winter sunset

You don't have to be an artist to capture the beauty here! 

Take a walk with me...

There are bike paths and walking paths all over Girdwood and along the Turnagain Arm.  There is a beautiful path between Girdwood and Bird, one that Aly and I walked earlier this week. Click on any of the pictures to zoom in (to read).

Aly with her stick along the path

Another evening... another walk... I caught a BEAUTIFUL sunset!

And yet another evening... this was just last night... Beautiful sunset with a little alpenglow...

Alaska in February: Part 4

Sam drove us into Anchorage on the early side Saturday morning.  We met up with Dario around 9 or so and he showed us what we needed to do... Dario had planned to spend the day in Anchorage at a park giving dog sled rides to tourist groups.  He also set up stuff to use the event as a fundraiser for Nicolas.  We started out by helping set up the chutes for the dog sled teams, putting up temporary fencing (hammering posts in, unrolling the temporary fencing, using cable tie things to attach the fence to the posts...  It was pretty windy, we got cold we and were eager to keep working just to keep moving!  Once the chutes were set up, Dario showed us the different size harnesses, gave us a refresher course in how to harness and unharness the pups, and walked us through how the next couple of hours were going to go.  Because it was "so warm" (HA!), the pups were only going to run for about an hour before switching out the teams.  (It actually was warm for the pups though...)  

Speaking of "pups" ... something both Dario and Nick said (and so true) was that you can mention a dog and some people will perk up and turn their attention to hear what is being said, but that if you mention a puppy, most people will perk up and pay attention!  Dario had 3 puppies there and Nick had 2 of Ugly (his BEAUTIFUL husky)'s puppies... Kala and Fiona.  I hadn't heard what Dario had named his puppies so when he had a minute I asked.  He told us that he hadn't named them yet, and "why didn't he do that right now" ... ha!  Okay, so he pointed out the one which was romping around semi-spastically and said that everyone comments on how rambunctious she is, and since he's Italian, he's naming her Rambina... (cute!) ...then he points to the other female puppy and asked if I would be offended if he named her Chelle.  Are you kidding?! No way!  So he named her Chelle.  Then he pointed to the boy and said, "So that makes this one Sam." Crazy, right?  Now there are two sled dogs named after us!  

Sam holding Sam, and me holding Chelle... haha!

Again on Saturday we got to see just how much Dario cares for his dogs.  He always took such care and precision, being attuned to each of his dogs and what they needed.  It kept amazing me just how eager the dogs are to run, to work, and how happy they are... tails up and wagging the whole time.  It really is incredible to watch.  Sam spent hour after hour helping in the chute between rides... taking care of anything and everything that needed done.  Dario mentioned to me a couple of times throughout the day how much of a help Sam was and how great he was with the dogs. Dario also said a few times grateful he was that we were able to come help.  I spent the entire day taking tickets/cash for the rides, manning the gate and sending the guests to the sleds.  They were so delighted to get the sled ride pulled by the dogs.  They kept me smiling the whole day.  We made a new friend that day, too.  Holly is in college and planning to move to Girdwood to pursue her dream of dog mushing.  I had so much fun getting to know her and hearing about all of her adventures.  She volunteered also, and floated around between the gate and the chute, doing anything and everything that needed done.  The 11am-5:30pm hours went by soooooo quickly!  

Me holding Kala

Sam and Fiona

After everything was taken down, the park put back to the way it started, the dogs taken care of, and the trucks packed up... we were ready to head out.  On our way out of Anchorage we saw another moose, 5th one this trip I think... just hanging out in someone's yard...

The whole way back to Girdwood we were able to enjoy a glorious sunset... so beautiful!

Turnagain Arm Sunset

Saturday night Sam and I met up with Steve and CeCe for dinner at Maxine's and to hear a band play.  Maxine's is a great little restaurant (ok, so all of the restaurants in Girdwood are great and little haha)... the food was fantastic, the band was good, and the company was fantastic.  Steve and CeCe are two wonderful people, and we so enjoyed getting to hang out for a while!

Monday we headed back to Chugiak to help Nick again.  Jenn and I found the shovels and the sled to clean up the kennels and then we helped pack the drop bags.  Mushers have to get all their checkpoint bags together by a certain point, which happened to be Wednesday, so the four of us were helping Nick sort through dog food, his food, and supplies to get the bags packed.  I spent a lot of time making sandwiches :-) Nick is French... and I made some interesting sandwiches for him including strawberry jam and brie cheese ... whatever works, right??  I was thrilled that we had the chance to help out Nick.  He is a great guy who loves and cares for his dogs.  To be able to race in the Iditarod, a musher has to qualify to be eligible to race.  Nick hadn't, but because of how well he handles the dogs, the race judges/committee/whatever they are called, permitted him to run veteran Jim Lanier's team when Lanier had to pull out due to emergency hip replacement surgery.  Just FYI, Nick was Rookie of the Year, the first Rookie to cross the finish line!  How awesome that we were able to be a part of that...

