Moving On

In about 2 hours, I will leave Homer and slowly make my way out to Baranof, but we will get to that later.

The rest of last week was relatively uneventful, but Friday we went up to Seward for Ry's basketball game--another blowout win.  On the way up, though, we decided to make a stop at Johnson Lake again to ice fish and it proved fruitful.  We ended up with 7 rainbow trout in under an hour!  And of course we were stalked by an eagle.  Apparently I got to see Seward on an unusually sunny day, and the drive up was beautiful.  Except all the trailhead signs got me thinking about all the trouble I could get into out there!  Resurrection Bay looked stunning as well in the sunshine, but everyone told me it is rare to see the sun in Seward.

Anyway, after getting back late Friday night, we headed out to the cabin on Saturday morning.  While they keep complaining that there isn't enough snow, it certainly is more than I'm used to and I had a great time riding again!  I am definitely getting more confident and comfortable driving the snowmachines.  Despite seeing lots of ptarmigan tracks, we only found one bird, which Ry hit and I ate!  After learning how to play cabin ping pong (in which Ry and I smashed Mickey's record...) and a great night's sleep, we woke and spent most of Sunday riding again.  There were still tracks everywhere, but we only came across three birds, and got them all, on the last day of ptarmigan season.

Monday wasn't particularly thrilling, but necessary.  Mick and I spent most of the day in the garage doing repairs to the sleds and then got dinner with some of their friends in town.  Tuesday consisted of grocery shopping, among a few other errands, then going to sight my rifle in.  Unfortunately, rather than sighting the scope, I broke it, but the company is sending me a newer and better one, so that's a plus I guess!  We figured that was enough work for one week, so we spent Wednesday and Thursday riding again and actually enjoyed the snowiest days I'd seen here yet, although it wasn't quite like what Maryland got. I did manage to stay upright and not stuck for the entire last four days of riding!

Now, I am all packed up and we are heading to Seward again shortly for a basketball tournament.  Depending on energy levels, we are discussing skiing Sunday, or somehow getting me to Anchorage on Saturday or Sunday, where I'll stay with Ian again for a couple nights.  On Monday I have a meeting with someone from the Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage, then on Tuesday at 8am I fly to Sitka.  I will spend Tuesday and Wednesday in Sitka, then fly to the hatchery on Thursday the 11th, but don't begin work until the 15th!

I'm not sure what my internet access will be like, but I'll do my best to stay in touch!