Good Weekend  

Posted by Stan Harrington

Just checked the weather, the weatherman changed their mind again so it must a woman prognosticator. Now they are calling for clear and sunny weather through the weekend and it has been that way here for the past two hours. The great news is that it appears that it is going to be another gathering of the clans. The Wolf Clan, typical of the specie was going to try and sneak in under the cover of dusk, however, a little spy who is having an identity crisis as to whether she is a Moose or a Wolf told grandpa and grandma the secret. It will be so good to have everyone down again. The Bear Clan will be a little shy as they are playing in a major softball tournament in Kenai this weekend - but they will make a showing I am sure, especially now that the river is open to fishing once again, at least it will be in forty three minutes. Everyone, drive safe, take your time and we will leave the lights on.

Should Have Been Here Yesterday  

Posted by Stan Harrington

Had a beautiful sunny day for the most part yesterday, should have been here! By evening it was raining hard and what was once a nice dry campground, is now a partially wet to muddy area. It is not to bad, with the gravel that was delivered and distributed by Plumma and Homer, it is not to bad. Outlook, gloomy as we are still having rain throughout the area including LA. Suppose to have semi cloudy, cloudy, misty, possibility of rain, showers, sun breaks, throughout the weekend, the good news is that there are no frost warnings!
Little Bull Moose and I hauled firewood yesterday, with the help of Golden Grammy we were able to cut it up and organize it. There is one pile of wood for "stoakers", those big ones that will burn all night and put out no heat. The second pile is behind the Buffalo wallow and is comprised of dimensional wood for kindling. The third pile consists of that nice wood that will build a hot fire and occasionally explode and is located in front of the Bear Den.
We also took the time to spray some additional fire retardant on the cook tent in the event that Homer decides he wants to try his hand at the culinary arts once again. Was going to try to install a sprinkler system but the little 12 volt bilge pump that I put in the central lake to supply water kept getting plugged up with mud but the concept was good. With a little more plastic pipe, I may be able to reach the Kroc Pond for a water source that is almost clean.
Still have a little "animal control" problem, the dogs and I were chased back into the house the other night by a very mad cow moose that had lost her calf to dogs that belong to some distant neighbors. Golden Grammy and the kids were also chased inside previous to my encounter. A mad cow moose actually growls when she is charging. Still no actual sighting of the Bear, however, he has been leaving his signs along his normal path of travel. He is living in the meadow somewhere, I am not going to go looking for him or her based on the size of paw prints. Did find a "scat" pile next to my smokehouse so that may be an attractant to him but that last batch of smoked King Salmon turned out so well, I am not going to give up my smoker to a bear, however, I did move it down to the campground in order to get it away from the house. We may want to set up a schedule for a "night watchman" during the next several days just to be safe and keep all the tents free of food and as well move those tents in a little closer to the fire pit, don't want anybody to get "et up" as we did not get that rider on our insurance policy. From what little tracking I have done, it appears the furry creature prefers to hang out in the trees behind the multi-purpose building which could account for the disappearance of the magpies!

Holiday Weekend  

Posted by Stan Harrington

Although, we are going to miss out on a long holiday weekend since the 4th will fall on Tuesday, it looks as if we are going to have a good weekend. Checked out the old weather prognosticator this a.m. The Doppler Radar shows clear weather all the way to LA and surrounding foothills. The 5:10 a.m. national weather forecast also looks good. Possibility of little rain on Friday. Saturday through Independence Day forecast is Lows in the 40's to mid 50's. Highs in the mid 60's to lower 70's.
With weather like this, it will be a good weekend to capture some tadpoles in the Kroc Pond, unless the Kroc ate all of them. Will also be a good weekend to watch the maiden flight of the Magpie babies - their tail feathers are just about long enough to balance them out.
If you get a chance to visit the little hamlet by the river this weekend, I guarantee you that none of our neighbors will have you arrested if you yell at them but do watch out for those old folks that live on the hill over looking the HITWRA, excessive fireworks after 3:00 a.m. can upset them unless it is a controlled explosion within the confines of the fire pit. The little girl Moose has already made some plans for a special contest - could be fun and involves food. It is something she came up with on her own so we will see how it works out. Have a good day and be kind to any Senior Citizen that you may meet, they are somebody's mother and father.

