ArcticArtique

In the words of The Greatful Dead…What a long strange trip it’s been. As always it seems, it’s been a while since I’ve posted once again. I’m still sitting in Galena in the midst of another slow fire season. I’m just not used to babysitting a helicopter that doesn’t fly.

A lot of things have happened since my last post. I made it home for my last break and it was a packed schedule. It was time to say goodbye to our new friend Loki. He was almost 18 years old and in very poor health. The old boy was in pain from all the cancer lumps and could just barely breath. He could no longer hold down his food. We made sure that his last days were just as good as we could make them. We said our goodbyes and made sure he left with dignity. It’s not pleasant but is part of life.

My helicopter broke as soon as I left camp. I got the call from my relief mechanic that first night. Nothing big, the starter quit working but getting parts flown into remote parts of Alaska from the Lower 48 as soon as possible is no easy task. Of course, several fires had just started and all we could do was sit and watch.

If you remember, Kitty and I are in the process of leaving Fairbanks for the Wasilla area of Alaska. I had a couple extra days off and we loaded the truck with as much product as possible and made the drive through Denali National Park to deliver more unique merchandise to Wytchwood Herbal Shoppe in Houston, Alaska. This new store is a work in progress but is beginning to look nice!

We finally made it home in time for me to fly back to Galena and get back to work. My time off flew by as always. I had just gotten back in camp, when I received a frantic call from Kitty. There was a bad thunder and hail storm at home that spooked Ally the Wonder Huskie. She bolted and never returned. Remember that other than one special friend of ours that sits with Kitty every day, Ally is her only companionship when I am gone.

How can you not love this?

This was a tough one. Kitty doesn’t drive anymore. She couldn’t go looking for our lost family member. I was gone and not able to hunt for her. I made up a post on Facebook for the local buy, sell, and trade pages and went to work. For three days, I pushed my link begging people to share it and be on the lookout. For three nights I talked to people, accepted condolences, and pushed the link. I made connections and people passed the word. Then the miracles started to happen.

A guy that I will simply call Michael the Archangel came out to look the area over. He is an animal retriever that likes to help find lost pets. He is very successful at this. He was setting up to start searching. Another new friend volunteered to make and post flyers in the area. She posted a flyer at the local gathering place and watering hole, Ivory Jack’s. I received a call the same night she did this. It seems a miner went to Ivory’s to see if there were any missing dog flyers there. Ally had wandered in to his gold camp several miles away from us. She was tired and hungry but otherwise okay. I explained to him that I was 300 miles away and Kitty doesn’t drive so he had his workers gps our location and returned Ally that same night. I do believe in miracles.

It has been a long strange trip. I have no idea what the future holds for Kitty, Ally, and myself. I do know that I wouldn’t change a thing about my life with these two. For an anti-social autistic person that doesn’t trust or want to depend on anyone besides myself, I cannot imagine my life without Kitty and Ally.