Fly-AK: The Longer you stay, the more your perspective changes.......

About the title (above). I think this is the longest I have ever been in a community, other than my community back home. Having as much time as I have to think about it, what with the weather not cooperating with flying and all, the more I'm becoming distanced from the tourists, and becoming more in tune with what's happening locally here in Talkeetna.

The people here are really genuinely fine, polite, intelligent, nice people. Not that I didn't suspect that, but these attributes seem to be more apparent in those that I meet. By contrast, my last two experiences in town, or at the B&B, with the general tourist population have been strained. For instance, I had a later flight time this AM than I have had all last week. This meant I could spend time here, drinking coffee and eating breakfast with the other guests. The B&B is presently 4/5 full. I had a difficult time getting into the conversation about California or South Carolina or whatever some of the guests were talking about. As usual each AM, I am glued to Bill's stories about Alaska, even though I have heard most of them a couple of times. In tourism's defense, there was a nice mother, son, twosome here this AM. Audrone, is from Lithuania. Their adventures in Alaska were shared with Bill and I, and I enjoyed hearing about the different parts of Alaska they have visited. Made me want to venture out next time I come.

I was introduced to a guy who was visiting Above Aviation last week. Mason. He had taken flying lessons at AA last year and had stopped by for a visit. I think he had some business dealings with John that he was taken care of. Sarah, who works at AA, said he keeps coming back "like a bad penny". I knew that was in fun because everyone showed Mason a lot of attention and smiles were seen all around.

I got to talking with Morgan and found out he had just returned from a back packing trip. He and his dog (I don't know the dog's name), had just returned from a 500 mile, 2 month walking trip. Mason mentioned where he had begun the trip but the name of the town escapes me. I thought about the magnitude of walking that far, alone, except for your dog, carrying most of your daily supplies on your back. I had asked Morgan if he had a hand held GPS or something that he used to navigate with. He explained that they don't work on long trips because you have to almost constantly refer to them and the batteries die. Morgan said he was trained in finding his way in the woods and uses what he has learned to navigate. Another thing he mentioned,, that I won't forget is that before a long hike, the 500 miles, he grew a beard and grew his hair long. He said it was essential to prevent the mosquito's and other biting flies from biting your face and neck. He explained that as his hair swings while walking, it's a natural bug shoo-er.

I was curious to find out how he contended with the Grizzly Bears and if he was nervous about being by himself. Morgan said that his dog was his first line of defense. Being alone in the woods, and being familiar with his dog, his dog would always give him an initial indication if there was something he should be concerned about. Bear spray and a revolver was also accessible at all times on his belt.

I was leaving the Roadhouse in town today, early this afternoon. I thought I'd walk down to Nagley's and get a bottle of water. On the side of the main drag I noticed Morgan's dog. I followed the dog right to Morgan.

I told Bill the story about finding Morgan in town. He laughed and said it was scary that I been around so long I an recognize people's dogs.

Morgan was in the process of taking inventory of his worldly possessions. He had just landed a job and is going to head out of town. He's going to lead some pack horses, on horseback himself, into the mountains with supplies for some of the hunting camps. He will then use the horses to transport meat back down the mountain for processing. The hunters are hunting Dall Sheep. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dall_Sheep

Morgan's living his dream and I envy that. Maybe I'll buy a float plane when I get back home!

I'm including some pictures here from Above Alaska Aviation. I haven't gotten a picture of Drew Haig yet. He's the owner of AA and for a young guy, very accomplished. He has all his CFI licenses and has earned an Airframe and Powerplant Certificate (A&P). He rebuilds, re-fabricates airplanes. This keeps him busy not only now but all Winter in Talkeetna. He also has a really souped-up Bush plane (see previous blogs).