so much i should be doing....

 but i was looking at a few pictures from today's walk....so here i am at the computer.  it's nice out but who can take so much sunlight. haha.

 these first are still from the drive to Valdez.  the weather deteriorated after i passed the Worthington Glacier so i just drove on over to Valdez.

 passing the Matanuska Glacier.  it's really huge so you are actually passing it for miles and miles.

 Mt Drum i believe. it looks very different depending on which direction you approach it from. 

 today, i was a bit beat after my nearly 8 mile walk with friends yesterday so i was closer to the usual 4 miles of walking.  took the dogs down to the beach at Kincaid.

 sun was out so i think they were happy to hit the mud.  we were delayed getting down onto the beach as a black bear had just been seen on the trail.  we literally just missed it.  everyone clumped together and went down the trail to the beach...lots of noise was made. 

 i headed down the beach, turned and then headed back...ran into some of the folks I'd walked down with and they said, they had just run into the same bear but this time it was on the beach.  went to the waters edge..like the puppies I'm guessing he was cooling off in the mud.

 the lupine were all over. so pretty.

 we had lots of snow so it's still melting.  the water was pouring off the mountains as seen above.  i hear and have seen pics of Reed Lakes in Hatchers Pass, still frozen.  seems nuts really, it's mid July...but the truth is it's really not all that unusual for a northern climate.  we just don't have it happen as often as it did in years past from all reports.

 anyway, today i took the dogs up off the beach to a little fresh water area so they could get a drink and get a soaking.  i could see the bear in the distance heading back to the main park and trails.

 so i cruised down the beach that way and checked out his tracks on the mud flats.

 these are the next morning in Valdez.  this is part of the pictures from my day trip to Valdez Glacier.  it was really relaxing and a lot of fun. got lucky and was joined by some super nice folks. the guide was perky and fun. 

 depending on the year you can get some pretty large and fun ice chunks out there to play around.  we stayed safe and enjoyed many photo ops.

 my kayak mate and i have exchanged some pictures.  i suspect she back in Europe by now.

 the ice was really pretty cool.  hard to tell in the photo's but it's almost like it's clumped together like little puzzle pieces.  later i went back and was taking some apart bit by bit.  strange.  ice comes in so many forms.  i would never have noticed until i wound up here in Alaska. 

 but then, i have learned a great deal i would never have known had i not come here. 

 these are our boats.  they were pretty comfy.  strange to be sitting up on top of a kayak.  new to me.

 like that so many coming up in age seem to get that life is best lived.  many of them seem to relish the adventures, find a way to make that happen in their lives. 

 i recall being young and seeing people who were seeming to wait until they retired to live their adventures.  sadly, many don't last too long after that happens or are just not healthy enough for the adventures they dreamt of. 

 I'm not sure that i consider myself really adventurous.  i walk every day and i try to get out and see stuff, but my adventures are pretty non-adventurous compared to so many i see posting themselves doing stuff i just would never have the guts to do.  i love their photo's...on all the peaks they have conquered or traveling to far reaches of the earth.  i have my adventures closer to home and I'm not one to feel the need to terrify myself at the peaks or jump out of planes. 

 still, i find great pleasure in the ever changing details i see around me.  i enjoy hitting many of the same trails over and over at different times of the year.

 yesterday i went with friends out close to Hidden lakes.  we had mixed bag of weather but as we walked back in the rain i really enjoyed it.  in Ketchikan we often were walking in the rain.  if you have decent rain gear it's really pretty sweet...especially if you aren't in a tent in it and can go home and warm up

 i was joined by a few friends yesterday and  we meandered the 8 miles we walked a bit, looking at all the beautiful wildflowers.  thanks Verna Pratt for helping me learn how to hunt down the various flowers. 

 the pups are sleeping.  i think Ivy was pretty beat and hot when we got back to the car today.  not much fresh water on the trail to/from the beach. 

 she actually lay down next to the car rather than jump in.  i took them to the Little Campbell Lake so they could swim and cool off.  they both got a good drink in as well.

 too hot to run errands. 

 the whale that was on the beach has been taken back to sea.  strange to see the beach totally cleared of it.  the tides come and go and so with it, the treasures. 

 we had pretty amazing weather this particular day.  you can see the glacier there in the distance.  I'm a wimpy adventurer'.  when they said we'd be landing our boats on the actual glacier and that the water at that point was over 300 feet depth...not much room for error i guess.  i got nervous.  thankfully, i worked through it.

 if you are never scared or nervous you are living your life too close to the line. 

 i recall the strangeness and confusion growing up in church.  there was this line, we needed to hold tight to the line(the iron rod was what we were told actually) to keep from straying and falling into a life of sin or something....yet we were encouraged to use our free agency to experience life.  i was always baffled how you could do both, use your free agency while holding tight to that line. in the end i let go...used my free agency and let it guide me.  holding on never really appealed to me.  sometimes in life, it's best to let go, let life take you where you wouldn't think to go.  get scared and then feel empowered because you didn't give up.

 for some i suspect they awaken scared and just getting out of bed and starting their day is terrifying enough. 

 it's all a balance.  ultimately, i think it is best to let go though.  being safe has it's comfort and merits but the real growth I've felt in my life came in the moments when i was dangling in the air without a rope.  when i had no idea how things would go, when i knew nobody...

 it is in those times that you discover the strength inside you.  when you find that you are capable. 

 in that freedom you tend to be more open to other people and ideas as well i think.  your brain is free'd up to explore all the routes that remain closed for some, because they choose to stay in a zone of comfort.

 it's not always easy...but it is rewarding.

 my little adventure.  this is small potatoes by some folks standards, but by others standards it's pretty exciting. 

 i just hope everyone finds a place in their lives to let go of the line that holds them safe, but ropes them in at the same time.  let go and fly...

 this is our guide.  she really did make the day even more fun.  some people can just shift the world with their happy demeanor.  they help you to let go of the line and have faith that it will be worth the ride. 

 free agency isn't meant to be tied down.

it's getting dark in the house...it's still light outside.  always an odd time of year when it's darker inside than outside.  every day is getting a little darker though.

 we paddled around the big ice bergs on the lake taking them all in and then headed out to the glaciers edge. 

 you can see the lip of ice below the moraine of rocks on top.  one misstep...well, it would be cold for sure.  I'm sure they would grab you up pretty fast.

 can't say that i have ever landed right on a glacier though.  generally we will pull up on a beach near by or the moraine. 

 after we got out of our boats and secured them we sat on the glacier and ate our lunches.

 then we went for a hike on the glacier.  I'm a hiker so i loved that part.

 you are never totally safe on a glacier as it is constantly moving, though slowly usually.  it could calve below us.  we felt pretty secure though and the guide was out there all the time and knew the more safe routes to take and the cool photo op locations.

 it does change.  fun to have her be able to tell us which ice caves had busted up recently.

 we are chilling eating lunch here.  more tomorrow or the next day...we shall see how tomorrow goes. 

grateful for A.  wildlife meetings that end well  B.  a warm beach day  C.  cooling off in a lake