Florida

I have been hanging out with my grandparents in Florida before heading to South America. There is no shortage of things to do here, 4.5 days has gone by quickly. The trip started off a little hectic, United informed me my flight had been canceled and they were unable to get me to my destination in a timely manner. A few frantic phone calls, stressed internet searching, and technical failures later got me a flight on American 30 minutes before it departed.
My grandparents met me in Orlando and we headed to Disney downtown for lunch. We enjoyed a wild meal at the rainforest cafe. This time the trumpeting, moving elephants didn't surprise me. During our lunch there were three thunderstorms, wouldn't be a visit to Florida without a thunderstorm.
Wandering through the disney shops I was impressed by the variety of disney items you could purchase. My favorite shop was the toy store where you could assemble your own lightsaber!
That evening we went to a Cirque du Soleil show, La Nouba. It was incredible! Totally different than the show we saw in Vegas but equally as awesome. It was circus themed and very entertaining.
My grandparents live on Hutchingston Island which is one of the barrier islands. Their condo is right on the inland waterway. Every evening around 5pm the neighborhood heron comes in front of their porch for cocktail hour. His name is Hank and he does not get any cocktails, but fish fillets caught by Bob from the adjoing condo. It is a lovely way to wrap up the day, sipping wine (or scotch) watching the sunset and Hank.
Yesterday we visited the Florida Oceanographic Society. They have cownose rays in a touch tank, a trail walk through the mangroves, and a large pond with 60 fish species. My grandma arrange through a friend to get a behine the scenes tour. We learned a lot from our tour guide about the local marine happenings. He also told us he plans to increase the fish population in the pond from 100 to 1000 by June. I will be sure to check that out next time I am in town.
The condo community my grandparents are in is awesome! Everyone I have met has incredible life stories and continuing adventures, they are very social, fun, nice folks to be around.
After our visit to the Oceanographic Marylyn, another neighbor, invited me to join her for a kayak. It was great fun to paddle a boat for bit. Along the way I watched big fish chasing little fish, always a thrill to see.
Tomorrow I fly to Chile and in two days I will be on a boat. So I have been making sure to enjoy the new scenery and mobility while I am able.

2010 so far

We have been in AK since just before the new year. Last week it finally snowed! Which was great because it was getting pretty close to bare ground and where it wasn't it was just icy. We have spent a great deal of time reading up on the CDT, looking into our grea options, and deciding what we want to take on our South America adventure. There have been a lot of decisions made.
We also have been getting in some outdoor fun.
Lou and I did a snowshoe trip with Josiah, Bo and Leah. The snow was really well packed in most places. On the hike out the weather was wonderful, no wind, nice views, and a porcupine. Bo was really enjoying his first snowshoe trek, look at him run.
Below Lou is post holing through the partially covered alders, he put his snow shoes on shortly after this photo.

We started a little later in the day than we had planned, but we made pretty good time albeit in the dark. When we got to the cabin Ben and Rachel had a fire going and snacks ready, we feasted on burritos and cookies. Before heading out the next morning Lia and Bo made some belly feeling flapjacks. There were some incredible views on the hike out clear skies all the way around the peninsula. Unfortunately our camera battery froze. It was a cold day for trekking.

This picture was taken at 2pm on top of a ~1,000 ft hill. The is on the right just above Lou's head. But we gain light quickly, so the days are already noticeably longer.
Just after new years Bear Creek Winery sent out their first shipment to their distributor. There are 240 cases of wine in this picture!
It is incredible how much my parents have accomplished in the last 6 years.

More recently we have had a visitor from CA. Shaara and I presented at a conference in Anchorage last week. She flew up a few days early to check out Homer. Although she was only here for a few days we managed to fit a lot in. Her first day we spent exploring the shops and looking at eagles on the spit. We fit in a mid-day hottub while it was snowing. Dad made bacon wrapped scallops and BBQ copper river reds for dinner.
Sunday we got the day started with a few hours on the ski trails. Shaara had never xc-skied before.

