Slipping toward high desert fall

Tomorrow I will have been home for two weeks and the trip is beginning to feel like a distant memory although still very much front and center in my plans and projects. Still, my regular life has resumed and it too has demands and dreams and of course dogs to hold my attention and dominate at least a good part of my time.

I'm back to a morning walk with the two red dogs, watching the subtle change of seasons.  Here is a shot of the fall mesquite--dull and olive instead of the bright spring green now. And the evening scatter of clouds no longer heavy and rain-bearing. I'm back to aerobic classes Monday and Wednesday. And I'm working with a writer friend who started her own small publishing firm months ago and really wants to see if she can make it a success on it's own scale so we're exploring promotional venues and economical ways to get it and her name "out there" where the public can discover both.

In time I will probably have some books there myself and am now an editor and will be part of the editorial board that will select and ultimately review and fine tune any books that go out with the AZKatz imprint. (Preliminary website is at http://www.AZKatz.net )  For now it is limited to two thriller/romance novels Brenda has written under a pen name, a non-fiction book she and a friend did about their cosmetic surgeries (a bit of an expose!) and a book or two by another author she knew and has worked with in the day job in high tech military stuff. Brenda did a two year tour in Iraq with a civilian contractor and I am "after" her to do a memoir about that. She had some experiences I know few civilian women and only some military women have had.

Yet another Celtic knot here: she and I met in Arizona through a local writers' group when we both lived in the Sierra Vista area. I had recently retired from Fort Huachuca as a civilian employee of the army and she worked for a contractor. Well, she and her husband bought a lot north of Alamogordo and her earnings from the Iraq job helped them self-contract to build a home there. They sold the old Sierra Vista home and relocated for a variety of reasons. Significant? Well, yeah!

When I was beginning to look for the retirement home for myself and my brother, she encouraged me to consider this area. I'd visited Alamogordo briefly while I lived over near Silver City and tended to write it off, but she connected me with the real estate agent who had sold them their property and I came down to look at places three years ago this month. The agent in turn put me with a local mortgage officer at a small local bank who did some magic and got me approved. My brother had credit issues due to a divorce situation. We made one offer on a place but withdrew it when the owner proved to be difficult and shifted the offer to this place. Voila, after a bit of trials, tribulations and major nail-biting, I signed the papers the first week of October in 2011 and here we are. All because of Brenda's intervention!!

Anyway, I can tell that there is about an hour less daylight now than at high summer the latter part of June. The quality of the sunlight has changed to a lower angle and more golden tint. Even the wind has a new character although we just had several 'summer rainy' type days and are slated for more the latter part of the coming week. Summer goes out in spurts and jerks, often lingering even into November. It is slow and gradual as the shift to autumn occurs and always has been my favorite season. Still is.

I looked at my weather.com page and saw Fairbanks was  49 today and Wasilla in the low 50s at mid morning. Autumn does not delay there but comes rolling right in. Even before the equinox, the daylight is shortening by several minutes a day. So in some ways it is good to be home. Yet something still draws me north, having been there. I will go back; the only question is when. That will be resolved as its own particular Celtic knot unwinds. It will of course be charted on my http://gwynnmorganalaska.blogspot.com  blog as will progress on the women mushers book.

Synchronicity and A New Blog!

Summer is winding down in the New Mexico high desert although it's far from over. Yesterday had a faint flavor of fall but today, although it is cooler, it feels like summer again since we have another monsoon flow bringing up precious moisture and clouds for a day or two. Then maybe before the traditional end-of-summer (most places) Labor Day weekend, it should dry out. The official monsoon season (summer rainy time to us old timers!) runs through September, but the quality of the light has changed and we know summer is slipping away.

Synchronicity is a funny thing--you know, those strange parallels and coincidences and patterns that I liken to Celtic knots. I was reminded the other night when I was sprawled on my bed watching the 10:00 news with my two red dogs and happened to look down at them. They were close together and their legs were in exactly the same positions. I've seen that before with them. I knew I could  never get up and get my camera to capture it without waking them so they'd move but it was just such a neat thing.

As most of my regular readers know, one is a Border Collie with a bit of Aussie in her family tree (Ginger) and the other is Dachshund and perhaps small spaniel. Yet they are both red and mine and have a 'family' feeling. Still, to lie in identical positions, close to mom whom they had missed while I was away, seems odd enough to note. I thought it was pretty neat!

In our house we have the red dogs and the blue dogs and they know who they are. Brother Charlie summons the male Queensland Heeler KayCee and the female mixed Heeler and maybe Corgi, BeeBee, by saying, "Blue Dog Time" and they know they are to go out or go to their (his) room or whatever. Then I say "Red Dogs" and Ginger and wee Rojito jump up and come with me. I'm not sure if the blue dogs ever lie in the same pose or not. I'll have to observe or ask. They are cousins and mostly friends but recognize differences. They are a pack or a team to a point but each pair has a closer bond.

At least in my world, those patterns appear all the time. Did they always? I am not sure but perhaps I was not as observant in my younger days. Young people tend to be pretty self-centered and focused a lot more inward. Now with three score and some years behind me, my questing gaze goes to different aspects and finds different perspectives. For a time I was looking back a lot and I guess my blog here showed that. Now with a new and --at least to me--very exciting project taking shape, I am again looking to a future and seeing a long trail ahead. I have no way to know if I will get to my goal or not but I will be trying and with the teamwork help of many who are encouraging and supporting me, I shall certainly do my best to reach it.

To that end, I am starting a new blog titled Alamogordo to Alaska
URL:   http://gwynnmorganalaska.blogspot.com/  which will focus on this project and my pursuit of it. I will copy all the relevant posts from here going back to about March and post them there and also go into more depth in some areas and chart my progress and the 'checkpoints' that I will pass along the way. All of my readers here are more than welcome to join me there. I will still be posting things here though, for that  new effort is only one aspect of my current life and there are many other facets and endeavors to explore as well. They will be covered here--past, present and future.

I passed the 200 post milestone while I was on my trip and did not note it. Anyway it was a minor milestone and an achievement of sorts. I struggled for quite awhile to become a regular blogger and now I have several. Some get more attention than others but that's the way life is. Emphasis shifts from one thing to another and my blogs reflect those shifts.

