MEMORIAL WEEKEND TRIP TO FAIRBANKS......
I went to Fairbanks at the invitation of my friend, Karen. I had a wonderful time. The only problem was it was just too short a visit (I'm not sure my hosts share that feeling :-)
I drove down on the Glen Highway and the Richardson Highway. It was a 10 hour trip-part of the time was spent stopping to admire beautiful interior Alaska and taking pictures.
I had a wonderful day on Sunday visiting with Karen and meeting Deborah. It was great to talk herbs and such.
Karen's friend Jeff has a German Shepherd that looks so much like my Dustin!
Karen and Jeff put me up in a cozy camper that reminded me of my wagon when I traveled with Vision Quest and lived in a cover wagon. I had the first full night's sleep I've had in forever! Wonderful!
I returned home on Monday via the Park's Highway-just seven hours this time. Of course, it was raining and there was less to photograph. Besides that the road is straighter and easier to drive-but also much, much busier!
I would love to spend more time telling you about my great trip but it took forever for the pictures to download and I have to get to work!! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Kudos to Fred Myers and Kudos the patrons of the Alaska Zoo.....Fred Myers has taken a step forward in recycling! Brandon and I have talked about the system they have in New Zealand. They have $.99 recycle bags at the check out counter for you to purchase and they charge you if you use a plastic bag from the store. I have wanted to use recycle bags but the ones I have found at the check outs in US are $5.99 to $9.99. Today I walked into Fred Myers and there at the entrance were these great $.99 reusable bags!!! And to add to that, they take $.05 off you bill if you bring your own bag. Kudos to Fred Myers!!!!
Kudos to Friends of Maggie and patrons of the Alaska Zoo. Maggie is a lone female African elephant who lives at the Alaska Zoo in a very stinky, very small cage. (I went in since there is a viewing area inside-it was horrible!) Anyway, Maggie has gotten down twice in a week and has required the fire department and cranes to get her up again. The vets can find nothing wrong with her. Friends of Maggie and enlightened patrons of the Alaska Zoo are fighting to have her removed to a better environment (although I'm not sure any zoo is a great place for a big animal like an elephant). Alaska is certainly not environmentally similar to Africa and as the web site says "elephant feet are not made for snow." There is a lot of concern that she won't survive another winter....and aside from that she is alone and spends 5 months of the year confined in a small cement cage and that is not right!
Check out the Friends of Maggie web site-there are several tabs and I think you'll find some of the information really interesting. However, I have to warn you that this is sad and inhumane stuff. which cause tears to come to my eyes! The Friends of Maggie have been trying to have her moved for years but the board of the zoo has refused. This in spite of four different appropriate placements that have been located by the FOM, agreeing to take her at no charge! Even in the midst of all this drama articles in the ADN quote board members who are reluctant to vote to move Maggie! Shame on them!!!
Brandon, I think you know a little something about the controversy over elephants and zoos....I know we had a very enlightening conversation once about this topic that certainly raised my awareness!
On a happier note, I am driving up to Fairbanks this weekend...leaving Saturday and returning Monday. It's a long trip-6 or 7 hours. I met a friend who is an herbalist and traditional healer, her name is Karen. Karen has a group of spiritual sisters in Fairbanks and she wants me to come up and meet them. I am looking forward to it. I am driving up on the Parks Highway and back on the Richardson Highway (or visa versa). I'm taking my camera so no telling how long it will take me to get there!!! Check my blog to see the pictures and here the story!
Happy Memorial Day-I bet there's going to be chicken wings and potato salad and hot tubbing in Trent-wish I was gonna be there!!!
Friday, May 18, 2007
STREET SWEEPERS...........
It's after 11:30 and finally almost dark. The western sky is still light but it's deep dusk...enough to finally be dark in my condo.
I am up 2 hours past my bedtime. To be fair there are a number of reasons, including a phone call to my son to assure myself that, despite last night's dream, I don't have to worry about day care and another pair of jeans for school. He assured me he is all grown up and doesn't need day care and has enough jeans and isn't starting school for another month-what a relief!
