Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Day 17, July 15th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Operation Fitness for Fear: Today we extended our run to 41 minutes. It was misty out, so that made for a very cool and shady run. It was perfect weather for pushing it a little further than normal. As a result of the extra minutes tagged onto our normal route we were finally able to find the Winner Creek Trail (the trail we failed to find on our July 6th hike). It was a very exciting discovery for us, but I am beginning to think that Tess and I might be pretty easy to impress/please.

We also saw a bear on our run. That’s right, after over two weeks of running this route and anxiously scanning for bear, we finally saw one. It was on the second floor of the house at the top of the hill. It gave me quite a start for a second, and then I realized that it was actually stuffed and just on display. Clearly I haven’t been looking as closely for bear as I thought!

On the return leg of our trip, Tess found a stick that she wanted to carry for a while. Of course, Tess rarely picks out a travel size stick. She usually opts for the biggest stick she can find. You know the kind that is twice as long as she is, with about five knife-like branches sticking out of it that will surely impale her in the belly if she drops it accidentally. And of course she always decides to carry it by one end, instead of in the middle where it would balance perfectly. That way if the opposite end hits the ground at just the right angle she’s sure to either choke herself or give herself a lip/nose piercing. What can I say? She’s obviously not as safety-oriented as her mom. Regardless, Tess was happy as a clam dragging along this weapon for about 50 yards or so, and then she grew tired of it and decided to drop it. Unfortunately, she dropped it right on to the leash, and it got tangled immediately. So, naturally, Tess freaked out a bit and accelerated so that she could get away from it. But, of course, the leash, and therefore the stick, was still tangled, and “chasing” her. This led her to freak out some more and run even faster. All the while I was just getting pulled along for the ride while the wicked stick and its huge tentacles whipped around trying to “Sweep the knee Johnny!” I finally got Tess to stop, untangled the branch and was prepared to start running again, when I realized that Tess was now completely afraid of the “possessed” stick, and all the other sticks around it. There she was, tail between the legs, shaking a little, and suspiciously eyeing any sticks in the vicinity, quite sure that they were going to “get her.” Ah the joys of parenting “Timid Tess.” I spent the next five minutes convincing Tess that she could smell and touch the branches without them “chasing” her. I still couldn’t quite convince her to put one back in her mouth, but at least she wasn’t fearfully dodging all the random branches on the trail the entire way home.

Score at the end of FFF:
Sticks of the forest: 1
Tess: 0
Kate: N/A

Our Adventure for the Day:
In the afternoon, Tess and I went for another walk along the train tracks on the Gird to Bird path. It was a very pleasant walk. Tess found lots of tall grass to run through, which in turn dropped a plethora of grass seed on her back. She looked like she was covered in grass seed confetti. It was adorable. (As I said earlier, apparently I am easy to please). We also saw more berries and berry pickers along the train tracks. I just love the fact that you can harvest so much straight from the land in Alaska. It really does feel like the land of plenty.

Random Observations for the Day:
The large picture windows in my house are quite dangerous for birds. We’ve had a few birds fly in to them over the past couple of weeks. They usually recover and wobble off looking a little ruffled and drunk after the experience, but it is NOT helping Tess’s fear of things attacking her via the sky. There is something fairly disconcerting about napping on the couch and being awoken by a loud “thud” about two feet above your head!

My knees sound like shit. Anytime that I bend them while bearing weight (like my body) they sound like sandpaper rubbing across wood. Thankfully they do not hurt a bit. They just sound horrible. I simply ignore the odd noise and keep running, walking, or bending. And in case there are any doctors out there who just read this and are currently considering commenting about how this is a clear sign that my knees are going to explode in the next two months, please don’t. I don’t want to know what is actually causing this noise. I prefer to be blissfully ignorant about any impending knee explosion.

The clerks at the mercantile are weird about their produce. I know that I have already mentioned the spotty produce selection and the general expense associated with purchasing anything fresh at the mercantile due to the cost of shipping to “remote” locations, however, I’m beginning to think there is a conspiracy about buying anything fresh at the mercantile. If by some chance, you manage to wander into the mercantile on the day that they have been stocked with fresh, albeit expensive, produce you are bound to feel like you are being judged when you bring your fresh cherries, oranges, or grapes up to the register. I could drop 20 bucks on a bottle of Jack Daniels or two six packs of mike’s hard lemonade and the clerks won’t bat an eye. But, if I wander up with 7 dollars worth of cherries, no matter who the clerk is, they always have the same response. First, they put the produce on the scale. Then they wait for the price to show on the display, for the entire line of customers to see, and then, without fail, they suck in a big breath of air through their teeth, look at you with pity in their eyes, shake their head and say something like, “Oh man. That hurts. You sure you don’t want to put some of those back?” The first time it happened I thought, “Oh, that’s nice of him to be concerned, but really, it’s the first fresh fruit I have had all week, I think it’s worth the splurge.” But now, it’s happened about four times, always the same way. And, I’ve seen it happen to anyone else who dares to bring fresh produce up to the register. I think the clerks must be getting bribes from the canned vegetable/fruit people. I don’t have any definitive proof yet, but I’m keeping an eye out!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Day 16, July 14th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Operation Fitness for Fear: We ran much slower today compared to yesterday’s speedy pace. We ended up completing our normal route in 34 minutes and it felt slow. Overall I am ok with that time. I mean, I know it’s impossible to shave minutes off of your run every day. But, I do think that our chances of breaking more records in the future would improve greatly if Tess didn’t poop so much on these runs. Seriously people. She pooped three times today. I know she’s got to feel lighter after that, but carrying that much sh*t around has the opposite effect on me! I suppose it’s possible that Tess sensed my frustration and tried to help speed it up towards the end. She did, uncharacteristically, opt out of the swim in the fountain today, but she got so caught up in her tug of war/cross training that it was still a wash when it came to saving time. Oh well. It’s not really important how fast we ran. What’s most important is that we hauled ourselves out the door and ran. Period.

My Adventure for the Day: I will be the first to confess that we didn’t have a MAJOR adventure today. I was feeling rather mellow, so instead of trekking through, or fishing in, the woods I just opted to take a drive out onto the Kenai Peninsula. It was quite picturesque. There are countless ridges along the highway and the clouds were barely hovering above them. We’ve had a little moisture lately but it was still warm and sunny out so you could literally see the clouds evaporating. They looked like windswept hair, or an upside down rain shower. The fireweed also added to the scenery on the drive. The pink fireweed flowers start on the side of the road and then they slowly crawl up higher and higher onto the ridges. It creates a beautiful contrast when the pink is mixed into the green grass and brush that blankets the hills. And, it seems like every time that I drive this road the patches of pink have spread another five yards up the hills. It’s like a slow moving map illustrating the passage of time.

On the drive I kept passing cars with dip nets and canoes strapped to the top of them. It is making me *really* want a canoe!

I stopped in at a fly shop near Cooper Landing on my way home. While I was there I chatted with the woman behind the counter about the upcoming salmon run. She was very nice, and more importantly, this interaction counts as another step towards my “Trying not to be a complete hermit” certification.

When I was almost home, traffic suddenly ground to a halt. Because of the fact that most roads in Alaska have only one lane going in each direction, almost any accident or construction zone leads to incredible delays. Today’s accident was no exception. I sat in that line of cars for about 20 minutes at a dead stop, while I waited for my turn to move. But the silver lining of that wait was that over the course of those 20 minutes I got to watch the tide rolling in. I feel like I can’t take enough pictures of that view. There’s something so cool about seeing a mile wide section of mud flats glistening in the sun one second and then completely covered with water 20 minutes later. The hazy ridges on both sides of the mud flats frame the picture just perfectly. Really. It’s a view that is hard to top.

Wildlife/Unique Sightings:
Bald Eagles: 3

My Purple Tacoma: Today’s drive was also awesome because it took me through a wet construction site. What does that mean? It means that my purple truck is now solid grey. So cool! Why is that cool? Well. I have an obnoxiously purple truck. I didn’t pick the color, but the truck was the vehicle of my dreams on all other fronts so I bought it. I say it’s an obnoxious color choice for me, because 1) I don’t love purple (but Heidi does. Hey Heidi!) and 2) Purple is the color of my people (the gays). Don’t get me wrong, I love the gays and I am proud to be one, but really . . . have you seen me lately? I look like a big ol lesbian. I do *not* need a rainbow sticker on my truck, nor do I need a purple truck to make something that is very obvious, even more obvious. That truck screams, “I’m GAY would you like to date me!?!” Again, there’s nothing wrong with that message, I just prefer to let my stylish short hair and Carharts do the talking instead of the truck. Now, the plus side of the color is that it is a fairly deep purple, so when Jo is dirty she looks almost black (yes I call my truck Jo – like Jo from the Facts of Life). So, I typically keep Jo pretty dirty, because black truck = cool lesbian. Purple truck = slightly obnoxious lesbian. An important side note, my Dad (who is the best and such a sweet guy), loves to have very clean cars. I know that it drives him crazy when I pull up to their house in a dirty truck. How do I know this? I know this because as soon as I head off to take a nap or chat with my mom he’s down there washing the truck. And he’s not just washing it, he’s waxing it. Seriously. If I step away for 45 minutes, 95% of the time I will come back to find a truck that is so bright and shiny that the purple can be seen from a mile away. It’s such a sweet gesture, but so not the direction that I want to go with the color. I suppose that I could just bite the bullet and tell my Dad that I like it better when Jo is dirty. But he is right. Cars do run better when they are clean. So, I am sure that I will be scrubbing off the construction grey and waxing that purple paint till Jo gleams before I head back to the lower 48. However until then I am really enjoying my grey truck. It’s so. . . Alaskan!

Friday, July 31, 2009

Day 15, July 13th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Operation Fitness for Fear:  Today we shaved three minutes off of our normal running time.  We ended up running the typical loop in 32:30.  I was quite pleased.  I was also quite pleased to see that a local gave us a smile and a truck wave as we were running.  I think we’re beginning to pass as residents of Girdwood.  Tess, was also pleased on our run, but for a different reason.  All this time, when we run through wooded areas or come around a bend, I yell “Tess leave it” as a way to (hopefully) warn any bears or moose that we are coming up the path.  I did this because I didn’t want to seem like a tourist yelling “hey bear.”  However I recognize that it’s not really nice to yell at Tess and act like she’s doing something wrong when she is not.  So, today I had an epiphany.  Instead of yelling “Tess, leave it,” I started yelling “Good Dog Tess.  Good Dog.”  It seems simple enough; I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner.  Regardless, Tess has now gone from thinking that she can’t smell anything on the run, to thinking that she’s the most amazing dog on the planet.  (And, we’re still warding off the bears and moose).  Everybody wins!

