Land An old farm in Alaska

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
…that’s where I live. In the amazing Matanuska-Susitna Valley, carved out by the glacier that left much of the land as lovely and fertile ground, but my little acreage is but a cement-like, boulder-filled matrix of farming misery! None-the-less….it is completely beautiful here.

My brother asked me to help him out at his new place, as he works a lot, and I needed a place after my tummy exploded. Enter Susan, Gardener of the North! :) Well, at least I’m learning to be one!

The place was in terrible - really dreadful - shape, completely run to ruin and filled with years of junk and detritus after former owner‘s heart was broken by loss of his son. :( But I work on a section at a time to clean it up. Now I wish I’d taken some Before photos as it’s soooo different now. Still a lot of work to do.

But I’ve rehabbed some areas and can now grow gorgeous veg…and any time I think of something I need for my next project… I can find something around here. My goodness, I have (so far) found 8 ladders, 25 extension cords, many wood pallets…and I’m at about 45 buckets….it’s all a lot of work but that is okay!

I wish Daddy could see what I‘ve been doing here. A sweet old Okie farm boy who moved us all up here in 1970. Best place I can think is being here right now.

…and now, back to the canning. <3. Just, let me know if you ever come up and I’ll be glad to show ya around.

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Siskiyoumom

Veteran Member
I would love to come up and visit, have tea, weed and can with you! We were blessed to live up in Fairbanks for 2.5 years. We got married at the courthouse in February at about 17 below zero. You are doing such a loving thing for your brother. May the rest of summer be wonderful for you. The China Springs Hot Shots just arrived here to fight the McCash Fire. We plan on dropping off some cookies for them sooner than later. Be well Sue!
 

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
I would love to come up and visit, have tea, weed and can with you! We were blessed to live up in Fairbanks for 2.5 years. We got married at the courthouse in February at about 17 below zero. You are doing such a loving thing for your brother. May the rest of summer be wonderful for you. The China Springs Hot Shots just arrived here to fight the McCash Fire. We plan on dropping off some cookies for them sooner than later. Be well Sue!
My niece, Heather, is among them! Thank you so much! Bless you; really hope we can meet some day this side of the veil <3
 

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
I would love to come up and visit, have tea, weed and can with you! We were blessed to live up in Fairbanks for 2.5 years. We got married at the courthouse in February at about 17 below zero. You are doing such a loving thing for your brother. May the rest of summer be wonderful for you. The China Springs Hot Shots just arrived here to fight the McCash Fire. We plan on dropping off some cookies for them sooner than later. Be well Sue!
Forgot to mention tha Chena Hot Springs got pretty near to burning this summer. But they are super prepped against the annual summer burns. Planning a trip up there soon before my ferry trip to Kodiak! Way too much happening ‘round here, in way too short a time….snow is less than six weeks off.
 

West

Senior
…that’s where I live. In the amazing Matanuska-Susitna Valley, carved out by the glacier that left much of the land as lovely and fertile ground, but my little acreage is but a cement-like, boulder-filled matrix of farming misery! None-the-less….it is completely beautiful here.

My brother asked me to help him out at his new place, as he works a lot, and I needed a place after my tummy exploded. Enter Susan, Gardener of the North! :) Well, at least I’m learning to be one!

The place was in terrible - really dreadful - shape, completely run to ruin and filled with years of junk and detritus after former owner‘s heart was broken by loss of his son. :( But I work on a section at a time to clean it up. Now I wish I’d taken some Before photos as it’s soooo different now. Still a lot of work to do.

But I’ve rehabbed some areas and can now grow gorgeous veg…and any time I think of something I need for my next project… I can find something around here. My goodness, I have (so far) found 8 ladders, 25 extension cords, many wood pallets…and I’m at about 45 buckets….it’s all a lot of work but that is okay!

I wish Daddy could see what I‘ve been doing here. A sweet old Okie farm boy who moved us all up here in 1970. Best place I can think is being here right now.

…and now, back to the canning. <3. Just, let me know if you ever come up and I’ll be glad to show ya around.

View attachment 288048

Is there cutthroat trout in that creek? Looks like prime trout habitat.
 

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
Is there cutthroat trout in that creek? Looks like prime trout habitat.
Salmon actually! And greyling. Rainbow trout too, but keep an eye out for the black bears, there are a bunch of em. At least not like the Kodiaks when I visit my step mom on the island! But a lot of fun fishing for sure ~
 

West

Senior
Salmon actually! And greyling. Rainbow trout too, but keep an eye out for the black bears, there are a bunch of em. At least not like the Kodiaks when I visit my step mom on the island! But a lot of fun fishing for sure ~

I would be fishing all the time!

If it's in a salmon area, it also should have steelhead runs? Assuming it's not land/dam locked.