The main target for my insomniac frustration-or maybe desperation-is my nemesis, the street sweeper. While I appreciate Anchorage's commitment to a beautiful city, I am at a loss about the need to obsessively groom the streets. At first I thought it was to wash off the salt, or whatever they use on the ice (actually, I don't really remember them using anything). But, it continues on and on and on. I don't know how often they wash my street but it's way to often for my sleep patterns....it seems like a couple of times a week! For sure any winter related sludge is long gone!
Now, please feel free to weigh in on this conversation, but I don't really remember the streets in Texas being embarrassingly dirty and I don't remember seeing any washing and sweeping going on. I'll admit I may have been asleep while it was happening since they seem to wash these things while people are suppose to be asleep (at least if you listen to all of the pharmaceutical ads about the need for 7-8 hours of sleep a night). In fact, I was driving on these same streets today and they did not look like they needed a sweep and mop job!
In fact, at risk of offending any Alaskans that might stumble onto this posting, all of these efforts and money could be better spent cleaning up the incredible amount of trash on the streets, in the ditches, along side the highways. I drove to Palmer and back this weekend and was horrified and astounded by the trash on the side of the roads-I can't even describe it....it was just solid trash all down the road. Imagine blue bonnets and primrose flowers along the Texas highways and replace that image with trash and white plastic grocery bags and you've got a handle on the extent of the problem.
Actually, maybe I've just made a point. Maybe we don't sweep and wash our streets in Trent because it would be a crime to waste that much water washing a street for crying out loud! Not to mention the gasoline needed to fuel these huge noise makers.
Now you come to the reason for my hostility. The things sound like a jet sitting on a tarmac with the engine running waiting to take off. At times the noise fades a little and then it sounds like the jet is coming into my condo-depending on where the machine is as it moves up and down the street! And with no air conditioning the street noise is constant anyway (maybe that's another reason I never heard these things in Texas, we have air conditioning!)
Oh, well.....I still love Alaska but I think they need to get real with the street washing already! Pack those water and gas guzzlers up and move the crews out to pick up the tons of trash laying around town and along the highways. THAT would actually make a difference!
Ahhhh...the sound of cars speeding by and sirens blaring. Silence to my ears-the street sweeper has gone to clean up some other unacceptable dirty street! Time to go to sleep-this will be a novelty, going to bed when it's dark outside. In fact, it seems weird for it to be dark in my apartment-I think this is the first time I've been in the dark for at least a couple of weeks!
Night, Night!
It's after 11:30 and finally almost dark. The western sky is still light but it's deep dusk...enough to finally be dark in my condo.
I am up 2 hours past my bedtime. To be fair there are a number of reasons, including a phone call to my son to assure myself that, despite last night's dream, I don't have to worry about day care and another pair of jeans for school. He assured me he is all grown up and doesn't need day care and has enough jeans and isn't starting school for another month-what a relief!
The main target for my insomniac frustration-or maybe desperation-is my nemesis, the street sweeper. While I appreciate Anchorage's commitment to a beautiful city, I am at a loss about the need to obsessively groom the streets. At first I thought it was to wash off the salt, or whatever they use on the ice (actually, I don't really remember them using anything). But, it continues on and on and on. I don't know how often they wash my street but it's way to often for my sleep patterns....it seems like a couple of times a week! For sure any winter related sludge is long gone!
Now, please feel free to weigh in on this conversation, but I don't really remember the streets in Texas being embarrassingly dirty and I don't remember seeing any washing and sweeping going on. I'll admit I may have been asleep while it was happening since they seem to wash these things while people are suppose to be asleep (at least if you listen to all of the pharmaceutical ads about the need for 7-8 hours of sleep a night). In fact, I was driving on these same streets today and they did not look like they needed a sweep and mop job!
In fact, at risk of offending any Alaskans that might stumble onto this posting, all of these efforts and money could be better spent cleaning up the incredible amount of trash on the streets, in the ditches, along side the highways. I drove to Palmer and back this weekend and was horrified and astounded by the trash on the side of the roads-I can't even describe it....it was just solid trash all down the road. Imagine blue bonnets and primrose flowers along the Texas highways and replace that image with trash and white plastic grocery bags and you've got a handle on the extent of the problem.