 

Operation Drop It Like It Is Hot: Yes.  Tess is still confused about when she needs to poop.  She still seems to think that she should hold it in until we go on a run, and deposit it only when we are on FFF.  What this means is that anytime we go for a run I have to have at least three poop bags with me.  That’s a lot of poop people!  I am not amused, but I supposed I should be happy that at least she’s going instead of just holding it in until she explodes.

 

Growing Food Obsession:  There is really only one “grocery store” in town, and it’s the Crow Creek Mercantile.  It carries all the essentials: produce, liquor, paper, fishing hooks, rope, meat, canned goods, People Magazines that are 2 weeks behind, etc...  But, the mercantile isn’t very big.  It’s about 1,000 square feet, tops.  The small space and the fact that the produce and fresh items are only restocked on a weekly or monthly basis results in a general lack of variety.  Depending on what day you go, you can either find a fully stocked meat and produce section, or a couple of packages of brown meat and wilted lettuce labeled with “on sale for a dollar” signs. My sister Heather (Aloha Heather!!!), the ultimate bargain hunter, would love that.  I, on the other hand, can’t bring myself to even walk down the “fresh” isle when it is in such a depleted state.   And here’s the thing, I haven’t figured out which day is the “fresh/restocking” day at the mercantile so every time I go in there it could be a hit or miss shopping adventure.  The only thing that seems to be consistent is their supply of canned green beans.  Regardless of when I go to the mercantile, there always seems to be about 20 cans of green beans to choose from.  And although I am sure that the nutritional value of a can of green beans is nil, I still buy them.  Truth be told, I’m getting a little obsessed.  I have had about 10 cans to date.  I don’t know what to do about it.  I can’t seem to stop eating them.  I crave it fortnightly!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPMS6tGOACo

Our Adventure for the Day:  This afternoon we took an hour long walk on the Iditarod trail.  We headed south on the section of the trail that runs off of Crow Creek road.  There was a nice breeze (so no mosquitoes), and the sun was shining, but the tree cover kept us cool.  This was another hike where it was more about enjoying the forest foliage than the mountain views.  The path that we took was covered with mini pine cones, tree roots and pine needles.  It was quite bumpy and uneven.  Every few minutes I would marvel at the fact that dog sleds travel over this trail in the winter, but I supposed the snow levels out the terrain quite a bit.  To the left and the right of the trail there were giant leaves (that look like rhubarb leaves), various wild flowers that like shade, ferns, and fallen trees mixed in with evergreens (that were still standing).  Wherever a tree had fallen, some sun would pour in through the gap in the branches overhead, making the forest floor look like the pattern created when you shine a flashlight through a paper snowflake.  But the coolest thing about this hike was the incredible amount of moss that covered everything.  There was moss climbing up the trees that were still living, but I was even more impressed with the moss that blanketed everything on the forest floor.  If a tree had fallen, there was moss covering it as it decayed.  If there was a rock next to the trail, it had moss crawling up the side of it.  The moss dipped and turned and flowed over anything that stayed still for too long.  The entire forest looked like a messy but totally cool room where someone just tipped all the furniture over, threw a huge green shag carpet over everything and then left it that way for 50 years.  It was really quite uniquely beautiful.

 

The Little Voice in My Head: Right before I head out on one of these adventures I typically text someone where I am going and how long I expect to be gone.  I do this just in case something happens, so that people know where to start looking for me.  I normally think of it as just a safety precaution, but on the hike today I was actually pretty glad I had let my friend Hope (one of my safety monitors) know where I was going because I felt a little nervous during this hike for some reason.  Don’t get me wrong, I still had a great time and I thought the trail was gorgeous.  It’s just that we didn’t run into anyone else on the trail, it was eerily quiet, there was a fair amount of bear and moose scat on the trail, and most of the path was through relatively dense forest, which means I couldn’t see very far in front of me.  Tess only added to my trepidation by compulsively smelling any bear scat that we found, and then pulling me forward, with her ears perked up and alert.  It can be a little disconcerting when it’s quite clear that your dog is tracking something and wants to pull you closer to it, instead of away from it (which would be the safer option – and my preference for that matter).   And of course, it is even harder to stay the “let’s have an adventure” course, when the little voice in your head is whispering “It’s ok to chicken out.  Why don’t you just go back to the bachelor pad, crack open a Mike’s Hard Lemonade, heat up a can of green beans, and be a sloth?”  Obviously I ignored the voice; we survived and ended up having plenty of fun despite my nervousness.  However, I will be the first to admit that for the entire time we were on the trail, every 30 seconds, I alternated between yelling “hey bear” and whistling “I wish I was in Dixie.”  So much for enjoying the silence of nature!  Oh well; we didn’t run in to any large wildlife, and that’s the goal.  I’d rather be safe and whistling Dixie than sorry.

 

U Dig It: Right when it was time to turn around on the hike and start heading back to the truck, my stomach started rumbling.  Having an upset stomach on a hike is less than ideal, and it’s even worse when you have a lot of distance to cover before you can get back to your car.  But Tess and I managed to muscle through it, with a few stops on the way back.  Luckily I had my “U Dig It” collapsible metal shovel with me on this trek.  (Plastic shovels are useless by the way).  I am sure you can read between the lines and deduce what was going on during those stops.  I am also sure, once again, that we looked like quite a pair with me hiding in the bushes, whistling Dixie to warn off the bears, and trying to balance while Tess was still leashed to me, furiously digging at and attacking tree roots three feet to the right of me.

 

Wildlife/Unique Sightings:

Para-gliders: 2

Fallen Tree Victims in the Moss Assault: 3, 562 (approximately)

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Day 14, July 12th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Morning Activities and Observations:
After a solid night’s sleep at our campsite, Tess and I woke up and made some breakfast. Tess had her standard fare, and I made some pancakes. Unfortunately, despite all the camping gear that I brought, I overlooked packing the syrup. So, I had to use brown sugar instead. And I’ve got to tell you, it wasn’t that bad. They were quite tasty as a matter of fact.

While I was cooking breakfast, Tess made herself comfortable around camp. And when I say “she made herself comfortable,” I really mean: “She kept herself busy by attempting to destroy the camp.” First she sniffed some flowers. That was innocent enough. Then she started digging up the flowers. Once she got tired of doing that, she tried digging up some tree roots. When she was unsuccessful in her attempt at tree transplanting, she tried climbing up on the picnic table to help out with the cooking. I guess since the table was outside she thought that was acceptable behavior. And when I shooed her away from the picnic table, she topped it all off by tangling her tie out cable up in the tent pegs. Of course this led to the tent fly coming loose, getting twisted up in her tie out cable and “chasing her” around camp. I swear, she’s like a living, breathing, version of Pluto. Got to love her.

As we were packing up the camp, a couple of guys, who looked like they were in their 70’s, came over to the water pump. It took them quite a bit of pumping to get the water going, and when it finally started flowing, one guy started washing his hands while the other guy kept pumping. By the time he was done washing his hands, the guy pumping looked like he might pass out, but instead of calling it quits and giving his friend a break, the hand washer decided to wash as much of his body as he could. The next thing you know, he’s washing his hair. Then his shirt comes off, and then he strips down to a Speedo with his little pot belly hanging out over it. And the whole time this is going on, his friend, the pumper, looks like he’s about to have a heart attack. When Mr. Clean finally stopped washing himself, I thought, “Ok, now it’s the other guy’s turn.” But no, they just walk back off to their trailer again. The pumper doesn’t even get to wash his hands. Now that’s true, self-sacrificing friendship. Either that, or maybe the washer smelled REALLY bad and the pumper decided it was worth risking a coronary to help get him clean.

It was a little overcast on the drive home, but I didn’t mind it too much. The clouds hung low on the ridges that we drove by and you could practically see the moisture and mist in the air. The air was so still that the lakes we passed were just like mirrors, perfectly reflecting the mountains above in their dark greenish-blue waters.

As we were passing through the gorgeous town of Cooper’s Landing I saw a rowing trailer parked by the side of the road. Now that’s a crew team I’d come out of retirement to join.

When we got home to Girdwood, we stopped by the Tourist Trap (the gift shop) and poked around for a few minutes. The store had a book called “Walking with my dog, Jane.” It’s about this guy who hikes along the Alaskan Pipeline for an entire summer with his dog. It makes Operation Fitness for Fear seem like child’s play!

Operation Trying Not to be a Complete Hermit:
A guy said hi to me at the campsite bathroom today. He actually said it to me in a different language, but I got the gist of what he was trying to say.

Given the fact that the bathroom conversation was essentially the only human contact that I had had all day long, I decided that tonight would be the night to break down and go to the local bar, Chair 5. I wasn’t going to go out of my way to introduce myself to people, but I thought it would be a good idea to be around humans and increase my odds of a face to face conversation. When I got to Chair 5, the restaurant section was already completely full so they sat me at the bar. I did my best to look like a local as I ordered some food and a cider. Within a few minutes, a couple of girls sat down next to me and started planning the details for an upcoming wedding (not to one another; to a guy). After a while one of them commented that my hair smelled good (but she also compared it to grape Gatorade, so I’m not exactly sure how to take that compliment). Regardless, that gave me an opening, so as I ate my dinner, I chatted with them a bit, and I observed a couple of things.
1) Alaskan women can drink a ton of booze and still hold normal conversations. (I was very impressed).
2) Roasted pig is apparently a common meal to serve at weddings in Girdwood.

I wouldn’t say that tonight's bar adventure was amazing by any stretch of the imagination, but I did successfully complete Operation Trying Not to be a Complete Hermit. So thumbs up all around.

Wildlife/Unique Sightings:
Motorcycle with a side car: 1
Women with what appear to be incredibly high tolerances: 3
Old, but clean guy in a Speedo: 1

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Day 13, July 11th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Morning Activities: This morning Tess and I slept in until about 8am, then I woke up and made some lovely strawberry pancakes while she chewed on a plastic bottle. I think she’s trying to tell me that she wants more food for breakfast, but I am choosing to ignore her attempts to overeat. After breakfast we packed up the truck for an overnight “car camping” trip and headed out to the Kenai Peninsula for an adventure.

