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On top of the World

We've been blessed with rain-free days since the Holmbergs got here on Wednesday morning and we've been packing in the activities to take advantage of the nice weather. We just got back from a trip up Mt Roberts. Shane really wanted to see the frog orchid that Bob Armstrong showed us last weekend on our nature walk so we obliged by taking the tram up and then hiking for a little way up the mountain.


Last night we were guests aboard a sailboat that was re-positioning from Aurora harbor downtown to Auke Bay Harbor for a weekend sailboat race.


We couldn't have asked for better weather and it was smooth sailing, as they say, all the way. there wasn't much wind for the trip so we were mainly under diesel power but we did put up a sail when we got to some of the good fishing areas so we could do some trolling. Didn't catch anything but it was fun anyway!



We have more plans for tonight and for the next few days and we're hoping the weather holds out. Click on the pink arrow below for a special message from one of the locals:

Canned Food Recall

The FDA has sent out a warning to recall specific kinds of canned chili, beans, stew, etc. in Alaska, as well as other places, something that might affect a lot of people who keep a stock of such items in their larder. Here's a portion of the press release from the state Epidemiology, Beth Funk.

From: Funk, Beth [mailto:beth_funk@health.state.ak.us]

Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 10:00 AM

To: AK PHAN list serve (ak-phan@list.state.ak.us)

Subject: AK PHAN Health Alert 001-2007-7-24: DEC warns consumers not to eat certain brands of chili, other canned products; dog food also being recalled.

The following message was sent to you through the Alaska Public Health Alert
Network (AK PHAN). Please share this information with others who may be
interested.

Note: Contact information for the Alaska Section of Epidemiology can be
found at the end of this message Distributed via AK PHAN

July 24, 2007 10:00 ADT

AK PHAN Alert 001-2007-7-24

_____

Health Alert

Botulism Poisoning Warning Expanded

DEC warns consumers not to eat certain brands of chili, other canned
products; dog food also being recalled

The thing that really struck me about this recall is the dog food items: Dog foods may also be contaminated, including these listed below:

Natural Balance Eatables dog food varieties (15 oz cans):

* Irish Stew with Beef Dog Food
* Chinese Take Out with Sauce with Vegetables and Chicken Dog Food
* Southern Style Dumplings with Gravy with Chicken and Vegetables Dog Food
* Hobo Chili with Chicken Pasta Dog Food

Wow - how gourmet! I wonder if you get little fortune cookies with the Chinese food?

Dorothy Lynch, How do I love thee…

Its been a couple of years now since we've had the great taste of Dorothy Lynch salad dressing but thanks to the arrival of our buddies from Colorado, who brought a supply with dorothey with them, we're all salivating at the thought of the next crispy-crunchy iceberg lettuce salad drenched with the ooey gooey dressing of which I don't dare read the ingredients listing on the side of the bottle. We'll just have to do some extra laps along Sandy Beach to make up for its goodness.

Dupoint Trail: Thane to Bishop Point

When Marc was here several weeks ago he took us on a hike along the Dupont Trail towards the Dupont Harbor. The boardwalk/trail wound through the woods amidst the giant skunk cabbage. Taking walks like this reminds me of what it might be like to wake up in Jurasic Park without the beasts.

Along the trail we saw some orange-yellow columbine – later to find out they are Western Columbine (as opposed to the Blue Columbine, which are…blue) I haven't seen this variety before or at least I don't recall seeing it. We also saw some small blue-purple violets at the beach - very delicate among the beach sand and rocks.

Alpine Birding, Flowers, Hiking and Tram

Saturday was the Audubon Society's annual Bob Armstrong walk in the alpine meadows of Mt Roberts for some bird watching and flower gazing. The previous two days had been pretty rainy - some of the more constant rain that we've had since we came in January. So we dressed in rain gear but as the day progressed and the clouds moved out we all wished we had had our shorts on underneath our rain pants!

Going up into the clouds on the Mt Roberts Tram



We were introduced to the very rare Frog Orchid which we now understand is very rare and hard to identify. I have to admit that I would never have even noticed it if it hadn't been pointed out to me. Now this flower pictured below caught our attention! We were hoping this was some kind of pink-purple orchid but I think this is Wooly Lousewort – after looking it up in the Wildflower book when we got home.



