Kenai Peninsula trip 2

Since it was so nice last Saturday, D convinced me to go on a short hike to Carter Lake, near Seward. While I was in the car he talked to this woman emerging from the trail who said it was about a 30 minute jaunt. Great!

So off we go -- and what do you know, the first mile of this "easy" climb is all UPHILL. Like huffing and puffing uphill. 30 minutes my ass, lady! But it evened out at the start of the second mile and finally we were rewarded with the sight of Carter Lake in the distance. D also spotted a few dall sheep or mountain goats (I can't remember which) on one of the high mountains.

Hello termination dust! (That's what we call the first snows on the mountains - since its appearance means the termination of summer).

So sad that it's getting darker in the evenings. We're losing about 6-7 minutes of light per day, until December 21st. We had to bundle up a bit since the temps were hovering around the high 40's.

I can just imagine how amazing this field must have looked when the fireweed was in full bloom!

On the way DOWN the trail -- I'm in a happier mood!

Kenai Peninsula trip

In my head, I already have outfits picked out for our future little kidlets. "Alaska Grown" t-shirts, Carhartt overalls, SmartWool booties and of course, XtraTuffs! I had no idea they made these boots in kid sizes -- SO CUTE.

We saw these last weekend at the hardware store near the Seward harbor. I love Alaska hardware stores -- they have all sorts of random things.

In downtown Seward, looking out over the beginning of Resurrection Bay. It was an unusually nice sunny day, with calm seas to boot.

Mount Marathon -- where the super hardcore mountain runners flock to on th 4th of July. The race starts from downtown Seward and competitors run to the top peak and down. Some people can even complete it in an hour.

This area is called the "Ball Diamond" by Moose Pass and Seward locals. Apparently it's a free, first-come, first-served RV and camping area.

The ring!

It's here, on my finger! FedEx tried to deliver the package yesterday around noon (which is way earlier than we expected) so no one was home to sign for it. I had book club with my work ladies last night so there was no way I could get it and I told D that I would just go home around lunchtime to wait for the delivery man. the next day

Well, when I got home D came over and presented me with a dark red ring box! He had driven all the way over the the airport where the FedEx hub is located and picked up the package -- what a wonderful man. He opened the box, and let me tell you, the ring just about took my breath away! I was so nervous that it wouldn't look the same in real life but it is totally amazing.

I'm over the moon happy about it. D is happy too, but he'd probably be happier if I left the ring in its pretty box and secured it in a safety deposit box somewhere. :-) I need to call my insurance company and get the ring and my wedding band (we bought both at the same time so they would match) on my policy.

Obviously I am not a professional photographer, so these images do not come close to capturing the sparkle of the diamonds.

I was really impressed with Blue Nile. The build-your-own-ring feature lets you pick any loose stone and then place it into a variety of settings. It's free overnight FedEx shipping and free re-sizing if you need it.

Wedding stuff

Well, I went to my first ever bridal expo and....it kind of sucked. Maybe I should have dragged along a girlfriend or somebody, but a few are out of town and others have kids (and husbands) at home that need to be taken care of. And my two bestest friends live out of state, as do my mom, sister and future mother-in-law. I didn't even bother inviting D -- shows for women are not his bag, baby.

So I drive myself over to the venue and it is PACKED. I managed to grab one of the last real parking spaces and then after checking in zip on over to a photographer I must have for this wedding. (There are aspects of this wedding that I will do myself and really work the budget angle, but photography, food and booze are not on that list). We have friends and family that are amazing photographers, but I really want everyone to be able to enjoy themselves at the wedding and not have to "work."

The photo guy has like 15 women around his booth so I make the rounds of the other tables. And let me tell you, if a bride does not have a date picked these vendors will try to blow you off until you do. I couldn't believe it! How can I make any decisions if I don't have info? And I had a lady ignore me in favor of another girl who was wearing a big honking rock of an engagement ring. Figures I guess. So the two vendors I really wanted to talk to were just swamped and I walked out of there 45 minutes later without connecting with either. So disappointing. And during the car ride home I started to freak out about not having a date or location set. I'm really rethinking my attendance at another bridal show tomorrow.

