It was like walking out of a forest.....

It was like walking out of a forest and there was a lake.



Quote: Matthew Hebert, August 2009



Now most of you wont find some deep philosophical meaning in the above quote. And thank god for that. This was just one of many hilarious things said on our 5 day backpacking trip with Sarah into the Ten Lakes Area.



We went with two purposes. The first was to check out an area that was being reviewed to be opened up for snowmobiles. The second was a chance to spend 5 days with Sar backpacking.



We, being John, myself, Sarah, Tyler (sarah's really great boyfriend), Matt my nephew, and Katie his girlfriend, heading into uncharted wilderness in the Ten Lakes Area.



The route was to be to Rainbow Lake, via trail for 2.8 miles and then ????? miles bushwacking to the Lake.



We eventually arrive at the lake 5 hours later. It was beautiful and remote. Tyler got to flyfish and caught us dinner. That alone made the trip.



The next morning we headed up to the next lake, and I do mean up. All day we bushwacked, followed the topo map and crawled over trees. We pulled ourselves up the hill uses the trees. When we were all around ready to say enough Katie clearly states "There's the fucking lake". We all laugh, partly because Katie is hilarious and also because we were all relieved to find the lake. As we are sitting around the fire later that night, Matt goes "You know what, it was like we walked out of a forest and there was a lake. Which is exactly what we did.



I have no idea why it was so funny. But you know sometimes you just have to be there to appreciate the weird humor that family events create.



We had a great time and really admire both Tyler and Katie for keeping up with us.

We hiked next to Wolverine Lake, then to Bluebird the following day. Each lake gave us an opportunity to taste the fresh fish caught by Tyler and just have a great time with each others. We laughed, heckled each other and just had a fantastic time.


We are planning on going to the China Wall next year. Anybody else want to come?

So What would you do?

Saw this van on the road in Jasper national park. Made me wonder?

What would you do for a scooby snack.

Me, I would rent this van. God I would love to drive the mystery machine. Scooby Doobie Doo.

Abundent Wildlife

Sea Otter
Orca Whales (2 pods)
Sea Lions
Puffins
Dall's Porpoise
Humpback Whale

Yes! All spotted in one day on our Seaward Wildlife Cruise. For those of you who don't know, Kami and Russ came up for (3) days and we went on a cruise out of a Seward for the day, hiked up on Byron Glacier another day and went Bear viewing/salmon fishing on the last day. Had a great time.

The cruise was great except for the weather. It was very overcast, raining hard and rough seas. That all would have been fine if I would have remembered to take my Dramamine pills. But nope I forgot, so I feed the fish once over the hand rail. We had 6-10 foot swells and after a couple hours of that I decided to give my lunch to the fish. I was then fine. Felt bad for John since he had to stand beside me while I was not feeling well, but we all got to see amazing wildlife.

We also got to see bears up close while on the fishing trip (if you have this blog then you should have already gotten the pictures) If not send me an e mail and I will forward them to you. They are really cool.

Wanted to attach a video that Russ took with his camera of the Dall Porpoise. So enjoy, we did

No need for bear spray in Alaska

So how much money do you think we have spent on purchasing bear spray? We had I don't know how many people tell us that we had to have some and that we needed to "Watch out for bears everywhere you go". Well let me tell you folks, if you don't want to run into bears just take us hiking with you. Not only will you not spot bears, but you wont spot anything else either. We are like wildlife repellent. Just rub us on your clothes and you wont have to worry about so much as a out of control squirrel. Now mind you we have seen wildlife while driving. Nature's creature seem to really enjoy just chilling by the side of the road, staring at you with the look of "Go ahead, make me run out in front of you and ruin your car look". But hiking, nope they are not out there.

I figure it has to do with our perception of their natural environment. We would like to think that they spend all of their time foraging for food in the deep, dark, depth of the forest. That they are primal and less socialized then us humans. It really couldn't be further from the truth. You see they love roadsides. Human trash and all. They love campgrounds, again human intervention. What they now don't like is to actually forage. Why should they.

