A Slice of Sunshine

After a week or so of always cloudy and gray, with intermittent rain, today turned out to be okay.  Bryant and I sorted through our scrap lumber pile and found some log slabs to make log furniture.  A log bench and endtable from the house are heading to the cabin, but before that can happen, they will need to be replaced.  While we were shuffling logs around, I spotted the sunshine on the mountains and had to stop to take a few pictures. 

Later on while I was sanding the end table outside in 42 degree temperatures, I spotted the alpine glow and again I had to interupt the task at hand to take a few pictures. 

Merry Christmas . . .

. . . and a Happy New Year.  I think this is the closest I'll get to sending anyone a Christmas card!  I hope everyone enjoys the holiday season.

Cabin

Our intention was to spend the night at the cabin this weekend, but as things happen with trailers, lights, and unfamiliar used vehicles, Bryant spent the daylight hours on Saturday (which aren’t too many these days if you remember our habit of not getting moving until about noon) trying to figure out why the lights weren’t working on the snowmachine trailer. It turned out to be some messed up wiring on the Suburban. We ended up going out on Sunday afternoon with a load of gear and the snowblower to clear the driveway and organize for next weekend. I’m really looking forward to spending some time enjoying the place this year and putting a few more miles on the snowmachine.

 7" of snow at the property

Never Mind . . It Fits!

Never mind that two days before Bryant leaves to take the truck and boat south, we are putting a starter in it.  Never mind that after 2 weeks of driving it around, the windshield wipers don't work unless I reconnect the wire under the hood each time.  Never mind that after the first 500 miles on its 42 gallon tank, that I run it out of gas when the gauge still said 1/4 tank and have to limp it to the neighborhood gas station a mile down the road.  Never mind that when I fill up the seats with middle school jazz band students, they can barely slam the door due to  body damage on the passenger side doors. Never mind that the heat control blower has two settings, off and high.

Why am I not worried about these "minor inconveniences" of driving around a $1500 vehicle?  Well, this past weekend I found out it fits!  Barely, but barely doesn't matter when the garage door closes.  It was absolutely wonderful to wake up Monday morning in 10 degree weather and have a frost free car.

Wishing I was in San Carlos . . . .

Bryant took these pictures while in Mexico.   Makes me wish I was there . . .  

36 Degrees Warmer

When I left home on Saturday morning for Homer the temperatures were hanging right around zero.  Thirty-six hours later, upon my return back to the house the thermometer was 36 degrees warmer.   The age old topic of weather never really gets old for me.  Put me in a car for a few hundred miles with a thermometer feeding me temperature data every mile along the way and suddenly I have all sorts of weather-related questions to ponder.  Throw in the ocean currents from Prince William Sound, a couple mountain passes, and high pressure systems from the north and weather patterns can become complicated and interesting all at once.  On the way home when I saw 37 degrees in Cooper Landing, I knew that I was coming home to wind and warm temperatures.  But in that 3 1/2 hour stretch between Cooper Landing and the house, temperatures dropped to 21 degrees in Anchorage and only 8 miles from the house it was 24 degrees.  

Homer in early winter is still the Homer I remember from my 2nd visit there in November 1993 and the years I spent living there from 1995-1999.  Everything slows in Homer as winter rolls around, tourists leave, the boat harbor empties, and the wind kicks up another notch. While there, I debated riding down to the end of the spit, just because . . . . but then really couldn't talk myself into it.  Although it has been over 10 years since I drove that spit to work every day, right then and there it didn't feel like that long ago and it felt more like I'd be wasting 30 minutes of time than experience any enjoyment.  So I drove on away from the spit to continue on with my mission of dropping the kids off for a visit with their dad and me visiting with friends who I never take the time to see during the summer months as we are busily buzzing around Kachemak Bay on long weekend getaways. 

What a nice quick weekend roadtrip that is if you can call a 500 mile drive a quick road trip.  Maybe it was the visiting part that was quick?   Nonetheless, it was good to touch base with friends and even better to come home when it is 36 degrees warmer!

