beach and more Harriman

 the dogs get to get super muddy down at the beach in Anchorage.  always a great day.  tons of soccer traffic. kept the dogs on leash to and from the beach so they walked on leash for over 2 miles and didn't kill me.  actually, Ivy is really great, heeling right next to me...Tusker though.  thanks to SG for the leash tip a few years back, it has come in handy on many occasions. overall, they both do really well. 

 so this shot is obviously after the fire trucks arrived and the flames had changed to smoke as the fire was put out.  i did not sit upstairs in my window and take iphone photos of an active fire over rushing outside to see if i could help out in any way. the houses are fairly close together, especially in some areas, this one being one of those so a little fire can quickly become more devastating. 

 had a fun day with the pups.  they got muddy and tired. that is the best way for pups to be! i hit the grocery store and then did some yard work...some of which was play with the hose so the pups would get un-muddied.

 lots of humans and dogs out there.  when did bike riders stop saying on  your left before they passed you.  would be helpful.  i may start just walking the dogs in their way so they will have to stop....especially coming up that big hill.  fools!! help me, help you!!

 this is one of my favorite trees in Anchorage...well it's a few trees all clumped together.  have taken many photos there over the years, in different seasons.

 not many folks on the beach were daring to go into the muddy bits. the tide was low enough that the cross over to fire island was probably possible. i think that is a fools hike, but then i have many opinions.  the tide comes in fast, the mud is easy to get trapped in and there is no place to put an injured hiker or dog to await help.  they could be having a heart attack and they will just have to keep moving or risk getting swept up in the tide.  every so often you hear about some folks doing it...then of course, they post it on a social media hiking site and then all the other fools want to do it too.

 had an ongoing message battle over the usual gun rights crap.  always cracks me up...folks who are deep in that camp have zero desire to change but they will attempt to bait you into a battle with them.  she sent a meme.  i am grateful that she didn't create a fire storm in public...haven't we all had enough of those.  requests of send me an article to prove your point of view...forget it...those folks have no desire to learn or even hear your point of view they simply want to argue their side...they no doubt have 50 articles selected to argue their points...the points are stale, the points are asinine.  I've really heard them all. gotten into pointless arguments with folks who will never change their views as they believe in absolute guns rights.  no discussion or facts will alter their views.  it's totally pointless and frustrating.  then they clearly don't even really read what you responded cause they be all, so what do you think we should do...when you have already given points of what you would like to see as a start...then you just have to walk away. 

 what is really annoying is that all these folks just died in yet another mass shooting and they jump all over it arguing for their rights...thoughts and prayers...just quit pretending you give a crap about your fellow citizens.  all of those lost are just collateral damage. your right to own guns is absolute and those folks do not really matter...even if those folks are kids.

 as i wrote to this person, "you will never convince me that the answer to all the deaths and injuries is to not do a fucking thing".

 what cracks me up to is most of the folks that scream about needing guns for protection live lives where they will actually never have a threat directed at them.  i have no issues with people having a few guns for protection. i have no problem with folks having guns for hunting or to prevent bear mauling on the trails. but that is rational and i can't possibly be rational so they ignore anything rational you say and assume, despite what you actual say, that you are some radical who is hell bent on taking every single gun out of their hands.

 suburban white folks will rarely actually need a gun for protection. you live in the inner city, in a bad neighborhood maybe.  you deal drugs, for sure but most folks go through their lives fairly safe. you know who kills suburban white folks...their partners, people they know. people they otherwise trust.  you know what things happen with guns of suburban white folks...they are used in suicides, they are used in domestic violence, they are fired accidentally and they are used by disturbed children of suburban white folks to do mass shootings.

 i walk the trails nearly every day and i am in bear county much of that time.  i have thus far never carried a gun out there...if i did now it would be for the two legged idiots who have obtained guns and now the number of murders is increasing.  your right to bear arms is quickly taking away my right to not bear arms.  the NRA/GOP/Right wing media have quite successfully been involved in misinformation and paranoia campaign.  white people are scared...when i see these big guys out on the trails with their guns while i walk past them without one a part of me laughs.   to me they kind of look like chicken shits packing while this middle aged chick cruises up the same trail.  most bear attacks are so fast you couldn't get that gun out if you wanted to.  most of the time the story is there was a twig that snapped and the bear was on me.  sounds like a horrible way to go....but we can't prevent every bad thing that happens in life.  living every aspect of your life in a state of paranoia is just not healthy.

