Healthy Fisheries is Extremely Important to Alaska

A standout year for local seafood
LAINE WELCH
FISHERIES
(01/01/11 21:19:55)
KODIAK -- Alaska's seafood industry worked hard in 2010 to ramp up its message to policy makers, especially those from the Railbelt region who tend to overlook the industry's economic significance.
How important is the seafood industry to Alaska and the nation? At a glance:
• 62 percent of all U.S. seafood landings come from Alaska.
• 96 percent of all wild-caught salmon comes from Alaska.
• Seafood is by far Alaska's No. 1 export, valued at nearly $2 billion (next in line: zinc and lead at $785 million).
• Alaska ranks ninth in the world in terms of global seafood production.
The seafood industry is second only to Big Oil in revenues it generates to the state government's general fund each year. The industry provides more Alaska jobs than oil and gas, mining, tourism and timber combined.
Here are some fishing notables from 2010, in no particular order:
The University of Alaska created a center devoted entirely to ocean acidification studies. Meanwhile, acid levels in the Gulf of Alaska and the Chukchi and Bering seas continued to increase faster and more severely than previously thought.
Catch-share programs became the preferred tool for managing U.S. fisheries. Federal managers budgeted $54 million as "incentive" for catch shares to catch on in fishing regions.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council approved sweeping changes to its fishery-observer program that will include all vessels longer than 40 feet.
Alaska's biggest fishery rebounded to accommodate a 2011 pollock catch of nearly 3 billion pounds, a 54 percent increase over the past two years -- but in line with the average catch for the past 30 years.
Kodiak and Sitka were the latest fishing towns to add some local catch to their school lunch menus, following Dillingham, Kenai, Fairbanks and Mat-Su.
Halibut prices seldom dipped below $5 a pound, boosting the value of the fishery to $193 million, an increase of $61 million over 2009.
Halibut catches continued a downward trend, and managers plan to trim the harvest again in 2011. Halibut catches in Southeast Alaska have dropped by more than 60 percent over the past five years.
Alaska salmon fishermen were paid an average of 66 cents a pound this year, a 16 percent increase over 2009.
The 2010 catch of 169 million salmon was the 11th largest on record. The dockside value of almost $534 million was an increase of nearly 30 percent and the best showing in 18 years.
Two areas, Bristol Bay and Prince William Sound, accounted for 55 percent of the value of the total Alaska commercial salmon catch.
Prince William Sound set a record with a total catch of 75.4 million -- nearly 45 percent of all salmon harvested in Alaska this year. The PWS harvest of 69 million humpies accounted for 66 percent of Alaska's total pink salmon catch.
Norton Sound fishermen saw some of the best chum salmon runs in 25 years. At Kotzebue, the chum catches tracked the best in 15 years. Upper Cook Inlet fishermen hauled in a huge 2.7 million sockeye harvest, almost a million more fish than expected. King salmon continued to decline on the Yukon River.
A surprise pink salmon fishery at Bristol Bay (Nushagak) attracted 60 boats and 35 setnetters who pulled in more than 1 million humpies plus 60,000 cohos. It's been so long since a pink and coho salmon fishery occurred, managers had no numbers to compare the catches to.
Peter Pan Seafoods and Bristol Bay fishermen were recognized by Alaska Head Start Association for providing local salmon to children and elders throughout Southwest Alaska.
After a decade of debate, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed regulations to allow genetically modified animals for human consumption. First up: a salmon that grows up to 30 times faster than normal. Alaska senators said they will try to stop the fish from ever getting to market.
It turns out that the deadliest catch is the safest catch. A federal report showed that salmon fishing is Alaska's most dangerous fishery, with 39 fatalities over the past decade. That compares with a death toll of 12 Bering Sea crabbers during the same time.
For the 21st year in a row, Dutch Harbor ranked as the nation's No. 1 port for seafood landings. Kodiak ranked No. 4, up from the No. 5 spot. Eleven Alaska fishing towns made the list of top 50 U.S. ports.
Americans ate slightly less seafood --15.8 pounds per person, the lowest level since 2002. Beef is still what's for dinner: 108 pounds per capita, followed by 73 pounds of poultry.
Alaska king crab fetched some of the highest prices ever. Bering Sea crabbers got an advance of $6.25 a pound, compared with $4.76 last year.
Higher fish prices drove up both the demand and value for fishing permits and IFQs/catch shares in most regions of the state.
Laine Welch is a Kodiak-based fisheries journalist. Her Fish Radio programs can be heard on stations around the state. Her information column appears every other Sunday. This material is protected by copyright. For information on reprinting or placing on your website or newsletter, contact msfish@alaska.com.