The group was about 40 strong and it became clear that we weren't really getting much from the discussion that was going on way in front of us so we decided to split off and do our own exploring. We actually went ahead of the group and hoped that we didn't scare the birds away for everyone else.



A nice view of the Douglas Harbor, downtown Douglas, and the first street waterfront.



This is taken from a little higher up and looking to the southeast up the Gastineau Channel. You can also see Admiralty Island in the distance.



Tam at the top of Gold Ridge…next stop British Columbia!



And a constant hiking companion: the Hoary Marmot:

In the parking lot

When I saw this car in the parking lot at the Shrine of St. Therese this Sunday when we stopped in with the Burton's, I thought for a minute that I would see Ruth and Al. But that was just wishful thinking!

Hangin' with Cappy

Cappy enjoys the company of the a portion of Burton Family: Jeff, Tam, and Ty (Brittany is in LA packing for a trip to Europe). We spent some sunny, rainy and sunny-rainy days adventuring around looking at the sites, taking the tram up Mt Roberts and then hiking an addition 1500 ft to the top of Gold Ridge, and FISHING!

Looks good, doesn't it!

King Salmon on the grill. The one on the right had a rub of Florida Seasoning, dill, garlic, onion powder, and black pepper. The one on the left has a marindade of a generous amount of brown sugar, cajun seasoning, and brandy. It creates a glaze that's very tasty. Its best if you soak the filets for at least 2 hours - longer is better.

Fishing Adventure

Tam, Jeff and Ty are visiting from Anchorage for a few days and fishing is a top priority for our activities. We haven't had too much time to scope out too many fishing spots but we thought that this one might be a good one for a start. Here's the first King that Ty caught; nice and bright - very little red on it and a fighter!




Heidi had a really big one on but lost it when it did a pirouette in the air. Ty pulled in a couple more Kings to result in an armful!




Guess you'll just have to visit us to find out where the secret spot is and what we used for lure.

Fishing Close to Home

We've noticed on several occasions that there are a couple of fishing boats doing the gill netting thing in the channel alongside our front deck. We are assuming that its fish and game or the folks at the hatchery getting supplies for eggs or research. It provides a lot of entertainment and usually attracts a lot of eagles and crows.



Other things we see outside the front window are parachute gliders who jump off the topside of Mt Roberts and play in the wind in the valley between Mt Roberts and Mt Juneau.



Then they eventually land at the barge landing right across from the house.

Next knitting project

My next knitting project might be this vest that I found in Folk-Vests-Knitting-Patterns-Around. I ordered the yarn from the author of the text who also sells her patterns and her own dyed yarn. I'm thinking about make the vest on the big size and lining it with a polar fleece. Since the yarn is 100% wool I thought it would really be too warm to wear inside but would make a nice outdoor vest. This pattern is knitted in the round and uses steeks. I've never knitted using steeks and I'm not sure how I will feel about cutting into my knitted project once its almost done but I really like the pattern so I'm anxious to give it a try.

Other Holiday activities

There was an entire list of activities taking place for the 4th of July celebration at Sandy Beach - very convenient for us to have this happening a couple blocks from the house. The streets were a mess with cars everywhere. Parking is already a problem for people who live here so if you add the extra visitors it gets congested. Grayline had a free shuttle which was widely used.

Just so you know that a previous post I made when first coming here wasn't just me seeing things - our famous Douglas mascot was in the parade. I'm talking about the guy on the right side.



We ended up spending a lot of time at the dog agility trials - more trials than triumph for most of those dogs entered. There was also a sand castle building contest - not sure the contest organizers were in tune to the tide though because right after the judging the tide came in and washed some of them away. This entry was probably the best - it was too big to get a good shot of. I tried holding the camera up and only got more shaky photos. I also liked one of the entries that was a sand obstacle-croquet course. It looked very intricate and like it might be a hard course to run through.


There were foot races, pony rides, food booths, the finals for the soapbox derby, a steamboat race (only one entry - the infamous Laurie Ellen) and a stage with music and dancing.

It started raining about 2 but it didn't seem to stop too many people. We finally walked home about 4 realizing that we had been on our feet since 10:15 when we left the house on bikes to the first parade.

This pretty much sums up what most people's attitudes are like around here:

TWO Parades

Juneau parade:

Parade Marshalls Jean and George Rogers - longtime Juneau residents



Crazy community Marching Band complete with 80-year old drum majorette in the front and a batton twirler in the back. They weren't too bad and looked like they were having fun all dressed up in crazy outfits!