OMG, the fishing in Alaska! It almost becomes work. A workable situation for sure!
 
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AlaskaSue

North to the Future
I would be fishing all the time!

If it's in a salmon area, it also should have steelhead runs? Assuming it's not land/dam locked.

OMG, the fishing in Alaska! It almost becomes work. A workable situation for sure!
Yep, steelheads; no dams ‘round here…clear all the way to the ocean <3 …Yet I do love surf-fishing. Just duck your line in and you have supper! Or ANYtime you can get on a boat…..
 

dawgofwar10

Veteran Member
…that’s where I live. In the amazing Matanuska-Susitna Valley, carved out by the glacier that left much of the land as lovely and fertile ground, but my little acreage is but a cement-like, boulder-filled matrix of farming misery! None-the-less….it is completely beautiful here.

My brother asked me to help him out at his new place, as he works a lot, and I needed a place after my tummy exploded. Enter Susan, Gardener of the North! :) Well, at least I’m learning to be one!

The place was in terrible - really dreadful - shape, completely run to ruin and filled with years of junk and detritus after former owner‘s heart was broken by loss of his son. :( But I work on a section at a time to clean it up. Now I wish I’d taken some Before photos as it’s soooo different now. Still a lot of work to do.

But I’ve rehabbed some areas and can now grow gorgeous veg…and any time I think of something I need for my next project… I can find something around here. My goodness, I have (so far) found 8 ladders, 25 extension cords, many wood pallets…and I’m at about 45 buckets….it’s all a lot of work but that is okay!

I wish Daddy could see what I‘ve been doing here. A sweet old Okie farm boy who moved us all up here in 1970. Best place I can think is being here right now.

…and now, back to the canning. <3. Just, let me know if you ever come up and I’ll be glad to show ya around.

View attachment 288048
When are we all invited up to start the TBK2 cult? No Koolaid….
 

Walrus

Veteran Member
Hee, hee…shhhh.we don’t talk about that out loud….
I guess you can call me a fish snob. I deserve it, though, I’m the girl that cans leftover Copper River reds, so….
We would smoke a lot of them (the kids loved squaw candy, too) before canning and then freeze some.

Dipnetting the Copper River reds in the canyon was my favorite thing to do on my days off, even though it was a long drive and about as scary a river as I've ever experienced. I remember leaning hard against the cliff with barely a foothold while holding the net in an eddy and just praying, " O Lord, don't let a king hit this net!" That would've probably jerked me off the cliff because I probably couldn't have made myself let go of the handle in time.

After hauling all those fish back up the cliff in a rubberized backpack and cleaning them, my back would be killing me. So I got one of those Coleman camp kitchens, a 12-volt water pump, battery and some hoses and built a fish-cleaning station. We'd drive to O'Brian Creek and set it up on the gravel, I had a rubber apron and some good boots, and I'd sit on a cooler and filet reds. It worked great; I still have that camp kitchen setup out in the barn. And the old smoker is sitting on the back porch.

I need to smoke something but my latest thing is making pemmican. I'm going to use some freeze-dried beef next as an experiment; sure wish I had a cooler-full of Copper River reds to make some salmon pemmican, though!
 
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AlaskaSue

North to the Future
Oh, yeah, hanging on to anything to keep from falling in…never did take one of those boats out of the canyon, and it’s still worth the drive - and the work.

Mmmmm, now I want salmon pemmican. It was a good berry year this year too!
 

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
The thing is…I try to share a pic now and then - and those of you who’ve lived here or visited do have the idea - but I do wish I could include the sweet, delightful scent of every breath of air. Or the beautiful silence (which my soul craves) with but an occasional songbird, or flight of geese very high overhead…and yes those noisy floatplanes - but I love all those sounds. No traffic noise, no ambient background noise at all, actually. It’s a lovely, restful and actually invigorating quiet.

The season is cooling now - even during the day we don’t hit 60 degrees….but I wrap up a blanket to sit out on my deck as the sky darkens and I finally get a chance to peruse your posts. Tomorrow I’m back to raking up the falling leaves….but now I’m happy to share a quiet minute of beauty.

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Marie

Veteran Member
The thing is…I try to share a pic now and then - and those of you who’ve lived here or visited do have the idea - but I do wish I could include the sweet, delightful scent of every breath of air. Or the beautiful silence (which my soul craves) with but an occasional songbird, or flight of geese very high overhead…and yes those noisy floatplanes - but I love all those sounds. No traffic noise, no ambient background noise at all, actually. It’s a lovely, restful and actually invigorating quiet.

The season is cooling now - even during the day we don’t hit 60 degrees….but I wrap up a blanket to sit out on my deck as the sky darkens and I finally get a chance to peruse your posts. Tomorrow I’m back to raking up the falling leaves….but now I’m happy to share a quiet minute of beauty.

