Happy Easter...and the last of Fairbanks trip

 nice sightings in Denali National Park.  caribou!!

 a few last dogs to keep you going until next years Iditarod.  right now i'm trying to avoid getting my tax papers together for my tax appointment tomorrow morning . so excited!!

 in the meantime i'm coughing like crazy...my usual bronchitis fits.  it's viral induced and I'm a hot mess when it hits.  not only do you not want to be near me you don't want to live near me either. i've actually had  neighbors tell me they almost have called 9-1-1 due to my coughing and their concern.  i'm not boasting about my cough it's just that i do have a horrific cough when i get sick.  you have to hear it to believe it i think.

 my poor sister called me this morning to say hello and i think she was a bit surprised by how laid out i get by my coughing. it is exhausting, i will admit.  i try to stay as active as possible and rest between activities.  i didn't quite hit 10,000 steps today, but i am at 9555 or close to that.

 in my early 20's the bronchitis never totally went away, it got better, it got worse.  when i moved to South Dakota i was able to finally stop coughing/hacking after i'd been there for 6 months.  honestly, i didn't notice i'd stopped, coughing had become a habit, it never went away.  a secretary at work was the one who noticed i'd finally stopped coughing.  i can never live in Los Angeles smog again.

 after that i seemed to get a bad bronchitis bout at least 2x/year...way less than previous.  after i got to Anchorage and started working peds and got taking my annual flu shot...well now, i get sick much less.  in general i find that my rx for the inhalers expires before i need it.  i always say i'll go get the refill on the inhalers early, before i need it and then i seem to always forget until the option is gone.  grr.  i really should be better at that...but what it does mean is that i get these bouts now less than once a year.  so this is good.

 i started walking and exercising when i was in my early 20's...i had discovered that i was short of breath doing hardly anything.  walking and building my exercise stamina has been a great help for me.  today i walked on the trails with Blossom.  we did over 3 miles and i only felt mildly short of breath going uphill.

 Rio opted out of the walk today. i need to get her to go outside again.  there was snow on the ground this morning and Rio apparently was less than happy with this weather change.  it's really all melted away by now.  was able to go out dog poop collecting in the yard.  the ground is still frozen, but i can now start raking up the remnants of leaves from last fall.  don't feel too much like stuffing leaves in bags today.  after my walk i slept and dozed the afternoon away.

 no pool today.  i try to take it easy on myself for a few days after i get sick before i really work back up to my exercise.  swimming is actually a great exercise for those with respiratory issues though.  it is rhythmic and actually lends itself to breathing exercises.  it seems strange but it does seem to work.

 tomorrow is tax day and the next day i do the tire change over.  i tried putting my winter shoes away as well the other day but i did bring those back out for todays walk.

 need to work on the non-profits tax, which everyone has told me will be pretty easy.  we didn't make enough money to bring us any attention.  apparently we just send a card saying we made less than such and such.  i'll look into it more and check with the tax preparer tomorrow.  don't want to mess up everything we have done to get to this point and be a non-profit.

 many thanks to all who had faith in us and donated to help the walrus and Round Island. i'm not sure if i'll ever know if anything i did has helped but i'm happy that for now, things are looking promising for funding, though it's still not coming from the state and i think at least part of it should.

 we will continue to push for this and continue to be an advocate for the Sanctuary and these great animals that reside there.  hopefully, we can continue to work with other organizations and keep this place operating and the walrus safe.

 don't want to make any phone calls sounding like i do right now, but hopefully i can make a few calls when i get a voice back.  just want to check in and let groups know how much we appreciate their efforts on behalf of the Sanctuary.

 i lost a lot of my caribou photos due to excitement.  i'm human. i was so excited i neglected to notice that at some point i'd switched over to manual focus.  the group came right up on the road and stopped there...all those pictures had to be trashed.  oops!!

 i am sleepy. not sure i'll be less sleepy early in the morning though so i really will need to look over the tax stuff that i have.  thankfully, i'd gathered the information for my own taxes a bit ago.  i'm sure i missed a few things...i'm never as organized as i hope to be.  a trait i learned from my Mom.  :-)  do miss that gal.  we get both the positive and negative traits from our parents.  they aren't perfect and neither are we.  we all try to be a bit better than the last generation and i'm sure in some areas we are and in others, well, in others we fail.

 my parents were good people and i think i'm doing okay in the grand scheme of life.  i think they liked me how i was, how i'd become.   i could tell my Dad was pretty excited that i was living up here.  i remember him on a visit to Ketchikan.  he was so happy....we took a float plane out to Misty Fiords and he just stood out there on the float of the plane on that remote lake.  we finally got each other.  he was happy for me, accepted me for who i was...after all those years of us having no understanding of each other, we finally did.  we just needed to get on a float of a plane in the middle of nowhere to get there.

