My Travels    NYC Trip    The Windows	Alaska Pictures of the Day #5B Potted Pants - Well, I made a bit of a typo on the Hood Cabin text in the last installment of "Pictures of the Day." Folks there do an interesting and sometimes unusual job of decorating their cabins. I didn't actually see "potted pants", it was more of the potted PLANTS kind of thing going on. Jim Corbley was quick to supply a sample of what I should be looking for in the future. With the number of cabins surrounding Lake Hood I'm pretty confident I'll find a potted pair of Levis on my return to the Anchorage environs. FrontSeat1 and FrontSeat2 - My last day of my trip(no, this is not the last installment of PotD) was one of the most interesting. I had a few moments on this Alaskan adventure when I thought I had committed what I call a "showstopper", one of those errors that has the potential of killing the music and bringing the whole thing to a shuddering halt. I won't embarrass myself telling you about all of them on this trip, but the most grievous was in Nome. "Who rents cars in Nome? There can't be a big rush to reserve one", I said to myself bypassing the rental office. Bad thought. The day before my last one in Nome I discovered that just about every birdwatcher in the world worth his or her salt was on the Seward Penninsula to take in the annual spring migration, all of them in rental vehicles! I was told with a laugh, after I finally made it to the rental office, that the next availabilty for a vehicle was, oh, around the first of July. "It's too bad you weren't here earlier. That couple that just walked out the door got the last one." After briefly contemplating a felony, I remained stoic and made my way to a bench on the street where I almost had a Lucy moment. Thinking I had just pooched the most spiritual part of my adventure, I was about to stick out my lower lip and cry. I thought back to the espisode of I Love Lucy I saw on the outbound flight to Seattle and decided I had already been there. Instead, I headed over to visit my new friends at the tourist office to ask if they had any helpful suggestions. They did, but that's another fun story... cut to the bar of the Nugget later that night - I had just returned from my tour of Anvil Mountain and greater western Nome and it was time for a few beers alone in the bar, again. This time Gail, the hotel manager, stopped in to mention how happy she was that the first barge of the season had arrived that afternoon. Her container of cat litter was going to be a welcome sight. After learning a bit about inventory supply in the bush, I mentioned my predicament to my fellow patrons(all of whom consisted of hotel employees). I really wanted to get out on the road to Council, but there wasn't a rentable 4WD to be found. I asked if anyone knew someone with a car I could hire to drive me. Gail reminded me the road was damaged severely last fall by a huge storm and it wasn't smart to try it with a car. The driftwood on the beach in town was just a hint of how hard last October's storm hit the area. Gail scratched her head thinking of a few folks with pick-ups that might be free for the day, eventually giving me two numbers to try in the morning. I was reminded that with the long summer days folks don't get started too early in Nome, better wait until 8:00 to call. I waited til 8:14. My first call was answered by a young child, it was doubtful this kid had a truck since he had a hard time just holding on to the phone. His father picked the phone up after dropping it a few times as well. I thought this might be a Nome custom, but I hesitated to participate and only told him I was looking for a truck with a driver for the day. He offered to think about it. "I'll try to get back to you, but if I space you out and don't call you back by 11:00, call my cell at..." I said thanks and started packing for my flight that evening thinking Plan B would probably be okay. The woman at the Park Service office was going to "re-enlsit" me for the morning. If I couldn't get a vehicle I could ride with her on her rounds and then take her birding tour in the afternoon. It would be fairly local, but at least I would get out. I was about halfway through the packing job when the phone rang at 8:30. It was John, a friend of the first guy I called asking what I was looking for. I told him I really wanted to get out to the Last Train and on the road toward Council. He said he could do it and we agreed on a price for five hours of travel time. "How soon do you want to go?", he asked. I told him I could be packed and ready in 15 minutes. "You'll have to leave the bags, there's no room, my cab is full of guns. I need to stop at my son's for some coffee first. I'll meet you out front." I told him I needed to grab a cup, too. I dropped my bags at the front desk and headed across the street to the Arctic Trading Company for a large Americano. I was barely back in front of the Nugget when a white Chevy truck rolled up with a smiling driver. "You must be Keith, I recognize you by your coffee cup." I smiled back finishing a sip. I was about to open the cab door when I heard a voice from above, "Who did you get?" I looked up and it was Gail leaning out a second floor window. I had to ask his name again and then turned to Gail and said, "Johnny Johnson." She flashed me a smile and a big thumbs up. I knew it was going to be a good day...   NEXT