Alaska (cont)

Off to Denali!
One road plunges into the 6 million acres of national park and wilderness that is Denali. You are not permitted to travel most of the road in your own car, so you must get on a shuttle bus to really see the park. They wanted to preserve the wilderness as much as possible. We were off early to be sure we got on a decent bus. We managed to get tickets for an 11 hour bus, and off we went at 9 AM.

We were a little unsure what to make of the hiking in the park. When I read descriptions, I was unsure about how much hiking I could do there. There are no trails, and you hike on the permafrost of the tundra. At times it can be really muddy, but perhaps that is early in the year (we did not have issues). The procedure is to tell the driver to stop, and you just hop off and walk where you want (except for some areas closed for habitat preservation). The hiking philosophy is counter to what I have learned in any other Nat'l Park. Usually, going off trail is verboten. They do not want you to damage the fragile plants and cause more erosion, and they want to minimize the impact overall. It is amazing how fast soil can erode. I remember when they used to cut new mountain biking trails in Michigan, and within 2 weeks they were all sandy! At Denali, they tell you not to follow eachother, rather walk alongside eachother. They do not want trail to form and people to frequent one area. Trails would impact the wilderness. So that took some getting used to! So we planned on taking the bus as far as we could, and then taking a hike somewhere on the way back.
On the bus, we were all supposed to scan for wildlife. There were many eyes that could spot things so our driver could keep the bus on the occasionally treacherous road. If you saw something, you were supposed to yell, "STOP", then tell what you thought it was and provide directions (like on a clock). The driver would help spot it and turn off the engine. We were supposed to be silent so everyone could experience the sounds as well as the sights. They also are adamant about avoiding habituation of the animals to our presence. Thankfully Mike, K, A, and myself were on the bus. I often call Mike "Ahab" for his incredible persistance when he wants to spot wildlife. Mike found many of the animals we saw on the bus (even a bear about 500 feet down from a cliff we were on walking on a riverbed). Some old lady kept trying (which is more than I can say for anyone else on the bus, we were the only ones yelling to stop), but whenever she yelled "STOP" in her wavering voice, it was usually a crow or a backpacker. She was paying attention and looking though. There were people on other buses who were asleep! I do not get that one. We saw 6 Grizzly bears, a whole lot of Caribou, huge Moose, a cool fox, loons,Kestrels, eagles, and dall sheep, and maybe some wolves (our driver on the way back got us all jacked up about maybe seeing wolves, but then kept driving without explanation, A said she saw them though).

We planned on hiking this one area, but we were distracted and did not get off the bus. About 30 seconds later we rounded the corner and there was a huge Grizz about 30 yards off the road. He was huge with a fat, round belly. We were glad we did not get off there. We got off the bus a few miles later. We hiked a ridge next to the road and followed a river bank back. It was really cool to hike on that terrain, but we were concerned bears may follow us due to all the blueberries we were stomping on. Since our time was limited, we returned to the road and hiked there to meet a bus (there were only a few buses returning, and we did not want to miss them). In the distance, we saw a tour bus that was stopped for a long time. We looked in the direction everyone was gazing, and there we spotted a mother grizzly and her 2 teenage cubs in the valley below. She was blonde and stood up to sniff and look in our direction. She checked us out and went on her merry way. I think she was about 1/4-1/2 miles away. It is disconcerting to be out there with such big bears, but I felt better that I could see them. They also seemed way more interested in the berries they were feasting on (bumper crop this year, we also picked handfuls). Supposedly all the berries are edible in the park. Some were really happy when our shuttle finally arrived! The tour buses could care less when the passed, they just waved at us happily.
Our bus trip lasted 13 hours, and it was getting dark when we left the park. It was one the best days I have had.

Real Estate, Private Islands & Waterfront For Sale, British Columbia, Canada

Real Estate, Private Islands & Waterfront For Sale, British Columbia, Canada

I think I would prefer to spend my hard-earned money for a place like this one.

