Memorial Weekend @ Byer's Lake - Part II

Scenic pictures are at full resolution again. They're definitely worth looking at in the larger view - altho nothing really compares to seeing it in person... =)

So Sunday, was another absolutely *fantastic* day camping. A nice day for canoeing and hiking... our group did some of each. The hike around the lake ended up taking longer than I expected. It's supposed to be 4 or 5 miles, which is not a big deal - I've done charity walks about that long and they only took me a bit less than 1 and a half hours... but this is not paved walking trails. And we added in a side-trip to Cascade Falls, and then above the falls... so the whole thing took approximately 5 and a half hours and was probably more like 6-7 miles. It was *so* worth it!!

Turns out I should probably invest in some hiking shoes. The tennies worked okay (in that I didn't fall or twist my ankle or break any appendages), but I'm told hikers will help out a lot. They may not cure the utter, uncontrollable death-vise panic I sometimes experience, but being more stable in where I walk might ease things a bit. I only cried like a baby twice on this hike - but I didn't wet my pants and I finished the entire thing. =) Who knows... If I'd had hikers, maybe I wouldn't have cried at all... altho I'm sure that I'd still experience the panic - maybe it just wouldn't be as extreme. And then if I continue to do more of this stuff (which I'll have to do, since I will have invested $$ in the boots and I shouldn't be wasting my investments), the panic will ease to just dread and then dislike and eventually to a non-event. Hmmm... something to look forward to... =)

When we got to Cascade Falls, it was really nice. Pretty, but also cooler from the water spray and a breeze. Greg climbed into the middle of the creek on some rocks to have his picture taken... when he made his way out, we found that one of the rocks had gashed his leg (bad rock!!) and he was bleeding profusely. Fortunately, John was carrying emergency supplies.

On the rest of the hike, one of our songs was "I am stuck on Kotex, 'cuz Kotex's stuck on me!" I'd heard of having pads in the emergency supply kit, but never really thought of it. Now, I'll have to make sure we always have some in there. The only problem was the sticky part was on the wrong side. So we used a few bandaids to attach the big blood sponge to Greg's leg.

Thought this might cut short our trek, but not so. Greg's the one that pushed to continue to the site above the falls. And the view was worth everything we did to get there. He had his tripod and the good camera, so we were able to take a group shot with McKinley in the background. I'll have to post that one - maybe on Facebook - when he's done downloading all the pics he took.

Not being a regular hiker (nor a boyscout), I wasn't as prepared as I should have been. Thanks to Todd we had some energy bars & a little water, and thanks to John we had the emergency first aid kit. I'm thinking that I'll get one of those camel packs (to go with my new boots) and stuff the pockets with some trail food and first aid stuff. That way, I'll be ready for any non-serious event I may encounter...

The rest of the hike was a breeze. We passed Beaman's Cabin - built in 1959 (I think), it's not really a great place to stay... but I suppose it'd be better than nothing. We arrived back at the cabins parched, hungry, tired, and with sore feet (our dawgs were barkin'!!) but satisfied with the adventures of the day. We crossed 11 bridges, 8 boardwalks, and 11 snow packs throughout the entire trek; in addtion to seeing squirrels, little chickadee birds, and swans; the falls, the cabin, and The Mountain. A Grand Adventure, indeed!

Spent the rest of the day visiting, playing games, and enjoying the company of good friends - exactly the way a good campout should end.

Packing up Monday morning went faster & easier than I anticipated, thanks to all the people that had water vessels. Between Brian's, John's, and Tony's canoes, just about everything made it across the lake. Greg took a bit in his kayak, and the rest we hauled out over the trail. We were supposed to be out by noon, but things went so smoothly that we were on the other side and packing up the car by just after 10am - a huge relief, as I was worried that the packing & trekking out part was going to be miserable...

Since Monday was Memorial Day, before going south we headed up the road to the Alaska Veterans Memorial. A chance to take some time to recognize the blessings I have because someone else was willing to sacrifice for the benefit of others.