PalinGate and More....

AP INVESTIGATION: Alaska funded Palin kids' travel

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081022/ap_on_el_pr/palin_family_travel

I have to respond to this because it opens up some many more questions for me, a Alaska State employee, than it answers. For, how on Earth was Sarah able to much less did, charge the travel expenses for her kids. There are several check and balance systems in place that should have prevented this in the first place. Maybe there's some executive priveleges I am not aware of (if there are executive priveleges, why are wasting tons of our money trying to indict Ted Stevens, another story.)

Steps to travel for an employee of Alaska's Executive Branch:
Request travel permission from supervisor, if request is for out of state travel, then a regional supervisor must approve, then it gets forwarded to headquarters where an agency Commissioner's designee must approve. The travel request must state dates, destination, estimated costs, and justification of why this travel is needed. Sarah doesn't have a supervisor so gets a free one here. Too bad, that's an important check that should be in place to prevent new articles.

Next:
Travel arrangements MUST be made through the State Travel Office or STO. Now the STO is the last vestige of Frank Murkowski's infamy. This is a corrupt private institution that all state employees must patronize to travel. The STO charges the state for EACH transaction. Meaning every airline reservation has a fee, every hotel reservation has a fee, every rental car reservation has a fee. The Travel agency is making some huge bucks on this, but does anybody investigate this SCAM?! The process has been relaxed somewhat in that the employee can now make their own hotel and rental car reservations. They can make their own airline reservations but are not allowed to purchase the ticket themselves, STO must do that. The STO uses State Procurement protocols to process your request, which is done online. They will not proceed with your reservation unless you've certified by email that you have approval to travel from your supervisor. Some employees, such as myself, have a Purchase Credit Card number on file to charge the airline ticket too. You can make arrangements for other people through the STO, but because I've never done this, I don't know how exactly this works, but the STO has to operate under the State's procurement code.

How Palin was able to charge the tickets for her kids is beyond me. Were they employees? Were they hired on as volunteers? An employee can't just start making reservations willy nilly for people USING the STO! If Palin doesn't have to use the STO, then I'm really mad, because the rest of us do, and we are forced to pay a private company to make our reservations for us. Which would be fine if it were 1980. But its 2008, and making flight reservations and getting them exactly how you want them on the internet takes a minute or two. For me, STO rarely gets it right even if I tell them I have to leave on Monday, they'll book me on Tuesday. Rarely have they got it right and it costs more of my time to use this stupid ass STO.

Once travel is over, I along with all other state employees, but maybe the governor doesn't, have to complete the paper work -No job is ever complete until the paperwork is done! All expenses have to be accounted for and JUSTIFIED. For meals, I typically get $60 per day divided by various amounts for breakfast lunch and dinner, and I don't know of any limits on Hotels. A 700 dollar a night hotel in New York is nothing really, try getting one in Manhattan for less. I dare you. So 60 bucks is good money for meals, it should cover you, but I'll tell you that is getting harder and harder to do. If I go to a conference I have to submit a conference agenda so the approvers of this form can determine if I was provided any of the meals at the conference thus preventing me from walking away with that meal's allowance. This form has to bee approved by the nearest Adminstrative Manager, THEN it gets sent to Headquarters (Juneau staff) for approval. Interestingly, the supervisor does not have to approve, mainly because a supervisor has already approved the travel, and the estimated cost. Headquarters must approve these travel expenses otherwise the employee is responsible. So How did Sarah get her travel expenses approved!?!! Highly unlikely she did her own paperwork, so someone wasn't doing their job, or someone did their job and did too well, and got caught and Sarah gets blamed, it is her responsibility. But really can you blame them. Who is going to tell the governor they are redhanded wrong? You don't get very far in government telling your boss, much less the governor, they are wrong - isn't that right Walt?!