 it was fleeting and my Dad never said it, but he really didn't have to.  i knew at that moment he was proud of me and the choices that i had made in life that had brought me there. i know he would have preferred in some ways for me to have stayed Mormon and had that life, but really, on that float, i know that he knew i was happy and that the choice i had made to leave the church was the reason i was happy. i had acceptance and i had his blessing.

 my Mom was more offended i think that i'd left Mormonism.  in all honesty i think my Dad accepted it more because his faith was actually stronger.  i think when you believe something that strongly you are more able to allow others to believe differently.  i know that probably doesn't seem to make sense as i write it, but i sense my Mom was Mormon more for the social aspects, it was a "good place to raise kids".  i'm not saying my mom had no faith or was a non-believer, it's just that it was a different sort of thing with her.

 for me i could never be a sort of in Mormon.  the history and the things they believed to be "true" just didn't work for me.  in many ways i'm more like my Dad i think.  i had to be all in , all believing.  anything less just wasn't going to work for me.  if i wasn't all in, all believing than i was just another hypocrite.

 people join and stay in religions for various reasons.  if it works for you, if it helps you be a better person, if it helps you raise better kids or whatever it is, then go for it.  each person has to decide for themselves.  if it brings on hate and judgement than you may need to consider walking away.  i've read all the scriptures that were given to me and i really just don't see those things relating to the Jesus Christ i read about and understood.

 He had many cautionary tales.  mostly His message was one of Love and Kindness and Acceptance.  Judge not lest ye be judged and Love one another.

 i've just come to try and live by the simplest of his lessons.  i don't think any of us are expected to be scholars, we are expected to love and be kind, to not judge.  i think that message extends to the animals we share this earth with and the places which were created. created for our enjoyment and use, not to be destroyed and tarnished beyond repair.

 why a moose and a caribou and  a wood bison..why not just one type of cow for us to eat.  why hundreds of types of butterflies and even mosquito's, why?  whoever and whatever created this place obviously, the details..the details were in the design.  i'd lean towards science and selection but still that is grossly simplified, right. the beauty of this earth can't be explained by the creationists nor can it be totally proven by the evolutionists.  i just know, if i want to feel close to whatever power this earth has, i go out into Nature and there is where it is.

 it's not in a building or a cathedral...it's out in nature.  if you don't respect the earth and the animals and insects and fungi and all of the other miracles out there...well you disrespect whatever created it all.

 so Easter...mostly, admittedly it was just another day for me.  obviously i think about Christ and all that has been created here.  i am also reminded to try and be the best person i can be and hope that this will be enough for whatever awaits us when we die.  and if there is nothing waiting for us out there, then i will have lived a good life...not to get to some heaven or kingdom but because it was the right thing to do.

 it's right to be kind and understanding and non-judging.  it's right to be respectful of all, even the least of these things...be they human or insect.  do i swat flies and kill mosquito's, yes i do but i don't go out of my way to kill more than are causing me pain.  live and let live.

 these just show the wind blowing on the drive back to Anchorage.

 it was pretty breezy.

 you can see it in the distance as well as up close.

 the earth protects us and the earth can destroy us.  i don't believe anyone is safe from the elements.  some of it is just random, most of it really.  when it's your time, it's your time.  miracles do seem to happen but mostly it seems happenstance.  why does one guy survive and the rest die or everyone survive and only one die?  happenstance.  the guy who survived is not necessarily the better person. i always hated when some one survived something and suddenly everyone spoke like that person had somehow been chosen by God to survive...like God cared not a lick about all those other people.

 so much about organized religions bothers me. many have become more corporations than houses of God.  there is always good, but i remember hearing as a youth.."the church is true, the people are not necessarily".  at some point if enough people are perverting any religion, it can no longer hold the truth anymore. God may give a message but that message can easily be corrupted by man.  it's up to each of us to find our own way through and decide.  ultimately, it's how you as an individual lives your life i suspect.  good grows from even the seemingly most wicked sources and bad grows from a place that can seem heavenly.

 have a i preached, i hope not...mostly i have rambled. hopefully i have not offended.  i mean nothing, my words mean nothing.  they are just my own ramblings and my own thoughts. i don't write to alter others values or opinions, but only to express my own.

 most of the time, nobody asks.  below is Denali, the big mountain peeking out

thankful for: A.  religion...it's interesting and debating the various ones have brought me to where i am and i am happy.  B.  the details C.  the peace of nature.

and then the clouds rolled in..

 until then it was a beautiful day today.  liked above action shot.

 above a  Sweede, Matts Peterson.25th place.  i think by the time these folks come from other nations they have already gotten a bit of mushing experience.  i think they all finished.