 filling your home with guns to me shows weakness and fear.  you can only shoot one at a time anyway.  i just don't believe regular families need assault rifles for protection.  i think we can limit certain weapons and you can still bear arms.  if you are sleeping and a guy enters your house with a gun you also won't know what hit you, there won't be time to get your weapon...often you don't know that person is there until they are upon you with their gun loaded. i don't have an article that proves that...i just seem to see a lot of crime photos of peoples pillows soaked with blood. 

 lupine at the airport last night.  it's after midnight. it's just now getting dark out.

 over the weekend it came out that folks in this administration attempted to get the Navy to cover up the name on the USS McCain during the iitoo visit to Japan..or to just have the ship go out to sea during his visit so he wouldn't have a baby over it.  so petty, so small, so weak.  for all the talk of being pro military...this administration is more pro corporations that make money supplying the military and less about actually supporting the military.  photo ops, but screw the vets for sure.  he can't be bothered with memorial services, can't attend a memorial in France i think it was, because it was raining?  it's a disgrace. 

 loved the mud on their noses.  so cute.

 that is from all that tennis ball chasing.  they got a work out.

 Tuskers photo op didn't turn out as well. his name was longer and they just wanted me to throw the ball.

 another sun halo

 tonight's snack is cherries and cheese filled celery.  :-) 

 the runways are being repaired in this area so a few planes only used the section to get to the active runway.  i didn't see any moose in the usual spots.  oh well.  we shall see what this summer brings.

 i think the pups have settled for the night.  soon i will too

 the rest are from the paddle. 

 these are still the small camera.  the rain camera on this trip.  i hadn't used it for a long time and wasn't really sure how well it would work.

 okay for some snaps when it got a bit more wet out there.

 the Mueller report does not exonerate trump.  quite the opposite...if only folks would bother to read it.  a few GOP members did.  one in the Senate...after he read it he called for impeachment.  he held a town hall to explain his rational to his constituents.  funny, many only knew the trump/barr/fox version of the report and had no clue there was anything in there that wasn't a glowing exoneration of the potus.  read the report....

 trump is selling arms to the Saudi's despite even the GOP trying to prevent it.  we need to reign in the power and make sure the checks and balances are stronger...for all future potus's.  selling arms to the nation that supplied the bulk of those that flew planes into the towers...selling arms to the nation that brutally murdered a Washington Post reporter, something he has never held them to account for.

 add it to the list of unacceptable things this administration should be held responsible for but never will be.  maybe i am the irrational lunatic others think me to be.  i don't feel irrational...i am just pissed off at the lunacy of it all.  I'm pissed watching hate crimes and hate in general increase. pissed seeing corruption at an alarming rate while many just look the other way, can't be bothered to even read a less than 500 page report.  pissed that the GOP is coming after women's reproductive rights while refusing to care or protect the humans that are already here in this nation.  pissed that the GOP does nothing while citizens die over and over in these mass shootings. 

 camp is all packed up in the boats and on deck...something they say you shouldn't do but we always seem to. 

 that is my tent/pad/pillow and ground cover.

 we were chilling waiting for TE.  he'd had a bit of a mishap loading in his kayak and ended up partially submerged. 

 we racked up and waited for him to be ready to join us for this crossing.  it turned out to be a long crossing.  i like the shores...more to see.

 there he is.

 B and T brought this little gnome to add some fun to their camp

 after our crossing the weather got better and better so i put the little camera away for a bit

 view of the glaciers we got closer to that day.  cox, cascade and bryan..can't remember

 this is after we were dropped at the first camp site. i think these are just backwards

 all set up.  rain off and on

 "drying" my kayak gear...was pretty pointless.

 we did have natures cooler

 I'm on a Henry's hard soda faze.  i like the grape. of course, it takes me like 6 months to get through a 6 pack.  haha.

 lichen on the trees in the camp

 everyone busy setting up tents/camp

 then we went for a short paddle

 a few waterfalls to enjoy.

 SJ with the glacier in view.

 BO enjoying some waterfall action

 rain on the tent.  due to the rain we ended up opting to stay here two nights... i think that worked well.  putting away and setting up wet tents is never fun. 

 my tent and my little area.  well i best hit the hay.  trees come down tomorrow. not sure what time.  I'll still have several trees left, but one is leaning into the shed and a few more are leaning. time to thin the herd. 

thankful for: A. those who fight for those who can't fight for themselves.   B. beach days and muddy dogs  C.  a great sleep