Livin in the Park!

My 2 Parks
Shane Breakie Well, I arrived at my new home for the next couple of months.
I'm in my cabin at the Donnelly Creek State Park, about 30 miles south east of Delta Junction, AK.
Kind of funny, I have phone and internet access..through my air card (which cuts in and out at the most inopportune times), but no running water or electricity.
It's a cozy little cabin, about 10x10. there is a wood burning stove for warmth, although I'm not too sure I'll need to use it, the temperatures have been quite pleasant so far. Day time has been in the sixties the past few days, and since it is daylight nearly around the clock those temperatures don't fall too much. It is rather windy at times, which hasn't been too big of a deal, once I got use to the little creaks and bangs.

I have a fantastic view of the mountains out my front door and window and there is a small creek flowing off to the side of my cabin with decent sized trees all around.

I’ve actually been in my park for a week now, posting can be rather difficult, so I’m not sure how often the blog will update.
Everything is going well, i’ve been somewhat bored as there has not been much traffic coming my way so far. Which in all honesty is just fine with me. I have had alot of free time to think and read...i’m about half way through my 4th book, good thing I brought plenty of reading material with me!

Today, Wednesday May 23rd is one of my days off. I get Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. Anyway it is extremely windy outside. I’m not sure what the gusts are blowing at but more than once this morning, I had to brace myself with a solid footing to avoid being blown over. So because of the conditions, I’ve decided to hold up inside and chill, until the wind dies down some. I may go out an explore some once the wind subsides.

I have made a couple of new friends up here. Last week I was out collecting some rock from a pile down the way, to fill in and repair the road around camp. As I shoveled a load into the bed of my state issued truck, an Alaska DOT truck pulled in by me. The driver enquired what I was doing, so I explained my situation to him. He was a nice fellow, and helped me load up the truck. We got to talking and he offered to show me around the area, so we hopped in his truck and set out. He and his crew are responsible for the section of road which runs between my camp at Donnelly up to my other camp at Fielding Lake, about a 40 mile stretch. We drove for a while, then stopped into his camp and showed me around their facilities, he also told me to feel free to stop in if I ever wanted to hang out with the guys, needed help, grab a shower, or watch TV. It’s nice to have that right down the road, since I’m by myself about 30 miles from town and there is basically a whole lot of nothing around me, besides nature.

I also spent some time yesterday, with one of the assistant rangers for the Delta area. He drove me back to Donnelly from town. I had to drop my state truck off for service. He is an interesting older guy from Alaska (kinda a grizzled mountain man) and like me, this is his first time working in the parks. During the winter months, he traps animals then prepares their hides and skulls to sell. In past years, he’s done some carpentry and odd jobs to get by during the summer but i guess this year was looking rather slow, so he is working with us in the parks. In talking I found that he just got electricity about 5 years ago, but is savvy enough that he has begun using a computer and the internet to expand his fur business. Just in speaking over the last day or so, we have shared information beneficial to each of us. I gave him some computing tips, and taught him how to use a credit card to pay at the gas pump. He shared some interesting information about habits of various wildlife in the area. Specifically, Bear spray is next to useless as a deterrent. Evidentially, unless you get a direct shot to the eyes, bears rather enjoy the pepper spray. Licking it and rolling around in it...I suppose it would also make you taste better! I think we could help teach one another a fair amount of our areas of expertise, so I’m going to see if we can work together in our free time. Hopefully he’ll be open to learning some new computer tricks and I’ll have an opportunity to expand upon my set of survival skills.

So far, i’ve been mostly impressed with my ability to live quite comfortably without the everyday conveniences you take for granted. Electricity in general has not been a huge deal, the cell phone is the only nuisance mainly because my battery life has dwindled significantly. Light is a non issue for now, as I have sufficient daylight to read by until almost midnight. I do miss being able to shower whenever I need to, but almost have a system in place where I’ll get a nice warm shower every 2-3 days...I do keep myself clean, just no shower. My cabin is nicely insulated and is typically 10 degrees warmer that outside so warmth is no biggie. I’m still trying to get a handle on keeping perishable food cold, i’ve had to turn off and ignore some of my food safety habits which is a little unsettling but so far so good. I’ve also become quite fond of cooking with the 2 burner propane stove in the cabin. I’ve whipped up some pretty tasty meals, the only problem is they may be too tasty and I find myself eating larger portions more often than normal...part of this is due to not wanting leftovers to spoil. I’ve got to get in the habit of preparing smaller meals.

I’ve had a few wildlife sightings, a couple of moose have wandered through the camp grounds and I’ve seen many more along the road while driving. There is a large population of Snowshoe Hare in the area and i’ve also seen some porcupine while driving. That’s mostly it, my DOT guy showed me a trail along the way where according to him a Grizzly likes to hang out, but I haven’t seen any signs of bear at all...and i wouldn’t have a problem if I am saying the same thing once my time up here comes to an end!

All in all i’m enjoying my time up here in Alaska, but as of now it is not a place I could see myself settling into. While the people i’ve met are for the most part quite friendly and helpful, there is something just a little off about the whole place. Part is due to the very small town aspect but it seems that time has kind of passed by. Not all, but a good portion of the women i’ve encountered seem very submissive and almost afraid to speak openly. I imagine it to be similar to the 1950’s or so, before the whole women's liberation occurred. They don’t really make eye contact and when spoken to, their answers are muffled under their breath. It’s a weird thing and makes me a little uncomfortable. Maybe it’s just here in Delta Junction, I don’t recall that kind of behavior in Anchorage which is a much larger, modern city. But the bottom line is that Delta is defiantly not the place for me.

Well that’s all I really have for now, I think i’ll go out and see what the day brings me.
So until next time thanks as always for reading, I’ll try to get some more pictures posted soon.
Shanerb

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