Side note: We recently had dinner with Greg's dad, who has been doing some work in Afghanistan. It was interesting to hear about the conditions of the people and how he lives while he's there. It makes me appreciate the luxuries that I'm surrounded with every day. I love having running water and a flushing toilet; I love turning on the tap and getting sanitary water - and more, filtering my sanitary water to have even more refreshing drinking water; and ice cubes - I really do love my ice maker; and being able to get away for a weekend of camping with friends; buying my fruits & meats in a grocery store; and this way of living - that I enjoy and sometimes complain about, but really wouldn't trade - was made possible by the sacrifice of others. I am thankful and humbled that there are those in the world willing to put themselves in harms way to protect the freedoms of others, whom they don't even know.

We stopped in lovely downtown Talkeetna to get lunch before the long drive home. Mountain High Pizza Pie won the vote for where to dine, and it was mighty tasty. Spent a little time wandering around to see the shops and get some treats, then headed down the road towards home.

There's a pullout outside of Talkeetna that has a great view - and The Mountain was out for us again. Different angle than what we'd had all weekend, but majestic just the same. This really is going to be a weekend that's hard to beat.

Memorial Weekend @ Byer's Lake - Part I

I have so many fantastic pictures that I'm going to break this post into two - just so I get to show off more of the eye candy we enjoyed over the weekend... I left a lot of the scenic pictures at full size instead of compressing them, so feel free to view them full screen - it's worth it! =)

For the first campout of the season, we headed back to Byer's Lake. I wasn't sure I was going to like it - last year was cold, with lots of snow still, and I couldn't sleep because my nose & toes were frozen... (you can read about it here). This year, we rented two of the cabins. First time I've been cabin camping - we still hauled in too much gear. Having to prepare for all the different possibilities translated into lots of extra stuff. I took two sweatshirts, a jacket, and a vest - could have left half that home. Took two different propane space heaters - never even used them. Somehow, even packing lighter than normal (no tent, no blow-up mattress on a frame... we really rough it when we camp...), the car was still jammed full of stuff.

To be fair, the kayak took up a good portion of space, and we don't normally pack it around. It's a put-together kayak, not the hard sided kind. So it comes in two green duffle bags, and takes 20-30 minutes to put together. Why would we need that? (Aside from being at the lake, I mean...) Well, the cabins are across the lake. There's a service road to them, but it's not open to vehicles. So we either hike in all the gear, or send it across the water. Fortunately for us, there were several boats in our party. Canoes definitely work better for hauling coolers & action packers - if we only had the kayak, we would've had to pack that stuff in over the 1/2 mile trail. (Oh! And Greg set up a geocaching event in the middle of the lake on Saturday - definitely needed some kind of watercraft for that...)

We couldn't have asked for better weather. And the views from the cabin were just... stunning. It was *great*! There were still spots of snow, but nothing like last year. I woke up Saturday morning (warm & toasty!), stepped outside the cabin, and just had to spend some time contemplating the beauty surrounding me.

Check out the trees reflected in the lake (in the picture just above) - it's almost a perfect replica. I caught this shot when I was up early. I don't think the water was quite that calm again all weekend - but we had plenty of tranquil waters for rowing the boats. And the white mountain in the background that towers over all the others is Denali (aka Mt. McKinley). It's a fearsome, awesome mountain - and it's not often that we get such clear views... Recent news reports are saying that they're stopping the search for a climber who is lost on The Mountain. Been looking for him for more than six days now, with no sign. A beautiful, treacherous, alluring thing of grandeur. And Greg is in its spell... first it was just taking pictures, but now he's talking about someday climbing it...

Saturday was a lovely day! We had an afternoon rainshower that lasted all of maybe 15 minutes, and the rest of the day was blue skies and sunshine. Spent the day visiting and enjoying the company of friends. This is one trip that's going to be hard to beat. May this be the harbinger of sunny skies and a nice summer...

Mighty Fine Views

Another fabulous weekend - yay! I participated in the Amblin' for Alzheimer's fund raising walk yesterday. A sunny morning, with a bit of a breeze - I don't think you can get better weather. It was a nice walk, and we even encountered wildlife along the way.

Moose a few feet off the trail

I've never been to Kincaid Park for more than a few minutes - mostly to pick up Greg or drop him off as he's off on another adventure (geocaching, bike riding, etc.). I've heard it's a great place to do lots of different things, and yesterday proved it's great for walking. The trail was wide and paved, relatively easy - although the uphill parts were more of a challenge for me.

