Our first week of living in Alaska wasn't exciting enough so we decided to take a road trip to do some sight seeing. Red had lived in Alaska since before I was born but his travels around the state were limited so he didn't know much outside of the Kenai Peninsula. Dave had lived in Alaska a year and hadn't been anywhere but Cooper Landing and Anchorage, but John, the wildlife photographer had been everywhere in the state. So I asked John to recommend a place we could drive where the kids could experience Alaska and see some wildlife. The kids wanted to see a bear. A live one this time. John said he knew just the drive. On a map he showed me a road 350 miles north of Cooper Landing. It was 150 miles of remote dirt road. So remote and rugged that it was closed in the winter. About half way down that dirt road a friend of John's owned a lodge. John gave me the guys name and suggested we spend the night there. There were no phones out there so we'd have to stop in.

We drove to Anchorage and spent the night in a hotel there then continued on early. The first part of the trip was back tracking the way we'd come. Anchorage to Palmer, then west to Glennallen where the Alaska Pipeline goes under the road en route to Valdez. That's interesting because you can see the famed Alaska Pipe Line in both directions. Then north for fifty miles where we left the road we entered Alaska on and took a less traveled road towards Paxson. From our home in Cooper Landing to Paxson was 353 miles of two lane road. In Paxson we got gas and bought something to eat, then started across the rugged dirt road we had come to see.

John hadn't exaggerated, there was nothing on the road. I don't recall seeing another car going in either direction. The road wasn't in bad shape, but it was elevated in what looked like a high dirt levee. Not sure why the road was so high off the ground, but it did give us a great view of the surrounding country. It also made the trip more dangerous. Were we to go off the road, even by a few inches the van would roll down into an area that couldn't be seen from someone passing by, assuming anyone ever passed by. For this reason I drove extremely slow.

We'd made this trip hoping to see some of Alaska's abundant wildlife. We did see plenty of moose, but we'd seen them back in Cooper Landing. Moose were everywhere in Alaska. What we wanted to see was bear, so we kept a sharp lookout. Fifty miles down the dirt road a beautiful red fox crossed in front of us. She had climbed up the north side of the road, saw us then ran full speed to the other side and disappeared down the south side of the road's embankment. The kids didn't see the fast moving fox so I stopped the van and got everyone out in hopes of seeing her as she ran away from the road. As soon as everyone was standing on the road a tiny red fox popped up on the road, clearly trying to follow momma. The kids gasped at the incredibly beautiful little red fox and then another appeared. Then another. I can't recall how many baby foxes there were, but I'll guess six or eight. They were identical and they were the definition of cute. The little guys walked right up to our feet, begging to be held. I almost had to physically restrain my children from picking up the young foxes. It was all I could do not to pick up one myself. They were cute beyond description. Had I been alone I am sure I would have sat down and played with them. The only reason I didn't was to teach my children to respect nature and not to interfere. We were all enthralled by the baby foxes, but none more than Kelly. She was four and she wanted to hold one so bad it hurt. She bubbled with excitement. Kelly bounced up and down giggling and laughing. I nearly gave into her desire until Mary reinforced my decision. Other than that we'd have taken one home with us.

Back in the van and excited about the red fox babies we continued on. It was dark before we reached the lodge owned by John's friend. We were exhausted so I prayed they had rooms. To our surprise they were expecting us and had a large and exquisite cabin ready. With no phone service I asked how they knew we were coming. John had called an AM radio station somewhere that broadcast messages during the day for the folks who live in the bush. The lodge owner's wife heard the message to them about us coming through from our mutual friend, so they were expecting us. Low tech, but better than smoke signals.

The cabin was wonderful as was dinner. After we got the kids in bed Mary and I stood on the back porch, which was also a dock that hung over the river. We wondered how much the cabin would cost for the night. There had been no discussion of checking in so we would settle the bill in the morning. As nice as the place was it had to be expensive.

The next morning we had breakfast then coffee on the back porch where we watched trout swim beneath us in the river. We could also see moose, but no bear. Mary and I agreed, what ever it cost it was worth the price. It was a lovely and relaxing cabin. After breakfast we packed up and drove to the office to settle our bill. To my surprise they wouldn't let us pay. You know, "Any friend of John's is a friend of ours," kind of thing. I appreciated it but wasn't real comfortable with that so I asked if there was anything I could do to pay my way. I saw a pile of wood and offered to cut fire wood. They laughed and said no, but thanks. I again said "I wish there was something I could do to repay your kindness."  Again they said no. Then the guy flippantly said, "Unless you know something about computers we've got everything we need." Mary and I both laughed. You see, I don't look like a computer guy. Never have. I look more like a truck driver. He was shocked when I said, "As a matter fact I know a great deal about computers."