Once she got the feel for having sticks attached to her feet she was cruising right along. I was very impressed. Look'in good Shaara!
The trail we were on passes by the dump, there are loads of eagles that hang out here. All the birds in the tree behind Shaara are eagles, some mature and some immature. Of course no visit is complete without a wind tasting. Shaara was able to pick put several wines that suited her taste. I did a little wine tasting too, there is always something new at the winery. Dinner Sunday was quite a show, we decided to make tempura and sushi rolls. The whole Fry/Arseneau/Geragotelis/Maurer Homer family unit was present. The tempura was easier than I thought it would be, yummy too. Keeping up with demand was a challenge.
Everyone got involved in filling and rolling the sushi. The platter of rolls was nearly emptied by the group. Grant scooped up the last 10 pieces to take for lunch the next day.
Happy 2010 everyone!

Hunting the great Meleagris gallopavo

The elusive and cunning meleagris gallopavo.

For those of you who do not know I took up hunting this fall. I decided to make it as hard as I could on myself and hunt using a traditional bow, a Fred Bear long bow to be exact. I decided that turkeys would be a good animal to start with since they are more plentiful and hopefully easier to figure out than deer or elk. I will save everyone the suspense by telling you now that I was not able to bag one of these wild birds. I spent about 10 days total over two months trying to get one and had a ton of fun.


Here I am on the hunt. This is a good pic of the type of terrain I was in.

I pretty much did everything short of bringing one home. I was able to find a good spot to hunt them on public land, was eventually able to find them every day I went out, stalked them, ambushed them, was able to get numerous shots off at them, and eventually found where they roost at night. Here is one of the more exciting days that I had out.



My quarry, in early morning light, at about 80 yards. These guys got away, damn!

The day previous I was unable to locate a single turkey so I was discouraged heading out this day but by 11:30 I was in a group of them. I hunted this group until about 3:30. I stalked them, tried pushing them in a direction and then running around them and waiting in ambush, and was eventually able to split them into two groups which they really do not like. They prefer to stay in a flock and will run a louie-with-bow-and-arrow gauntlet to be able to get back together. I was able to get three shots off during all of the running around and stalking. I finally spooked them enough to fly to a different area. I immediately followed in pursuit. As I came over a rise I spotted my quarry and…a three point black talk deer. The buck did not hear me approaching because the turkeys had already spotted me and were causing a ruckus in the leaves as they walked off. I was already within 40 yards of the buck but in the complete open. I moved slowly and quietly towards a bush for cover aa the buck moved towards me. We got to within 35 yards of each other. My effective bow range is within 25 yards so I was not able to take a shot but it was very exciting none the less.

Jasmine and I saw lots of wildlife while out looking for turkeys and the experience was something entirely new and full of unsuspecting realizations. I had a great time and am looking forward to heading back out in the spring although maybe this time I will head out with a compound bow.


Here is a pic of Mt. Mcloughlin which Jaz and I had a view of during clear days while out hiking. It was very striking once it was covered in snow.

Wyoming

Sydney and Brandon have been living in Lander for several years now and we had not been to visit them. Now that Jasmine has finished graduate school and we are free to roam a visit to Lander was high on the list of desired places to go this fall. So once again we headed east on I-80, that makes three I-80 transits since September.
I was incredibly excited to get to Lander. Syd and I have been best-buds since we were 5 years old, and they had just moved into their new house. We arrived in time for dinner on Wednesday. Syd make scrumptious enchiladas to kick off four days of good times with good friends. Friday, Syd and Brandon hosted a holiday party. There also was a group celebrating the completion of a 6 week biggest loser competition. The top four in the competition had all lost over 10 lbs, they all really got after it. It was a great party, Sydney and Brandon have a great friend circle in Lander. Syd and Brandon looking good and ready for their guests to arrive Friday.

Saturday we took our time getting going, but made it out in time for hike in Sinks canyon. We followed the river up the canyon admiring the ice forming over the flowing water. The trail ended at large frozen waterfalls.


Sunday, we made the most of our last day and headed to Tioga Pass for some skinning and to get in the our first turns of the season.
We love the winter.
Skinning in we heard several good whoomphs. One was big enough that I felt the shift underneath me. Brandon dug a snow pit to check the stability of the snow pack. It didn’t take much for the upper crust ~30cm to slide off the base at a 26 degree slope. There was also a rain crust on top which made skiing down a challenge for some of us.
And when I say challenge I mean a lot of face falls, one in particular where I discovered face slamming rain crust will leave a mark. See my forehead. It was a beautiful day to be out. Lou and I particularly enjoyed seeing portions of the divide we will be hiking in 6 to 7 months. Quite possibly we will be hiking on the same snow base we were skiing yesterday. Returning to Lander that evening Syd cooked up some chicken rice-good for the soul- soup. Before dinner we got suited up and walked the half block to the public pool and hot tub. Arriving at the door our hearts sank at the sight of the sign “HOT TUB CLOSED TONIGHT”. Drat. Thankfully the hot yummy soup warmed us up from the inside out.