Travail of Travel and Home at Last

I kind of dropped the ball but I'll explain why! My final day in Alaska went by fast and nicely but the trip back to New Mexico was a bit of a challenge. I left my hostess's home in Wasilla about 1:00 pm and drove by the back roads down to Anchorage--Eklutna (neat little Russian cemetery  there but no pix as they had no parking signs everywhere) and on to Chugiak and Eagle River, now actually pretty much Anchorage "suburbs."  I also stopped at the Native Heritage Center just on the northern outskirts of the city. There was not time to really take it all in and turn my rental car in on time so I just visited the gift shop briefly--yikes, very pricey! I'll save the museum etc. for next time.

Anyway, got my car turned in and was of course very early so had to wait outside security until I could check my suitcase four hours before the flight and then finally upstairs and out to the gate area. I people-watched and read a bit. There was a very intoxicated old man who appeared to be at least part Native loudly proclaiming that he was straight and also drunk. It was funny but a little creepy too. I think security finally took him away. How he got through the TSA I have no idea but maybe he hit the bar on the inside of the check-in point.

Finally it was time to board and I settled into my seat, sharing the row with a young couple. At least no lap dog this time! I managed to catnap a little -- maybe 2-3 hours total--and we landed at LAX shortly after sunrise. I hope I never fly through that mad place again! There was lots of construction and perhaps some other issue as my American/Alaskan Air (kind of a joint thing)  flight landed at the Delta terminal. From there I finally found I had to take a shuttle bus to American and then another one to the American Eagle commuter terminal where the smaller plane would take me to El Paso.

By then sleep deprivation and some dehydration were hitting. An hour touring the flight line (jet fumes are nasty!) in a diesel-belching bus took their toll on my allergies, especially eyes. By the time I landed in El Paso, I was as bleary-eyed as when I had the infection last year. Good thing I did not have to drive home. My friend Jim picked me up and by about 2:00 local I was home. One whupped puppy I can tell you!

So I had to take a couple of days using lots of eye drops and sleeping quite a bit to get back to semi-normal. But I was home and my two red dogs were very glad to see me and to snuggle on the bed or in my recliner while I rested. They were very comforting.

Looking back, it really was an amazing and marvelous trip! I am already planning to go back and will be working every angle I can find to make that happen in a few months to a year. Meanwhile though, I have the close to 300 photos sorted out--there will be a new page on Facebook and on Pinterest soon and I will share links once I have those set up.

I'm sending out thank you notes and such, and will be pursuing some financial assistance along several routes. Also getting back to my other writing as well as starting to put together bits and pieces of Women of the Iditarod (working title as I want one with more oomph for the final version!) More on all that later. Thanks for traveling with me vicariously; that has its benefits as no airline miles are involved LOL.

More photos in a bit. Here are two of me that Gail took on our trip up to Hatcher's Pass Saturday afternoon, the 16th. The first is on the Little Susitna River and the other looking across a glacier-scoured flat beneath that range of mountains.  I wore that purple shirt-jacket everywhere; now it is special with a dog track or two and lots of memories.

The last whole day

It was gray and drizzly this morning, kind of depressing, but I got my big box of clothes and personal stuff over to the UPS place and sent it home for less than I sent it here.  It is kind of going slow boat LOL but that is okay; it will get there in a week plus which is soon enough.

Then my hostess and I talked crafts and stuff for awhile. She makes some really neat dream catchers on caribou antlers--shed ones, not from killing caribou--and some jewelry like anklets with a toe loop.They are kind of like the slave bracelet linked to a ring but for the foot! We puttered around in the yard after lunch and then the sun came out some and she said, "Let's go up to Hatcher Pass." It's in some of the  higher mountains on the far side--NW--of Palmer and there is an old gold mine which is a state park and tourist place now. WE didn't wander around there--you have to pay a park fee and it was later in the afternoon--but took picture that show some real Alaska type mountains and a rushing stream, the Little Susitna River. It was a lovely drive and a nice end to my adventures. Tomorrow I will drive back down to Anchorage and hang out at the airport for a bit and then get on my flight to LAX and hence on to El Paso and then home.

Yes, I am eager to get there, pet my two beloved Red Doglets and fall into my own bed and start to recover LOL. I may get the last photos downloaded this evening but no guarantee. And tomorrow/Monday will be a very long day. But it will end with me home and more memories than I can sort out in a few hours. And I will be back; next early fall if not before. I have a new 'little sister' here in Wasilla and other new Alaskan friends and that is special too. .

Winding down

Yesterday was fairly uneventful.I spent quite a lot of time at the Fairbanks airport since I had to turn the rental car in at the midday hour I had picked it up and my flight was not until late afternoon. Airports are rather fascinating for people watchers and most of us writers are people watchers. I made a game of deciding whether people were tourists or locals or at least long term Alaskans. No way to verify my guesses but it was fun. I read some, wrote some--just rambling impressions and emotions as I started the long journey home, with a stop back here in Wasilla.

Sadly although I was on the west side of the southbound plane, there were a lot of clouds and I did not get a peek at the peak--although I looked almost all the time. It only takes an hour, a trip of about 350 miles that would take a long day by car on the highway even in good weather. But if I do get back say in early fall next year there is a chance I may try it and make a stop in the Denali National Park. I did want my own photo of  the Big One but that was not to be although I got a number of post cards etc. which of course were better views than I could expect out a plane window!

Again it was one of the Q400 prop planes. It is strange after many years of jet flying to travel in such a plane.It is actually less noisy I think than a jet and I was sitting even with the wing and not that far from the engine on both flights The propeller--which is huge--is spinning so fast it blurs and you can pretty much see through it with just a faint distortion. All in all a rather novel experience.

This time I got an economy car, and it was the costliest of the trip for the least time but it was too late to catch the bus from Anchorage to Wasilla and I was not going to ask my hostess to pick me up again and then return me on Sunday evening so I left the airport around 7:00 pm, still in sunshine, driving. a silver gray Chevy "Spark." It  is kind of a mini-mini crossover, boxy, four door and a hatch back. Low and feels like you are riding in a boxed up skateboard LOL. But it got me up the highway back to Wasilla and back to the house on the lake. I was tired, no question.

The teens here are back in school. So nobody slept as late as they did the first time I was here. Later I went to the Wasilla PO and got some priority boxes (my hostesses very good idea) and packed up the books, prezzies and souvenirs and sent them on their way to Alamogordo. They will arrive a little bit ahead of me in all likelihood and I got money's worth out of one large flat rate box! It must have weighed twenty pounds! The other was not as heavy. Tomorrow my extra clothes and such start home, probably by UPS. I need to finish packing that and tape it up tonight.

It was drizzly much of the day and a few harder rains so I did not try to do anything else. I am  not sure if the city library is open tomorrow or not. If it is I may drop in and see if they have any more recent Iditarod year books since the Fairbanks collection ended in the early 90s. Of course they are more focused toward the Yukon Quest which is "their" race.

