Fur Rondy's almost here!

Yesterday was "Meet and Greet" the Fur Rondy sprint mushers. Robert and I atteneded the event and didn't say hello to a single musher.

However, we played with LOTS of sleek mushing dogs and one kennel had puppies. 6 week old cuddly, sleepy puppies available for holding. They were so sweet. What a perfect Saturday afternoon. (Squirt wasn't of the same opinion - he had to stay in the car and when we got back, Mommy smelled like another puppy. He was a tad put out.)

We also stopped and got 2 fishing, one hunting license and one brown bear tag. Robert's getting ready as I type to meet up with his hunting buddy John to go hunting up North. Really they are just going to ride the ATV's (it is 3 degrees this morning) but if they run across a grouse, coyote, wolf, black or brown bear, look out. Buckshot or bullets will be flying.

Ever being supportive, I got up and fixed a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs biscuit and gravy breakfast this morning to send him on his way. Once he leaves, Squirt and I just might go back to bed.

Since I won't have a car today, the two of us will be here doing chores...all the fun things like laundry, dishes and TAXES. I realize I would be more than welcome on the excursion, I am just not excited about going in the cooler weather.

It may just be a great Facebook day!

MMMMM...MMMMM...Mooooose Chili

We tried a new delicacy last night – Moose Chili. It was pretty darn good. It received a “2 paws up” from Squirt. Ok – he just like the moose meat and didn’t try the chili. (FYI – 2 paws up means he is sitting on up straight waving his front paws begging for more!)

A friend from work provided the moose as long as we provided the chili. It cooked up just like 90% lean ground beef and honestly didn’t taste much different form normal chili. No game taste or chicken taste. Pretty tasty.

Robert is off to hunt Sunday. It is still open season for grouse, wolf and bear (except the bears should be sleeping!)

Finally - a couple of Pics!

Waimea Canyon


Monk Seal lounging on the beach


The mountains on Napoli Coast - Parts of Jurassic Park were filmed here.


Chickens everywhere. (And you wonder why food is so expensive???)


A little fishing action...NOT. At least it looks like I am struggling with something.

Hawaii Adventures!

This was a different kind of vacation for me. I don't remember one even as a child where we weren't on some kind of schedule. This time, we spent 2 weeks on the island of Kauai and the toughest decisions were 1. where are we going to eat and 2. what are we going to eat. It was pretty relaxing.

It was the perfect time to see whales. The humpbacks winter along the Islands, frolicking for a couple of months before heading back to the cold arctic waters in Alaska. (Smart Whales.) We watched them from our condo balcony and every night when we went down to the beach to view the sunset they were somewhere around fin slapping, tail slapping, breaching or just swimming along, enjoying the waters.

We swam or snorkeled 11 of the 13 days we were on the island including one trip off shore about a mile. The tour we took was in a Zodiac boat. I have never been offshore that far in boat that small. No problems while in the boat but once I was over the side, bobbing in the 4 foot waves, I got sea sick. (How fun is that!) I have sailed across the Pacific Ocean, fished in 8-10 foot waves in the the Gulf of Alaska and always did just fine. But I guess being IN the water instead of ON TOP of the water is a little different. At least I wasn't the only one getting sick - another lady did also. The really cool thing about this trip was the whale that came within 5 feet of the boat and gave us the flipper. Apparently, we were in his space. Our guide also had a microphone and we listened to them singing underwater. That was a first!

One of the times we snorkeled at Poipu Beach, we did see a sea snake (Sweet!). It was a banded sea krait and apparently very poisonous. I didn't know this at the time but I was happy I had flippers and dive boots on. Unfortunately, Robert had just taken the last picture of some other fish and we had no film left. But we really did see it!!!

The area around Poipu Beach has greatly changed since we were there in 2005 - so much so, I didn't recognize it the first time we walked to it from from our condo. Only when we drove by did I realize it was the same place. In just 4 years, so much has built up around it. Pretty amazing.

For being on an island, we saw lots of wildlife. Whales, green sea turtles ($10,000 fine if you touch them and get caught) and monk seals. The monk seals are also endangered and get special treatment when they join the masses on the beach. Monk Seal Watchers run out and stake out an area around the seals and people are not to go near them. In fact, if you happen to be within the area where the seal beached...you get to move. The seals come up on the beach to sleep after hunting. They are fun to watch when they get ready to go back in the water. Just like anyone getting out of bed, the stretch their flippers, roll over, creep back toward the water, dip in a flipper to see if they really want to get up and then move back up and snooze a little longer. The entire process can take hours - or what seems like hours - to get back in the water.

Of course, there are still chickens everywhere on the island. They like to crow at all hours of the night. Goofy birds.

We took a day to go to Waimea Canyon - the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Absolutely beautiful with perfect weather. We also went on a deep sea fishing trip. I like Alaska fishing better. We trolled around about 3 miles off shore for 6 hours and didn't get a bite. The tackle was HUGE and I wondered how much it would cost me if I snagged a fish and dropped the pole. But that didn't happen.

After two weeks on the island, I learned a very important lesson...I don't want to retire on an island unless it is the size of Australia. It is just too small of an area to spend a long time on. Travel choices by car are limited.

Pictures to come soon!

No Blast Yet!

Redoubt has had seismic activity, but no blast yet. We now have a volcano pool going. :) I do find it interesting that with as many volcanoes there are here in Alaska near populated areas, the only way we have to tell if it erupts is to watch it via web cam. Let's just hope it doesn't erupt at night!!!

If you want to check on it, information on Redoubt, this is the Seismic recorder page and this is the Recent Earthquake page.

Besides work, volcano watching and catching up from vacation, Squirt has been a sick little puppy. Starting Wednesday afternoon, he has been going outside every 1 - 3 hours. This makes for a long night. Friday night we went to the vet and got some medication. He feels much better now - just tired because his 20 hour naps have been interrupted repeatedly!

I still have stories to tell about Hawaii that include monk seals, green sea turtles, sea snakes, chickens and other various things. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the underwater camera's developed yet. Soon...

Happy Birthday Squirt!

Our little puppy turned 12 years old yesterday.

He received a special Hawaii rooster biscuit - OK - part of one as it was too big for one sitting AND his traditional birthday 1" thick t-bone steak bone with a generous portion of meat left on it.

In his mind, he had to wait too long for his steak bone as it is a requirement we finish dinner first and he knew there was a bone waiting for him.

Somehow by the end of the bone eating frenzy, he had crumbs on top of his head.

Too bad we forgot to get the camera prepped before the feeding frenzy!