It's official

On December 14 at 10am Jasmine turned 28! Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes, I felt very loved. This year my birthday had additional significance. I printed and turned in my finished thesis for binding. There is nothing more for me to do to complete my graduate degree. I am officially a marine biologist. Woohoo! Any trips to California in the future will be all play no business.

Merry Moose

Lou and I have been spending a lot of time with Jake this fall, playing cards, hunting, going on jogs, all sorts of fun. As we got closer to the holidays I noticed Jake’s moose rack could use a little holiday cheer. Jake, as many of you are aware, is big on holiday hats. So I found a pattern for a knit santa hat and got to work. It was a really fun project to make and fits the moose rack, and Jake, well.

Turkey week

At the moment we are in Oregon. We spent last night at Jake's after three days of turkey hunting (details from Lou soon). For thanksgiving week we were in Colorado for the 2nd annual Thanksgiving in Boulder.
Getting there proved to be more challenging than we expected. Just outside of Renno we started to lose lights in the dash board. Lou quickly determined we were dealing with alternator failure and pulled off at the next truck stop. Welcome to Fernley, NV, a dying town just off I-80. Although we were doubtful any of the local auto shops would be open the next day, Sunday, it was unlikely the car would make it the 33 miles back to Reno. With the help of the truck stop tendant we found the nearest hotel, 1.5 miles down the road. As we pulled up to the lobby to get a room the car died, and wouldn't restart. Lucky for us they had a room available and the parking spot was down hill from the lobby. With a little push we rolled the car into the parking spot right in front of our room. Sunday morning we went for a walk about of Fernley. The autoshops were closed, no movie theatre, but they did have a NAPA and it was OPEN. The fellas at NAPA were friendly and helpful, they had the alternator we need, yippy. and gave us the number for "best mechanic in town" that might be per$uaded to install it for us. We were back on the road in an hour and a half.
The first night in Boulder go the week kicked off in the right direction. Graham and Jake also were in town for the week, Alison made some yummy cookies and there was card playing.
Tuesday night Keith hosted a 20 person feast. He cooked up a delicious 7 rib roast! We brought a keg of hard cider and after dessert everyone got their dance party on.
Wednesday we started a little slow but made it to the track for a timed mile. I don't think any one PR'd this time, but Graham and Jake are a fun match to watch.
Thursday, more feasting and merriment! We began the day by participating in the 5km Turkey trot. I borrowed Al's chicken suit, it was a real hit. I was someones hero and met a lot of people fluent in turkey gobbling. There were 9 of us for dinner, but we could have fed 18. Everything was very tasty.
Jake wearing his turkey hat and carving the bird. Look at that spread!Keith made the worlds best stuffing, Lou made layered jello, Mel brought the mac and cheese, Phebe provided appetizers, Marie and Christopher made bacon wrapped scallops, and the rest of us provided support. The pie making turned into an all day thing, lesson learned be sure you have all ingredients before getting started. I love thanksgiving with friends, let's keep it going! Besides getting to hang out with everyone for a long weekend, I really enjoy sharing all our family traditions. Post dinner we played games, cards, hand stand competition, leg wrestling, you know, the usual.
Marie and Christopher getting ready to dig in. Christopher was a little under the weather most of the week, but rallied for the events.
By Friday we were all a little exhausted, but managed to get in a few climbs before Graham and Jake went to the airport. The rest of the weekend was spent lollygagging around a day in Rocky Mt. park and a day in Boulder.
Mel and Lou getting to the tippy top of the peak we climbed in RMNP.

All smiles and winter layers for the Maurer/Horan peeps.

We left early Monday back to CA. Lou had a potential contract in San Jose. We spent Tuesday night with Alexis. The contract wasn't suppose to start until tomorrow, so we spent the last three days in S. Oregon turkey hunting. Yesterday we found out Lou will not be working this month so we are back to pure fun for Dec. Check back to see where we end up this month