Greetings from the Cripple River Gold Camp! There is an oriental curse, “May you live in interesting times.” There is an oriental blessing, “May you live in interesting times!” This year at our camp has been an interesting year. First, the severe storms of the past year left a good layer of rich gold bearing black and garnet sand on our beach. Then just a few days before camp opened for the year, another small storm came up and dumped more sand on top of the ‘good stuff’!

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Greetings from the Cripple River Gold Camp! The weather today is partly cloudy with intermittent sunshine. Last night we had a brief rain that settled the dust in camp, and chased the mosquitoes away. This year we really haven’t had many mosquitoes, and that has been very nice. As I sit here writing I hear the large ATV convoy to the Trommel Camp roaring out of camp with the Massies; Perry, Sandy, and Georgia leading the way.

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Greetings from the Cripple River Gold Camp! Our beautifully bright and sunny weather continues! Yesterday a small herd of Musk Ox (or oxen as both are said to be correct) heard from a traveling reindeer that we had the most tasty ‘ox food’ in all Alaska growing on the tundra covered hillside just across the river from the Cripple River Camp. Being Musk Ox with delicate palates they decided to check out our ‘Tundra Buffet’. Donna Fairless, our “animal finder extraordinaire” came to the chow hall just as the lunch bell was about to be rung, and alerted everyone that “The Musk Ox are here!

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Greetings from the Cripple River Gold Camp! This morning at 5:00 a.m., I peek outside my hooch to check the day’s weather, and find the day is absolutely beau-ti-ful!!! I dress quickly, eager to take a walk. Golden rays of sunshine light up the entire countryside for as far as I can see. The bright sky has a few glistening snow-white, ‘poofie’ clouds lazily swimming around in a veritable sea of blue, and the air is filled with birdsongs coming from every direction.

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Greetings from the Cripple River Gold Camp! Today it is still raining, as it has been for the past few days. The rain goes from a fine gentle mist to a vigorous downpour then back to a mist. All the dust is being washed from the sky, out of the air, and off of the flowers and plants so when the sun appears again the newly washed colors of the tundra will have a genuine shimmering glow.

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Greetings from the Cripple River Gold Camp! The weather is PERFECT, warm and sunny, with a light breeze to help blow the little flying insects away. The cold wind went back home to the North Pole after taking a short vacation at our camp. Or maybe Santa Claus is planning to recruit some new reindeer for his sleigh. With all the reindeer seen near our camp maybe he sent the North Wind down to scout out likely prospects! Think of it, next year we may have a Cripple River reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh.

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Greetings from the Cripple River Gold Camp! Many people ask me, “Where exactly is the Cripple River Camp?” So this year I wanted to give you some of the particulars. Our camp is located twelve miles west of the city of Nome Alaska. Nome is on the Bering Sea on the south coast of the Seward Peninsula facing Norton Sound, and has a population of 3505 residents in an area of 14 square miles of land. Interestingly enough, the city of Nome is located in western Alaska just 102 miles below the Arctic Circle, 539 air miles northwest of Anchorage yet only 161 miles east of Russia.

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