I am fortunate enough to work for two fantastic partners at my law firm, Zimmerman & Wallace, here in Fairbanks. Andy and I have spent the past year getting to know them and their families, and have truly enjoyed the time we spend with them both. This weekend, Chris Zimmerman invited Andy and I down to his cabin on the Delta-Clearwater river. Chris is infamous around the office and amongst his closest friends for being an avid limerick-writer. He composes complicated lengthy limericks off the top of his head and can make any two words rhyme. It’s quite a talent. He even sends me text messages in limerick form. Grouped amongst his texts directing us on how to get to the Shaw Creek landing to meet him, he instructed:
Just hang out at the gate till I arrive!
I’m sure a short wait you’ll survive!
If anything untoward happens you!
Will be the first to hear, it’s true!
The limerick was quickly followed by a grocery list. At first I was a little concerned about this”grocery list” he sent me: 5 steaks and a 24 pack of Milwaukee’s Best. Turns out Mr. Zimmerman had quite a lot more than that in store for us, including more limericks.
Andy and I left early Saturday morning from Fairbanks and drove South along the Richardson highway. It’s the same highway we take to get to Wrangell-St. Elias. Chris’s cabin, like many Alaskan cabins, is inaccessible via car. We drove about 70 miles south of Fairbanks and turned off at Shaw Creek Bridge, which eventually connects to the Clearwater River, and met Chris at the boat landing. We brought aboard our gear, plus the 5 steaks and the Milwaukee’s Best, of course, and headed out.
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| Chris and Andy ready to go! |
Shaw Creek flowed into the Tanana, which flowed into the Richardson, which eventually led to the Delta-Clearwater. The boat ride in was about 45 minutes. It was beautiful and full of Alaskan wildlife, scenery and mountains.
The “Clearwater” River truly WAS! You could see all the way to the bottom. Grayling, the main fish you can catch in the area, could be seen swimming beneath the surface. We finally stopped at Chris’s cabin, located on the side of the river. It was cute and homey, with 4 bunk beds, a desk, complete with a iPad using 4G which explained how he’s able to email me at 3pm on a Thursday, and a large stove. It sat perched next to a wooden deck and beautiful wildflowers and blueberry patches. It was truly Alaskan and so much fun to see.
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| Chris’s cabin |
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| Chris on his boat |
Chris’s cabin also had a hot tub heated by wood. It was over 90 degrees the day Chris heated it up and I just couldn’t handle the additional heat from the hot tub so Andy tried it out. He said it was very relaxing. Chris said on colder days he climbs in there and watches the river go by.
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| Andy waving from the hot tub |
Walther, Chris’s dog, was also there too. Walther just melts my heart. He hangs out in the cabin on his own little bed and surveys the scene. Usually Chris brings him to the office and I get to see him during the day, but in the summertime Walther hangs out at the cabin and I don’t get to see him as much. It was fun to see his little doggy face again and give him belly scratches.
Chris has a good friend named Jim and his girlfriend Ann who have two cabins upstream from Chris’s cabin. They were really wonderful and kind people who let us use their second cabin (the “honeymoon cabin”) to stay in during our weekend. They also did all the cooking and grilling. They were hospitable and welcoming and a lot of fun to get to know.
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Jim and Ann’s deck complete with Chico, the Chihuahua
who will be described later. |
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| View from Jim and Ann’s deck |
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| The Honeymoon Cabin, our cabin for the weekend |
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| View from our cabin window |
In true Alaska fashion, our cabin was complete with bear deterrent:
Chris turned on our mosquito zapper in the cabin and lit us a fire to warm up the room.
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| Lighting the fire |
On one of the side tables in the cabin was a large almost drank bottle of Jim Beam whiskey that looked very old and faded. Andy asked Chris what it was and why it was there. Chris explained that at some point a bear had gotten a hold of it and mauled it. It had a gash in it from the bear’s claw and served forevermore as a piece of Alaskan decor in the cabin.
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| Bear was here. |
Jim and Ann’s cabins came fully equipped with their vicious watchdog, Chico. Chico was a blonde chihuahua, weighing a whopping 10 lbs, who barked at every boat, every person, every moose, every duck, every bird, and every speck of dust that passed by. He had this unfortunate habit of forgetting who you were 5 minutes after he saw you. I loved him. Just loved him. I won him over with ear scratches and he seemed to remember me.
