Alaska adventures begin with the holiday weekend

Tomorrow is Memorial Day and the unofficial but traditional start to the tourist season in Alaska. The cruise ships have been showing up in Southeast, but I haven't heard of any into Anchorage or Seward yet.

Not to worry, they'll be here!

Because everybody's health in my family is improved over last year, I'm hoping to get several RV trips in this summer. I've wanted to visit the Tangle Lakes area for some time and seeing Hope when the pink runs start could be fun as well. We'll probably make a trip to Homer to visit some friends and pick up some stuff my wife's mother left for her.

My wife has never been to Fairbanks and a ride on one of the sternwheelers on the Chena River looks like it would be fun. We've been to both Valdez and Seward in past years, but another visit to these coastal towns is always enjoyable, as long as we can stay out of the way of the tourists.

Because of the traffic situations, including construction delays and weekend travelers out on the highways, especially when driving south to the Kenai Peninsula, we usually try to plan our trips for the middle of the week. Places can be more crowded this time of year, like campgrounds and restaurants, often involving reservation requirements, but tourist dollars are a major factor in many local economies around the state.

I've still got to get a couple of thing done to the RV to get ready for the season, but I can probably get everything done in a day or less. Everything will depend on scheduling the work. One of the upgrades involves getting a power cord with a circuit breaker installed so I can operate the new electrical boat trailer winch I installed earlier this year. We probably won't be using the RV and boat combination much before silver season, so I've actually got some time if scheduling the install becomes a factor.

I learned a long time ago that a second spare tire and wheel can be very handy when travelling in the more remote areas of Alaska. Acquiring one to fit the RV shouldn't be more complicated than a visit to the local tire shop.

Over the years, we've found than staying home is a good way to spend the Memorial Day weekend. If the weather is not bad, i.e., not raining cats and dogs, my wife likes to get out and start her summer flower and vegetable gardening. If the hooligan are running, we might make a trip up to Willow or further north to try and collect some fish. However, I'm wondering if the hooligan were early this year and might have already passed by.

Something else I've started to do over this weekend is visit the Mt. McKinley Mountain Man blackpowder rendezvous held near Talkeetna. This is a gathering of muzzleloading shooters imitating the Rocky Mountain mountain men and trappers' gatherings from the 1820's through about 1840 through primitive dress and camping.

These historical gatherings brought the mountain men together with fur company traders who swapped goods like clothing, food items, firearms, powder and lead, blankets, and replacement traps with the trappers for their furs. This annual summer event saved the trappers the need to travel all the way back to St. Louis to sell their furs.

However, the trappers of old did more than just trade. There were shooting contests, drinking bouts, visiting old friends and telling exaggerated stories of encounters with the various hostile Indian tribes while pursuing beaver furs. Today's rendezvous' are entirely family oriented, with things to keep everyone busy participating. Some of these activities include shooting, cooking, or crafting projects.

If you're reading Andy Couch's column, you already know fishing is starting to pick up in the Valley. Trout, Dolly Varden, grayling, and pike have all been active for a few weeks. I'm hearing that king salmon are being caught, in small numbers, in both the Deshka and Little Susitna Rivers. Pick up a copy of the current sportsfishing regulations and the emergency orders which have been issued for king salmon fishing in Southcentral.

The emergency regulations supersede the booklet, so don't get excited when you read the standard regulations. I actually called Fish and Game only to learn I couldn't keep a king from my favorite fishing spots, as was stated in the book, because of the emergency regulations.

Also, remember our fallen veterans. That's the real purpose of this holiday weekend.