Snow!

I came home Monday after work to this cute little snowman on the front porch.  When I went to take a picture of him, I noticed the "Hippies Use Backdoor" sign in the background and decided to add the appropriate attire to a snowman banished from entering the front door.

Yes, it finally snowed and it has been snowing steadily since.  Everyone I hang out with (i.e. the kids in my house and the kids in my classroom) think it is great. Gus and his buddies are busy dragging their sleds up and down the hill in the backyard while Ollie barks and runs alongside them. 

I like seeing the grey and brown disappear, but I am not looking forward to plowing driveways,  scraping windshields and icy roads. 

Bryant made it into San Carlos, Mexico on Friday evening.  Today I'm guessing he will call me to say that the boat sails even better in the Sea of Cortez.  Okay, so I'm a little envious . . . and excited.  Bryant and I will be back down there in January.  Then all of us will be head down there in March and May. 

Going South . . . An Update!

Bryant and Myron did take off on Thursday afternoon with the truck and boat for San Carlos, Mexico.  This afternoon I talked to him and they were near Great Falls, MT. They weren’t sure if they would drive through the night or pull over for a little more sleep tonight. They stopped the truck and slept in the boat (while it was on the trailer) for 1 hour on Friday night and 4 hours on Saturday night.

So far their biggest obstacle was the 10-30 mph zone, which lasted 11 hours, where they drove only 300 miles. This happened somewhere between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fort Nelson, British Columbia.  They ended up on snowpacked washboard roads in that stretch. Even the guy sleeping in the big back seat had a hard time as they were jostled awake every 5 -10 minutes. On Saturday night, they had the luxury of getting lost in downtown Edmonton and had the pleasure of seeing what kind of nightlife is available to the local residents. Through the southern Canadian plains, they did run into some wind that blew the boat almost sideways, but apparently not sideways enough to stop them from moving on through Montana and onto Idaho.

Almost there guys, hang in there!

Full Moon

Just as I arrived home today, I saw the full moon rising above the mountains.  Wow!

November 1st, 2009

Well, the kids went trick-or-treating on dry ground.  Windy, yes . . . cold, yes. . .  full moon, yes - well at least close. .  but definately no snow.  It still hasn't snowed this season.  I'm not complaining, but I am wanting to document this fact as every year since I've lived up here there has been at least one snowfall before Halloween.  Most years it melts, but last year we were stuck with it from the first week of October.  The National Weather Service has recorded snow as early as September 22nd and as late as November 11th in Anchorage, and I suspect those dates don't differ too much for the valley weather where we live. 

All this good weather has been perfect for Bryant to finish the necessary boat preparations for the big trip down south.  He's busy winding up the last odds and ends before he leaves on Thursday.  The plan is to drive the truck pulling the boat down to San Carlos, Mexico where it will spend the winter under the sunny skies on the eastern shore of the Sea of Cortez.  I'll write more about this adventure when the boat leaves our driveway and arrives in its said destination.

Clean Porch

On Sunday, I talked Gus into going to the cabin with me so I could clean the porch.  A couple of weeks ago, Bryant and I painted the floor and left the few contents from inside, outside.  Knowing that this area wasn't completely protected from the elements, I decided to drive over there on Sunday.  I had also planned to put sealant on the front logs, but it was raining. 

Part of the reason I was able to talk Gus into going with me was I also need to swing by Walmart, which was his opportunity to pick up his Halloween paraphernalia. 

So on Monday after school, Wyatt and Gus carved pumpkins and I helped them decorate the living room.  I guess we won't be lighting any fires for the month of October. 

The Old Knik River Bridge

Driving home from work today, I happen to have my camera in the car and I couldn't resist spending a few minutes on the Old Knik River Bridge.  Amazingly, the colorful leaves still adorn the trees. 

Although we have yet to see flakes in the air, we have had a couple mornings of frost.  These mountains are about 5,000 feet high and the snow level is right around 3,000 feet. 

