It seems the government is getting in the way of free men again. There is something called the CM, something to do with the mammals here that they have stopped the dredging. There is gold here and I have seen it but the powers to be are not in agreement. They do have a lot going on here but it is slow going. The owners of the Sundance have laid their claims to certain areas but cannot access them yet. They have the permission of the local government but the state of Alaska has put a stop to it. The talk is that it will be six months or so before any permits will be issued, if any. We’ll keep an eye on it. Everything is so secretive. Another boat showed up in the harbor with dredge equipment saying they were on their way to Nome but they are still here in the harbor. Two weeks now and they have tried the claim jumping tricks of old but Mark was quick to fly back to Anchorage and make sure his claims were good.

            One day I was asked to go ashore with two handheld gps’s and mark the claims. Oh my god! I had to learn how to mountain climb. Not good for me. That job is for a much younger stronger man. And of course no one really knew how to use the gps's. A quick learning curve is important. The claims were one quarter mile apart and once I had to climb over a rock mountain and all the time walking in the boulders laid on the young beaches. There aren’t many sand beaches here in Alaska as these are some of the youngest mountains and beaches in the world. They spent milleniums covered in ice before they burst volcanoes into the sky. The ring of fire!

 
Rough beach on Popof Island Alaska

 
Extinct Aleut home on Unga Island

 
Sea Lion feeding in harbor

So it is now August 25 and I am home in Pasco County Florida and it feels good. My wife and dog are glad to see me and it feels so good to be in their embrace. I will post some more pictures of my Alaskan Adventure aboard the Sundance in the near future. For now go ahead and visit www.ourhomeideas.com and pick up something for your house!