last of denali hwy

 then on to september...i can tell it's been a super fun summer when i have been behind since solstice!

 a friend texted to tell me that my bear had been on the news.  apparently in at least one of the tent raids people had been inside.  it was 6am when they woke to a bear claw/head coming in the tent.  the guy was from fairbanks and he slugged the bear.  you do what you have to do with what you have out of a dead sleep.  pretty brave guy if you ask me.  kept it calm and the bear left i guess.  doubt i could slug a bear hard enough to really convince it to leave.  this happened over labor day weekend from the report i read, the weekend before i was there.

 seems like every few days i find another bear print that i hadn't noticed before.  it's like the ghost of the bear is slowly revealing itself to me.  today, the light hit the glass right and i noticed a print above the last one i'd seen.  they are faint, but clear prints.  i did feel some anxiety on the rest of the drive.  that window is there, it's a reminder.  not ready to wash off all the prints though....seems like it's good for me to face the bear in this way.  bit by bit.

 today i again met up with bob, tanya and maddie and we hiked out to the hanging valley out in eagle river. it's become a favorite fall hike.

 did convince rio to stay home.  perhaps it was the added roast beef in her bone along with the peanut butter that did it.

 she seemed ok when i got back though.  good for her to skip these longer ones for sure.

 my back does better walking.  getting sore sitting here at the computer.  i'm not a big fan of sitting around anyway.  figure walking is the best way to work this bugger out.

 no signs of bears out there and i do remember thinking i'm happy my encounter happened in the car and not on the trail.  it may be tougher to just get back on the trails if it had happened there.  i just try to remind myself that bears like this are out there but they aren't the norm.  this one was habituated to humans and has become a problem bear.  took a few weeks for the news to find the tent guy...wonder if they will contact me about my encounter?  i'm lousy on film i can tell you that.  this girl won't be looking for media coverage.

 i do that crazy call and had done it on the lost lake hike and those bears had all stood bolt up...we laughed today that i should have tried that yell that morning.  it's usually pretty loud and may have worked.

 there was a bit of this rough stuff out there. pain to drive on washboard roads.

 this is a better road to ride.

 some of the various hunter camps.  still loads of hunters out there.  a few folks i know out there this weekend.

 looks like the colours have held up out there.  may not be quite as bright but still pretty sweet. it usually doesn't last more than a few weeks in any one place...at least the peak colours.

 really think i hit a nice peak colour week.  i'm all smiles about that.

 wasn't up for a road trip this week like i thought i may be.  bear and back.  i've been hearing tons about kaktovik this week.  apparently it would have been a sweet weekend up there as well.  boo hoo..oh well.  that is how it goes some times.

 tomorrow i got to pay the bills, grocery shop, clean house and clean out that cat litter box.  love having people come over...forces me to clean more than the basics.  still my clean is less clean than that of others, but hey, a few drinks i doubt anyone will really care, right?

 just lots of pictures of the colour.  decent colour out on the trails these last few days as well.  september will be a blend of colour changes, mushrooms, moose and dogs.

 bridge across the susitna.

 there is apparently some damage and they plan on working on it this week i think.  not sure what damage it was, they were still letting you drive across, just one car at a time though.

 buzzing through tonight.  sorry.  ready to crash and get another start on it all tomorrow.  will be a shorter, rio inclusive walk tomorrow.

 rio was so sleepy she used blossom as a pillow...how cute is that?

 the end of the dirt road...i was counting the miles to hit pavement!

 seems like forever.  maybe i should go the other way next time so that i have over 30 miles of pavement at the back end of it.

that is about all i can handle for tonight.  more tomorrow no doubt.  i have a party to get ready for....good night!!