Triathlon Saturday

BIKING:
We've been wanting to do some biking all summer and have managed only one outing so when we heard that the forecast for the weekend was going to be decent (20% change of rain - mostly cloudy) we planned a trip to the Herbert Glacier.

RUNNING (a few feet but mostly walking):
And then we realized that this was going to be our opportunity to do our COASST dead-seabird survey and since the trailhead is right across the street from the Herbert Glacier trailhead, we thought we better try to get that in too.

SWIMMING:
A few seconds of treading water in the hot tub seemed to take all the extra energy I had left over.

Herbert Glacier with Fall Colors:


Most of the pathway is like this - nice and smooth. There is some elevation gain on the way in which makes that way out a breeze!


August Beach Survey:

It really wasn't this dark! We changed from our biking shorts and had a great bike in to the beach and then ran-I-mean-walked the beach. It was too warm for a jacket until we got around to the far side and then the breeze picked up.

We had a nice lunch (much needed after the bike ride) and watch a pod of whales across the channel.


and a soak in the hot tub to complete the swimming portion...ahhh!

Crazy Crepes

It was all inspired by nephew Robert. When he was visiting at the end of May we were downtown and as we passed one after another of the summer food stalls he asked if I had eaten at any of them: Mexican Tacos? no Crab Shack? no Crepes? no. Why wasn't I supporting tourism?

I happened to find myself downtown again this last week around lunchtime and decided to check out the crepes at the Alaskan Crepe Escape. I ordered a greek crepe with humus, feta, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, sundried tomato and it was delicious! It was made to order and just took a few minutes to wait for it. The crepe was as big around as a dinner plate and was very filling. The menu had both savory and sweet crepes - something for everyone (except no gluten-free!)


I haven't made crepes in a very long time and thought it sounded like a good idea so with that in mind I paid attention to what left-overs we were having that we could put into crepes for dinner one night. We hit the jackpot last night when we came up with two winning combinations. I used the recipe in my old Better Crocker cookbook - I think its pretty standard.

1. Smoked salmon, grilles asparagus with a sour cream-lemon sauce
2. Rib steak, chopped tomatoes, slivers of green onion with blue cheese dressing

I think we agree that our favorite was the salmon-asparagus combination. For the sauce I took 2 pts mayo, 3 parts sour cream, a little ground pepper, a big squirt of lemon juice, three large slices of fresh lemon pulp (finely chopped) and a sprinkle of Penzey's lemon rind.

We have crepes left over so we might have to have them with the blueberries we've been picking!

August Boy Scout Beach Survey

The August COASST bird survey was quickly accomplished with the help of Terry and Krystie along with Oso as protector. The walk started out with low clouds and the entrance to Eagle River, where it dumps into the ocean, was pretty foggy.



We got a late start and ended up seeing no dead birds :) along with no people and no dogs. Just us! We had a delicious turn-around-treat and since we had no food allergies with us we ate almonds and applies. We should have taken some shrimp out with us but we didn't think about it!

Besides a nice walk along the deserted beach, we were helped celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the Boy Scouts. They much have all been downtown helping the old tourist ladies get across the streets because there wasn't a big event out at their beach!

When we started on our way back the clouds started to spit moisture and by the time we got to the woods it was raining pretty hard. It was a soggy ride back to town.

A little seaweed with that

I was hungry for a crisper, sweet-spicy flavored fish to go with saffron rice with mixed veggies the other night for dinner and came up with a tasty combination. A little hoisin cause, oyster sauce, seasame oil and a dash of red chili sauce made a pretty good cause for the veggies. I also dipped cut-up cod pieces in the sauce and then covered them in panko bread crumbs mixed with some dried seaweed. I baked the cod in the oven at 400°. The came out crispy w/o having to fry them. I wasn't sure how the seaweed could turn out but it was delicious!

Ferry: Juneau to Sitka

Used the SPOT GPS to mark my route on the ferry between Juneau and Sitka. I checked in at specific way points to it didn't look like we crossed over the land. Tim was able to check the website and see exactly where I was.

Fairbanks Harvest

Had a successful afternoon of berry picking in Fairbanks this last week.


The blueberries are large, thick, and juicy! Spent a few hours at a secret (ahem...) spot and picked several buckets full. We actually ran out of containers and couldn't eat anymore!


Then we were graciously invited to pick raspberries at a friend's mothers place where there were rows and rows of manicured raspberry bushes brimming over with ripe berries. Again, we picked until our buckets were full, leaving under ripe berries on the bushes for those who will come after us.


We did learn a new picking strategy from this wise old sourdough - I'm not sure I want to share it because it might be your Christmas present!

All in all -- A berry good day!

Cross-Gulf

Tim and I enjoyed a great ferry trip from Whittier to Juneau last month. If you are interested in seeing our adventure check out this site. I had a SPOT GPS with me and checked in at various waypoints. After we got home I uploaded some pictures to go along with the waypoints. I learned a lot by doing this and realize I made many mistakes in putting it together but it was a good exercise.

http://www.spotadventures.com/trip/view?trip_id=216676

Note: I used a co-workers account so when you go here you'll see her picture, not mine!