Smoke Sets

Top of the hill at the property

The dark side to our warm dry spring weather was a big fire on the Kenai Peninsula. Most of the fire stayed within the boundaries of the Kenai National Wildlife refuge, and thankfully no one was hurt or had their houses burn down although a lot of people were evacuated as flames threatened their neighborhood.  Unfortunately the smoke doesn't sit still and we ended up with a couple of smoky days both at the house and over Memorial Day weekend at the property.  A couple days it was so thick we couldn't see the mountains across from the house, but mostly it hung on the horizon reminding us all that a good hard rain is a good thing every once in awhile. 

View from the top kitchen deck at the house

First Day of Summer

     Well, it is not the official first day of summer, but it is my first day of summer.  My 183rd day in my teaching contract was completed yesterday afternoon.  I celebrated this morning by sleeping in until 9:15 a.m., and then I took a scouting mission around my house and yard to take on my new job for the next 70 days before the teaching cycle starts all over again. 
     The extremely dry spring is still in effect, and there are two wildfires burning south of Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula and across Cook Inlet that have sent smoke in our direction.  Yesterday, I couldn't even see the mountain out my window due to the smoke. Today, I couldn't ask for a nicer day and I'm ready to take advantage of it!

Happy Graduation!

My oldest son graduated from Mat-Su Central, yippee!  He plans to attend University of Alaska Fairbanks in the fall.  It seemed fitting for us to make our way to the Knik River Bridge to take a picture to document this transition to his next phase in life. 

Back to Blogging

Blogging has been on the back of my mind, but hasn't made it to the top of my list until last night.  I had Gus pull over just past the Knik River Bridge because the sunset colors were amazing.  And I thought to myself this would make a great picture to start off blogging with again.  While the I-phone camera didn't capture every detail, it did a nice job of catching the reflection on the river and the starting of green on the trees.  This past weekend the temperatures and timing must have been just right, because all the leaves are back on the trees.  Our world turned green once again. Here are two pictures taken 48 hours apart: 

 We've also been taking advantage of those blue skies these last few weeks. 

Bryant and I are on a road biking mission and trying to put as many miles as possible on the weekends in the early summer season. My Spanish final was on Wednesday, so I no longer study every morning or have to head to class after work, so my new goal is to bike back and forth to work.  Finishing the class is also the reason why I can think about Blogging again.  I was going to write, "Who ever thought learning another language could be so time consuming?"  But I knew it was going to be because my brain needed a lot of studying when I took the Spanish 1 so I had a pretty good idea what I was in for when I signed up for Spanish 2. 

Over Spring Break, I had the opportunity to practice a little of my Spanish on our trip to Mexico's Baja Peninsula. Bryant and I spent some time mountain biking in La Paz, El Sargento, and Todos Santos.  Even though the boat is sold, we still have a storage shed with some camping gear and bikes. As usual, the days were sunny and the time went by much too fast. I realized when I got home, how few pictures I had taken.

Our pleasant winter weather continued through March and April.  In late March, we took the winter bikes on a hard packed snowmachine trail from the cabin west to the Big Sustina River.  Getting to the Big Su on the bikes was a nice way to close of the winter biking season.   

I think if every Southcentral Alaska winter was this mild, I wouldn't mind living up here a little longer.  This had to have been the nicest winter I've experienced in the 21 years that I've lived up here. 

 

On Sunday, Hatcher's Pass was our destination.  The first 21 miles are rolling terrain from the house then there is 2,200 feet of climbing for over 10 miles.  The grade varies between 4% - to really steep.  The bike gurus at Strava rate it as a Category 1 climb, which is suppose to mean something in hill climbing bike language.  Then we turn around and repeat that trip in the other direction.  Coming home is always easier than heading out as one can imagine. The first time we rode up here was the first weekend of May in 2011.  We both used our mountain bikes and I was totally exhausted.  I remember getting to the top and laying my tired body down on the pavement wondering if I could even lift it up to eat a little bit of lunch. 

In May of 2012, only Bryant's road bike made it to the top. He purchased a new bike and was eager to try it out.  I must have still been traumatized, so I opted not to go.

 

But a month and a half later using my road bike from college, I let myself get pulled along on a ride to the top, and while I may have been last place among the group, I wasn't so far behind that they turned back to look for me.  Gears meant for the flatlands don't work well in the mountains.  I was obviously struggling.  In the summer of 2013, I made my way again to the top. Because it was later in the summer and I had a little more time to kick my body back into shape, I mostly remember it as easier than the other times I rode it, but still an hour's worth of my heart-pounding and a major leg beating experience. 

Now this most recent ride up Hatcher's Pass was a whole new experience.  On prior weekends, we had been climbing some smaller local hills and the thought crossed my mind that I may need to invest in a new bike. Could I get up the steep grades?  Yes, but was it much fun?  Debatable.  If ever I planned to do a lot of biking again or hill climbing, this old bike wasn't going to cut it anymore  That is what rolled through my mind the entire ride.  When we got home that evening, Bryant said to me, "I'm buying you a bike."  I decided he could buy me a half of a bike and I would buy the other half.  We ordered it on Sunday and by Friday, UPS was delivering the new bike to our doorstep. Saturday morning, Bryant built the bike and by Saturday afternoon we were riding a loop close to the house.  On Sunday we stepped it up a notch and made our way up to Hatcher's Pass.  Impressive . . . I was absolutely spell bound that I could make my way up the steep grades and still find that I had one more gear to click into when the going got too tough.    



Difficult . . . yes.  Easier than before . . . . most definitely and best of all, it was an enjoyable challenge that I will likely try again soon instead of waiting another year!