Solar Power, Sea Lions, Set-Netting

Huntley Park, Gold Beach Oregon

Have had more inquiries into our Solar Setup in this campground than ever before.  So I figured that others who are not here ‘might’ be interested too.  As I have mentioned before, we have the Go Power! GP-PSK-120 120W Portable Folding Solar Kit with 10 Amp Solar Controller purchased through Amazon.  They have two portable versions, 80W and 120W.  The nice thing is that the controller, which is needed so you don’t over charge your batteries, is built into the back of the portable units.  All I do is set it up and hook to the batteries, and make sure it is “on”.  There are many options to connect to the batteries…either through ring terminals, clamps, and there is a trailer connector for those who find that easier.  We use the clamps, as shown to the right.  I did use the terminal rings, but I found it hard to keep the connector clean even though they come with a cover.  I ‘could’ tie down the cover each and every time I travel, but that is just a pain compared to using this clips. 

This is the “controller”, which is attached to the back of the solar panel.  It is simple in its use, but the newer models have an even better controller on them, and you can buy the newer controller to replace this one…which we are going to do.  The orange button is the on and off, and also used in selecting the type of battery you have…sealed, gel or flooded.  You need to have it on, with the red light in upper right corner lit, for things to work.  That part of this controller is fine…but the lights to the left…the Temp (temperature) light, the “PV” light, and the Batt (battery) light are the problems…they are HARD to see.  I don’t know if you can tell that the PV and the Batt are both “green” in this picture…imagine trying to see that outside, while the panel is pointed into the sun. The NEW controller, shown to the right, is a better controller, and provides much more information, including voltage, and current battery level, and percentage of battery capacity.  It is also much easier to see, according to the reviews.

To replace, you simply unscrew the four connecting screws for the red and black wires, remove from the solar panel (it is glued), glue on the new one, and connect the red and black wires.  We have been able to run on our batteries and the solar for the past three days, although tonight we ran the generator for 90 minutes to charge everything up to a higher level.  All the while we power two computers, two kindles, two cell phones and the aircard, besides the “stuff” that runs on electricity in the motorhome such as the refrigerator (propane but also needs 12 volt), the carbon monoxide sensor, the propane sensor, the toilet, and the lights as we need them.  So far our batteries have remained at or above 12.2 volts.

Took a walk up the river to where many people go swimming…but I beat the swimming crowd, except for the three sea lions out in the river.  I was told the day before that sea lions were seen along the river by a local…so I am taking his word on them being sea lions and not harbor seals.  I was not expecting to see them, but I heard the splashing and well, there were three of them.  Below you can see two of them together…never could get all three in the same picture.

As I got to the swimming area, I came across some set-net fishermen. (below)

Of course, last year in Alaska when Skruffy got sick, we took her to the Soldotna Animal Hospital and Dr. Meezie Hermansen saved Skruffy’s life.  Meezie is a Vet by choice, she is a fisherman…a set-net fisherman…by birth.  She still commercial fishes for a month each year…only a month because that is how long Alaska will allow the commercial set net fisherman to fish.  However, Oregon does not allow set-net or gillnet fishing…and that is when I saw the patch on this guy’s arm (picture right).  The group is counting fish in the river, working for the Oregon Wildlife Department.  They catch, measure, weigh and release.  As I watched, two different jet boat tours came by, stopped to watch, and asked how the “fishing” was going.  They said they were doing good in the morning, but the last six tries did not catch very much.  In fact, during the two attempts I witnessed, they only caught one Steelhead.

They gather the net up into the boat with one end “set” upon land (in the hands of one or two people), head up stream letting out the net, work their way over to the other side still letting out net, work their way back down stream letting out more net, and then head back to land still letting out net.  (In the picture above, they are headed back to land to the pickup truck.)  Once there, they attach the end of the net to the truck’s tow ball, and it drives up the bank about 20 yards.  They unhook, and then the truck backs up to the spot where the boat took off from and they attach that end to the truck, and it runs parallel to the river for about 20 yards.  After that, everything is done by hand, pulling in the net, trying to capture the fish.  Once captured, but still in the water close to shore, the fishery biologist (I am assuming he is a biologist) weighs and measures and lets them go.  I enjoyed watching the process…thinking about our “Favorite Vet”, and how she does this out in the rough seas of the Cook Inlet, Pacific Ocean, in Alaska, sometimes in very extreme weather conditions. 

