more of Valdez Glacier

 fun on ice!  if that chunk of ice collapsed I'd be toast, thankfully it did not.

 cool but not too cold, the weather was lovely for cruising on a chunk of ice.  if it's too warm you start to worry about more ice falling.  melt happens.

 met my handyman who will help me get my kitchen together. it will take longer but he does good work it seems and i felt comfortable with him doing the job.  we will start by closing up the window.  he will try to do that before he goes moose hunting and before the cabinets arrive.  then we'll put in the pantry cabinets and i will start to do some demo.  hopefully before the year is over my kitchen is finished...we shall see.

 after that i spent some time trying to decide where to walk.  could have done a big walk again but in the end i headed to the dog park. it was hot out there...hot being relative i know, but hot in Alaska is super hot to us.  the dogs don't handle heat well really so it's best to have them near a water source.  they enjoyed the afternoon at the dog park. 

 pulled some of the pool hall decor out.  the lights were a bit tricky...really just one of the lights.  the screw was trashed so i was in my garage on top of a stool hoping i didn't fall over.

 the risks of living alone are that i would fall onto the floor of my garage and injure myself and not be found for days.  at least tomorrow i am supposed to show up to work so one hopes when i didn't they would do a wellness check as me not showing up to work is not usual.  so note to self, attempt to do crazy things that could injure me close to when i return to work so i will be noticed missing quicker.

 I'm sure I'd be further tormented by Ivy dropping tennis ball after tennis ball at me in my contorted position on the floor of the garage doing more damage as time went on. 

 love all the ice peeking through the rocks on the surface.  this is what all that rock above looks like.  constant reminders that you are on ice the entire time.  i really thought my xtra tuffs would be a poor choice to wear on a glacier but for this glacier it worked well.

 it's what they outfitted all the other folks with.  i was obviously unusual as i was already decked out in proper attire for the activity.  i just sat there while they got everyone into borrowed gear. they made a few comments to me as they went through each item of gear about not being used to having people who were already prepared.

 you live here long enough and get outside you have more than enough gear. 

 look at that amazing blue color coming through.

 so there are some new items for free on the front lawn.  some real treasures I'd say. not sure why i totally love giving stuff away like this.  it feels freeing though unloading stuff. i could sell it for a few bucks I'm sure but that just seems like a hassle and i tend to be uncomfortable with strangers coming over.  is that the introvert in me?  I'd rather just give the little stuff away.  i always figure I'd gotten the use out of it.  besides, people just love getting free stuff.  it's like a treasure hunt and i suspect the entire neighborhood knows that there is a steady stream of free stuff at my place.  no matter how much i get rid of there is still too much left here.  crap really does collect.

 liked that this handyman suggested the old window could go to a place that takes old but usable building items for reuse.  habitat for humanity could utilize it.  I'm down with that for sure.

 always try to build up your good karma bank.  you never know when it will come in handy.

 here i am backed into a glacial hole.  as long as you don't fall in, right?

 the Alaska blockbusters are going..the only blockbuster left i guess is in Bend, Oregon.  I'm really surprised they lasted so long.  what will they do with all that memorabilia they just got from the talk show?

 the iitoo is not having a good week.  walk backs and walk forwards.  he's either crazy or crazy like a fox.  i really suspect he's a narcissist and borderline and habitual liar...somewhere in that vein.  was speaking about Clapper and how when he had come in office Clapper had sent him a really nice letter but then he said, "they must have gotten to him"...that is right off of the paranoid train. who is the "they" that got to him? 

 he couldn't stand as a power in front of Put, he looked weak and therefore he made our nation look weak.  the GOP will have a lot to answer for as more truths emerge.  todays report was that he was given direct evidence 10 days before his inauguration that Put ordered the attack on our nation via cyber.  today also the administration walked back our cyber securities. 