Display of bones

When we finished the walk, we explored a little of the area around the chalet (which I recognized from one of the legs of the Amazing Race a few seasons ago - where they're in Alaska and have to go snowshoing). I'm not sure why they have the bones display at one of the lookouts, but it's pretty cool. And a fantastic view of Sleeping Lady. (I left this picture at full resolution, so if you click on it, you'll get a better view.) You can see that we don't have leaves on the trees yet. What doesn't really show in the picture is that we do have buds - the Green Tree Haze is in full bloom. I expect that in about a week or so, we'll have full green... yay!!

Sleeping Lady

After the walk, we had lunch at Moose's Tooth, saw the movie Wolverine, I took a nap, had dinner, and went to see a concert: Louden Wainwright III and Hot Tuna. A very eventful - and fun - day. Today is more relaxed, but nice too. I'm going to call my mom to wish her Happy Mother's Day and chat for a while, and we'll be taking Greg's mom out to dinner. A lovely way to finish out the weekend...

Brother Dave

Dave came to visit me for a couple days on his way to Dillingham, where he's going to be working for the summer. He spent the winter going to school for architectural engineering. Two semesters down, a few more to go. And he's got a 3.9 GPA - way to go, Dave!!!

He came in Monday afternoon and had to leave Wednesday morning. Only a couple days for visiting, but it's better than nothing - especially since I don't see him on trucking runs any more. I suppose that's good and bad. Good, in that he's out of trucking - better for his health. Bad, in that I don't get to see him nearly as often as I used to. So I'll take what I can get.

I dragged him out for a walk on Monday night, so rewarded him with dinner out on Tuesday. I'm really proud of all his hard work - and looking forward to another visit in August!! =)

Before & After

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous for the past week, and today was no exception. I was on my own for the day, and decided I just couldn't spend it sitting inside. But what to do? I decided that I'd rake the lawn. Get in a little exercise (in the form of manual labor), spend the day in the sun, and get rid of the leaves in the back yard. A sure sign that Spring is finally here - yay!!

Raking is dirty work. I mean, normally it's dirty - but when you add in moose poop and volcanic ash, it's even dirtier. But it was nice to be out in the sun, and there was a lovely breeze to cool my sweaty brow (and blow the ash away). The yard doesn't look all that big in pictures - or looking down on it from the deck. But I swear it grows when you get down into it - especially if it's for raking. Just like the driveway grows when there's shoveling to be done. Anyhow. It took me about an hour to get the leaves piled up. I know Greg will be jealous, so I saved the bagging for him to help me with. =)

Under all the leaves and dirt, I found buds in our perennial flower bed. This means I'd better start thinking about my flower pots and the annual flower bed up front...

Time to Ride

James has been great about helping us with some of our big house projects (like building the shed - see here, here, & here for the recap). In trade for the already done projects and potential help when we get around to remodeling the kitchen, we offered up my non-working motorcycle (that we've had for several years now, and I've never had a chance to ride). Sounds like a lame deal, right? Apparently it was okay to him, as he accepted (and it was *great* for me, since I got out of the grunt work ;) ). The cycle has been in the shed (that he helped build) over the winter, but the boyos pulled it out this weekend to see what needed to happen to make it run...

Looks like it went pretty smoothly - they were able to get the garage cleaned out (at least enough to work on the bike) yesterday, and after some puttering and wrenching and whatever else happens when you work on bikes, I heard deep rumbling from the Man Domain.

Since Greg is the only one of the three of us that has recent experience riding, we made him take it out for the first spin. But then, since it's James's new toy, we figured it'd be nice if he could go for a spin too. So we found extra riding gear, got him set up, and away they went. Now Greg will have a riding buddy... =)

Saturday Stroll

Greg & I participated in the Anchorage Heart Run yesterday. Greg did the run, and finished in time to do the course again - this time walking with me. While we were waiting for the start of his race (runners started 30 minutes before the un-timed portion of the race), I noticed that people were hanging gear anywhere they could before the run. Got a picture of one of the "coat trees" around the area. =)

I tried to take a picture as he was crossing the finish line, but my camera was too slow to turn on and get the shot - so I ended up with a picture of random people and the time, which was 9 seconds after he crossed the line. He finished the 5k (3+ miles) in 29:01. It's the first "official" time he has, and he'll use it as a baseline for the rest of his marathon training. (The Mayor's Marathon is in June.) Someone else took a great shot as he crossed the finish line - it's now his Facebook profile picture.

