laughter...

 always a good thing.  best with other people, but sometimes other people aren't as available as you think.  there is the big bang theory for those days.  :-)

 season 7 arrived today.  started watching it this evening.  i was sore after my nice walk today.  i went up to Glen alps trailhead and headed out towards the creek.  debated heading up to Hidden Lakes, but stopped at the big rock field below it. the sun was out and i love all those rocks.  my legs were sore and i was hungry and Blossom kept laying down anyway...we were so close though.  part of me wished i'd kept going.  oh well.

 it was relaxing.  my knee is still a bit of a nag and i am thinking more and more that i should look into getting another vein procedure done.  he only fixed the one where i had the thrombophlebitis and he was going to fix this other section but wasn't able to get to it from his approach i think.  those veins are actually looking worse over time and the other leg never got any work done on it.  basically, my legs feel heavy and sore at times.

 i always hoped all this walking i was doing would make me safe from vein issues, but it's genetics and working on me feet i suspect.  we all have our cross to bear i think.  so i really need to work on getting another appointment.  may switch to new place though.  i did feel much better after that procedure at least for awhile.

 these are just more from the little camera from my roadie to Denali Highway.

 currently i am battling a little headache.  much to do still and i'll probably crash before i get much done.  sun came out...i always get pulled outside when the sun is out.  tough to get stuff done. i've invited people over for tuesday for envelope stuffing/addressing so that gives me a deadline...clean and get stuff ready.  the past visitors one is about ready...was just doing a rough estimate and that is nearly 350 names, give or take.  perhaps we should split this party into two waves...do just these ones and then have another gathering to get the university letter out. that is probably a more realistic goal.

 many of the names will be same households so that will cut it back.  need to straighten my WARIS desk....it's starting to look a bit like my Dads.  i laugh too as when i go to work every day i take this heavy backpack full of stuff back and forth.  my Dad used to haul all these huge briefcases into the house each night from work and haul them back out again in the morning.  i really don't think he opened them like ever.  now i do the same.  i don't have a set office at work though so at least there is that.

 i'm sure i could decrease the load i carry though.  we do become a bit like our parents despite our battle to avoid certain behaviours.  did make a roast today in the crockpot like my mama used to make.  great to have a pot roast with the full homemade gravy and mashed potatoes.  nummy!!  my mom could sure cook a roast.

 NPR had a thing on laughter while i was driving to Glen Alps.  do animals laugh or is this purely a human trait?  that was the question.  well at least the one i heard while i was driving.  apparently, a scientist was doing this study on rats and they did not appear to laugh, then an assistant suggested that perhaps they were making noises that were not audible to the human ear...when they put more sensitive equipment in the cages with the rats and altered the noise so that humans could hear it...sure enough..

 the rats were appearing to laugh.  they tried tickling the rats and again they "laughed".

 so it is appearing that animals may be laughing in  their own way.

 Aristotle believed that laughter was the thing humans had over animals.  he also thought that humans first laughed at about 40 days...apparently research indicates most babies don't generally laugh until around 90 days...coo, smile yes, but actually laughter is a bit later than Aristotle assumed.  of course, perhaps Aristotle was a hilarious guy and cracked the wee ones up. we shall never know.

 i wasn't feeling very social today.  not that i didn't speak to anyone on the trails or text a few friends.  also got lucky and ran into my friend Amy.  haven't seen her for a long time.

 summers just go so quickly and everyone is off running in different directions.  fall and winter bring us all back together again.  life slows down.  i like that.