Actually, maybe I've just made a point. Maybe we don't sweep and wash our streets in Trent because it would be a crime to waste that much water washing a street for crying out loud! Not to mention the gasoline needed to fuel these huge noise makers.
Now you come to the reason for my hostility. The things sound like a jet sitting on a tarmac with the engine running waiting to take off. At times the noise fades a little and then it sounds like the jet is coming into my condo-depending on where the machine is as it moves up and down the street! And with no air conditioning the street noise is constant anyway (maybe that's another reason I never heard these things in Texas, we have air conditioning!)
Oh, well.....I still love Alaska but I think they need to get real with the street washing already! Pack those water and gas guzzlers up and move the crews out to pick up the tons of trash laying around town and along the highways. THAT would actually make a difference!
Ahhhh...the sound of cars speeding by and sirens blaring. Silence to my ears-the street sweeper has gone to clean up some other unacceptable dirty street! Time to go to sleep-this will be a novelty, going to bed when it's dark outside. In fact, it seems weird for it to be dark in my apartment-I think this is the first time I've been in the dark for at least a couple of weeks!
Night, Night!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
MUSK OX FARM AND MOTHER'S DAY:
What a great Mother's Day-well, the best you can have when your child is on the other side of the planet and you mother is half way between this side and the other side!
My soul sister, Kathy, and her lovely (and very patient) daughter, Yarrow, invited me to join them for Mother's Day.....and what a day it was!
We started out at one of my favorite breakfast places and I pulled out all the stops! After all it's Mother's Day! I've always been curious about the "breakfast pastry sampler" (they have great baked stuff there!)....so I ordered it....after all it's Mother's Day. Oh, my gosh!!!! There were four slices of banana bread, two slices of lemon-blueberry pound cake, four slices of sticky bun, and a blueberry muffin cut in two. They were ALL to die for delicious (I know I had them all...after all it's Mother's Day). Thanks, Yarrow, for treating me to Mother's Day breakfast!
From there we drove (or to be more correct, Yarrow drove and Kathy and I rode) to Palmer to the Musk Ox Farm. Mothers got in free and we got tickets for drawings every 30 minutes (while we were there they drew two numbers-the one right before mine and one 4 numbers after mine-oh, well). The Farm didn't have any tours today because there were so many people...after all it's Mother's Day.
But, we got to walk out to the pens. In one pen were the big boys-the bulls. They are in a pen together now but in August they are moved into the harem pens-each guy has a harem of about 15 females-for breeding. Gestation is eight months so the babies are born in April-we saw four babies. When we first got there it was nap time for the mothers and babies but before we left they woke up and started stirring around. Their pen was farther away so we didn't get as good a look at them as we did the big guys. Also down the way we could see the pen for the yearlings. The pen we were closest to had the big boys and the BIG daddy of them all was in that pen. He was not happy about all the people being so close to his women and babies! He would pace around the corner of the pen and up and down the fence line-he would roar and carry on. Once he climbed up on the fence (I just am not fast enough with the camera for those great moments!). Of course, the bulls come into rut in August but they have a "false rut" in April so that could explain some of his behavior. Anyway, we are not considered a threat by these great creatures as long as we are at eye level (thus the warning not to kneel near the fences). They are predated by arctic wolves so standing upright at eye level we just don't look like a wolf! I am providing a link to more information about Musk Ox Farm....very interesting!
In addition to the Musk Ox to look at they had the BBQ grill going and were selling hamburgers or hot dogs-and at a BARGAIN price! Three dollars for a hot dog or hamburger (and if you couldn't make up your mind they guy at the grill sometimes just put one of each on your plate!), chips, Granma's brand cookies and a drink....this is a real deal anywhere but in Alaska it is an unbelievable real deal (I paid $13 yesterday for 3 corn critters and 3 pieces of halibut)!! What was really nice was that it had the feeling of a family cook out (ok, it's not LB's chicken wings but then again nothing competes with that!)....the picnic tables were all around, the music was playing and the guy was flipping the burgers and dogs off the grill onto the plate. Well, Kathy and I just couldn't turn down the hot dog-there's nothing like a hot dog outside and after all it's Mother's Day....yes, I know we just had breakfast but it's Mother's Day.....and the chips and cookie come with the meal so what can you do?