South End Prattlings  

Posted by Stan Harrington

Just took a quick peek at the weather report and Doppler radar, the bad news is that it is raining in Anchorage as I post, the good news is that it is sunny and warm on the southern fringes of the Kenai Peninsula. Long range, it appears that we can expect the remainder of June with a little moisture, surely we will see our summer in July. I am always the optimist.
Chuckled at the posting from the Wolf Pack today, seems the old den has been overrun by visiting children even during celebration of another year of the dominant male in
the pack. If you are wondering why he is the dominant male, he is the only male! At least he had a lot of friends attend his party. I do not know what all the stress is about pertaining to the number of little guests that keep coming and going out the door. According to the news, the Good Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 80th birthday today by inviting 2,000 children to tea. Can you imagine the amount of tea and crumpets that 2,000 kids can consume? Surely would not want to get caught in the bathroom line at that house. But I thought it neat that an 80 year old lady could entertain that many kids and a young woman the age of my daughter gets stressed out at a dozen, but that is the new generation.
Looks as if the Buffalo Clan enjoyed the Hole In the Wall recreational area so much that they have also opened up a new campground at their homestead. I bet their "multi-purpose" room is not as nice but any mobile travelers coming through the Anchor Angler, we will make sure that we send you a little business, I am sure that you can also accommodate a few "hook-ups" for the motor home travelers as well as tent camping sites. I do need to apologize to the Lady Buffalo, her identification of the bird nest in the HITWRA was correct. Those little red headed birds turned into Magpies.
Spent yesterday, doing some clean up and restoration work in the HITWRA. All repairs that were needed in and around the multi-purpose room was the main agenda, took a little longer than expected as I received a constant bombardment from the Magpies protecting their nest. They can get very aggressive, especially when Momma Cat shows up to see what I am doing. For awhile, I thought I was going to have to shoot a couple of them in defense of life and property. However, the little birds have grown fast, although they are out of the nest they are still not ready to fly so they just sit on a branch and stare at you. Of course, I was not able to resist the temptation and had to pet each one.
The day before, Golden Grammy unplugged the power to the area since no one was using it. While cleaning up, I once again heard a fan noise coming from the Buffalo Wallow, not having a security key I broke out a window to try and get into the camp, but my arm was not long enough to reach the door lock so I just disconnected the battery. It was still running strong after the power had been off for 24 hours so the battery must be charged. Will reconnect the battery and power just prior to the next arrival so don't worry, someone is looking out for you. As well, I put some duct tape over the window to keep out the rain.
The recreational area is in good shape, raked the entire area and drained the central lake so it should be in good shape unless we see some major rain this week.
The Anchor River will once again open to fishing on July 1st, still a lot of King Salmon moving through the system although the season will be closed but the Dolly Varden fishery should be real good, you will need to turn the King Salmon loose. The marine troll fishery should be producing some of those 50 to 70 pound King Salmon by this next weekend, I would expect to see the first one of the season to show up within the next day or so. If you can talk your guide into taking you out, it may give you a chance to unseat the Grand Poopa and reverse Title 13.
During the short time I have blogged, I have seen a lot of good pictures, seems that JD Plumma is always on the search for picture, but thus far this year, I would have to nominate the picture that was posted on the blog site of Erotic Screaming as the "Photo of the Year". This photo will no doubt propel the screamer into the Annual Christmas Tribunal. Good job Heidi! Speaking of photos, if you look at all the photos that the Lady Moose took, you will want to take a close look at little Warren with his ball cap on and sleeveless shirt, looks just like a little Homer! Proving that the acorn does not fall far the tree.

