hello again!

Well yes, we're back! Waiting for the weather to turn in Chignik can afford one with some time to catch up with fun things that have been neglected for too long. After our fun U-haul trip last summer through Denali and up to Fairbanks, it was just non-stop work and shennagins for an entire year, bringing us full circle and back to Chignik! Here are some of the highlights (all photos should be up on the pics link aside from our last 2 weeks out here):

July - August 2007 - Played at Liberty Bell camp, just east of Healy, AK on the Parks Highway, just on the north side of McKinley Park.

September 22, 2007 - Finally sealed the deal and got married in Copper Harbor, MI!

October 2007 - Hit the honeymoon road to Tuscany and the Cinque Terre in Italy, generously supported by our great friends the Della Libras. Our Chilean manager Michele and his family offered us their home and car for our visit and we were rewarded with delicious, one-of-a-kind meals and even finer company and travel suggestions. Many thanks.

November 2007 - To central Mexico for Joel to work on a project, and to Fairbanks for Jo, to tidy up a report.

December 2007 - In the Denver office for a bit before having a great Holiday in Summit County, enjoying the snow and a Rotert family reunion.

AND...We finally bought a home in Portland! Very small (722 sq. ft) but right in the heart of town with front door access to the light rail. Wish we could spend a bit more time here, but just the thought of having a home base is nice. Never thought our first home would be a condo but it's easy to take care of while we're away. We love it.

January - March 2008 - Down to Chile for some more mapping work at our Rio Figueroa project. Jo was sent back down at the end of the month through most of March while I worked on some other projects from home in Portland.

April - May 2008 - Up to Fairbanks to get the field season rolling, then back to Portland for a bit, on to Denver, then back up to Anchorage to gear up for the Peninsula project.

During our Denver visit it was announced that Metallic Resources will soon merge with 2 other companies. We're still awaiting news of our fate though an offer for continued employment is in the works. We're hoping we can keep the team together as we've come to love working with this group of people. We'll see.

And now Chignik for year 3 of field work. That's it! We'll try to keep you more up to date this summer and with our whereabouts, who knows maybe we'll have the rest of the summer off. eek.