felt the need to listen to Jim Croce...

 with all my coughing i have a deeper voice so may as well take advantage of it and sing along to Croce.  :-)  these pics are from Hallo Bay and then a few from Holgate this summer.  really need to start planning for next summers fun . it's never too early to start i guess

 yes, I'm still coughing for those following along on my latest bout with bronchitis.  this is week 4 since i first got a cold bug that then turned into the chronic cough.  work is still exhausting but much improved from that first week.

 made it out walking all week.  no slacking off at this end.

 things chewed while i was at work or sleeping included newspapers and Ivy apparently discovered some books way under the bed...which i really figured they had just gotten too big to get under...news flash.  not too big for that.  both books that were taken out were super old dog training books.  seems fitting i guess.

 the puppy equivalent of book burning i guess. perhaps she is revved up over all this election/political stuff and felt the need to put in her two cents. Alaskan Dog Protests Against Training....the headline.

 we saw some pretty cool fossils in the rocks.

 and strange patterns in the sand.  i guess there was a bright light last night over Anchorage.  what was it...never saw any explanation.

 Tusker is done with his first class and starts again this week.  seeking out a class to put Ivy in. Hopefully either a "proofing" class or "rally".  proofing is just more regular  training but with more distractions.  rally is heading more to competition style training.  i guess there are different stations with signs that give you tasks that you must get the dog to do.  sounds like fun, really.

 she's still leaping.  it's more of a leap than a jump.  she does get her paws on people.  one lady on the trail just said, "it was very upsetting" as i apologized for my crazy puppies behaviour.  thought the word upsetting was an odd choice, still not sure. it was at the dog park, people are generally more chill about unruly puppy behaviour.  did take some time today to work on it.  mostly she gets excited and leaps at me. she can leap over my head going straight up so it is impressive.

 hit the dog park a few times this stretch. the lake still has some patches that are not frozen but i can work with it now i think

 thought these were nice people shots. I'm not always good at getting actual humans in pictures.

 my life is mostly dogs though, especially this year

 really enjoy snuggle time with the pups.  Blossom was never very snuggly.

 she is a leaner and likes to be near me.  i think the steroids are helping with the coughing.  she still has a pretty wet mouth, reminds me a bit of Huey with his trigemenitis.  she finally barked yesterday...maybe a bit improved.  the latest plan is to take her back to the vets early Tuesday to finally get the teeth done/exam/extractions and all that.

 Tuesday will be a long day.  Blossom to vets, i have a foot Dr appointment to finally check out the pain I've had for awhile.  gotta get time to vote in there, walk the pups, and then Tusker to class.  anyone want to chill at home with Blossom while we do class? if she has anesthesia i don't want to leave her alone.

 Ivy was just outside barking so i had to put a stop to that.  things to learn...so many things to learn.  so far I've heard no complaints from neighbors from when I'm at work.  did get confirmation from a co-worker that she has paranoid concerns about her dog at home with the dog door while she is at work too.  nice to know I'm not totally nuts.

 this cool fossil was my find out there.

 otter skull in front of the camp site.  we saw a few otter skulls out there...i brought one home.  hard to not resist a perfectly preserved bone on the beach.  bleached beautifully.

 work not bad this week.  no exciting tales.  first night ER and then after 2am i got moved to PICU, then the second night in ICU for PCU patients and last night in Peds.

 tried to pick up a script for my cough medicine but the office closed at 3 and i got there at 3:30.  hopefully i can get that filled on Monday.  gotta get rest from the coughing at night.  my pulmonologist in LA used to give me a pint sized bottle..oh the good old days.  of course, back then i was living with much more frequent bouts of bronchitis coupled with bronchial pneumonia's back to back to back.

 now I'm lucky if i get a small bottle of 120ml.  that is not much considering how long these coughs last.

 my fit bit vibrates when i get to my 10,000 steps. occasionally it scares the crap out of me..i jumped tonight.  feel like I've been eating all week.  need to get back to my swimming and gym now that the cough isn't as bad.  swimming is great for breathing issues.  really helps you focus on breathing.

 that is a wolf out there by the way.  we did have a few wolf sightings on our trek.  a co-worker went a few weeks after us and they had a super close wolf sighting.  we were super happy to see them and we were also extremely blessed to hear them one night howling.  our guide howled back and then the wolves...it was pretty awesome.