Flow 2008 - San Antonio, Texas

I loved San Antonio. I couldn't believe how my expectations lead me astay. I found this place to be friendly, fun, warm if not hot, and fairly safe. But I really didn't stray much from the Riverwalk area, which is very touristy, and definitely geared towards getting your money. Nevertheless, the "I'm badder ass than you and I drive a big truck" and "me first" attitudes were missing. The only real downside, and this is mostly my fault for not researching better, was that I didn't get the food that I expected. In fact, I did end up having some of the most disgusting excuse for Nachos in my life at Mad Dog's British Pub. Well go figure, it was a British Pub. But the main purpose was to be there with some friends and drink some beer (over priced beer) outside in the 80-degreee weather. Staying on the Riverwalk at the El Tropicano Holiday Inn was apropose for the Flow 2008 conference. Here we are nationwide meeting learning how best to manage water for the environment, fish, wildlife, and human use, and we have a prime example of extreme human intervention in the natural flow of things. But despite the concrete walls, controlled flow, and extreme paucity of real riparian habitat, there was a certain "zen" of the river that made the experience so relaxing and intriguing.

One of the better restaurants, actually the first meal I ate in SA, was at The Original Mexican Restaurant. The waitress was a ditz, didn't eat Mexican, and could pronounce Rellenos, which she recommended. The were pretty good, but over priced ($16.99!!), and there was no hotter sauces than the tepid Pico de Gallo I had to ask for extra. Another cool place was Jim Cullum's Landing. I wouldn't have known about his place but my Dad prompted me to check it out, because Jim Cullum has a rather wonderful Jazz (Dixieland) band. I was able to catch a couple of their last set later one night after a catered meal at the Buckhorn Museum. Now the Buckhorn is a story in itself, largest collection of dead animals in the world I gather. Everything species there including some that are now extinct. The catered food was great, finger food, except for the roast beest and there were about six food stations around the museum, including a heck of dessert station. I was a bit full of course, but had to try the pecan-sauced crepes, holy cow. There was also fresh stawberries and melted chocolate to dip them in. Rather nice. One of the real cool things was this lady making these little mini gorditas or fresh made corn meal cakes topped with bean goo, cheese and copious amounts of guacamole. In fact there was a pile of cut up avocados for you to pick on. Another good station was the shrimp frittters, and a nice tartar sauce. I had to be a brat though and go over to the avocado station and dip up some chipotle dip for the shrimp fritters. Always trying to kick it up a notch.

Another interesting place was Dolores del Rio, and I didn't eat here, but stopped for a night cap glass of wine and listened to a Jazz trio piano, drums and a young budding basist. Its a quaint hole in the wall in one very old building. There is belly dancing on some nights. I was dissappointed that there was only two types of wine in a glass to choose from (and not many in the bottle). For an Italian place, almost a disgrace. I ended up with a glass of some seemingly poorly cellared Italian Sangiovese and some rather funky jazz. But it would be interesting to dine there nevertheless, bring own wine and pay the corkage.

Finally, as the last hurrah, because we were getting a bit disapointed on Riverwalk food, some co-workers and I got venturous we thought, and went to Mi Tierra. We asked the El Tropicano staff for a good Mexican restaurant, and this is what one of them recommended. Ironically, of all the staff, she was the only gringa, but sounded like she had some scrupples. It was a huge bakery and brilliantly decorated, which a roving 3 piece Mariachi Band (who didn't want to play Hotel California for us- go figure; neither did the band at the Republic of Texas, another story). The food was average. We had to pry a speciall salsa out from the kitchen because the standard table fare was pretty much like pace or La Ranchera out of the bottle. Nothing worse that factory salsa at a Mexican restaurant. Damn. The salsa out of the kitchen was a tomatillo base with some fresh diced jalapenos and onions, so had a kick, needed salt and otherwise good for a green but..nothing really special. My conclusion, is that San Antonio is mediocre venue for Mexican food within the tourist realm. I had much better experience in the outskirts of Phoenix. Another story see earlier blogs. And of course Southern California is unbeatable, better than Mexico. So if you read this, and know a good Mexican restaurant let me know. Here is my criteria for what a Good Mexican place is:

1. Fresh Homemade Salsa's at least three to choose from, preferably a salsa barr, with limes, cilantro, chopped onions, jalapenos etc.