Broken Trail  

Posted by Stan Harrington

Today, the made for TV movie "Broken Trail" starring Robert Duvall is going to be on the AMC channel at 4 pm Alaska Time. Part I will be today, Part II will be tomorrow at the same time. Reportedly, it is as good as the classic western "Lonesome Dove", also starring Robert Duvall as the infamous character "Gus". Trivia question, which movie was Robert Duvall in that the starring actor received his one and only Oscar?

Flash  

Posted by Stan Harrington

Don't have anything to say, but I just wanted to pull a Alpha Female Wolf trick and post something to see how many responses I can get after a two week period without posting anything else. Sorry, I forgot Papa Wolf's birthday so just in case, Happy Birthday Heidi, you do have one coming up don't you? Love you girl. P.S. Did anyone remember that Donna Harrington Hays also have a birthday on June 24th! Don't worry, I took care of it for you, I think she is between 44 and 50.

Movie Review  

Posted by Stan Harrington

Coming to your video store this Tuesday, June 27th is a DVD that you may want to rent for an evening of light hearted laughter. I took the opportunity to review it this evening and did enjoy the performance. This is a the third episode for this series, in comparison to their first release, I would give it a 8.3 on a scale of ten and an improvement in comparison to the second episode. It is worth viewing as all the material is new. The title is, Blue Comedy Comedy Tour, "One for the Road" and reportedly it is their final performance together. It was filmed in Washington D.C. All of the material is new, I did not hear any repeats from their prior performance or from the single DVD's that each of them have released. In rating each of their performance, I would have to give the best performance to Ron White, followed by Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and a drowsy performance by Jeff Foxworthy. Ron White did a very good routine about his tour in Anchorage and really ripped Fairbanks.
The movie is well worth the few bucks it costs to rent it and if you read my News Flash that follows this review, perhaps it is something you might want to do on one of those rainy days. It will brighten your spirits.

News Flash  

Posted by Stan Harrington

In the event you have not noticed, thus far into the summer season it has been unseasonably cold. Since the 1st of May, we have enjoyed nine days of warm, sunny weather. The remaining days, it has been cloudy, overcast, drizzly, windy, rainy, and misty. Having this personal knowledge, this particular headline grabbed my attention today as I was cruising through the news. "Earth The Hottest It's Been In 2000 Years". Now an article with this headline begs for reading after what we have experienced. Wrong, I did not get through he first paragraph. We as humans are the cause for it and this warming trend is created by the greenhouse gases. The only gas my greenhouse plants have been putting off is the gas they emit from dying on the vine due to the lack of the sun. The article begs for a series of questions to be asked from these experts; How in the hell do you know that the earth is the hottest it has been in two thousand years? They only invented the thermometer less than two hundred years ago! The National Weather Service Records only go back a hundred years, at the most! How about the Ice Age? Right, visit me in Anchor Point, Alaska and tell me again that it is getting warmer. Enjoy the rest of your summer and perhaps, it will get warmer.

Summer and Baseball  

Posted by Stan Harrington

Having a little extra time this year, the Golden Granny and I had the opportunity to attend a couple of softball games tonight. The first game was our first opportunity to watch our Granddaughter Sierra play. She pitched the first two innings, although she gave up eight runs she did strike out four players in her effort. Unfortunately, we had to leave the game early to watch the last half of the softball game in which the team we sponsor was playing. When we left the game that Blondy Bear was playing in, the score was 8-4 in favor of the other team. Her team rallied in the final inning to win the game 17-16 but the highlight of the night followed the game when Blondy Bear was named to the All Star Team for her league. Way to go Blondy! We are proud of you and the effort you demonstrated.
In the second game, the Anglers have had a perfect season this year, which is good since they are the defending City Champions. Mama Bear played her normal good game, getting some great hits but her outfield playing is perfection, catching a couple of fly balls up against the fence. Although, losing the game by a score of 14-13 which gives them their first loss of the season, they really look strong in all areas of play, I just do not know where I am going to put another trophy. They are the only team that has been blackballed from playing in the Anchor Point Snow Rondi Snowshoe Softball Tournament. Seems that someone thought it was unfair that a team is brought from Homer to play a tournament in Anchor Point, something about a ringer just to win a trophy! You have to love competition!

