Well, we're almost there! This Saturday morning - VERY early - I'll be boarding our new 'fast ferry' and heading to Haines. Steve Earle is scheduled to do his concert at 9:00 that night.

(BTW, we're told that the only reason Haines got him booked is because he is an avid fisherman and has big plans. Well, if he's after salmon and halibut he will probably not be disappointed. The Coho are running strong and they've been reporting great success with halibut. Not to mention, Kng crab. A friend's brother has been visiting her this week and they limited out on just about everything.)

I've been listening to a couple of his CDs and I'm very interested in hearing him. At this point he reminds me quite a lot of our own Buddy Tabor. Gritty, hard hitting, meaty songs. It's a given that if many Juneau people hear him, he'll have an attentive, appreciative audience. For whatever reason, Juneau is a tolerant community, tending politically from flaming liberal to solidly liberal. It's quite unlike most of the State.

There are a number of us going. We're taking our instruments and it will be great fun striking up the band, so to speak. Haines is about 100 miles away by water so we have lots of time. Going up: 2 hours and 15 minutes; returning by 'slow' ferry, 4 hours and 30 minutes.