2. Fresh made-on-the premises tortillas.


3. Deep rich chili sauces, including moles (not just the sweet kind)


4. Lots of grilled choices, chicken, asada, etc. (presence of lingua, birria, tripe etc. good indication they're serious.


5. Choice of black beans or other whole beans, lard infused bean goo gets a C- or lower.


6. Rellenos made with large poblanos rather than Aneheims. Ok I like Aneheims, but Poblanos kick it up a notch.

The idea in all this is ingredients, simple fresh ingredients, grilling and staying true to course. The best taco in the world is mequite or oak (avocado wood works too!) grilled flank or skirt steak, sliced up hot with diced onions put that on a double layer of fresh corn tortillas, heated just right, a Pico de Gallo or salsa taquera or roja, a sprinkle of shredded cabbage, a slice of avocado (if there's room) generous squeeze of lime and bam! the perfect taco. Served with beer, in the sun, in the boondocks with a bunch of friends, and we're talking back to Eden baby. The sauces show you care. Why most restaurants can't figure this out is beyond me, but when you find one, they're gold.

Time to say Goodbye (Hello, hello?)

Fall is now, and it is shaping up to be one heck of a nice fall, if only the dreariest summer weather pattern I've experienced in my life would not merge with my really favorite time of year. I noticed this morning my Basil crop is getting a tinge of brown leaves. Even though I've done one pass through, and put away more Pesto than we can probably eat in year, I have more, much more to go. Can't let it go brown. Low Temps have been in the 40s with no frost yet, but getting some termination dust (but nearly as much we had in July!!! go figure!). So our last garden hurrah is a beautiful bouquet of Asian yellow lillies, they have been so reliable and provide us with that last wink of floral color before the leafless twigs and mask of white snow dominate our landscape. Still, we have our root crops to pick. This year for potatoes we have Red Chieftans, Yukon Gold, and a third generation of a blue variety. I forgot at the moment. I'll fix that later. In addition, the Nelson F1 Carrots (Susie's babies) from Johnny's seeds, and the beets. Oh yes, can't forget the beets. Stars of the show are the Derwent Globes, a Tasmanian variety from Yates http://www.yates.com.au/about/ that did extremely well on our Alaska garden plot. Also, the standby Bolt Hardy from Denali Seeds, a Golden Beet from Johnny's and that other variety from Denali that is long and cylindrical (midlife memory moments, brought to you by the makers of teflon frying pans) . The sauna is progressing ever slowly, but still on track to provide a warm (hot) moments of escape from winter's embrace. Hopefully I'll get that last cast again, and hopefully again that with some close fishing friends and more pleasant memories of our last hurrah of our short, but intense Alaska summer.

Coming for dinner

We don't like to mow our lawn anyways, so all the help we can get the better. Last Friday, this Ma and son moose stopped by for an evening grass deal.

Australia 2008

We did it, Susie and I traveled to Australia, Tasmania and Sydney. Just a small taste of Australia. Awesome place. I've been wanting to go Tasmania for years. Instead of writing about it on this blog we did a Yahoo trip journal. I'll make it public as soon as I clean up the fowl language. Apparently, according to Yahoo, cockatoo is profane. Well we saw two species of cockatoo. The link to the travel is journal is: http://travel.yahoo.com/trip-journal-1458755-australia_2008

Favorite Oz Links

These are some of the sites I've bookmarked in preparation for my travels to Tazmania and Sydney, Australia:

ABC Tasmania » Home
Adventure Bay Holiday Village
Astor Private Hotel, Hobart
Australia & World Weather Forecast
http://http://www.bigvolcano.com.au
BoM- UV Forecast Chart
Bronte Lagoon, Bronte Park, Tasmania
Bronte Park Tasmania Australia
Bruny Island Tasmania Information Guide
Climate information
Department of Primary Industries and Water
Discover Tasmania
Environmental Flow Assessments -Tazmania
Hiking in Tasmania
Hobart Map - Map of Hobart, Australia
Holiday Guide to Hobart & Tasmania
Hotel Reservations. Discount Hotels Worldwide
Linky's Beach Days
McDermott's Coaches - Specialty Tours and Charters
My Travel Home
Native Fish Australia Home Page
yourRestaurants.com.au
Pure Tasmania - Tasmanian tourism
Reviews on Tasmania at Epinions.com
Rick McCharles's Trip Photos
Riverfront Motel and Villas - markets, wineries & arts
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
Sheoaks - Bed and Breakfast in Coles Bay - Tasmania
South Australia Hiking
State Weather for ABC Tasmania
Tasmania Food and Wine Attractions
Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service Home Page
Tas Traffic Cameras
Tas WEB Cams.
The Freycinet Experience
Touring Tasmania Info & Pictures
Visa Services Australia

