A Visitor in Town....

 obviously this is not my photograph.  pretty exciting anytime a US President makes it to Alaska.  despite my multiple notes, calls and emails...i never received an invite to meet with the POTUS.  his loss i guess.  today he was in Anchorage, Tonight he dined with a friend from ADN...good to have a walrus supporter at the local paper...perhaps a reason 2/3 of my commentary pieces have made it to press.  :-)  perhaps she will have spoken about the walrus population on my behalf...one can hope.  you never know when a connection leads to another connection.

 i suspect my reams of calls and emails and connections did finally turn the sealife center towards Round Island and the Sealife center then got some zoos/aquariums on board.  also several interactions with those who made the film out on Round Island and there was rumor that that connection made it's way to the Annenberg Foundation. so always worth a try...a few can make a difference.

 the rest of these are from the Fairbanks trek.  these are in Nenana...always a fun little town and i stayed a night there.

 always love old boats/cars/trains and planes...must stop and take pictures when i see them.

 headed off to Hatchers Pass today.  took Blossom a ways out Gold Mint trail.  we ran into a few tourists. the lady was all freaking as she was on vacation and didn't want to get dirty.  Blossom was muddy of course, but on a leash.  her husband pet the inviting Blossom while his wife chastised him and warned him not to get dirty.

 the newly redone Arch Angel road was actually open...if i had known the road was now open i may have just headed up there as it's been awhile.  after my walk i headed up to Independence Mine but they had the gate partway closed with signs saying they would now be closing the place at 5pm...what?  bummer.

 on the way down the pass the POTUS was speaking at the GLACIER convention and this was being played on NPR so i got to listen to that...good timing.  no word of walrus, just general stuff about warming and the native communities.  liked that he emphasized that those who deny the warming is happening are finding themselves ever more on an island that is shrinking in size...or something like that.

 i'm always surprised that so many with kids show so little concern for our impact on this earth...you would think since i don't have kids that i'd be the one saying who gives a crap, what do i care...i'll be dead.  had a friend once who said he had never registered to vote because that was how they picked their jury pool...by those registered to vote.  he didn't want to do jury duty...really?  you would give up your right to vote so you don't have to be on a jury?  he wasn't dating material...a person has to care a little about the world around them to interest me.  there are many who have fought and died in pursuit of the right to vote...to be so cavalier about it is disrespectful.

 in Alaska you sign up for the permanent fund and that is where they pull the jury from i think...though maybe that is just a rumor.  you have to be a part of all of this, to just stay quiet is to not care about the future at all.

 several of my siblings are pretty rabidly against our current POTUS.  i've never been that rapidly angry about anyone i guess.  seems a bit nuts and wasteful.  finding a way to work with the person in that role seems like the smarter way to go.  hatred begets violence...i worry about our Presidents safety with all the anger that is out there.  even if you hate the person in office, it is best to have some respect for the office itself.  probably ticked them off just posting anything about the POTUS visit.  it is pretty cool that he is here though i think.  it's just a rare event.

 the big mountain got a name change officially.  this is something that has been wanted by all in this state.  there were some of those angry comments berating Obama for restoring the name to Denali...but those rapid republicans should do some research before they shred him on this one...our Republican Senators for this state have been on board with the name change for years. this wasn't a Republican/Democrat thing..it was just a naming of a mountain thing.  looks like Obama got a good view of Denali from his plane.   the idiot Trump had to weigh in saying if we gets elected he will change it back...clearly he's trying to score some points from Ohio.  if he does get elected i suspect he would put a neon sign at the peak of Denali and rename it Trump Peak or Trumps Tower.

 Skinny Dicks is a bar...like many others but with the name that makes one stop and take the silly picture...this was all i did.  the inside was covered with dollar bills  and a little shop of penis related items...i had no reason to linger.

 views from the road.

 these are in Esther, right before Fairbanks.

 last night i ended up crashing super early.  working on super sick kids is emotionally draining i think...makes me exhausted.  i crawled in bed at like 6:30 in the evening really thinking i'd take one of those 30 minute power naps...i woke near midnight.

 of course, then i was awake and it was midnight so i just did cleaning, dishes and all that stuff. the trash and recycling had to go out.  i was awake until close to 4 am and then was ready to crash again.  woke and fed the dogs about 7 am...then back for another nap...i'll head back to work tomorrow night. so not too much accomplished these two days off.  rest is good though.

 our Governor flew with the POTUS to Alaska so that gave him some time to speak with him alone.  so far Walker has done okay.  his Lt Governor was the Democrat candidate and they both went to independent status to beat out the corrupt and horrible Parnell..it was a gamble but it worked.  makes him more open to work with both sides.  i laughed several days ago as our Republican Senators were seemingly offended that the POTUS wasn't courting their time and attention while here...all i could think of was all the nasty comments they make about him....why should he give them any time or attention.  from what i've seen the Republicans have been causing a jam up in DC since Obama got in office.