The weather was nice. Particularly, it was NOT rainy or snowy - which was what was predicted earlier in the week. It was rather chilly so I kept my jacket on, but that just made it so I didn't overheat as the walk commenced. There were several thousand participants - it was fun to see all the people out on a nice Saturday morning, supporting healthy hearts.

As we walked the course, there were entertainment stations at various points. A school band playing music in one spot, and belly dancers at another.

Second walk of the season down. I just spent a little time online looking up dates for the other walks to get them on my calendar. There's the Anchorage Visitors Industry Graze (where you walk to different feeding stations - yay!) on May 1st; the March of Dimes walk on May 16th; the Alaska Run for Women (in support of Breast Cancer - I do this one for Aunt Carol, and this year I'll be adding Greg's mom as a survivor) on June 13th; the Walk to Whittier on June 14th; and the Light the Night walk (love you M!) on September 11th. I'm sure there are loads more walks scheduled throughout the summer, those are just the ones I've done in the past.

Let the walking commence!! =)

MS Walk = Beginning of Spring?

Jeannea is here for a few days before she heads out to Dillingham for the summer. We've done lots of visiting, and today we took her along for the annual MS Walk. I love when it gets to be "walk season" in Alaska. That means that we're heading into the Spring/Summer months - the best part of the year!

It's a chance to get some exercise that's not at the gym, which is much more enjoyable. It's also a chance to get together with people that I don't see all that often and chat as we make our way around the course. Today was a *lovely* day - considering that it's still April, there's snow on the ground, and Lake Hood was still icy on top. But the sun was shining, there wasn't much wind, and we had good company.

One of our walkers

Taking a break

Greg ran the course (twice) instead of walking - still prepping for his marathon run - so he's not in the group picture, as he wasn't quite done yet. Next weekend is the Heart Run (I'll be walking), and soon we have the March of Dimes walk and the Women's Run. There are more - just about one every weekend from now until September sometime - but those are the ones I've done & can remember. Yay walking! Yay Spring!

Anticipation

I've been griping because it's April already and we haven't even broken 40 degrees. I mean, come on already! Give a girl a bone! It's not like I'm asking for 80 and sandy beaches... I just want a little warmth. In the spirit of anticipating Spring (and keeping our sanity), we decided to get ready - or at least get our feet ready for sandal weather. Pedicures, here we come!! =)

Sara, Stacy & I started the day by going to breakfast, then headed to the salon. Had to kill a little time, since they weren't open until noon, but it was *totally* worth it!

My last pedicure was in September. All the color from my big toes had grown out, except a thin sliver at the top. The scrubbing tickles and it's hard to keep from twitching my feet. But the massaging is just *lovely* and I do feel a little more patient as I wait for Spring... Can you guess which color goes for which person? I love the little flowers - they're so... happy. =)

We spent the afternoon doing a bit of cleaning so we could have guests over for dinner & game night. Sara was super helpful, vacuuming & doing dishes. She even vacuumed the stairs, which looks like it might be a dangerous occupation...

Looks like there were a couple hats laying around... Thanks, Sara, for staying safe and helping out!! =)

Black Violin

Yesterday was a great day! Fridays are always good, since it means the end of the work week and the beginning of two whole days where I can plan my own activities. This usually means sleeping in, probably some cleaning (bleh - not fun, but necessary), some playing on the computer, maybe some shopping... you get the idea. I'm master of my own time for two whole days. Yay!

Got a little sidetracked there... anyhow - yesterday was great because it was Friday. Also good because Sara's coming to visit for a bit before she heads to Valdez for the summer. ALSO good because Greg's taking me to an Event to celebrate our anniversary. It's a day early as the anniversary is actually on Saturday. He got us tickets to Black Violin - a group of three young men that do interesting things with music. Two play violin/viola while the DJ mixes it up. It's super high energy, and just cool how they mix classical music and hip-hop beats - or hip new music is redone on strings with classical influences.

