Autumn

We were blessed with a great weekend of weather. Saturday and Sunday were sunny and clear with temps in the low 50s both days. We took advantage and hiked to Eagle lake Sunday with the Anchorage Adventurers Group. A real neat area that I had not experienced before. Fall colors were stunning. A nice outing and I know Champ enjoyed the exercise. Once again, his hike was lots longer than the 12 miles the rest of us covered.

It's Official

Summer is now officially over. At least that's what the calendar on the wall says. The first day of fall and the chill already is in the air. Morning temps were right at 32. Sun is trying to shine and as I write this its warmed up to 41. Snow has been falling in the mountains for the past few weeks giving them a ice cream sundae look. Pretty soon they'll be a solid white. Wish I could send this weather down to the Texas Gulf coast so everyone recovering from Ike could enjoy a break from the heat and humidity. Also wish they could send me a couple of cords of oak from the abundance of wood littering the ground.

As I've mentioned before, we had a cold summer with only 17 days at or above normal temps. Everyone is curious as to what the winter will bring. We are down to just over 12 hours of daylight and the numbers are dwindling rapidly.

We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun...

But the sun seemed to last a bit longer down south. While Texas is gearing up for another hurricane, we are getting snow above 3000 feet. Looks like it will be a snow filled winter.

On the bright side, Sarah is back in Alaska so all is well. The billboards up here sing her praises. Kind of funny, like the mayor of Baytown, or Liberty, being on the ticket. If nothing else, it sure is interesting now isn't it. Obama or O Mama! Pays yo money and takes yo pick. Hillary is surely eating her heart out, don't you think? Bill, well thats another story.

Chilly Pete

Only had two days this summer over 70 so this is going down as one of the coldest summers in recent history. Spent Sat night sleeping atop Exit Glacier on the Harding Ice Field. Way below 70. Had hard rain, severe wind and the occasional snow flake....lovely weather. Felt good ...to get down. Saw bears, ptarmingans, marmots and the biggest porcupine I've seen. Pics to follow so stay tuned.

By the way, he was one of my favorite Rockets!

Sarah Smile

And she did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

East bound and down...

Getting slowly settled into the old routine now that the summer guests have departed. By that I mean I am sleeping till 11 and then watching the tv all afternoon. Okay, maybe not quite 11 and not all afternoon as I am managing to get some wood cut as well. Way ahead of last year so I feel pretty good. Wonder if it'll be colder this winter than last. 40 below would be kind of neat don't you think.

Watched the Iditarod dvd tonight. Mackey is one tough customer, but then again they all are. Looking forward to seeing who wins in 09. Still a Mackey fan but I have helped train Jeff Kings dogs so my loyalties are split.

Rest in Peace Jerry Reed.

And then it was quiet...

Whew, what a month August turned out to be. Had a really good visit with the HJS group. A weeks worth of backpacking with Doc and Champ followed up by Denali and Seward and the fair with TJ and her brood. Last but not least David Paula and the story lady were mixed in for good measure. I enjoyed seeing everyone and hope all had a good time. Eight people in my one bath cabin and everyone got along....who says you need a big house. Just got to remember to be the first one up for the bathroom, shower etc...

After seeing everyone off (kind of) at the airport Friday night, Champ and I grabbed some much needed sleep and then headed for the quaint village of Hope AK. Climbed Hope point Saturday and had a really sunny beautiful day. Larissa and Jessica and I then camped out on the river enjoying a dinner of reindeer sausage and smores.

Enjoying the labor day holiday by doing mostly nothing. Getting everything clean and dry and ready for next weekend when I will spend Saturday night sleeping atop Exit Glacier on the Harding Icefield. Sounds cold just typing it.