Navigational Discrepancies

Weather the past few days has been great. Tuesday I went on another outing with the Anchorage Adventurers Group. Five of us plus two dogs (Axle and Happy) set out from the Willow Creek Bridge on Willow Hatcher Pass Road on what is locally called the Purches Creek Trail. Beautiful day and really good exercise as we tromped about in the muck hoping to reach the confluence of Purches Creek and another creek. As the going was slow due to your feet sinking a foot into the ground on every other step, we just missed hitting our goal. On the way back we explored several alternative routes, some of them more than once, before rediscovering our original trail. Yes, if there is any one constant theme when I'm trekking its my old nemesis, the navigational discrepancy. As is usually the case (so far at least) I overcome and return home, albeit at 8 pm instead of 5. Champ is happy to see me and forgives me for not bringing him.

Prom night

The days are suddenly never ending. Got up last night and the cat was sitting in the big picture window staring out at the front yard which was still lit up...at midnight. Was at the gym Monday and half of the court had been decorated for a Jr. High school prom. Part of the decorations included black covers on the windows. Made me wonder how the teens handle all the daylight when it comes to matters of romance. I mean, do you go parking in somebody's garage just for the darkness factor. Or do you just wait until fall and then you can go parking right after lunch, or so it seems.

Painted my homemade furnishings the other day. Bright yellow to match my curtains. Like having the color. Could of used it this winter to brighten up the place.

Headed out to Nancy Lakes for a look at the place without all the snow. Lots of trees for sure. Champ and I hiked out one trail for a look at the backcountry camping area. As we hiked along I couldn't stop thinking that this was the place I would be if I was a bear. Luckily we saw no bears but the signs were abundant. By signs I mean bear scat. By scat I mean shit. We did see a moose on the way back, or at least I did. Champ was interested in something else and waltzed right by this lady. She was only too happy to pose for the picture above but for modesty's sake we didn't get too close.

EKLUTNA LAKE

Spent Saturday and Sunday at this beautiful lake. Saturday was a hike along the lakeside trail with the Achorage Adventurers Meetup group. Weather Saturday was perfect. Champ got to socialize with a couple of German Shepherds and a wire terrier. Nice day all around.

Returned on Sunday afternoon thinking kayaking was in order. By the time I reached the lake the wind was up and it had clouded over. Decided to leave the boat on the truck and hike the Twin Peaks Trail. About 2000 feet over 4 miles so it was a different workout than planned. Still a great day.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Let me start out by saying that I made it through the 3 day symposium with nary a misstep, despite being the oldest in my "pod." It was a great learining experience as well as a good refresher on handling a kayak in different conditions. Lots of time was spent on learning rescue techniques. Apparently once you enter the water of Prince William Sound or one of the other popular kayaking destinations, you have a limited time to get our before really bad things start to happen. So self rescue and or group rescue is an important skill. Really enjoyed the cold water immersion and Wind Weather and Wave classes. On the other hand, the knot tieing class brought back memories of church camp, with similar success. What can I say, I'm not a spatial thinker.

All in all a fun weekend. We even had a moose stick her head in one of the lectures although I doubt I'll be seeing her on the water anytime soon. Champ got to attend but spent most of his time sleeping in the truck. During lunch and on breaks he got to visit the dog park nearby and play with the other mutts. There must have been well over a hundred dogs of all types out as the weather was really nice all weekend. A little windy Sunday but no rain.

Hats off to my instructor, Bjorn. An ex California Tsunami Ranger, Bjorn is thought to be one of the top ten paddlers in this state.

I now know enough to be dangerous.

NEXT UP...SKIPPY THE BUSH KANGAROO

Beautiful sunny day here. Hope the weather holds out cuz I'm heading back to school this weekend for the Sea Kayak Symposium at Alaska Pacific University. Supposed to learn all there is to know (haha) about the sport over a 3 day period. Included is almost 8 hours of in water instruction so nice weather would be...nice.

If you ever wanted to visit Alaska and see one of the smallest creatures lurking about, you better hurry up. The cat has taken up the sport of Vole hunting and is having a banner year. Not sure how much of a dent he'll make in the population, but I thought I'd send out a warning just the same. He had two more piled up at the door when I got home this afternoon. Must be tiresome work since he's napping on the guest bed right now.

The Nenana Ice Classic wrapped up Wednesday night at about 10:30 pm when the tripod went down. It looks like there was only one correct guess (date, hour & minute) so that person will win about $300,000.

Whats up with Hollywood? Are there no more original movie ideas. Speed Racer. I remember watching that show on Sunday mornings when I was a kid. Whats next, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, The Movie? Shoot, I'd pay to see that one.

Coachspeak

Something happened today that brought to mind the old coaches axiom that "you can't coach speed." Meaning I guess that one has it (speed) or doesn't. In a similar vein the same is true for dogs. They either have it (whatever "it" is that makes them good dogs) or they don't. I'm thinking that Champ definitely has it based on what happened.

We got up early this morning so after lunch we decided to take a short nap before heading to the gym. Soon as the eyes started to droop, a gust of wind blew open the door. The cat departed for points unknown while the dog went out to investigate. Finding nothing he returned. No sooner had I resumed reading my book, he was back out the door growling. Very uncharacteristic. I hollered him back inside but he stayed just seconds before heading back out on the porch where the growling became downright ferocious. As I started out I heard someone pleading with him to "be a good dog." His growl in reply made me hurry outside. Seems as if a lady had started up the stairs but was stopped by her better sense. I took hold of Champ telling him everything was okay but he stayed a bit on edge. Turns out the lady was a process server looking for someone who had used this address.

Well, you can't hardly beat that. A dog that attacks process servers definitely has "it." What more could a person ask for? The fact that he's also nice to curl up with at night needs no mention. In fact lets forget I even mentioned that part.

Oh yeah, the corollary to "you can't coach speed" is "you can't fix stupid." I'm sure all you Ron White fans know what this one means.

You want fries with that?

I'm gonna go out on a limb and announce the arrival of spring here in Big Lake. Alaska. Temperature is staying well above freezing, the sun is shining more and more, the snow is gone, and the motor homes have hit the roads. Just took a little longer than normal for it to get here.

Speaking of roads, another sign of winter's end is the road construction getting underway. From what I've seen so far, looks like the Parks Highway is getting patched up in several places near here. Since it is the only north south road in the entire state, it stays busy all summer. Hope the construction doesn't lead to too much congestion.

One more jab at winter. It is easy to pack on a few extra pounds during the six months of cold. Too much food and not enough activity and BAM your pants shrink. I know of what I speak. Anyway, last few weeks I've been watching the eats and working out and generally staying active. Looks like I will not need to purchase a new wardrobe just yet. But yes, I do want fries with that. And pizza, and oatmeal cookies, and bacon, pancakes, and BREAD!