So I may post again before I get home but also may not. If it is sunnier tomorrow I may go up to Hatcher Pass and the Independence Mine, a tourist attraction in the mountains above Palmer, which I visited my last day here before but didn't go up in the mountains, much closer there. Or not. And I may try to nip out to Eagle River and Chugiak off the highway to the south on my way back to Anchorage on Sunday, again weather and when I actually get ready to go will determine. But of course I will do some wrap-ups and more pictures once I get home and download stuff to my familiar larger computers and return this lovely little machine back to Brenda, hopefully none the worse for its adventures with me! It will be a couple of months or more to get my finances back in shape but I will be shopping for one of my own, for sure. I really like it for travel!!

A few more random photos: puppies at Buser's kennel; a special sled at the Knik museum, the front entry and side of Mary Shield's home, Paige Drobney and one of her dogs, and Aliy's house which she had built herself (she was in construction as was her husband when they met) and owned before they got together and that they now share. The upper windows are their bedroom and look out over the dog lot.

Nearing the last of Fairbanks

This is really a pretty town and fairly easy to get around in. But for the winters which I am sure would take some major adjustments for this desert rat, I could live here. With a solid vehicle with snow tires I could probably even get around most of the time. In the summer it is really lovely with the flowers and is mostly pretty clean and people are mostly friendly too.There are trains--I hear them night and day--the long days of summer are very inviting and inspiring.

I spent more time at the library today and then took a final drive up into the hills to the north east to the area of an old mining camp called Fox. My only real disappointment with the scenery is that the trees are so thick and even on a ridge top there is no view.I am reminded of Kentucky and North Carolina in that regard. You saw the mountains around the Prince William Sound on which Anchorage sits and Wasilla is just above but here it is a valley and the hills just roll away gradually higher and higher. Not looming and impressive.

So tomorrow I will fly back south and the final days will zip by. I need to pack and ship a couple of boxes by Saturday and maybe I can visit the Wasilla library and see if they have any mushing stuff that Fairbanks lacks. Other than that, not much left to be done. I am a bit tired; it has been hectic and busy but I feel I  have made progress, less perhaps than I had hoped or wished but a good start.

Once I get home I will focus on fund raising efforts, taking stock of where I am and what else is needed and then lay out the next stage or two of the program. Of course other things will intervene such as stories to be written and sewing, my exercise classes, and the various normal chores. I'll be a few days getting back into that, I am sure. But I will. And life will go on with its normal joys and sorrows and frustrations and all the rest! But I did it; I set a goal that seemed very pie in the sky and I believed and made it happen!! I am proud of that. And here are a few of the displays from the museum I visited yesterday.

A Rainy Day

I woke up to a drizzle today and it rained fitfully much of the day. Finally now at 4:00 clouds are breaking up and the sun is out. Not a good day to go exploring on roads that might not be good when wet. I found a laundromat and did up the dirty clothes from the week up here and then went up to the Museum of the North on the University of Alaska campus. It's one of the few I've visited here that has an admission fee but it is pretty impressive so I guess worth the cost. Even have to pay to park. I do recognize though that it costs plenty to operate and maintain such a facility.

They have a vast, varied and voluminous display of Alaska by region--flora and fauna, native peoples, artifacts and art and history. I took a lot of pictures which they allow. A few I got reflections off glass over displays but most of them were fairly good at first review.

I was especially taken by the basketry, beadwork and varied garments of the different native people.  I guess during the winter, if they were lucky enough to stock up on and cache food for the winter, they had time to do detailed and exquisite work. I was also impressed at similarities in some of the motifs although I do know basic geometrics are used by many in varied and diverse places. And the weavings of some, mostly the Tlingit people I believe, were beautiful too. I'm not sure at once how to incorporate such designs into any of my art and craft projects but I am sure something will occur to me  in time.

I spent close to three hours in the various galleries and displays and my legs got tired before I really saw it all thoroughly. Very impressive and well worth a look IMHO. I did see subtle connections that link the Navajo and Apache people to their distant Athabascan kin. That even extended to a sample Native house at the Pioneer Park that bears a strong resemblance to a traditional hogan with a faceted circular structure and a doorway faced east.

Apparently the Eskimo were the first to use sled dogs--again I recall from anthropology classes reading about eastern and plains tribes in the old US region who used dogs to pull drag-able pole travois to haul their goods. I suspect the women were the ones to tame and train the dogs because otherwise they would have been the beasts of burden. That might be worth mentioning in my book about the lady mushers. They may be carrying on a very old tradition. Yes, men used the sleds to hunt and haul in meat, but I'd lay a bet the women used them when it came time to move camp.

Otherwise there was not much on mushing but a lot on many facets of Alaska and life up here to include the gold rush and building of the railroad, main highway and later the pipeline. There was also a bit about the internment of Japanese and  Aleut people from out on the Aleutian chain and especially on Unalaska where a writer friend of mine lives now. That was kind of a downer and I went on by after a short time; not anything we as Americans can be proud of but in wartime many bad things are and will continue to be done. I'm not sure how to fix that.

I may get the photos unloaded later; there were a lot of them! So one more full day. I'm still trying to track down the museum with the mushers' exhibit. So far no luck. So what I end up doing will depend on the weather. Then turn the car in midday on Thursday and wait for my later afternoon flight  back to Anchorage, get another car and return to Wasilla for the final weekend.

The end approaches and I will be glad to be home among familiar things, pet my puppies and try to sort out all the amazing impressions and experiences I have enjoyed.  But as I keep saying, a part of me is already drawn to a return; there is so much more to see and do and of course more dogs, the actual races and many mushers I have not yet met. Must go to Denali for real and maybe even a little farther north though I am not sure I want to go all the way to the Arctic Circle! But never say never. Also down to the Kenai and perhaps even the far southeast area... I am a little sorry I did not get started on all this this much sooner. Were I twenty years younger... well shoot. But I have been here and I shall, like McArthur, return!!

And below you have the Native house I mentioned, the Antler Arch near the Golden Heart Plaza and First Family stature and the Yukon Quest Headquarters Building. The race starts on even years on the frozen Chena River just behind me where I shot the picture of that traditional sod roofed log cabin.The locals pronounce that with a long e, like Cheena btw.

Lower Key Day

My research today was more the book kind, I paid a visit to the Fairbanks Public Library and went through several shelves of books in the "SLED DOG" category. The bad news may be there are an awful lot of them, good, bad and indifferent if not downright ugly! The good news is there does not seem to be anything even close to what I plan to do. I skimmed many, read blurbs and noted who was involved and then made an extensive list to try to get thru inter-library loan and buy a few and start to compile a bibliography. I haven't done serious semi-scholarly writing in a while but I think I still recall how.

I finally located where the museum I wanted to see used to be but they are closed and moving. Not sure where the new site is but may be able to find it and whether or not they are open again. That was frustrating!! I went back to Pioneer Park and rode the little train around the park; seniors only have to pay a buck! I also went thru an art exhibit I had not looked at the first day and chatted with the volunteer who is also a quilter and told me where the fabric and quilt shops were in town.  did locate one and got two fat quarters with northern lights design in colors that will compliment my planned Alaska Musher quiltlet. And a pattern for Mary Sghield's summer parka. Then I came back to the hostel and have loafed in the grassy quiet back yard since about 3:30. I needed a kind of down day to pull myself together, get some notes down and just veg a little. It has been very hectic. Not sure what the schedule will be for the two last days but I think I have about run out of people to see and even close places to go but I will find something to do for sure.

Here are a few pix of Fairbanks flowers and the hostel outside for today. Happy and smooth trails!

Dogs and Celtic Knots again...

This afternoon I made it out to Skunk's Place, Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore's kennel. Skunk was her first sled dog and the name commemorates him, Aliy is just as real, sweet and funny as I had expected, totally warm and genuine and her smile could light up a room. She is one of those rare women who are beautiful for the light that shines out from inside them. She loves her dogs and loves everything she is doing and it shows. Her husband is a great guy too and they make a real and powerful team. I even met her parents who are great folks about my age. They now winter in Florida but summer in Alaska and help support the SP Kennel efforts in many ways and their "grand dogs."

Aliy and Allen do not farm dogs out in the summer as they say the dogs can pick up bad habits and get confused by different handlers and different ways of running them even with hand picked people so they stay home. They get to vacation in the summer because they do not do well in heat and just take loose walks and such, no pulling. Then in September the actual training cycle will start again.

They breed most of their own dogs and have a plan on that but occasionally go outside and pay a stud fee to get a specific bloodline or trait strengthened and prevent too much line breeding. Just one litter this year, four boys and one girl about four weeks old. You will never guess what the little girl's name is!! Would you believe Ginger?? I got a photo of Aliy holding her. I have to tell my Ginger that she may have a namesake running in the big ones in a couple of years. So see what I mean by Celtic knots? What were the odds of this happening? Sled dogs get all sorts of names from mythology to sports and TV figures, goofy ones like the puppies Mary Shields is fostering and so on. But Ginger--you could have knocked me down with a feather!!

I was part of a small tour group, several of which Aliy knew or knew of and even one of her old high school buddies from down in the lower 48 but I got a little one on one time with both her and Allen and the parents and got hugged twice and a picture together. All in all I was a kid meeting my rock star or sports hero and even got a pic with little Quito, Aliy's great little lead dog; I think she will be retired soon but she has been awesome. Everyone was enthused about the book plan and that was very validating to me, also. So without a doubt this was the highlight of my trip but it has all been great and there are a few days to go yet. There is no doubt I have to come back and that is a good goal to march toward, the next checkpoint so to speak. This race of mine is far from over but I'm off to a great start!!

A week from tonight I will be getting to the Anchorage airport about now to turn in my last rental car and wait for my late night flight back to the desert. It is still my beloved home but Alaska has definitely taken a foothold in my heart, especially the wonderful dogs.

Another Good Day in Alaska

We are having fantastic weather which is really making my trip a pleasure. And it looks like it will hold into next week! Whee. I stayed busy today and got some good contacts and info. I started of by visiting the Fairbanks Visitor Information Center which is also a very nice museum. I complimented them in their guest book for fine dioramas on Alaskan life, especially the historical and Native peoples parts. And they  had a special art display--my favorite was an absolutely awesome quilt of mountains and a stream done by a lady from Colorado. OMG, that was just gorgeous. Probably cost $10,000 but I would love to take it home! Definitely recommend this center to any of my readers who are ever here! The Pioneer Park (yesterday) is fun  too but more of a playground and midway than anything else. I continue to be wowed by all the flowers. I guess it makes up for the long dark and cold to have these through the summer.I think many dry them like Mary Shields; she makes lovely wreaths and displays.

On my way over there I noticed the Yukon Quest headquarters and that was my next stop. The Yukon Quest is the "other" thousand mile race and many of the mushers agree it is tougher than the Iditarod. It is newer and kind of the red headed step kid as far as public awareness and interest goes which is too bad. It is run in February--darker and colder --and goes from Fairbanks to White Horse, Yukon Territory in Canada. It starts in the former on even years and the latter on odd years. I don't know if the mushers and dogs have to have passports or not! It also crosses four mountain ranges at higher elevations and has fewer checkpoints. So it is a real bearcat! I got a video about it and chatted with the lady in the gift shop--they seem to be lower key in all aspects-- but she said there was volunteer info on the web site so you can bet I will be checking it out.Many of my lady mushers have run both and Aliy won it in 2000, I believe. I'll have to check that. Her husband has won several times including this year.

Then last night I found the website of another of the younger women who gives Fairbanks as her home base.I  left her a message thru Facebook and this morning she phoned me!  I was invited out to her kennel which she runs with her male partner who does not race, I don't think but supports her efforts wholeheartedly. A marine biologist by trade and education, she works that in the summer but was home for the weekend. We had a lovely chat and I told her about my project--she was quite enthused--and I met her dogs or some of them. Like with Martin Buser a good part of their kennel is off doing tourist stuff with some handlers to help earn their keep. but I met some retired and 'pet' dogs including one young female who was accidentally bred and will be whelping a single pup any day now. Ultra sound confirmed that; she is just a long yearling and really too young to have a litter so they are watching her closely. A singleton pup may be large and hard for the birthing,.

The gal's name is Paige Drobny and I suspect she will be getting better time in the future and making a name for herself. She loves animals and we enjoyed a chat about dogs and horses and such. Yes, I did take pictures along the way today. Still have to download them so I may not get them added to this post but I'll try.

I am asking most of the people not why the dogs run but why they run. Although they word it differently and the story does vary some there are common themes.P

aige and Cody got together and each had an adopted rescued Husky. They came to Fairbanks to do grad school and decided to get a few more to do some winter camping and then Paige thought it would be  neat to run a race, just one mind you! So she did the Yukon 300--part of the same route as the big one and run almost together. When she came to the end she wanted to go on with those running the full 1K. It seems that once the bug bites you there is really no stopping, .Even with the horrid conditions of the 2014 Iditarod (Yukon Quiest had better snow) most are already signed up for the 2015 race. So call it an addiction, a compulsion or at least a passion; it takes over your life. And it's the dogs... Most are in it for/with the dogs.

An interesting note, many of the people raising sled dogs are frankly not going 100% "Husky" at all and you can see it in the dogs. Paige admits hers are "mutts" and she has gotten dogs from several of the old trad kennels to build her pack. She said that before she died, the late and great Susan Butcher was even adding some Blue Heeler blood into her bunch and sprint racers who run the very short and fast ones are experimenting with everything from greyhounds to German Shorthair pointers!. Dog sledding ain't what it used to be or as the Marines say, it wasn't like this in the Old Corps!

The photos are First Family statue of a couple and heir child and two dogs--mama and baby are in back-- I should go back and  get all sides-- and then Paige and one of her dogs and last the quilt I mentioned. It has a zillion strips to get the effects.

First Full Day in Fairbanks

I called Mary Shields while I was eating breakfast and she could get me into a tour today so I decided to strike while the proverbial iron was hot. I already knew the way for the most part but asked directions again. Turned out I had passed her sign and gone too far up the last road yesterday but today I found it easily.

  

Mary herself is precious, a kind of hippie grandmother, but this little lady has done some fantastic things. Back in 1973 she decided it would be fun to run the brand new Iditarod mostly because it was a chance to cover a whole lot of new territory with her sled and dogs! At the start in Anchorage some spectator shouted to her to turn around now and stop. She got her dander up and thought no darn way! So she ran the whole thing, finished in the middle of the pack just ahead of her frenemy, Lolly Medley, (the two were the first women to attempt and complete the race)  Mary then turned around and mushed back over half way home until the thawing Yukon stopped her and she had to be flown the rest of the way. She has also done the Yukon Quest and a special international trek across the Bering Straits to kind of commemorate the migration of the early people from Asia to the western hemisphere.

She came out from Wisconsin to work for the Campfire Girls in the summer in the early sixties before she finished college. She decided she wanted to build a cabin and live in the woods but ended up rehabbing and old existing cabin and staying there for a while about half way down the train track to the Denali Park but then ended up in the Fairbanks area.She now has a gorgeous log cabin that is more of a neat house but made of huge birch logs a foot or so in diameter. It also has a sod roof and wild berries growing on it! I took one shot  outside but felt it would be too intrusive to take pix inside. She also has a beautiful flower garden with some veggies mixed in that is her pride and joy. I am just blown away by the flowers up here. They are astounding—everywhere you go.

She still keeps four dogs and may try for a litter in the spring with one female and keep a pup or two since one of the four is getting old and she has lost three the last two years, She still takes them out camping in the winter and drives them several times a week in the winter as well. She has a heavy old style sled she uses most, notas racing sled. She is also boarding three pups, litter mates, for a friend and they are terrors but adorable.

She has twenty acres up in the hills above town, about eight miles out by my rough figures, but most of it is in woods. It is peaceful and serene. There are neighbors but not  just wall to wall. I’m not sure I could do the winters—she says there is about four hours of sun in the midwinter time. That would bother me more than the cold, I think in truth.

But she is an amazing lady and full of incredible stories, very warm and caring and a confirmed ecologist or preservationist. I’m not sure what her major was in college but likely something related to that as it began to become popular when she and I were at that age—we are a bit over a year apart. Now she is not anti-racing per se but does feel too many resources are spent on it and it is far too commercial and such. In a way I have to  agree even if it has totally captured my fancy for a time now.

We discussed time. She took twenty eight days to go the route in 1974. She attributes most of the speed now to the breeding programs with more speed and less lugging tractor power in the dogs and some of the technology applied. That makes sense to me.

Then when I got back to the hostel, I checked email and had a confirmation from Aliy Zirkle’s Skunks Place Kennel which I will visit Sunday. It has been mid 70s today and a bit breezy—fantastic weather. I’ll plug in a few photos here and call it a day!

 The back yard at the hostel--very peaceful and pretty!  Then me with Mary's working sled in front of the tent she uses for winter camping with a little stove inside. Finally Mary and one of the other ladies on the tour with Frosty on the doghouse and the three pups on the ground. Got my doggie fix again! Some kid named the pups, all males, Roly. Poly and Oley! We  agreed they sound to similar and may be hard for the pups to learn to respond to. BTW Mary is wearing a summer parka the Native women make. They use pretty cottons like the Apache and other SW Indians like and bright ricrac. I am going to try to get a pattern.

Travel is taxing

The day began very early and was full of potential little glitches but in each case the saints or angels who help travelers were right there for me. It is kind of amazing. really. I drove my rental down to turn in and had understood they were open 24/7 but not true. I managed with a phone call and then called a cab to go the couple of miles to where the bus stopped.That was fine and I got safely to Anchorage but sorting out the city busses was a bit more complex. I finally got the right one and the only had a $20 and they do not do change. The driver pitied me and gave me a free ride worth $2. I told him I would pay it forward. See what I mean??

I sailed through security and then had quite a time to wait before boarding.The plane was actually a big prop plane, not a jet! Two rows on either side of the aisle. I was sitting with a German couple and their son. He seemed to speak English ok and read it but she  not so much. I got a good look at Denali/McKinley but was on the wrong side of the plane to take any photos. That is one impressive mountain. It had clouds about half way up but this massive white bulk rose up from them like a ragged edged cloud itself. That was really awesome, in the turest sense of the word! Makes the biggest Colorado 14K peaks look like hills.  No, I do not want to climb it or even go out there really but I did want to see it.Now I have.

Landed in Fairbanks in just over an hour--faster and easier than driving up the Alaska 1 although that might have been fun. I was supposed  to get a little economy car but they had none so I am driving a Dopdge minivan for the same price.I expect it may use more gas but I do not cringe from the big pickups and SUVs anyway!

I found my lodging--very utilitarian but will do for the cost--$210 for a week when a lot of places are that for a day. Then I drove around. There was a musher's museum shown on the map but it really does not exist--if it ever did but a guy walking a dog there gave me  a couple of leads that were helpful. I have  general directions to Mary Shield's  place which I followed enough to know where to go when I set a time to meet with her. Then I went to the fair, which is still ongoing through the weekend. I located the Iditarod booth and actually met Joanne Potts, the volunteer coordinator I hoped to see the end of next week in Wasilla and the third of the young female mushers who was with Lisbet Norris, not the Red Lantern winner who is from Canada but another young woman from Norway, or at least with Norwegian ties. So that was quite serendipity too. I will call Joanne after I get home probably since she will not be back at ITC Hqs as quickly as Donna Olson had said.

By then I was tired and came back to the hostel, picking up a few microwave dishes etc. at Safeway so as not to eat fast food out all the time. Healthier as well as cheaper. Sharing the room with one young woman of Oriental ancestry but she has studied in England and other places and quite cosmopolitan.Also met a young man from Australia who's thumbing, bumming and sometimes getting tickets to travel all around the north and will be going on to Canada tomorrow. So in a way it is interesting to stay a place like this and meet some young people from many places having their own adventures.

I'll add a couple of photos from yesterday. Did not take any to speak of today except a pretty sunrise as I was waiting for the taxi about 6:00 am.  Shots are a locomotive at the Transp museum, me on the Redington dog cart and the older puppies down at Buser's Happy Trails Kennel. The mama dog, Suzette, has nine and wants to wean them soon!

Trains, planes , motor vehicles and sled dogs.

I almost didn't go down there--it is off a bridge across a kind of slough but it was well worth my time.It is called The Museum of Transportation and Industry and sits about a mile off the Parks Highway or Alaska 1 here just north of Wasilla. There must be twenty acres or so and one big steel garage/hanger sort of building but most of the best stuff is outside except for a few antique cars housed indoors. But wow, there are a number of airplanes since aviation played a huge role in the state's development in the post WW II period.There is also quite a bit of Alaska RR rolling stock to include about four locomotives and several assorted cars and some maintenance equipment, all retired and of various vintages. Then there are lots of the early "Iron Dogs" or snow machines, farm equipment, and autos of many types. It is amazing, really. I took quite a lot of photos and it will take some time to sort them out. It was a really fun place to wonder around even if walking through grass and weeds has given me a bad case of allergy eyes this evening. Hopefully that will clear up with generous use of drops. So should you ever get up this way I recommend this highly.

But of course I am here for the huskies and I did that today as well.  First I went back out to the ITC Hqs. I talked a bit more to Barb Redington and was quite surprised she recalled me from the brief visit on Sunday. She and I think her father-in-law (need to verify this) were again unloading dogs for the rides and busy but we got in some chatting. I also took a ride this time behind eight of the dogs--who were rearing to go in typical sled dog style. They just go about a mile on a track through the woods behind the gift shop and all. From the feel of the wind in my face I'd say they move as fast as a brisk trot or easy lope on a horse. In short, moving right along.

After that I went up to the gift shop and talked to Donna Olson some more and showed her my first mule article but busses were coming inand she did not have much time. There were two with touring Korean families. Apparently they got a lot of them since Rose and Donna and also Barb Redington have learned a few words to speak to them as not all have much English, clearly. It still felt very special to be there!

Then this afternoon I went out to Martin Buser's Happy Trails Kennels and got the tour--not too many there and very low key and casual. Born in Switzerland, he is very charming and nice. Speaks with a slight subtle accent but very articulate. I got there early--you know me--and he chatted some and let me look at the dogs. His son  Rohn, named for one  of the checkpoints BTW, did a lot of the talk and demo. He has won Jr Iditarod, run the big race twice and is now building his own team. He hopes to be a serious competitor in about two years. Nice and articulate young man. But Dad says he babies the dogs too much! I got a chuckle at that. I suspect Martin is all business when it comes to real mushing.

I might point out that most of these folks are far from the image of  unschooled unwashed sourdoughs. Whether formal schooling or not, they can "meet and greet" and are very much into scientific and medical research and such to improve their dogs and the breed in general.  This stuff is big business.

Busers have a bed and breakfast, do demos and tours and some dogs are in Juneau where helpers give cart rides with them. They also had two litters of pups--nine about ready to wean--maybe 6-8 weeks and four just two weeks old. Of course guests love puppies and these dogs are well socialized. Redingtons had two pups there also again I'd guess 2-3 weeks old.

I  took lots of pictures but have not downloaded and sorted them yet so may post this and add them later. Anyway, another productive and interesting day. Most of tomorrow goes to getting to Fairbanks and getting settled in.

Networking and Connections

This has been a very positive and progressive day. It's all about networking and reaching out to people with warmth and sharing, a willingness to be open and the connections form, link and grow.I was once too shy to do this but it comes easy now and talking with folks on a shared passion makes it easier!

First, as planned, I met with Lisbet Norris, the third generation of Norwegian folks who came to the US and to Alaska back probably during WWII or even before. Her grandparents started the first Siberian Husky kennel way back in the 40s  first down near Kenai and later on a homestead near Willow. They're part of history. Her mother came over from Norway specifically to mush and Lisbet herself has been in Norway and worked in the sport there. She is a very intelligent and articulate young woman and impressed me very much. She said she kind of always knew she'd race but took time to go to college and travel some, learn and grow. Very wise!! Now she'd ready to really dig in to it.

She was a rookie in the challenging 2014 Iditarod

and came in with the final three, just ahead of Marcelle Fressineau who won the Red Lantern.They had traveled much of the race together, three rookies just getting the feel of it. Even so, the time of the three for the race was faster than that of winners back twenty years ago or so. They followed Deedee Jolnrowe's advice to make the rookie run a learning experience and just to experience it with no pressure.

In Lisbet's opinion the biggest difference in the time is the trail. Because the Iron Dog snow machine race is not long before the Iditarod and basically over the same trail, it is beaten down and much more clear and solid than the old days of breaking deep snow and trying to find those illusive markers that may have been buried or blown away. Rarely is breaking deep snow an issue now--even when and where there is snow! Which was scarce over parts of the trail the last two years.

I even met one of her dogs, a two year old female name Mika or Meeka (not sure on this but that was what it sounded like). Lisbet told me this was one pup from an experimental accidental litter she has been working with and this one has become her bed-sleeping pet. Mika is shy like Ginger but finally condescended to take a few treats from my hand while Lisbet held her. She's a beautiful dog, still a lanky "teenager" and Lisbet is not sure if she'll make a team dog or not but will probably give her some chances when the training season gets underway this fall. She says they differ greatly in personality but many "Sibes"  are quite independent and not really wanting to be pets.

I also got a tour of the feed store her family runs, mostly dog stuff, and a good lecture on nutrition. Her father has compiled a formula which he has produced in the Midwest and shipped in that compromises between top quality and cost so the budget pressed mushers can afford it, not the best but definitely in the "better" level than your average commercial kibble.While I was there a couple of customers came in and bought that or other more costly brands and I chatted with one lady who is a musher but not a racer and hosts some of the Iditarod folks who come to train and prepare, especially the Norwegians as I think she is also of that ancestry.She too seemed very excited about my project and will be a good contact and perhaps a help in time.For the most part these are all wonderful people and very open and supportive if you are 'with them' in this special endeavor.

Later I did a little more tourist stuff--drove out to Palmer which is closer to the mountains and very pretty--there is a gorgeous garden in the middle of town that I took some pix of and then I visited the Dorothy Paige museum in Wasilla. She along with Joe and Viola Redington was instrumental in getting the  recognition of the trail and the race to begin back in the early 1970s. She must have been a fighter!

Thoughts on an August evening

Iditarod.

It’s a place—once a town but no longer, a trail, a race and for the real devotees, a way of life. The “mushers” may come from many places and follow many professions but somehow this strange sport and custom of driving a sled over the frozen northlands behind a pack of dogs grabs certain folks and changes them forever. It becomes much more than a hobby or avocation. It’s their passion, perhaps the real focus, purpose and direction of their lives.

I have to admit that were I twenty years younger, I would very likely be looking for a way to stay in Alaska and seeking a mentor to help me learn and train and be able someday to do this myself. Yes, I’d like to follow my team across a thousand miles of wilderness through cold and snow and blizzards to finally pass beneath the burled arch in Nome that marks the end. Just to prove something to myself and get that sense of supreme achievement. Anyone who finishes is a champion, time notwithstanding.  The last one through gets the “Red Lantern” award, but this is an award, not a booby prize or a sneer.  Just to finish is a rare accomplishment.

Yesterday I toured the Iditarod Trail Committee headquarters and saw the bronze statue of the late Joe Redington and his dogs. I snapped a “selfie” in front of the sign proclaiming the place for what it is. I watched a video titled Why Do They Run? I got a little teary eyed in places. That’s how powerful this all can be. I felt an eerie sense of walking on sacred ground. True, probably few of the great names in the past have been there but some have. And there I was…

To run this race requires a fierce determination, sacrifice and struggle and dogged, unflagging persistence. It cannot be done in a day; not the preparation or the race itself. Although modern technology and the commercialization of the event have made it a bit more civilized, maybe slightly safer than it was back in 1973 when the first formal race was run, there are still stretches where you are all alone out there with nature. You could die and not be found for some time. Although you have to be the driver, you also have to trust and believe in your team. You and they are all a team and as multi-race veteran and three time second place runner Aliy Zirkle says, you are the seventeenth dog, the weakest one.

I grew up riding and training horses and mules to serve as cowponies and to carry me and others into and back out of some of the rougher and more remote parts of Arizona. At the time it was much less developed and civilized land than it is today. From that experience I understand a bit of this bond of human and animal and the trust and synthesis that develops. I had mules make their way off dangerous mountains and canyons where a misstep could plunge us down a steep, rocky slope or even off a sheer cliff. Maybe it was dark or raining or bitter wind. I trusted that animal to be sure footed and careful, I too watched but he or she made the way. So in part I can identify with the incredible connection these mushers have with their dogs. I saw a poster today that read, “God made dogs so mushers could have heroes.”  That feels very authentic.

Not too many folks these days get to experience this kind of thing. City life may let us have a pampered pet—most too fat and under exercised, just as we are. We and they may have a bond but it is not the same. The mutual dependence is not there, at least the life-or-death kind. This is part of what makes the race and others similar so unique and so special.

Alaska may be called the last frontier. Like other places to include my beloved southwest high desert, it has grown and become urbanized and artificial in places. Anchorage could be any city anywhere this time of year. Wasilla is much the same. But you drive a few miles beyond that and you are perhaps not quite back in the gold rush milieu but not so different. The weather is one big factor, the rugged mountains and so on. Parts of some of the western and mountain states in the lower forty-eight retain areas of this but Alaska is so big, so remote and still essentially new.

It simply has a different ethos, a different atmosphere. You love it or hate it. I admit the desert rat in me and the solar powered spirit within would suffer from the weather but were it not for that, I’d migrate. I really would. I’m still basically a frontier person, independent and misfitting in a city environment. 

So I am drawn to Iditarod, all of its definitions and aspects. That’s why I want to write about it. There may well be more than one book before I am done. And yes, when I go home on August 18, I truly believe that I will be back.

Still enthralled

I am still amazed at Alaska in general. And I've only seen a smidgen of it so far. The woods are so thick you can't see 100 yards in many places. That is a bit claustrophobic but novel. Pretty wild flower in places. I got a few pix.

Had a very brief chat with Deedee Jonrowe. She is up to her backside in alligators pretty much and I really sympathize with her. So I went on up the highway to Talkeetna, an old mining town and now pretty much a tourist trap. Did all the gift shops and the museum. Got a few souvenirs/presents and took a few train related pix for my brother. They do some rail tours from there up to the Denali Park.

I saw a poster I would love to have bought but it was too pricey It said "God made dogs so mushers would have heroes." Isn't that really cool? I did take a photo of it. Also got some fabric with sled dogs for my long-delayed special little quilt.So it was a pretty good trip today.

Wednesday I do a tour of Martin Buser's kennels near here. He is a multiple Iditarod winner and his sons are now racing. He spoke on that video I saw at the ITC HQs the other day and I was quite impressed. Not sure what I will do tomorrow but we'll see.

Here is a few flower pictures. The magenta is fireweed I think and not sure the white, too heavy for Queen Anne's Lace. And the jagged peaks are across the inlet from Wasilla. Now those are mountains, eth? But nothing to Denali. Oh I learned Susan Butcher and Joe Reddington scaled  Denali with a small dog team and sled! Now the park service won't allow so no one will ever do that again. It was quite a feat. Took them over three weeks and bad weather almost got them.

Oh wow!

This day turned out fine despite being off and on rainy,more so in the morning. I planned to go to Palmer, town to the east of Wasilla and up to the Independence Mine but decided it was not a good day for that asI wanted good light for outdoor pictures. So instead I headed back out Knik Goose Bay road and stopped at the Iditarod Headquarters.

 It was early and two pickup trucks were unloading some dogs with the normal pandemonium. It was the Reddingtons, father and son (son and grandson of the famous Joe Reddington who was pretty much the father of the recognition of the historical value of the trail and instrumental in the race as part of that effort.) I chatted a few minutes but they were busy. I didn't try pix as it was gray and drizzly. May go back. Young Raymie Reddington gives rides to visitors with a wheeled vehicle such as they use to train dogs in the summer. Two bus loads of tour groups arrived soon and I got out of the way. I went on over to the museum and gift shop building and began to talk with two ladies there.

