Wet

Rain for the last few days. Almost chilly enough this morning for a fire. Actually, 47 is chilly enough so I lit one. Just for the cat's sake mind you, he stayed out all night again and was a bit damp when he came in. Asleep now in the spare bedroom on top of a blanket. He's down for the count (or the day).

Been catching up on cleaning and stuff around the house. Fixed my ipod, thanks for the hint Ted. Looking at a new camera, trying to decide if I want to go DSLR or just get a really good point and shoot. New Olympus has a 20 x optical zoom so I may go that way.

Alaska Summer

Well its July 20 but summer is being pretty shy about showing up. 47 this am. Been kind of wet and cloudy the last few days. Had a little sunshine yesterday about 7 pm. Took advantage of it and visited an alpine lake or tarn just above Independence Mine. Very nice evening hike with some new friends. Champ as usual chased marmots ( I swear the damn things call him) and turned the easy hike into a sprint probably covering five times as much distance as me. Fresh salmon for dinner. Amazing what you can find in the dumpsters around Wasilla.
Trip to Denali was a success. Saw Mt McKinley 2 days from Wonder Lake. Amazing view as you can almost see the mountain in its entirety from the ground up. Also saw bears, caribou, and finally my first lynx. A handsome devil to be sure.

I'm Back

Wow. The summer is flying by. Made it back to Alaska on June 24. Barely had time to unpack before my friend Frank from Seattle flew in for a visit. Great to see ya Frank. Also had a quick visit with Cossette and her family up on a cruise rail vacation. Quick trip to Seward for an overnight at Bear Glacier and surprise surprise the weather was great. Thanks again Frank for letting me and Champ tag along. Met Matt and Heidi, friends of Franks who run a water taxi out of Seward. They are a real nice pair and live on a boat full time.

Did Kesugi Ridge over the 4th with Jessica, Kwie, Elynne and David. Great trip but the last night's weather a bit wet. Actually had a thunderstorm with lightening and heavy rain. Hardest rain I've seen since I've been here.

Headed to the airport now to pick up Kellye and David, friends from Beaumont, Texas. Putting on my tour guide hat again for a few days.

Have a trip planned for Denali National Park next week. Mt McKinley claimed two more lives this week. Two guys died suddenly after summiting in separate instances. Both were doing fine and gave no warning that anything was wrong.

General Sherman

I made it to Texas. Amazing the amount of ground you can cover in a hurry if you have access to a jet. Its typical summer weather here, hot and humid with the threat of afternoon thunderstorms every so often. I've tried to get in a little exercise the past few days at the local track. Very sweaty outings. Probably not a good idea to hit the track at 3 pm but what the heck. When in Rome etc...Just keep remembering those days this past winter when it was 35 below.

The Gen. Sherman reference stems from an alleged quote he made about Texas after being stationed here after the war. According to Sherman, if he owned both Texas and Hell, he would rent out Texas and live in Hell, as it had to be cooler. Always like Sherman. Something about burning an entire city just seems so cool. Especially since it was Atlanta.

Headed to Garner State Park tomorrow. Hopefully the cool waters of the Frio River will revive me.

CIAO

GONE TO TEXAS

They say our forefathers would carve "GTT" in the doors of the homes they abandoned as they made the trek from points east to Texas. I'll forego the carving this time as I do plan on returning to Alaska. For the next two weeks I'll be working on my tan and rediscovering air conditioning as I visit family and friends down south. I may melt.

Swan Lake

Spent the last few days canoeing the Swan Lake system in the Kenai Wilderness. A great time for sure. Saw lots of loons, many swans and a momma black bear with three cubs. Beautiful campsite. Canoeing brought back childhood memories of the Royal Ambassador canoe outings on the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers. Portaging was harder than I anticipated; paddleing is easier than toting for sure.

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.