wiped out!!

that goes for all three of us. rio is on the couch and i'm not sure she'll move up to the bedroom tonight. the doorbell rang earlier and she always jumps off the couch, barks and tries to get through the door...not this time. she just stayed put on her couch.
we all walked out powerline pass out of glen alps trailhead this morning. probably almost 4miles. wanted to wear them out a bit before filming and keep them relatively clean. when i got back to the glen alps trailhead someone from channel 11 news was there doing a bit on spring hiking risks. anyway, she asked if she could interview me. i decided to go for it as i hoped it would take the edge off my interview on film later in the day. it did help with the jitters. the two bits were done very differently. this one was easier as it was just me and the one girl who acted as jack of all trades as it were. i tend to be a bit shy, especially in groups and especially around people i don't really know. this was one person and she was very personable and easy going. i could just relate. though, i still think i look strange on film. i saw the peice on the 10pm news. this afternoon was a whole production team. have signed a confidentiality thing, though oddly, the basic info is all here in the blog before anything was signed so read back i guess. the fact that i filmed is no secret. wasn't very comfortable trying to stand still with the sun in my eyes, trying to make what i had to say bigger than what it really was. it's thier show and so i see it as thier responsibility to make sure whoever they are filming is comfortable in order to get the best shot. not really my worry in the long run. i'm not a professional actor, i'm a nurse. hopefully, they can piece together something from all the stuff that was said. planes and frisbee golf players made a flow impossible. stop, start here, stop, start here....i couldn't begin to tell you what i said in the course of that interview. too many distractions and too many directions from too many people. i obviously suck at this filming stuff. just totally out of my comfort zone. i did better walking around with the dogs on the second part. in retrospect that may have been better to do first as then i would have been more familiar with the crew and more relaxed. of course, by then i was just totally bored. just wanted to get done and leave. 4 hours almost. if i ever did anything like this again i would require a tidy sum of funds. for now i just see it as a life experience. box checked off. will be interesting to see what they can make of those bits of film. the news crew pulled something together pretty fast from the bits and pieces they got. this crew will have more time to do post shoot work. an industry i'm just not at all familiar with. seems odd since i grew up in south pasadena, a town close to hollywood so often used for filming. friends were extra's, we often spent time as kids checking out the filming down the road. burt reynolds filmed on the block once. so i'm tired and the dogs are even more beat than i am. they did enjoy getting extra treats and attention. the best for me was about 6-7 snow geese flew by. wanted to just grab my camera and chase them down for pictures. the trails out there have cleared quite a bit since i was there a few weeks ago. still lots of sloppiness and the walking is not at all easy. the rest are from the walk earlier at glen alps. several people still out on these trails skiing. diehards. the powerline trail goes on and on, up and over i think to a community on the turigan arm. i'm pretty sure anyway. haven't done that trek yet. no bears, no signs of bears. did hear alot of ptarmigan but was unable to actually spot any. illusive birds for me today. rio did fairly well. i tried to be a good guide dog, but i often fail in those duties. there were several old post hole holes out there, she couldn't miss every hole. poor girl. tomorrow i have dentist and eye appointments so the girls will probably get a break from the longer walk. blossom will be ready to go in the morning, rio....she'll be happy sleeping in.love when there are rings around the sun. always cool!another amazing day out there. no swim today. filming just took longer than i expected. will try and get a swim in tomorrow before meeting friends for dinner. blueberry hill and flat top to left.i really am wiped out so i will cut this short and crash for the night.

last monday walk til fall...

