Shawn & Christine

We have some friends in town - wahoo!! Shawn & Christine flew in last night. Originally from here, they've been relocated to the flatlands of Nebraska. So they get to come home for a quick visit - the first in about a year & a half. We picked them up at the airport - minus the bags, which were missing. From there, we headed to a local bar to see Jared Woods (http://www.myspace.com/jaredwoodsak - my favorite song is So Are You In, available for listening or download on his site) performing in his group Woodrow (http://www.myspace.com/woodrowmusic). Jared is a fantastic local artist! When he was on tour last year he had a stop in Omaha, so Shawn & Christine got to see him there and then took him in while he was in town. Apparently, a great time was had by all. =)

Listening to the music

Making the music

Guitar moves

Jared & Shawn helping Christine feel taller

We enjoyed the show until after 2am, then headed back to the house to visit for a bit. The airport called (while we were at the bar) saying they had the bags, but we wouldn't be able to pick them up until after 6am. So we ended up visiting until it was time to pick up the bags, then took a bit of a nap before starting (continuing?) today. First thing on the agenda: Greek Salad from Guido's. (Picture to come later - I forgot to take one before we ate our way through most of 2 of them. Whew!)

Fresh outfits from the recently retrieved luggage

Summer Color

I planted my flowers a bit late this year - end of June, rather than the beginning. As usual, I'm checking them daily to see how they're growing and I'm rather impatient. I want to see them in full bloom, with lots of flowers & buds. They're coming along, but I have to keep remembering that they're not as far along as I'd like because I started later than normal...

Friends

We had some old friends in town and were able to meet them for dinner. It was nice to visit for a bit, and to see how the kids have grown! I've known Patti for *ages* - longer than I've known Greg. And MaryLou was a surrogate mom when I was far from home and really needed one. They're family - just not blood. =) They do make it to town once in a while, and since we don't ever make it out to their neck of the woods we'll just have to take what we can get.

MaryLou & Me

Patti & Little Kenneth
(it's past his bedtime) =)

Patti, Kenneth, & Kenny

Bethany & Ayanna get to visit when we get together too, and they really seem to enjoy it. Fun for everyone!!

Ayanna & Bethany

The kids: Bethany, Ayanna, & Kenneth
The rest: me & Patti

Squirrel Creek - Part III, the Finale

Some of our group headed out on Saturday, the rest of us packed up Sunday morning. Saturday was a drizzly day, so we spent lots of time reading or playing games. Dinner was Chicken 'n Dumplings with calabacitas (a corn dish with garlic, onions, & zucchini - yummy!). The drive home cleared up, so it was a very pleasant journey. And it's always nice to get home (and get clean) again! So here are the faces that graced our most recent campout...

Ubon & Pahmi
(it's her 1st campout!)

Cindy, Anna & Nunta
(it's Anna's 1st campout also -
too bad it rained all day Saturday)

Anita (with Todd in the background)

Todd (making Anita's nighttime restroom)

Mud-spattered Kelly

Nate

Jenn (she finished 2 books!)

Brian

Heather & Ayanna

Sam thru the smoke

John

Greg (with Kelly in tow)

Bucket O' Fun!!

Squirrel Creek - Part II, Valdez

Some of our group left early on the 5th (Thursday) so they could go GeoCaching. The rest of us had a laid-back morning. We headed out for Valdez, making a few stops along the way. Harding Glacier was pretty - it's receded lots since last year. We also stopped at a couple waterfalls for pictures.

Harding Glacier
the people on the lower right are to show scale
(there are also three people climbing the ice - can you see them?)

Horsetail Falls

Jenn at Bridal Veil Falls

Once we hit town, we picked Sara up from the cannery and then hit the showers. Ahhhh!! Clean again - if only for a bit... =) We took Sara shopping with us, did dinner at a mexican joint, a bit more shopping, then had to drop her off. She's now an honorary member of the Bucket O' Fun Club.

Valdez Boat Harbor

Sara & Me

The "Original" Bucket O' Fun Club

The New Bucket O' Fun Club

Friday was pretty laid back - more GeoCaching for some, hanging out at camp for others. We had dirty rice for dinner and a yummy pineapple dump cake for dessert (made in the crockpots, of course!) More friends joined the group Friday night, and we spent lots of time visiting around the fire.

One of our Visitors

Squirrel Creek - Part I, the Fourth

We went camping over the 4th of July. Back to Squirrel Creek, which is about a 4-1/2 hour drive from home. Long time in the car, but *definitely* worth it!! This is our third trip to this campground - we went twice last year (over the 4th and over Labor Day). We didn't get our usual spots, but ended up filling the end of a cul-de-sac. Made it nice for privacy - our group had all the spots - but we had lots of turn-around traffic. So we made a sign to make sure other campers knew there was no reason (except to visit) to drive down the road to our sites.

