Memorial Day camping trip

 

Kodiak's Memorial Day weekend was pretty rainy - except for Sunday Night.  That's the night Stuey and I went camping.  Heading out of town we were behind a truck towing a trailer with an ATV and a grill on it, and I remembered that a lot of other people were camping too.  This is the weekend where everybody drives out the road and camps on a beach.  Some of those beaches can get a little crowded - even on a rainy Memorial Day weekend.  

But rather than going to a beach, Stuey and I climbed a mountain and went camping.  We even carried some firewood for our woodstove up with us to the alpine.  Rather than playing on the beach we took our skis and played on the snow.

We set up our camp on a snow free 'tundra' knob and then climbed the rest of the way up the mountain to go skiing.  I think the only time the sun actually came out was when we first arrived at our campsite, and I did not take any pictures because I was setting up camp.  But even with the cloudy skies it was beautiful.  After our ski we lit the woodstove and enjoyed the view from the warm tent.  Stuey took a nap inside what he called the 'tent within the tent' while I made dinner. Later we read books, chatted, and enjoyed the heat of the woodstove.

In the morning we got up early and re lit the woodstove.  I cooked up scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns for breakfast.  And then we broke camp and climbed up the mountain for another ski.  There is still a lot of snow up there, and we had the place to ourselves.  

Then it was time to go home.

Patrick

Camp and Sharatin Mountain

Camp and view towards Whale and Afognak Islands

Stuey napped while I prepped dinner

Pasta for dinner - cooking on woodstove

Breakfast - waiting for the hash browns to get crispy on woodstove

End of the ski run - time to go home

Buskin Beach in the Rain

 

Nora and I took the doggies to Buskin Beach yesterday.  It was raining and I decided a ski on Pyramid Mountain would be too dismal.  So for the first time in over a week they went on a normal walk.  Or as Nora put it, 'Today they get an easy day'.  But it wasn't too easy - they got in some serious rough-housing and beach sprinting.  

One downer is that they discovered the long-necked barnacles brought in on a recent storm rotting along the high tide.  I gather they are yummy for dogs but I was worried they'd get seafood poisoning or something.  So It was a constant effort to keep the doggies from eating the disgusting things.  Maybe no more beach for a few days!

I tried to take pictures of the waves breaking in the shallows.  And then I could not decide which one I liked best!  Patrick

More dogs on Snow

 

For the last week I've been taking the dogs skiing practically every day.  Even the pups have learned the routine, and are getting to be good snow hounds. I do know that they prefer the mountain to the park!

The weather has continued to be pretty dismal.  But mid week we got a few days where it did not rain and I finished planting the garden. I did not have a enough seed potatoes left over from last fall and I actually had to buy potatoes.  I bought some red seed potatoes and Yukon gold to supplement what I had.  The Yukon gold were not official seed potatoes but sprouting organic ones I got from the Co-op.  

I also took sprouting mustard green plants from the potato beds and planted them along the front of the lettuce patch.  So now my garden is complete - nettles, self seeded kale, potatoes, snap peas, carrots, mustard greens, lettuce and beets.  Now it is weeding and mulching season.

And yesterday, just before it started to rain again, Stuey mowed the lawn.  It is officially early summer.

Patrick

Some recent walks

 

Last week we had 2 sunny days - the days I helped out in the field on the Chiniak Highway archaeological survey - and ever since then it has been all rain and fog.  At this point the spring green up is a little late.  Last week I did see some salmonberry blossoms on the sunny days.  So I know when the sun does come out that everything is going to immediately turn green and all the salmonberries will blossom at once.  We just need a few sunny days in a row for it to happen.

My lawn still does not need mowing.  In the past I have mowed it as early as the last day in April.  I have also waited until June.  But it is usually sometime in Mid to Late May.  So this year we are a little behind schedule.  

Yesterday I planted the carrots, lettuce, beets and peas in the raised beds.  They are all covered with net to keep the birds from wreaking havoc. All that's left to do is the potato beds.  I need to clean up the beds and get beach peat to plant the potatoes in.  But it is so wet that I've been waiting for a dry day.  No sense in turning my potato beds into a muddy mess!

Patrick

Foggy Pillar Mountain walk

Northern Rockcress blooming on the cliffs at Buskin Beach

Low tide at Buskin Beach

Rey and Red go downhill skiing

 

On Thursday I took Red and Rey downhill skiing for the first time.  Bode is an old hand at the ski thing, but I had not taken the pups because it is bad on their knees and joints if you take them too young.  I also wanted to wait until late spring when the snow gets more solid so that they do not punch down into it. In any case, they love it.

I think the 'ski walk' is far more exercise than just a normal walk, and when we get back from skiing they all nap for the rest of the evening.  Heck they start to nap as soon as they get back in the car for the ride home.  

On the mountain they seem to like to roll and play in the snow, and they eat a lot of snow too.  I think they like the snow aspect to the whole adventure too.  But the best part is when they chase me on the ski run back down the mountain.  When they catch up all panting they are very happy indeed.

At the bottom there is a video of yesterday's dog 'ski walk'.

Patrick