If you go to the Deep Creek boat launch out of Ninilchuk, you can see man's greatest contribution to the eagle population of Alaska. Every fish that is brought in in the area; halibut or salmon are cleaned, filleted and handed off to the lucky fisherman. What do they do with the guts, well they throw them on the beach. Yep, imagine numerous fishing charters with a boat full of 4 fisherman. Each fisherman can catch (2) halibut a day. So all those guts get thrown onto the beach for the eagles. Yeah us. We are provided for our national symbol. Oh, and also the seagulls, but no need to worry about they becoming overpopulated . So what happens to the eagle natural instincts to hunt? Let me ask you this, if someone put food in front of you or you had to go find your own, which would you choose? Yep they are not dumb birds.

Okay, I know I got off the subject of the bears. Sorry. I think that the point that I was trying to get to was that the bears pretty much don't want to see us anymore then we want to see them. (Although I really do want to see them, that is why I am going Bear viewing/salmon fishing)

Now I know that in the past my daughter has not allowed me to have bear spray. Something about the fact that I might use it inappropriately on people that are pissing me off. But if I have to go to the expense of having it, shouldn't I at least get to use it. Not on the bears of course, on the people. You all need to offer me your support on this one. I spent good money on this spray. I promise not to use it on anyone that really doesn't deserve it.

Cross my heart.

Halibut/Salmon Fishing- Cook Inlet- Kenai Alaska

Halibut/Salmon Fishing Rocks!!!

So John and I are in Alaska and have done our first (and definitely not last) fishing charter. We went out on a combo Halibut/King Salmon trip. Free advertisement here for Hooky Charters! If you go to Kenai, use them, they are the best guides, best price, best fishing spots. Our boat was the only boat that day that caught kings. Okay back to my story. So we have to be at the boat at 7:00 am. Yes, I know that is theoretically the butt crack of dawn for me, but I was there anyway. Drive to deep creek, get launched by a log skidder and out out to the wild blue. We started out with a fairly typical coastal day, you know, foggy. I caught the first fish, a small halibut, maybe 15 lbs, and went on a search for the salmon. The next part I am NOT making up, I see a salmon on the surface ( a red is what they call them up here) and tell the guide, "Hey I want to go over there where I just saw that fish" so he angles the boat and less then 30 seconds later I get a strike.

Pause in action for a second- Important Notice- I am left handed, poles are made for right handed people. so I have to reel like I have a muscular disorder. Get the picture.

Back to the action- So John comes over to help, and the guide says "Hey John, you have a fish on" so I get abandoned. The guy, Ray, in front of me also gets a hit. So we have (3) fish on. I get to play around for a while before losing my fish, because I reel like a spaz. But I grab my camera to get pictures of John. Over 20 minutes later, he brings a beautiful 40 lb King Salmon into the boat. See picture

Then we go Halibut fishing. I catch a 38 lb one, and another good size one (That is my limit for the day), John brings in a another halibut before we are done for the day.

Great day and good fun.

Here is the most important thing that I need to add. And this is specifically for my daughter Sarah. We were on the boat for 11 hours. NO bathrooms. And I made it. Guess your bladder training program worked. Thanks

ps. We saw Mt Redoubt during its little eruption state:

Sasquatch or ........

Sasquatch, is an alleged ape-like creature purportedly inhabiting forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid.





This is the now infamous picture taken years ago. Many people suspected that this was simply a man dressed in an ape suit. But what if it isn't? What if there really is a Sasquatch? What then?




Well first and foremost you would have to hide all of your Kokanee Beer since we all know that there is a "secret Sasquatch" on the label. If he "Does" exist, he is definitely going to what some $$$ for marketing using his picture.


Second, what does that say for all of the "hunters" out there. In all those years no one has been able to get a shot off. Really?





But seriously. While John and I were traveling to Alaska, I believe we have the proof that is needed. Yes a "photo" of the Sasquatch.


Okay, so now you see. Sasquatch right! I took this picture myself. There can be no more possible debate that he is real.




OR......... Could it be a picture of a grizzly bear taken with a panoramic lens from a motor home window traveling at 60 mph.

I leave it up to you viewers.

