AyaqGuyaq

Hey, Toes, umm, does that "thingy" count as a "toe?" @RobMc begged me to ask . . . Ayaq

Lol, McRib, I'll pray for your soul, bud. You seem like a good guy, @RobMc--you get your "whiner" medal yet, just wunderin'. My 19-year old son is transferring in Indiana U. next fall, my daughter is a high-school sophomore this year. I'm not afraid of dying: my last thoughts will be "Please, God, forgive me . . . " My son is mama's boy, but my Sweet Baby is Daddy's Girl. I was just afraid that I wouldn't see her again in this earthly life. Frickin' bears stompin' around our camp every night. Frickin' Sasquatches . . . Ayaq

@SGTSmeg, IF YOU HAD ONLY BEEN THERE. I thought I was gonna die, D-E-D, "dead." Because of my Christian beliefs, I wasn't too scared, but my cousin is an atheist. I thought we wuz gonna die. Ayaq

Happy birthday, Wishboneeeeeee. Hope it's like Sweet Roxy and Sweet Ice Cream wished, times a factor of at least 1,000. Ayaq

Happy birthday, Rootn' Tootn'. Ayaq

Congratulations, gentlemen. I a was a gonna add "and Ramistar," but thought better of it: I likes me a Ramistar. "Hope . . . hope . . . hope-hope-hope, Ramistar . . . Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy . . . sexy ladies . . ." Lol. (In Yoda voice) Great choices for level heads, they were. Ayaq

Congrats, @XTeKK, "To explore space, and new civilizations--to boldly go where no man has gone before!!!!," and @NaChO "Nacho, nacho-man . . .I've got to be, a nacho man . . ." Ayaq

Yeah, @Shadow, what @dadda2 said, +1. Ayaq

Happy birthday, Crimson Tide. My dad still has his University of Alabama baseball cap that I bought him from Tuscaloosa in 1987, when the President of my college asked me to travel with him there so I could sit on a college-student panel and address a rather large audience. Holy frickin'-frackin' Crikey, that was 30 years ago!!! Ayaq

I got da Powa!!!! It's gettin', it's gettin', it's gettin' kinda hectic . . . It's also gettin' hotter--blow out your frickin' candles!! Lol. Happy birthday, bud. Ayaq

Happy birthday!! Someone will make it great for you--I just checked my "Magic 8-Ball." Ayaq

Who-hoo!!!! Sweet "A" then "A" "beat" someone tonight, probably smiling the whole time . . . Lol. Ayaq

Happy birthday, Dr. No!! There was a 7-year old cow moose that came within 50 yds. of our mining camp that had BIG ASS ears. Lol. Ayaq

Lol, guys. I carried the firearm for bears, and my stainless-steel Ruger for small-game eatin' animals. I didn't even mention the FIRST night of our 6-day-supposed to be 12-day trip. James told me it was my turn on "bear watch;" i.e., keeping the fire burning bright and cradling my rifle. I heard to my right, about 300 yds. away, across a small stream, a faint "Hoo, hoo!" To my left, same distance, across another small stream (we set up camp on a sandbar, with lots of firewood), another faint "Hoo, hoo!" To my left, further down the stream, another "Hoo, hoo!" I thought, "Cool, the owls are communicating." After a few minutes, I heard the same "Hoo-hoos," same directions, but they were louder. After another few minutes, the calls were even louder, meaning they were getting closer. Problem is, all of the owls I've ever heard didn't have "Hoo-hoos" that didn't sound right. James said from inside the tent, "P.C., do you hear those owls?" I said, "Jamie, come out here." He came out next to me, after I've thrown a coupla more logs on the fire, and I said "listen." The sources of the "Hoo-hoos" were now within about two hundred feet from us--one across the stream to our right, and two across the other stream to our left. I said, "Those aren't owls." I took some paper towel from my coat pocket, ripped off two small patches and stuffed 'em in my ears. I loaded a round into my lovely .06 (killed many moose and caribou that were willing to provide meat for my big, extended family), looked back at "Jamie," and said "Cover your ears." In rapid succession, and into the air: "Poom!! Poom!! Poom!!" (two-second delay) "Poom!! Those "Hoo-hoos" stopped. For the moment. After five minutes, during which time I inserted my second clip and reloaded the first, the "Hoo-hooing" started again, albeit from a much further distance, but there were still three "owls." I went to my gun case, grabbed my Ruger 10-.22 (always loaded with a fully-loaded 10-round clip), jacked a shell in, pulled the clip out, and loaded one more shell. I sprayed the gravel bar in front of us in rapid succession, and just like in the television series "Combat," with Vic Morrow, you could hear the "peowing" of the ricochets. I changed clips in that rifle, put it down on a log, and grabbed my trusty .06. The "Hoo-hooing" was gone for the night. That'll be included in the first chapter, buddy. Second chapter will be about hiring a guide (i.e., buying him $300-worth of gasoline) so he could show us how to navigate the treacherous rapids 50-miles upriver to our second campsite. That's where the boulder-clusters stick outta the river, and the raging, 30-mph torrent of violent water promises certain-or at least, probable--death to those that don't successfully navigate the channels. I've never seen water that angry. The Niagra Falls weren't "angry," they were "beautiful." I really am glad to back alive. The bears were another thing. I'm gonna seriously write a book, and I already have the title--I'm not gonna tell you in case one of you steals it, lol. I'm glad I'll be able to see my daughter and son again. I almost kissed the ground after I landed our skiff, ala Pope John Paul II. Ayaq