Turns out Donna Olson, whose husband ran in some of the early races, now lives in Glenwood, NM just up the road a bit from Gila/Cliff where Joe Runyan lives. But is an active supporter to include working there in the summer. She is also a big mule fan!! This is amazing--mules and sled dogs as burning interests in several folks and links from New Mexico to Alaska!.She gave me the name and number of the volunteer coordinator who is up in Fairbanks right now at the state fair but will be back the middle of next week. I hope to catch her before I leave.  (hee hee, my timing is way off!) I got a few souvenir and research things and saw the video they've done called Why Do They Run.

If you have any doubts about the dogs and their care or their real love for doing what they do, this will dispel them. All dogs have better nutrition available now because of studies done for the huskies and many more advances are in progress. I got teary of course. Not for the first time; I got a photo of the sign and the stature of Reddington and really had the almost eerie feeling that I was walking on sacred ground. People are so passionate about this stuff and I more and more come to understand why. I also came away from the film with more respect and admiration for a few of the male  mushers I had been inclined to think not so well of. They showed sides I had no clue existed. It was all a powerful quasi-spiritual experience.

Then in the afternoon I visited the museum on the former townsite of Knik (K is not silent) and met another neat lady. She is part Arapaho and grew up with horses as her parents farmed back in the northern midwest and some in Alaska, I gathered. Knik was a booming town in the gold rush before Anchorage or Wasilla came to be but is now a  shadow with a few ruins and a few restored old buildings, of which the museum is one. Upstairs there is housed the Iditarod Hall of Fame, another pretty awe inspiring place even if in a bit of disarray and not well kept up. This is more due to lack of funds than care and wishes I am sure.

Anyway, this lady, Diane Williams and I had a great visit as I was the only person there for the afternoon. The downstairs was full of antiques and relics of the 1880-1920 period or so and again in a bit of disarray.I wish I had about $250,000 and a helper or two and we'd whip that place into shape but the modern area is under the management of a local Native Tribe who struggle to keep it going and are way down the totem pole in getting the support and funds they need. I may make a cause of this!!

So it was an amazing day and moving in a lot of ways. Now I need to call Deedee Jonrowe, who is an amazing lady also. She emailed me back and has been having family health issues which have been difficult and demanding but she hopes to see me Monday or Tuesday if I can get to Willow,  about thirty miles up the highway in the direction of Denali and Fairbanks. Once that is nailed down I will see what else I may be able to do before Thursday morning and my flight to Fairbanks.

Progressing slowly--but lots of atmosphere!

It is a pretty sunny day with some clouds but rain is predicted for several starting tomorrow. My hostess is off on her little adventure. I ended up getting a rental car since her son and his buddy work in Anchorage part time and the buddy's car is bad order right now so they have to use hers. I can't afford to be stranded here ten miles from town and unable to go meet people so I got a car--a brand new Ford Focus with just over 12K miles  on it. Very nice. I did a little sight seeing just to get used to it and got a few pictures  looking across Knik Arm  toward the mountains that I will share in a bit. I left my cell phone here charging so cut short any further exploration.

I'm waiting to hear from the Berrington sisters and Deedee Jonrowe. Learned yesterday that the teacher--maybe grade 2 or 3--of one of Gail's neighbor's children plans to run the race this year.I doubt I will be able to speak to her but maybe that will be for next time, I'm learning this trip and already see another one in the future to do this book justice. Yeah, it looks like that may be necessary. I won't complain!!

So not a lot more news to report. I'm compiling museums and attractions to squeeze in since I can now drive myself to them  over the next four days--a drive to nearby Palmer tomorrow and maybe to the closest mountain pass just so I can say I did that LOL and get more 'real' Alaska looking photos. It's warm today but you can already sense a hint of fall in the evening and I know summer is very short here. It's a fact that everyone works their lives around.

A quick trip to Walmart for a few things--Walmarts and Walmartians are pretty much the same anywhere. they wear more cammo etc. here than some places but some halter tops and shorts too. Heck, it is almost 70 today and that is summer in Alaska. I was wearing a flannel shirt-jacket over my t-shirt; bet everyone knew I was from the lower 48 LOL. But my debit card works here just like at home..I guess modern tech is good for some things,

I heard from Bro Charlie that it has rained over two inches since I left.Yikes. And Jim said the theater where his grand daughter was to appear in Annie was flooded in the basement dressing rooms etc so  not sure if the show will go on or not, Kinda scary stuff but our house is all right and dogs survived, I guess I had to leave for it to rain!

Well, I am just rambling so enough for now. Here are a few Alaska-ish shots for y'all. The water is salt, an arm of the long inlet that Anchorage sets near the end of. It's name comes from the fact that sea-going vessels could anchor there somewhat out of the fierce winds and storms of the open sea. The mountains are higher than they look, too! South is to the right in all three shots.  BTW still no bears or moose. But did see some geese or swans flying around the lake early today and heard loons and some other bird that shrieks. That is North Woods stuff, anyway!

A few pics and small update

I'm still setting things up. I found out the ITC Headquarters is open seven days a week so I may visit there tomorrow or Monday. Also Anna Berrington, one of the racing twins, lives very near there  so it is likely I will meet the two of them there since it is easy to find. I've emailed Deedee Jonrowe and have a phone number now if that does not get a response. Willow is just about fifteen miles up Alaska 3, the highway I would follow were I going to drive to Fairbanks. That is where she lives so I have expectations of catching her soon. As with many efforts we have some hurry up and wait here.

As part of the fee for my staying here, I will be house sitting for my hostess for a few days while she flies down to the lower forty-eight, Las Vegas to meet a sister and a friend and plan for her upcoming fall wedding to her long term partner. Also keeping some tabs on her two teens who do not need a sitter but an adult to keep things legal and not too crazy but that will not chain me here so long as I come and go a bit randomly and make sure no parties etc.! She will be back the day before I head off to Fairbanks.

Another rather cloudy but mild day and rain farther west/north is not supposed to get here, at least for a few days. So all is well. Below are the pix; not edited since I do not have a program to do much of that on this mini-puter.

The first is a view of the lake and mountains from close to the house here; the second is the promised selfiue of me in the same locale and the next is an afternoon scenic view and then a view of the house, Alaska style modern--no log cabin but a steep roof to shed the snow.They are not placing well; internet is flaky today.The white SUV (a Toyota) is the car I may use. The red one is her son's friend.