After our outing at the Musk Ox Farm we drove up the Glenn Allen Highway a ways to a lovely little lake and stretched our legs. The road runs along the Matanuska (spelling is questionable) River.....you may have noticed pictures of this river in my fall ramblings....a really beautiful drive.
Then we stopped back in Palmer at a really cool cafe Yarrow had heard about-gee, I can't remember the name...something about Blues! Anyway, we had a great black bean soup with homemade bread and a fresh baked sweet....it was really good! Yes, I know we just had breakfast and that hot dog (but we didn't eat the cookie and chips yet) but we had been out in the fresh air walking around looking at Musk Ox and that works up an appetite! And after all-it's Mother's Day.
We ended the day at the labyrinth on Tudor and Lake Otis Road in Anchorage....a nice peaceful place.
I was dropped off at my apartment and presented with a lovely dream catcher! A really, really great Mother's Day (ok...I'm gonna throw away the Granma's cookie I got at the Musk Ox Farm even if there are starving children in Africa but just don't even mention throwing away the Lay's potatoe chips...I haven't eaten any of those in recent history and I intend on sitting down with some tea-it's Mother's Day, I may even have a third Diet Pepsi!- and eating them one at a time! It's a small bag!!!)
Follow this link to see pictures of the day.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
What a great Mother's Day-well, the best you can have when your child is on the other side of the planet and you mother is half way between this side and the other side!
My soul sister, Kathy, and her lovely (and very patient) daughter, Yarrow, invited me to join them for Mother's Day.....and what a day it was!
We started out at one of my favorite breakfast places and I pulled out all the stops! After all it's Mother's Day! I've always been curious about the "breakfast pastry sampler" (they have great baked stuff there!)....so I ordered it....after all it's Mother's Day. Oh, my gosh!!!! There were four slices of banana bread, two slices of lemon-blueberry pound cake, four slices of sticky bun, and a blueberry muffin cut in two. They were ALL to die for delicious (I know I had them all...after all it's Mother's Day). Thanks, Yarrow, for treating me to Mother's Day breakfast!
From there we drove (or to be more correct, Yarrow drove and Kathy and I rode) to Palmer to the Musk Ox Farm. Mothers got in free and we got tickets for drawings every 30 minutes (while we were there they drew two numbers-the one right before mine and one 4 numbers after mine-oh, well). The Farm didn't have any tours today because there were so many people...after all it's Mother's Day.
But, we got to walk out to the pens. In one pen were the big boys-the bulls. They are in a pen together now but in August they are moved into the harem pens-each guy has a harem of about 15 females-for breeding. Gestation is eight months so the babies are born in April-we saw four babies. When we first got there it was nap time for the mothers and babies but before we left they woke up and started stirring around. Their pen was farther away so we didn't get as good a look at them as we did the big guys. Also down the way we could see the pen for the yearlings. The pen we were closest to had the big boys and the BIG daddy of them all was in that pen. He was not happy about all the people being so close to his women and babies! He would pace around the corner of the pen and up and down the fence line-he would roar and carry on. Once he climbed up on the fence (I just am not fast enough with the camera for those great moments!). Of course, the bulls come into rut in August but they have a "false rut" in April so that could explain some of his behavior. Anyway, we are not considered a threat by these great creatures as long as we are at eye level (thus the warning not to kneel near the fences). They are predated by arctic wolves so standing upright at eye level we just don't look like a wolf! I am providing a link to more information about Musk Ox Farm....very interesting!
In addition to the Musk Ox to look at they had the BBQ grill going and were selling hamburgers or hot dogs-and at a BARGAIN price! Three dollars for a hot dog or hamburger (and if you couldn't make up your mind they guy at the grill sometimes just put one of each on your plate!), chips, Granma's brand cookies and a drink....this is a real deal anywhere but in Alaska it is an unbelievable real deal (I paid $13 yesterday for 3 corn critters and 3 pieces of halibut)!! What was really nice was that it had the feeling of a family cook out (ok, it's not LB's chicken wings but then again nothing competes with that!)....the picnic tables were all around, the music was playing and the guy was flipping the burgers and dogs off the grill onto the plate. Well, Kathy and I just couldn't turn down the hot dog-there's nothing like a hot dog outside and after all it's Mother's Day....yes, I know we just had breakfast but it's Mother's Day.....and the chips and cookie come with the meal so what can you do?