 been pondering kids in this nation and how to put some of them back on track.  might be helpful if they all had to go through some sort of ROTC type program when they are like 12-13 years old.  perhaps focus on honor and country and what it means to be a citizen.  a month away from the pampering that so many of our nations kids get at home.  perhaps some emphasis on survival skills as well.  maybe if we get every kid through some thing like this it will inspire some to join the military, or have goals or stay out of jail or just be better citizens.  the military is mostly filled with the sons of middle and lower class families. if you are wealthy your kids don't have to serve their nation.  just seems like it would be good if kids had more of an idea how it all works, you can read history books but life is more educational.

 off to check out all the Sandhill Cranes at Creamers.

 was behind a student driver today...had to get around that obstacle fast...haha.  the other day i was in one of the now several round-a-bouts in Anchorage.  clearly the person ahead of me was baffled by it.  a car was headed toward round-a-bout to merge so the driver ahead of me just stops..stops!! mid circle they stopped.

 i learned to drive in Los Angeles...so i consider myself a pretty good driver.  i recall living in Ketchikan and realizing that  there were people who "learned" to drive in these small towns and that license is equal to the one i got learning to drive in a big city.  i remember thinking...OMG, you don't really know how to drive.  you can't just take the knowledge you gained in Ketchikan driving and apply that to driving in a really large city..surely they would make you take a refresher course...they don't.  does seem like it would be quite the transition going from driving in a small town to being plopped in a big city.  i actually have to re-adjust every time i head south and rent a car...i'm all stop looking for moose, watch the cars, watch the cars!!

 the cranes look like giant mosquito's as they are coming in to land.  cracked me up.

 so many up there doing the dance.  i heard them the whole time i was up there. great to hear them from the tent as well.  such a unique sound these birds make.

 was reading about a pairs trek out in wood-tickchik park.  you can float the multiple lakes and connecting rivers.  i'm sure the bears and mosquito's are pretty thick out there..but it is supposed to be beautiful.  one day perhaps....

 always so much to do up here and so little time/money to get it all done.  all summer it seems it becomes a compare and contrast.  some really like to prove they have done more or better stuff...i have long since tried to avoid folks like this.  have your adventure but please don't try to lord it over others.  we can't all do it all, though some try i guess.  many do a hell of a lot more than i do or ever will do.  i probably still do a bit more than the average, i have plenty of days where i just take a simple local walk and then chill.

 always fun to read of others adventures and dream of this trip or that trip...winter becomes my time to plan for the next summers fun.  each year some new adventure awaits and hopefully some repeats...Homer, Valdez, Denali Highway...this summer i got to hit Valdez and Fairbanks, which  i hadn't hit in awhile so that was fun.

 coming in for a landing...

 i am very behind on my reading...a common problem. there is always more to read.  i do enjoy reading.  it was nice in the wee hours to get some of the chores done.  lots of pick up needed though.  the place gets cluttered so fast.  papers pile up...it's annoying.

 finally got the stickers ordered and now i need to finish up the WARIS calendar and do a test run..make sure i like the quality of the vista print ones...i generally use shutterfly for my annual calendar. i guess this year i will need to make two calendars...one for WARIS and one for gift giving.

 really need to set up the web page for selling stuff.  it's just another step in so i tend to hesitate...have to get  brave!

 change is always worth taking a few to consider though.

 pleasant thing to read...apparently albino children born in some African nations, Zimbabwe and Malawi are at risk.  people attack them with machete's and chop off arms and such.

 always grateful to live in a place of relative peace.  people spout off online in chat rooms and comment boards but all that tough talk generally is just that talk.  in other nations violence is common and sharing varying opinions will get you killed.

 the barn at Creamers

 hope you like cranes as much as i do!!  i still have more pictures to look through.  these are up until that card got filled and then i'll look through the new card...that also has todays shots from Hatchers Pass.

 strange siting today as i drove home from Hatchers...can't believe i almost forgot about it.

 there was a car that had been totally smashed...then i saw the cause...i grizzly bear lay dead on the side of the highway.  good sized grizzly, probably not full grown.  always sad to lose wildlife to cars.  this was in Eagle River so just north of Anchorage.  a grizzly running on the main highway during the busiest part of the day. no pictures taken.

 i'm chilly from all my ice eating...loving my new ice machine. who knew i was missing ice so much.  may have to refill a bit before i crash.

Obama was going to Kotzebue, not sure right now...one article said the Air Force One 747 can't land there...747...lot of leg room for the POTUS...especially compared to how many of us get squeezed into those planes, haha.  for sure a perk.

 shot into the sun quite a lot for sillhouets. ( which i can't spell at this time)

thankful for:  A.  sleep...when you need it you need it  B.  the emerging fall colors...always seems to come too early but i do love the colors and changes are constant in AK.  C.  ice, ice, baby.  :-)