Summer goes by so fast

So the summer has been moving along really quick now that I am up and active. Spent most of my time working on the set for Perseverance Theater summer STAR show. The plays were Beauty and the Beast (jr.) and James and the Giant Peach. The cast are kids involved with the summer acting camp and their shows alternate nightly and share the same stage. That was a challenge for the technical director and his assistant, yours truly. We built a two story pentagon shaped gazebo that represented the east tower in Beauty and also the peach. This was accomplished by different backdrops being hung inside, around or behind as needed. We also put in a trap door to the second floor and removable ladder for James, and two hidden ladders on the back for the cast to ascend the structure. The uprights were constructed of 13 foot 2x6 ripped at 36 degrees on one side so that when glued and nailed together they created the main support. Under the second floor were 5 foot versions of the same design attached to the inside of the 13 footers and gave us a place to rest the joist system on. Then all joists were bolted and hung by joist brackets as any deck would be, but with the twist that no two sides are parallel to each other. In the center we mounted a 4x4 for structural support. The whole thing was amazingly stable and we joked about selling it to someone for their garden. Unfortunately to remove it means to destroy it. So no sale.

The gazebo

Although difficult to see, we put a fake roof on it and mimicked the pentagon shape in the center

 The other side of the stage was a progression of platforms elevating to a height of 4 feet. We mounted step for each level. Rather simple in design but yet challenging to keep it safe and sturdy.

So Sunday was strike day and I snapped these shots just before demolition began, now after another day of clean-up and trimming at the shop the entire set is nothing more than lumber waiting for the next show. Ah, the life of theater!

Well I'm healed up and out enjoying life again

So things got pretty slow around here with the broken clavicle. I have finally healed up and the doctors have given me the go ahead to begin enjoying life once more! yay! So we started of slow and did some longer hikes and such just to see how things feel. We recently went up to Windfall lake and enjoyed a great day. The weather was good, overcast, but warm and nice. The trail group up here went through this trail last year and did some really nice improvements. New board walks and large areas of graveled path. Its a popular trail for the mountain bikers so it was built with them in mind and limiting the damage done. Really nice! The view once you get up into the muskeg are spectacular and lend themselves to some great pics.

One of many skegs we crossed on their wonderful bridges

One of those bridges, not wonderful for railing etc. but impressive 4" slabs cut from local trees

The sky was grey so I thought to use the water to show it off

Along the way we saw many fungi, these are about the size of a dime

Found many really nice Bear Bread also, about a foot in size for these

On a spur trail, that is a log with boards nailed to it to cross, bit sketchy

Fields of Arctic Cotton, wondering if you could really make something....

On the spur trail that took us to the lake end we did some wandering around and I thought I may have found some gold. I have taken up prospecting a bit and I think I will have to come back and look around some more in the future. Panning has only turned up a small amount of flake and flour, of which I am not convinced that it is real, don't want to be a "fool", ha ha ha. So much more study and practice, maybe make it rich someday, or at least make my wife a wedding ring from gold I have prospected. That would be neat.

Once we got to the lake, took some lunch and enjoyed the view and of course the immense mosquitoes! They was a family in the new cabin up there, so we respected their space and stayed clear, so maybe some pics of that next time. Seems really nice though and just looking at it Sarah and I are sure that is all the house we would ever need. Too bad you can't live here, lol.

View of Windfall lake from our lunch spot. The cabin is to the right, but was trying to give them some privacy. Will have to go back and try on a day not so overcast. The cabin comes will all needed comforts of home, even a solar powered light in the outhouse and a small skiff and canoe for lazing on the lake. This is the same lake we tried to get to last winter from Montana creek, ref blog from Jan 9, 2011.

For reference of that blog post follow this link.....
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7616464475458021379

July 4th and 20th Reunion

(Well this is funny, I wrote part of this blog and then saved it meaning to come back and do some more work on it, then totally spaced it, so its late, ha ha ha.)