Alaska the third

Soooo, where was I?
The next day we drove up to Denali. It was warm, sunny, and clear. We were told several times that we were lucky that we had a day like that. We could see Denali clearly without its usual shroud of clouds. We passed a lot of ice cream and espresso stands on the way up. There was many espresso huts like the pacific northwest, but they were always running out of coffee for some reason. We would think we were getting really close, but then we would have 130 miles to go! It is so huge it is hard to get perspective how big it is. I suppose it must be immense if you can see the mountain from Anchorage. We stopped at Talkeetna which is on a spur off of the main highway (it is hard to get lost in Alaska since there are not many roads, and they are in nice shape!). Talkeetna is a town where all of the climbers gather before heading off to climb Denali. Less than half of the people attempting the mountain this year successfully climbed it (which is typical). The bumper sticker for the town said, "Talkeetna: A drinking town with a climbing problem." We had a really good lunch there, and the waitress kept calling K "George". I was called sir the night before at dinner, and I was suddenly "dude". We stuck to K's moniker, George. What to call A+Mike? We gawked so much at the mountain on the way up, we arrived later than we expected. We hung out at our lodge and watched the full moon over the mountains. We were expecting a Northern lights show, but the moon was too bright, our eyes were too tired, and our alarms were set too early. Denali was waiting.

No More Privies, So Hikers Add a Carry-Along - New York Times

No More Privies, So Hikers Add a Carry-Along - New York Times

Dream analysis

What does this one mean? Is it just a stress dream before I start my new job this week?
I am attending my friend's wedding, but it is in an auditorium. I am wearing my wedding dress and veil to the wedding. They start announcing the wedding attendees all star awards, and almost everyone is called to the stage (except me!). I left in a huff since I thought it was offensive to have awards at a wedding. Mike then told me that I could have won an award if I did not wear a wedding dress to the wedding. It did not dawn on me it was offensive, and another friend added that people kept congratulating me. Then I woke up.

Please do not commit me-this dream happened after jet lag!

On another note, condolences for the Wolverine fans. I was distracted by my trip, but I did notice the game indeed. If you need help with recovering from crushing disappointment and disgust, a Spartan fan can counsel you! :)

Alaska Part 2

The second day we ended up hiking to Rendezvous Mountain which is north of Anchorage. We messed up on the trail, but we ended up getting a nice view of Anchorage, mountains in all directions, and an old Nike missile site. We then decided to bushwack across a small mountain to rejoin the trail. I do not normally do that, but it ended up being surprisingly managable on the tundra. It feels really spongy (good for the creaky knees!), and your feet stay without sliding. The pass we hiked to was a good snack spot, and we spent a long time up there.

Following our hike, there was another river with possible bears fishing (salmon spawning area). There is a reason the trails were partially closed there. We stood out on these viewing platforms on top of Beaver dams watching for wildlife. We did not see any large mammals there, but it was OK since it was so beautiful.
We finished the evening at Chilcoot Charlie's (known as Coots by the locals). It ended up being a fun place, even though it was not busy when we were there. Alaska is consistent with having good beer anywhere!

Alaska Part 1

As you saw a week ago, we ended up getting stuck in Minneapolis on our way out to Anchorage. It was annoying since the plane left early, and there were at least 4 of us on the plane who were continuing on the flight. It is the second time this has happened to us this year. While we were taxiing on the runway, they announced that people who did not have connections should stay seated to let others rush off and try to make their flights. Suddenly all of these people got up while the plane was moving and rushed the aisle. I have never seen that one before. Everyone was yelling to sit down, and later they announced that 140 people out of 180 had connections! So why bother even announcing in the first place I say. So we spent our first night of vacation buying underwear at the Mall of America.

We arrived on Sat afternoon, and then we went back to the airport to pick up A+K. KC did not expect us at all, and he was surprised. I was worried he may have figured it out a few weeks ago, but he was not suspicious. A told him by mistake he was going a few days before the trip, but it was still a surprise that we were there. It was light to about 10:30-11 every night, so it made the days long. Our first B+B was run by a really nice family, and they gave us smoked salmon that they caught this year (it was the best smoked fish I have ever had!). We stayed in Anchorage for the first few days and used is as a base. That worked out great since Anchorage is nestled in mountains and surrounded by ocean. There is a ton of outdoors nearby while still having stores and places to eat.