Notes on the Drive:
Most of the drivers in Alaska are, as you would expect, from Alaska, however, once and a while I will pass a car from out of state. When that happens, I feel a certain camaraderie with the driver. Sometimes the license plates are just from Washington (which is not all that impressive to me). Or sometimes the license plates are from places like Florida or New York (those impress me because it means they drove even further than I did to get here). But, today we passed two RV’s, in a caravan, from Colorado. My People!!! I sped up and got in front of them so that they could see my license plate was from CO as well. I even secretly wished that I had some sort of flashing neon blue lights that I could switch on to illuminate my license plate. In the end, I’m not sure if they even noticed that I was from Colorado, but I, for one, know that I felt like hugging them!

Most of the cars that I\we passed on the drive had coolers and dip nets strapped to the top of their roofs. Once again, I was jealous of the dip netter’s inevitable advantage over my attempts to catch red salmon with a fly rod.

We passed through Cooper’s Landing on the way to our campsite. That view is amazing. The water is a crazy turquoise blue, and the river is wide and powerful. So cool. So impressive and intimidating and yet inviting all at once

Our Hiking Adventure for the Day:
After we secured a campsite at a campground near Cooper’s Landing, Tess and I headed off to the Resurrection Pass Trailhead near the Russian River. The hike that we decided to take is a gradual ascent over a pass. The trees are pretty thick, so you don’t get to see as many vast views of mountain ranges as you do on the Johnson Pass Trail. However, I didn’t mind the thick trees because they force you to focus on the forest foliage and the views that are 20 feet in front of you instead of 20 miles away. Fireweed (a tall pink/purple flower) lined the trail, along with ferns, aspens, birch trees, and various patches of wildflowers. There were also a couple of creeks babbling alongside the trail at various points in the hike, and an occasional break in the trees would allow you a short, but beautiful glimpse of the Kenai River winding through the valley below. Tuffs of cotton spun down from the cottonwoods and landed in snow like pillows of white on top of beds of pine needles. But, my favorite part of this trail was rounding a corner to find the sun shining down just right through a dark and shadowy section of evergreens. The contrast was so stark. The dark of the forest reaching 30 feet up, but powerful streams of light beaming down through the branches making the pine needle path almost sparkle. It made me feel like I was witnessing something magical.

When it was time to head back down the path (after about 90 minutes of hiking North), Tess spied a chipmunk and went crazy. These are the moments that I know she wishes she wasn’t firmly attached to her stubborn momma. She would much rather tear down the ravine after that chipmunk, instead of being held hostage by a woman who is absentmindedly snapping pictures of ferns and cotton balls.

Our Campsite:
After we completed our hike, I took Tess back to the campground, hooked her up to a 25ft tie out, and then I sat down to relax and read a book. The first thing that Tess did was head straight to one of the mud flaps on my truck. She started licking it. Since she doesn’t normally do this, I just chuckled and kept reading. However, after about 5 minutes I looked over and Tess was still obsessively licking it. It was only then that I remembered that I had unfortunately clipped a little road kill with my back right tire on our drive today (don’t worry; it was already dead by the time that I hit it). Yeah. Guess which mud flap Tess was licking? N-A-S-T-Y.

Needless to say, after I realized what was going on, I adjusted Tess’s tie out cable so that she couldn’t reach the mud flap anymore and then I went back to reading. Tess, on the other hand, started to play a little game that I like to call “Cleaning up Camp.” Apparently the people who camped at the campsite the night before had steak for dinner. They also decided to just chuck the bones into the various bushes around the campsite instead of throwing them away. 1) That’s just rude. 2) That’s idiotic in bear country. Luckily, Tess was all over clean up duty. She sniffed out anything that smelled remotely tasty over the next 15 minutes. Granted, she started to get a little pissed at me because every time she found a bone or piece of trash I would take it away, but she continued playing the cleanup game anyway. At one point in time, I decided that I would try out her “tracking” abilities and I took one of the bones and chucked it into some thick shoulder high bushes to see how long it would take her to find it. Um yeah. I guess Tess has mad tracking skills after all because she emerged from those bushes with that bone in less than 10 seconds. Seriously. She’s good.

When Tess was finally satisfied with the cleanliness of the campsite she sat down, made some mulch (chewed on a stick for about 10 minutes) and then passed out in the dirt by my feet. It’s always a successful outing when your timid dog is so exhausted by the end of the day that she’s sound asleep and snoring instead of whining in fear about the new surroundings.

The campsite was very pleasant. I made a little beef stroganoff for dinner and Tess had some dog food. There was a little breeze, which meant no mosquitoes, and all of the other campers had very well behaved, and leashed dogs. All in all, it was a perfect evening, with the exception of a brief period when two brothers were pumping water at the water pump next to my campsite. At some point, one of them pinched his finger in the pump and proceeded to scream in the most guttural manner for two minutes straight. Don’t get me wrong. It looked like it hurt, but he was screaming so much that I was about to go over and look for a missing digit on the ground. I think his brother was equally concerned due to the pure volume of noise that was coming out of his injured brother’s mouth. But, when the non-injured brother finally got to take a look at the “injured” finger, and saw that it was just pinched (not even broken), he just dropped his screaming brother’s hand, looked him dead in the eye and said “You are such a baby.” Ah brotherly love. Otherwise known as tough love I suppose. It worked like a charm. The crying stopped instantly and the injured brother started pumping again like nothing had ever happened. Mental note for if/when I have boys: apparently heckling is not only allowed, it is effective.

Wildlife Sightings:
Chipmunk: 1
Bald Eagle: 1
Bones: 6
Road Kill: 1
Water Pumping Baby: 1

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Day 12, July 10th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Tess and the Garage:
Tess loves the garage. As a matter of fact, she may love the garage more than I do. I’d say she spends a good hour a day just walking around on all the different levels of it smelling stuff. Sometimes she runs laps around the truck or up and down the stairs, but mostly she just hangs out in there. At times it feels a bit like she’s a teenager hanging out in her room. If I pop my head in there to check on her she kind of gives me this look like “What? What are you doing here? I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m just hanging out!!! Jeeze Mom. Can’t a kid have a little privacy?!?!” As long as I don’t find her in there doing drugs and having sex with the dog next door it seems innocent enough to me.

Our Salvaged Adventure for the Day:
This Friday I had planned on working until about 1pm and then taking off early for a camping adventure of some sort. Unfortunately, at about 11am, I started feeling really woozy and dizzy. I don’t know if it was something about the way my computer screen was set up, the after effects of drinking crappy Mike’s Hard Lemonade (although I only had one!), or just something that my body was going through, but my head was spinning and I felt like I was going to vomit. So, I pushed the departure time back and just went horizontal on the futon, hoping that the feeling would subside. Tess, always the trusty hound, curled up right next to me and kept me company.

At around 3pm, when I still wasn’t feeling quite right, I decided to postpone the camping trip until tomorrow, cancel OFFF for the day, and keep resting on the couch. By about 5pm, I was feeling a *little* better, but still a pretty off. And, by 6pm, I was a little depressed about the “wasted” day and Tess was ready to explode because she hadn’t pooped yet and she was refusing to go anywhere near the house.

So, I decided that I would take her down to the train tracks for a very easily little stroll in an attempt to get her to DILIH. We got to the train tracks, Tess completed Operation DILIH, and we started to head back to the truck when I remembered the strawberry patch that we had passed earlier in the week. Sure enough, when we strolled over to it, it had clearly been picked through, but there were still plenty of wild strawberries left to enjoy. So, I pulled out a plastic bag and started picking. Tess wasn’t all that helpful, because she tends to step on the berries, but she did have her bear bell on, and that might have helped ward off some bears. It is fairly reasonable to be wary of bears while you are bent over picking through one of their food sources, so I started whistling as well. I did get a couple of mosquito bites while we were picking strawberries, but I didn’t care. I was too giddy about finding this free bounty on the side of the road. I love Alaska!

Tess and I stopped off at the mercantile on the way home and picked up some pancake mix and syrup to go along with our pound of wild berries. Guess who is having strawberry pancakes in the morning?! And all because Tess had to poop!

Man I love my dog! Good girl Tess. Good Girl!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Day 11, July 9th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Operation Fitness for Fear: We had another great run today. I am really beginning to enjoy Operation FFF. I will admit I don’t always like the idea of it as I am getting dressed for the run, but once I push through that initial lazy feeling, the run consistently ends up being quite nice. And of course, Tess always loves a chance to get outside. Today on the run we saw a couple of wild purple irises. They were small, but very beautiful and delicate.

We also managed to avoid any dogs on our run. Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs, but Tess is pretty unpredictable around dogs. With some dogs she will cower and be submissive. With other dogs she will bark and snap at them, as if she is warning them to stay away. I am sure this is due mostly to her timid nature. On one hand she wants some other dog to take the lead; on the other hand sometimes she’s so freaked out by her surroundings that she just wants the other dogs to leave her alone. I am sure there is more that I can do to help her on this front, but like all things with Tess, it is a work in progress. In the interim, I do my best to keep an eye out for dogs that we might encounter, so that I can make sure that I have control over Tess. That way, she doesn’t feel like she has to speak (IE bark) for the two of us. Keeping an eye out for dogs in Girdwood is a full time job since a lot of people just let their dogs roam the streets. Luckily, all the dogs that we have encountered so far have been very chill. My guess is that if you are a dog and you spend the majority of your life living in Girdwood, you learn how to recognize the people who want to pet you and the people who want you to leave them alone. Sometimes I feel a little bad for them when it’s raining out or when I think about bears, but for the most part, they seem incredibly happy to be able to just wander around and set their own daily agenda. They can sniff wherever they want. They can hang out wherever they want (One dog just sits outside the mercantile door. Another dog sits in the middle of the road until his owner comes back from work). And inevitably, they can poop wherever they want. Apparently, my front yard is quite popular with the local dogs when it comes to this particular activity. Tess is not amused.

Operation Trying Not to be a Complete Hermit: I have continued my attempts to interact with people a little more. Admittedly, today was a fairly passive attempt, but it bears noting that during Operation FFF, I made eye contact with a few people and they all said “Hi” to me. One of the hellos was from a local. Two hellos were from tourists. And one hello was from a guy who was clearly just focusing on my chest. I can’t say that I blame him. I mean let’s face it; I have quite a large rack. And, despite a couple of sports bras, going on a run with those suckers is going to make an impression on anyone who’s watching.

Observations and Notes from my Work Day in Anchorage:
There are some forest fires burning throughout the state, which is fairly common in Alaska. It’s also to be expected because this is one of the driest summers that they have had in years. The fires do interesting things to the sky. They make everything look a little hazy. They also make the air smell like campfires. I love a nice campfire, so it doesn’t really bother me. As a matter of fact, I enjoy the smell. I just hope the actual fires stay away from the bachelor pad.

