cold day at Portage...

 double hats, double gloves.

 it was probably close to 15 below zero...perhaps more with the little wind chill.  there is always a bit of wind coming off glaciers. didn't feel too bad.  that cold does take it out of you though. i ended up curling up in bed and crashing for a few hours. 

 i woke at ten not sure if it was am or pm...hard to tell.  it's pm though so i figured I'd look at the pictures i took and toss in a blog.

 there was a good snow the other week.  so there is probably just over a foot of snow on the lake. there were two trails taking off from the parking area.  the one further from the visitors center crapped out fairly quickly and left us post holing.  she'd brought ski's and I'd brought snow shoes but in the end we opted to leave those in the car and just go as far as we felt comfortable. 

 we back tracked and took the more packed trail which took off closer to the building but headed more directly across the lake before turning back towards the glacier. we never got a view, but that trail did take us quite a distance. my fit bit shows me for 8.6 miles yesterday.  to the bend more directly is usually more like 6-7 miles i think. i guess that makes sense.

 it was a good walk though, despite not getting the glacier views.  the usual views were pretty sweet.

 i meandered back towards Anchorage stopping for some photo ops and enjoying at least part of the sunset.  eventually, i needed to pee and i was feeling the chill.  you can only get so warm in the car, especially when you keep getting out to snap photo's.

 the colors looked like they got pretty sweet after the sun went down.  oh well. being out in that cold for too long is a bit rough on your body.  probably best to get the pups home as well.

 they fell asleep in the car on the way home and have pretty much just came in and crashed much of the evening.  I've no doubt they will be ready to go again in the morning.

 mostly ski's and snowshoes out there.  some bikes as well, though once you got to the point where the packed trails ended either way i imagine those bikes became hard work.  in the picture above you can see a few bikes left and the owners went on foot from there.  I'm not keen on post holing though. we both were in easy agreement that we were good for the day.  looking at my fit bit numbers that was probably wise.  we went further going across the lake first than we usually do.

 i put booties on Ivy's front feet and on all 4 for Tusker.  they romped in the snow and lost one tennis ball right as we hit the lake so i put the chuck it away...besides in that cold temperature the tennis ball was freezing into the chuck it immediately.  it was rendered useless.

 the pups were a wee bit annoying so we just handed them a tennis ball to carry and that did seem to help.  they were nuts out there for much of the hike. i hear them rambling around now, inside/outside but they were tired for a bit.  when i lay down for my nap i got flanked on both sides by warm dogs.

 stopped at grocery store on the way home...above was in the parking lot...see the colors got cool after the sun went down.

 i even got ice on my puny lashes. 

 the cold air caused this steam to rise from the water in Turnigan Arm.  looked very cool as we drove each way.

 so we head here across the lake...usually we are more direct towards the point on the right where you turn in towards the face.

 this trail went all the way across but it did take a turn back towards the glacier and the trail that finished the crossing died out into post holing.  we took a few side trips.

 there were quite a few folks out there today.  i figured we'd go today so that the Saturday visitors would have packed down the trail more for the Sunday visitors to enjoy.  also i tend to go on the weekends when it's more packed. safety in numbers. 

 everyone was friendly.  many braved the post hole section...most of those folks had ski's or snowshoes on though.  not sure it would be all that easy with snow shoes anyway.  probably a little crust to work through. 

 my friend and i getting iced up.  that mountain that comes down right behind us is what you go around to get to the face of the glacier. the trail got less packed a ways in. 

 can't complain about the day or the views. could have been a little less cold i guess.

 but, what fun is that?

 the rest or photos from other days in January.  most from Turnigan Arm on another day.

 stopped to enjoy the ice falls one day.

 i suspect the photo's do not do them justice.

 they are scattered along the side of the road.  they can be a hazard as well.

 i think in this area one spring day a big chunk of ice came down and crushed a car with a passenger inside. rocks occasionally drop off these as well.

 kind of odd to me but in a section that is clearly marked "do not stop, avalanche risk" the police were pulling over people.  seems like a bad idea for them to ticket people in an area known for avalanches

 you can see a bit of the various colors in the ice falls

 sometimes you can see folks climbing the ice in different areas'.  none spotted today

 my feet are a wee bit tender tonight.  they could use some pampering.

 just some views along the road. 

 interestingly, Bolton book is in the process of being published.  the administration would be able to have an early look in order to check for security risks I'd guess. the stuff that was reported today would probably not be very helpful in the impeachment...not helpful for trump that is.

 i still think they fear getting subpoena's for fear the bind they will be put in when this administration refuses to cooperate with them. 

 there was, of course, lies about service men being harmed with the bombings by Iran.  several concussions and related type injuries, which this fool in the White House opted to belittle. 

 they really should figure out how to shut him up.  the man who got out of service by having his Daddy pay off a Dr to write him out due to bone spurs...and he disrespects those who serve and are harmed by their service.  nice move. 