 Clapper gave Obama credit for beginning the investigation into what Rus was up to with regards to the election meddling.  facts were still emerging.  much more has been uncovered in the time that has followed.  12 Rus last week indicted.  another Rus was picked up this week.  there are ties between Rus and the NRA it looks like.

 i have no idea where this all will wind up going but it really doesn't look good.  i fear in the end the truth of this administration will make the Hill conspiracy theories look like child's play. with all the fake narratives that the rus put out through facebook and twitter i have to wonder how many of those my one brother passed along during that time.  at the time i counted him posting 30-75 things each day...no way he didn't get sucked into the Rus posts at some point.

 that could happen to any of us.  it was just that this time it was directed at helping the iitoo win.  our nation needs to work together to put a stop to this sort of meddling.  first we have to agree that it happened.  the iitoo declined to impose sanctions that were unanimously put in place for Rus.  he hedged putting them in as long as he could it seems.  in this case it's a matter of what he hasn't done over what he has done. the fact that he was made aware of the evidence of Put's plot before he was even in office makes it seem even sillier that this whole time he's bashed the investigation into what happened with the election. 

 it's not just about collusion though I'd say the more he denies and the more he screams witch hunt..the more i begin to wonder if his force against this is because he knows he was not elected legit.  we may never know the whole truth of how much help Rus did give him, but perhaps he does and he lives in fear we will find out.

 deep inside the glacier. a few pics up you can see the entrance to this cavern we are in. 

 our group inside the ice cave.

 enjoyed a good read on the deck for a bit this evening.  of course, enjoying a read on the deck does not really come all that easy.  Ivy and Tusker join forces to make me toss the tennis ball every few sentences. 

 under this iitoo the national debt and the deficit have both grown.  much of the fan fare about his positive impact on the economy is either over blown or outright lies. our diplomacy abroad has taken a hit, the GOP has taken damage.  our nation is less safe and less respected...this from the Washington Post.

 the iitoo has also done a great deal of damage to science and the environment.  since the GOP sides against all rational science in their hatred of the idea of climate change, funding has been cut back on anything with climate change even alluded to.  i believe even the words climate change have been stricken from the vocabulary. they reversed bans on certain insecticides, which will quite possibly damage our already fragile bee population.  removal from the Paris Climate accords, which some don't care about, but it's vital to work with our allies (the ones we used to have anyway) to prevent long term damage from the climate changes that are occurring, whether natural or man made they are occurring.

 they have also put the threatened species rules in a tailspin as well as abandoning a 100 year old migratory bird protection bill. they have rolled back emission standards for cars...which will increase our pollution potential. cuts to clean energy programs which encourage citizens to use cleaner energy in their homes and businesses. loosened regs on toxic air pollution and also makes it easier for coal and other agencies to dump waste into our waters.  decreased size of two national monuments for mining i believe it is.  opened nearly all the coastlines to oil exploration.

 more damage to the environment...cancels a rule that protects whales from fishing nets. has allowed import of some ivory again. this administration also disbanded the science advisory, an 18 member team.  a few fact of changes made.  basically in the environment...if it has to do with science or global warming or has Obama's name on it, it goes.  Nat Geo has an ongoing list of what is happening.

 ending DACA is also a iitoo decision.  ending temporary status for Salvadorians, cruel removal of children from asylum seekers as a deterrent...most of these kids have not been reunited with their parents and many never will be.

 pools of water within the glacier.

 a deeper cave...some twist and turn as they spiral deeper into the glacier.

 was great to wander the glacier.  i took a nice little slide.  if the rocks slip under you there really is nothing stable to grab onto.  i slid a bit then had to regain my footing.

 i head back to work tomorrow for the start of my stretch. i finally made it to the grocery store to restock the new fridge.  I'm already living half in the kitchen.  that will just get worse over time i know.

 may i mention how dismal race relations have become under this administration.  lack of leadership and outright support for racism and a racist agenda have become acceptable by this administration. 

 another week off has passed by.  i did do a few good hikes, accomplished some stuff, was lazy some times.  that is the life.  summer is pretty relaxing over all

 strange to think this ice is moving beneath us...have to wonder how much of that big ice on the lake is coming from beneath the lakes surface.  is it calving below.

 the colors are so beautiful.  ice comes in so many forms.  it's always amazing to me in the winters the different ways you will see ice.

 this is at the mouth of a big deep channel.  we tossed a few rocks down to listen to how deep it was.  there was a cascade of water falling in as well.

 it went pretty far down.

 then we walked over to this big cave.  it was less stable so we didn't go inside. 

 she said a big section had calved off in the past week.

 our guide goes down to check it out.

 liked this one of her.  off to read and settle in for the night i guess.

thankful for A.  a brother who allows some political banter without turning it to hatred.  it is appreciated.  i just feel even if it's heated we all should be better at communicating our political differences rather than only interacting with people who think exactly like we do.  B. that i do not have to defend the iitoo or the likes of Roseann Barr.  that is a tough sell. haha.  C. chill days reading on the deck