I had a conference call with one of my clients today. Unlike the rest of the loudmouths in the public library, I didn’t want to make a lot of noise or take my call in the library, so I took it in my truck. Now, because this is my most problematic customer, I put on my lucky headband while I was talking to them. My headband says “IT’S GOING TO BE FINE” on it. I also tend to pull on my hair when I am talking to this customer, which means my hair is standing straight up while I wear the headband. Yeah. Initially I forgot that I still had it on when I started heading back inside. I’m glad that I caught myself before I actually sat back down in the library. Otherwise, some smart ass (other than me) probably would have blogged about the weirdo they saw in the public library today.

A cute little kid came up to me in the library and held an entire conversation with me while I was trying to work. Sadly, I have no idea what he was saying to me, but it was still adorable. And really, it all helps when it comes to Operation Trying Not to Be a Complete Hermit.

I saw a ton of people with dyed hair in the mall today. I’m not talking about blondes and brunettes. I’m talking about greens and reds and purples and bright blues. I must have missed the memo about this being “dye your hair like a slurpee” day.

I picked up my fishing license today. Wahoo! I don’t know exactly when I will go fishing yet, as we are currently between runs of red salmon, but it’s nice to know that now I can pull my fly rod out anytime I spy a stream that I want to fish on. While I was at the sporting good store getting my fishing license I saw a dip net for sale. Alaskan residents are allowed to use dips nets to catch salmon at certain times during the year. I can’t do this because you have to live here for 12 months first, but seeing that huge net made me a little jealous. It was about five feet in diameter. You essentially walk out into the river while the salmon are running upstream, stick your huge net in the water and pull out a fish. Talk about having an advantage over the salmon (and the fishermen using poles)!

Wildlife/Unique to Alaska Sightings:
Float Plane: 1
Bald Eagles: 3
People with Unnatural Primary Color Hair: 11

Our Adventure for the Day: Today Tess and I took another walk along the Bird to Gird bike path. It was a repeat walk, but I can’t help doing it again since I like it so much. It is full of such great views and it is a nice walk to take if you aren’t feeling overly ambitious. When we got to the start of the walk, which is at the train station, I saw a couple of kids (probably 5-8 years old) sipping soda pop and walking along the railroad tracks. It looked like an old time print ad for Coca-Cola.

I have been trying to notice more birds on these walks. The marshes are full of all kinds of small birds popping in and out as they feed on bugs. There’s also an occasional bald eagle or hawk or sea gull that flies over the tall grass and marshy water scanning for an easy meal. It seems like the bigger birds float and glide while the smaller birds dart around at a much quicker pace. Unfortunately I don’t know any of the names for the smaller birds, but they are fun to watch nevertheless. They are like little dancers, flitting and whisking about, looking so sleek and graceful, all the while, arduously working to find their next meal.

We keep passing these purple thistles. I want the thistles to be some sort of exotic fruit. I don’t know why. It just seems like something that pretty and yet uninviting should be edible.

We passed a lot of bogs, and we managed to avoid going for a swim in any of them. This disappointed Tess a bit, but I was very pleased since it gave us some more opportunities to practice our “Oh crap! !!@#$% stay out of the bog” trick. Lest you start to think that I don’t let Tess have any fun, I did let her take a swim in a creek along the path. Of course, as soon as she jumped into the water, she woke the beasts. And by beasts, I mean the mosquitoes. Luckily, they were slow. I only suffered two bites with the Shoo tags as my only protection.

About five minutes in to the walk, Tess and I spied some wild strawberries by the side of the road. I made a mental note to try a couple on our way out. However, on our return trip I we found that the patch was being picked by the kids with the soda pop and their mom. I didn’t want to crowd them so we just headed home, but you can guess what I’ll be doing tomorrow.

After Our Walk: Tess and I came home to find that the DSL was installed a day early. YEAH! Way to go ACS Alaska! Faster internet has come to the 70’s bachelor pad. We celebrated by watching a couple of episodes of the Tudors on Netflix. Life is good!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Day 10, July 8th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Notes about Living in the Bachelor Pad:
In addition to the big pimpin’ baby blue carpet and orange countertops, there are a few other things that I love about the 70’s bachelor pad. First of all, the laundry machine, bathroom, shower, and closet are all within five yards of the front door. This is the perfect floor plan for someone who spends a lot of time getting dirty. I can walk in the front door, and be nekkid and showering, with clothes in the laundry machine (and no I don’t worry about sorting by color; I am embracing the dude lifestyle) within seven strides. Even better, right after the shower, I can take one step into my closet and be fully clothed within two minutes. I am telling you, the man who designed this place had no decorating sense, but he was a genius nevertheless.

Tess also loves the floor plan. In the morning, when I collapse the futon, she can quickly run and seek shelter from the freaky futon by hiding in the closet. When I am gone, she has a crate in the loft of the garage, away from scary noises. And when I am here, she can scan the street through the huge picture windows and bark at the Zoe look-a-like who poops in our yard every morning. Zoe is my ex-girlfriend’s dog. She is adorable. If any other dog pooped in my yard I would be mad, but when the Zoe look-a-like does it I just feel like running out and giving her a hug.

Special Event of the Day: I washed the sheets. I know. I know. That doesn’t seem all that exciting, but before we left Colorado my vet recommended that I don’t wash the sheets right away. She said that dogs smell “home” much more than they see “home.” She thought that taking the sheets from our house in Colorado and bringing them to Alaska, without washing them, would make Tess feel more at home. It is important to note that I didn’t sleep on the sheets that entire time, but I did leave them on the floor so that Tess would feel more at home when we first got here. Today, however, as she sat on the futon, lording over her domain, she started looking at the sheets like they were disgusting (I am sure I am projecting a bit). So we washed them! Tess didn’t seem to mind the smell of freshly laundered sheets one bit. Come to think of it, I didn't either.

Upper Body Watch: I have not been lifting weights while I am here. I think it’s safe to say that my biceps are beginning to dwindle. This *may* force me to bust out the dumbbells in the near future, but I will try to avoid it as long as possible in favor of outdoor activities.

Operation Fitness for Fear: On our run today I was sweating like a pig. I am pretty sure that Tess was too. (Like a piggy dog that is). However, when we got to our fountain for her cool down/swim time we found a landscaping guy pulling weeds in the garden next to the fountain. I reined Tess in since I am pretty sure that Tess isn’t actually supposed to be in the fountain. She was a little disappointed at first, but then she was quickly distracted and frightened by the landscaping guy’s ATV. I guess she is just used to landscapers in trucks or golf carts. Regardless, she got over her fear in about 90 seconds and then she was sniffing the tires and trying to climb up on the ATV. Confident strides like this make me think that Operation FFF might be working after all. We’re certainly feeling healthier; so that’s another point in the win column.

Observations in the Anchorage Public Library:
Today I was struck by how similar the Alaska Natives and the Hawaiians are. Their body types and tribal tattoos are very similar. In addition, a native Alaskan was playing the Ukulele in the library today. I’m used to seeing that instrument in Hawaii, but not in Alaska, and certainly not in the library. But, by now, I think we can safely say that the Anchorage Public Library is unlike any other library around.

Today a guy was reading the Anchorage newspaper in the library, and I was struck by the headline: “Yup, it’s hot. Tuesday’s high hits a record 80 degrees.” I love living in a place where the record temperature in July is 80 degrees.

On the way home from Anchorage today, I waved at the big guy on my street who sits out on his porch and drinks beer in the afternoon. He looked at me kind of funny, but I think it could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Wildlife Sightings:
Dall Sheep: 2
Drag Queen: 1 (in the library)
Para gliders: 3
Big guy on the porch: 1

Our Afternoon Adventure: Today, for our afternoon adventure, I decided that it would be fun to hike up to the glacier on the ski resort. I picked out a nice traversing route that would wind up gradually through the different slopes and eventually get us fairly close to the glacier. Unfortunately, for some reason, right after I parked the car, I decided that the traversing route was going to take too much time, so I opted to go straight up the mountain instead. The fact that I led us straight up a black slope added another degree of difficulty to the ascent. Yeah. It was a beautiful view but wicked steep. After about 30 minutes of heading straight up the mountain, Tess and I decided that this operation would henceforth be known as: “Not Fit Enough for This Yet.”

Of course Tess was in an extra pissy mood because there were black flies everywhere, and I couldn’t seem to find a stream for her to drink from despite the fact that I could hear it. I applied Cutter (along with that stupid Shoo tag) to ward off the bugs while Tess rolled in the grass to try and keep them off of her face. After a couple of weeks in bug territory I think it’s safe to report that Cutter is not as effective as OFF. However, Cutter does not make me high from the smell of it, so it has that going for it. On the water front, I did try to get Tess to drink from the camel back but she kept getting squirted in the face. This pissed her off more. (But I secretly enjoyed it).

After we got to a stopping point on our ascent (we got no where near the glacier FYI), we decided that we would take a traversing route down the mountain. I figured it might take a little longer, but it would probably be safer than heading straight back down the steep, gravel path we took up. Of course, the safer route entailed whacking through some waist high brush, walking past some fresh caribou and bear tracks, and passing something in the bushes that made Tess bark like a maniac . . . so after a while I started thinking maybe it wasn’t that safe after all. This was confirmed when we came out of the brush, and found that the sign for “easiest way down” was blocked off due to construction. After I stared at the construction sign in front of me, I turned to the left and saw a sign that said “do not enter, explosives.” The sign on my right wasn’t any better; it was warning about unexploded avalanche explosives. So yeah, we climbed back up the route we had just come down 30 seconds before and ended up walking out on the exact path that we originally ascended on. So much for trying to be safe. In hindsight, I probably should have brought along a map of the ski resort. Maybe next time. By the time we got to the bottom of the mountain my shirt was soaked completely through with sweat. Yup. Definitely not fit enough for this yet.

However, despite needing a little more training before we can make it all the way to the glacier, Tess and I did have a blast by the time the hike was over. We finally found the glacier stream and Tess jumped right in for a celebratory swim. We followed the swim up with an impromptu dance party in the garage when we got home. Genie Ortega. I love that song.