Skruffy’s Doctor -- Born to Fish, Vet by Choice, and a Storyteller

Skruffy’s primary Veterinarian, Dr. Marie “Meezie” Hermansen, was born into a commercial fishing family.   Born in Soldotna, she was raised just 20 miles southwest from where the Animal Hospital is today.   Her family are set-net fisherman from way back…before Alaska was a state.   Her father Alfred was born in Alaska in the 1920’s, and was a proud World War II veteran, and he was a fisherman, as were at least one of his brothers, Herman.  Both Alfred and Herman were born and raised right here in the same area.  This place is the family's home, and Meezie’s entire family were raised as fisherman...it is what they are.  Meezie has openly said that she has been a fisherman since she got out of diapers.  Here is a quote from something she wrote that was published on the “The Alaska Salmon Alliance” website:

I have fished every Upper Cook Inlet salmon season of my life.  Forty-five years, minus however long I was in diapers.  I have never lived without fishing.  I have never lived without fish.

Seasons have been bountiful.  Nets sunk.  Fighting against wind and tide and regulations to get our gear in on time.  Long hours spent bent over picking sockeye after sockeye until my hands were sore, my back was sore, my being was sore — and I smiled.  It was the best kind of sore.

Seasons have been bleak.  Waterhauls and a narrative running from, “it’s still early,” to “everything is running late this year,” to “well, there’s always next year.”

Good years or bad, it has all been satisfying.  Fishing is not just something I do, it is who I am.  It is my passion.  And my identity.

Alaska State Regulations have hurt the fisherman’s way of life.  As a youngster, her family could fish just about anytime the fish were running…now they are limited to just certain days, with that calendar set in March, as if the regulator “know” in March what the fish will be doing in July and August.  Then there was the recent attempt to ban set-nets all together…until the Alaska Supreme Court declared that attempt to be unconstitutional.  Meezie expressed to us, and it shows in her poems and writings, that she fears that one day, her way of life will be taken away from her.

 
Meezie went to college in Oregon, and then Veterinarian School at Colorado State University, graduating in 1997.  She returned home to Soldotna after graduation to start the career she loves in the place she loves. She joined the Soldotna Animal Hospital staff in November 1999.  At work she is very professional, yet in a very friendly, unstuffy way.  She wears jeans, casual shirt, and (sometimes) adorns her white doctor lab coat .  About being a Vet she writes (again, from The Alaska Salmon Alliance) :

  

I strove to become a veterinarian, and it is a profession I am extremely proud of.  I love my work, yet here is the difference.  I became a veterinarian.  I was born a fisherman.  People ask what it is like, being a woman commercial fisherman.  I tell them I don’t know.  I am not trying to be cryptic; the truth is, I knew I was a fisherman before I knew I was a woman.

 

If this was not enough…Meezie is also a Poet and a Writer and a Photographer.  She is very active in the FisherPoets Gathering held each year in Astoria, Oregon.  From their website, they say that the gathering is:

A celebration of the commercial fishing industry in poetry, prose and song, the FisherPoets Gathering has attracted fisherpoets and their many fans to Astoria, Oregon the last weekend of February since 1998.

Meezie is also an author.  We bought her book, Brain Sand, and yes mom, I read it…most of it.  Me, the retired Librarian who could count the number of fiction books he has read on his hands and one foot, yet I would need another person to count the number of non-fiction books…but I probably would only need their hands to go along with my hands and feet. Does not mean I don’t read…I just don’t read very many books…I read lot’s of news sites, lots of websites, lots of blogs...just not books.  However, Meezie’s book is my kind of book…short, easy to read, deep meaning, and personal. (Click here for information on how to get a copy of her book)
 

We appreciate everything ALL of the folks at Soldotna Animal Hospital did for our Skruffy girl.  Had we lost her, or even if we do loose her still since she is not totally out of danger yet, we know in our hearts that she was in great hands, especially under the care of Dr. Marie “Meezie” Hermansen, a Vet, a writer, but most of all, a fisherman.  Frankly, we find you to be an amazing person!  Thank you so much Dr. Hermansen…err…FISHERMAN Meezie Hermansen.  We love ya…good luck with this year’s harvest…with every year’s harvest.  May your nets be full, and we hope that the politicians and regulators will allow you to live your life, that you can always be you.  And keep taking care of all those puppies and kitties and anything else that comes through the doors of the Soldotna Animal Hospital.  And most of all…thank you for that kiss that I got Saturday when I got back from the store…the first kiss that Skruffy had given me in many days.  I look forward to many many more, and we have you to thank for that.

Bubba, get out of the picture, they want “ME” to sing!

     

That’s our Skruffy this morning (Sunday) telling Dr. Meezie THANKS!

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If you want more information about Alaska set-net fisherman and how they catch their fish, click here (this is a typical set-net family).  And remember, this video was done on a clear, calm day…but it gives you an idea of the work involved. Now imagine doing this in a storm…with high winds…with the hours counting down before you have to have your nets out of the water and catch up on the shore.  Also, these are commercial fisherman…their harvest, as that of a farmer, is sold and becomes food on the table for you and I.

Also, here is a video of Dr. Meezie reading at the FisherPoet Gathering a few years ago.  There are a few others, but the sound on this one is the best I could find.