Well this was an interesting weekend. My 20th reunion spanned over 3 days of festivities, blending into the fireworks on the third and the parade on the 4th! Wow! The reunion was a hoot. Fun to see people you haven't seen in forever. Got to spend time with old friends and reminence. The weather here was down right crappy as it tends to this time of year, and weren't quite sure if the fireworks were going off or not, but they did. I actually was totally burned out and personally didn't see them, but my neighborhood had a pretty spectacular show for two days straight, so when the bomb is bursting over your house all night no need to go anywhere. Got to sit home, watch the show and drink some beer!

The parade was good as usual and got a few pics to share, all in all a great weekend!

Been Awhile

Well sorry to everyone, it has been a long time since I last posted to the blog. So in short for those who don't know, I had a little incident that resulted in breaking my clavicle, and well typing a blog one handed didn't seem like too much fun. Now about a month out I am out of the sling and I can type with both hands. The actual bone break is healing well but other injuries incurred at the same time, such as my shoulder, knee and other bump and bruises are proving to be slightly slower in the healing and there seems to be some serious bruising. Everyday though I get stronger and feel more and more like myself.
One of the sad things of this injury was the inability to use my camera so there haven't been any shots to even post, but with the ability to lift my arm again, the pictures have begun again. Yay!
During the last month or so of healing I have changed my job, and I am now the Asst. Technical Director for Perseverance Theater here in Juneau. Meaning that I have a full time paying gig building sets for this seasons up coming shows. So hopefully there will be some challenges and such that warrant mention here, such as the router jig that started this whole blog thing.

One of the first hikes I was able to do, lighting was bad, but these flowers in the field were very nice

On another hike in the rain, I found these during a rain break

For summer solstice Sarah and I went for a picnic at Sunshine Cove, it was so beautiful

While having our picnic and beating back the insane bug population we were able too watch humpbacks out in Lynn Canal feeding, then suddenly there was a different blow sound and fins cutting through the water. Amazing, an entire pod of Orcas came by just outside the island heading towards deeper water. We sat and watched them fish for over an hour, eagles soaring in the sky and peace and quiet. Couldn't ask for a better solstice!
As a final note to this blog, I also just got hired by UAS to work on a project that will create a modeling program to culminate data from multiple agencies throughout the gulf of Alaska and compile it to create a better understanding of glacial runoff into the ocean. This research will encompass multiple aspects and hopefully give us the ability to predict and understand the effects of snow pack, precipitation, and glacial recession on the local system including the food chain and its timing. At this point I only have a basic idea of the outcome, but it sounds really exciting. I am working with my favorite professor at the university and looking forward to it. So, this has been the summer of change, I finally have found jobs, as Sarah says "grown up jobs", that interest me and have a future. Things are going to get kinda crazy when these two and school all line up but I am looking forward to the challenge. I have finally found careers that interest me and excite me.
On another note, we are looking seriously at a couple of sailboats that we hope to purchase and move on to by summers end at latest. Main issue at this point is pulling enough capital together, this will decide which we choose. One is a real fixer upper but it is cheap and would be immediate, the other is a real gem but costs more. The question now is how much debt and time doing repairs do we want. The larger boat could seriously be the "end boat", large enough to live on for some time, the other would be a stepping stone to something substantial. We are leaning towards the larger boat right now, especially with time needed for new adventures. Well we shall have to wait and see. This is a very exciting time for us right now, so close to realizing some dreams that we have had for over a decade!!
Well that is all for now, weather is nice out so hopefully I will get some more photos to post. Till next time, peace to everyone and I hope life is treating you decent.

Summer and the livin's easy....

So suddenly I find myself in Alaska, in the summer, and copious amounts of time on my hands. Yes, yes I have become recently unemployed.   :) 

Its a good thing. I am pursuing a couple of leads that have been there for far too long. Wish me luck. I am about to attempt to break out of the 8 hr day after day, and see if I can make a living doing things I like to do and somewhat be able to set my own schedule. This would allow for more photography at the times I need to do it, not working indoors. I really hope I can make this happen!!