I'm not sure but this group should have taken first for Marching Unit. It was a group of 20-somethings all working on the Juneau Icefield Project in their crazy mountaineering gear all tethered together with climbing rope. They had three or four different cadences - The only one I can remember was the surging glacier where they all crept ahead at an excellerated rate.



This truck had a traveling player-pipeorgan in the back



UAS entry



This group of Tlingit's took second place for "most Alaskan"

I think the coolest thing about the Juneau parade is that it goes up once side of Eagan drive and than back down the other side – so you get to see it twice!

Douglas parade: As you could expect it was a little more informal - lots of kids and decorated bikes. Also saw a lot of the same "floats" and groups marching from earlier in the day. We also saw the Soapbox Derby cars that were racing later in the day go by all decorated up being pushed or pulled along by an adult. Also a Tlingit group that I expect was the same that was on the performance schedule that was slanted for later in the day at the park.





As we approached the parade route first thing this morning over in Juneau I saw kids with plastic grocery bags and my first thought was, "How cool that they will be picking up garbage along the route. What a great place to live where even the kids are consciences of the earth." Well in a way they did pick up garbage, the kind filled with sugar and other things you can"t pronounce or spell!



One big difference from the only other parade I've been to (Golden Days) is that this was a parade with the Theme of "Freedom is not Free" to celebrate Independence Day. So there were a few political entries - not like hopeful-politicians handing out bumper stickers - but groups of people with something to say: the kid Joe from the Bong hits was handing out the bill of rights for free speech, recycling - keep our oceans plastic free, and veterans for peace to name a few. I must admit that I think North Pole has a July 4th parade and have never been to it. But somehow I can't believe that NP would have any similar-type entries.



Another obvious difference was the presence of uncle sam hats rather than cowboy hats and boas!

More pictures on flickr - use juneauparade (all one word) as tag to search

Cappy Independence Day!

So who would have thought that the real celebration for the 4th of July is actually on the 3rd! It all started about 6 pm when people started to gather along the beaches getting their bonfires set up. The big fireworks display was scheduled for 11:59 pm. Whoever sponsored it (probably the City and Borough of Juneau or CBJ) set it up on a barge that they moved in after the cruise ships left town. There were at least 5 big ships in today. They normally leave town around 10 but tonight they all started heading out of town around 7. Not sure why, you'd think they would want to stay around for the show!



Here you see Cappy and the beach fires that were set off along the beach on the Douglas Island side. We had groups on either side of us providing quite a show of extensive "wow" power. I don't know what the explosives are all called but these folks didn't just have sparklers. I did find a couple of lighters in our GD drawer so we flicked those a few times.

At about 11:30 there was a 10-15 minutes display of high flying sparks from someone down the beach from us. It was something. And then almost exactly at 11:59 the real show began. It was quite impressive - but then I'm easily pleased if I can be outside watching a fireworks show and not have to be wearing my bunny boots and face mask. Ok, it was starting to sprinkle so I did have a baseball cap and my anorak on. But I wasn't wearing wool socks and long underwear!



There are two parade tomorrow and a whole slew of events taking place down at Sandy beach so I'm sure we'll be adding more as the holiday progresses!


We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. ~William Faulkner

Ice Straw, anyone?

Here's some instructions on how to make ice straws for your summertime drinks. If you read through the comments you'll see some other hints that might make the process easier. I do think that making these straws out of juice or other mixer would be pretty yummy. Or course I think our closest IKEA is in Seattle but there might be other places to get the ice cube trays.

iWantone

I don't know about you but I want an iPhone - I mean - how cool is it! Yeah, there are probably some bugs but come-on, don't you think it just looks cool. Until a few days ago when AT&T announced that it would be buying back CelluarOne in Alaska, it wasn't going to be possible to use an iPhone with the Alaskan carriers - GSM vs CDMA WXYandZ… but as soon as the purchase is approved by the Gov then it could be possible. Just think of the possibilities.

Here's are some application that are already available and there are lots of others out there: top-10-iphone-applications

Nature Moment

I guess I've never seen a pine cone with a stem on it. I found this along the trail to the Salmon Creek Dam and I just thought I'd share it.