and other stuff. added the pictures from yesterdays walk out potter to mchugh way. looked back on the blog to get an idea of where we are with the melt compared with then. i walked potter to mchugh almost a year ago to the day. it was basically clear last year, this year it was still loaded with snow. everywhere is. was interesting to just be able to look back and see how different it all was. we'll get there, but it's taken a bit longer this year. the days have been beautiful though which we all have loved. walking today was tough due to all the slippage. just takes longer and you punch through often. i made little noises as i fell off the trail all day today which made lena laugh. just lena, tanya and i for this final walk. we enjoyed ourselves. lena even joined us at kaladi's. we all got cool drinks instead of hot cocoa as we were hot out there in that slush with it being over 50 degrees. can't complain about that! supposed to be some nice northern light action out there tonight. did hear of a big solar flare last week so this will be the result from that. i may try and pop out in a bit and see if i can see anything. not promising any photo's. haven't really gotten into the whole aurora photography thing. not that i wouldn't want to, just it's usually so dang cold out there. tonight shouldn't be too bad though. may just head up campbell airstrip road. woke to blossom's arse photo on page 2 of the anchorage daily news. always so fun! her hind and front end have now both had a day on page 2! how many dogs can say that!! this tennis ball lasted for awhile...today it was lost to the snow and the other dogs. they aren't as diligent in thier care of the beloved tennis ball. these were a gift, now it will be a gift to some lucky dog who runs across it when the snow melts...one day!there were a few signs in the bog this morning for a missing toy. i found the toy, but so had someone else. i know i'm kinda neurotic about not losing blossoms toys, but this frisbee had a phone number written and the dogs name like 10 times on it. guess they didn't want to lose it. i thought it must be some majorly beloved toy. when i called the number the owners mother answered and i mentioned the toy, she made some comment about all the various toys. i will no longer feel badly for being a bit toy attached. i've got nothing on this girl. you pay good money for good toys though so i really don't appreciate having them lost to carelessness, like another dog stealing or me stupidly tossing it near open water that is running fast, or blossom dropping it in a creek and it rushing away fast. was able to teach blossom about gravity. if she drops her toy on a hill and i say "gravity" she now understands to look down the hill first. she never caught on to "current". i tried, but she just couldn't grasp that concept. poor girl. she always looks so baffled in a creek when the toy just isn't where she set it down. filming scheduled for tomorrow. sounds legit, there was a moment this week when i worried that this was a hoax like the sasquatch and i would show up and get robbed and killed. the filming will be at the main ski chalet so that is pretty public. thought of getting a "dog handler" to assist me and protect me in case it all turns out badly. like those "models" that always get killed off when some photographer goes on about how beautiful they are and takes them off to do a "photo shoot"...never to be seen again. now i'm just a little nervous that i'll freeze and sound like an idiot on film, or they'll edit it so that i just seem crazy, or that i'll look totally my age! oh to be a dog. they have no such concerns or worries. they want the dogs and i doubt anyone would encourage me to bring my dogs if they planned on killing me. that in itself is a good sign. moose off in the brush. these are still from yesterdays walk out potter to mchugh. now we start in the bog. i'm happy i took rio for a walk in the bog and opted to let her pass on the 4 mile slush walk. that was tough enough for me let alone a 120 pound dog that is almost 8 years old. the bog was tough enough for her. the water is everywhere and the trail is punchy and sloggy. birds really can't even hang yet as there aren't many actual puddles yet....still frozen.the little creek must have an ice jam somewhere as this water level is higher than usual. perhaps the reason for all the flooding in the bog. it will break clear one of these days. you can see the remnants of the old winter trail out there. lucky for the bridges, but there was an entire section that could have used a bridge as well. rio attempts to walk on the "trail". was laughing as i spent most of the walk trying to keep blossom out of the puddles that were there, only to run into this section of the trail and be totally unable to prevent labradoodle water play. she immediately layed down happily! tis the season!these are from todays final monday walk. manny appears to have some blood on his face, we have no idea where it came from, but suspect blossom may have lost some blood. not enough to get too worked up about. the dogs had fun and blossom is totally sleepy tonight. i took advantage of her tiredness by trimming a smidgy around her eyes. always nice to see her eyes. not sure how this happened, but at one point indy found himself in control of lena's bear spray. careful wrestle session to get it back. if he punctured that thing we'd all be in trouble! it's that time of year. stupid dog!! we got smart and finally just slipped it out of the case it was in so all he was left with was the case. that was less interesting to him and he finally dropped it. that would have made for an interesting ending to this years dog walk mondays. no bears, no moose and no bear spray puncturing occurred. tanya was carrying treats for boddhi training. we teased her about leaving a trail of