 Next is Randy Beals, he came in 11th..not bad, not bad.

 trying to figure non-icy places to walk the pups...so today we headed out to Lake Hood and did the loop there. a friend often bikes that loop, i've never actually walked around the whole thing.  always love the planes.  did see one land out there today despite the ice looking a bit questionable in places.  looked like the landing went fine.  saw a few out there changing their ski's to tires.  that time of year.

 Rio was pretty slow getting around there. probably not the most fun walk for the dogs, but they are happy to be out walking.  Blossom does love her tennis ball time and there was none of that today.  it just gets sketchy out this time of year...break up.  it's never easy.  it gets us to summer though.

 a better shot of Randy Beals.

 no moose sightings today.  was going to go for a swim...in the end i took an afternoon nap and then settled in and watched American Idol. it's been awhile since i had a lazy idol night.  Rio likes couch snuggle time too.

 have had a good week...like keeping records of mileage. it really does help you be more goal oriented each day...despite my skipping my swim today.  i really do like living a more active life and it's the best way to get my body a bit more in shape.  i'm better at exercising more than at eating less.  as you get older you can't avoid the eating less part of the equation.

 i find i just naturally eat less crap as i get older.  i tend to bake less so that means a lot less, cookie dough and cake batter...i'm more of a snacker than a meal eater.  i just need to select better snacks.  chips are my nemesis.  i can limit chocolate way better than chips.  the best thing for me is to just not buy bags of chips that are at home. then i allow myself a little bag of chips with a subway sandwich or some at a party (which i am rarely at, haha).

 some days you just have to take a couch day and chill.  i got slack in between shifts a bit and that i need to fix.  i like the 10,000 steps/day goal.  that will help between shifts i think as well.

 Jeff King.  a friend who volunteers doesn't seem to be a fan, i like the guy...not that i've met him.  i don't need to eat lunch with him though or socially interact with him.  he's innovative, seems to love mushing and his dogs.  he's got some cool dog gear.

 not sure where the outside funding is tentatively coming from for Round Island. is it someone i've discussed round island with?  have i made any difference at all?  i may never know. i do hope that the funding comes through.  then we can start working on next year and the year after that.  working towards finding permanent partners to keep Round Island staffed and safe.

 sounds like fish and game made a trek out there.  probably to check stuff over and start to get set up for the season.  no walrus out there yet is the report i heard.  i'll keep you posted as i hear more about potential funding.  fingers are crossed and i am having a hopeful day.

 dog team on his cool gloves...he's popular enough he gets some pretty cool gifts.

 WARIS has been a bit of a rollar coaster.  some days are great, others stressful.  am i helping?  don't think i've made anything worse yet...i still could i guess.

 nothing happens if you don't try though.  gotta be the squeaky wheel some times in life.  i love that line from this movie...can't think of the name right now... "sometimes all a woman has is being a bitch".  it's true some times. being nice doesn't always work.

 as the back yard and front yard melt i become more and more stressed out....i will have to tackle the yard work soon.  i am not as stellar at yard work as i had hoped to be.  i keep saying money needs to be spent to get  others to tackle it.  with spring coming early it may be the best year to pay for yard care, at least to get it started down the right path. a nice lawn and some general landscaping would be good.  also there are some repairs that need to be made out back.  the leaf pile is still pretty much frozen..i tackle the yard poop...i am a poop expert so that i can handle on my own.

 i have a yard, i'd like it to look nice and be a lovely place to chill in the summer.

 people are surprised at how tightly packed we are in Anchorage.  for all our wide spaces we don't have tons of buildable spaces.  i also don't want to see our recreation spaces taken over for homes.  progress...it's not always progressive.  people will keep coming and they will all want their little piece of Alaska.

 as you add all these people and build more and more, especially on questionable lands...well, we shall see one of these days when the big quake comes again.  it's so easy for everyone to forget about the quake damage potential.  they haven't been here to see the damage a big quake can bring.  to keep this a great place to live, they have to keep the wild in this city.  so say i anyway.

 it's looking like the Kincaid moose are safe for the time being. seemed a silly idea to me anyway.  the less we mess with nature and the natural order of things, the better off they are.  humans seem to have this arrogant opinion that we can and should control nature.  kill predators here, kill moose and caribou over here..we unbalance everything and then wonder why things get all screwed up.  subsistence hunts are fine, as long as everyone just takes what they need and isn't greedy.

 not sure how many from the lower 48 should be given tags...the earth will balance itself.  humans unbalance it all

 read a disturbing bit of news today.  a plane crashed in France, all aboard were killed. it originated in Germany i believe.  it's sounding like the pilot stepped out of the cockpit and then was not allowed back in.  suicide?  terrorists? we may not ever know, but how awful for all on board and their families.

 pretty sure this helicopter was carrying Iditarod photography Schultz.  he's been their lead photographer for years.  he's taken some beautiful shots over the years and has been in at least one plane wreck. seems if you fly a lot in Alaska you will find yourself in a wreck eventually..especially the smaller planes.

 there are often survivors but often times there are not.  many well known Alaskan's have passed in crashes.it's part of life in Alaska.  i've had  a few iffy flights but i have always landed safely...knock on wood.  there are some dang good pilots up here too.

 in the hospital things come in waves....some summers we have what seems like a lot of this sort of accident or that sort.  one year it may be climbing accidents, another planes, another motorcycles..or moose vs cars or bear attacks...what will this year be?

 a bit disjointed tonight.  sorry..i have these stacks of papers and some days i just find myself catching up and seeing if there is any exciting news  or stuff that i have opinions about. i often have opinions about things.

 my opinion on these dogs is that they are super cute!!

 i think this is the other cindy at the bottom of the pack.  she finished the race.

 not sure how i'd do in the -50 degree temps these guys dealt with. i can be a wimp in the cold.  you just carry on though in a thing like this...you have to.  the dogs need to be attended to.

 not sure running dogs at those low temps is as fun as running them closer to zero.

 Wade Marrs, ended up in 8th place, right behind Jeff King

 Ringling Brothers are phasing out elephants.  rights groups have for years battled the circus and it's treatment of the elephants.  they are not admitting to bending to the advocates but they are phasing out the elephants.  it can't be easy for the elephants living in close quarters, constantly on the move. for the elephants this is a good thing.

 my pups caused a stir today on the walk . a woman got out of her car with her two pit bull cross looking dogs.  they were on leash, saw my dogs and then went after each other.  she was able to break it up and it looked like she put them back in the car and headed away.  didn't sound like a usual experience for her, she seemed surprised by the behaviour.  my dogs remained totally chill...gotta love my pups. they are pretty mellow, which i love.

 there has been some training involved.  not sure these dogs know the sit-stay-come commands. they know gee and haw and other mushing commands. Rio has her own commands to help her due to her blindness.  over, under, careful, steps.  dogs are pretty smart and they know a hell of a lot more english than i know dog.

 Pogi is going after the newspapers on the ground.  all for the recycling bin.  i seem to have less and less trash.  that will change a bit once i start clearing the yard...the dreaded yard work.  haha.

 this guy has a sweet face.

 we are getting close to the end of the dogs...then i'll finish up the rest of the Fairbanks trip, drop in some Northern lights shots and then whatever i take on these little hikes.  took quite a few on the beach the other day..sure was pretty down there. there are pretty things to see even during break up.

 these next two are both rookies...one out of Kansas? and the other from Kotzebue.

 pretty dogs.  often these rookies are running with other peoples dogs.  gives bigger mushers a chance to let a young group of dogs make a slower run to Nome and get experience.  in exchange they get dog care and training at their kennels. taking care of a large number of dogs is spendy and time consuming. i have my hands full with my two pups.

 i can't imagine all those dogs and all that would entail.  let alone living with all the barking and the dog poop...OMG...the dog poop!!

 they are adorable...but that is a lot of poop!

 these dogs in the Iditarod are being studied more and more.  how do they do it?  researchers want to know. the more they learn the more it benefits the dogs as well.  it may eventually teach us more about humans as well.  dogs and humans are best buddies.

 these dogs eat 12000-25000 cal/day from what i have heard.  crazy amounts of calories. they are burning through them with all that running. now the dogs take prilosec to help prevent ulcers which are common in sled dogs.  dog deaths in the iditarod have decreased over the years.  pressure was a reason for this but i suspect attitudes about dogs have changed as well over the years.

 dogs have always been loved in general.  over the past 40-50 years they are seen more and more as part of the family, deserving of care and attention. there are still those who just ditch dogs that are inconvenient for them.  there is more social pressure in general about dogs and the care they require in all homes.  in some circumstances it gets a bit ridiculous.  people think all dogs need to be treated like pomeranians that live in little outfits and are "walked" in strollers.  different dogs are created for different reasons.  they are adapted to a variety of life styles.  a pomeranian would not survive if treated like a sled dog and a sled dog would be miserable if forced into a pom's life.

 there are bad folks in every aspect of life and there are those who still see all dogs as use and lose as needed.  social pressure is probably most effective in changing these attitudes.

 well, another good day to catch up on my reading.  it's relaxing.  i'll have to get a snack and head to bed.  back to work tomorrow.  my nights off seem to fly past with me accomplishing very little of the stuff i set in my mind to get done...life goes on though

we are like the dogs, just keep running.  eventually i will get to Nome, right?   grateful for...A.  lovely days and long walks B.  allowing myself to be lazy and letting go of guilt C.  safe flights..they are a gift.