2005
Hockey Season
Friday, November 11, 2005
Hockey season started last month and we were able to begin skating outside this past week. Every school is required to maintain an outdoor rink. This means there are plenty of rinks to choose from. There is a school within 2 blocks of our home, so it is a convenient walk to the rink. Even with so many choices, the hockey rinks can become quite busy and it is usually pretty easy to get a pick-up game going.
With that many people on the ice and no jerseys...you can't tell who is on your team. Things were pretty hectic. I broke my skate early on and was relegated to the sidelines for the evening.
Note...It feels much colder when you aren't moving.
Not much else to report. We are down to almost 7 hours of daylight and losing 6 minutes a day. But only 4 weeks until we begin gaining daylight. Winter actually passes pretty quick if you keep active...and you can't skate in the summer...Bummer!
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Moose Hunt
Saturday, October 01, 2005
The hike out was great. I had never hiked over the mountain in front our home before. Once you reach the pass, you have a view down Ship Creek Valley to Anchorage below. Fall was nearly over, but the leaves were still on the trees and the blue-berries were better than I have found anywhere. I managed to pick a small bag despite eating most of what I picked.
It only took us about an hour to meet Tietz at the kill; several hours later we were packing out our share of the meat. We only had one hour of daylight left and we hadn't brought any flashlights with us. It took us over 3 hours to hike the 3 miles back up the mountain and down to our car, to top it off...the last hour it started to rain. I was so exhausted, there was no way I could go back and help with any more of the animal. I dropped my pack off in the back of Tietz's truck and went home.
Later Tietz told me a that my pack weighed in at about 90 lbs. I believe that is the most I will ever carried. All in all, there was a bit less than 500 pounds of meat. Everyone who hiked out the meat will be sharing the meat...so looks like we will have plenty of moose burgers over the winter.
I posted a few pics if you want to see the gore...
Return from Denali
Monday, September 19, 2005
Got back yesterday from
our trip to Denali.
The weekend was perfect. We camped at Teklanika Campsite for 2 nights. Teklanika is 30 miles into the park and the furthest you can drive into the park. Saturday was our day to drive the remaining 60 miles into the park to the end of the road.
Denali National Park is huge and varies tremendously in landscape. Some areas were forests with marshes, others were barren and desert like and everything was huge. We saw all the animals we hoped for...Rachel finally got to see a bear after living here a year.
We put up some photos of our trip. Probably too many...but oh well.
The weekend was perfect. We camped at Teklanika Campsite for 2 nights. Teklanika is 30 miles into the park and the furthest you can drive into the park. Saturday was our day to drive the remaining 60 miles into the park to the end of the road.
Denali National Park is huge and varies tremendously in landscape. Some areas were forests with marshes, others were barren and desert like and everything was huge. We saw all the animals we hoped for...Rachel finally got to see a bear after living here a year.
We put up some photos of our trip. Probably too many...but oh well.
Winter is near...
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Termination dust
appeared on the tops of the mountains around our home. It has been
raining the past few days and when the clouds cleared Friday, snow
was apparent on the peaks indicating that summer is over.
Fall is on the way, the leaves are changing slightly and the Fireweed has earned it's name turning a deep red. Rachel and I took a hike up towards Mount Magnificent directly behind us. I posted a few pictures here, along with some from our weekend on the river.
Fall is on the way, the leaves are changing slightly and the Fireweed has earned it's name turning a deep red. Rachel and I took a hike up towards Mount Magnificent directly behind us. I posted a few pictures here, along with some from our weekend on the river.
Lion's Head Rafting
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Denali Lottery Winners!
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Kenai River
Friday, August 26, 2005
Just arrived home from
our stay on the Kenai river. The Kenai Peninsula is a beautiful
place. Our friends invited us to stay with them at their boss's
cabin. The setting was great; 15 miles up the river from Soldotna
in a very private setting. We had our own private fishing spot that
was great. I had not been successful fishing all summer; but an old
man on the dock taught me what to do...
He actually came over, cast out 3 times and caught a fish. Pretty impressive considering I had been unsuccessful for the past hour. After spending some time with him over the next hour, I was able to catch a fish about every 15 minutes. Not bad...since the salmon weren't really running this week.
Felt bad for our friends though...Carl never caught anything the whole time besides one tiny smolt (baby salmon).
Have posted some pictures here...
He actually came over, cast out 3 times and caught a fish. Pretty impressive considering I had been unsuccessful for the past hour. After spending some time with him over the next hour, I was able to catch a fish about every 15 minutes. Not bad...since the salmon weren't really running this week.
Felt bad for our friends though...Carl never caught anything the whole time besides one tiny smolt (baby salmon).
Have posted some pictures here...