December 11

0 C sun shining through some high fog. So far like November, December is turning out to be quite dry.
Our party was good last night, didn't get home until 9:30 which for that group is quite late!!
The birds are really hitting the feeders hard these days. Maybe there are more coming - the word must get around.

Unfortunately (from my perspective) that was our last fire event for the summer.

We did have some very hot periods but they did not break with the massive electrical storms that was the norm. We had become friends with a couple just up the highway from the office, their three kids were the same ages as our three. One weekend we went on a picnic up to the Toad River which is mile 422 on the highway. The temperature that day hit 96 F. We picked wild strawberries the size of my thumbnail and the kids played in the river shallows. About a week later it rained for three days steady causing mud slides all along the highway and closing it at Fort Nelson  and Muncho Lake. There were tourists, truckers and others stranded for about a week.

Of course this weather pretty well nullified any logging and we were hard-pressed to find viable work. I did find the Nodwell tractor to come in handy and started carrying out inspections on local well sites. The various drilling companies were quite co-operative and willingly shared their maps and the location of old sites as well as the new ones.

The Assistant District (Region) Forester sent word via Sterling that he would be making his annual visit in late August. Sterling was (for him) in a bit of a flutter to make sure that the visit would illustrate the need for at least year round manning of Fort Nelson and the need to make it a separate district.

When THE MAN  arrived I spent one day traveling the length of the district up to the Liard River which was also the south boundary of the Yukon. I drove a little slower than usual to make sure that the distance was impressive. For the second day, I put our twenty-eight foot river boat in the Fort Nelson River and took him by river to the mill up stream where I had the wolf experience. By river with all it’s twists and turns and sand bars it took almost two hours. I went through the motions of carrying out a fire tool inspection at the mill, had a cup of coffee with the watchman then returned back down the river. By the time we landed and winched the boat out of the river, disconnected the twenty-five horse out board and put it back on it’s hanger in the tool cache the day was pretty well done. I told him that the next day we could jump in the Nodwell and visit a couple of wells. Instead he felt that he should get back to Prince George and left the next morning. The word came back that he was quite impressed with everything! Sterling was happy.