The pictures I took didn't turn out very well... but I suppose that's okay, since we weren't supposed to be taking pictures anyway. I was like a sheep... "everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn't I?!?" At least I turned the flash off, so I didn't potentially blind them. (Apparently that also helps the camera to NOT focus on the top of the head in the row in front of you - as I noticed the gal in front of us trying to take pictures, but what showed on her screen was the back of the seats/heads in the next row up...) Greg got seats up front - this is the closest I've been to the stage *ever*, and it was fantastic!! Apparently they were front-row seats when the tickets went on sale, but the venue added a couple rows later where the orchestra pit would be. Still the best seats I've had at an event, and it was *loads* of fun! More like a rock concert than a violin performance... =)

The group comes from public school education & training, and focuses on youth - letting them know that with hard work and perseverance you can do anything. A really positive message and nice that some quality entertainment is giving back to community. I checked out their web site - they're playing at Everette Community College in Seattle, WA tomorrow, and at Utah State University on Tuesday. Anybody close should really consider getting tickets - definitely two thumbs up for the show, it's worth it!!

Spring? What Spring?

I'm still waiting for it to warm up... I am grateful that the days are close to 30 - sometimes above, sometimes below, and that's loads better than a month or so ago. But March is almost over. It's supposed to be warmer. You know, sunshine... melting snow... I'm not being too greedy. I'm not asking for green grass and leaves on the trees (yet). I'm just wanting my world to warm up. Here's what this morning brought...

When I was brushing off the car this morning, the last of the rubber came off the old wiper blade on the passenger side. Fortunately I had the replacements in the car, just hadn't put them on yet. I decided I'd only change the passenger one since I'm running behind (again). I found a latch to release the old blade but for the life of me, I couldn't get it off. Didn't matter which way I flopped the blade or how I wiggled it, it wouldn't come off. So then I decided to try the driver's side. Took me less than a minute and I had it off. Must be because the mechanism was totally backwards from the other side. That and I just happened to accidentally pull down after unlatching it so it popped right off. So I was a bit late(r) to work, but my new wiper blades are super cool!! (Either that, or I've actually needed blades for quite some time and am just impressed with the way the rest of the world sees things...) Now I've got to replace the one on the back window - so I can see behind me just as well as in front. =) Yay, new blades! Boo, snow!

So what's that Spring saying: Out like a lion, in like a lamb??

Whirlwind - The Return

It's hard to believe the weekend is over already - even though I know that regular weekends go by super-quick, and extraordinary weekends would therefore go quicker. I'm trying not to think about having to be at work tomorrow morning (a thought I struggle with every Sunday...). =) Greg & Sheri made the trek to the storage container to get the couch, while I stayed at the apartment to pack (and to sleep a little longer).

From there, we split the group. Sara had lots of things to get done before work, so she stayed home while the rest of us headed out to Puyallup via the lighthouse that's in the girls' neighborhood. Greg got a cool picture of the (rather plain) lighthouse, with a smiley faced tree in the foreground. Somehow I missed that entirely. We hooked up with Holly & Corey for a late lunch at the Olive Garden. (I've yet again heard rumors that we're going to get one - but I'll believe it when I see it, I guess...)

Sheri took off after lunch to run some errands - we'll hook up with Sara & Sheri on the way to the airport for what was going to be dinner, but will instead be desserts (since I was full of bread sticks and salad). Anyhow, Greg got in the rest of his shopping, and then we found a cache in a nearby park to give Holly,Corey, and the boyos their first find.

It was nice to spend the afternoon with them. I only wish we'd had more time. I always wish we had more time. More time for visiting, more time to spend with family, more time at the museum, more time to watch the leaves bloom.

We made it to the airport about an hour before the flight. Were intending to be there sooner, but we spent too much time visiting. I'd rather spend the time visiting than sitting in the airport reading and waiting. We were lucky and made it through security and to the gate with plenty of time to spare. Had enough time to pause and take a picture of a new vending machine. Lotto tickets from a vending machine - who'd have thought? =)

After note: Stacy was so kind as to pick us up at the airport at midnight - not just at the curb, but she actually parked and was waiting at baggage claim for us. How sweet! We got home just fine, and were unwinding (Greg was shoveling the snow that fell while we were gone) when I got a call from work. The volcano erupted earlier tonight - I need to go in to cover computers (I posted earlier here). How fortuitous! If I'd already gone to bed, I wouldn't have had my cell phone and would have missed the call. Additionally, flights after ours were rerouted or returned - so we were apparently lucky to have arrived at all. Looks like I'm back to work a little earlier than expected...

It was a *fantastic* weekend - a total blast! And now it's time to get back to my regularly scheduled life.