All is good. After Dept of Energy started cutting back up in Washington, I could see what was coming and opted to go work with a friend from Baghdad days that was running a program in SE New Mexico. Nice people, lousy stinking place to live. Got to traipse around worthless terrain that my ancestors unsuccessfully tried to homestead a couple times. Saw lots of family and got my daughter settled into Tucson before I came up here to Anchorage. I came up back in November to visit my older daughter who's been living here for a couple years. I'd never been here before, and it was a good fit. So I made some calls when I got back to New Mexico and had a new gig lined up by the end of January. Had to unload all my household stuff cuz moving up here ain't cheap. I kept essentials, but had to sacrifice some heavy cast iron pots and a lot of reloading supplies. But I am settled in here now and have replaced everything worth replacing with new. Fishing is coming up soon, and hunting this fall should be nice, although it will all be a bit expensive this year due to non-resident status.

The job is okay. A few personnel issues to contend with, but not so much bureaucracy. Besides, there's always gotta be something. At least they are paying well. Cost of living here isn't any worse than New Mexico was. Even gas here isn't that bad, and there's tons more worth doing.

As I sit here typing this, it is 15 minutes after midnight, and it is still light enough outside that you can see blue sky. It got up to 75 degrees today. Last weekend it snowed 3 inches. But I find that I prefer the cold and the snow over the hot and the stormy. There's no lightning here. Temps here in town will get up to mid 80s at the extreme. Up north in the interior it will get hotter, and a bit stormy, but I don't need to go up there.

Now that I am in an area with real wilderness, my survival setups have changed a bit. I acquired a nice Howa bolt action in 375 Ruger and have figured out how to shoot it without damaging myself. I am not planning on hunting bear much. But anytime you are out here you have to be ready. I'd rather pepper spray them than shoot them, so we will see how that works out.

So that's about it for me. I will try and stop in and chat a bit when I can. Life is an adventure, and this was on my bucket list since I was a kid. It is nice to have things work out.