna, the railroad and the rivers are local highways.  The Hurricane Turn Train is the last flag stop train operating in America.  Unlike a whistle stop train, the flag train will drop a rider off and pick up whenever and wherever needed. For this reason, it follows a loose schedule. Many people live in cabins up the tracks from Talkeetna and the train gets them to and from town. 

On a beautiful August day, Bucky, James, Lisle and I decided to put our raft on the train to be dropped off to float back to town on the Susitna River.  In my mind, nothing beats a day on the river.  In Bucky's mind, it was a chance to see a black bear.   

                                        Loading the raft, food, rod and rifle on board

                           Warren, the conductor, became a fellow passenger in the baggage car.

                                                It's hard to miss these blue and yellow giants. 

Watching the scenery flash by gave a feeling of bygone days and an uneasy stomach unless facing forward.

                                                      Passing downtown Talkeetna

                                               Denali looking down on the Susitna River

                       A shelter along the track in which to wait for the train. 

Warren asked where we wanted to be dropped off and when the tracks came near the banks of the Susitna, the engineer slowed to a crawl.  We looked for easy access to the river and a bank not too steep to exit the train.  I thought of Water for Elephants, in which people routinely jumped or rolled down the rail bank, some through no choice of their own.  I hoped for a gentle bank, without the need to "tuck and roll".  At our command, Warren spoke to the engineer and the train screeched to a halt.  Passengers watched as we dumped the heavy raft and our gear onto the gravel.  Next, we scrambled down the steel ladder attached to the car and over the bank. 

                                                                 Not too far to the river.

                                                              Always time to try for fish

 Most of the salmon are now dead, but some could be seen on their sides or belly up, still trying to swim...a bit hard to watch, but all part of the cycle.  We were hoping there might still be a few Silver Salmon around.

                                                   Where there are fish, there are bears.

                                                                    Baby bear

Bucky and I appreciate these strong arms and legs and are continually amazed as to why they include us on their trips.

                                                                    Almost good to go.

                                                      Lisle, giving James a break on the oars.

                                                                     Colorful hitchhiker

Our beautiful day of floating yielded no fish or bear, but time to lay back and enjoy the many sights and sounds the river had to offer.  For this short period of time, we let the forces of nature set the pace of our lives.  Something I hope to do more often.
...............to be continued

Arrow Heads, Mountains and Blue Bonnets

It was such a pleasure to meet Helen Bell, Curtis' grandmother, outside the town of Fort Davis, TX.  The ranch land, here, butts up to red rock mountains.  Unique rock formations and huge boulders make this a destination for rock climbers, if they only knew.  We awoke, in our camping spot at Crows Nest Ranch, tucked beneath the rock hills to see Fisher intently watching a mule deer feed.  Evidence of cattle having grazed among the campers was present.  Today, I scraped the red clay and cow patties from the tread of my shoes.  Fisher and I enjoyed a morning walk through the pines.  A walk I could have continued on for hours if there weren't a reason to quit.  I could see the damage done to the trees by an earlier ice storm, experienced this far south.  Having walked among the cactus while looking for sheds and arrow heads, I knew to carefully pick my path around the blood letting spines..  Fisher, however, had spent those days lying beneath the RV and now looked comical trying to pick both of her back feet up at once, having stepped where she shouldn't have.  I had already spent one evening with tweezers and tape removing cactus thorns from Bucky when he unexpectedly slid down a slope landing on a prickly pear.  Not at all a pretty sight or great experience!  I certainly didn't want to be doing the same for Fisher.  But, within moments, she was walking again on all fours.  Curtis had told us to look for the brown house on the hill and that would be his Grandmother's.  It was easy to spot as we walked from the RV.  He had also said to be sure to ask to see her arrow head collection.  And, that we did!  Bucky helped her lift the dusty case from her closet which held hundreds of heads collected over her 85 years.  They made my, possibly imagined, worked pieces of flint, now safely stashed in the RV, look downright pathetic.  In an array of shapes and colors, Helen clearly remembered when and on whose ranch land each had been discovered.  She told the story of being a young girl and finding with her parents the body of a dead Indian, still with quiver and arrows over his shoulder in a hillside cave.  

From Fort Davis we headed to Big Bend National Park which shares the Rio Grande River as its border with Mexico.  Seeing our first Border Guards raised the concern that comes with crossing any border even when there is no reason for it.  This wonderful park occupies the south western point of Texas as you look at the shape of the state. 

Mountains within Big Bend, referring to a large bend in the Rio Grande, are as high as 7,800 feet.





                                                                                                       Some bugs on the windshield

                                                                  Texas Blue Bonnets

                        Thorn removed from my shoe.  How did the natives survive.