Around the Area - January 5, 2008

(Above)     Reliable Friend. Ramon's German Shepherd, Strider ... all 110 pounds of him!  Location:   Ramon's Cabin Porch.

(Above)      The Panel of the 2007 Tundra 300F. Note the switch console has been moved to the lower part of the handlebar. I can see it there, even if I have to take my hand off the left grip to reach it. I want to add night illumination to it. Note also the watch on the panel. This is a Timex Ironman with velcro strap. I mounted in the now disconnected reverse/hi beam insert. I made two slots for the strap and velcroed it together in back. I had to put a chunk of something behind for the strap otherwise the strap was too long. This watch was put in there 2000 miles and 12 months ago, and has not gained or lost 30 seconds in that time, in spite of summer heat and -40F winters, as well as the Iron Dog. They say ... "Takes a Lickin' and Keeps on Tickin'." Amen!

Note also the mountain strap, a genuine SkiDoo item. It is worth its weight in gold.  Location:   Somewhere in the back hills...

(Above)      Bleak trail somewhere in the back hills. Weather was poor with winds and colder than a well digger's arse.  Location:   Somewhere in the back hills ...

(Above)      View of where Ramon lives. His cabin is down there somewhere. Weather was not too good when this was taken from Newton hill about 1000 feet up. In the distant background is Nome and the frozen Bering Sea.  Location:   Taken at 1,000 ft elevation at Newton Peak, 5 miles north of Nome, Alaska.

(Above)      Here is Kenny Shapiro with a shit-eating grin. He is working on his Summit Fan 550F. He is grinning because he thinks his machine will be able to follow the Tundra in the nasties. (It didn't, but he can sure outrun and out highmark Ramon! His short track MXZX 550F is behind him as well.

The shop is merely two 20-foot container vans joined side by side with a cutout between the two. Uninsulated, with a 100,000 BTU counterflow oil furnace and twelve 100-watt incandescent bulbs, which, unlike Fluorescents, come on when its -40F.  Location:   Ramon's Shop.

(Above)     The Finlander never has a beer too far away! He helped Kenny with the Summit. Didn't help, the Summit cannot follow the Tundra in the Nasties.

Note the white USI 2X skis. These are excellent skis, and wide enough to go into deep snow. Ramon says he is going to steal them for a day's ride to compare them to the Pilot 6.9's he has.  Location:   Ramon's Shop.

(Above)     Granddaughter Kiarra Gandia, age 3. She is Kandie's daughter ... and Kandie is Ramon's daughter in Law. I introduced this little girl to Pumpkin Pie and Whipped Cream on Thanksgiving 2007, and now she is my best friend! Unlike most children her age, she will eat anything ... and a lot of it! Very easy girl to keep happy and fed. And ... she is absolutely adorable. She has a brother and two other sisters, all equally nice, but fussier eaters.

For viewers outside Alaska ... this is what Eskimo children look like, and they are just as pretty when they grow up!  Location:   Kandie's house on 12/30/07.