Chapter 7

Our arrival at the camp was not what I expected. All work had stopped and everybody was gathered around the plane as it was tied up against the bank. Dad was, of course, the first one off the plane, having flown in the co-pilots position. He was met by an old man, who said something to him. The next thing I knew, they were hugging. Jenn leaned forward, looking out the door said, "That is my grandpa. What's going on?"

"I have no idea."

"Art served in the same National Guard Unit with your dad. He was one of their scouts." explained Tommy.

Once I departed the plane, Dad introduced me to Arrluk Oomailiq, who said "Please, call me Art." as he shook my hand. Dad was then introduced to the rest of Art's clan. We were informed that tonight we are having a feast in honor of Dad's arrival.

The next two hours were spent getting my Dad settled into the Quonset hut, which was too warm to my liking. Then showing him the mining operation and where all the cabins were to be built. Next we visited the camp site, where Art and Dad started to catch up on the years since they had last seen each other.

The feast that night was excellent. One of the special things they did for Dad, was to raise a canvas wall to reflect the heat from the fire, back on the people who were sitting in front of it. This way neither Art nor Dad got cold while they sat there on lawn chairs and talked long into the night.

Frank, Tommy and I took Dad back to the Quonset hut shortly after 1 AM. Tommy and I decided that it would be better to sleep in our tent, rather than brave the heat in the Quonset hut. It wasn't that the heat was really that high, it just we were use to not having any heat at all while we slept.

Sunday: Dad woke fairly early the next morning to my surprise and after breakfast, Art Sr. and Dad took off down river to go fishing. Two of Art's teenage grandchildren went a long to learn how to fish from the experts. Tommy said they went as guides and lifeguards, which I agreed with. Hey, I knew they would have fun, but they were both well past their prime. The grandkids were good insurance and peace of mind to the rest of us.

After the fishing party left, Art, Rob, Tommy and I viewed what had been accomplished while I was gone. The basin was bigger than I expected. They had added a small wooden float pier along the levee to tie the boats to. Fueling would take place down at the edge of the ramp. Rob said, "We should be able to handle between three and four planes without a problem."

I was about to object to what Rob just said, when Tommy added, "That's good. Then when they bring in supplies, I won't have to move my plane out onto the river." I just kept my mouth shut.

Rob explained they had used the bulldozer to dig the first part of the basin by pushing the sand and gravel to build the raised area for the Quonset hut and helicopter pad. They were now using the front-end loader and all of the hoppers to carry the loads over to be processed. Each hopper brought back a load of the larger rock to build up the levee. The problem was that water was now seeping in and they were having problems dealing with it.

"How much deeper do you need to take the basin?" I asked.

Rob said, "It would be nice to lower the bed of the basin another two feet minimum, since that would allow it to be five foot deep all over."

"That would be a good depth." agreed Tommy.

"Well then, let's rent or buy a pump to keep the water drained out while we work on it." I suggested.

"I will go arrange for one to be flown in this afternoon." stated Rob.

"How much gold is being recovered? Is it worth our hauling it over and running it through the processor?"

"Surprisingly it is. If we were doing it a business venture, I wouldn't bother, since we are only getting a quarter to a third of what we get normally. But since we need to separate the gravel anyway, I don't feel that's a problem at all."

"No it is not a problem. At least we are making some money while we are doing it."

Just as he was finishing up, a Cessna flew low overhead following the river. I could not make out the logo on the fuselage as it passed by.

"I hate to bring up another subject, but we have been buzzed by at least three different aircraft in the last two days since you left. One was a State Aircraft, so I think we can expect "official visitors" in the next day or so." remarked Art.

Tommy said, "That plane is from the mining company that wanted to buy this site. I wonder if they have told the state that we are running an illegal operation."

"Are we?" I queried.

"No, but an argument could be made we are, since we are running the gravel from this side of the river through the processor. I think that is very defendable. Besides, you own this property without restrictions, so they will have a hard time doing anything about it, other than asking us to voluntarily stop." commented Tommy.

"I agree." stated Art who then added, "Besides, by the time they get ready to do something about it, we will be done and it will be a moot point."

Rob, who had just walked up said, "The pump should be here just after noon and by this time tomorrow, we will be ready to allow water to enter the basin."

"Won't we have to wait until we get the ramp poured?" I asked

"No the forms are completed and we are ready to start the pour. We can use the bulldozer to scrape down the bottom of the basin and the front-end loader to fill the hoppers like we have been doing but instead of bringing large rocks back, they can bring back a load of concrete. We start pouring at the lower end. And it should be dry enough by tomorrow afternoon to take water." then he added, "The worst problem I see, is getting the front-end loader out of the basin before we flood it." stated Rob.

"That's no problem. We can use the winch and the bulldozer to help the front-end loader up the embankment. Having the bucket full and low, should help to keep it from flipping over." added Art.

"How are you planning to open up the basin?" asked Tommy.

"Run the back-hoe around to the other end of the basin, then remove the lower section of the levee. The hard part will be getting the hoppers up there, close enough for the back-hoe to be able to dump into the hopper." explained Art.

"Well, if worse comes to worse, we can dump into a wheel barrow, then run it up a ramp and dump it into the hopper. It will take us a lot more time but it will have the same effect by the time we are done." stated Rob.

About 7:30, I was starting to get worried about Dad. Then he, Art Sr. and the grand kids returned. All had fun, as the fishing was great, the weather perfect.

Dad seemed to be moving better. He watched the pouring of the concrete for the ramp and noted of how fast they were removing the gravel from the basin. Once we crossed over the river, he watched the gold processor for a while, then the concrete mixer. Later he went to bed, never once mentioning the amount of noise everything was making. When I checked on him fifteen minutes later, he was snoring.