the rain got harder...

 but i made it out there and walked the big loop at north bivouac.  wasn't too bad at first so i was able to take some fun fungi photo's.  eventually, i had to give up and put the camera away and cover my pack with it's little rain coat.  i did take a few more photos with the little camera but they were soggy shots.  i was soggy.  the dogs were sopped.  still...once you are out there in it, it doesn't matter really.  it's always the getting out there that stops you.  once you are out...you are out.
i loved this picture above.

 lived in ketchikan for 6 years.  hiking in the rain is what i did there.  all the time.  it never seemed to end.  you either sat at home or you just geared up and went for it.  i'm not much of a sitter.  i hope that i can walk my miles until i am as hold as the hills.  i always think walking will help me to do just that.  i think it's the best exercise.  that and swimming...great for your whole body.  will get re-invested in the pool this fall.  they are doing some work on the thing right now so it's closed for a bit.

 i started walking/hiking years ago.  so long i can't recall.  for sure i've done this 2-5 miles per day pretty much since i arrived in alaska.  i arrived back in '95 so i've done that for years.  started in los angeles. i had a hard time with chronic bronchitis from all the smog.  i realized in my early 20's that i was getting pretty short of breath and was sick all the time.  exercise was my salvation.  there is diabetes in the family as well so i knew staying in decent shape would be the best thing i could do for myself.

 it made a huge difference in my ability to breath and it gave me the encouragement to continue walking and exercising.

 there are people my age that i'm sure are in better shape, but i think i'm doing pretty well.  much of good health in  my opinion is also related to stress and keeping your stress levels low.

 ice cream making.  it only makes a pint but it can be quite tasty out there.

 mostly it is relaxing to be out there in the woods.

 everyone found it relaxing!

 fire and dinners cooked on the fire is always great.

 rio made a bee line for the water at some point.  she can be pretty stubborn when she wants something.

 view of denali from the main cabin window.

 my brother and his family left early for denali.  the dogs and i cleared out the place.  we were out before 10:30 i think.

 blossom wagged her tail and helped me sweep. haha.

 all these reality survival shows on.  don't get the appeal, but i think there are lots of kids who have grown up having zero experience in the outdoors and feel the need to prove themselves in the wild.  it all seems pretty set up though so really no risk of actual harm.  oh well.  it's all about the show.

 blossom is so cute!!

 they both did great today even though it was pretty wet out there.  not sure they'd like ketchikan.  blossom didn't chase the toy very much today.  both dogs are for sure a bit less active this year than in years past.

 eating some fried chicken...with the family here it made me want some of that good old cooking from back home.

 these are from hatchers pass.

 independence mine.

 telling stories...my neighbor and i did everything together those first years of our lives.  we met when we were 5 and were pretty much inseperable until about 5th-6th grade.  not sure.  somewhere in there her parents got divorced and she was ready to try stuff that i just wasnt' ready to experience.  she wasn't strong enough to turn me and i wasn't in a place to be turned.

 found a pack of cigarrettes coming home from school.  i went on about how bad they were for you and she convinced me to not toss them in the trash but to hide them in a bush instead so who ever had lost them could find them.  i think it was weeks to months later that she told me she had actually gone back with other friends to try smoking.  i think we both knew it was a friendship that was at the end.  by the start of junior high i think i didn't really have any friends from my grammar school.  i made new friends and i did just fine. we met up later in some home ec classes and we were always fine with the small talk  there never were any hard feelings.  we are still facebook friends and it looks like she's pretty happy.

 those early friendships are pretty important.  we had loads of fun being kids.  sleepovers were a regular thing.  playing with all the puppies and kittens that were born at our place, barbies, stuffed animals, trolls.  proximity and being kids was really all we needed to have in common.  kids make friends super easy.

 her dad was raised mormon and i think he always commented to her that i was a good girl from being raised mormon.  she knew i would never try the stuff she was ready and willing to try.  i was pretty naive and stayed that way for quite some time.

 elijah

 grammar school was many years ago now.  junior high is too.  had some rough years in those years.  my self esteem took some pretty good hits.  looking back it all seems pretty trivial, but when you are a kid it's all pretty huge.

 feeling stuffed...totally over ate on that chicken, but it was pretty good

 should have plenty of leftovers for work the next 3 nights..then back on a schedule.  now i realized too that a friend is getting married and i'm working.  will see if i can switch, but it's pretty late.

 always love it up there at independence mine.  it's just cool.  i think my brother really liked the mine ruins.  i think he thought it would be less big.  we don't do much small here though.

 alaska is way bigger than texas...even though texans seem to be delusional about the size of texas compared to alaska.

 the fireweed has all turned and i wouldn't be surprised if the mountains don't have a wee bit of termination dust when all this raining is done.

 termination dust is that first bit of snow that falls on the mountains.

 scheduled my sink/disposal repair for next week.  will be nice to get it fixed finally.

 few errands run today.  need to mail a few packages tomorrow.  2/3 are ready to go.  just gotta pack up that last one.

 in life i have tended to just move on from stuff.  i've kept some friends always but often as i moved forward the other people that don't stick just drift off.  not sure really if it's me that just detaches from people as i move forward or maybe those relationships were never that secure to begin with.

 enjoyed my day out there with my fungi.  love this time of year despite the increased rain that falls.

 mushrooms, fall colours coming on. it's all so exciting.

 grayson found a back trail that i'd never noticed out there, so fun to get to check that out and see the mine from different angles.

 grayson didn't complete the loop, but elijah, tom and i did.  they took a side route so i was done before they got back

 lazy weekend is over.  tomorrow i'm back to work and back to being with the other humans.

 everytime i take a week off i worry that i'll forget how to be a nurse.

 well, guess i  am at the end of this round of pictures.  still a few more from my brothers vacation, then a few last musk oxen shots from nome and all of august.  still gotta load it in shutterfly....it's never ending.