Birds Of Prey  

Posted by Stan Harrington

Life in the little Village by the River is good, sitting under cloudy skis but so far this season, that is quite normal. The River is once again quiet, the peaceful time of the season when there will be no fishing until the River opens again on July 1st.
This past weekend, Mother Buffalo discovered the bird nest in the tree behind the Multi-Purpose Building. She identified it as the nest of the Magpie, a pretty bird but somewhat annoying at times, especially early in the morning when it is feeding on bits of herring a top your camper.
Yesterday, while surveying the damage to the multi-purpose building which was created by the earth's shifting crust, I investigated the bird nest a little closer. I was somewhat surprised by the number of little birds and their coloration so I referred to the Golden Granny's Bird Watcher Book. I was not surprised to find out that the nest and it's inhabitants had been a case of mistaken identity. Magpie babies do not have red heads!
The nest is the home of a Woodpecker. I should have known that because the other day while catching up on some reading while visiting the little building, I heard a tapping on the side of the building and thought it was just one of the kids trying to scare me. In the Birdie Book, it states "that the Woodpecker specie is attracted to newly constructed buildings as they are a breeding ground for insects that have not been disturbed, especially when the building is utilized as an excrement depository". It seems as though it attracts flies, which attracts the Woodpecker. Further research revealed that the Magpie is scavenger bird and will rob the nest of other birds for either the eggs or the newly born babies. The Magpie, we observed in the area was strictly there to get into the nest. With the presence of this bird in the area, it also served as a decoy to the true inhabitant of the nest.
Not wanting anything to happen to the little "peckers" I cut out a silhouette of a Eagle and placed it in an adjoining tree. For further insurance, I put the hat of the "Woodpecker" Clan in another tree to make the marauders think that Parent Pecker was at home. Today, I will go through the camp of the Buffalo and see if I can find some clothes that Homer left behind and build a scarecrow to stand beside the building for further insurance and protection of the birdies until they are fully grown.
I do wish that someone would have told me that being "Campground Host" is a full time job. Hopefully, the financial donations at the end of the season will compensate me for my time and personal expense. Keeping up the grounds is not bad, but also being the Game Warden and Zoo Keeper is really infringing on my nap time.

Father's Day  

Posted by Stan Harrington

My 37th Father's Day is now history! Despite the cloudy weather with an occasional burst of sunny weather is was a great weekend with near capacity in the Hole In The Wall Recreational Area. Weekend residents included the Moose Clan, Bear Clan, Buffalo Clan (minus Pa-Pa Buffalo), Woodpecker Clan, Raven Clan and a surprise visit of one of the Wolf Pups.
The mud wrestling pit was almost ideal this weekend, although the surrounding area was pretty dry so we did not have to contend with the mud. The gravel project from Memorial Day weekend really helped! One small problem occurred with the multi-purpose building due to the rain. The bank surrounding the hole seems to have sluffed off, so I will need to get in there this week and do some realignment. The primary purpose of the building could still be used, but had to rig up some temporary seat belts to hold you on the seat since it has a steep slope to one side. With some hydraulic jacks and shovel work, I think I can get a new foundation under it - if not I can always move it to a new location and use that spot as a new camp site, flowers should grow well for the landscaping.
Really missed the Alpha Male Wolf in camp, I would wander into camp at 9 a.m. after working all morning and there was never any coffee made! It was a agreed by all, that the best two fire tenders and coffee maker were not in camp this weekend. Fishing was good, big boy Buffalo got a nice King, Lady raven got a Jack, and finally after several unsuccessful trips to the river, Papa Bear took a nice King from under the bridge Sunday evening. The Woodpecker is still making excuses as to why he did not catch. Golden Granny was in her element, the final count on Sunday was that she made 12 trips up the trail to the Eagle Nest and that was by 2 p.m.!
The weekend was concluded with a barbecue hosted by the Moose Clan at the AA, grilled salmon, hot dogs, hamburgers, King Crab, Dungeness Crab, Baked Potatoes, Beans with brownies and apple pie for desert! As a side bar - J.D. Plumma will be happy to know that his plumbing was finally figured out. The AA could not get water out of the hose that was rigged. Today, the Manager discovered that you had put a cap on the end of the hose and when that was removed, there was water! It has only been four weeks!
In all it was a good weekend, for those that were not present, you were in our thoughts and of course, we talked about you!