After a quick dip in the shower, I chowed down on some leftover pizza and cracked open a Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Yes, I am starting to enjoy that nasty beverage now. Yes, I was still so hot that I was sweating onto my pizza as I ate it. And yes, Tess and I were so happy with our day that I couldn’t stop smiling.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Day 9, July 7th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Operation Fitness for Fear: Today we extended our run to almost 40 minutes. Admittedly some of that additional time was added on when we stopped at a port-a-potty mid-run for a quick pee break. I know, I know, that is too much information. But I mention it because it’s a prime example of how quirky Tess is. Due to her timid nature, she *will not* let me leave her outside in a scary new place. She had a wild panic attack the first time that I ever had to use a bathroom on a run and I left her outside. (This panic attack included barking and yelping so much that people thought I was beating her). I find this behavior a little odd since most people would certainly prefer to be left outside a port-a-potty rather than accompany me into it. However, Tess is unique; so today, like any other day, she had no issue jamming right into that thing with me. In a handicap port-a-potty, this isn’t really that annoying. However, in a standard size port-a-potty, it’s a little insane. But then again, that is Tess, a little crazy. She just sits there, squished up against the door, intently listening for any noises that might be coming from outside, while I precariously balance and try to pee while simultaneously trying to avoid touching anything in that place. I am sure it’s quite a sight.

We were also able to extend the length of our run a bit because, let’s face it: I am living at sea level. After living in CO for the past three years, running at sea level is making me feel invincible.

One other note on Operation FFF, today, while we were running, we smelled why Girdwood is fondly called Girdweed by some people. Yes. Today we caught a strong whiff of marijuana. Tess wanted to investigate it further. I indicated that there would be no stopping for ganja!

Random Observations and Thoughts: I can officially report that you should not spend your money on XM radio while living in Alaska. As I said before, I am glad that I had it installed for the drive, since it was incredibly reliable until I hit the Yukon Territory. However, I would say that it comes in about 15-25% of the time in the parts of Alaska that I have travelled in so far. Make a note of that, for next summer, when you are all packing up your cars to drive to Alaska!

A friend of mine just had an encounter with a black bear on the east coast. She was apparently bluff charged by the bear, and managed to remain calm, call the bear’s bluff, and avoid peeing in her pants during the encounter. I keep wondering how Tess will react if/when we run into a bear or moose. I figure she will either embrace her heritage, (Tess is a Plott hound and they are bred to be bear hunters) or she will embrace her true nature, and bark ferociously while simultaneously peeing and hiding behind my legs. Here’s hoping we never find out the answer to this question.

Today I went to work in the library like I normally do. Within about five minutes of my arrival, a woman came in and she was wearing some very nice smelling perfume. As soon as I realized how *aware* I was of her presence, I began to think that my current hermit lifestyle may not last. What can I say? I like nice smelling women, and I have certainly made lifestyle changes for them in the past!

The Anchorage Public Library still continues to amaze me with their non-standard library behavior. People eat in there all the time, and no one seems to have a problem with someone making excessive amounts of noise. Case in point, today a guy was asleep in a chair, head tilted all the way back, snoring as loudly as I have ever heard anyone snore, for over 30 minutes. All I can say is, thank goodness for my iPod.

I read a hysterical (to me) quote today. Lady Gaga (a pop singer) said it, and I will paraphrase it: “I make soulless electric pop, but when you are high on ecstasy, in a club at 2am, with a guy grinding up against you to my music, it feels like it has soul.”

The view on the drive home today was quite beautiful. The sky is actually pretty hazy due to some forest fires that are burning in the north, but that makes the light do interesting things. In addition to that, I drove home as the tide was almost completely out, so the entire bay looked more like a desert than a bay. I’m continually impressed by how much water comes in and out of the Turnagain Arm with the tides on a daily basis. At points, the water can be deep enough for beluga whales to swim in, and then just a few hours later, when the tide has receded, you can see birds, in the exact same spot, standing on thick, almost black, mud flats, searching for food. The black mud also takes on a glistening sheen when the sun hits it just right. I find it mesmerizing.

Wildlife/Unique to Alaska Sightings:
Special truck driving on train tracks: 1 (I always thought the truck on the train tracks was the best part of the train set)
Float Plane: 1
Wrecked Plane: 1 (Seriously, this thing was in pieces on a truck bed. Kind of creepy)
Para-surfers: 3

Our Adventure for the Day: Since I was really enjoying the view of the mudflats today, I opted to take Tess for a walk down by 20 mile river, which empties in to the bay. I tend to play it safe and avoid walking on the black mud whenever possible because it can be deadly. It is said that people have lost their lives wandering out onto that black mud, which can be like quicksand in places, getting stuck in it, and then drowning when the tide swept back in. So, for this obvious reason, we chose to walk on the drier, firmer ground to the right of the mud flats. This area was covered with tall grass and flowers. It still feels a little marshy, but the ground is much firmer and less likely to be covered by the tides. Ever since I hiked with friends in Denali a few years back, I have developed a love for hiking “off trail.” Today’s walk, although short, was off trail, and it was great. I just love stepping through tall grass, feeling it brush against your thighs, as you pick and choose the next spot to place your foot. After a while you find out with type of plant is more apt to be abrasive or cushioning, which color dirt is going to give way to a bog, or support you firmly. Of course, Tess loves this “off trail” time as much as I do. She tends to alternate between obsessively smelling everything, like a crazy vacuum cleaner running on its own, and bounding through the foliage, ecstatic about the new environment, too excited to even smell.

We found a few moose tracks; one was as big as my foot. Tess was not incredibly impressed by the moose tracks. Maybe it’s an acquired taste.

In addition, we encountered a few renegade mosquitoes. I did not have any OFF or Cutter on, just that Shoo Tag in my back pocket. I got 5 bites in about 20 minutes. My ruling on the Shoo Tag is still, “eh. It’s better than nothing, but it may also be nothing.”

At the halfway point in our walk, we stopped and took a series of pictures of the view around us, in a 360 degree format. Every time I turned a few degrees, there was another range of ridges, speckled with snow and brush. Some of the ridges were close by, and others were across the bay, with gleaming black mudflats between us. It was spectacular.

On our way back to the car, we saw two people, walking hand in hand in the tall grass. As I was pulling out of my parking spot, I saw them throw down a blanket, and a few moments later they were gone, completely hidden by the grass. I thought two things when I could no longer see them:
1) Aw, that is so romantic.
2) I hope they have more than a Shoo tag to protect them out there!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Day 8, July 6th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Operation Fitness for Fear: It was a week day today, so Tess and I resumed Operation FFF. We have been running a similar path everyday, and today we shaved a record three minutes off of our time. I attribute this speedy time partially to the fact that we didn’t run over the weekend (opting instead for hikes and walks), and mostly to the fact that we ran later in the day. Running later in the day doesn’t usually make me run faster, however it does mean that there are more people out on the path while we are running. People and bicyclists whom Tess is afraid of when they are up close, and suddenly wants to chase after once they have passed her. Seriously, my dog likes it when you play hard to get people. Anyway, Tess isn’t a huge puller, but every little tug that she makes as she tries to chase after those people helps when you are trying to set a record. Way to go Tess.

Operation Trying Not to be a Complete Hermit:
Most people don’t think that I am shy, because once I get to know them; they can’t get me to shut up. But, I do tend to be a little shy when I first meet people. Maybe shy isn’t the right word, maybe the correct phrase is reserved and observant. I generally like to watch someone for a few minutes before I speak to them for the first time, so that I know what I am going to say, and how I am going to say it (serious, joking, monotone, ambivalent, exuberant, sarcastic . . . you get the point).

I have also always had a habit of going through periods of “hibernation.” I’ll have a flurry of social months, and then all of the sudden it seems like I have fallen off of the face of the earth for a week or two while I hole up in my neighborhood, write, read books, get tea, eat breakfast at Radda, don’t answer the phone, and watch movies alone. I think it’s my brain’s natural way of letting me recover from, and prep for, the next social events where I have to be “on” and entertaining. I’ve always been this way. At the end of the school year, my friend who lived 2 blocks away would say, “see you in three months,” because she knew that even though we lived two minutes from each other I was going to hibernate for the summer.

These patterns are not new to me. And, because of these patterns, it does not surprise me that I have yet to really make any friends in Girdwood, much less held a face to face conversation that lasted longer than five minutes over the past two weeks. I *am* talking to people via the phone and IM so I am still very connected, but I haven’t gone out of my way to introduce myself to the town of Girdwood yet.

So, today I decided that I would try to break *a little* out of my hermit lifestyle and say “hi’ to someone in Girdwood. It didn’t have to be a long conversation or a formal introduction, but I did have to, at the very least, say hello to someone I didn’t know. On the way back from Operation FFF, I saw a prime opportunity to cross this off my list of things to do today. As I was running past this older guy with a walking stick I said, “Hi” and I waved. He looked up at me, smiled through a bushy grey moustache, with all of his upper teeth missing, and said, “Hello.” As I continued running by I shouted out, “It’s a lovely day out.” (There’s nothing like saying hi on the move to help you slowly ease out of the hermit lifestyle). He replied back, “Sure is,” and I kept running. There, that wasn’t so hard was it? No it wasn’t. To make the interaction even better, as Tess and I stopped running at the top of the hill and turned back to the house, we ran in to the guy again and he uttered this charming statement; “Lil darlin’, you're gonna melt if you keep running.” So sweet! I love it when little old guys call me 1) “lil” and 2) “darlin.” I laughed and thought: Melting? I hope so! Yup. That’s the idea buddy. That’s the idea.

Other Random Notes about the Day:
I didn’t go into Anchorage today. Work didn’t send me any huge files that crashed my internet connection, so I could work successfully from home. Yea! Only a couple more days until the truly high-speed connection comes to my house. Come on DSL!

I am still in love with creamed bee pollen. I need some bread though. Then I can truly experience the love with a creamed bee pollen and peanut butter sandwich. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I think I spotted the first lesbian that may live on my street (besides me). I say *I think* because in Alaska my gaydar is a little off. All the normal rules no longer apply. However, since this girl was walking along with a buzz cut, and a stocky build, in sweats and a sweatshirt and clearly no bra of any sort on, I feel fairly certain I am correct in my assessment. Maybe I’ll say hi to her tomorrow on my run? Who knows? The sky is the limit people! And, if she calls me "lil darlin" too then my suspicions will be confirmed!