Haaka Heaven & Happy New Year

So 2008 it be, and I with not a whole lot to say these days, wish all friends and family a warm Happy New Year. This winter has been one of the mildest I've experienced. I caught my last fish of the year, a grayling, on November 4 in Willow Creek. My buddy Rene that day landed a nice 24" rainbow pictured here. We've had only a bit of snow, less than a foot total and the roads have been pretty much bare pavement. Temperatures, until lately have been high 20s, 30s, a few 40s here and there. I actually picked some kale out of the garden a week before Thanksgiving, which is just weird, really weird. WE have only "shoveled" hand plowed really, the driveway twice. There have been a few days that put the Haakapeliitas (tyres) to somewhat of a test, all I can say is holy cow, winter is irrelevant. These Haakas grab the road, end of story. My stress levels winter driving have been reduced by at least half. I still have a hard time dealing with the a-holes, and the idiots, and what really drives me nuts are the head lights and the darkness, and for some reason people, especially dumb dodge drivers insist on leaving their fog lights on when its not foggy. I don't get it. Hey, if its not foggy, turn your fog lights off! So now we are getting well over a minute of daylight gain per day, and that will accelerate from here on until sometime in June I think when the gain coasts down to its solstice peak, and then summer is half over and we can whine, and look forward to hunting season, then freezing season, and then the next 6 months of winter. I have to admit, the cycle is making me a bit dizzy. Next stop Australia: Tasmania & Sydney for the month of February. Will try to update the site in situ.

Haaka What?!

Haakapeliita, are undoubtedly the safest winter tires (tyres) in the world for driving in the northern climate. Developed in Finland by Nokian Tyres, Inc., these top of the line tires were my latest splurge and addition to the new Forester. With winter season well underway, my oil royalty check (AK PFD) recently direct deposited, I figured that at least once in my life I might as well get the best of something that money can buy. These are it, and a serious chunk of change. After nearly missing my turns, even with ABS, on a couple of occasions I decided it was time. Besides I need all the help and piece of mind I can get dealing with my 100 mile round trip commute in the winter. With all the wack joes that insist on pushing the physical limits of speed on ice, I also figured I would at the very least be on a level playing field, equipment wise. Maybe not skill or fear wise, but certainly I got the goods to play. Now I just got to make sure I don't get too over confident and end up being an embarassed ditch diver or worse. I will try to provide an update on my personal experience with these tyres' performance in the upcoming months.

Got King!

Bucked the trend (no pun intended) at the Eklutna Tailrace last week. This baby landed after I lost four in a row (yeah, ouch) two days earlier. This guy had just entered freshwater. Ironically, I had a plane to catch to Kodiak in two hours so gave it to my good friend, guide extraodaire, and fishing buddy Rene Limeres (who took this nice photo) . I am sure we'll be savoring some steaks at one of the family Limere's famous house Bana & BBQs this fall. But I did manage to put two more in the freezer and smoker.
Next on the agenda: Kenai Kings, a boondoggle for a late run monster, coming up in less than two weeks.

Grilled Halibut with Ginger Sauce

Photo By: Tina Rupp

I made this recipe for Grilled Halibut with Ginger Sauce from Epicurious http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/232263 and it was one of the best meals we've had for a long time. Not that we haven't been eating good, with the garden in production mode, some fresh king salmon reeled in and a freezer stash of bear, caribou and moose, we aren't just eating mac-n-cheese these day (although we love Annies Mac-n-Cheese, especially with a side of homepacked chili bear).

