more lost lake...

 woke up at like 4:30 am last night and never got back to much of a deep sleep after. will soon crash with a movie i think.  was thinking of popping in "happy, thank you, more please".  haven't seen that one for awhile. ernie and tanya must have collected the wildflowers for the table.  they were a nice touch.

 we all gathered again today at bob and tanya's place for a bbq with other friends along as well.  always fun.  tons of good food to eat.

 at lost lake the evening found us all on the hill near the cabin enjoying the amazing scenery and sunshine.  it was a simple and yet relaxing night.  sometimes it's the most simple of time spent in the woods that has the most meaning and brings joy to your spirit.  a small amount of wine was shared among the adults and the kids and their parents played silly and simple games.  amazing what happens when the electronics aren't readily available.

 lots of photo ops

 mostly, i just loved all the giggling children and just that pervasive happy spirit that was with us on the mountain that night.

 blossom even got to participate.   her spare tennis ball was tossed many times.  honestly, i thought she would be done after all the hiking with her pack, but blossom can always find more energy for a tennis ball.  kids are the same, they may seem beat coming up the mountain, but are re-energized once they are done with the hike.

 a few fun family photo's of bob, tanya and maddie.

 then the playdoh came out.

 hulkim enjoys the views.

 fun to watch really wonderful fathers interact with their kids.  i love when parents can relax, be silly and enjoy their kids!  isn't that why people have kids afterall?

 as painted as blossoms nails got.

 i think she had a great time being the resident dog and getting all the attention.

 a rare photo of ernie and hulkim.  again....my apologies for totally screwing up the spelling of their names. i guess i could pretend i'm just altering them to protect their identity.  great people even if my swedish isn't very good.  wonderful to see them again today and i will get to hang with them all again when we fish tuesday.  will need to bake again. today i just made cupcakes.  anything sweet though seems to make the kids happy.

 rio wouldn't eat her breakfast until close to noon.  after that i just took them to westchester lagoon for a short and slow walk.  not sure what is up with rio, but she has slowed down this summer.

 group shot of everyone just enjoying the day.  it was a cherished evening.

 the kids made face masks with the playdoh on their parents.  i think bob was totally happy to just lie there in the grass and let his face be used as a canvas.  haha.

 blossom too got her hair braided and decorated with flowers.

 ernie gives pela a hug.  taken behind me and over my head at sandra's direction...thought it came out pretty cute.

 maddies turn to get decorated with playdoh.

 the rest of us just enjoyed the laughter.

 was listening to npr for a bit as i drove to westchester.  they were talking about times when places were trying to eradicate certain species and how it always goes horrible wrong.  india was trying to get rid of cobra's so they offered to pay for dead cobra's...the wise people began to creat cobra breeding farms in order to make money.  eventually the trick is discovered and the government stops paying, then the cobra breeders just release all the extra cobra's back into the wild, making the original issue even worse.  the same happened elsewhere with rats.  they were collecting rat tails and paying by the tail, rat farmers began breeding in mass in order to make money.

 a few countries have attempted to decrease traffic by using the license plate to determine what day you could drive.  so if your plate ended in a 1-2 or 3 you couldn't drive on friday..people bought more cars so they would have a car to drive on the other days when it wasn't their plate day.  smog went up apparently.  people will always find the way around things, i remember reading in the national geographic about cuba and all the rules there that people have worked their way around.  we are quite crafty, us humans.

 pela is a joy to have around.  above his mom wrestles with him.  below he is just that happy kid.

 then the boys began to wrestle.  his big brother martin is really great with him.  protective and also seems to know the limits.

 eventually their dad joined in the wrestle session. a few kids rolled down the hill and eventually dad of course, won.

 much laughter was had by all during this.

 i stayed clear of the wrestling.   opting to just enjoy the laughing and the scene.

 flowers in my garden at home are blooming despite the neglect to my garden.  it happens every summer.  i have good intentions in the early summer and then i just get busy doing other stuff.  this summer has been warm and sunny.  i'd rather be out on the trails i guess.  may is usually my planting month and we totally skipped it so i was just never on my game as far as the yard went.

 totaly relaxation out there...love this picture.  i think it says it all.

 we never made it to the lake, but perhaps another day we will.

 view from the front door to the cabin.

 salmon dip...everyone always knows how to eat out there.

 the monkey from my pack gets swung around on the rope.

 dinner was planned i guess for a campfire, no campfire available at this cabin as it had propane heat.  oh well.  they improvised.

 sandra looks quite content.

 and blossom sacked out early.

 this is the rather large loft.  i just loaned them my big green tent for car camping in denali this weekend.  hope that works out for them.

 taken from the loft.  sun kissed and happy.

 as soon as i had my bed set up blossom found her spot.  not much room for me.  she was out soon after this picture.  she moved a bit when i crawled in, but she didn't move much that night.  kept both mine and tanya's toes warm all night.

 loft, sandra on top bunk, tanya below and blossom on my bag in the corner.

 early morning..she was one comfy dog. she did wake me up at some very early hour. i let her out to pee and then she puked up a grass ball.  i knew all that grass she was eating along the trail was a bad idea.  she seemed fine after that.  silly puppy!

 liked all the shoes lined up.

 blossom in the morning on tanya's thermarest.  she knows what comfort is all about.

 maddie painted a few rocks with nail polish.  i like the modern art one best myself.  we left them there to decorate the cabin.

guess i shall go enjoy a movie and hopefully sleep. i start back to work tomorrow night.  4 nights.  haven't done that long of a stretch for a bit.  i did attempt to call the hotel in kaktovik.  the owners are out of town for a week so i'll call when they return to see if there is still any room for another polar bear tourist.  go from there.  good night.