day paddle out of whittier...

 some pictures turn out to be favorites of mine.  i really liked this one of my boots on the boardwalk trail...my feet are in the boots. we took a short walk to a pretty waterfall on a break from kayaking.  we thought we were going earlier in the day but as it turns out it all worked out for the best.  the day cleared out and was beautiful.

 first my brother and his family had to get geared up.  they have a lot of gear!!  they were nice there. it's one of the big old buildings in whittier that used to be military.

 darla and i jumped in the triple with elijah.  it was my first time in a double.  elijah paddled some and i think he had fun.  you never know with kids, but i think he did quite well for his first time out.  he requested a paddle so the lady at the shop let him use her daughters old one.

 the water was mostly flat, just some waves from boats passing by.  we had a few to deal with as we got on the water. i think the ferry may have passed by.

 elijah's paddle had happy faces to keep it up and in the right direction...they really should do that for adult paddles to.  hehe.

 tom and grayson got the double and our guide for the day, roger, was in a single.

 we were all layered up but it got hot pretty fast out there.

 nice to see glaciers all around as you paddle.

 today i took a relaxing walk in north bivuoac.  was headed off on the usual monday walk 4 mile loop. rio was moving pretty slow past the half way mark so i decided to double back and take a side loop back to cut off the distance for the poor girl.  the skies were clearing a bit, but all those roots are always tough on rio.

 lots of cool mushrooms out there.  i should have gotten the better camera out as many came out poorly.  we'll see what loop i take tomorrow.

 elijah out on the boat.  occasionally he'd make some moves around and the boat would wobble.  triples are pretty stable though.

 snack time on the beach.  our guide was very patient and sweet.  of course, darla and tom were wanting to hook me up.  no numbers were exchanged though.

 roger even gave darla some rock skipping lessons.  the beach had loads of nice flat rocks for this.

 just made my dinner, i'm stuffed.  i should have peeled the red potatoes though.  wasn't originally planning on mashing these reds, but then i did.  the peels were a bother to remove and i don't like peels.  i still managed to eat more than my share. had to finish off the roast gravy.  love homemade gravy...so good!!

 day 2 of relaxing.  after i've been with people for several days i do tend to cabin up for a few days.  i'm pretty much a loner by nature.  i like mixing with the other humans, especially family, but i gotta have my me time after.  guess they like calling that an introvert now.  seems to be the latest thing...really, i just like quiet and solitude and peace.  it was nice to just walk in the woods with the dogs and clear my head.

 dropped off gear i borrowed from gail and mack.  we hung and chatted for a bit.  so i did mix with live people today.  i wasn't a total loner all day.  that and i do mix with people on facebook.

 maybe i'll do some loops tomorrow and actually take out my macro lens for some mushroom shots.

 love the change of seasons...it's happening.

 looks like friends did the denali highway..didn't see any fall colours there yet.

 watched a few ted talks today.

 one speaker talked about going away to college and then starting to hear voices.  at first the voices just kind of announced what she was doing in the third person.  like, "she is going to class".  anyway, it worsened and she says she mentioned it to someone who freaked a bit and insisted she seek out medical help.  this started down a bit of a rough path.

 our treatment of mental health is not always the best it seems.  she did seem to recognize that the voices were probably related to stress and things that had happened as a child.

 eventually, she found the right people and came off of the meds and finished school.  it took awhile but she is a psychologist i think.  it was interesting.  always amazing what people can overcome in their lives.  my life has been pretty breezy comparatively.

 i'm okay with that.

 everyone but grayson climbed the waterfall.  elijah and tom went to the top.  he's quite the climber.  got some pictures up there.

 the "trail" was a bit more like a puddle in some places.

 always love a ring around the sun!

 may have to settle in and watch one of the movies sitting here at the house from netflix.

 getting ready to get back on the water.  i slipped over to pee on the beach, it wasn't my most private moment.  my butt wasn't seen but it was clear what i was up to.  i'm really not too shy on a beach.  when you have to go you gotta go.  the guide saw me and then kindly went to the same spot to pee as well.  that is being a gentlemen in nature.  haha.  like...i saw you pee, it looks like a good spot so i'll do the same.

 back on the water we crossed back over and went to check out the bird rookery

 nobody got pooped on though i did threaten elijah that i had some deal premade with the birds that if he didn't behave they would poop on him.  he didn't buy it.

 i think tom enjoyed his time on the water.

 shot over my head of the back of the boat

 birds...something out of a hitchcock movie, right?

 elijah enjoyed paddling...his strokes were not always effective, but they were enthusiastic at times.

 cadence was in short supply for the day.

 but being on the water is always relaxing.

 reflections...

 this one slipped in...this is actually from the cabin. my brother tom and his wife, darla.

 the end of the paddle.  nice to have others carry the boats...worth the money for sure!!

 we rushed to the tunnel, but then there was a train that got to go first.  trains have the right of way.  it's a shared tunnel.

 the tunnel is over 2 miles long.

 we were in the back of the line, but we did make the cut to get through.

guess i'll head off to watch a movie.  looks like rain again out there.

more tutka...on call tonight...for now!

after lunch on day 2 everyone chilled on the beach. the wind was picking up so i lay between two kayaks to keep warm. asked sandra to take a picture. it's a rough life, but someone has to live it!a few back in the yurt. warming by the fire. this looks like a jennifer fire. she likes em big! my xtra tuffs dry by the fire. got an on call tonight. needed it. my assignments the past two nights weren't difficult really, but sometimes all the social stuff can be stressful. we had a parent who really kinda scared us all. not kinda, he did. just seems like a guy who could go ballistic on everyone. you hear of those people who flip out, my hackles were way up. just stressful hoping you don't do or say something that leads to a situation. he was worse to his wife, but they make us ask these questions like, "do you feel safe at home". i highly doubt i'll get a truthful answer from someone who is getting the crap beat out of them. everything is fine, i'm leaning towards that being a fabrication, but your hands really are tied. you can't help people who won't help themselves much of the time. i may still get called in but it won't be for that family so that is good. looks nice outside so i think if the phone doesn't ring while i write this i'll head outside and prep a few beds for planting. could head to eagle river nature center for a walk tomorrow and follow that with a trip to the garden shop out there. they should have himalyan poppies and bleeding hearts. the second evening while everyone chilled in the yurt i thought i'd head out and see what was happening. in the yurt it sounds like a squaller outside, but in truth is was barely drizzling so i enjoyed the views. the others eventually came out to check it out as well. i told them it was pretty outside. above is sandra in a rare quiet moment. again i asked her to take a picture of me. they were behind me doing some sort of photo session of each other. water was nice though, always relaxing. yesterday i was lazy and slept between shifts, today i managed to get up and head to the university lake. nice day out there. one moose. then i ran a few errands. wanted to get thank you gifts for those who took care of the girls. saves you alot of cash when people take them in. i have a professional for the big trip in july. last time i used this lady it cost me $50/day. that isn't bad really, but it does add up fast. lena has volunteered to take the blossom again while i am at the don sheldon cabin and i'm hoping michelle will be able to help out with rio again. fingers crossed. loved the colour of the water by the yurt.my brother was asking about fitness required for kayaking. the fitness level is more related to hauling all the gear i'd say. you can be at various levels of fitness and still paddle, you do have to fit in the hole of the kayak. that is a limitation for some. of course, there are people who are super fit who kayak and do many more miles or more strenuous paddles. the average joe should be able to manage a paddle like we did this weekend. there is alot of hauling of gear though. that is the toughest part. those boats can be fairly heavy and more just awkward for moving. up here i like plastics, lots of rocky beaches. the fiberglass is lighter but more prone to scratches. i guess there are some combo kayaks out there that are more light but also more durable. ode to the outhouse. it is what it is. wouldn't want to live with an outhouse all the time, but it will suffice for a weekend. i'm a fan of indoor plumbing. nothing like a weekend in the woods to remind you how good we all have it.that second night a few hunters had pulled up on the beach. thier zodiak was having some issues. they must have gotten it fixed a bit as they were out when i wandered around that evening. news to me, you can hunt bear from a zodiak. you just can't shoot them with a running motor. so they cruise past a bear on the beach, turn off engine and then go back for the kill. in the end they opted to just head home the next am when the water was calm as it's a pretty big crossing in a small boat. still had some engine issues.we did have an event on the last night out. as we sat by the fire, one of our group noticed that a boat drifting past appeared to be unmanned. took a few minutes to really grasp that the boat was adrift. there was a large group using the main beach where our yurt was that night and they had boats coming and going. oddly, once we were pretty sure the boat was adrift only 2 of the 5 of us wanted to take action to alert the people down the beach of the situation. i found this odd and a little shocking. i'm sure if you asked the other 3 today they would all say that they would have walked down the beach eventually to inform the owners, but i must say at the time, i really didn't get that vibe. one person jokingly said, 'they didn't even say hi to us when we landed on the beach". a 20 foot skiff adrift could be badly damaged or cause injury to another boat and it's passengers. just seemed to strange to me. so a few of us headed down there to let them know. we probably should have walked faster or run. partly i think the lack of reaction from our group slowed us a bit. were we supposed to involve ourselves? had to wonder, is this just an example of the dynamics of our group or is this a sign of a greater social dynamic. people do seem less and less likely to involve themselves in others issues. easier to look away. social convention seems to be fast becoming a thing of the past. helping others can get you in trouble.
is common courtesy, like common sense not so common. i do note such simple nicities as allowing others to exit an elevator before barging on are disappearing.
the people on the beach came out to greet us as we were obviously heading right for them. they asked if we were joining them to get warm. i said no, we were concerned about a boat that seemed to be adrift and floating past us. at this she realized the situation and the gravity of it and took off running down the beach to get some guys to chase down the boat with the zodiak on the beach. i think they were grateful we opted to inform them. i can't imagine and hope i'm never one to sit on a beach and do nothing in these situations and i worry a bit about a society of people who will do just that.
we had thought to land on the other side of this bay for lunch, but i'm happy we crossed over. it appears with the low tide this entire end of the bay is exposed. even as we crossed at the end the water was maybe a foot deep, we could have walked across and towed our boats....would have been chilly though. this section wasn't muddy like china poot. that place can be treacherous. i got stuck in the mud and muck there a few years back. i'll say that all but one in the group at that time stayed back to make sure i was safely out of the mud. not that my life was in danger, but i do recall at the time thinking it odd that anyone would trek off and leave me there in the mud. lunch and nap. we really hadn't traveled many miles that first day. cruising in kayaks. the most i've paddled in one day was 22 miles. i was pretty beat after that. usually we do 5-12 miles.if you catch the tides right it's like not working hardly at all. if you catch a good wind you will be working very hard and often feeling like you aren't getting any progress.am debating purchasing a nice wide angle lens for the other trips this summer. should have some time to play with lenses. don't own a wide angle. could be a good birthday gift to me. perhaps the dogs are feeling generous. i've returned,
i'd disappeared,
lost and overpowered,
silence,
is all it takes,
distance,
to become,
who you were.
my brain,
is still at sea,
the waves,
steady,
as i bounce,
across the ocean,
in me.
wrote some poetry out there.group photo. waterfall in background. rhonda, jennifer, me, amy and sandra.liked this one of jennifer napping. she does love her time out there. the noises,
are different here,
still,
i await the usual sounds,
the clicking of toes,
as the dogs walk about,
the low thunder,
of cats at play,
the pipes,
the creaks,
a home makes,
but the noises,
are different here,
sounds of a forest,
sounds of the sea,
sounds of a fire,
next to me.
that is about it. below is a self portrait. at the dog park today they have these kids camps that go through there. this lady was quite loudly and with much animation teaching the kids about polar bears and other artic sea life. on my second loop i noted that she was also teaching the kids about global warming and the noise pollution from the oil industry. hoping the parents are okay with this. could get in trouble going from the informative to the controversial. water is always so clear, great to tide pool as it were from on top the water.hockey playoffs have begun. watched a bit of the game the other night. grew up in los angeles so i have to lean towards the kings, but i also like the other teams goaltender, brodeur. he's an old guy by profession sports standards. could be a fun series to watch. i always love the playoffs, overtime. sadly i had to head to work before the extra innings began.like to get a boat or a paddle in my pictures. can't believe it's june already. yikes..these years fly past fast!we did get lucky with some nice blue skies. i got a smidgie of sun. nice basecoat. it's actually easy to get burned out there. the sun is out for hours and reflects off the water. i grew up getting tans/burns so i don't really strive for extra. a little colour is good though. i also lost a cousin to malignant malinoma. it does make you think of the whole sun tanning thing a bit differently. my brother also had a bout with it and that is one that can return. i have therefore never spent any time in a tanning bed. what i get out hiking or paddling is all i get. just scenes from the paddle. a loon flies by.on the water. we did see a few seals and otters out there as well. amy thought we saw a small minke whale, i'm not really sure. that was on our last day out by kayak beach. i didn't get a photo of it. there were over 100 otters by the spit as we drove in to catch our water taxi that first day. that was cool.sandra and rhonda.so relaxing just to watch the water and all the designs that are created by the water movements.snagged a few pictures that had me in them that rhonda had posted on facebook. don't see her much and i'm not facebook friends with her so i hope she doesn't mind. i figure if it's of me and i give credit to her....not many camera's out there. a few phones and so these were the rare pictures that were taken of me. i asked for a few to be taken and sandra volunteered to take a few for me which i appreciated. above is again a rhonda picture, jennifer, sandra and me, stretching.a few back on land.one of the waterfall taken with the big camera.thought this one of rhonda came out nice. haven't spent much time with her, she seems very nice, easy to travel with. off to enjoy the rest of the day...fingers crossed that i don't get called in. lots of snow out there still. will be interesting to see how much is up on the mountain at ruth glacier in a few weeks. a few tradgedies on the big mountain already this summer. i think 2 lost lives within a week or two of each other.