It was somewhat serendipitous coming across this recipe, as we have been growing Tatsoi this year in our garden, and Susie was successful bringing in the fresh halibut while we were in Homer two weeks ago. I did add my own character and substitutions but they were minor. Neither of us totally pumped on ginger, I just added about a teaspoon of powdered ginger to the sauce. Instead of five tablespoons of sugar I used four tablespoons of agave syrup. I touched off the top with a garnish of homegrown cilantro, a subtle and simple addition which really kicked it up a notch. Can't say that I made the best wine pairing, what was opend already at the time was a bottle of Bogle 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel, which is very fruity, jamming in fact, with just a touch of the zin kick that I like. Definitely will be buying it again (such a deal at about $12 at the Fred Meyer in Palmer) just would want something else, maybe a Pac Rim Reisling, to go with this meal.

Update on the Forester

A few things about the new forester since purchasing. To date I have put about 8,000 miles on it. Overall, its been a good (not great) ride. Despite what I said in my first post, I think I'd go back to a manual trans. Autos still just don't cut it for me. My biggest complaint being hesitation from time of accelerator depression to time of car actually responding. Too much thinking goes on. First the engine revs, speed actually drops, then the transmission decides it should downshift then the car resonds by accelerating until it thinks its time to upshift again. Anyway this whole business takes awhile, its not instantaneous, I find it to be annoying. It is nice however, having a car that can zip up from 65 to 80 in seconds, this just levels the playing field on the highway. Not that I like to or try to go at those speeds but when you have to manage your position on the highway when the common speed is 70-75 this helps. I prefer to sit in the right lane at 65, on cruise control. I/ve never had cruise and I like it a lot, when I can use it. Which brings me to another minor annoyanc, after awhile it is downright uncomfortable to drive! The position of the gas pedal and its light tension (can't "rest" my foot on it), and the driver's seat itselt cause pain. I've solved most of the seat pain by putting a small thermarest pad behind my back and butt. But this does raise me up a bit more than I'd like. This winter will be the true verdict though, and main reason why I went with Subaru, I should be able to 'own the road' with this AWD, and have the high safety factor. We'll see. Gas mileage has be very good, right on the factory specs, averaging 28-29 mpg with mostly highway and some city driving. Except for the auto transmission quirks and the longterm driving uncomfort, it handles very well, and is nice to drive, I especially like the visibility.

Why I bought a new car

Last week I drove a brand new 2007 Subaru Forester off the dealer’s lot. All week I’ve agonized over this decision. The issue comes down to not so much can I afford it financially but mentally. Since reaching driver age, I’ve vehemently eschewed buying a new car. For most of the past 28 years of my driving life I’ve either not had a car, or had a very well used one. The most I’ve ever paid was about $4,500, for a five-year-old, 1986 Nissan pickup 4WD with 85,000 miles on it. Eleven years and 150,000 miles later, it went into “storage” next to my house. Like a friend of mine says, it sure doesn’t owe me anything, and it still runs. Oh I put some money into it though, new clutch, re-built transmission, new locking hubs, and a bunch of miscellaneous repairs. But talk about economy! Before that I owned a 1978 Datsun I bought for $300 in 1989 and sold three years later for $200. My first car was a 1962 VW van I bought for ~$2000 in 1984- during my hippy era while going to college at Humboldt State. Sounds like a lot for such an old VW, but it was a classic and collector’s item. A very rare European cargo model with modified rear-gear differentials for hauling loads, swing-out side doors on both sides, and bumper to bumper cherry. In my entire life I have only seen two others similar. Today, it would be worth close to 10 grand. That one I’d probably still be driving, had it not mysteriously disappeared one night while parked in the front of my hotel in Mazatlan. The Hotel even had a night watchman. He said he fell asleep. I literally lived in my Van. Spent at least one college year parking in front of friends houses, using their shower, compensating with beer, and goodies. Little Miss Sunshine would be pale in comparison to the story I could write about that episode of my life.