So anyways, today I learned how to play disc golf.  Yea yea, I know, seriously? Depends on your take. It is fun! It is also very challenging and good exercise. Apparently since I moved away someone has opened a course, and seriously, its 5 stars. Incredible uphills, through trees, in and out of old growth forest. Which by the way trees are not friends of gently gliding discs. Tree hate or love depends on where is bounces. All in all it was a real blast! So to all those that tried to get me out there before, sorry, should have! So much lost time and courses I could have played. Ha ha ha. I also managed to have the lowest score, thus winning! Beginners luck strikes again! Thank you to a great teacher!  So anyways, that is about it for right now, weather has been awesome and I pulled off this shot of the vista view from the course. What a beautiful morning!

Yes, there is a hole down in there! Tree hate!

Friday I am thinking about trying my hand at some gold panning! Gotta bring home the bacon, right?     :) 
My Easter basket was a new gold pan and I have been itching to get out and try it. I need to check some rules tonight, don't want to claim jump! ha ha ha  Peace to all, Earnest

Its summer vacation

Well that is it, turned in the last project, what's done is done! Now I get to look forward to a great summer of adventures and fun! I miss the ice, it makes a great piece to photograph, but happy that the tree buds are starting to come on, some grass is poking out of some peoples lawns (not mine, it has more moss and weeds than grass, ha ha ha). So long last summer is here! Went for a hike this Sunday, Easter, to Pt. Bridget. Figured it was a good day, sunny and all, to go out work on the tan and relax.Ha ha ha!  Along the way we ran into one of Sarah's co-workers and hiked together. We all agreed it was truly a wonderful day. As we sat there we heard the whales off in the distance blowing, but too far to get photos of. Then soon they were near us and rounding the point. It is truly amazing how fast they move with so little effort. As we scrambled over the boulders to get a look at them we heard the sound. They were feeding just on the other side of the point. It was so loud, we could feel it through the rocks. I wouldn't want to be in the water when a big whale does that, it could blow your eardrums. We looked at each other with excitement and almost ran the last few hundred yards. When we climbed up to the top of the point just past Blue Muscle Cabin we heard it again and then they were gone. We waited patiently, but no sign. Its a pretty deep hole right out there so we kept expecting them to surface as a group, hopefully as a bubble net. Alas it wasn't meant to be and the next sighting was just as they passed the next point headed south, about a 1/4 mile or so away. I called it quits and decided we would never catch up with them, kicking myself the whole time for not going out to the point to begin with. Oh well, it was still amazing and the day was worth it, just to hear them is amazing.

The last siting as they rounded the point

So, of course without whales to shoot I did some landscape shots and of course, Sarah. Ha ha ha. The kids will recognize this pose, although I don't think Lewis and Clark ever made it this far.

Unfortunately there was a hazy blue hue over most everything as is usually the case here but I did get some good shots of mountains on our side and of the Chilkat range.

I waited forever for the sun to light up this face, oh well, I thought it looked good to climb, not me, someone else. ha ha ha

I liked the perspective, you can never capture this place, but this gives a sense of the enormity of it all

 Chilkat range, awesome spire, straight up vertical on this side and the ducks wanted in the shot too.

Then on the way home Sarah spotted a whale really close in and these kayakers in the distance.

 Then to end the day the whales went north again, and the sun showed us one last show and off we went. All around a great day!  Happy Easter

Howdy ya'll

Well once again life has gotten away with me and there hasn't been much time to post, or any pictures either. Things are finally warming up here in the north. It is a surprise sunny morning for Easter and its about 45 or so outside right now. Its been raining and such lately so most the higher elevation trails are in really bad shape and avalanche danger is a major concern in some areas. So with work being, well, work and school and bad weather haven't much to put up or time to do it. Sorry everyone. :) So I thought I would take just a couple moments and get up a few pics from the last months and get caught up because soon I will be done with school and the play time begins! Then I will have many more shots. So on with the pictures!

In March we took an afternoon and ran up Eagle River trail, great hike!

We ran into a lot more snow than we expected. We surveyed the head of the trail and decided that snow shoes would once again not be necessary and added weight for no reason, like the last hike we went on. So we left them in the truck and wore our micro spikes instead. As we got further back in the valley it became apparent that the shoes would have been nice, we did some post holing but not too bad.