Besides, we're planning on heading south and checking out a few wedding venues: the Inn at Tern Lake in Moose Pass, the Seward Windsong Lodge in Seward and the Kenai Princess Lodge in Cooper Landing. Drift will come too and we'll try to fit in a nice hike while we're down on the Kenai Peninsula.

Oh I almost forgot, we bought MY RING last night!!! Well, technically I purchased it with D's blessing and credit card -- thanks honey! We also got my wedding band too. They will both arrive via FedEx next Tuesday - so I'll probably need to stay home for a bit so I can sign for the package. And because you know that I cannot buy anything full-price, we managed to knock the total price down over $400! Oh man, I cannot even explain how excited I am to finally have my engagment ring on its way!

Summer is long gone

Starting Tuesday, the weather has turned COLD! Termination dust landed on the mountains Monday, which was the first day of Autumn (oh the irony). A friend of D's says that we can expect snow (the kind that sticks around) on the ground a month from our first termination dust sighting.

The past two mornings I've been using my autostart (one push of a button on my keychain and the car turns on from inside the house -- it's warm when I get in and drive away!) Blows my mind that the temperature is below freezing at night. My car said 35 degrees!

All my scarves are coming out of storage now, along with the gloves and hats!

Postive thought for today

Canoeing Bonnie Lake

D brought his canoe along on Saturday and we took a nice paddle around Bonnie Lake towards the end of the day. This was an ideal location for a cabin - about 90 minutes from Anchorage and so very quiet. Although we did hear someone playing Taps on a trumpet at around 7 p.m. The gnats and no-see-ums were pretty awful around shore but dissipated on the water.

The little dock and "boat launch" at the lake. Supposedly there is a horsepower restriction for this waterway but we saw somebody with a pretty large motor fishing for trout.

We turned around and there was Drift, up to his chest in the water already. He's gotten into a bad habit of looking for rocks and dunking his head underwater to retrieve them. Having a rockhound is a bad thing -- nobody wants their puppy to choke on a stone.

Along one edge of the lake is a small stream that a beaver has dammed up twice. If you enlarge the photo it's a little more visible.

It was way gorgeous out that evening -- a flat lake means mirror-like photos.

One day we'll really live the Alaskan dream and own a cabin of our own.

It's worth it

While on our Saturday outdoor excursion, I told D that it really just hit me that this is the last year I will be using my last name. After we get married I will be taking D's last name, and apparently everybody and their dog needs to be notified of it: banks, utilities, social security, DMV, my employer (oh god, a new email address for all my work contacts and vendors to learn), credit card companies, investment houses, insurance, doctors, passport agency, voting division, post office, accountant, etc.

I've had my last name for 32 years now and I kinda like it. It's my identity. People know me professionally and personally by this name.

My face must have been sporting that "head-exploding-imminent" look, because D asked, "is it worth it?"  And you know what? It is totally and completely worth it. We're going to be husband and wife -- a family unit -- and someday kids will come along and we will all have the same last name. Legally and in our hearts.

(But I can't totally let go of my original last name -- so I'd like to bestow it on one of our kids as his/her middle name someday. It seems like the right thing to do.)

Heading north

A bit of a gloomy day as we set out for a Saturday trip up north. D scouted a couple places for next year's moose hunt and I made my first viist to Lake Louise. We had a really good meal at the Lake Louise Lodge. French dip was on the menu and since I am currently on a mission to sample all the french dips of Alaska I had to try it. Theirs was very good -- either #1 or #2 so far (I have to try the meal at Rumrunners in downtown Anchorage again to be sure).

This was at some point near Chickaloon or Sutton, I think -- the Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) camp is a few miles away.

The autumn colors are out with a vengeance. People think I'm kidding when I say Alaska has exactly one month of fall. Our leaves change and fall in the blink of an eye. This morning we even have termination dust (snow) on the very tippy tops of the Chugach Range.

