around Sitka

 figure I'll drop in a little blog before i head out walking. hoping the smoke clears a bit.  not too bad but it's always with us this summer.  slugs are always present in Southeast AK.  love these big slimy guys..though my attempt to pick one up was not successful.  i wasn't that brave. 

 the fire still rages south of here. the road has been closed off and on. there have been some harrowing video posts from people who went through when it was open but perhaps shouldn't have been.  terrifying.  best to just avoid the area.  the fire up north does seem to be more contained. 

 love the old houses in Sitka.  it was the capital of AK under Russia. 

 trump derangement syndrome....penned initially as bush derangement syndrome...the funny thing is the right has been deranged about Hillary for over 20 years.  while they insist on calling the investigations into trump a "nothing burger" ( from the mouth of Hannity and spoken frequently by his most loyal followers no doubt)...the real nothing burger that they cannot and will not let go of is hillary.  they have spent far more money on these investigations and are desirous of more...despite not finding anything.  the nothing burger of Muellers has gotten many indictments...the Manafort indictments have actually paid for the investigation dollar for dollar. 

 even after trumps been in several years...hillary remains free to roam the nation..why is that? they have all the power...could it be that there never was anything there.  12 hours she was grilled on Benghazi and she held up and they found nothing.  trump's lawyers wisely won't allow him to testify under oath for a second...why?  because they know that he is incapable of not telling lies.  putting him under oath would only seal the deal quicker. 

 so the nothing burger has given us many indictments and there are several currently serving prison terms for this nothing burger. my frustration and the frustration of many on the left is that those calling this a nothing burger have opted to remain ignorant of what is written in said nothing burger...preferring to be spoon fed by sycophants.

 the nothing burger investigation has also caused several other investigations to be under way.  Mueller was not put in a position to follow any of the financial leads.  trump continues to break the emoluments laws and just this week has used his office and power to push his hotel in Florida that is apparently doing poorly...his plan is to use it for next years g-7...or g-8 if he gets his way and can invite his boss, Put. oh how he loves Put...not sure how the right squares this bromance with the truth. 
the picture above cracked me up as she is daintily carrying a bone with her tiny purse.  haha.

 what are the ties?  what does Put have on him or what is it that trump desires from Put...accolades.  it is clear that he revers those who have unilateral power in their nations.  drools really to be like them.  in his secret meets with put what is said?  what is plotted? 

 the right makes every excuse they can for these bizarre "relationships" with dictators, cruel and killing dictators.  he shows animosity for our allies and kisses the ass of those dictators. 

 the right loathes Obama...they like to pretend it has nothing to do with the color of his skin, but in truth it has everything to do with that.  trump's birther bull was racist...pure and simple.  to deny that is to deny your own feelings i think.  there were just many in our nation who couldn't abide by a black man serving in the highest office. 

 i think the same would be true with a woman...there are many who couldn't or wouldn't be okay with a man being put in the position of first gentleman...or horrors....if a gay partner was installed in that roll. 

 my brother is gay, he had to watch the support of my family for the anti gay marriage bills.  that could not have felt great...that members of his own family did something they had never done and contacted their reps to rail against gay marriage.  that they vote against gay marriage...i don't think they were required to fight for gay marriage but it probably would have been kind to abstain. 

 it meant too much to them though. 

 my first walk to down town Sitka.  lots of little harbors all over the place.

 for sure a major boating community.

 still quite a few flowers.  it is funny that in my years living in Southeast i really don't remember focusing on the flowers and mushrooms like i have up here.

 love how the trees in southeast are not deeply rooted and you can often see those root systems displayed

 in these we are headed out to the hot springs.

 there are so many small islands out there..i would think you would really have to know the area to avoid hitting them in a boat.  our captain really seemed to know the way. 

 his boat was sparkling....he even washed our boots before allowing us to board. we opted to not rent a car from him...i knew we would never be able to keep it as clean as he wanted.

 we didn't see much wildlife on our journey to the hot springs...still a beautiful ride. 

 there are several hot springs in the area i think.

 hard to see it all from here....there are two hot spring huts one below and one above

 our transport to the island.

 the views from the lower springs

 there was someone else there before us so we went to the upper springs for a bit before heading back down here....the upper one wasn't as hot as the lower springs

 wood steps are pretty common in southeast as well. 

 most of my actual hot springs shots were with the iphone, posted earlier.  these are the before and after shots.

 this fishing boat lay in wait for us to finish so they could take their turn out at the hot springs

 i was on the second little boat both ways. 

 the other crew head back to the bigger boat.

 there are so many amazing adventures to be had in this great place.

 that cabin is city owned and you can rent it out, then get boated out and kayak over to the hotsprings when ever you desire. sounds great to me!!

 the realization that i have to come to accept is that my presence will always be fraught in this family i am a part of.  i left what they believed and i survived.  that will always come with mixed emotions. it does come down to my choice...i rejected what is dear to them and i don't think i can ever be let off the hook for that.  it is always the gap that prevent the full relationship that i see them have with each other...even if it's dysfunctional for all at times.  my fate was sealed when i left.

 i just have to find a way to accept that.  i am grateful that my life went the way it did.  i have never regretted leaving but it was a risk and it will always be the bridge too far as far as the family goes.

 we enjoyed playing with all the sea stars at the dock.  we had a cab coming so we had to wait a bit.

 it's low tide right now.  the dogs are waiting for their daily adventure. 

 check out this amazing tree/root system.  it's a battle for light in these dense forests.

 the amazon is burning.  it's incredibly sad....there is a conservative wing in Brasil and across Europe. many like minded who fear the changes that are happening and have been working together for years.  those who have once again found scape goats for all that they fear.

 these were growing all over the place.

 cute houses from days gone past.

 we hit the raptor center and the bear sanctuary the next day. since it was raining it seemed a good idea

 always love the owls.

 so cool looking

 we took a walk at the raptor center.  i actually thought we'd run into a big outdoor bird run, but it was just a walk.

 i think i have skin and eye appointments today.  gotta make an appointment for the urologist...so much fun aging.  wish they would just order me a ct to look for a kidney stone.

 these last few are from the drive out to the bear sanctuary. 

 we ran into these adorable deer's

 better get these kids walking...a little less bitching for the day i think.  it's my reality as every day with this administration is destructive and painful.  it's all very depressing.  mostly for me, just the realization of how trumpy several members of my family really are.  i think i had convinced myself that they were more tolerant of him than supportive.  not knowing would have been better i guess.  i keep waiting for them to wake up and say enough and i see now it's never going to happen. i will never become a supporter of his either so the frustration is for sure both sided.

grateful for:  A.  the adventures and the health to get out there still.  B.  my furs and my friends... C. that every day that passes is another day closer to an election and the possibility of the removal, though i do not believe we will have a peaceful transition of power if he loses