Thursday, December 24, 2009

The Christmas Carol

The other night I treated Marcie, Amalie, and Mia to the Christmas Carol play which was performed outside of Portland. It was a lot of fun, the girls got all dressed up and were excited for the popcorn and pop Marcie treated them to. The Play was different than most versions of the Christmas Carol by the fact it was set as Charles Dickens was writing it. The actors were so full of life and spotanaty it made the play wonderful to watch... It was a nice way to bring in the Christmas spirit.


Sunday, December 20, 2009

'In Loving Memory'

Lady We will miss you!
2002 - 2009



Friday, December 18, 2009

Now a days...

So now a days Im spending my time in the Portland area. Im staying with Lael and Marcie and am enjoying my time with them. I recently got a job working at the park and rec here in town so Im excited to start that new job. Hope it goes well... Here are a few pictures of when Mom was here. Enjoy the beauty of Multnomah Falls ~
















Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Seward, AK

Before I left Alaska I was able to go down to Seward and do a boat ride to see the glaciers and wild life. It was so much fun and the weather was perfect!














Million Dollar Falls
Brown bear eating his catch

I view of one of the trails I explored


Haines, AK



Mendenhall Glacier - Juneau, AK




Alaskan Life

So I guess its time for me to up date what is going on in my life for the one or two people who read my little blog... After I got off of the river I went on a little trip around Alaska and Canada. I spent ten or eleven days driving around and sight seeing things and areas I thought that I might not get another chance to see before I left the area. After we got off of the river I stayed a few days in Fairbanks waiting for my bus to Whitehorse. While on my 18 hour drive to Whitehorse the driver and I got talking about my trip and come to find out... He happened to do the same trip with a friend when he was nineteen. He built a row boat in Dawson and headed out. He said they didn't have a clue about what they were doing but that it was one of the best trips he has ever done. The trip took them about two months and when the got to a small Indian village called Pilots Junction (which is about to the Bering Sea) they realized they had no way to get home so... he stayed there for about 12 years. Met a girl, got married, and had a family. It was an amazing story. I asked him what he did for work and how he was able to support him and his family. He told me that the first couple of years he hunted and fished with the elders learning all he could about the people and living in that area, and after a few years he became mayor of the town/village, and the last several years he was there he ran the general store. He has recently moved back to Whitehorse so his children could have more opportunities than what they would have received in the village. A truly inspiring man...

Once I arrived in Whitehorse I picked up the car from the fly shop and spent a couple of days hiking and exploring the town and area. Whitehorse is one of the most amazing towns I have had the opportunity to visit. The people are wonderful - friendly and happy. The location is perfect for river running and there is great snow in the winter. The only downside is that its way too cold and dark in the winter.

After picking up the car and exploring what I could in Canada I drove down to Haines AK. The trip down to Haines was a beautiful aw inspiring drive with high mountains, beautiful flowers, and a few amazing waterfalls that I found. Once in Haines I searched for good camping, went on a few good hikes, and watched a few brown bears catch salmon in the river. While I was in Haines I thought I might as well head down to Juneau - cause why not. The ferry ride was a cool 4 hours. After arriving in Juneau I found a campground right next to the Mendenhall glacier and went to explore the town. Juneau was an interesting town - the downtown was a tourist trap with thousands and thousands of people coming off of cruise ships. But it is a really beautiful place. And come to find out its the largest city in the states - who knew.

After getting back from my Juneau escapade I headed back up to Fairbanks to pick up my river gear and then headed down to Anchorage with lots of stops along the way.

It was interesting being back in Anchorage - so much had changed, bus such is life. I went back to work and occupied my time with that until I left Alaska.

When I first arrived to Alaska I didn't like it at all, but I did grow to love it there. I have met so many wonderful people and have gained some wonderful friends. And now that I am no longer in Alaska I really miss it...

Monday, August 17, 2009

YUKON RIVER TRIP 09'

I'm am off of the river and have made my way back to Anchorage and back to work. The river trip went well! I really loved it - the best trip I have ever done. We finished the trip earlier than we thought we would have so we ended up being on the river about 20 days. We traveled from Whitehorse, YT to Circle, AK covering a distance of about 800 miles. I experienced so many things I can't really express in writing so.... I posted a ton of pictures of the trip. I hope that you enjoy the pictures and will join me next year when I do the whole Yukon river - 2000 miles in 2 months :) The little blue car we packed to the top! we really couldn't have fit anything else! In the back you can see my van crying - he really wanted to go but he was in trouble for being such a shitty van....

Getting ready to get on the lake...

Testing out the boat and the frame I built. Worked great! the frame held up well and the boat tracked great through the water.


Lake La Berdge



Some Eagles we spotted just after we got onto the Yukon from the lake




Ellen's first fish (Grayling) she was so proud!

Dinner prep - my job

Ummm.... don't ask


An old town we stopped at to "fix" the boat


loving life!




heading into 5 fingers rapids





Another fire....



My favorite picture




Looks like I got a bit of sun that day



I was SO stuck!

and finally Im out....



Ellen




The music festival...


Panning for gold with our new friend Reggie


I found some!!!!!!!



Riding a couple of the stationary bikes in the crazy hostel we camped at outside of Dawson...
The Hostel...

Some of the guys we met on the river... They were from Spain, and don't worry they were much more friendly than what they look like in this picture - I promise!


Dawson, YT



Awe... back on the River




One of the many fish wheels along the Yukon
Old Wheel at one of the history sites we stopped at

I found some rhubarb! yummy!


Panning for gold...



Ellen trying to lour a gull that kept dive bombing us...