Departure Notice/ Mail Bag

Alllllllllll Aboard! This train plans on leaving the station bright and early on April 22, 2009, destination, Chicken, Alaska, with stops as needed along the way including but not limited to Rapid City, SD, White Horse, Yukon Territory, and Tok, AK to re-supply. All parties prepare to embark! We be jammin'. The last mail shipment from St. Brendan's Isle caught up with us today and we're good to go. Along with the Vessey's Seeds I ordered to grow in Chicken (flower and vegetable seed born and bred to do exceptionally well in extreme northern climates) came a bunch of last minute business "crappola" that simply must be dealt with. And the latest GOLD PROSPECTOR magazine once again had another picture of yours truly and Marilyn metal detecting in Athens, Michigan, on the calendar page. Also in the electronic mail bag from Yahoo! came some pictures from one of our "new best friends" Big Bill who sent us an up to the minute photo Of Volcanic Mount Redoubt doing its thing off the coast of the Alaska. We've pictured it a couple times previously on the blog (our own photos) including when it was making like the big bad wolf back in 2007 and just a huffing and a puffing. The eruption now on going is a bit more profound, but as long as we are ALL far enough away....it's really quite beautiful against the cold, cold sea this time of year. Alaska is not without its share of danger- extreme temperatures, dangerous ice fields, steep mountains, wilder than elsewhere wildlife ( the grizzley bear comes to mind) and we must include volcanoes. But beautiful is beautiful regardless of any threat it imposes- and so we go there for the majesty and we are mindful of the perril so that it may be avoided. A mountain, a cliff, a landscape is ever so much more impressive from the precipice!

Thanks Big Bill, for sharing your imagery with us: