obsessed with light and trees in Sitka...

 these are the last of Sitka.  slowly getting some loaded.  it may take me all winter to get summer loaded.

 these are mostly from the way down on a hike we took in Sitka. i had opted to turn back knowing there wouldn't be too much view at the top and that i would be slower than the others coming down.  i quite enjoyed my little peaceful time with the trees.

 the light was filtering through the trees and clouds and just looked so amazing and peaceful.

 somewhere along the way down the church bells began to chime which was super cool.

 lots of big slugs all over down there.  we were all enjoying them

 i did make it to the pool yesterday.  i got 25 laps in.  the pool is clean and has no deep end or diving boards.  the dressing room was clean.  lots of showers so that was nice. i made it there before 3pm so it wasn't too crowded.

 i have a 10 punch card.  i think it did help my knee some so i will slowly get back into the swing of swimming.  debated going again today but i didn't want to push it too much.  it felt great to be swimming though. 

 i had joined LS for a walk before i headed out to the pool.  we did Rovers Run.

 today was a bit more wet out so i headed just to the dog park.  the swans have moved on.  there were 4 either otters or beavers playing in the middle of the lake together.  they all made a beeline for shore...wasn't sure if it was because of some dogs that were barking, but i made sure to keep the pups far away from those critters.

 today I'd put a turkey breast in the crock pot...that tasted so good.  i was making some homemade egg noodles this evening...will make the turkey soup with real egg noodles i think.  not sure how these will turn out, but it was easy so i could do a repeat.

 there were loads of steps out there.

 finished another good book yesterday morning.  today i was just reading a bit of one of the transcripts they just released. 

 sadly, most won't bother reading...even more sadly, many GOP members in Senate and House won't bother with them either.

 seems since the information that is coming out of these hearings is not looking good for the iitoo, his followers in DC have given up defending what happened and instead only scream and rant about the process or i think graham is now saying this administration is too disorganized and chaotic to be able to pull something like this off. 

 it's looking worse for them.  i think we all know the Senate process will be bull and he will not be removed.  i do want the stain of the impeachment on him and this mess of an administration.  i want the liars prosecuted and i want the truth to come out.  i also want him to be voted out. 

 Pence is not looking too good in this either. 

 see, i wasn't kidding, lots of stairs.

 i head back to work tomorrow night.  boo.  have had some nice reading/dog snuggle days off. read a few books.  always good.

 it was icy out this morning but it turned to rain before i headed out there.  felt a bit chilled when i got home so i ended up taking a nap to warm up.

 naps are always a good thing. 

 big old growth forests. 

 isn't the light beautiful?

 bought my ticket from UAA for the show at the planetarium.  that should be fun.  I'll go to the late show and sit with fish and game through the first one.  will be able to have our pamphlets and stickers out there.  do need to do another round of stickers and try to get some donations over the season. I'm terrible at asking for money and our web site is still not set up for donations.  it seems like it will cost more than we bring in to have that system so that bites.

 another slug

 I'm almost out of the trees.  then i sat below and made a phone call while i waited for my friends...wanted to make noise. I'm not used to being out there in the woods sans dogs.

 we were flying out that night so we had a list of stuff to try and do...which is why i didn't want to keep them waiting on me on this trail.

 little waterfall before i hit the main trail again.

 these were from a mural in town.  we headed for some food, to wander around the main town and then explore the low tide before we took off

 always love a good mural

 southeast has a lot of art and cute communities.

 i really enjoyed living in Southeast Alaska.  some days i yearn to return...so it was great to spend a long weekend there this summer.  anytime i can get back down there i am thrilled

 on the beach, looking back towards town

 that is the bridge over to the airport.

 my friends out exploring the low tide zone

 i think we all had a great time out there.

 next year it may be bears again...and 10,000 smokes. it's still on my list to do. 

 we never got any great views of the surrounding mountains...Sitka is a great place, I'd go back.

 I'd go back to any beach in AK....so many to explore.  Nome had some great beach combing!

 we wandered around the park with the totems for a few minutes as well.

 always so cool. 

 better head to bed i guess.  just a quick blog.

 this one looks fairly new and it was really beautiful.

 loved the eyes.

thankful for: A. the many opportunities I've had to travel around Alaska  B.  the friends who have joined me.  so many great trips  C.  coming home after to my sweet dogs and cats.

well, hello Sailor!!

 a few from the walrus cam at explore.org.  soon i will be there...very soon, weather willing.

 never thought i could plan a trip to Round Island so fast but here it is, coming together for me.  i have plane tickets to Dillingham on Saturday.  hoping to secure a puddle jump plane out of Dillingham that night to Togiak. i have a place to stay in Togiak and my ride arranged out to Round Island and back.

 Claire is back from college so she will take care of the pups and house sit.  will be pricey, of course, but no more than if it'd planned it months ago.  air miles for the trek to Dillingham.  B&B, flight to/from Dillingham and the boat...gas prices have increased so that is the only one that i'll be docked for planning late.

 the boat captain did figure out that I run the non-profit group so hopefully that makes my welcome into Togiak even better.  i'll toss in some stickers and grocery bags for those who are helping me with each step...also need to toss in stickers and pamphlets to leave on island for future visitors this summer.

 got my permit so that part is complete as well. chatted with Ed today.  he may use me as a mule to take some stuff out to the island.  as long as it's not too heavy we are good. so a busy day getting everything.  just had to leap.

 so out to Round Island again.  one friend said something about me having already been here.  i know...but it does beckon me.  she kayaks to the same places over and over...so when you love something you love it.  has felt like i have wanted to return/needed to return after starting this non-profit group.  need to take more photo's.  now i need to take pictures somewhat from that angle. what would be helpful in the future projects, what would those who are interested in the island and the walrus want to see.  it's also good to meet the folks in Togiak and have their support for the group. make sure they know we support them.

 maybe find someone there interested in becoming more active in the group.  i'm not living forever.  this place needs to be protected and i'm sure they have a greater stake in it there.  at the very least...as i said, it would be great to have their support.  he figured out from my name who i was.  he did seem to be happy about the group existing. Togiak is a small town.  the pilot i'm trying to get is his uncle and the  B&B is run by the captains aunt...who is the pilots older sister.

 these pics are from various hikes and rambles.

 this one powerline.  i went to powerline today but it was super windy so we did a bit of an abbreviated hike.  the pups are always just happy to be out

 yesterday it was raining but we got a nice long walk in.  ended up running into one of the docs from work and his son so we all walked in the rain together.  i think he worried the son was slowing me down.  the pups don't run slower cause we walk slower though...they just run.  the longer it takes us to walk the more they run. so a win-win for me.

 it can be tough to get motivated to walk in the rain but once i'm out there, i really enjoy walking in the rain.  no bears or moose spotted either day so that is always a bonus.  safety in numbers anyway. his son did great really.  that was a pretty long trek for a 5 year old. i'm sure like my pups he was tired after.  he got pretty good at the chuck it.

 always great for my pups to get kid experience.

 still a lot to do to get ready to take off for the week.  puppy directions for sure.  emergency note. clean house or at least make it look less embarrassingly messy...haha.

 still patches of snow.  debated a run to Homer or Seward.  even started to pack car a bit, but then i realized if i was going to go to round Island i was going to have to dive in and make some calls.  i can only procrastinate so long and then you gotta make it happen.

 also chatted with the handyman who will make the base for the little library and the bench.  hopefully get that done when i get back and then i can get that out front.

 another adventure i've wanted to take is to drive over the top of the road highway out of Chicken and then take the ferry in to the Yukon Territory and drive back down to Whitehorse and Haines.  supposed to be pretty.

 i'm booked up for Kennicott so that will finally happen.  should be great flowers at that time.  summer is always so fun and adventure filled.  so i'll probably use my July time off for a big road trip.  the pups will be experts when summer is all over.

 this guy was along the coast trail by the dunes.  did not want the pups chasing him down this steep hill...instead we spooked him and he ran up the trail from us.  so now i had to move slowly, not knowing where he'd ended up.  it's a thin trail with steep drop offs.  never saw him again.

 that was another windy day.

 still gotta check our WARIS mailbox.  probably not much there, except the bill for the box probably. it's about that time.  we were created in 2014...has it really been that long?

 want to get a few more memory cards...you never want to be out there and run out.  no place to charge anything.  i'll charge up my remote chargers and i have a solar charger so i'll charge that up too.  not much hope of the old phone lasting too long.  at Hallo Bay i just totally shut it down when i wasn't snapping a photo with it.  keep it in airplane mode when it's on.

 what camera equipment to take.  gotta keep weight down.  i do plan on taking 2 pads for my sleeping bag.  tent sleeping is not as comfortable as it was 20 years ago.  when we paddled Point Adolphus, Scott and i both scored an extra pad...made quite a difference.

 luckily, i have the bulk of the gear. each trek is a bit different in how you plan.  for bigger flights it's better to be able to put all in big duffle bags then break it down into smaller dry bags for the smaller flights and boat.  so i'll back smaller bags into the duffles.  still it's a lot of trekking of gear.

 i ain't getting any younger...haha.  my Birthday is Sunday so i will be hopefully traveling to the island with zero wind and many cool wildlife sightings.

 the kids on the trail to the dunes. of course, i kept yelling, "on trail" to Tusker who kept spying things down the cliff. i feared he would take off...

 always like this tree.  just pretty

 still protect these guys in their more wild puppy state by avoiding certain trails that my brain deems too dangerous.  haven't hit the potter to mchugh trail for a bit but i did have that one super horrible day out there...i will return one of these days.

 the grebes have built a nest out on University lake.  all the critters are getting ready to have babies. so cute.

 always pretty. the beavers are having babies out there too and they can be very protective.  for sure they have attacked dogs out there. must be careful.

 a pair of swans were hanging out there these past few weeks.

 just loving all the fresh greens out there.  so beautiful.  we get this every year. no old leaves here.

 the devils club starting to grow too.

 these are the fiddleheads.  i think there were some folks gathering these.  i hear they are tasty if you saute them in butter.  of course, most stuff is great if you saute it in butter, right?

 always enjoy looking up at the trees. no trees on round island.

 when did it get to be after 11 pm. have been texting a friend and writing .

 the pups are getting better at moving forward and not wrestling on the trails continuously. it still happens but they chase the ball more now. they tend to take turns chasing.  Tusker mostly will wait for Ivy to chase though and then just steal it.

 he's so cute. i love snuggling with them in the mornings. so cute.

 more fiddleheads.  every week everything just looks so different.  it's amazing how rapidly the changes happen with summer.  the growth is astounding really.  you can literally watch the grass grow.  you leave in the morning and when you return later, it has grown.

 these guys will unfurl soon.

 love the trees!!

 new bark will form.

 guess i should get off this computer and crawl into bed.  lots to do tomorrow.  backing, planning.  gotta call little plane and see if he can get me that late or if not him if i can find someone else to.  that is the only gap in my plan so far.

 going along though it's not as stressful.  planning for several people and worrying that they won't have a good time or things will get messed up...it's more stressful by nature. overall, i enjoy planning the trips and going with others, but i will kind of be nice to have a chill time.  it's been stressful these past few months. it will be nice to be totally news free out there and clear my head.

 hoping for calm seas and warm weather while i'm out there...and lots of walrus.  hope they decide to be there when i'm there.

grateful for:  A.  the opportunity yet again to go to one of the most magical places on earth (imho)  B.  for the health to be able to take these adventures  C.  to be able to help make a difference in this one place, for these animals.  i'm just one person, but we all can have an impact if we choose to.