Squirrel Creek
Water's lots lower than last year

No Room at the Inn

We had lots of activities - fireworks on the 4th, a trip to Liberty Falls, Valdez, caching for some, hanging out, and relaxing. Once again, it was a blast!!

We left home after work on the 3rd and set up camp that night. It was late, so we pretty much just relaxed and went to bed. On the 4th, there was an excursion to Liberty Falls. Some of the group had gone there last year - it was interesting to see some of the changes since the flooding (which happened after we left last fall).

Liberty Falls

Liberty Falls Bridge
showing the washout after flooding last fall

Fireweed overlooking Copper River
near Liberty Falls

After a nice dinner of Halibut Olympia and scalloped potatoes (both of which we cooked in cast iron pots that I called crockpots all the time), we headed out of the campground to light fireworks. Made for a nice end to an enjoyable day.

Fireworks
black shirt vs. white shirt

Part of the Crew

Cottonweed

We had a bit of a mix-up with our phone/internet provider, so we've been without connection until yesterday. So glad to be back online!! I'll be posting soon about our most recent camping trip - Squirrel Creek, wahoo!! Went there twice last year and had a blast - this year too. I'll give details of the trip & events soon - with pictures, of course!

Took this picture two nights ago. There's been little floaties in the air for weeks now from the cottonweed trees, but ours is just starting to shed it's seeds. The yard is just littered with them! Too bad the tree is really behind our fence - I'd be tempted to chop it down!

You Really Never Forget

So it seems you really *do* never forget how to ride a bicycle. It's been almost 20 years (scary!) since I rode on a regular basis. The last time I actually rode a bike (before tonight) was years & years ago. M came up to visit and we borrowed bikes to ride the coastal trail. I was a little wobbly on my first turn about the parking lot while I was testing models, but gained confidence with each pass. I tested three models and picked this one. It'll be one my skills can grow into - so we'll be buds for years to come!! =)

Planting

I've finally gotten around to planting some of the flowers for this season. Way later than normal - I usually have everything purchased sometime in May and planted by the first weekend in June. May was exceptionally busy (trip to SLC, camping) - and too cold anyway. I'll probably plant more tomorrow, but don't know if I'll have it all done this weekend. We'll see.

First 'Tunias

The Rest

Midnight Sun

This picture was taken on the 9th of June at 11:14pm - wahoo!!

The flip-side is that after Solstice, days start getting shorter. That time of year always gets here way too quickly for me!! Crazy, but the "official" start of summer is also the beginning of our shorter days and the herald of fall.

Trekkin'

We went for a nice drive yesterday - it was a beautiful day! - and to do some caching. Couldn't have asked for better weather! We found some caches, took in the beautiful afternoon, saw the bore tide, and had dinner at The Double Musky - one of the few 5-star restaurants in Alaska. All in all, a wonderful evening! (Side note: There's more info about bore tides - a relatively rare phenomenon - at http://alaska.org/bore-tides.jsp - and you can watch people trying to surf the bore tide (also a good depiction of the phenomenon) at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nas9n7iFcfI)

Beluga Point

Cool Tree

Pretty Flora

Wee Stream

More Cool Flora

Greg - Sittin' in a Tree

Across the Inlet

A View from the Top

That last picture is the view I would have seen, if I'd finished the trek to one of the caches. Unfortunately, I succumbed to a panic attack. I'm fairly certain I'd have been able to complete the trek - if only I had asked for help. Instead, I let my pride prevail and by the time I was ready to ask for help, it was too late.

So it seems I'm not afraid of heights - just of falling, and uncontrolled descents. Since my balance isn't the greatest, I'm also not very sure-footed. In one part of the trail, we had to cross loose scree. The slope was pretty steep, and the loose rock ended at a drop off high above a busy highway. My imagination took over and I pictured a flailing slide over the side with nothing to grab, that ended with me smashed on the pavement.

I waited until I was behind, gathering my courage, when I should have asked Greg to come back and help me. I slowly made my way across - pausing to hyperventilate, remind myself that I had to do this again to get back, and force my mind to focus on something other than all the ways I could slide off the edge of the cliff. (It probably wasn't real cliff, but since I couldn't see the rest of the slope and I could see & hear cars, that's what it became to me.) By the time Greg came back to help me, I'd made it across - only to find that there was plenty more of that before we got to solid ground. And I just couldn't do it. So he helped me back across the way I'd come, to solid ground, where I calmed a bit and made my way back to the car.

Kudos to Todd & Kelly for making the climb and taking the picture - wahoo!! =) It's a great view and I think I can do it - I just can't do it alone. And I can't wait to ask for help until I'm so panicked that I can't breath right or think coherently. They already signed my name to the log - but I think I'm going to wait to log the cache until I've been to the top and seen the view for myself. I'll post my picture then, too. =)

The Journey Home
(Sleeping Lady is the far mountain in the back)

Followin' the Tracks