Today i'd like to start off by telling you a little about the guys i met up with out in the bush. I have mentioned Ralf on several previous posts but here is a some background on him. He moved to Alaska about 14 years ago, originally being from Germany. He still has a heavy German accent so it is fun just to listen to him talk. He moved to Alaska with the intention of buying a bush property and living "off the grid." He found a property he wanted and stayed out there 8 years, coming to town just to get necessary supplies. The property he bought already had a cabin on it but he also built a greenhouse for veggies, a tool shed and a storage shed. Eventually the cabin he had burned down from arson so he built his own down the hill. I took him a total of 3 years to construct. Starting from making trails, cutting down trees, building the foundation and finally putting up the walls and roof. He did it all by himself, moving the logs with snowmachine, winch, and a rigged up crane to hoist logs up the walls! He also eventually built a 2 story hostel on his property. That was constructed with 2x4 framing and plywood. The hostel idea never really worked out. People wanted showers and stuff like that. I myself will not voice my opinion here, but i think you know how i'd fell about that. Anyway after 8 years some things changed in his life and he moved to town and started a business for tourists. Now he barely has time to make it out to the property, maybe once or twice a year. His business keeps him busy year round. He runs his business out of Billie's in the winter then in the summer manages a R.V. park and runs his tourism business from there. Any time i spend with Ralf is a great chance to learn and soak up information.
After getting to know everyone here at Billie's people started to notice my interests. On of the guys here said you need to meet Travis. He is the same age as me and has very similar interests. Travis moved to Alaska 5 years ago from Colorado looking to live the high adventure lifestyle as well. Travis has bought a property out in the bush only accessible by floating down the river or by bush plane. In the winter he kind of floats around town does some work here and there, some with dog teams and in the summer works at Denali Park. So far the time i've spent around Travis has been like looking at myself in the mirror! He had two working dogs this past winter but then one of them fell through some thin ice and drowned, very sad. He uses the dog(s) for pulling sleds and hauling gear. Out at Ralfs i was able to work with his remaining dog Buster, hauling loads of firewood to the cabin.
Overall i'd have to say i've met the exact people i was looking to connect with when i got t Alaska. Today i have some more pics of Ralfs property. A view from inside of the outhouse, a couple of the hostel, the stacks of firewood close to the cabin. I also wanted to point out those firewood chunks don't get split they go right in the HUGE stove. By filling the stove full of those logs it will run up to 2 days without being touched. I also have a pic from the other side of the cabin with the outhouse on the right up the hill and a storage building down by the river. As for videos i took a few minutes of video walking on and around Ralfs property.
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