A couple random happenings...

Summer is here and it's been great so far, the photo taking has been a bit light but here's the latest. Last week I got in a run with some friends from work up Mt. Baldy and back into the mountains.

Amber and Jack heading down Mt. Baldy and back into the mountains.

A glider was circling us for the whole run.

At the last minute, some friends that we knew through ultimate came through town. Ashley, Tank, and Cara stayed with us for the weekend, playing in the Jamboree ultimate tournament, they were good pick-ups...

...and our team won the tournament!

Our friends Keith and Leah are coming up today, looking forward to hanging out with them. 

Cheers,

Wasilla

Yep, that about sums it up.

Cheers,

Race Report: Mayor's Half-Marathon

On Saturday morning, Jes took part in the Mayor's Half-Marathon. Several months of training led up to this day and she was excited.

Pre-race photo.

Our friend Emily was running the race as well. 

In what seemed like no time, the hundreds of competitors were lined up and the gun went off. 

The course was very conducive to spectating so I was able to bike around and see Jes several times during the course. Here she is a mile or so in, looking good. 

Our friend Bruce was running as well, he's the guy pointing at the camera. Good timing B. 

At about the halfway point, the course dipped into the woods for a short trail section.

The course met back up with the Coastal Trail, perfect conditions for a run.

Jes cruised through the course running strong and ended up running faster than her target pace. She had a great time out there and I am very proud of her. She finished is great time and with a smile, well done Jes!

Finisher photo, well done Jes. 

Cheers, 

Fairbanks: Part II

After a solid Saturday of floating and hanging out, we returned to Jess's folk's place for some rest. Sunday dawned and we decided to drive about and see the town. Sadly, no pictures we taken of most of these adventures but I will say that we saw some musk oxen and it was awesome. Pictures were taken of our visit to an abandoned gold dredge about 20 miles out of town.

We stopped to pick up Jeff and Rose and were only slightly delayed by Jes trying to woo their cat, Saltese, across the tree branch that crossed their living room. 

Success!

Without further ado, to the dredge!

The dredge had been abandoned since the early 60's and was a lot of fun to climb around on.

Here we are climbing through the middle of it to get to a large deck...

Made it!

View from the top.

Birds on a wire.

Rose wondering why it doesn't work anymore. 

Monday morning dawned and it was time to go back to Anchorage but not before we stopped at a place near and dear to Jes's heart...

The North Pole!

We saw Santa's reindeer (caribou)...

and Jes got a hug from a polar bear. 

A great trip, many thanks to Jess for showing up about.

Cheers,

Way up north...

This past weekend we got a tour of Fairbanks courtesy of our friend Jess. She grew up there and proved to be an excellent tour guide.
On our way up we took the Parks Highway, the drive up was mostly good weather with a bit of showers thrown in. We got a rainbow at about 11:45 pm, pretty cool.

We arrived at Fairbanks, had a good night's sleep, and after a bit of sorting out decided to float the Upper Chena River. 

We assembled gear at our friend Rose's house, Moose the dog helped out.

An aside, Fairbanks reminded Jes and I of the midwest. The houses and town was spread apart, the countryside was mainly rolling hills, and the weather was warm and a bit humid. The picture above is from the Hewitt homestead.

We packed up and headed out, stopping at the last place to get fuel (for a while I'm guessing).

Setting up at the river.

Good times.

We had great weather for the float, the Bismark and crew enjoying the day.

We got to one of our car drop-offs and switched up canoes. I rode in the front while Jeff and Jes did all the work. It was nice. Next up, Fairbanks: Part II, cheers.

Snagging in Seward

After our Caines Head expedition, we stayed in Seward to try our luck snagging. There was a run of red salmon in a river outside of town so Eric, Kyle, and I headed out there to see if we could get some fish. The weather cleaned up considerably...

A lot of other folks were trying to snag some fish with us...

Sadly, we hit an off time for the run and after several hours and seeing only 10 or so fish caught between the hundred or so people out, we packed up and headed home. 

Great weekend, next week Fairbanks, cheers,

The Par-Shea's... er, the Shea-arkers

Our friends Steph and Andy visited us over the first weekend in June. This coincided nicely with a cabin rental in Caines Head courtesy of Eric, 'The Grouse Man'. Jes and I went to the airport, picked up Andy and Steph, and after a short bit of packing we left for Seward.
We met up with Eric, Abby, and Kyle, and after a quick dinner we hit the trail to Caines Head. It was a bit rainy so we are short on pictures so a description will have to do. To reach Caines Head on foot, you have to wait for low tide, then hike the 4-5 miles before the sea covers up the trail. We were a bit late and the tide happened to be one of the highest low tides of the year. The result was a couple stretches of climbing over sea-weed covered rocks but nothing to drastic.

Kyle and Andy, safe in the cabin. 

The cabin was in a great location, just off the beach with a fresh stream in the front yard. Here, Andy and Eric begin what would become a weekend ritual, cleaning the dishes. 

Saturday dawned overcast, we decided to make our way to an abandoned military fort, Ft. McGilverey. A few miles of beach walking...

where Birch and a sea lion had a moment.

Barnacles!

Steph looks way to excited to enter an abandoned bunker.

The Fort was really neat, completely dark inside with all kinds of passages and doors to explore, not creepy at all. 

We finished up the exploration at the site of a large gun mount with a great view of Resurrection Bay.

Fox Island.

Eric handing out salami slices.

Dinghy at the abandoned dock.

Sunday morning dawned overcast again, we packed up our stuff and started the walk out. 

One thing I didn't mention about the hike to Caines Head, one of the bridge washed out a few years ago necessitating a river crossing. This was unexpected the first time, we were ready for the it the second time.

And we had more fun with it, Kyle, Jes, and Andy drying off.

Cheers, 

Memorial Day in Tutka Bay - Part II

After getting set up on Saturday at the cabin, the weather wasn't cooperating for outdoor activities.

Kyle and Bozco (mid-shake) taking in the overcast skies. 

The weather on Sunday was perfect for some exploring. 

Sorting out kayak accomodations.

Kevin and Michelle enjoying the incredibly calm waters. 

We kayaked down the bay for a ways...

Taking in the sights...

Until we got to the river at the head of the bay, where we stopped for some lunch.

A nice spot. We made it back to camp safely where we spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach attempting various pursuits.

Jes and Michelle having a drink while Kyle and I battle a giant bull kelp...

Kevin goes swimming...

and piggy back rides.

We stayed out past sunset which is about 11:20 or so.

We got up Monday, packed up, and met the water taxi for the ride back to Homer. A great weekend for sure. 

Cheers,