treats for the bears to be able to follow us through the woods. much less wrestling by the end of the walk. it's getting dark out there finally....about time to check for the lights. happy just watching them if i can get to lucky. seems like i was working for all the good shows this year.open water...though blossom didn't take advantage of it. probably because it was way to clear and clean. dogs prefer thier water holes stinky and muddy. at least the dogs i know do.watched a movie last night, "the owl and the sparrow". something like that anyway. enjoyed it. it would be my preferred way to find love. just happen upon it. it always seems so organized these days with these web sites and all. better if people just meet, click and live happily ever after, right? still believe in the fairly tale, though it hardly seems possible these days. debated baking some bread this evening. maybe tomorrow. haven't done that forever, but i still have that yeast and it just sounds really good to me. may just stop by great harvest on the way home from kincaid tomorrow. trying to decide where to walk tomorrow. just bathed the dogs so would like to keep them somewhat clean. maybe prospect heights with just blossom. or even glen alps. hmm...took the dogs to the monster wash. it's a car wash on the one side, but on this side it's a self serve dog wash. i've never been here but had heard some positive reviews. $20 for 20 minutes of hose time. it was a challenge to get two big dogs bathed in short order to save money. i did it with time to spare. would be more efficient next time now that i know how it all works. i didnt' read the signs that were posted until after i'd started the clock. oops. directions can be helpful when utilized. seems easy enough. brought my own shampoo, baby shampoo was cheaper than the dog stuff at the store. gentle for my pups. smells of watermelon..which in retrospect is probably not a good idea in bear country. i love body shop, but on days i'm off work i have to take care to just use basic non-scented lotions and creams. just don't want to smell too tasty in bear country.there is quite the ramp there for the dogs to climb. i was a bit worried about how rio would do with that. she is blind so these things can be tough to explain to her. lucky for me she trusts me, probably more than she should. she's still shedding tiny hairs. she really doesn't look like a dog with a shedding issue, but man, those tiny hairs get everywhere. i was able to use the blow dryer on her and saw little black hairs collecting on the walls in there. blossom would have nothing to do with that dryer. sounds too much like a vacuum and she is not a fan of that beast.here you can see the ramp. blossom did agility so it wasn't an issue for her, though she did seem to sense there was a nasty bath at the top of that ramp. next time it might not be as easy. perfect timing, it's dark and i should get out and enjoy the northern lights.

a day trip to denali national park...

the road is open to the public for the first 30 miles. usually you have to ride the bus so it's nice these few times of year when it's free for all. at the end of the season they have a lottery for late september and in the spring they just open it up. nice in the spring as fewer people are on the road. still quite a few though were out there.
a few caribou sightings as well. on the way back. driving in i saw no signs of animals. tough though as there is still quite alot of snow out there. this year we just all had so much more snow up here in alaska. it's been several years since i did this spring trek and i'm not sure what date i went on the last time. saw lots of caribou that time, but much less snow that trip as well.
as you can see my photo's loaded correctly. i found a button that allowed me to return to the old format for blogger. my last post with it's sideways pictures will remain as a silent protest...and because i'm too lazy to try and figure out how to correct it. thanks blogger.
a day trip to denali national park is doable, but it's not an easy undertaking. it's a 5 hour drive from anchorage so 10 hours driving time, plus i stayed in the park 3 hours. left anchorage just before 11am and got to the park right before 4pm. i'd decided to shoot to leave the park by pm so that i would have most of my drive back in day light. luckily the sun is staying out later. pretty much had some light through to willow so really just the last hour and a half of night driving.
just tough to see those big moose out there at night. for me anyway. oncoming traffic with thier bright lights just creats a flash of blindness and you just hope a moose isn't popping out. saw 1 moose on the way up, 3 on the way back. didn't slam on my brakes for photo ops of moose. if you have meandered my blog you would know that there is no shortage of moose pictures in here.the caribou were a lovely treat though. always hoping for a lynx or wolverine, but they are pretty unlikely sightings in these conditions. didn't even see any rabbits or ptarmigan. oh well. the scenery was beautiful and the caribou made me happy. you just never know what you will see each time you go, that is why i feel so fortunate to live close enough to some of the most beautiful parks in the world. i can take a day every so often and see what there is to see.wasn't a bright, sunny day as today probably would have been. had i planned better i would have camped out for the night and enjoyed a second day with all the new stuff one can see on a repeat. i'm happy to be home again though. got home by 11:30 last night. i think the dogs were happy too. camping out would have been a bit uncomfortable and chilly. survivable though...campgrounds are all still covered in snow and most places are closed for the winter still. liked sandra's idea of trying to rent the byers cabin for a day or two this time of year next year. will try for that. maybe a spring weekend and a summer weekend. love that place!it rained a bit on the way up and on the way back, but not a drop the entire 3 hours i was in the park.was bummed out at mile post 223! saw some eagle activity. turns out there is what looked like a caribou carcass (hopefully roadkill and not some arsehole poacher). anyway. would have been an awesome eagle shot. when i approached at 60 mph there was one bald eagle on the rib cage and another close by. my attempted to stop caused them all to fly off. i tried to wait em out, but i was on a bit of a schedule. so anyone driving north slow up and try to get that shot...someone should! cool just to see a baldie perched on a ribcage. does that make me a freak? a couple in a motor home at the turnaround had spotted two caribou. they had a labradoodle so we got to chatting. from thier vantage point with the non-driver lookout they were able to spot them again and share with me and this other guy who was out there. then this larger group crossed the road right in front of them. very cool. i jumped out of my car and got a few pictures on the road, then drove further up and got the ones after they'd crossed. liked the third one from the top just cause the one caribous head is right there in the antlers of the other.my body was a bit sore after doing all that driving. blossom and i managed to get out for a walk. we headed to potter to mchugh on turnigan arm. that trail is usually the first clear of snow. was surprised at how much snow still remains. will post those pictures tomorrow along with the final monday walk of the season...if anyone else shows up.the first caribou sightings of the day.the pussywillows are starting to shoot out, other than those i saw no signs of life.took a zillion pictures at this spot on the drive in. they do not do the place justice. it was just amazing. loved the colours of the ice. included more than i should have but much less than i took!just fun to see all the changes that happen to this land. it's spectacular and it all happens to rapidly. you will never see seasons change as fast as they do in this land. i'm always in awe at this place and how it alters and adapts to the temperature and light changes.not sure, but i may or may not have spotted a black bear on that trail today. several people out on the trail and since that one dries fastest it usually also sees early bear activity. there was what i thought may be a large black dog in the distance at this creek. i approached very slowly, hoping some people would show up and that would really just be a black dog. the "dog" disappeared and no people showed up for some time. the pair that showed up had no dog. hmm...i really have to hunt down my bear spray. we did have bells on. saw one moose out there...and the bear, maybe?a drive like that is always so relaxing. my voice was gone from singing along to the ipod for all those hours. that thing is the best for road trips. i rarely use it otherwise, exept when i play drums. strange on the drive back it rained for the most part, fairly hard at times, yet this sunshine kept me toasty on the car as it was coming from the west side.a few more from the drive home. no huge spectacular sunset, but these clouds were pretty.also never saw teh big mountain. stopped in cantwell for gas. see that $4.84 cent/gallon rate...fyi, they apparently don't believe in cleaning thier bathrooms there. end of the road in denali. 30 miles in. took the girls for a walk post sign. road still looked nice that we walked on. not sure if they'll open it further, though i think i made it to this nice visitors center last time so i'll keep watchng the paper. perhaps they'll open it further right before tourist season. may be worth a second look and a campout. who knows.the dogs eat in denali at break spot before turn around. did plan well enough for that and took my sleeping bag just in case i needed to crash in the car for a bit.rio has odd driving habits and once again refused to pee until we'd returned home. so she pee'd when i walked the dogs up and down patterson before we left and refused until midnight-ish when we returned home. it's not that she wouldn't pee ever. she'd been on road trips before with out issues, but she will hold off forever! drives me nuts! just pee already!blossom walks on the river ice. one of our pee stops. blossom utilzes her breaks effectively. that darn rio.usually i would enjoy a walk here. trail is coated in snow. this is the spot at mile 15 that you are usually turned back in private cars.need to get booking. gotta feed the dogs and get to the pool. thought i'd try and get this in early.rio on the road in denalipark entrance.back to that same spot where i obsessively took pictures on the drive in. despite the clouds and occasional rain it still was a beautiful drive up and back. lucky for me it rained harder on the way back or i would have been tempted to keep taking pictures.this spot looked absolutely stunning, but the photo's all totally unimpressed me.a few more and i'm off to swim. think the pool will feel great tonight after my long drive.not sure what causes the colour change. must be loaded with iron. i'm guessing that is in the bog water here too. i always just think it looks all polluted, but this is in the national park and not polluted so my water in the bog may just be mineral rich.lots of little water tricklings, but it is kinda strange that there aren't the huge dramatic waterfalls on the main road that one would expect.the park is beautiful anytime, any day! always worth a stopall the caribou scattered out there before i drove on after watching them a bit.another river crossing. a small one. a look in either directiona few more scenery shots...and i am off to swim...run!!sorry to be abrupt...the pool is waiting!!