still scratching. i got some annoying bites. claire took a benedryl again last night so she was hit as well. the palfreyman blood is quite tasty to mosquito's. at least that is what i've always found. i know my brother eric is a preferred blood to them as well. what with that huge mosquito convention in town up there at byers lake....
above two are from the next days hike around the lake. we had a loon follow us which is really strange. usually i have a tough time getting any pictures cause they stay pretty far out and duck under the water as soon as you get a lens on them. this guy followed us. i know karen got some really nice shots. i got a few decent ones as well. so fun!
the rest are from night one at byers lake. the interior of alaska is generally more buggy than the south central region. good to experience the insane bugs from time to time. though i am quite happy to put that behind me. above are some mountains in the alaska range.
claire enjoys the views and chatter of the campfire.
great to have denali in view that night for several hours. they went on thier bus trip and it doesn't sound like the mountain made too much of an appearance. i've never been on the bus. sounds like they had fun, but a long day of driving. everyone slept in today.
just took them to university lake to stretch thier legs before they started thier drive south to homer. guess they got a moose and calf sighting soon after leaving byers yesterday. the mom and her two calves crossed the road in front of them. that always wakes you up. today as we arrived at university lake we were informed that a black bear had just been sighted. i think the girls were impressed as i work right over here and it's right in the city. people just don't expect to see bears and moose in town, but they are here.
i went to the grocery store for supplies for the petsitters while i'm away. i also worked on my food cache for the round island trip. i made snack bags and figured out some basic meals. pasta always works. i'll add tuna to one dish and smoked salmon to another. i think i'll pack a loaf of bread and i can make grilled cheese, top ramen and scarf off of the foods others bring as well. refrigeration will not be an option and coolers rarely work well in these remote places, at least that i've figured. some people are super imaginative with thier meals out there. i've never been one of those people.
meeting bob and tanya tonight for dinner so i'll see what they have figured out for thier meals.
also talked to ed weiss with fish and game. sounds like he's headed out there and will cross over with us. he said we can just pay the $10 for the day pass out there. also, it sounds like terry will pick up the group before us the day he drops us early so it shouldn't be too crowded. ed's flying with tikchik air as well so sounds like they've been making the runs. will try again tomorrow morning to touch base with them. let them know we are seven not eight. if not, i'm sure ed will mention it when he gets there on friday. he said we'll get dropped at a place called eagle lake and have to haul stuff about 100 yards or so.
blossom enjoyed her time at the lake. she loves that there is water readily available to play in. she gets a bit anxious as she feels obligated to keep watch on everyone.
rio is happy to be home and away from the mosquito's. she is a dog that is happy in her routine. good to change it up from time to time. it's exhausting for her though.
denali...
karen happy to see the mountain is out as well.
i think she's working this stretch. i have wed/thurs/fri nights to work. then mad packing and take off. still details to work out. the folks next door will help out with the cats and stuff like bringing in the papers and mail and stuff. will have to write notes and get all that organized for the various pet/house sitters. i even bought the temporary tatoo's for this years trip...it was kinda fun last year so why not!
claire and her friend seem to be having a great time which i'm totally happy about. they've seen and done some great stuff up here already and now are off to homer to spend a night in a yurt with a friend down there.
blossom ready for bed.
i'm probably returning from the outhouse, but i liked the scene with everyone at the campfire. blossom keeps watch over all.
rio was happy laying on her bed inside as long as the door stayed open. at times the bugs thinned at least briefly and i was willing to do this for a bit.
it was a beautiful night out there that first night. the second night was a wee bit more buggy and more cloudy. we had hopes on the mountain coming out but it eluded us on night 2.
always love reflections.
bought a few memory cards for out there on round island. have been charging batteries. so many little details to get sorted out.
should have sent those black boxes of wine with them today. i feel totally ready for a nap already. figure i'll stop by rei and then meet a few friends for dinner downtown.
loved this picture.
smoke follows beauty....with a campfire there is always the smoke. the mosquito's don't like the smoke much so probably good. we made the usual s'mores out there on night one. night two alicia brought in the reecees bars. i'd mentioned that you can make s'mores with them. she liked that idea. it was a hit!
liked the mosquito in the shot. they make thier way into many photo's.
the dogs enjoy the sunshine.
s'mores and wine.
miss breezy chatterbug has been hiding the whole week. she did finally make an appearance today at breakfast for a bit. silly kitten, not sure why she is so shy. she was such a love bug when i first got her. she is snuggled up with rio now. she has turned out to be a dogs cat not a humans cat. luckily i have pogi still, who likes human contact.
i was the fire builder for the week. will be a bummer not having campfires out on round island. no firepit, no wood.
claire gets the opportunity to use the new pocketknife she brought out for the trip.
we had two tabletop bbq's going both nights. we cooked steaks, halibut and salmon. we also made potatoes/carrots and corn on the cob. the second night we made fish taco's. everyone seemed happy with the food selection.
will try to do day 2 tomorrow before work. will probably take me through august to get the round island shots in. such an amazing place. so excited for everyone to go. it's fun to see alaska through others eyes. so great to have visitors like emily and claire to make me appreciate the beauty of this place.