After our outing at the Musk Ox Farm we drove up the Glenn Allen Highway a ways to a lovely little lake and stretched our legs. The road runs along the Matanuska (spelling is questionable) River.....you may have noticed pictures of this river in my fall ramblings....a really beautiful drive.
Then we stopped back in Palmer at a really cool cafe Yarrow had heard about-gee, I can't remember the name...something about Blues! Anyway, we had a great black bean soup with homemade bread and a fresh baked sweet....it was really good! Yes, I know we just had breakfast and that hot dog (but we didn't eat the cookie and chips yet) but we had been out in the fresh air walking around looking at Musk Ox and that works up an appetite! And after all-it's Mother's Day.
We ended the day at the labyrinth on Tudor and Lake Otis Road in Anchorage....a nice peaceful place.
I was dropped off at my apartment and presented with a lovely dream catcher! A really, really great Mother's Day (ok...I'm gonna throw away the Granma's cookie I got at the Musk Ox Farm even if there are starving children in Africa but just don't even mention throwing away the Lay's potatoe chips...I haven't eaten any of those in recent history and I intend on sitting down with some tea-it's Mother's Day, I may even have a third Diet Pepsi!- and eating them one at a time! It's a small bag!!!)
Follow this link to see pictures of the day.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
SUNSHINE AND WHALES:
The sun is shining more and more here in Alaska. It is daylight when I get up at 5am and when I go to sleep as late as 11pm! I'll have to stay up late on the weekend to see dark night time and stars!
It's spring whaling time in Barrow-they have a quota of 22 whales and have already killed 4 (I'm sorry the politically correct word is "harvested"). I have provided this link to the ADN-there are a few interesting pictures in the photo gallery are of whales being harvested and of the women preparing the whale for feasting!
I am very excited about the upcoming weekend. It is the opening of the Anchorage Downtown Market and Festival! It's over 7 acres with 300 vendors and has FREE entertainment and not free food! It ought to be good for some free entertainment and people watching! I dont' think the cruise ships hit until May 15 but I might be wrong...so there might be less people to watch but that will change soon!
Check out the whale pictures! I will take my camera to the market this weekend!
The sun is shining more and more here in Alaska. It is daylight when I get up at 5am and when I go to sleep as late as 11pm! I'll have to stay up late on the weekend to see dark night time and stars!
It's spring whaling time in Barrow-they have a quota of 22 whales and have already killed 4 (I'm sorry the politically correct word is "harvested"). I have provided this link to the ADN-there are a few interesting pictures in the photo gallery are of whales being harvested and of the women preparing the whale for feasting!
I am very excited about the upcoming weekend. It is the opening of the Anchorage Downtown Market and Festival! It's over 7 acres with 300 vendors and has FREE entertainment and not free food! It ought to be good for some free entertainment and people watching! I dont' think the cruise ships hit until May 15 but I might be wrong...so there might be less people to watch but that will change soon!
Check out the whale pictures! I will take my camera to the market this weekend!
Sunday, May 06, 2007
A VISIT TO THE ALASKA ZOO
Click on the link above to see the pictures of my visit to the Alaska Zoo.
I have discovered there is a definite uncomfortable feeling to wasting this beautiful spring by vegging in the house. I'm not sure but I think it's guilt.....to be here among all of the beauty and waste it by not getting out there enjoying Alaska's "big, wild life."
However, I have been short on motivation. Jane and I had planned to go to Homer this weekend but both ended up being a little short on the money side so we decided to drive up to Denali Park but Jane backed out as we were getting ready to go...my desire to make that trip went with her.
So, today I got up and convinced myself I HAD to DO something. I debated driving to Whittier but wasn't sure for what....
Anyway, I ended up going to the zoo and seeing the wild life behind bars. Rather pathetic but there you are....better than sitting in the apartment.