The first day of exploring, we went to Whittier. It is a little town that used to be a secret military base (it was not accessible by roads and nearly always covered by clouds). We lucked out and got a clear day there. The town is weird and features abandoned barracks and a huge building where most of the residents in town live. A few years ago, they made a 2 mile tunnel (engineering marvel) to the town that is shared by cars and trains. So every 1/2 an hour traffic from one direction or another cross the tunnel. It was not as claustrophobic as I expected. We took a hike in the town and got a fantastic view of the Portage Glacier. We passed a ranger on the way up, and she told us it was 1/2 mile wide. That did not make an impression until we saw a huge tour boat being dwarfed by the glacier! (click on the picture of the glacier and you will get it!).

The salmon were spawning, so we went to an area were you could see this (and hopefully some bears). It was really cool to see the fish at work. No bears unfortunately. We followed this by another hike to a glacier with a closer view. We scrambled on the moraine for a while, but it is hard to get far on the rocks. We also got to see Beluga whales on the way to the glaciers. Belugas in the water and Dall sheep in the cliffs above.

The first pics are random from our first day, and the last five correspond with the story more.

Out of Alaska

This says it all.

Minnahsotah

I am in a hotel by the Mall of America and the airport. After huge delays in LGA yesterday, we missed our flight to Anchorage last night by 10 minutes! What a bummer!
I could not blog about our trip since it was a surprise to KC. We are going to meet A+KC out there. I am sure he will not check this now since he leaving today. I could not breathe a word on this forum since KC is a dedicated reader. So wish us luck to get to Alaska today.

Mr. W's dream house

A Low Impact Woodland Home
If Mr. W saw this home in a reasonable commute to NYC, we would be moving.

Unproductive and sleepy

I wish I could say I have been taking full advantage of my few days off before things get busy, but it is amazing how lazy I can get. The weather turned on Monday to 55-60 and rain, and I have crawled into my cocoon so to speak. My energy level really rides with the sun. Thankfully there are more sunny days out here than when I lived in Michigan. My only complaint is that it gets dark so darn early out here. It gets light earlier, but that does not do me any good since my cohort likes to sleep the morning away. That is time I get to myself (early to the farm market and stores before the rest of the new yawkers wake up). Things get swingin' around noon (not like the midwest), so I like to do things before then to keep my sanity. I have been catching up on some paperwork, filing, cleaning, and vacation planning.

I have been considering taking an intro German class to prepare for Christmas. Maybe it would be better to get some tapes. I guess I could just have Mike translate since it will only be a few days (I will need translation anyways). I think I am going to swim inside today. I hate swimming indoors, but it has been cold and rainy. It is really my last week for outdoor swimming. At least I can use my fins and other accessories!

Otherwise, nothing is new. Just constant discussions about the housing market, mortgages, interest rates, and what towns are good. The scale tipped towards Armonk last night, but I still would not count Greenwich and Rye out at this point.

Glen Hansard

Oh yeah, I dig the intensity. It is a good song to sing loudly in the privacy of your car (even if you look insane!)

Letdown

The headline of the class grabbed me, and I wanted to know more. Needless to say, the description ended up being a letdown. I was suprised to see the heading, because I have met people from around here who have gone to classes to get rid of their accents. I guess I am going to have to learn to talk like a New Yorker on my own.

Fish Tale

Cousin of flesh-eating piranha is snared in Lake St. Clair

Superweekend

We kept busy this weekend, but half of it was low key. We went to Superbad, and we were the oldest people in the theater. Good thing it was dark! I give Superbad a thumbs up. I have been excited to see it for a couple of months.

Yesterday we raced at West Point. The race weather was good (unseasonably cold and about 55-60 degrees at race time). This is one of my favorite races. It is run in the training area for the military academy. You pass by the obstacle course, foxholes, and my favorite, the bayonet course. The race always has cadets on the triathlon team, West point alumni of all ages, and military racing. The bike course is really nice, but a tad hilly. The run is pretty hard with many steep hills. It is one of the races with the most uberfit looking people. The cadets definately seemed pressed out of the same mold (symmetrical faces, square jaws, 6-packs). The best complement I got was when a spectator asked me if I was on the USMA team. It was like being carded! I was happy with my race, but the swim course was considerably shorter (I was 3 minutes faster than usual, and W was 5-6 minutes faster). W said he thought the buoy was being pushed in closer. I was close to placing, and a short swim makes a huge difference for people who are not swimmers (like my friend W!). So much for the military precision! I have done this race 4 times now, and the swim has always been really consistent. They should have taken a 1/4 mile off of the run for me to make it even! Mike took the race yesterday by about 40 seconds, so he is the season leader (1/1). We were joking that that should be the last race for the summer! We figured out time adjustments for the short swim, and we still had our best times on the course. That is pretty good after a monumental birthday for some.

