just because i can...

weekend fun

we had company this weekend, our lovely friends from seward came to visit. (minus rich- we missed you rich!)

we were invited with them to a picnic on a beautiful farm here in the valley. we also attended this event 2 summers ago in the pouring rain. although it was overcast, the skies held out for the event this year.

it was lots of fun and the kids had an especially good time.

the farm is home to 35 llamas.
they are strange creatures....
this one looks like she's sucking on a lemon drop.. or maybe she just got goosed...

we had a nice hike up near the mine.
i never tire of that place.
signing off for the weekend.
we have a new governor. good luck sean. your gonna need it for the mess you've been left.
sarah, cant wait to see which gig you take.
faux news, perhaps? we'll see how long "ive got no plans" lasts.

wordless wednesday

celebrating

its difficult to know exactly what to say after attending a gathering for someone dear who has died.

simply put, it was a celebration.

the abundance of friends, food and support that occurred yesterday was tremendous.

i can only hope it will be enough to sustain sharon, celaena and countless others in the coming weeks and months.

i think howie might have have been happy to see, there was much unadulterated joy in honoring his life.

wow factor

gosh. sometimes i feel like such an underachiever.......

have a read about this kid-
17 year old zac sunderland will become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe. he is sailing his last 100 miles right now.
sheeeeze.

trainspotting

the alaska railroad has been offering 2 for 1 tickets to alaska residents. so, i took the opportunity to meet some friends who were camping at spencer glacier and arrived via the chugach explorer.
the 15 minute ride was beautiful and the short hike out the the overlook was well worth it.

im afraid im getting a little accustomed to this unemployment thing....although this pink flower looks like fireweed, it is actually the shorter cousin known as river beauty or dwarf fireweed.

you can hike out and onto the glacier, but we didnt do that this trek.
the train came back by (with cold alaskan ambers) to pick us up at the whistle stop about 2.5 hours after we arrived.

it was a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

spyglass hike

above spyglass on the rim, looking down.
spyglass from below with rocket taking a dip.
amazing high alpine flora.

here are some photos from a beautiful hike we took yesterday. it was a lovely saturday. we hiked far above the gray that shrouded the valley.

the weather here has been amazing.  its almost too good to be true.

for 3 years now people have told us that summertime is the best part of alaska but we had grown weary of that promise. 

i guess they were right after all.

on the home front, i am still unemployed and waiting for the promise of a position in palliative care. in the mean time, i will start doing some per diem work for a np run clinic in anchorage this week. 

jaden is attending day camp and coming home exhausted. i think this means we are getting our moneys worth!

we are ramping up the house selling tactics and hope to find that buyer before school begins... but its a tough proposition these days. 

enjoy your sunday.

life

this is likely to be a downer post. so if your feeling in the mood for something cheery and uplifting, change channels.

yesterday, jeff and i and a whole slew of other like-minded folks, lost a dear friend. he was killed while riding his motorcycle home from work when someone pulled a large pickup truck into the oncoming lane of traffic.

the phone call came from his wife of 29 years and i am reeling from the news and immersed in that stage of grief known as denial.

howie was just 50 and full of life, wit and love. in fact, most times, he was larger than life. he was a reliable friend who, physically was an animal. he was always biking, skiing and hiking around this beautiful corner of the world.

it seems so trivial and simple to say, "why him? it cant be true, i dont want him to be gone."
but these are the thoughts circling my head.

i am deeply saddened and grateful to have had him as a friend.

i will miss margarita drinking, palin bashing, obama loving, music discussing and listening with you.

i will miss seeing you out in the moose range on skis or grooming the trail with that trusty old snowmachine.

i will miss seeing you in that old floppy eared hat, with the steal-your-face patch that has to be nearly as old as me.
i will simply miss you howie.

summer

summertime has made it to the north country in all its glory. 

ive been told that summer in alaska is a thing to behold, but in our time here, we had yet to experience it. 

as i gaze out into the yard and squint through the sunny haze, i assure you, this one will go down in the record books as hotter and sunnier than many in years past. 

i may be the sole person in the state who is smiling from ear to ear as i sweat. 

life is good.

jaden and i took off for two weeks of traveling to our old stomping grounds, aka: home sweet home, colorado. 

what was to be a week long trip, extended (gratefully) into 2, and my reward was coming back to an alaska i have never experienced. 

we had a blast playing with all our friends and family. 

we especially enjoyed;

suburban pool playing, firehouse touring, kitten playing,  bbq-ing, river sitting, kayak watching, tree house lounging, piano listening, wine drinking, poppy gazing, grandmother seeing, happy hour do-ing, rock climbing, snake spying,  scooter riding, super soaker using, city street strolling, trampoline jumping, girlfriend hanging, flower picking fun.

very sadly--

on one of our last days, i was schlepping my half-closed backpack from car to abode, when out jumped my trusty macbook. 

little mac landed with a sickening thud on the nicely paved driveway, and in that flash, all 10,000 photos i have taken over these past 3-4 years vanished.

 

hard drive shot. 

done. dead. gone. forever. 

needless to say i am trying to deal with my lazy stupidity. 

lesson learned. 

i own a passport (external hard drive).

i will now be using it, frequently. 

if i get even one "i told you so" you may be banned from this narcissistic sweet spot on the web.

speaking of narcissistic..... how bout that sarah palin?

what a bat-shit crazy quitter she is.

- but that's just my opinion.

and these are the few photos i still had kicking around on my camera from our journey. 

now get out there and take a hike or something!