Close up of the above peak, just to the north of Earnest Gruening Mountain

Little bunny tracks in the snow

 

 

A spire of granite sticking out of a glacially carved valley. Pretty amazing.

The cabin at the top, on the lake and looking to go back this spring!

Eagle Glacier, for my folks...man its a lot smaller now!

It was really windy but by the looks of the snow, calmer than it had been

This is one of my more favorite snow shots this trip

Sarah looking pretty bad-ass! ha ha ha

The hillside next to us for about 1/2 mile, 500ft. tall, oozing with ice all over it. pretty cool

This is about where he started post-holing, about 3-4ft deep and increased from here

We are not totally sure what animal, but the cool thing is this is frozen in relief, meaning raised foot print, wind blew all the loose snow away leaving just this behind. Pretty cool!

We recently went to the State Museum and looked at a few photo shows they had there. One of the artists was really into sand and snow in the abstract, so this last shot was inspired by him. I didn't alter it or anything yet, will play later if time, but he did some great stuff with photo shop that made his pics really unique.

On the way home we just caught the sunset over Eagle Beach towards the Chilkat Range

Well, that is it for today, Happy Easter to everyone! Hope its a good one and will try to finish catching up soon. Now its time to go and get more pics of the wonderful place we live. See ya!

Been a while

Hello everyone, its been some time since I posted, sorry. Life has been good but very busy. With work I received a new position, I am now the Food and Beverage Manager. This includes all my prior Kitchen manager responsibilities along with new ones, ordering, planning and well just about anything that has to do with food and beverages. Ha ha ha. School is going well also, but between the two I am a very busy person. Most of my meager free time has been taken up with enjoying the place we live and sleeping. So I thought with this post I would simply put up pictures and give details as they are needed. Today's weather is gorgeous but cold, about 5 degrees at the airport which means it is colder back here next to the ice cube. Also we have winds about 40 mph here in the valley and 65 mph downtown and in exposed areas. They are saying the wind chill is about 20 below and I just poked my head out a few minutes ago and feel that they are being very generous with that number. Brrrrrrr! So today will be a homework, blogging, house cleaning and calling family kind of day. So without further aideu, onto what you all want, the pictures......

For new year we went to Auke Rec and had a weenie roast with some friends, it was dark and cold, but it was a total blast, it was a sober party and a great start to a new year!!!

Looking across Benjamin Island, Shot B&W Because the colors were flat but the light was good

Shortly after winter break a big storm rolled in and rained all the snow away. When the sun came back it was really windy and so Sarah and I decided to go for a drive out the road. The colors were pretty flat but lighting was interesting, so I went for a black and white shot, Ansel Adams style.

Horse Island in Sunshine Cove

Winter storm on Benjamin Island, where we kayaked this summer with whales, not going out there now!

Looking across Favorite Channel

Panoramic of Favorite Channel and Benjamin Island

A hidden cove just past sunshine, packed full of ice blown in off the ocean

my sweetie pie, staying warm in the truck, notice the ice face covering the rocks behind her?

So for those that read Sarah's blog, you have already heard about the new ice skates. I took a few pics of our first outing. We hadn't had them sharpened yet and so control was questionable at best, all my shots are from view of me on my butt. ha ha ha!

Zoom, Zoom! Look at her go!

Such a happy day, Sarah got new skates!!!

My new skates, soooo coool!!

The weather was awesome, clear and not windy. We found we could travel so much faster with the ice skates. We took off across the lake and found some really cool icebergs. There is nothing more photogenic than ice and sun.....

During the last thaw large pieces of the lake lifted and icebergs rolled over, looks really cool

One of my favorite shots, this was about 15 ft tall, I am fully under it.

During last thaw these were pools cascading down, I centered it with the glacier for the continuous look

Same erratic from other side, the whole cube glowed except where the rock and dirt was

The reflections were just so awesome, ice and sun, a great combination

The rock is about half the size of VW Bug

Cathedral of ice, Superman's hide out?

I love the mimic effect of the mountain

Some poor puppy left this on the lake and it froze in, kinda cool

landscape of ice