day trek to Seward.

 so these are a smathering from yesterday and today.  i stopped at multiple places both days.  better short walks.  still a wee bit tired and the digestive tract is not quite 100% though doing much better.  takes a few days to get back to normal i think.

 yesterday i was testing the waters...so first we did a loop around the dog park locally....next i headed back to hatchers. i actually had the car packed with the thought that i may head to Valdez.  in the end i opted to come back home. 

 we walked the road up to Independence mine and wandered a bit...there is still tons of snow on the trails so a slush fest.  it was supposed to be raining in Valdez anyway.  my heart just wasn't up for the drive.  i did feel guilty and compelled to do it. 

 that is summer in Alaska.  with such long days you tend to feel obligated to use every minute of light and guilty if you don't.  it's why as the days get shorter i start to relax and feel less guilty about doing nothing at all.

 on the way back i decided to stop at Reflections Lake and see what the wild flowers were up to. 

 there are a lot less Iris out in those parts than the old days.  SG suspects the wild iris have been pilfered over the years...i think she's right.  the flowers do all seem a bit behind schedule too though.  the wild lupine is just now getting up to bloom.  seems late to me.

 this is the road, closed for the season i think due to covid, up to Independence mine.  the sign said dogs on leash. i really take that to mean once you are at the mine...though my dogs were the only ones off leash. i pulled them aside to allow everyone else out there to pass. they were leashed once we got up to the mine and for the walk back down.  figure off leash training and wear them out uphill, on leash training down hill.  the two of them still tend to pull.

 ever since i was taken on a flight by these two i suspect i lost some faith in the leash walking.

 i really should just get a gentle lead for Tusker. i think once he's doing it she will be fine...she's actually much better on leash than he is.  she is so wanting to please me.  so sweet.  i feel badly for her as she is starting to show some signs of hip issues.  limps post walks on her right back. too much jumping.....

 today's multi stop adventure...started in Girdwood for a walk in the woods.  looked wet down Portage way which was my first thought so i stopped in Girdwood instead.

 had to get the dogs stretched out before we headed to Seward for some beach time. they love beach time.

 once in Seward we first stopped at the beach off of Nash rd.  it was low tide, not a huge low tide, but low enough.  the Nash road beach was crowded with fisher folks.  they were at the waters edge so the dogs were not a bother at all to them.  we never got that far out.  the wind was blowing pretty strong. 

 next we headed to the area at the base of their tiny airstrip.  still windy so i figured there wouldn't be too much plane activity.  we wandered around down on those trails a bit...again the lupine are just barely starting to pop out.  lots of iris and chocolate lillies seen though.

 as the pups were now coated in a mud from the boggy waters in that area...we headed out to Lowell Point for more beach time and a dip for cleaning pups.

 they both slept the whole way home basically.  Ivy hasn't made it upstairs.  just started her on some glucosamine. i see a vet trip in our future.

 so flowers are a bit late i think but on the verge of popping out like crazy. 

 will have to wander back down to Seward in a week or so and see if those lupine have come out full force.  lots of plants getting started at the end of the runway.  that place is usually crazy with lupine. also a pull out at mile 12 before getting to Seward seemed to have no lupine yet. 

 i stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center after Girdwood.  always clean bathrooms and i can have a glance at the animals and what they are up to.

 all the bears were out close.  these were almost fake looking i think.

 i was actually super excited as the wild Iris are all over in the wood bison area close to where you check in.  the lupine there was also getting going.

 wild iris below.

 always love the old buildings at the mine. 

 we had a big post Memorial Day weekend day the other day...29 new + cases i think...the last two days have been under 15...not back to the 0-5 we were getting but at least a lower number. sounds like cases are increasing in many towns in the lower 48. many had increasing + cases when they opted to just re-open.  the politics of the pandemic mean that many just will not do the distancing or masking.

 so the fool is planning for his first big rally since this all happened.  the big toddler has always thrived on the attention of these rallies.  he signed up for re-election on the day of his inauguration for the purpose of being able to collect money for his re-election and to be able to hold these rallies where he could control who was allowed to be there.

 his cult followers are signing a waiver to attend...along with paying a handsome fee no doubt.  the waiver protects trump and his re-election office from any lawsuits if these followers get covid or die from covid as a result of attending his rally....a rally where he will lie to them about how bad the virus is and encourage them to just get back to normal...everything is fine.  it's not worse than the flu...blah, blah, blah.

 they like to say the positive results numbers are increasing because testing is increasing.  sadly, the truth is the percentage of positive cases has increased as well.  so basically...if 2 months ago there were 5 positive tests in 100 tests, now there may be 20 positive tests in 100 tests run. those are not exact numbers just gives you an idea of how they are twisting facts in order to calm their followers. 

 if you run a hell of a lot more tests you should have a lower percentage of positive results...but that is not how it's working out in reality.  other nations have had to clamp down as their case numbers rise for the next wave...we never got out of our first wave. our curve flattened briefly but seems to be on the rise again in many places.

 i baked some break the other day...i am my mothers daughter...i was bummed i had not saved some dough aside for snacking on later.  i love the dough.  that was my mom's favorite thing.  next time i shall...

 the ice cream i made this week turned out fair.  still need to learn what i'm doing there. seems like it should have thickened up more. 

 watched a few netflix movies.  first was called, "the up side".  an ex-con ends up getting roped into a job working for a wealthy guy who has become a quad.  they end up good friends.  i guess it was based on a true story.  i enjoyed that one.

 next night i watched a documentary that followed a litter of guide dog pups through those first few years.  only two in the litter ended up being guide dogs.  another went back to a guy who had been helping raise the dog.  he was a veteran with some ptsd it seems.  so even though Patriot, the dog, didn't make the cut for guide dogs he seems to be living as the unofficial ptsd dog for this gentlemen.  another dog ended up getting placed in a regular home.  i was a little sad that one sweet girl was kept as a  breeder.  she needed to be in a home not a kennel.  the system works and i'm sure she was well cared for but it was just sad.

 you can see a few of the fishermen out there below.

 Reflection lake is well named.  can be quite beautiful.

 i take the side trail to the waters edge. check the tides but the wildflowers are great in that area.

 the mosquitoes were also plentiful.  it's Alaska in the summer, of course, there will be bugs.  of course the wind was blowing hard enough in Seward today that bugs were not an issue.

 handsome bear.

 chocolate lily below.  they are plentiful out there right now.  not great smelling.

 you can sort of get an idea of the wildflowers below.

 these are all the pink ones.  always super cool looking flowers i think.

 shooting stars.

 not sure what my plans are for tomorrow...last full day off before heading back to work.

 see how Ivy's hips are feeling by morning. generally by morning she is just fine.  she actually shows no signs of discomfort until we get home. 

 these little wild cotton ball things are always a favorite of mine as well.

 so a mixture of photo's.  summer flies fast. there is just so much to see out there.  it's nuts.

 these iris below were at the conservation center today.

 as was this moose.

 this silly dog was playing in the snow yesterday. 

 it's after midnight.  i better head to bed for the night.  looks like it was an amazing sunset tonight.  if i wasn't beat i would have gone out chasing it.  :-)  night.

thankful for A.  all the pretty wild flowers.  the earth has so much diversity.  B. my furry companions that make a day trip so much more fun.  C.  kitties that were so happy to have us return.