View attachment 288283
Is that wild rose Sue? Beautiful view!
 

Troke

On TB every waking moment
College classmate was from a farm near Wasilla. Stopped to see his parents in 1956. They were nearly the last active farmer that had been recruited in 1936 to homestead in the Matanuska valley. I can remember people talking about that. I am not aware of anyone from our area that moved there.

We came through about 50 yrs later and not only was the family gone, the name was not recognized either.

Time marches on.

My 2nd cousin was a girl scout counselor at a lake near Wasilla 1956. I think Sarah Palin has her house on the site now.
 

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
College classmate was from a farm near Wasilla. Stopped to see his parents in 1956. They were nearly the last active farmer that had been recruited in 1936 to homestead in the Matanuska valley. I can remember people talking about that. I am not aware of anyone from our area that moved there.

We came through about 50 yrs later and not only was the family gone, the name was not recognized either.

Time marches on.

My 2nd cousin was a girl scout counselor at a lake near Wasilla 1956. I think Sarah Palin has her house on the site now.
Cool! There are some old buildings from the Farm Building era still in use in Palmer, plus the display houses were still around last I heard. The Palmer Botanical Garden is near one, I’ll have to take a look and see if they are still around. That was a worthy venture for many people who came up. I wonder if the family of whom you wrote has anything in some of the Pioneer groups’ publications.

I live near one of the five lakes in Wasilla, now. Sarah’s home was off Lake Lucille, and I used to live on the other side of the main road from the lake. She’s always at the cross country meets with Trig.

I love the area - the Matanuska peaks are stunning just now with the remnants of golden leaves to about a third of the way up the slopes, then a glistening cap of snowy white that stretches further down by the hour….
 
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Jeff B.

Don’t let the Piss Ants get you down…
We forget that Alaska was the site of the only foreign invasion of United States Territory!

And, building the AlCan Highway was a huge project.

Jeff B.
 
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AlaskaSue

North to the Future
We forget that Alaska was the site of the only foreign invasion of United States Territory!

And, building the AlCan Highway was a huge project.

Jeff B.
Bingo Jeff! Seems very very few know about the Japanese invasion and fighting up here.

I first came up the AlCan Hwy June 1970…it was still a dirt road even then. Paved now but still very far between places with people. Have you ever been on it?
 

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
Referencing JeffB post #26 above….I was on a side x side trip about 20 miles way out of Kodiak and we came across old, large wooden culverts. What had been a road at some point that was a planned evacuation route for Kodiak residents during the war. Always cool to come across relics like this and imagine what it was like for the folks living thru the time.

0B7ABF87-D632-4D26-A1F5-F9AFCCEE09A3.jpeg
That’s the wooden culvert - one of several crafted and used on the old WW2 evac road that is long gone now..My step mom and me on a very rainy, but very fun fishing trip….

I even got pics of the wild horses on Kodiak:

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Jeff B.

Don’t let the Piss Ants get you down…
Bingo Jeff! Seems very very few know about the Japanese invasion and fighting up here.

I first came up the AlCan Hwy June 1970…it was still a dirt road even then. Paved now but still very far between places with people. Have you ever been on it?

Not yet. Something I want to do is an Alaska trip. It was one of my requested duty posts when I was in the Army, but never got there.

Jeff B.
 

Troke

On TB every waking moment
Bingo Jeff! Seems very very few know about the Japanese invasion and fighting up here.

I first came up the AlCan Hwy June 1970…it was still a dirt road even then. Paved now but still very far between places with people. Have you ever been on it?
In the mid-50's, used car lots used to advertise; No Alcan time. That gives you an idea what the highway was like in them days.
 

Troke

On TB every waking moment
Cool! There are some old buildings from the Farm Building era still in use in Palmer, plus the display houses were still around last I heard. The Palmer Botanical Garden is near one, I’ll have to take a look and see if they are still around. That was a worthy venture for many people who came up. I wonder if the family of whom you wrote has anything in some of the Pioneer groups’ publications.

I live near one of the five lakes in Palmer, now. Sarah’s home was off Lake Lucille, and I used to live on the other side of the main road from the lake. She’s always at the cross country meets with Trig.

I love the area - the Matanuska peaks are stunning just now with the remnants of golden leaves to about a third of the way up the slopes, then a glistening cap of snowy white that stretches further down by the hour….
Had a SIL who played County Home Agent (or some such) at Palmer, probably late 1960's. She found it interesting but had the same problem I had; When sun went down, it would not come up. When it came up, it wouldn't go down.
 

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
Had a SIL who played County Home Agent (or some such) at Palmer, probably late 1960's. She found it interesting but had the same problem I had; When sun went down, it would not come up. When it came up, it wouldn't go down.
That’s a feature, not a bug!! :p
 
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