Happy B-day W!

We are laying low today since we are racing at West Point tommorrow. We were the oldest people seeing Superbad last night, so I guess age is just a number!

For Mario Batali, It’s Molto Michigan - New York Times

For Mario Batali, It’s Molto Michigan - New York Times
Sounds like you should make friends and become dinner guests (A+K!)

The little plant that could

I love to grow tomatoes, but I do not have any ground to plant them. I try to see what I can get out of containers with varied success every year. This year's crop took a serious beating. They were moved at least 4 times, and contractors took over our backyard. I just love this little pathetic plant and how it used up all of its energy to produce a fruit. It is the Charlie Brown Christmas tree of the tomato world.

Hey doggie

All I have to say, is this the best they could do? This is the dog they chose to highlight adoption from the pound?

The Swell Season Live - Lies

I just downloaded the chords, so wish me luck. I need to look up A#. The visual here is not good, but the sound is good nonetheless.

Mysterious Congressman Challenges Leading Candidates To Debate At Dawn

What is the status A+K?

Water Levels in 3 Great Lakes Dip Far Below Normal - New York Times

World’s Best Medical Care? - New York Times

World’s Best Medical Care? - New York Times

Housing crisis

We spent much of Sunday going to open houses. It instilled more hope in me since the houses were all nice (not like the million dollar dumps in Greenwich we saw a few weeks back). We looked at a fixer in Rye that was 1.3, but that was just to poke our heads in since we were nearby. The market here is slowing down and moving in our favor, but it is still a daunting idea to buy here. There are many factors we are considering, but the main one is to be a reasonable commute to NYC (in case Mike has to work there in the future). Here is the synopsis:

One of the houses was on a beautiful property, house was in great shape and updated, but the ground floor plan was not very open. We would knock a wall down where we could do it in that house. The commute was good for being further north from where we live now.

The next house I did not want to look at, but Mike convinced me. The house was in good shape, but needed to be updated. The price was good (for the area, none of the prices here are really actually "good") and it was really unique. They had 5,000 feet of decking instead of a lawn and the house was in the woods. It was like living in a nature preserve. The commute was not so good there.

The next place was in Greenwich on the border with NY. It was a more typical .2 acre lot with a colonial, but they had made some great updates inside. It had a pool, but I really do not want one (unless it is 25 yards!). The price was good, taxes were really low (taxes are 5,000 in Greenwich, but in Westchester they begin at 10,000 and go up to more that 20,000 in some towns). Good commute to city and access to highways, and we get to go to the beach in Greenwich!

We headed to Rye where there was a newly built house. The house was great, but it was on a street that was not pretty. They just reduced the price 100,000 on it!

It was funny that we were almost the only ones showing for many of the open houses. It is a slow time of year. Anyways, the realtor at the fixer for 1.3 ended up following us around. It was weird since we had really no interest in the house, and it was crawling with people. Maybe she smelled that we were looking in general on us. It was weird though. We went outside, and she popped beside us 2 separate times and chatted us up. She was not annoying though and talked a lot about the town in general too.

Glen Hansard Live at Sundance!

This is a song from the movie we saw this weekend. I need to get the soundtrack now. What a complete sound standing there in Park City with a guitar.

Good Musical

Once the Movie - A Film by John Carney

Outkast-Hey Ya!

Here is a pick up for everyone. This song makes me want to dance anytime.

Smells like home

I was driving in congested traffic the other day, and I saw a car with a bumper sticker reading "My other car is a Zamboni". When I saw it, I thought it was weird to see in the metro NYC area, and it would really belong on a car with Michigan plates. As I marvelled at the car with the bumper sticker (sporting NY plates), I saw they also had a Red Wings license plate holder. So my initial Detroit instinct was correct after all. I must have Detroiterdar.