Nick's puppy T bone that just LOVED Jenn

he's really just a big baby...

May and me

Nick and Jenn

me, Sam, Nick, Jenn, and Scott

LeConte Weekend

My momma always told me (at least from the time that I started driving) that even if I did everything right, even if I always paid attention, always wore my seat belt, always kept an eye on what was in front of, behind, and across the road from me, even if I did everything right... doesn't mean that it would always be enough.... doesn't mean that other drivers would do everything right, and in this case, doesn't mean a stupid raccoon would stay off the road... Yep, I'm the one who would (unintentionally, though) risk her own life to save a wild animal's. It is just my natural reaction to swerve to keep from hitting something. There was a very, very narrow shoulder and then very, very soft/wet/muddy grass ditch. When I swerved, I went into the grass a little bit and my car jerked out of control. It has been a long time since I have been that scared. I tried to regain control of the car (thought it would be a bad idea to slam on my brakes) and slowly pushed the brake. I remember thinking I can't believe this is happening. One second later, I felt like the car was under control and put a bit more pressure on the brake, and then it started spinning, out of control again. I was leaning against the door, thinking I was for sure going to flip my car, and then all of a sudden I stopped. I took the picture (above) only after the towing truck was there and I had quit shaking... and took it only then because I was amazed nothing worse had happened. The sheriffs that arrived there said I was lucky to not have flipped it. I'm not sure why they felt the need to tell me that (only shook me up a bit more)... but I assured them it was not luck that kept me safe!! It only cost me $1 to "fix" my car. There wasn't a scratch on it, but I needed to pressure wash the mud out of the tires to make it safe to drive.

Now, on to happier things... I couldn't have asked for a better weekend to go up the mountain... The weather was delightful, even chilly at times, and the fall foliage was beautiful. Emily & Caitlin  were going up this weekend as well. Because of my delay getting to the trailhead...I just met them at the top. I had a great solo hike up. I bought some hiking poles and completely love them. It made the trip up so much more enjoyable, and easier, truth be told. As always, I met several hikers on the trail and hiked with some for a bit. I really enjoyed going my own pace/enjoying the views and made it up in about 3 hours.

Around dinner, four guys who were hiking all the LeConte trails in 1 day stopped in the dining hall to warm up. One of them looked really familiar, but I couldn't place him. Being the not-so-shy person that I am, I just stopped him and asked him his name... Bo. Hmm... that didn't really trigger any recollection, but I thought of Katie and Ryan... and asked if he knew them--he did! I must have met him at their wedding or something. Anyway, as we were chatting, one of the guys (who had had his back to me the whole time) turned around and I knew who he was right away-- Philip, a guy I worked a summer camp with in college. RANDOM. Good to meet/see them...

The rest of the weekend was pretty normal as far as the weekends go up there. Sunset at Cliff Tops was gorgeous, sunrise at Myrtle Point was amazing, and lunch on Sunday was so yummy.  It was kind of hard to leave, knowing this was my last trip this season, but I was happy to have the company of Caitlin, Emily & Phillippe on the way down. I'm guessing most of you won't be hiking LeConte anytime soon, so enjoy these pictures :-)

Any doubt in your mind why they are called the Smokies?

Beautiful moonrise.

Incredible sunset!

Glorious sunrise...

ASHAN ... Hebrew for God's presence in smoke

Caitlin, me & Emily

Gorgeous view of foliage from Gracie's

Quick stop on the way out of the park to enjoy this overlook...

Recreation...Re-creation?

At the beach, life is different. A day moves not from hour to hour but leaps from mood to moment. We go with the currents, plan around the tides, follow the sun. We measure happiness by nothing we can hold... nothing we can catch. Everywhere…Life is jumping and elusive and momentously momentary. We want to [stretch] the days, distill the memories, make them last. At the same time, we know that the beauty is in the evanescence. Every wave comes in, then retreats. Every day promises, then turns its back and slips away. Every joy has a little tease in it, a give and a take, and leaves a wake of longing.

How to Live At the Beach by Sandy Gingras

What a restful, relaxing week! My family and I came to St. George Island for the week; we rented a condo and brought the 3 girls (Montana, Nike & Murphy) for a week of beach-stuff. I have truly loved being at the beach again. I know, who doesn't, right? But like I always say... it's different for me than it is for everyone else. Whether or not that is true, I don't know. I'd blog about it... but that is another post for another day. I only took about 300 pictures... but here are just a few of my favorites!










There is something so refreshing and rejuvenating about being at the beach. That, I am sure all can agree on... It is going to be hard to leave tomorrow.