Two years ago, my dad and his wife bought a new car, and no longer needed their 1983 Subaru GL 4wd with 156,000 miles. They said I could have it, and they paid shipping from Seattle to Anchorage, kind of like a belated graduation present. Only-child advantage, I suppose. I received the car in October as winter in Alaska fast approached for its 6-7 month grip. I wonder when people say they “love” an inanimate object such as their car. Love or whatever, this little Subaru was like an Anchorage commuters dream car. It stuck to icy roads like glue. I had a hard time forcefully trying to lose control of it while driving like a testosterone-crazed adolescent in an empty icy covered parking lot. I fell in love with Subarus. After a little over two years and about 50,000 miles of regular oil changes, a repaired rear wheel bearing, a repaired heater fan, a rebuilt oil pump, replaced clogged fuel filters, new set of rims and studded tires, new front brakes and a new muffler, I decided to take it to the AAA1 Subaru repair shop (who by now knew me very well) for a tune up one Monday morning. Simple right? They called me up at the end of the day with the bad news. Three of the plugs were completely crossed threaded, and they said it needed new heads. They also mentioned that it was leaking oil from every sealed crevice – they had actually warned me of this a few months earlier. Basically I was looking at maybe a couple of grand for getting this car, worth maybe a few hundred, back in business. Sensible people would decide to ditch the car and get another one. Stubborn and frugal people, like myself, would dump a rebuilt engine and while their at it replace the clutch and maybe regrind the flywheel. They would take care of the brake lines, master cylinder, differentials, transfer case and transmission later, maybe, when they finally break too. I commute 100 miles round trip, mass transit is not an option for me. Even a share van isn’t an option because I still have to drive to the pick up point-although I could probably get a ride if someone close to me wanted to wake up at 5:AM every working morning. I called Enterprise and rented a truck, because they didn’t have a car, for the rest of the week. I pretty much had my mind on another Subaru, I was addicted, and felt so comfortable and confident driving the snow storms and icy roads-very important for this California boy. And, while I was thinking about it, wouldn’t it be nice to have air bags, anti-lock brakes, and maybe even a nice stereo I could actually hear? Over 200 Moose (about average) have been hit along my commute this winter-wouldn’t it be nice to have something a bit beefier, just in case? But a full-size pickup would kill me in gas costs, I figured about $350 to $400 a month, and they kind of suck on icy highways and roads. Just not a good thing to commute in. Then I thought about Toyotas, Camry or Corolla. Great on gas, economical, front-wheel drive. How about a hybrid? Too new, not proven yet in the far north. I sure like those AWD Subarus though, and they are by far the single most popular passenger car around here. Everyone I’ve talked to “loves” their Outback or Forester.

I had done a bit of car shopping earlier in the year, because I knew the time to upgrade was coming. I drove Foresters and Outbacks. Although only costing about a grand more, the Outbacks were nicer in looks and ride, but I felt so much more comfortable in the Forester. I liked the seating position, and the view of the road. I have always driven manuals, and hated automatics. I thought automatics were stupid. You have no control over the car and they are terrible on icy roads (you pretty much have to take them out of drive and into neutral if you expect to have any control in a slide. Easier to clutch. I quickly discovered that modern technology has pretty much erased most of the downsides of automatics. Albeit more costly, they are less trouble in the long run than a clutch. Still though, they aren’t manuals, which I just like. There are very few used Subarus with manuals out there. Although I looked at two used manuals, there were many more choices of automatics. Several months ago, I drove one manual Forester I really liked. It even had a tape deck- ideal for me, I still have hundreds of cassettes. It was priced Ok, had 74,000 miles on it. I couldn’t bring myself though to spend the $11,000. I could replace just about everything in the 1983, engine, brake lines, etc, and buy a killer sound system for that amount. Ridiculous amount of money. So I passed. I honestly thought I had at least a couple more years in the 1983. Most people say I should get at least 250,000 miles out of it. So yeah, two more years. Then I’ll replace the engine.

Last Saturday, after renting a Dodge Dakota for 5 days at about $60/day, I made a moderate down payment, and financed the balance brand new Forester; controlled by more computer chips and fuzzy logic than anything that I’ve ever owned before. What the $%*& was I thinking? Financially I could do it- I penciled it all out, took a close look at my cost of living, factored in a raise I was getting the following month. I even worked up anecdotal spreadsheet and graphed the depreciation of various Subarus based on the mileage, year, and advertised price in the paper so I knew what I was losing. What I am struggling with most, is the mental affordability. A NEW car? Geez Thomas, who are you? Am I the idiot I thought everyone else is?