The zoo was ok. Not wonderful, but ok. The Abilene Zoo (nice zoo lousy home page) is such a nice small zoo that I tend to be under impressed by other zoos. But, this was ok.
Click on the link above to see the pictures of my visit to the Alaska Zoo.
I have discovered there is a definite uncomfortable feeling to wasting this beautiful spring by vegging in the house. I'm not sure but I think it's guilt.....to be here among all of the beauty and waste it by not getting out there enjoying Alaska's "big, wild life."
However, I have been short on motivation. Jane and I had planned to go to Homer this weekend but both ended up being a little short on the money side so we decided to drive up to Denali Park but Jane backed out as we were getting ready to go...my desire to make that trip went with her.
So, today I got up and convinced myself I HAD to DO something. I debated driving to Whittier but wasn't sure for what....
Anyway, I ended up going to the zoo and seeing the wild life behind bars. Rather pathetic but there you are....better than sitting in the apartment.
The zoo was ok. Not wonderful, but ok. The Abilene Zoo (nice zoo lousy home page) is such a nice small zoo that I tend to be under impressed by other zoos. But, this was ok.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Rhythm of Life in Alaska in the Spring: Things have changed around here....Spring is in the air. There are people everywhere-I don't mean the tourist, they don't seem to have arrived yet. But, people walking, on bikes, skates, etc. I mean, Alaskans are an outdoorsy group anyway...walking and biking in the dead dark of winter...but the numbers have exploded! And everywhere you look are RVs-I mean the BIG suckers....with people washing them. I walked Jane's dogs one block and counted 4! But, the funniest thing I have seen is this pickup truck pulling a HUGE boat-one of the ones with the enclosed cabin in the front and the deck in the back-like a mini yacht. Anyway, here was this truck pulling this big ole boat through this residential area of nothing but cul-d-sacs. It was twisting and turning along the roads which were crowded with RVs and trailers sitting on the streets and in the drives-I had to hold my breath while I watched. Couldn't even imagine where he was going with that thing!
And the construction-my heavens! Buildings are springing up like daffodils! There is a hotel next to my favorite book store that was an empty parking lot when I left the end of March-now it is a building-a whole building. Of course it is still wood without the siding or whatever on it but it has walls, windows, roof, etc and it's really, really big. There was nothing-nada-there at the end of March.
I guess all of this activity can be attributed to the warm weather (realtive-it's 44 now but got up to 53 today)....that and the day light. Sun up today was around 5 and sundown around 10:30...so, of course, there is light on either side of those times. That is contrasted with a sunup of around 7 and a sundown around 8:30 in Texas. That makes less that 6 hours of dark....a person can get a lot of working and playing down with all that daylight. I had a patient tell me that the best time of day in June and July is 7pm to midnight! YIKES....I guess it is a good thing I don't sleep much at night!
Planning a trip to Denali Park this weekend so if I actually make it you can expect some pictures!
The street sweepers have finally moved on so I'm gonna close the shades and curtains and pretend like it's dark outside!
Glad to hear the family in Texas did not blow away with the bad weather and tornadoes!
'NIGHT!
And the construction-my heavens! Buildings are springing up like daffodils! There is a hotel next to my favorite book store that was an empty parking lot when I left the end of March-now it is a building-a whole building. Of course it is still wood without the siding or whatever on it but it has walls, windows, roof, etc and it's really, really big. There was nothing-nada-there at the end of March.
I guess all of this activity can be attributed to the warm weather (realtive-it's 44 now but got up to 53 today)....that and the day light. Sun up today was around 5 and sundown around 10:30...so, of course, there is light on either side of those times. That is contrasted with a sunup of around 7 and a sundown around 8:30 in Texas. That makes less that 6 hours of dark....a person can get a lot of working and playing down with all that daylight. I had a patient tell me that the best time of day in June and July is 7pm to midnight! YIKES....I guess it is a good thing I don't sleep much at night!
Planning a trip to Denali Park this weekend so if I actually make it you can expect some pictures!
The street sweepers have finally moved on so I'm gonna close the shades and curtains and pretend like it's dark outside!
Glad to hear the family in Texas did not blow away with the bad weather and tornadoes!
'NIGHT!
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