Squeeze

Be sure to finish strong with the proper ending, "If I, If I, did'nt, did'nt, Love you, love you, love you

I was suprised they played it!

Hello

I have not been updating too much lately. I have been getting ready for the fall (What???), trying to create a schedule without complete information, getting ready for my new job, trying to get a trip lined up for August, looking for a house with a wishy washy attitude (along with Mike's), and goofing off as much as possible. I have not been biking much due to horrible heat and company, so I need to get in the saddle since we are racing next weekend.
I am in new territory with my new job starting up as well. I have a non-compete clause in my contract, and I would never violate it. The problem is that many of my ongoing kids want to see me in the pool now! I try not to advertise what I am doing in the fall, but with my reduced hours everyone starts asking. So I am going to talk to the head of the agency tommorow to see what I can work out with her. It is not in my nature to have to be this guarded about what I can offer people, and it is no fun. It is also hard since I know kids who would really benefit from the service. So my legal and ethical bells are sounding loudly.
We are also trying to decide where to spend New Year's (way too early). We will be in Deutchland for Christmas, but that will be for a few days only. Any suggestions?

NPR : Alter Egos in a Virtual World

NPR : Alter Egos in a Virtual World

Hello! Bad cop

Bad Thai cops to endure Kitty shame - Yahoo! News

Design for the Other 90%: Water

Design for the Other 90%: Water
In case you were interested in the kind of work Ed is doing. It was pretty fascinating to see what is out there. The exhibit in the museum was interesting, because there were also many designs for the victims of Katrina. His company makes the moneymaker pumps and other devices.

Weekend of Ed

As I mentioned before, our esteemed friend Ed is in town from Africa. So it was a lot of fun to catch up, and he was tolerant of how boring we are (or is being really polite!). We went to the Cooper-Hewitt to see what he is working on in Africa, and we met his boss who created the company he works for now (Kick Start). Please check out the entry below to see the pumps.

We went to some open houses today, and we finished our hot day with a hike to Breakneck ridge. No necks were broken, but ankle was turned and a knee was hyper-extended (guess who did what!). I know some of you are familiar with Euromike, but I just met Zenmike.

Squeeze was fantastic. They played all of my requests, and some other tunes I would not have expected. When they went off before the bogus encore, everyone in the place started doing the ooooweoooo from Cool for Cats. That was a first! When the show let out, there was a massive thunderstorm. Everyone was huddling in the theater lobby, and the umbrella salesmen came running! Tracey and I ducked into the first bar was saw, and it turned out to be a gay bar (not that there is anything wrong with it). That ended up being entertaining since the bartender was an outrageous dancer, and some dude that got kicked out started dancing on the sidewalk in front of the window. That is what Mike and the boys came in on time for, but it was not like that before we came in!

Squeezin' and Steamin'

Tonight I am going to Squeeze with my friend Tracey. I am excited to go, and I am sure it will be fun. Ed is out here from Africa, so we will be hanging out this weekend. Now the last minute cleaning begins!

It is really a NY summer now-totally hot and steamy! I treat some kids at their day camps, and it is amazing how hot it is for these kiddies. Many of the kids I treat are in preschool, and they go to day camp all day long. I treat some kids who go to camp in the morning, and they just turned 2 last week? What in the world is "camp" then? Just a way to over schedule them extremely early!

Yesterday I went swimming outside after a hiatus (I was fighting a cold all week). I reached for my fins, and the lifeguard first called me maam (holy shit, I hate being called maam even though it is not disrespectful. I suppose I do not look like a miss anymore!). Then he informed me that they were not allowed anymore in the lap lanes. I asked him when the possible safety concern could be (WTF????), and he told me that somebody complained after being hit by them. I can not wrap my mind around how you get hit by fins! How can a fin (made of soft rubber) hurt you in any way. The person who was hit was being the idiot in my opinion. I guess I am just a swim Nazi or something. If anyone who has been run into or hit by apparatus, that would be me, and the only thing that is painful at all is smacking arms. Even that only hurts for a matter of 10 seconds, even when you lock up with people going fast! Oh wait, it also hurts when you smack your head (or your extremities) on the wall which is generally your fault too (unless the backstroke flags have been tampered with!). OK, I will stop whining!