Wildlife Sightings:
Para-gliders: 2
The loudest crows I have ever heard: 4

Our Adventure for the Day: After work, I took Tess for a hike. We packed the day pack full of way too much stuff, applied copious amounts of OFF and sunscreen and set off in search of the Winner Creek Trail. Now, on the Kenai Peninsula, almost all of the trails are clearly marked, but in Girdwood, this doesn’t appear to be the case, at least not when it comes to this particular trail. We wandered around for a while searching for the trail head and then we really started moving when we thought we had found it. We rambled through some thicker brush and bushes. I started teaching Tess a new trick called “Holy crap! NO! Stay out of the bog! @#^&.” (Incidentally, we’re still going to need to work on perfecting this trick). We even ran into the river that runs through town and took the most picturesque picture of the trip so far (which is saying a lot). All in all, I was beginning to think this trail, which we had only been on for fifteen minutes, might become my favorite trail in town. And then, we rounded a corner, and ran into the Well Plant for Girdwood. Yeah. The “trail” we were on ended right there, at the chain link fence for the Well Plant. It wasn’t a trail at all; it was just a dirt road to a big brick building. Tess grabbed the leash in her mouth and expressed her frustration with a little impromptu cross training (tug of war). I stood there in disbelief and shook my head at the fact that I was currently getting high on OFF for this stupid dirt road/wanna-be-trail. What a let down.

And then . . .

I looked up, and saw the same great view that was there right before we realized this was just a dirt road to a plant. And I looked around, and I saw flowers, and glacial waters rushing by me, and my dog panting and looking up at me with bog water still dripping off of her neck. And I thought: “What the hell. This was still a totally beautiful, fun, and new hike. I got to see things that took my breath away. And I still got to chuckle at my dog. So what if this is just a dirt road? It’s a damn pretty dirt road.”

Lesson Learned: Not every adventure has to be epic. It just has to make you smile.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Day 7, July 5th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Does It Ever Get Dark: A couple of people have asked me if it ever gets dark here, and up until last night I haven’t been able to answer yes or no to that question because I am asleep by the time that it *might* be getting dark. Well, last night, due to a lot of hydrating after the hike, I woke up at 1am and discovered the answer to this question. The answer, at least in July, is “No.” The sky does seem to change from light blue to a darker blue (kind of like the sky would look before a big thunderstorm in Colorado), but it doesn’t appear to ever get pitch black. Again, this is in July. I will update you again in August, as long as my pain in the butt, I mean *challenging,* deal closes in Q3.

My Adventure for the Day: Today was a pretty mellow day. Tess and I slept in. These 5am work days have really made me appreciate the mornings that I can sleep in until 7 or 8am. After a nice breakfast, I left Tess at home (don’t worry, she’s still plenty tuckered out from our hike yesterday) and I meandered down to Forest Fair. Forest Fair is the annual fair held in Girdwood over the 4th of July weekend. Since Girdwood is a *bit* like Boulder, this led to the inevitable mix of tourists, locals, and hippies all gathering in the forest near the Girdwood city park. After I photographed a picture of the Girdwood mini-golf course, which was a bunch of cups buried in the ground with mulch barriers and logs strewn about, I headed into the throng of people milling around the booths. The booths had everything from funnel cake to pottery; tie dyed cloth, knit goods, wildlife photographs, and woodworking, honey, and hula hoops. Aside from the fresh food, almost all of the booths contained items that most of the artists probably made during the dark and cold Alaskan winter months. I picked up a jar of creamed bee pollen by accident (I thought it was creamed honey). Most people know that I have a tiny honey addiction. Well, when I got home, my initial reaction to the pollen was, “hmm. I’m not sure I should have spent money on that.” It has the consistency of runny peanut butter and almost a green tinge to it. I know. I am not making it sound very appealing. However, after a few more samplings, I can tell you that I have changed my tune. It grows on you. As a matter of fact, I am currently experiencing a small, but significant, love affair with creamed bee pollen. Get some today!

Operation DILIH: Of course, because we had an off day from Operation Fitness for Fear, Tess still hadn’t pooped by the time that I got back from Forest Fair. I know this is because she is not so secretly trying to get me to run her every day, despite my firm belief in incorporating rest days into our training regimen. Instead of giving into her bullying I stood my ground, and was a lazy SOB. Sure enough, at 5pm, she finally gave in and dropped it like it was hot. Still, you have to admire her dedication to Operation FFF.

Training Tess: I am beginning to think that I should train Tess, who is a hound dog, how to track. However, since I don’t have a book on that, today I opted to train her on the fine art of “no sticks in the house.” We don’t have a garage in Boulder, but we do here. And in that garage, Tess found a stick. Now, in the afternoons, I tend to open the door between the garage and the house because the garage is cooler than the house and lately the house has been wicked hot. So, sure enough, yesterday afternoon, Tess comes sauntering into the house, sits down on the baby blue carpet and starts munching on that stick. Adorable, but dirty. I picked the stick up, said, “No sticks in the house,” and carried it back to the garage. Five minutes later Tess trotted back inside the house with it. I picked it up again and took it back out to the garage saying, “no sticks in the house,” while she looked at me like I was drunk. Finally, after we repeated this process four times, Tess demonstrated what a pure genius she is. She plopped down, in the garage, right next to the door to the house, and chewed on that stick until it was mulch. Good dog! Mommy is so proud!

Eating like a Dude: The eating like a dude streak continues. Today I had pizza from the pizza place down the street. Over-priced, but delicious. Oh, and you know I dipped that crust in creamed bee pollen!

Wildlife Sightings:
Bald Eagle: 1
Shoeless Hippies with Dreads: 7

Monday, July 6, 2009

Day 6, July 4th, Living in Girdwood, AK

I got another GREAT night of sleep last night. Seriously. The perpetual sunlight holds no power over my sleep cycle anymore. I am kicking its butt.

Operation Drop It Like It’s Hot Update: Tess continues to have problems sticking to her morning routine. This morning her efforts were thwarted by a blue tarp. That’s right, she was in mid-squat when a blue tarp rattled in the wind and startled her. Blue tarps are pretty common up here. People use them to cover up all kinds of stuff. But Tess doesn’t know that yet. Luckily Operation DILIH was a success later on in the afternoon when we were on our hike, so no one needs to worry too much about Tess’s health!

Wildlife Sightings:
Bald Eagles: 2
Para-surfers: 2 (These guys were cool; they were surfing the tides on our way home from our hike)

Our Big Adventure for the Day:
Instead of fighting over a camping spot with the hordes of 4th of July campers this weekend, Tess and I opted for a long day hike instead. We tackled the Johnson Pass Trail on the Kenai Peninsula at about 11am. I applied plenty of sunscreen and mosquito repellent, hooked the bear bell on Tess’s collar and away we went. In total, we hiked about 10 miles in about 4 hours (2hrs out and 2hrs back). The hike was a gradual uphill through forests and marshes, with lovely views of neighboring mountains and a couple of bridge crossings over some larger sections of the river. (The trail follows the river all the way up the pass). Every corner I turned (after yelling “Hey Bear”) held another perfectly frame shot. Tess wanted to give up on the picture taking and just get back to smelling all the new scents, but I made her focus for a couple of truly breathtaking views.

Since the Johnson Pass Trail is one of the longer trails that is close to Anchorage it is fairly popular with mountain bikers and backpackers. I didn’t mind the 10-15 people that I ran into on the trail. The bikers were all courteous and gave plenty of warning with their bear bells ringing from 40 yards away, and the hikers were all cordial and in control of their dogs. I will say this though, seeing all those mountain bikers made me wish I had brought my bike. Next time!

I don’t mention the Alaskan flowers very often on this blog, because I tend to enjoy the vibrant colors produced by a whole field of them, rather than analyzing one lone flower. But, I will say this, the flowers are quite beautiful. There are purple-red stalks of flowers (which I think are called fireweeds), and big white puffs of flowers with leaves that look like rhubarb plants. There are also little purple, blue, and white flowers speckled throughout the forest. Despite all of those flowers, I have to say that my favorite flower is the red columbine. If you’ve ever tried to grow a columbine from seed it will make you appreciate the wild ones that much more. This hike had hundreds of red columbines lining the trail. They are so pretty with their clover-like leaves and their spiky red flowers with yellow centers. They look like little fairy crowns.


Tess seemed to enjoy the hike as much as I did. She was bounding around in the brush along the trail, nose to the ground, with her tail wagging constantly. She also sampled just about every type of poop that she could find (before I could stop her). She’s a scat magnet. She found some horse, bear, and moose poop. It was gross and interesting all at once. Tess was mildly afraid of the two bridges that we had to cross on the hike, but she had no problem whatsoever with the small creeks that we had to walk through. At the beginning of the hike she would just wade through the creeks and drink some water. However, by the end of the hike, after 4 hours in the sun, and with a cloud of black flies surrounding her (she looked like Pig Pen from the Charlie Brown cartoons) she started using the streams as a fly-deterrent and a cooling bathtub all in one. She’d jump straight into the water, regardless of whether it was muddy or clear and try to submerge as much of her body in it as possible (despite the fact that most of the streams were 2-4 inches deep). She’d emerge from the creek a few moments later with water streaming out of her big ol’ hound dog jowls and give me a look that said, “Where are we headed next Mom?” She is frickin adorable.

The bugs were a little intense during the last 30 minutes of the hike, but they seem to make up for their annoying presence by being slower than the bugs in the Lower 48. So yes, I don’t like the fact that they were buzzing around my face, but there was something satisfying about being able to successfully swat so many of them.

After the hike, Tess and I hopped in the truck and drove back to Girdwood. We were tired, but we were satisfied!

Observations Post-Hike:
I have a couple of blisters. It will be fine, but apparently my body is still adjusting to my more “active” lifestyle. My take: a couple of blisters are a small price to pay for feeling alive.

Tess is sleeping like a baby. Actually, maybe she’s more like a passed out drunk. Yup. She’s definitely a passed out happy puppy.

When I got home, I had the urge for two things, a shower and some food. So, after showering I opened up a celebratory cider, a can of steak and potatoes soup, and a can of mushrooms. Why? Because I am apparently turning into a complete and total dude living in this 70’s bachelor pad. This is me shaking my head, at myself.

Operation Fit Enough to Do Whatever I Want:
Here’s the honest truth you guys: I know I am fairly cute, but my weight has fluctuated significantly over the years. You just have to look at the pictures over the years to see it. I was fit during crew, and then I gained some weight when I stopped rowing. Then I lost it again in a concerted effort, and then I gained it back after I stopped landscaping 10hrs a day, got a computer job, and started eating crap. I know how to lose it, but willpower has been lacking over the past couple of years. I also hate that I’ve become a little obsessed with the scale setting my overall mood for the day. So, when I came on this trip, I decided I would change my mindset regarding weight. I am going to stop measuring myself by numbers, but instead by my smile in the mirror every morning. I didn’t pack the scale, or the tape measure. I decided that I would just eat relatively healthy and do the activities that I want to do. If some weight comes off while I am up here, that is great. If I stay the exact same size but I can climb more mountains and feel confident in my strength again, then I will be happy. So, I’ve stopped obsessively logging calories in some black book that I have to tear every 4th page out of when I break down and eat crap and I’ve just started moving more and eating a *little* better. Oh, and I check my smile in the mirror at the beginning and end of every day. As long as it is still there, then I am happy. Then I am winning.

