Fishing and Burning Basket

Gosh it's been 2 weeks since my last post and I can hardly recall what I have been up to. I did start going to what we call the training room, a circuit training thing 2-3x a week an hour at a time. I despise workouts, never been a gym fan but this is not a gym. No machines, no pool, no come as you please. There's a few classes a week and you can't be late.

It goes by fast as you do various activities to work out different parts of your body for 30 seconds at a time. I hope to not only get in better shape, maybe get a little strong but to also get some energy as winter approaches. So far my abs are sore!

It's been rainy but still busy with events and bdays. We just had our 10th annual basket burning. "..experience of community interactive, impermanent art..." ""Follow the nose of your curiosity, the sparks of your imagination, and the desire of your hands to engage the natural world in a unique way, and deepen its mystery." 

I will be taking care of Kammi's two little ones for a full week. I suspect my next post will contain cute images of them :)

Click here for some boat trip/fish pix and huge ass basket burn on the bech.

Grace Ridge Hike Across the Bay

Jackie, her friend Megan and I set off at 9 am to drop off our gear and food at kayak beach yurt then the water taxi continued down to let us off at the South end of the Grace Ridge Hike. We hiked one way 8.9 miles, 3,100 feet up and down back to the yurt to camp the night. We started around 10:30 and got to the yurt at 7. We took our time, had lunch, rested in the meadows, picked and niblle on some wild low bush blue berries. Jackie had to be pulled away as she is a berry nut!

It was steep once you got near the top and a little muddy so i was mindful not to slip and fall back onto my friends. I was worried about my knee; it has been aching again this summer when i walk some times. Knee was fine but my heels burned and I was wearing the hiking boots I wore for a year all over the US...I borrowed one of Jackie's hiking poles, which I do not like to use b/c your hands are even less free for pix, but I am sure it helped.

The day was cloudy in Homer and started raining but it stopped and later in the afternoon we even saw patches of blue sky and some sun rays! I felt like i was on one of my out of country travels, which I use to do yearly and now its been almost 2 years since i left the US. There's so many great things to do in AK and even in Homer, but visually speaking this was the most epic for me. I would love to do this at least annually just  should get more in shape beforehand to avoid ache legs. Click here for pix.

August Wrap up

Dad is now back in NYC. We had a good few sunny days, the only ones I enjoyed this month! We got some fishin in, even river fishing. Dad says its good that we don't depend on what we catch. We got nada in the river. But now I got my own fly fishin rod so I best be learning soon :)

On the rainy days we did some errands, visited a huge art gallery that I never been to outside of Homer, and walkin in the light rain look at boats in the harbor; always a fun passing of time. It was interesting be a tourist in my town. Got to see it in a different way. We had dinner at a friend's house and dad ate a whole bowl of bear stew that I made!!!

It was neat hanging with dad as an adult and on our own. I noticed some of our similarities (past and current). Kinda got to understand myself better in a way. Even my friends said that after meeting him they understand me better.

Now I am off to an 11 mile hike across the bay that I wanted to do 3 summers ago and stay in a yurt with two chicas...Girls night in the woods!! Soon I will find time to rest :)

This album is a random collection of August pix that did not have their own album.

Bear Viewing with Dad

On Monday, I took off of work and again woke up around 6am. Headed to a float plan to go to Katmai NP where there is a large concentration of brown bears. Lots of fish to eat.

It was a long day. I kinda new what to expect but was not sure entirely they don't tell you about the cloudy/windy/rain atmosphere and that you will be sitting laying low on rocky beaches most of the time.

I had 2 pairs of pants, thigh high rubber boats, smart wool socks, foot heat warmers, some whiskey and I was still chilly mainly b/c of sitting a lot. However, we got to see 3 cubs, and big bears chasing fish.

No danger for us. So oddly calm I was b/c so close to a bear. These bears are in the wild and there not human trace so they do not connect us to food...they are just there for the salmon. Its neat not to be scared of them and to see them in their playful ways. So darn cute

Click here for awesome bear pix.. I did ok considering my lens goes up to 250 we were with pros who had lens up to 600.....

Seward with dad

Boy in 3 days with Dad we have seen a shit ton of wildlife and have been on the move all day long. To keep u with the daily big pix albums I will post a few times this week. I met dad in Seward Sat at 11am and we spent two days there.

Did a quick nice hike to a Glacier after lunch. After dinner he was pretty tired and caught up on sleep by 8pm. I walked around town a bit before callign it at 10pm. I am not use to waking up at 6am. aghhh.

Next day we did a water tour from 8am till 2. yeah lots of hours on a boat doing touristy stuff. Not what i normally do but thought it would be good for dad....he gets a little impatient and is not so into things as the typical tourist.

i kinda see how i use to be like him and how we are similar. Inpatient, don't get excited easily, and bored quickly :) But we saw so many puffins and i got some great whale shots....Also we had a very sunny day. The boat goes fast so out on deck was windy and chilly...Good start to a visit in AK!

Seward pix click here.

Camping Skilak Lake & Rafting in Copper Landing

Last weekend, I went camping one last time but got caught up in the rain at night time. The mosquitoes and no-see-ums, tinier than mosquitoes, were just terrible. No wind by the lake and the little no-see-ums got into the tent. 
 
It was actually warm even without the sun but I wore so many layers and clothing to protect my skin, but still managed to get bites everywhere. It kinda killed me wanting to camp again in AK during summer...we'll see. I got to do 2 hikes and pick some wild raspberries and see a bear print, owl, and beaver.

On Sunday went to Copper Landing for a scenic float in the rain. It was nice but 3 hrs with not much rapids was a bit too slow going for me.

 I am off to Seward this Sat to pick up my dad who will be here till Thurs night.

Summer Wind Down

The end of July seems like a close to an awesome warm summer in Alaska. It's been cloudy and rainy for days now, which has been nice as that keeps me home after work. I find it hard to find a balance here and summer is just maddening with the light and energy. I am still not use to the traffic we now have and in a way look forward to a relaxing winter and spending time cooking and chilling with friends.

I survived my work's 2 day music festival that is a fundraiser so I was heavily involved in it. Learned a lot and glad it is done. People always have fun but it takes so much work to make that happen. There were a few snafus like almost loosing our sound system in an accident but we got lucky and the show went on.

The weekend after was a huge anti Pebble Mine, save the salmon, music festival drawing 5,000 people. So to learn from these nearby events, I volunteered and helped a friend vend her booth. Saw tons of friends, did not party, and tried to sleep; so overwhelming. I don't care much for the music Alaska has to offer so next year I am taking it easy with all these music events except my work one. I'd rather be with close friends exploring nature.

I am still recovering as I have been working regular hours in between the festivals trying to catch up etc etc. I look forward to November when I finally will have some down time at work.  In 2 weeks I will take a few days off when my dad visits!

Click here for some July pix in Homer and festival pix.
Rose