Last Sail of the Season

We pulled the boat out of the water and towed it back home on Sunday. Luck was on our side in the weather department as we had a beautiful Saturday afternoon sail down to Thumb Cove, which is about midway down Resurrection Bay in Seward. Our friends own the same sailboat as we do so I had the opportunity to take a few pictures of the MacGregor sailing on the water. Thumb Cove

After spending the afternoon on the water, Bryant and I mountain biked part way up Lost Lake Trail just outside of Seward. The trail was almost ideal, gradual uphill, not too many rocks or roots, great views but I say almost ideal because it was extremely exposed in places. By exposed I mean, if you were to tip over sideways, you're tumbling into a steep ravine never to be seen again and the best case scenario is being left dangling by the string of your spandex bike shorts in an alder tree with a couple of broken bones. This potential, but most unlikely situation, leaves me feel slightly ill at ease when heading downhill, so I tend to ride the brake a little more than usual. Resurrection Bay from Lost Lake Trail

After an almost successful downhill (Bryant had an unfortunate encounter with hikers that resulted in a deep blue bruise on his side), we headed into town to meet our friends for pizza and a bonfire on the beach.

On Sunday while strolling the docks, I paid particular attention to the boat names. While it is not unusual to see popular boat names like Odyssey, Luna Sea, or Escape and old fashion boat names like Nora Jane and Barbara Jean, there are still an overwhelming amount of boats that only people who live in Alaska or a northern region like Alaska would name their boat.I started snapping pictures of all these place appropriate names and decided to start a collection, which will have to continue next year as I won't be in any of the other harbors around the state for about 7 months. For my beginning slideshow collection of Alaskan Boat Names click: http://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/AlaskanBoatNames

For more pictures from Last Sail of the Season: http://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/LastSailingTripOfTheSeason

Functional Cabin

On Sunday, Bryant and I finished the last step toward making the cabin functional for winter activities. We painted the OSB on the floor. While we still have to do the inside trim, paint the outside trim, put in some type of cooking area and a few other odds and ends that could take years, none of these jobs interfere with our ability to use it this winter. In between coats of paint, Bryant sighted in his new gun. Surprise, surprise, I decided to take a few more pictures of fall. Sphagnum moss bog

Highbush cranberries

Denali (Mt. McKinley) viewed from South Big Lake Rd. on the drive out to the property

Falling into Winter

It's that time of year again, yellow cottonwood and birch along with a some lower scrubby bushes and fireweed stalks that turn red. It is definitely not the Midwest/Northeast fall color show, but we are well aware that the season has changed, shorter days, snow on the higher peaks, cooler and darker mornings, but we are still awaiting our first frost. The colors peaked this past weekend and after a few more days of the wind like we are getting today, I suspect we will be down to bare trees before long.

Most of the summer and fall, we've been successful in our goal of getting on our bikes on a regular basis. Nothing long or furious just turning the pedals for a little bit of exercise after work. When we left today, I promised Bryant I wouldn't bring the camera. However, I did get in a few clicks from yesterday's ride.

Silvers - Part II

Well, we still aren't slaying the silvers especially considering the time we've been putting on the water, but we are catching a few. This weekend we ended up with 6. Two Saturday - Bryant was the lucky fisherman

Two on Sunday - Gus had a turn.

Then, I caught a little one.

And two on Monday . . . .

We were on the water by 8:00 a.m., but didn't catch our first fish until 10:30 a.m. So much for those who believe silvers bite early and in cloudy weather. It was both!I can't complain about Monday's clouds because most of Saturday and all day Sunday were absolutely gorgeous. After we finished fishing on Sunday morning, Bryant and I decided to hike up above treeline on Mt. Marathon, which turned out to be about 1800 feet above sea level. The views were phenomenal!