 he trashed entire groups of people.  it's got to come back to bite him at some point. 

 what is that old saying about rubber bouncing off...I'm rubber, your glue, things bounce off me and stick to you. i think trump has been rubber.  shit has bounced off of him for decades.  money gets him out of an assortments of mishaps.

 at some point that rubber gets torn up and spit out though.  my dogs and many other dogs have quite easily destroyed all sorts of rubber, non-destructible toys. 

 always love a train and this day i got lucky with a train.  found this spot so i could capture it by the ice falls

 thought it looked cool.

 i would have driven further and waited for the train for more shots but for some reason...perhaps all the snow on the tracks. the train would stop and run backwards at times. i had no idea how long it would be before it would go forward again.

 it was a fairly long train.  cool to watch it plow through the snow. then it would slow down and back up. 

 well, i think I'll grab a snack or two.  refill my water and head to bed for the night.

thankful for a. safe travels on Portage Lake  b.  a friend willing to join me in temperatures that were so low c. worn out puppies

time for bed

 okay, these pictures of the dogs wearing my reading glasses cracked me up. 

 these were last night after i had posted.  I'm nearly ready to crash at this point.  was just looking through the moose pictures from yesterday and my pics from a very quick trip to Hope today. I've been wanting to head over there. 

 today i battled a headache for much of the day so after the Monday walk and coffee i headed home to rest for a bit.  i had the whole nausea bit to deal with.  once i felt a bit better i headed out.  it was late and then there was construction, which took quite awhile coming and going.  on the way back i was stuck waiting on the bridge.  the big side dump trucks kept passing by and the bridge would start really shaking.  the smallest of anxiety began to come over me.  that bridge doesn't always feel like the most sturdy and i was over water.  i wanted off the bridge.  we did finally move before i could get too worked up

 Tusker was less into my game, but still adorable.

 i just stopped a few times on the drive over and in Hope to let the pups run around a bit. 

 we did the gasline/powerline/tank trail then down to stumphenge and around a longer way back to the cars.  there was some frost area's out there...winter is approaching.

 great to be out and we ran into this adorable little Irish Setter puppy.  so sweet.

 this was all i got of last nights sunset.  still pretty

 more frost on puddles..of course, with the dogs running around i have to be quick...they come where i am and stomp out all the pretty ice as i am attempting to take a pic.  silly pups.  that is how it is with pups.  the walk is more important than the shot though.

 another with the puppy.

 she is cute but i am not ready for any more dogs at this time....i quite enjoy the crew i have.

 the cat looked pretty much tucked under the dog at this point . she likes the dogs though so she tolerates all.

 kisses

 I'll have appointments the next few days.  then a walk....hopefully i can get a few of those things checked off my list as well.

 these are some of the moose sightings from Sunday.

 several spottings off in the distance.  i really need to remember to toss my binoculars in my bag.  much better for sightings than a zoom.  that is how that guy found that antler too. 

 snow coming down towards us with each storm.

 I'm sure i walked past these two on the way out to the bridge.  spotted them on the way back. 

 just taking a break.

 this guy is for sure the larger one

 as i walked away i spotted him from a different angle.  directed several others i saw with their big camera's to the spot to step off trail and get the better look

 saw quite a few swans out there today.  around the Portage train depot there was a group of around 10 as i drove home...too dark to stop for photos and the pics i had taken early didn't come out well.  not a great swan shot year.  perhaps i will try again tomorrow.

 this guy was chasing a female just outside of the trail head parking area. 

 good looking animal.  they are roaming among us. 

 he was acting pretty cool..but look at that rack, he is pretty cool.  there was a female that he headed towards after i watched him for a bit.

 thankfully, he seemed to have little interest in all of us watching with our cameras out.

 listened to podcasts, Stuff you should know along my drive.  one on the Kent shootings, one about sand, what we use it for, where we get it.  much of it for building, roads and such.  most of this sort comes from river beds.  it is renewable but doesn't renew as quickly as we remove it.  also there is a shady world of sand collecting.  it's cheap but very worthwhile, people die over it, islands are relocated from one part of the world to create islands in another part. 

 stuff is probably my favorite podcast.  i also enjoy many of the TedTalk compilations.

 right now the headache seems to be at bay.  i have to set the alarm for fairly early, by my standards...setting any alarms is unusual by my standards. it's nice to never really have to force my body to wake up at pre-set times. 

 ob and then Ct.  such an exciting stretch off. 

 a few more GOP seem unhappy with the Turkey bull, still pretty accepting of him coercing other nations to do "investigations" into the many conspiracy theories in order to get favors. NY may be closer to getting his taxes...they will continue to fight that...why ever for? 

 the iitoo tweeted "in my great and unmatched wisdom"...what a joke and what an even bigger joke that he has so many who seem to believe his foolishness. he is not great nor does he have wisdom. 

thankful for:  a.  moose sightings b. headache relief c.quick trips to beautiful places