Alaska Bound

Okay I know that I have not updated my blog in a long time. Sooooo apparently my lovely daughter posted a peacocks and red panda entry just to get me to type something.

We have been extremely busy the last few months which to me means that we are having so much fun I forget to tell everyone else. But now we are heading to Alaska and I have been told by everyone that it is necessary to keep this blog updated, so I will really try to do my best. Our travel plans are to drive 4-5 hours a day with fairly major towns/cities to stop in. As we have not traveled these roads before, we figured better safe then sorry. There has been numerous people who have told us that the roads up here are terrible and you do not want to break down. So tomorrow is Edmonton. We dont have any major stops planned, except for Liard Hot Springs, but are reading in depth the Milepost that tells you everything there is to do and see from Dawson Creek on.

For those who didn't know we just left Whitefish where we helped Sarah do some volunteer work at the dog park that she is a board member on. Now we are out of her hair and off on our new adventure.

Keep checking back to see if I have kept up with my attempted promise to update this blog.

Love for the Animals!!!

I love P-cocks and Red Pandas!!!!!  On our way to Alaska, where there are no P-Cocks or Red Pandas, but there are Polar Bears....and Salmon

Arizona Brush Guard

Yes, for only $199.99 you can be the proud owner of the new, the amazing, the irreplaceable ARIZONA BRUSH GUARD. Do not accept substitutes. This is the REAL DEAL. You will not find this anywhere else.

What can it do you for you ask? Well let me just start by saying that this is the most amazing piece of automotive ingenuity. Why this one picture above actually mounted itself.

YES, that right! Mounted itself. No special tools needed and no assembly.

Now when you are driving down the roads in Arizona you can have the confidence to exceed the speed limit like everyone else knowing that you are protected by the ARIZONA BRUSH GUARD.

It will capture lallygagging roadrunners, it will put an end to those slippery sidewinders. Any and all annoying future roadkill meals will be easily caught in your new ARIZONA BRUSH GUARD.

Hurry now and we will throw in for absolutely nothing the AMAZING ARIZONA WALKING WATER STICK. These sticks are currently being carried by obnoxious tourist as they merrily hike the trails. What can these sticks do for you. WELL, I'LL TELL YOU.

They can tell you if there is water nearby. Simply throw the stick in a nearby creek or wash bottom. If it floats away then there is water. If it stays where you threw it, pick it up and try again. Hours of entertainment. Also, it can tell you if you are going uphill or down.

How you ask? Well if the stick is taller then you, you are going uphill and if it is shorter, then you are going down.

I KNOW, TRULY AMAZING.

REMEMBER all this can be yours for only $199.99. But act quick, time is running out!

GET OFF MY LEG...and other useful sayings?

Ever meet a person for the first time and they just blurt out some unique phrase or saying that you know is now going to be stuck in your memory banks like Walt Disney Worlds, "It's a small World." Well if you are humming the lovely ditty right now, then yes you understand.

You first need to understand that John and I are not overly social people, we DO NOT go out of our way to introduce ourselves to strangers. So it came as a complete shock to us when a very nice couple from California pulled into the site next to us and invited us over to their very nice motorhome for a cocktail. Since we are socially retarded, we had no idea how to politely say no, so we went. Now comes the fun part.

NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE UN-INNOCENT. (But god only knows who actually reads this, so better safe then sorry).

Okay, so here was our night. Butch and Doris, a nice couple from california invited us over for cocktails. They have (3) bloodhounds in their over $300,000.00 motorhome and we instantly gravitate towards the dogs. They don't require clever conversation, just a scratch on their bellies, leaving me to not have to come up with conversation topics. We let our new friends tell us about themselves. Got the impression that they made their money in maybe not the most reputable ways, and are now traveling for a short period of time. Butch, a self proclaimed REDNECK, proceeds to consume over (5) whiskey and cokes and tell us things that really we didnt want to know. His very lovely wife, numerous times, reminded Butch to watch his language, not be so rude, etc.

