let's rondy!!

the anchorage fur rondezvous is happenin'!
this alaskan tradition dates back to the 1930s as a way to usher in spring (did you read that??? spring!!) and to coincide with the miners and trappers who were returning to the city with their goods- (really a town of about 3000 back then).

its a rather "politically incorrect" carnival- showcasing dog mushing (a main street in town is closed for the week and truckloads of snow hauled in) and dead animal pelts. seems that just about everyone here has a fur hat, coat or muff tucked away in the closet and pulls it out for this occasion. i will admit some of the native coats were amazing...

the family and i met r/l and l down at the festivities on sunday, where in 10 degree temperatures we checked out the snow sculptures, (we are entering next year), the fur auction (a true cultural experience) and then rode the ferris wheel, yes i said ferris wheel. did i mention it was 10 degrees?? people here arent quite right....



the dog mushing demo was very exciting and we also saw this thing called skijouring where you are harness yourself to your dog and he or she hauls ass, pulling you on your skis... wow. could i have gotten a ride out of porter in his younger days.

the rondy ends next week with the ceremonial start of the ididarod on saturday in downtown anchorage. the real start is usually here in wasilla (10 or so miles from us) but we have lost our snow pack so they begin up the road a ways in willow. we are thinking of heading up to watch next week.

now dont go posting nasty comments about the animal pelts. i know, i know. but although i was bewildered, and somewhat disgusted, i was also a bit amazed by what i saw. i am living in the last frontier and seems like things are just a little bit different up here.

home again

while i expect no one to feel even an ounce of sorrow for my situation, i must lament that an 85 degree difference in temperature is pure torture. upon my arrival home this was fairly traumatizing.
things didnt seem so bad when landing on the ground in mexico. the curtain of humidity and heat was a welcome change after a long, dark alaskan winter.








a good time was had by all of us in mexico this year.
this was the "neighbor trip". i met kellie, my friend and neighbor from the poudre canyon, and my very long time friend krys who brought along her friend and neighbor, karen. it also happened that one of my colleagues from graduate school, carrie, was down south vacationing with her hunky new beau.

there was a tremendous amount of smiling, sunning and drinking. the snorkeling was pretty good too!

akumal is growing, as is the entire yucatan penninsula. there are many new little casitas popping up all over down there. its still a very easy place to travel and the trip went off without a hitch. our gracious host roberto was his usual accommodating self and also got to show off his new grandson while we were there. he is a proud grandfather!

i took a detour through colorado on my way back and got to see so many of our friends. although it was brief, it was awesome. i miss all you guys so much!!

i have been back to work now since last wednesday. we are still seeing many cases of influenza A, although it appears to be tapering off some. we even had three staff members ill despite being immunized. i think i am safe due to residual tequila right now.

alaska has mucho daylight right now (almost 10 hours) and its been blue sky and sunshine, with temps in the single digits. we could use some fresh snow, but i am not complaining.
i am happy to be home to my family and despite what the thermometer reads, i received a very warm welcome.

signing off

or sit by, or dance by.

i am selfish and i know it.
my family is loving, patient and accepting.
and this makes me very lucky.

i will not be blogging for the next two weeks because i will be sitting in the sun soaking up every ray, like a little lizzard. ahhhh, hibiscus.




of course i will be wearing sunscreen, and a hat. i promise.
cheers!

check this out!

j and i saw this special on the mindless box known as the television recently. turns out that show wasnt mindless afterall. thought i would share with you.

this is a playpump.

this ingenious invention is changing the lives of thousands of men women and children in sub saharant africa.

the idea is simple: install a merry-go-round like device outside of schools and in community centers around africa. the device actually serves as a pump which is connected to an an underground well. the idea being of course, if you build it- they will come. let the kids out to play, and viola you have fresh, uncontaminated drinking water coming from underground rather than a surface source. this then serves as a sanitary, safe and accessible water source for communities.



africa is a country in which traditionally, women and young girls spend considerable amounts of time carrying water to their families. this simple system is designed to produce up to 1400 liters of water per hour at 16 rpm from a depth of 40 meters. (why didnt i think of this??)

some facts to ponder:

• water related diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide
• unsafe water and lack of sanitation is now the single largest cause of illness in the world
• the average distance a person living in rural africa must walk to a water source is five miles
• the average 5 gallon container of water weighs approximately 40 pounds

• just one flush of a toilet in the west uses more water than most africans have to perform an entire days washing, cleaning, cooking and drinking

not sold yet? check out the website or look for the special on the evil box. it was inspiring.
http:www.playpumps.org/main.htm

girdwood again

first, photo comments;
yes that is actually the ocean you see there behind jeff ("turnagain arm") how cool is that??? and, sorry r& l for exploiting you and your lovely girl here on the web for all to see but you all are so darn cute!

we managed a fine, albeit short day of crusty turns on the skiing hill known as alyeska. what a beautiful weekend it was. despite the wee one coming down with what appears to be strep, we had a fantastic time at "our weekend home" in girdwood.
whoops, wipe the drool. i am dreaming here.
the forget-me-not chalet is for sale, but i'd have to unload my left kidney to get it. it was a great place to spend a couple of evenings with friends.

the mountain is beautiful and reminds us somewhat of skiing grand tarhgee , and if you imagine real hard, it could be a steeper loveland. its all wide open and must be amazing to ski with fresh snow.
we only have ourselves to blame for not catching some of the powder they have had, as the turns have been the best in many years until the recent rise in temperature and rain.
now it is a crusty hell reminiscent of sugarloaf usa.

however crusty and hard, we couldnt beat the 30 degrees and SUNSHINE!!!! did i mention the sun was out??? i actually had to search for the shades (i am quite sure i havent had them on since september)
wonderful.

the mexico get-away is rapidly approaching. i can hardly stand myself and i know my family and co-workers cant wait to be rid of me yammering on about it.

life is good.