Way to keep it new and exciting, @Sitting-Duc. As always, we appreciate you and the programmers' hard work on behalf of the community. I think someone just "jismed," and it wasn't me!! "She said I saw you on the counter--wasn't me!! She said I saw you on the sofa--wasn't me!!" Sorry, too tired and excited to be home to sleep after my gold-mining experiences. Yes, plural. Ayaq

Yeah, Johnny Knox, welcome to da clan!!! Congratulations on your newly-bestowed honor, sir. Ayaq

Holy, son-of-a-maraca!!! Ayaq is back a week ahead of schedule. Sasquatch, aka "Bigfoot," does indeed exist--I've seen one!!! A whole family, in fact was waiting "in the wings," so to speak, to see how I treated the one I saw. It was 1:30 in the morning, and my cousin James (who didn't have a gun--he forgot it, dumb F()&*^&%$@#!!), who was on bear watch (I just got offa bear watch at 1:00 a.m.), woke me just as I was about to doze off and said "P.C. (for "Paul Christopher"), there's a bear at the point!" I grabbed my semi-auto -.06 and scurried outta the tent and said "Where?" He said "Right there, at the point!" Here in Alaska, it doesn't really get dark in the summer--heck, north of the Arctic Circle, the sun literally--LITERALLY!!--doesn't set at this time of year. Ask Sweet @SGTSmeg. I saw the silhouette standing at the corner with the naked eye, then walked to the left away from the fire to get a better look. I had my Leopold variable scope already zoomed to 3x power, so I looked through my scope. James exclaimed "Don't shoot it!!" I replied "I'm not, I'm just taking a better look." The silhouette standing about 100 yds. away that I saw through my lens was no standing brown bear. I said, "Holy F*ck, Jamie, that's not a brown bear, that's a Sasquatch." I walked a few feet forward, told James to cover his ears, and put the butt of my beloved rifle again my right hip as I covered my right ear with my left forefinger, turned my head away, and fired into the air. I looked back at the silhouette, and he didn't move--he just stood there, in the 4' deep river current, staring at us. He wasn't even scared. He stood there staring (glaring?) at us for over a minute before sauntering in the trees to his left. I that minute, I put the safety switch on, took out my clip, and put in another shell to replace the one I just shot. I said "Jamie, throw some more logs onto the fire," and retreating backwards, careful not to look into the fire (affects your night-vision, mind you . . .). When the light got bright, you could see his white eyes reflecting the light--they must have more rods in their retinas than we do, for better night vision. I looked around the surrounding trees, and saw 8--FULLY 8!!--sets of reflecting eyeballs looking at us, a mere 100' away. The relatively short reflecting eyeballs were red, and the tall (we're talking 12' tall) eyeballs were white. I said "Jamie, go grab my (Ruger) 10-22 gun from my case." We were surrounded, I thought we were gonna die. I just got back, Thank God!!!! I'm extremely tired, because we saw bears every night around our three camp-sites. I fired six rounds to ward the bears off, and five to ward off Sasquatches (or whatever the plural term for "Sasquatch" happens to be). I thought for sure we were gonna die. I'm gonna write a book. Ayaq

I'm heading 200 miles up the Nushagak River to sleuce some gold with my cousin. I'll miss you guys and gals. Coupla people have been killed by bears recently, with another one seriously mauled. I'll have my semi-auto .30-06 with me . . . I hope to be posting in a coupla weeks, 'cause it'll mean I made it back alive. Love you guys and beautiful ladies. Ayaq Edited to add that I wish I could have one of you beautiful ladies to cuddle up next to . . . Ayaq

Sweet "A," then followed by another-cockle-dee-doodling-doo "A," you are so thoughtful, Sweetheart. Happy birthday, @concours, you rotten son-of-a . . . - - - . . . Lol. Hope it's awesome, bud. Ayaq

Oh yeah, Happy birthday, Boom-Boom-Boom, let me hear you say "aye-oh . . .aye-oh . . ." Ayaq

Oh yeah, Happy birthday, Boom-Boom-Boom, let me hear you say "aye-oh . . .aye-oh . . ." Ayaq

Holy Crikey, @tacobill, aka "Taco-Loco." Long time, bud. Ayaq

Is that frickin' Val Kilmer, @Spartacus, aka "______ (fill in da blank.)." Ayaq

Mr. Beers, sir, may your keggeth runneth over on your special day . . . Ayaq

Happy birthday, Las Lobo . . . "Viva, Las Lobo . . . Viva, Las Lobo . . . Viva, Viva, Las Lobo . . . ..!!!" Ayaq