each day an adventure in alaska: June is half over...oh no!!

need to be out there walking these beasts. i'm moving slow today. went to bed too early..well had a late nap, which turned into an all nighter. some times we just need to sleep i guess. woke up at odd times.

ended up just doing an over night out in Valdez. tent camped at the KOA. i hadn't done that before but i think i like it. quiet, not down town. no crazy rabbits. mosquito's more than biting flies.

now i head back to work again tonight. things are getting more back to normal.

did slow drive to/from Valdez with lots of stops.

this taken inside at midnight....way more light outside.

we are already almost to solstice.

i decided to text the Matanuska Glacier folks again about visiting...could i do a guided trek to the front of the glacier with the dogs. they responded. told me to ask for Bill and he'd take me out. i had no idea what i was in for.

in the end. he just had me follow him in my car and then just made sure i was cool with just staying in front of the glacier. that was all i wanted so it worked out fine. no charge. he said if i ever have any problems to ask for him. he must be one of the owners. he just said i hadn't been allowed back last time i came so no charge this time.

he also mentioned that the rules are new and evolving. so obviously it wasn't their intention to stop all other activities...one of these days i need to just head out to do the glacier walk tour without the dogs, but it is good to know that it can be arranged to have them come and play and take photo's. it turned out pretty so it was a great little stop again.

the wildflowers are for sure popping out along the sides of the road. we made lots of stops as i said. the dogs were wiped out by the time we got back to Anchorage...as was I.

the next two days were just dog park days. partly because we were all a bit tired and partly because the news this week was full of bear encounters.

one woman in Palmer had gone for a hike/run and had called her husband to say she was being chased/attacked by multiple bears and had used her bear spray. i'm guessing a female with second year cubs. he didn't hear from her again and called for help. the search happened and as they were calling it off for the night, it sounds like she had made her way out of the woods with mild injuries. had gotten off the trail and it took time to find her way out.

another attack occurred on the Kenai. a couple had kayaked across Skilak Lake and were tent camping on the other side. they were awoken by a bear attack. the male got injured worse, wasn't able to walk out so they paddled some six miles out in the middle of the night. they were prepared and calm, called for help once they reached a campground on the other side of the lake. help soon came for the pair.

i also nearly ran into a black bear this past week. i was with the dogs walking down the airstrip.

a guy called from the other side of the airstrip "bear". i immediately started crossing to the other side where he was. as i kept walking i saw a large black bear on the other side of the grassy knoll i had been just about to come up to. amazing how these large animals can be hard to spot from different angles.

i did make a call about a hotel in Valdez. the cost is nearly $300/night. still haven't found any great options there besides tenting.

tenting isn't so bad really. it was nice weather and there were no reports of bear activity in the campground. i camped by others. i have a blow up mattress...though Ivy took over a large portion of that for the entire night...only moving to the dog beds after 8 am.

they are overall great camper dogs. lay quiet as i put the tent up and took it down in the morning. would have been easy enough to stay another night.

i did get a few things done these last few days.

i have arranged the carpet install. as for the other flooring...i may just buy the flooring and stuff i need and figure it out. the flooring guys won't touch the stove or fridge and expect me to disconnect them both and move them outside or into the garage. others install flooring so i suppose i could get some tips. may be able to just shift the fridge and stove without ever disconnecting them.

so we shall see. cheaper if i do it myself i know but can i?

not sure my knee would be too happy about it. would take more time but as i said, from all i have heard it isn't an impossible task. i have the flooring selected.

the dogs had their annual check as did I. now i need to go pick up the prn meds i like to have on hand.

so far i'm still not on anything daily. i know the cholesterol levels have been borderline and the last a1c was borderline as well. the joys of aging. life catches up. my bp was good and other than this nagging Covid induced anxiety i'm doing well.

that seems a bit improved as well since the covid stuff is starting to fade...hoping the anxiety fades with it. it used to just be situational...like getting on an air plane...now it can be more random.

the cats always entertain. Covid Cat zipped pretty far up a tree this morning going after a stellar, photo's to follow. no way he got near the jay but i did get far enough up the tree to make himself a little nervous coming back down. silly cat

some mornings after work Miss Breezy has made her way out of the dog door...a new skill for her.

enjoy all the pets and chill time with them.

re-watched that Tom Hanks movie about Mr Rogers. i actually didn't watch that show growing up. good movie though.

read his bio later. there were rumors that he was a big war hero, he was never in the military. he was a trained minister.

the Element is getting outfitted for being the dogs car...i'm always asking myself whether i should take my car or the dogs car now. stopped by the bike shop and found someone who was able to wrestle the old bike rack off the back. his now. he was happy and i was happy. i just never used it much, i can just shove a bike into the back of the element. i should bike more as it would be good strengthening for the muscles around the knee.

i have the rack for the top of the new car but i noted an issue with the installed roof racks as i headed out of town to Valdez...so now i have an appointment to get that addressed on Monday.

so i have actually done a few things this week off.

never thrilled to go back to work. trying to adjust my attitude though.

things are improving overall.

found this artist in Valdez who had some walrus art....very cool. not everyone does walrus stuff. bought some stickers which could be great for our next lecture for the island...hopefully we can do it next spring!! will add those to the goodie bags we give out.

here is the Element getting all worked on. so far it seems to be running fine. i'm still not ready to take it to Valdez or Homer but it is great to tool around with the dogs. they do seem to like it more than the other one. easy for Ivy to jump in.

here are a few from the trip. as you can see it was a beautiful day in front of the glacier. soon after we drove out we hit a down pour in Glenallen. by the time we got closer to Valdez it was beautiful out again.