Jim and Ann helped Chico maintain his image. He was referred to as the “attack dog.” Chico spent a lot of time patrolling the property, ensuring no bears or moose invaded us.
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| This picture was taken during his patrol. |
Jim and Ann’s cabin was beautiful; it had a large front deck and a spacious living room, kitchen and dining area in the front. The back part of the cabin had two bedrooms and a bathroom with a shower and sink. The cabin, unlike many in the area, had running water and kerosene lamps. The back room had a huge bear skin on the bed. Jim had shot it and had it made into a rug to be hung on the wall.
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| RAWR! |
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Ann: “Jim and I wanted to hang it on the wall but our wall wasn’t big enough.”
ALASKA PROBLEMS. |
Andy and I dropped off our gear at the cabin and Chris took us upstream to do some fishing. I had never been fishing before and Chris was very patient with me while I was trying to learn. He taught Andy and I the right technique and supplied us with all the gear and flies we needed.
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| Andy in his waders |
The first day, I caught two fish! Chris does entirely catch-and-release, which I was more than okay with. I didn’t want to watch the fish die and it was fun to be able to throw it back in. Chris was a great teacher and showed me how to cast the line with accuracy and placement so I could catch as many fish as possible.
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| Chris teaching me how to tie a fly. |
Chris was very proud of me when I caught my first fish. I finally unhooked the hook from the fish’s mouth and then proceeded to drop it on the floor of the boat. I started yelling “Chris it’s going to die!! I don’t want it to die! Don’t let it die!” to which Chris responded in his ever-so calm way, “It’s okay, it’s not going to die! Calm down kid!”
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| My first grayling! |
We fished that entire first day for hours. I was surprised at how much fun it was and how much I enjoyed it. There was a lot more strategy to it than I thought.
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| Just love that smile. |
We went back out on Sunday afternoon and spent the whole afternoon fishing then too. In between catching fish it was fun to just sit on the boat and spend time with Chris. We listened to show tunes, musical numbers, plenty of Tom Lehr classics, and even some Johnny Cash. Chris has spent many years in private practice and was a judge in Fairbanks prior to coming to Zimmerman & Wallace. He has great and interesting stories.
I’m not a beer drinker, but Chris and Andy enjoyed their share, and even came up with creative ways to pass each other beers while they were down/up stream. At one point Chris and I were on the boat on one side of the river slightly upstream from Andy who was standing in the river in his waders on the other side slightly downstream. The river was faster-running than it looked and instead of traipsing slowly across the river in heavy waders, Andy asked if Chris would “toss” him a beer across the river. Chris was happy to oblige: “Alright young Andrew, I am going to toss the beer upstream. It will float downriver to you. Make sure you catch it.”
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| Perfect toss. |
Chris’s aim was impeccable. It landed upstream in a perfect line to Andy and drifted directly into his hands. Andy exclaimed, “Mr. Zimmerman that was incredible! It drifted right to me! I didn’t even have to move!!” to which Chris replied, “Yes, I aim to please.”
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| Andy catching his beer. |
Andy was not as successful on day one, but in true Andy fashion he did not give up. He just got better and beat Chris and I on day two. He caught 4 or 5 fish that second day and had the technique down perfectly by mid afternoon.
We had a great time and just kept on fishing!
Andy and I had such a great time and were so thankful to Chris for including us in his secret hideaway. It was a relaxing and perfect weekend, and just what we needed.
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| Me and Chris |
A few days later Chris was back to the cabin. Andy and I wished we could go with him every weekend. He agreed in limerick form:
Well I’m headed up to look around,
Where fish and bears and moose abound!
I wish that you were here with me!
Also, of course, your bald hubby!
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This is really cool! <3
I love the pic of Andy holding his fish in the left hand, I could caption that :"okay you little slimy guy, I got you now!" I also love the last photo of Andy and Allison smiling into the camera, a "selfie" of course. I know G-Pa Huxtable could see you two the whole weekend!! He would have loved this trip for the two of you. Love MOM
Yes that is exactly what Andy was thinking! The fish kept stealing his flys so when he finally pulled one out of the water he was so excited.
We were thinking of Grandpa Huxtable the whole time, he was watching over us, very proudly, I'm sure!