The two guys that owned the place were from Los Angles and both were screenplay writers. They had an IBM PC and a generator and had planned to spend the snowed in winter writing screen plays. When their computer broke they tried to find someone to repair it but couldn't find anyone in Alaska that could do it. Their choice was to fly a tech up from Seattle or buy a new computer and they couldn't afford to do either. With the roads about to be closed in by snow they had resigned themselves to spending the winter writing on paper.

Their computer problem was an operating system issue I'd seen many times. Even without my utility programs I was able to fix it in minutes. It was like magic to them. It is difficult to describe how grateful they were. They actually tried hard to pay me, which of course wasn't going to happen. When we left their place to continue our journey I felt like I'd accomplished something good. Mary pointed out that since they couldn't find anyone to fix their computer, something I fixed in minutes, perhaps I would be able to make a living doing what I knew best. I said, "No. I'm done with that stuff." And I was. We moved to Alaska for a fresh start, which for me meant to get away from computers.

We had a wonderful trip, but never saw a bear. I think we all agreed the baby red foxes were better than any bear.

Once back in Cooper Landing Red pounced. He offered to sell his place to me. It was a simple deal that involved a large down payment, then future payments as I could afford it. I made the deal and bought the place on a handshake. We took over the gas station, garage and store and home attached to the store. The gas station and garage were operational including gas in the tanks and a mechanic who lived above the garage. We moved from the cabin into the home attached to the store. The store hadn't been used in years so we began cleaning it up so it could be used as a store.

We now lived a hundred feet from the steps that were the entrance to John's lodge so Mary and I went up every night after they closed to drink cocoa and talk with John and his wife. John had a unique pet, a wolf named Katmai. John had killed the wolf's mother when she attacked him in the Katmai National Park so he brought her pup home with him. It's illegal to own a wild animal in Alaska so John had a breeder fake paperwork documenting that the wolf was a German Sheppard/wolf mix. No one believed the papers but no one challenged them either. Katmai was all wolf, and it showed in every move he made. John kept Katmai outside on a heavy chain during the day, but brought him in after closing at night. He would do this while Mary and I were sitting at the bar visiting. Every time I was there when Katmai came in he would put his nose against my elbow and growl, causing me to hold my breath and freeze. After he was satisfied I'd acknowledged he was leader of the pack he'd move to the other side of me and put his muzzle in Mary's lap. She could pet him and make his tail wag like he was a poodle puppy, but if I breathed on him he'd eat me. Recall earlier I claimed to have a way with animals? I amend this to every animal but Katmai, a wolf named after a mountain.

It took less than a month to realize Red had lied to me. I fell into a trap he'd laid before. By the time people in the community knew us well enough to tell us about Red's history of "selling" then reclaiming his property it was too late. I'd already given him the first large payment. When I confronted Red and asked for a contract in writing or my money back he acted like I had questioned his integrity, which I clearly did. Once he realized he wasn't getting any more money out of me he told me I was beat, but to give him a week to think about how to resolve things. We had no contract so I had nothing in writing. I was positive I'd lost my money. The rest of that day was spent telling my wife how sorry I was for throwing away our money. Her concern was only that I not do something we'd regret. I was plenty upset with Red, but I knew he wouldn't bend to threats or even a beating, which I wasn't sure I could administer. The next morning I was still trying to figure out what to do when a Jeep Cherokee with U.S. Government plates stopped at the station. The guy identified himself as an EPA inspector. He asked who owned the station. I asked why he wanted to know. He explained that gasoline was seeping from the station's underground tanks into the Kenai Lake across the street. "That means what," I asked. "That means I'm shutting this station down right now and those tanks have to be dug up by an EPA approved clean up team. And it means $5,000 a day fines until its done." I said, "That's horrible. Gas is leaking into Alaska's premiere salmon spawning lake, harming one of the state's most important lakes. I hope there's a big fine involved too." With a grin I couldn't contain, I told him who owned the gas station and its leaky tanks and where to find him.

Mary had already found a temporary place for us to rent by the week two miles away. We immediately packed and left. Mary was right. I needed to get away from Red and cut our losses. We stayed in the temporary place for a few weeks until we found a nice house to rent north of Kenai. The house was on a hill with a view of Cook Inlet in a small community called Nikiski. We'd been in Alaska for less than a month and had just moved into our fourth rented home.