May 31 2016 Clean or dirty?

That is so much our question when we first get here. We meant to venture out into the mud again today. But somehow, cleaning the shelves of mouse droppings won our energy.

How could that be? There is the tide factor - we want to be sure that if we make the investment in gearing up, expending the energy, and using the duct tape to get ourselves out to the mud flats, we have plenty of time to look for the anchors. And it was so windy! It's hard enough to keep our balance with both feet trapped in calf-deep mud, but with the wind blowing against us at 25 mph? Why add that handicap? And then there were the dogs - were they ready for another mud adventure like the last time? They both still seemed a little traumatized. Plus, we spent the mid day collecting our friend Phil from the airport. The original plan was just to drop his car off up there, but I hear that whoever is in charge of towing, is towing vehicles that are left for too long. So we went to collect him in person which had the obvious benefit of being able to spend a little time with him. So, mouse shelves won out.

The cabin will be downright clean in a few days and I'll get to spend the season not trying to remember whether I can dry my face with this towel or if it is one we haven't washed yet.

We picked up stuff at the post office - crew onsies for the new crew, new wader boots, a pair of waders, and three of the four fishing permits!

We aren't sure what is wrong with the white truck. Mark said that they tried a bunch of tests and the 4 WD seems to be working. He wondered if I remembered to lock the hubs. It's tempting to be insulted, but really, that's a reasonable question and not an impossible mistake. But yes, I did. He did say that the ... wheel bearing? was out on one of the wheels and it was causing premature wear on one of the tires. So he will tear into it and fix what needs fixing. Still, glad it happened early.

Next up: laundry, completing some Seattle work, GETTING BACK INTO THE MUD!!!