Run Strength  

Posted by Stan Harrington

Knowing that each of you share my concerns pertaining to the fisheries of the Anchor River, I have taken the opportunity to extract the latest data from the files of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. As of June 13th, the total escapement count to date is 5,551 King Salmon. In comparison on the same date last year the seasonal count was 8,559; In 2004 the seasonal count was 9,094 and in 2003 the seasonal count was 5,541 on the same date. Although, the count is down in comparison to last year, it is still early enough into the run that I will project that the seasonal count for this year will be in excess of 8,500 King Salmon. Although, this year will not compare to the previous two years, this escapement is above the required number of fish for spawning purposes. In the past, the Department was content when they could aerial count 3,000 fish for escapement. Projections for this weekend, there will be some very good fishing with very few people. This will be the last weekend that the Anchor River will be open to King Salmon fishing for this season. The Ninilchik River will open to King Salmon fishing by Emergency Order commencing at noon today for fishing seven days a week. The daily bag and possession limit remains at two fish per day (seasonal limit of five King Salmon remains in affect)however, only those King Salmon that have had their adipose fin removed may be retained. Although the use of salmon eggs will be permitted, the fishery will be regulated as single hook only. That is your sport fishing report for today, have a good day on the water and good luck with your fishing.

HITWRA Update  

Posted by Stan Harrington

Enjoyed an evening around the fire pit at the Hole In the Wall this evening. Daddy Bear and the Raven Clan were in camp for the night. Had a great visit and some good coffee while sitting around the pit. Little Raven and Little Moose had the sand hill to themselves without the interference from those of the female specie. The two boys had a great time playing.
Consensus around the fire pit was similar to my earlier observation, the yard beautification project at the Moose Camp was very nice and although the flowers are growing rapidly at the Wolf Den, additional work is needed to bring it up to the quality level of the Moose landscaping project.
The electrical monitor also discovered where the noise was coming from that has been disrupting the pristine quietness of the Hole In the Wall. It may also be the cause for the fire that erupted that I described in an earlier posting. Seems as if some fan was left on in the one wheeled recreational vehicle that was parked next to the fire pit. Since Memorial Day, this little fan has been running 24 / 7 which also accounts for the fact that the battery was not fully charged. Don't worry about it, the Golden Granny will not get the electrical bill for another week, then you need to worry!
Had the Kid's Derby today so I spent sometime at the AA, even worked the counter for a short time, it reinforced my concept of retirement! A 25.2 pound King Salmon won the Derby. Daddy Moose and Daddy Bear fished together this morning, don't tell anyone but several very young fishermen on the river out fished the two of them together! I guess, I should take the time to once again take them fishing and see if I can introduced the concept of fishing to them, like catching a fish! The new smokehouse is almost done, so it is time that I return to my fishing. I figure that I can smoke 23 King Salmon or 51 Silver Salmon at a time. By the way, whatever happened to all that King Salmon that was smoke during the Memorial Day trip? Did anybody get a sampling of it?