 Rio stayed home. i suspect she will do that more and more.  she's over 10 now and a large dog. it's not like you see tons of older large breeds on the trails.  there is a reason for that.

 quite a few folks out there enjoying the day.  surprised i found a parking spot on the weekend at Glen Alps.  it's always packed.  as long as you avoid Flat Top it is manageable.

 this is how most pictures of Rio turn out.  haha.

one of my co-workers the other night is one of those people who always refers to her boyfriend as her boyfriend.  i've noticed this.  most people will explain once that so and so is their boyfriend or husband and then refer to him by his first name.  there are a few people who may tell you the actual name once and then simply refer to this person by their title of boyfriend or husband.

 i think they are simply excited to have a boyfriend or husband.  always kind of funny to me though....and a bit tedious.  perhaps they didn't think they'd have one of these or didn't for a long time....any thoughts? maybe they have a lot of boyfriends or have been married several times and this prevents them from saying an incorrect name.

 i'm sure the same can happen with guys...seems more of a girl thing though.

 better check the laundry.  i discovered recently that my dryer downstairs is positioned such that in a pinch i can use the toilet and fold clothes simultaneously.  not sure why i mention that...just a funny fact of life at my little home.

 loved the color in this one

 sometimes i hit the color more on one side as opposed to the other side of the road.  i think i've his this side the last few years.

 forget the dryer..Blossom was laying in the office here so i had to stop and give her a doggie massage.  she's so cute. i think Rio turned in hours ago.

 a pretty lake...the reflections were pretty so i lingered there for a bit.

 love these reflection pictures!!  i should just make a calendar of reflections this year..would that be too boring?

 there are just so many of them to choose from.

 was going to take a drive down towards Seward today, maybe tomorrow.  it's always good to get out of town and Rio will join us.  Blossom loves the beach.

 gotta get some continued ed stuff...i'm always bad about those.  wait til the last minute.

 so pretty...

 would have gotten more reflections no doubt today if i had opted to walk just a little bit further.  crock pot awaited me and i wouldn't want to overcook my little roast.  meat is pricey these days. i just skip it unless i see a decent price...or at least one that doesn't seem crazy.  the price of meat could turn me into a vegetarian...doubtful.  not sure how people live on beans and veggies.  i'd go nuts.  well, i do like nuts too so i could eat those. for sure i could not give up cheese and ice cream.

 really don't eat that much ice cream.  sometimes i just buy those little ice cream tubs for snacks.  probably not too bad. it's not a lot of ice cream, tastes super good, different flavors and it doesn't go to waste.

 another NPR conversation that i heard part of today was about the borders and all the bull that is spewed out by politicians.  just as we are hearing there are no credible threats the spinners are using fear tactics to say ISIS is right across the border in Mexico waiting to attack.  drugs have always been the main thing crossing from the south, the terrorists are more likely to come from the north.

 anything is possible.  i don't see a rosy picture of our future.  is it really worse than in the past..it's so hard to tell.  the media and politicians spin things so much that it can seem like we are surrounded and that WWIII is fast approaching.

 scenery was pretty similar front and back in this...as you can see i had switched back to pavement.  the road is paved for nearly 30 miles on the Paxson end.

 you start to really fly once you hit the pavement...what a difference.  the other side has maybe 10-15 miles paved.  it was kinda nice to have the longer pavement side on the end.  the dirt does get old.

 the old Paxson Hotel. used to have a place to eat and gas as well.  it's dried up and was looking pretty bad last time i stopped by...all closed up and on the market now.  looks like it would need a ton of work to get it back in decent working order.

 so these are on the road back home.  nice to not be driving it in the dark.  i for sure prefer day driving over night driving more and more. those big moose are scary and i'd like to avoid hitting them.

 the old church was open.  i didn't go in though.  it's across from a lake that looked pretty.

 the colors were sweet all along the drive heading home.

 these motorcades were cruising past. i must have passed 4-5 of these large groups of military vehicles heading north.  not sure what was up, but they are cool.

 blueberry juice in Blossom's hair.  she'd been rolling in the blueberry patches.

 headed down the Glenn.  i think now i just have pictures from the wide angle and then i'll be playing catch up with various walks and such from around town since  going to Denali.  i can never seen to get too much fall.

 Sheep Mountain area.

 there is the big glacier...you drive near it for miles.  well, i better go get at least  a few things done before i turn in.  enjoyed my walk but got little else done.

thankful for: 1.  Lichen.  such amazing variety and color.   2.  walking, i appreciate it more when i fear something could keep me from it 3.  comments. love it when people comment.