Later in the day D stopped and made a makeshift "redneck range" in a deserted area off the highway. He test fired his gun and let me try out this less-powerful bolt action rifle. FUN!

D is a patient teacher and showed me a few hunting positions -- I couldn't keep the barrel from moving around, so I needed to be sitting or leaning against something to keep everything steady. The target was about 100 yards away and I wasn't holding out much hope for a direct hit.

But lookie here, an almost bullseye on one of my first two shots!!! I was way proud of myself.

More fall foliage.

The fireweed has all petered out and winter is weeks away.

Weekend fun

Today we're heading north for a day-long trip -- I'm excited to see the fall colors and maybe take the canoe out. I wonder how long it'll take before the dog jumps out of the boat and into the water. Will post some photos on Monday.

I forgot to mention that last week D came up with the genius idea to can strips of caribou meat in the pressure canner with red and green peppers and onions. Holy cats, that stuff is tasty! We heated it all up and made fajitas with it.

In wedding news, I think we found the ring of my dreams people!!! And the matching wedding band. I finally had to go online and create something, because if you want a job done right gotta do it yourself. At this (very reputable) online company, you can pick out a loose stone and specific band design. We were having zero luck with stores locally. Case in point -- a sales guy at Zales (in a RED suit, no less) showed me a flawed diamond. Do I look like I would accept a cloudy SI ring with a visible crack down the bottom? Dude, please. I was raised by a woman who knows diamond backwards and forwards and every direction in between.

So I am currently in the "convincing-my-fiance'-that-this-ring-is-THE-ONE" stage. It's platinum and has shiny diamonds on the band and a princess cut stone and colorless and VVS and ah...give me a moment here, I'm getting all lightheaded just thinking about it.

Rescue me

These fish live at the Gatlinburg Aquarium -- the odd thing is that they swim facing the glass, almost as if they are talking to the people who walk by...

Photo hoarding

Some fun wedding stuff that has caught my eye lately...I'm definitely in the idea-gathering stage of the engagement!

And I love this -- a big 'ol canoe filled with cold beverages (Alaskan Amber, perhaps?). D has a moose-hunting canoe that his parents generously hauled up here earlier this summer, but it's a bit dusty and grimy and disgusting after floating down a river up north. And I think it's a camoflauge pattern -- there will be absolutely zero camo items at our wedding.

Photobooth

From a random photobooth in downtown Gatlinburg. As you can see, the first shot caught us completely unawares... (click to enlarge)

Dead stuff on my deck

After a week of hunting, D returned on Friday evening with a ton of caribou meat. He shot a really nice one with his bow and it was so great to hear his happy voice on the phone afterwards! The drive is something like 16 hours north (one way) so I usually expect that he'll be gone for a week or more. This round took a week exactly.

When I think about it, the amount of work that goes into hunting is pretty staggering -- D shoots the animal, and then has to field dress it and haul the meat ON HIS BACK to the truck or boat or wherever (sometimes for miles and multiple trips). Then at home he pretty much butchers everything by himself (because I suck at this) and I manage to help a tiny bit with canning or freezer packing. The burger-making process is kinda fun though -- I am the designated grinder operator!

Here is the sweet rack off of D's caribou - his biggest one yet. It is outside on the deck so little critters can clean the meat off the skull. The magpies have really been eating up a storm over the past few days. These birds are fearless a-holes -- I'm pretty sure they enjoy challenging Drift and the cats when on the deck together.

Drift wants in, the cats want out. We spent almost an hour driving around and looking for Drift last night after he slipped out of the yard and went exploring. D finally found him not too far from our house.

Summer is coming to an end and I'm pretty sad about it. We had the most amazing few months -- unbelieveable weather, lots of family time, good fishing and an engagement! Best summer ever.

My outdoor plants are still hanging in there, especially the geraniums (my favorite). I've been trying to bring a few in and set them in bud vases before our first frost finally shows up and kills off the plants once and for all.