Mystery Is Solved  

Posted by Stan Harrington

Prior to Memorial Day weekend, we had the opportunity to visit the metropolitan area of Las Anchorage. During our stay, we had the opportunity to spend some time at the home of the Buffalo Clan. We had a great time, planning the week and in general just visiting until the after the break of the new day. Being one that does not require a lot of sleep and not wanting to put anyone out, I opted to take sanctuary in the Homers recliner.
However, no one explained to me that Homer gets up at 4:00 a.m. to go to work! Just settling into my 2.5 hour nap, I am awakened by the sound of slamming kitchen cabinets, rattling of pans, coffee cups and thermos bottles, an occasional belch and other bodily noises that are usually discreetly disposed of in areas other then the kitchen.
I now know where the saying "Bull in a China Closet" comes from. After enduring the noise for twenty minutes, Homer enters the living room carrying two thermos bottles and one "to go" cup filled with fresh hot coffee.
He seemed surprised to discover that I am wide awake so he takes this opportunity to set down beside me and attempts to engage me in conversation. Normally this would be an almost entertaining scenario, however at 4:24 a.m. in the morning with little sleep and not being offered a cup of coffee, my enthusiasm was some what lacking. After faking that I was interested for twenty minutes, Homer finally announced that he had to get to work but looked forward to visiting with me again upon his return from work. Hearing this, I was filled with so much anticipation that I could not return to slumber land.
Prying myself out of the recliner, I ventured into the kitchen to fetch myself that last drop of hot coffee from the pot, only to find it empty. Not desiring to search the cabinets and read the instructional manual on how to operate the coffee maker, I opted to hold off on the coffee until Mother Buffalo awakened.
Determining that returning to sleep was not an option, I decided to take a stroll outside and explore the natural floral and fauna that abounds in the back yard. Donning my jacket, I stroll outside, looking at the fauna and stopping occasionally to listen to the song of the returning birdies. This also gave me the opportunity to look at the surrounding homes, envious that everyone else still had a couple of more hours of sleep to enjoy, waken to a cup of hot coffee, and make their plans for a new day.
On my walk about, I noticed a patch of beautiful wild dandelions growing on the south side of the house, being one on my favorite spring flowers, I could not resist inspecting them and perhaps pick a bouquet for the Golden Granny. It was here that I saw something that took me by surprise. Piled in one large tangled mess was a number of shopping carts, clearly labeled with the Safeway brand. Because of the disorderly way that they were stacked, I could not determine the actual number, however, I was able to count forty eight wheels. I quickly calculated in my own mind that if there were 48 wheels and each shopping cart had four wheels in tact that there must be a minimum of twelve Safeway shopping carts in the pile.
I spent the next forty five minutes sitting on a pile of lumber, studying the carts in an effort to make a determination as to why anyone would want twelve shopping carts. The only decision that I rendered was not to ask any questions, if I were patient, perhaps the mystery of the carts would be revealed.
Later in the day, I returned to sanctuary of Anchor Point, however the thoughts of those shopping carts continued to plague my thoughts. Like all things, if you are patient the answer will be revealed to you and in this case, I only had a two days to wait. When the Buffalo Clan pulled into the Hole In the Wall Recreational Area driving their new Chevrolet Tahoe, I could not help but notice that two Safeway shopping carts were securely fastened to the top of their new rig. Although, intrigued, I chose not to ask the obvious question as why they were taking their shopping carts on vacation.
It was only two days later, that the mystery was resolved. It was Homers turn to cook the evening meal. Although, the cook tent was nearly destroyed by fire in two attempts at heating cooking oil, Homers concept of a mobile Bar B Que was quite unique. It was relatively simple, cook the meal on the mobile Bar B Que, when done wheel it over to the buffet table. The mystery has now been solved, however, one thing continues to plague my thoughts, why does the Wolf Den have approximately 47 broken wheel chairs in their garage? I will not ask!