At Cars.com, their speal on buying a new car somewhat helped, but still kind of a weak argument. Then I thought for every used car on the market, some dumbass bought a new one. Folks who can only afford, or who are smart enough to only buy used cars depend on people like me. Someone has to get that car out of the dealer lot onto the streets. There’s people out there that need people like me. Next thought process was that all my life I’ve driven used cars. For the last five years of driving 100 miles a day, on enough occasions I was uncertain of arriving at my destination. I even bought a cell phone when I started commuting. Not to yak all the way between home and work, but to call the tow truck or 911 when I am upside down buried in a pile of snow, or, on the edge of the right lane with a left-side flat, or just plain broke down.

Maybe its my middle-aged mind that after dealing with so much uncertainty, and getting gray commuting the highway and city of Los Anchorage with all the wack-job rude me-first drivers, I needed safety, and assurance. I needed a peace of mind, and a decent stereo system I could actually hear. What I needed was a ride, and dammit, not only do I deserve a nice ride, I can afford it but with some impact on my retirement plan. It is a financial set back.

No matter how you look at the economics, buying a new car is a money loser. Buying any car is usually a money loser. It is the cost of doing business. What a comfortable, safe, smooth, peaceful commute this new Forester is providing me. I am still undecided on whether this luxury is really worth the money. I really like the 36,000 mile bumper to bumper, and 60,000 mile drive train warranty, although not the best out there (I could buy more warranty), and if something does go wrong, I’m still out a ride. Almost pervertedly, I like the fact that I am the first owner. There is no doubt in my mind, that if I only drove 10 miles a day to work, I would have bought second hand, not paid more than 8 to 10 grand, and probably would have bought something that can haul some wood, and tow a boat. Even though I don’t have a boat, yet. If I lived in California and drove 100 miles round trip to work, I definitely would have bought a used Toyota or Honda sedan; likely a hybrid. But I live and drive 100 miles round trip per day, about 70 of that highway, the rest city, where winter is 6-7 months long, 1,000 pound-plus Ungulates regularly get in the way, and generally the company, the other drivers, they suck. Could I have accomplished that by buying used? I think definitely yes, and so I probably spent a few grand more than I had to – that is about 2-3 years of food and beverages for the two of us, or about 6 months to a year cost of living during retirement.

If only I had more time to shop, and a bit more confidence and trust in previous owners, and my own ability to discern a lemon from a wonder-that’s what really cost me. I doubt I’ll ever buy another new car. At least I hope I don’t, I like having money too much for buying the essentials and the sooner I can afford independence the better. And I hate the new car smell- smells like cancer to me. But really, I like myself a bit more knowing I am frugal and wise. In the grand scheme of things, its not a big deal, I shouldn’t be so embarrassed to tell my friends I bought new, and I shouldn’t worry how it will affect my financial future. Ten years from now, I’ll either still have the Forester thinking it was the best car I ever owned, or I will have sold it while still in its prime (just after warranty), get about half my money back and move on, towing my boat to the launch in Prince William Sound.

Are you my mama?

No, I wasn't this little one's mama. While I was on a job site near Iliamna AK, this yearling caribou was alone and searching for company. When it saw me it cautiously approached, with little grunting sounds. As I grunted back it came closer and closer. After a few minutes it realized I wasn't kin, and bolted off into the tundra.

Never too cold to surf in California! 

Hundreds of Snowy Plovers were at the mouth of Devereux Slough in Goleta Ca. for the winter-smart birds! 

La Tolteca in Phoenix (1205 E.Van Buren St.)was one of the better Mexican food restaurants I ate at. The tacos were great (although I wished they used two tortillas instead of one). Few gringos here at lunch (think authentic, whatever that means) and has a warm friendly atmosphere. Prices very reasonable.
 

Dead Fish in Phoenix Canal. Arizona, sprawling Phoenix in particular, has a canal fetish. Here in a downtown portion of the Salt River Canal is a bunch of dying fish. Most of them are grass carp, stocked by the Salt River Project (SRP) to munch on aquatic weeds to help keep the canals clean. The canals are drained annually for maintennance and cleaning. Despite SRPs attempts to save fish, some inevitably die. Seems like a waste to me. There's a grocery store in the Chinese Cultural Center that sells live carp, along with live eels, crabs, frogs and other species of fish. Thats a lot of meals going to waste in this ditch! 

Saquaro cactus, the quintessential symbol of the Southwest and Sonoran Desert. 

Saguaros are cool!