 nice to have such a small group of folks out there and everyone was so nice and easy to get along with.

 election day is nearly here.  I've had election depression for a few weeks i think.  it's just stressful this time around and super depressing.  never have i ever seen such a mess in an election.  it will be stressful and hell for awhile after the election and perhaps even for the next 4 years no matter what happens.

 it seems that many politicians are not seeing the need to adapt related to the nastiness and insanity of this election process.  the obstructionist plan is to continue on and on and on.  we are doomed if it's just gridlock in DC and these idiots get paid to do absolutely nothing but obstruct and continue the witch hunt.  enough already.  move on, let it go.  they don't seem to see that they are just as bad if not worse than those who they see as their enemies.  it's worse to me though because they have for years touted themselves as the moral and ethical leaders of the world.  they have also for years tried to force their religions values on everyone else in the nation.  in many ways they are worse because of this in my mind. pretending to be what they so clearly are not.

 these men couldn't be further from living and working under the teachings of Christ.  yet they try to convince us all that they are the religious right.  Jesus had  very simple messages for us all to adhere to...Love one another, do unto others as you would have others do to you and lets not forget, thou shalt not judge.

 i will have to just pray, cast my ballot and pray some more.  if we are to move forward as a nation together we have to find a way to put all the lies and nastiness of this election behind us.  is God watching over us?  in my mind, no more than any other place.  we may have to live through hell and pray we come out intact on the other side.  in my fear that he could get in i did think that perhaps that would so completely destroy the GOP that it may be worth it..sadly, destroying the GOP would only further destabilize  the situation in our nation.  we need them to step up.  we need better people to lead.  you do see some starting to.  perhaps we need this hell for the good people to step in.  heard of a few places where some minorities have figured out that they can help fix stuff better if they step up and try for positions.  it pains me too much to even consider that election result though.  we need more participation.  we all, on both sides, need to not sit back and allow these idiots to get these positions simply because we are jaded and have lost faith in the system. VOTE, PARTICIPATE, GET INVOLVED.  you can make a difference. i did see that with the walrus and round island stuff.  don't think I've been as active as i should be or could be due to my innate laziness, but the truth is i was one person for the most part heading that up with the help of my friends...and we did make a difference.  IT IS POSSIBLE...YOU MATTER, YOUR VOTE MATTERS, YOUR PARTICIPATION MATTERS!! Democracy fails if we aren't all participants.

 the puppies and Blossom keep me sane.  they make me laugh, they make me smile, they make me forget the election crap for a few minutes here and there.

 young bald eagle

 bald eagle flying with the sun

 loads and loads of bear tracks all over the place.  we were not alone out there at all.

 sand slide

 strange how these were so blocked.

 the white is a layer of ash from a huge, huge volcanic eruption over 100 years ago.

 more bear signs

 enjoy the amazing scenery of this great place.  there are so many incredible places on this earth. i can not hope to see them all first hand, but i try to get out and see what there is in Alaska anyway.

 not much news on the walrus front.  haven't heard any confirmation regarding funding for next summer. I'm hopeful though.  we will need to try and plan another lecture event, that was fun.  hopefully, REI is willing to  let us use their lecture room again and we can find some cool speakers.

 have a slump in the sales of the bags right now.  I'm not the best in sales.  really need to put myself out there more and see what i can drum up.

 flowers...

 and a few from Holgate.  love the ice and especially love being in a kayak in front of glaciers.

 a few seagulls taking advantage of the beauty that day with us.

 flights close by

 just the three of us out there that day.  calm waters, some blue skies coming through. so relaxing.

 gives you a bit of scale

 bergy bits...yes they are called that.

 gotta turn the clocks back.  more sleep for me.  for sure getting darker and darker around here.

 hopefully we get some snow soon to brighten it all up again.  that always helps

 on the water...

 back at the beach and off to get our gear ready for pick up that day.

Grateful for...1.  the good moments of dog training.  some times are rough but overall there more good days than bad.  2.  fun co-workers, last night i was teaching my tech the 10 step.  dancing and singing.  3.  sleeping puppies.