For more pictures from the weekend: http://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/LaborDayWeekendSewardAlaska?authkey=Gv1sRgCMTkmsL9-5iCjAE#

Alaska State Fair

540 lb. pumpkin

It was actually enjoyable this year. I spent most of the day there with my 2nd grade class on a "Barn Safari" field trip, and since it was an all day admission, I decided to meet the kids later on that day. For once, I wasn't dodging crowds of people. My two favorite sections are the the big vegetables and the fried potatoes chip/zucchini /onion ring food booth.

Slaying the Seward Silvers

Bryant caught the first fish out of Seward last weekend.

. . . at least we wish we were. So far we've managed to get three. Two that were nice fish and I earned the bragging rights to catching the BIGGEST one.

The biggest silver ever caught aboard the SOL SEARCHING.

Even Wyatt thought it was a nice fish although he wasn't impressed until he noticed that others at the fish cleaning station had much smaller silvers to fillet. This is our first season ever fishing for silvers out of Seward and that is only one reason for our limited success. Other reasons include:

1)We don't like to burn a lot of gas chasing fish, so we've limited our range of where we will fish.

2)We don't like to get up early to fish or for any other reason on the weekends.

3)We don't have long attention spans when fishing isn't very good.

4)We get distracted into sailing when the wind picks up and the sun is shining.

Not as big as yesterday's fish, but I sure wasn't going to complain.

Bryant brought the boat down to Seward the last weekend of July while I was in Michigan. Since then, we've made our way down there for three different weekends. Two years ago, we bought this boat from a guy who kept it in Seward and this is my first time back. Seward is a town of about 3,000 year-round residents. Other than a state prison, most of its economy is summer tourism. There are quite a few fish charter operations, tour boats into Kenai Fjords National park, and the big cruise ships also use Seward as a drop off and pick up point for passengers heading to Vancover Britsh Columbia.

Seward Boat Harbor

Next weekend, we need to make a decision about whether or not we should leave the boat in Seward through the month of September. It sounds like the weather may be a limiting factor as precipitation increases.
A charter deckhand filleting or butchering a Salmon shark.

We witnessed someone's 308 lb. halibut.

The Waterfall

Yesterday, I learned a little more about taking pictures of a waterfall. I never really understood how photographers were able to make water look soft in waterfalls. When I asked Bryant he said, "Slow the shutter speed down and use a tripod." But beyond that, he wasn't sure either. Throughout the summer, I'd see these little waterfalls near the road on our bikes and to myself I'd think that this might be a good place to practice taking pictures of moving water, but there was never the urging pull to take the time and do it. Then a couple days ago, I talked Gus into a bike ride and we rode in the other direction. Granted it is the same way I drive almost everyday to do any errand, but messing around on a bike and driving in a car my mind works differently. Gus and I saw the sign that said, "Pioneer Falls" and I suggested we go and check it out. A few years ago Bryant and I were back there and there wasn't much to see, a trickle of water stuffed behind a bunch of trees. Immediately, Gus and I noticed a huge temperature difference and soon rushing water hammered our ears. A short walk up the trail revealed a beautiful gushing waterfall. Although the top part was still obscured by trees, the bottom brimmed with with bubbly flowing water. Impressed and properly motivated, I made a commitment to myself to come back soon with a camera and without Gus, because I new he wanted no part of a camera excursion.

Yesterday, I made the time. I went back to the waterfall twice to practice with shutter speed. The one thing I did discover in this experience was that grey morning light makes softer water than brighter afternoon light.

Real Summer . . .

Bike riding up the mountain near our house. Riding down is much more fun!Kids swimming at the property while we painted the siding on the cabin.

Moose brousing in a nearby swamp.

The warmest summer and possibly driest summer since 2004 . . . . and we are enjoying every minute of it!

Exotic Cruise in the Pacific - Prince William Sound, Alaska

Two adults, two kids, and a 30 lb. dog aboard a 26 foot sailboat for a week! We expected rain and received almost none, just a few dribbles our first night. Sailing, hiking, swimming, and exploring -overall a nice time.

For more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/PrinceWilliamSound7Nights