dinner!
claire tries to keep the mosquito count down inside the cabin.
next time i think i should pack in windex. those windows were a bit bloody when we left. we all were a bit bloody as well though.
we found some old oven mitts in the cabin and made use of them. not totally fire resistant at this point.
claire, emily and karen took the loft. due to my don sheldon height issues i thought it best to sleep downstairs. i was a bit worried about all the dead mosquito's falling on me all night.
settling in.
i still need to bring that dang grill in from the car. i think most everything else is out. should figure out how we are getting to/from the airport. wonder if we can cram into one car and park it at sandra's place. hmm... cab from there. that could work. we leave pretty early on the sunday.
another beautiful shot of byers lake.
blossom enjoys her lake time.
i got a late start, 12:30, but that got me there at 3:30, still before everyone else. karen and katie arrived next and i could tell katie was a bit beat down by those mosquito's...she was happy to have the mosquito jacket/headnet for her next run to the car. they do make all the difference. it's hot though under that hood.
this one is the best view of the 3 cabins.
my wagonload. one of four!
my first view of the lake!
so much lupine on the drive out to byers...so beautiful!
just a few pictures from the glacier brewhouse the night before. tucker gets lap time from everyone. such a cute baby!
melissa arrives late and a bit frazzled, but we still got a few smiles out of her.
amy sadly wonders where the guest of honor is?
we all had fun and a tasty meal out though anyway. karen, katie, sandra and tiffany.
emily, claire and i.
kristin and her boyfriend stopped by for a bit. they are in town from oregon. ran into another friend today at the lake, always fun.
karen, katie and sandra.
well, that is it for today. i better get back to packing and prepping...or take a nap. so many choices!!
blossom on the deck. she was out there many times today. the wind picked up again today mixed with some rain. i did walk the dogs, but it was rather blustery on the walk and pretty wet. i think they were happy to get out, but also happy to get home. 
so i tossed a few more pictures in from my last roadie to chicken and the denali highway. these were from the campground the first night.
i'm always a sucker for a good reflection shot.
i did get a few things accomplished today though it didn't really feel like it. mid day i got an annoying headache so i had to lay low trying to get it under control. my neck muscles are still all tense. my headaches generally come from tense muscles on my neck, shoulders, under the blades...they work their way up and land as a headache. 
these swans were on the lake at the campground as well. 
i went out in the back yard for a bit today, yard work in the wind. was able to get some of the fall stuff done, deck chairs are now stowed in the shed...hope the wind doesn't blow that down. it seems pretty solid, but there are some big trees behind it that could always come down. 
just noticed that the little fence out front that just divides property is down. it' been bending pretty impressively with all these wind storms, it really was a matter of time. i was amazed it lasted as long as it did. it would fold almost to the ground and back up it would go...now it lays there sadly on the ground. my neighbor is pretty handy, i suspect he'll get it back up pretty easily. the little fence has had it rough. i heard before i moved in here the first section was clipped off by a drunk driver. 
more reflections i guess. 
chatted with my friend natalie for a bit...always enjoy our chats. worked with her at eagle rock emergency pet clinic so i've known her for years. 
random rainbow on the road.
this evening i actually got that baby quilt made. there is a picture in here so hopefully amy doesn't spy it before the shower this week. probably shouldn't have posted it. i think she'll like it. i'm actually not that neurotic so if she sees it early i doubt it will make the gift less appreciated. 
there was a few curse words uttered in the sewing process. i attempted to use the machine. sewing machines and i just have issues. a few needles broke, maybe 3 so after one side was done by machine, i gave it up. i lit a fire in the fireplace, put the iphone on shuffle for calming music and just sewed the rest by hand. probably took just as long, maybe a bit longer, but it was much more pleasant and relaxing without the dreaded machine. hopefully it's not too obvious that the one side is done on machine and the rest isn't. if i was a perfectionist i would have ripped out the one side and made them all match. 
luckily, i'm not a perfectionist.
matanuska glacier.
i find that goal of perfectionism way too stressful. growing up it seemed like all these people were perfect and i felt like such a failure. then one day you realize they are all only acting like they are perfect and many of them have these horrible crumbling lives that they just make look all pretty.
not sure what this bird is. can't say that i recognize it. will need to look in the bird book it was flying around at the matanuska glacier lookout/campground area. not sure i got a good enough photo of it to figure it out though.
a few "family" photo's in chicken. the dogs were more cooperative for the shots that didn't include me
still gotta try. 
hopefully the weather is a bit better tomorrow and i can get the dogs out for a pleasant walk again. maybe kincaid, it's been a few days.
from the denali highway. must have been near the maclaren summit. the sun came out a bit and it was quite lovely.
you can see for miles.
here is my project for the night. loved the material...so cute!!
lastly, i ran out and snapped a shot of the fence issue. the wind does seem to have settled a bit. the lights flickered a few times, but never went out. 
off to bed. i have another 2 nights, then off for my stretch. first monday walk next week. hope everyone is enjoying. i see people read, but nobody has commented for quite some time. hmm...is anyone out there?
