Camp Redington is now an Alaskan Hostel too

The new platform faces the Chugach Mtns

We've decided to make the campground and rental cabins into a hostel. We have two rooms with inside flush toilets that will be a women's and a men's bunkhouse for @23.00 a night for a bed, and then we can have co-ed bunks and family/groups inside gertees with outhouses for $18.00 a night. I'm even considering having a few beds available by the hour for the bicyclists who often stay only four or five hours and the dipnetters who just need a nice long nap before they drive all the way back to Fbks or Anchorage. We have one shower almost ready and today i cleared the area by my wall tent (which is still standing after 2 years!) and made a huge outside firepit with a space for a sweat lodge. Tomorrow I'll tear down winter gertee and set her up with the new roof cover and make it our summer kitchen which all our guests can use too. The fish camp will be managed by a local Indian woman who will also teach people how to fillet salmon and take them on trips down to the river to pick up fish out of the fishwheel. We can't sell our smoked and canned salmon for human consumption, but we can sell it as dog and cat food.

The Mercantile is already filled up with RVs. We're shooting for opening next weekend even though the museum won't be finished for another couple weeks. Now that Tim decided to put his 20,000 year old bison skull in it, he's back to wanting a solid wall construction. Heh.

I'm still thinking about holding a Freedom Festival, but it will be later in the summer, mid August maybe... it's the best weather and we need to iron out all the kinks here before I can organize it. I'm looking forward to meeting the people who are already planning to come up, I wish everyone could come.... we've got a nice spot now for people to hang out by the fire, eat, drink, talk and relax. Then when that gets boring we can all go hike a glacier or everybody else can white water raft one of our fast, fast rivers... this summer I will overcome my fear of river boats and try not to freak out on the Copper when I go dipnetting. Last year when I went out with Sam he said it was the choppiest days he's ever had on the river in 14 years as a boat captain. Weird how I was never afraid of sailing when I lived in Hawaii but I am on rivers.