My Journey to ALASKA

[(RIP) rustygates]

This just one of many applications for "Placer" mining that Bob had submitted to the authorities to start on a piece of land in this case it was on Dominion Bench and the exact spot was "Hillside Claim,left summit adjoining the ?
Lower Dominion on Discovery Creek.

[spiderpig37]

I too am enjoying this adventure watched a programe on nat geo today about the early gold rush up to dawson in the 1800s it focused on a couple who transported a small steam paddle ship overland to use on the klondyke when the shipping companys kicked off
Made you think of all the people that perished before they even got to the gold fields
Keep it up its most interesting
Andy

[(RIP) rustygates]

Bob feeding a "camp robber" by his 2 roomed cabin at Nolan

[(RIP) rustygates]

Bob with two of his mining partners

[(RIP) rustygates]

Bob's Wiseman cabin extreme left near the River Koyokuk

[AD Ent]

Sorry to here of your diagnosis rustygates. I was speaking to a fella at the butty van the other day who can no longer drive HGV due to Motor Neurone Disease. All the best

[(RIP) rustygates]

Originally Posted by AD Ent

Sorry to here of your diagnosis rustygates. I was speaking to a fella at the butty van the other day who can no longer drive HGV due to Motor Neurone Disease. All the best

Thanks, I'm not feeling sorry for myself i retired at 51 and have had 12yrs of retirement,been to a lot of places with caravan over 150 sites,got a great family and friends and a brilliant wife who is a nurse(retired) iv'e got time to sort out finances etc and sort my funeral out.lol so i think i'm very lucky

[(RIP) rustygates]

Bob feeding his pet fox, he loved the wildlife inc bears at a distance!

[(RIP) rustygates]

Bob working on Nolan Creek

[(RIP) rustygates]

Sluicing the Paydirt

[(RIP) rustygates]

Bob and Joe Strunka whom I am eternally grateful for keeping Bob's stuff after Bob telling him that someone from Wales would come to collect it (30 odd years later) how did he know it would be me ??

[(RIP) rustygates]

Bob's cabin at Nolan

[(RIP) rustygates]

This cabin belonged to CK Harvey,Bob's mining friend who was the watch mendter,notice the cabin roof was made from empty 2gallon petrol cans from aircraft that came to Wiseman about 10mls below Nolan, they would cut the top and bottom off the cans and used them like slates,overlapping each other, originally the cabins had dirt and sods on the roof y always leaked in winter, so this was a great leap forward.

[TONUP]

I commented earlier on what a great thread this is, and appreciate your sharing your journey with us. I almost feel like I know Bob now.

I really appreciate the wildlife where I live, and we have deer, hare, fox, birds of prey and other creatures to see, but I go too work for someone else every day and suffer from the stress that often comes with that lifestyle... worry, politics and deadlines etc.

Looking at your relative, and his closeness to the natural world around him makes me very envious. I don't imagine for one minute that his life was easy, but it makes me question whether all the crap that I have accumulated over the years... cars, motorbikes, flat screen TV's etc does actually improve your quality of life. I'm not brave enough to abandon them now, but it makes you think?

Sorry having a bit of profound moment there

Thanks again for sharing this.

Regards

Alan

[(RIP) rustygates]

It's only you that can make the decision and the decision is only made by circumstances which are in or out of your control,apparantly you pass this way only once(i shall contest that statement) I decided to retire from the steelworks at 51 and still had 3 children in school,i was always interested in wrought iron work and taught myself to weld and fabricate and started to make driveway gates and railings,i built up a good business and never advertised,but i never let it get out of hand,you see so many self employed people want to get big to quickly and they create a monster that needs feeding constantly and then all goes tit's up.i give up the gate business before i was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease which was great and managed to refurb both terrano's which i am reluctant to part with so iv'e sorned one my wife drive the other.

rustygates