Here’s the only kicker: I don’t really want to *gain* weight. So, imagine my surprise, when after a 4 hour hike today, I came home, put on my favorite Popeye shirt and it was tight? WTF. This did not make me happy. I sat there. Looked at the cider in my hand, cursed it for a second, and then told myself, “Whatever, you had a great hike; who cares if you didn’t lose 50 lbs on it.” It wasn’t until I was folding laundry later on in the night that I realized I wasn’t wearing my normal, large Popeye shirt, I was wearing my backup, medium Popeye shirt (yes I have two)! Wahoo! No need to worry after all! Now I can keep acting all Zen about my approach to fitness.

Lesson Learned: I could do almost all of this stuff in Boulder. Admittedly the views wouldn’t be quite as vast, and the wildlife wouldn’t be quite so impressive, but I could hike and fish and run and have adventures like this in Boulder if I wanted to. I’ve thought about that a lot this week: why don’t I do this stuff in Boulder anymore? I think it’s because in Boulder I have become a bit complacent. I let day to day life get in the way, instead of prioritizing and making this kind of thing my day to day life. Don’t get me wrong, I love my life in Boulder. I love my friends, heck I even kind of like my job. What I mean is I don’t prioritize having “adventures” in Boulder like I do here. In the end, I think it comes down to the fact that I know that the clock is ticking on my time here. I know that on September 15th, or possibly July 31st, I have to come back. So everyday, instead of just rambling through it, I make myself do something special, something memorable. It’s kind of silly that I have to do something like this every few years to remind me of that fact, but now that I am once again aware of the difference between my life here and my life in Colorado, I am going to do my best to keep that same mindset when I return to my life in the Lower 48. I want to live my life in a manner where everyday is memorable, maybe not earth-shaking, but memorable.

Day 5, July 3rd, Living in Girdwood, AK

Activities for and Observations about the Day:
I had today completely off of work due to the holiday weekend. I opted to sleep in (as I really hadn’t slept well all week because I was adjusting to the new surroundings). Once I got up, I unpacked the rest of the truck. You know you are gay and living in Alaska when three quarters of the stuff that you packed for three months can be dumped directly onto the storage bench in the garage.

I also assembled the army cot that my Dad had loaned me in case I got up here and my rental didn’t have a bed. All I can say is: Wow. Major Glover, you are a strong son of a bitch. It took me a good 15 minutes to wrestle that cot into submission. Thank goodness I had a full night’s sleep to fall back on, or I might have started out the day in defeat.

After the cot assembly, I noticed that I had a couple more grey hairs coming in. I don’t mind them because I kind of want my hair to be a little lighter again, but I wonder if they were a direct result of the cot wrestling.

As I was getting the rest of the house organized, Tess was just chilling out on the carpet, watching me unpack. It was only as she started to chew on this blue rubber bone that I started to laugh. There she was, sitting on the baby blue carpet, with a blue sheet on the futon behind her, with blue window shades drawn behind the futon, in her blue collar, chewing on a blue bone. I realized right then and there that I was in some sort of crazy Dr. Seuss House.

Operation Fitness for Fear: Tess and I went for our standard run today, but we opted for a slightly different route after the fountain. We decided to try running in the field right next to the fountain. The field is a little marshy and dotted throughout with red, mossy plants. Running on that stuff was like running on a wet trampoline. It was delightful. Of course, Tess went bat sh*t crazy as soon as she felt the consistency of the ground. She started circling me very quickly and growling and leaping and generally expressing, what I assume was, her overwhelming glee. After a few moments I calmed her down and we returned to our more regimented run, but as I looked up, I noticed a woman doubled over laughing at us. It’s nice to know that Tess makes multiple people crack up on a daily basis, not just me.

Wildlife Sightings:

Bald Eagles: 3 (I can’t help it, I think they are cool)
Moth: 1 (Tess was mesmerized by this thing for about 2 hours today)

A Note of Thanks: Thanks to everyone who has been emailing about, reading, and commenting on the blog and the posted pictures! I know I can be long-winded, but it’s been really fun to write down some of the events that happen each day and share them with you. Ideally I’ll have pictures directly on this blog in the near future, but I’ve got to wait for the faster internets to come in this week before my computer can handle that task! Take care and play safe. You are in my thoughts.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Day 4, July 2nd, Living in Girdwood, AK

Walking Tess in the Morning (otherwise known as Operation Drop It Like It’s Hot): In an attempt to get Tess to fall into the same schedule that I am now on, I have started walking her down to the end of the street in the morning before I start working. We do this in Boulder in the morning and she generally poops within 50 feet of our house. Unfortunately she hasn’t fallen into that same routine here. I think it probably has something to do with the constant sunlight and new surroundings. Yesterday morning our little pre-work jaunt resulted in a positive outcome, so this morning I figured that we would have a similar experience. Sadly, that was not the case. No, instead of dropping it like it was hot, Tess got about 20 yards from our house and started growling, whining, and glancing over her shoulder at a bunch of bushes that we had just passed. Now, with a skittish dog, this is fairly disconcerting. On one hand, she could be afraid of a piece of trash she saw stuck in the bushes. On the other hand, she could be afraid of a bear or moose that she saw and I didn’t. You can never tell. Of course at 5am, it is entirely possible that it is a moose so I did the only thing that I could think of. I kept walking and started making noise. After about five minutes Tess stopped glancing over her shoulder like the crazy dog that she is and I gave up on my attempt to get her to poop. We returned home defeated and about two minutes later, we saw a very friendly dog emerge from the mysterious bushes. Yup. That’s my dog. Incredibly sound and sight sensitive but totally unable to discern what is actually a threat. In some ways, this may be a LONG summer.

Random Events in the Day:
Before I left on this trip a couple of people asked me if I was going to get a webcam so that I could keep in touch. I generally avoided answering the question because the answer would have been a very blunt “that is highly unlikely.” The truth of the matter is I already feel WAY more connected than I did the last time that I was up here without a cell phone in 2004. Between IM, Facebook, email, almost constant cell phone reception, and this blog I feel very in touch with my friends in the lower 48. In addition, my family is the kind of family where we may go about two weeks without checking in over the phone, or when my parents go abroad, it is perfectly normal to not hear from them for a month. Don’t get me wrong, of course I still miss the regular physical interactions with my friends and family, but a webcam isn’t a substitute for that anyway. On top of all of that, the visual stimulation of the webcam is a little overwhelming to me for some reason. Of course, I love hearing from people, but I have a hard time processing all the images and sounds coming out of a webcam. I prefer to chat over the phone, in my camo shorts with crazy spikey dykey hair, while the person on the other end of the phone pictures me in a cute t-shirt, nicely showered, and looking adorable. So, as I said, I assumed that I would not be communicating with anyone via webcam while I was here. Well despite that fact, it seems that someone out there wants me to have one. Lo and behold, when I logged onto email this morning I discovered that I had won a free webcam via a contest at work. Now, I still have to get a PO Box in order to receive it, but I may have to rethink my approach to webcams after all. Who knows? Soon, you may be able to see me in my camo shorts on a webcam near you!

I discovered a patch of chives growing by my front steps. I know they are chives because I used to feast on them when I was a kid. I would play down in the garden all afternoon and eat chives like they were candy. At the end of the day I would give my mom a hug and she would say, “Have you been eating chives again?” I thought she was a frickin genius. I mean how could she tell I had been eating chives?! It was only later on that I realized that I reeked of chives for the majority of the summers between 5th and 7th grade.

Operation Fitness for Fear: Due to the fact that I only had to work a half day today, I was also going to be a slacker on the workout front and skip out on Operation FFF. However, since Operation Drop It Like It’s Hot failed this morning, Operation FFF has taken on a secondary purpose. That’s right. It was 2pm and Tess still hadn’t pooped. Damn dog. She was going to make me run it out of her. Of course, the run ended up being lovely so I am amending my prior nickname for Tess from Damn Dog to Delightful Dog. Within five minutes Tess had dropped off her needless baggage and we were on our way for a picturesque run. Tess had her normal swim in the fountain at the halfway point and then she ambitiously opted for a little cross-training (tug of war) after that. All in all, the run was a great event, aside from the momentary fear Tess experienced when a para-glider came down in the field next to us. I keep telling Tess that she doesn’t need to worry about things falling from the sky (birds, suspension bridges, noises from the upstairs neighbor all scare her). But, things like para-gliders don’t help my case people!

Spending a Little Time in Anchorage: Despite the fact that I had the afternoon off today, I still had to go into Anchorage so that I could get the electric bill changed into my name. On the way in to town I saw a guy with a drum set, just playing next to the highway. Quirky. But Cute. Once I was in Anchorage I went immediately to the Chugach Electric Association and stood in line waiting for a customer service rep to set me up with an account. While I was in line, I believe that I had my first encounter with a guy trying to hit on me (in a long time). I was flattered, but I am also very aware that Alaskan men outnumber Alaskan women by a fair amount, so I didn’t feel like I was anything uber special. He made that abundantly clear when I heard him talking to a female customer service rep approximately five minutes later . . . and he was using the exact same lines! The last thing that I did while I was in Anchorage was check out the Sportsman’s Warehouse. Wow. That place is huge. AND it had more Carharts in it than I have ever seen. It looks like I’ve found the perfect place for a fall shopping spree before I head back south in a couple of months.

Night Time: I got some very disturbing news about a friend today and it finally hit me in the evening. When I got home, I cracked open a cider (purchased in Anchorage during the day), and sat down and wallowed in it. The lesson to be learned from the news I heard today is that you have to live each day to the fullest because you never know which day will be your last. I feel like I am trying to do that with this trip. But, I’m not going to lie. Tonight I just felt incredibly sad for my friend.