Now out of the blue, Butch looks at Doris and says "GET OFF MY LEG". There was really no need at this point to ask, Why Butch what do you possibly mean by that statement. All I could hope for was that John would not blow wine out of his nose due to excessive laughter. Needless to say, that phrase was used numerous times through out our evening. Finally Butch passed out on the floow of their motorhome and we escaped.

The next day, both John and I thought of numerous times in the past where we would have loved to have used the phrase. But the one that immediately came to both of our minds was dealing with a motorhome salesman. Now if you have ever bought a car you know actually what we mean when you get to the point with a salesperson that you would love to say. "Get off my leg".

So from us and Butch, please feel free to use the above saying when the appropriate moment arises.

PS> Butch's other unique phrase of the evening: Fight, Fuck or play marbles. Have no idea what that means.

Whipple Mountains and Turtle Mountains Wilderness Areas

It has taken me some time to come to a point where I stopped looking at each area, compare it to the last one, vote better or worse and move on. At some point in your life you really have to start looking at things for what they are. Not what they might be, could be, should be or "compared to" whatever to find their true meaning or value. After we left Arches and Zion we found ourselves in the "desert". No longer in a canyon gorge or arch invested national park, but instead in the open expanse of central west Arizona. Parker Arizona to be exact. Yes there is the Colorado River, but move 1 mile from the lush green borders of the river and you enter a world where the green landscape icons are cacti. No sweeping arches, no vertigo creating canyons, no red rocks or snow capped La Sal Mountains. Here it is dry, brownish grey and to the human eye devoid of animal life. We decide to hike in two more wilderness areas while we were down here, the first "Whipple Mountains and the second Turtle Mountains.








Whipple Mountain wilderness is located south of Lake Havasu City and can be entered from numerous power line roads. We decided to enter from an area called Whipple Wash and hike into the canyon beyond. The area was just starting to turn light green from a previous light rain. The canyon would have been unnervingly quiet, except the day that we hiked we had a 30 mph wind. No animals, no birds, no nothing for 3 miles in.










We had a brief lunch in a small area where we could get out of the wind.












We hiked up several small side canyons to find ourselved choked out by vegetation.




Heading back to the car we started to discuss why we never seem to see any type of wildlife. We both showered, we try to walk quietly, I even put the camera in my backpack. Still nothing.



Just when I thought we would be hiking one more wilderness area with no animal sighting, we heard the most hilarious sound. I had never heard a burro before, and since he appeared to be having a huge hissy fit, the sound made me laugh so hard I thought I was going to pee my pants.


Granted we would have never known that the burro was there had he not annouced his presence.












So burros actually do exist in a natural setting.





Needless to say, maybe there is animal life teaming in these wilderness areas, they just have not be informed that they are to annouce themselves so that we can see them.



Some one needs to get the message out






Okay, so the second area was Turtle Mountains. We basically went here because John saw on a map that it was a great place to do rock hounding. So off we drove for an hour through some of the most un-entertaining landscape there is. Vidal Junction to Las Vegas. A vast wasteland of nothing. We miraculously found the turn off for the area and drove for about 5 miles out a "not maintained" 2 wheel drive road (according to BLM). For everyone else it is a 4 mile drive road only. We knew we were there since Arizona and California BLM wilderness areas are usually designated with really nice signs (shitty roads but nice signs)




We heading off on what appeared to be an old access road towards to the canyons. As we walked we noticed that there were tons of interesting rocks that we had not seen in any other area around Parker. Pretty soon we were miles into the canyon, not having seen much as we had been watching our feet looking for rocks.




John spent alot of time with his rock hammer seeing if he could find that one 5 pound gold nugget. No luck on the nugget by the way. We spent several hours just hiking around, enjoy the sun, the time together and the opportunity to be outside. It was then that I realized that while I was so busy worried about seeing an animal, I was missing seeing the area for what it had to offer. It is true desert. Hot, dry, and hostile but still beautiful. It is what it is.


Realizing that maybe I was being a little selfish, here getting to hike everyday while other people have to work, I remembered how fortunate I am.


Being retired and free to hike in an old boring canyon. Poor me. But it is what it is!