Midlife Crisis  

Posted by Stan Harrington

As a young man, I always heard the term "mid life crisis" that supposedly all men and women will eventually enter as they gain maturity. This is a phase of my life that I have missed even though I have entered my late fifties. Although I have seen male acquaintances enter this phase in their life and do some real weird things. For some reason, there is a need to escape back to their youth by collecting fast sport cars, airplanes, boats, blonds, and especially motorcycles. What I have noticed in recent years, the number of "older" people, men and women, who go out and purchase a motorcycle that is more expensive than a Suburu. They travel around the state and nation by forming "motorcycle clubs" which as younger people we always referred to as "gangs". Now that they have exceeded fifty, they purchase a "hog", not necessarily blond to revitalize their youth. I did not like motorcycles when I was young, why would I want one now? However, after seeing some our friends make this transition, the "Golden Granny" thought it would be something she may like to try so out of better judgment, I conceded to her that we would try it.

If you have wondered why I have not been blogging, it is simply because I have been spending my time developing a plan and design that would meet our needs as well as our budget for our first motorcycle. Today, the project was completed and the "Golden Granny" is ecstatic and cannot wait for our first "road trip" to LA. As I speak our "hog" sits in the yard and ready to hit the roadways of our great state, however, I am not considering the attachment of "sidecar" so I won't have to set behind "Golden Granny" if she wants to take a turn at driving. I did take it out for a test drive this afternoon. I need to tinker with it a bit, but going down Anchor River Hill I got her to purring at 34.5 m.p.h. On the level, in the one mile stretch of the Beach Road, I ran a good 26.7 m.p.h. with only an occasional backfire but I may have had a mixed the oil and gasoline a little rich so I will try it again tomorrow. I figure, if I can get her up to a steady 30 m.p.h., it will only take seven hours to get into LA which is not bad. Now that I have taken it out for a ride, I am really looking forward to taking all of my grandchildren for a ride, but my sons, both natural and by law will not be riding my ride. They are far to young to enter "mid life crisis" because I have a feeling that this ride could be a real "chick" magnet. If you see us on the highways, give us a big wave and a wide berth as the eyes and ears are not as keen as they once were.

Fire In the Hole  

Posted by Stan Harrington


This a fine example of a person who cannot get their priorities in order! I have forwarded this picture to Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado requesting that they work in conjunction with Ben and Jerry in the development of a "Coors Bar".

After the following week and weekend, we are having a very quiet weekend. The "Hole in the Wall" was deserted except for the Moose, Daddy Bear and Blondie Bear. But, perhaps, that was good because of the accidental fire. If it had been filled to capacity as it was during the previous week, someone could have been hurt and there was no way that the emergency first responders could have got their equipment into the camping area. We still do not know what happened, but it is suspected that a battery that was left connected to transmission line in order to charge can only hold so many amps before it explodes. We heard the explosion, but then when that explosion ignited the propane tanks (who would ever put their batteries next to the propane tanks) it was a ball of fire that reach an altitude exceeding the Eagle Nest. We could not get a hold of the trailer to tow it out of the way because it only has one tire so the emergency personnel had to let it go as a controlled burn. It might not have been so severe if the inhabitants had not left fireworks inside the camper. It was a spectacular display of aerial bombardments. You should have seen that one fat guy that is a volunteer firefighter trying to get under his truck when they went off. There is a little salvage, the explosion which threw debris over the entire foot print of the campground is sprinkled with cooking utensils, smoldering clothes, and tents. Poking through the debris, we did find the door to the camper intact, fortunately it fits the Moose trailer so now they have a good door. The good news is that the fire pit was left intact but there is a crater where the trailer once stood, but a couple loads of gravel and some sand should cover that area. The landscaping at the Wolf Camp survived, although the flowers are a little singed from the fireball that was created. It must have been foresight on the part of the Wolf Clan to move their camper to the safety of LA. The Bear Den survived with the exception of some smoldering camp chairs landing on their roof. I have contacted the insurance company, however, our home owners policy will not cover it since it was a case of neglect and off premises. It also does not fall under our Liability Insurance since we have a $500.00 deductible and the adjuster estimated the value of the trailer at $339.21 Perhaps, we can find a replacement, until then I am sure a few blue tarps and some slabs from our firewood source will surfice as a temporary abode for the Buffalo herd.