Hi Folks,
We are taking our son to Akron-Canton Airport today.
He's going to Alaska to help a friend with a 100 mile trap line. He isn't
satisfied with trapping beaver here in Ohio and wants to try wolves.
He is flying from Canton to Chicago, Chicago to Anchorage in Alaska, Anchorage
to Nome, Nome to St Michael. St Michael is a tiny village on the Bering Sea.
St Michael was Russia's northernmost trading post when they owned Alaska, and
local culture is still supposed to be pretty much Russian influenced.
>From there it's into the interior by snowmobile. Somewhere in north
central
Alaska, there are several large native owned reindeer herds that are losing
several head every night to wolves.
It's been running 30-40F below every night for weeks in that area. There
isn't any extra daylight yet either.
I'm glad the bears are mostly still asleep. His mother is fussing some about
the bears. He's only taking one .22 rifle.
I'd like to go too sometime, since I don't have to milk every day, but I'd be
more interested in seeing the cows.
My Grandfather, HB Owen, drove up there once in his Rambler when the AlCan or
Alaskan Highway was still a dirt road.
He drove over to a Registered Holstein sale in British Columbia, and then just
took a side trip to Alaska.
He said it was pretty country but he had to head back for Homerville too soon,
as GrandMother was always fussing about the bears. There weren't many motels
yet so they camped out in the woods.
She hated dust too. A couple thousand miles on a dirt road wasn't exactly her
cup of tea. Especially when the near end of that dirt road was already over
3000 miles from Homerville.
On the way back to Homerville from Alaska, he did take the time to cross the
Yukon, and drove over, in his Rambler, to take a picture of the Great Slave
Lake in the Northwest Territory.
The road over there was a little spongy in spots. He tried to get to the
Great Bear Lake too but the road was too boggy, and he had to give that up
north of Wrigley.
Ever after, he always felt bad that he couldn't drive his Rambler all the way
to the Artic Ocean. He probably should have tried further east.
--
Kindest regards,
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F. W. Owen
Owenlea Holsteins
9430 Spencer Road
Homerville, Ohio 44235
e-mail fwo@bright.net
home page http://www.bright.net/~fwo
voice & fax 330.625.2369
cell 330.635.2287
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