Gibralter Mountain and East Cactus Plains Wilderness Area

Believe it or not we are actually back at hiking in the wilderness areas. November and December were in Moab, UT volunteering for the national parks. Now we outside of Parker Arizona on the Colorado River. There are numerous wilderness areas surrounding us and we plan to get into as many as possible in the month and a half that we are planning on being here.

Arizona BLM has really nice signs for their wilderness areas and not so great directions or maps. We did the ever popular go out, drive around until you find a road that looks right, drive down, realize it is the wrong road and try again. Anyway we found the Gibraltar Mountain Wilderness fairly easy as there was a freaking big mountain to aim towards.

After being in Moab the scenery was amazing different and yet desert beautiful in the same way. Not expecting to see anything or having a specific destination allowed us to just wander and take in the surroundings.

Even though the Colorado River is less then 15 miles away, this is very dry landscape. We saw no wildlife, which is not unusual for us, on our hike thru the area.

We did see numerous varieties of cacti which I love.

We hiked for about 3 hours around the area and saw numerous rock formations while soaking up the sun.

Wanting to get to our second wilderness area we walked back to our car and heading for East Cactus Plains wilderness.

EAST CACTUS PLAINS.

We figured that this was one of those wilderness areas where four wheelers have basically tore it up, traded it to BLM as "wilderness" and got a brand new area to ride in.

There is basically open desert for as far as the eye can see. A power line borders one side and a military bombing area (heard did not see) in the distance. We took a short walk-a-bout thru the area to just look around.

The area was barren and yet pretty in a way that I cant really explain. If you have ever been in the desert, then you understand.

A Canyon in a drop of water

John and I were hiking in the Red Cliffs Recreation Area on the Red Reef trail when we came upon a small drop of water frozen from a log. After taking the picture and viewing it on screen, John noticed that you could see the vague outline of the canyon in the water droplet.





Not sure why this one picture made me think of writing a poem, but it did, so here it is.

A Canyon in a Drop of Water


A canyon in a drop of water
A desert in a grain of sand
Hope in a flowers new bloom
Clarity in a clear blue sky
Strength in an old oak tree

Love in the beat of a heart
Destiny in a blink of an eye
Misunderstanding in a furrow of a brow
Pain in the cry of a small child
A promise from the soft whisper in an ear

Realization in the flash of lightening
Promise in a spring shower’s rainbow
Possibilities in the mistakes we’ve made
The future in the star filled night sky
The past in the friends who’ve always been there

A Wish in the palm of your hand
A Dream………
A Moment…
A Lifetime…….

Great moments measured by the smallest of indications

Darlene Lundstrum; 01-05-09

Beaver Dam Moutain Wilderness, St George, Utah

Okay, I know that is has been awhile since my last post. Lets just say that we have been on hiatus and are now back on our wilderness adventure. For the last two months, we have been in Moab Utah doing volunteer work for Arches National Park. The plan was to stay a month, do some work for the park, see the desert in the snow and move on. Our one month stay turned into two, and would have been longer had the weather cooperated. We met some great people at the park that wanted us to stay on longer and do some additional trail work, but the snow was not very accommodating. Before leaving the area we did however make arrangements to be back in the fall of 2009 after our Alaska trip. We did get to see the desert in the snow. It was amazing, the contrast between the red of Arches and the white of new snow. It is something that I think everyone should see at least once in their lifetime.

Leaving Moab, (we were hoping for warmer weather,_we have stopped in St. George Utah to explore some of the nearby wilderness areas and of course Zion National Park. We decided to explore the Beaver Dam Mountain Wilderness area that straddles Arizona and Utah. It is a small wilderness area that covers a 5 mile stretch on both sides of the BLM road.

We had beautiful weather that day, even though it was a little cold. The area has sporadic sections of brilliant red rock, lava flows and rolling gullies that look flat from far away. We decided to hike out to an area where the wall was red and there appeared to be a balancing rock. In route, we ran across and into numerous Joshua trees, which if you don't know are freaking prickly. We also saw numerous cacti, that someday I will actually learned that names of.

So we are back to our treks through the wilderness and seeing new things.

I hope that I never get bored with this new lifestyle, it is hard to imagine that as possible.

Especially when things like the below picture happen.