Day 3, July 1st, Living in Girdwood, AK

Despite the fact that I am still staying up way too late and waking up way too early due to the perpetual sunlight, I finally feel like I am getting into a daily routine. I woke up this morning at 5am and found my internet to be sluggish once again. This was no surprise. I just fixed my coffee, made a note that I am not tough enough to drink it black so I need to buy cream the next time that I am at a grocery store, and made some phone calls while various web pages took 10 minutes to load. At about 9am I took Tess out for a run. I was as sluggish as the internet, but we got it done. After 35 minutes of running (and another swim in the fountain for Tess), there was another day of Operation FFF on the books. On the run we also passed some women working out in the park. I made a mental note: when I am done being a hermit I should swing by the park at 9:30am on a Wednesday and make some friends.

On my way out of town today I stopped by the rental office and dropped off my rent check for July. While I was there Rebecca (the owner of the Barry White ring tone phone) introduced me to Loretta. Loretta is married to Sam, who is a realtor in Girdwood. The three of us chatted for a few minutes about my swinging 70’s bachelor pad and then Rebecca excused herself while she took a phone call. I spoke with Loretta for a few more minutes before we both headed out for work. As I was driving into Anchorage I spent a little time reflecting on Loretta. In hindsight, she struck me as a typical Alaskan woman. She was over 40, and she had short-ish hair. She was fit looking and friendly. In just five minutes she had suggested various ways that I could make myself more comfortable in Girdwood, including things to do and places to have coffee. She also rattled off all the different jobs that she had around town. She ran a cleaning business and helped with the property management and she taught school. She is a Jane of all trades. I think that is part of the reason why I am drawn to Alaska. The people are friendly, and all the women seem like they can do just about anything they set their minds to. They are inviting and encouraging all at once. Of course, they all seem like they should be gay too. But they aren’t. And that’s ok! It’s just nice to be surrounded by so many confident, friendly, and strong women.

After work today I took Tess on a quick drive out to Bird Point. I didn’t really want to go for a lengthy hike so we just poked around the nature displays and enjoyed the views. The point is supposedly a great place to view beluga whales, but I have yet to see one on this trip. Nevertheless we had a nice stroll and eventually wandered by some statues of beluga whales. The statues are designed to look like parts of the beluga whales are emerging from the sidewalk. Tess even momentarily gave up her attempt to be a new age Picasso and posed nicely, facing the camera, for some very cute pictures by some of the statues. Sadly, it was only when I got home and reviewed the pictures that I realize how phallic those statues look. So, we’ll see if I post those pictures after all!

After our walk, I stopped in at the mercantile to pick up some cream for my coffee. I also tried to find some hard cider because it sounded heavenly after a hot walk. I got the cream, but sadly, there was no cider in sight. I don’t drink beer, and I’m not sure that I want to start drinking hard alcohol alone in the 70’s bachelor pad quite so early in my trip so I settled on Mike’s Hard Lemonade. However, when I got home and cracked a bottle open, I discovered that that sh*t is kind of nasty. Of course, it was cold, so I kept drinking it. I’m just saying, it’s going to take some getting used to.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Day 2, June 30th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Observations about the Perpetual Sunlight: It is light out all of the time. It’s possible that it may get dark at some point between 11pm and 5am, but as of 11pm when I finally pull out the futon to catch some z’s for the night, it still looks like it is 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Tess doesn’t seem to mind the constant sun, and I can sleep through almost anything. So, I am not complaining about the endless daylight; I am merely observing it. The perpetual sunlight also seems to keep this town very active. When I am pulling the shades shut at 11pm it seems like everyone else on my street is still wide awake. There are trucks driving up and down the dirt road, people biking to the local watering hole and people walking their dogs. It’s a little trippy, but I am sure that I will get used to it.

Operation Fitness for Fear: Tess and I continued our operation to run the fear out of her. Today we ran on a bike path at the bottom of our street. The path took us past a field where both para-gliders land and moose apparently roam. I have yet to see a moose in that field, but since it’s called “Moose Meadows,” I’m guessing that I will sooner rather than later. We also ran past some elementary kids playing soccer. That is the fun thing about Girdwood, Alaska. On one hand, it’s fairly remote and unique; you might run into a bear or a moose on your morning run. On the other hand, there are people just living their lives, playing soccer and riding bikes in the street, like it’s any other small town in America. At just about the point in the run where Tess and I had to turn around we saw a small fountain along the path. I decided to let her get a drink of water before we ran back to the house. Remember how I said that Tess loves water? Yeah. She didn’t take a drink. She took a swim. I am quite certain that is not what that fountain was designed for, but she loved it. Apparently Tess wants to add swimming laps to the Operation FFF regimen. I am opposed to joining her in the fountain.

Observations on the Drive into Anchorage for Work: I saw a bald eagle flying over the mudflats today. I guess that’s kind of the norm around here, but it still made me smile. That’s not something you see everyday in the lower 48.

Observations about the Anchorage Public Library: The Anchorage Public Library on Diamond Road is quite small. It’s about the size of the organic food section of a Safeway in Colorado. It is also in a mall, which I find a little odd, but it’s a great place to work. For the most part it is quiet, aside from the occasional woman using the typewriter, or the guy eating chips at the table next to you. I don’t seem to recall chips being allowed in most libraries, but whatever. As I said, it’s pretty quiet, except for around 3pm today. At that point in time a group of teenagers came in and sat down at the table next to me. They made no attempt to whisper so I made no attempt to avoid eavesdropping. Their conversation was pretty typical for teenagers. They talked about cars and girls and drugs and drinking and what they were going to do for the Fourth of July. And then, in the middle of that conversation, they started reciting, verbatim, the fish and game rules for snagging (catching) salmon. “It must be hooked above the gills . . . .” It was like they were studying for a test (maybe they were). All I know is, that’s when I remembered that I was in Alaska, when I heard teenagers talking about snagging salmon. That’s also when I packed up my computer and headed home because I wanted to start planning my first fishing trip!

Driving Home from Anchorage: On my way home from Anchorage I made two phone calls. The first phone call was to my friends Merry and Sas (That’s a shout out to you guys! I already miss having cider at your house on Sunday nights and I’ve only been gone a week!) The second call I made was to return a phone call to the FBI agent who I had spoken with the day before. She had to check with her boss to make sure that it was ok to do the interview with me over the phone instead of face to face. (The phone interview was regarding my friend who is applying for a job within the government). The agent had confirmed earlier in the day that it was ok to do the interview over the phone so I called her back and we started discussing my friend almost immediately. Now, as I mentioned before, the last time that I spoke with the agent she was quite personable. I got that same vibe from her this time as well. I was feeling very at ease and she *seemed* to be enjoying the interview too. She asked me some standard questions about my friend and then she asked if I thought my friend was biased towards certain groups of people. Without even thinking, I laughed and said, “Um no. She’s one of the most accepting people that I know. Case in point, I’m a lesbian and I’m one of her best friends.” Now, I am *sure* that the FBI trains their agents to be casual and put people at ease, so that they will disclose more information, but I swear you guys . . . I think she started flirting with me a little after I said that! (Okay, Okay, it’s either that or I’m in a predominantly male state and I’m grasping at straws). All I know is that I started subtly flirting back. I mean, come on, did she really need to know what I was doing in Alaska and when I was coming back to CO for the interview about my friend?! Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? All I know is, if you’re reading this Agent J. . . Call me!

(And don’t worry, I already confessed to my friend that I thought the FBI was flirting with me and she said that is pretty standard. I’m also pretty certain that she’s going to get the job, despite, or due to my subtle flirting).

Evening Hike in Girdwood: When I got home from Anchorage, instead of plopping down on the couch like I would normally do after a day in the office, I took Tess on a walk that starts about five minutes from our house. The walk was on a bike path that runs through some marshy areas between the mudflats (and highway) and the mountains that surround Girdwood. It’s incredibly picturesque. We walked for about 2.5 miles and Tess posed for pictures when necessary because she is a good girl. Unfortunately she tends to turn and look at whatever I am taking a picture of, right as I snap the picture. (For example, on this walk, she turned to see the train that was passing by instead of sitting majestically to the left of it while it rolled by with the mountains framing the scene in the background). This usually “ruins” the picture because all you can see is the body of a dog and her head and neck turned around 180 degrees from the camera. However, after trying in vain to correct this habit of hers, I have decided to embrace it. I think it’s her attempt to make typically beautiful shot extra unique. She’s like the dog version of Picasso.

Shoo Tag Update: Tess and I went on this walk through the marshes without putting mosquito repellent on. This was stupid because the place is crawling with mosquitoes. However, I still had that hippie-dippie Shoo Tag in my pocket. You know, that tag that supposedly wards off the mosquitoes via magnetism or something like that. Anyway, after one hour in the marshes and no bites, I’ve got to say, that thing may work after all. Stay tuned for updates after the next mosquito battle!

Bears and Moose and Worms: One of the inevitable things that almost everyone asks you when you tell them you are going to Alaska is, “Aren’t you afraid of bears? Or moose?” I tend to respond with some kind of generic statement about how bears and moose want to see you up close and personal about as much as you want to see them. I also tell them that you can avoid them by making plenty of noise (wearing bear bells, or yelling “hey bear” when you go around a corner). That’s what I tell people. And that is all true. But here’s another bit of truth: I treat bears and moose the same way that I treat worms. I dislike worms. I think they are gross and I prefer to avoid touching them as much as possible. *However* if I am around someone who acts like they are afraid of or disgusted by worms, I will be the first one to pick that worm up off of the sidewalk, or put it on a fishing hook. I act like its no big deal, and yet it’s all a front. I completely acknowledge this, but I do it nevertheless. Well. I feel the same way about bears and moose. When someone asks me if I am afraid to go on a hike, because I might run into a bear or a moose I respond with this gem. “Of course not, you just have to be smart about making noise so that you don’t startle them.” However, the reality is, of course I am a little afraid of running into a bear or a moose! As a consequence, I assure you that you can hear me coming from a mile away. Tess has a bear bell on, ringing with every step she takes, and I’m yelling “hey bear” before I crest any hill or turn any corner. And, if there’s any chance that I might run into a local on one of these hikes, in order to avoid looking like a tourist, and yet still wanting to engage in safe hiking techniques, I change the phrase from “hey bear” to “leave it.” Admittedly Tess often has something in her mouth that warrants the “leave it” phrase. But yes. That’s right. I throw Tess under the bus and make it seem like I am yelling at her instead of looking like a tourist. Am I bad mommy for doing that? Maybe. Have we run into a bear or a moose yet? No. So maybe I’m a good mommy after all.

The Overall Theme: I’m really a *little* bit of a chicken at heart, but you can’t tell that from the pictures. And you’d certainly never know it unless you read this blog!