Category: Photos

Was a great Christmas!
Great company, Great gifts, Great food, and for Christmas day, Great weather (snow).

First off, I got the camera I’ve been wanting to a few years now, the Pentax K5.
Along with the camera, in the past few weeks I’ve bought a couple new lenses, a Sigma 10-20mm and a Pentax 55-300mm.
Also got a great little Mr. Beer to start/try to brew some of my own beer again.
To help with my photo editing, I got a new Bamboo drawing tablet.
And… drum roll please… Rock’em Sock’em Robots! Yes, the original.

The weather here has been very odd, way below average. In fact, it’s the worst, as far as cold temps and snow, on record. We did have a couple inches of snow day before Christmas here at the house, but it’s gone now, temps got up to 45? today.

Today, day after Christmas, headed out for a little two-tracking, and to let the dogs run a bit. We found some snow in the hills, a few inches, but by this time of year the trails should be groomed for snowmachines and too deep for cars and 4wd’s. Either way, was nice to get out and see some snow in the woods and trails.

Distorted Sunset 12.26.11

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Wycamp Lake

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Along the trail two-tracking

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Wonderful Goodies I got from Dawn on Christmas

Some Finches at the feeder

An Eagle Soaring. These were taken with my new lens at 300mm, and camera, at about 300 yards, probability much further.

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’til next time
Laters
Ed

Moose kicks woman who came too close in Town Square

A FAILED PETTING ATTEMPT: Victim is not seriously injured.

Read more: http://www.adn.com/2011/03/07/1742027/moose-kicks-woman-who-came-too.html#ixzz1G4Lb7Kku 

Way too many stupid people in the world.

While we here in the Valley have had rain and cool, cool but a few days, rain for now 30 days, Fairbanks has been under a heat wave. Fairbanks has broke a record just as we have only instead of rain, they are getting heat and hot heat it is, “FAIRBANKS — The late-summer heat wave spreading across Alaska pushed the temperature into the 90s in Fairbanks on Sunday for only the fifth time in August since 1904.”

Read more: Fairbanks Heat Wave

Ah well, such is weather I guess.

The next bit of text has nothing really to do with this post. It just needs to be said.

Fuck You Tea Party! All Versions!
They really are the biggest bunch of losers I had ever heard about. You’re worried about terrorist, look in the mirror. You are terrorist, people with your bullshit lame ass right (extreme) wing Christian I’m better then you, Sarah Palin loving, Bush The Terrorist loving, to hell with anyone that’s not white, get rid of anyone that doesn’t believe as we do shit. FUCK YOU!

’nuff said.

That felt good.. Fuck You!

OK, I’ll stop now.

Leaving home it was very cloudy with bits of rain, but once I got past Girdwood the weather turned out great. The skies became party sunny. I really enjoyed the drive into Hope, I’ve never been there. The whole way on Hope Hwy there were great views of mountains, large old growth trees, and rivers running along the road.  I spent a bit of time in the town of Hope, it’s a nice little historic tourist town. Then I headed up Palmer Creek Rd. I only saw about 3 other people up in this area, was very nice. The road travels up and around a valley and eventually gets above the tree line where there was still spots of snow. I looked for a good camping spot up there, but couldn’t quite find any to my liking. Spent some time just wandering around then headed back down to Hope in search of some place to camp. I drove just a bit out of town and spotted a small trail, turned in, and yay, there was my spot for the night. Great view across Turnagain Arm and in the other direction the mountain side.

I took a ton of photos on this first day. I’m still sorting them out, but here is a good chunk of them.

Turnagain Arm – before the weather broke.

Some shots of the town of Hope.

Views from Palmer Creek Rd.

Larkspur

Monkshood

Eli at the camp site.

’til then
Laters
Ed

Yes, it really was a nice trip through the Kenai, even if it did rain all last night, Friday, and my new tent blows chunks due to it leaks like a sieve.

Stories and photos tomorrow, Sunday.

One from the drive home this evening.

Turnagain Arm

That’s what today was, a bit of nothing, a nice relaxing day. I had planned on heading down to the Kenai today, but I changed my mind and just sat around the house. I did get things packed up for tomorrow though, including filling my gas tank and Gerry Can, which is now tied down on the roof. Come tomorrow morning all I have to do is load the Jeep and off I go.

’til next time
Laters
Ed

Yepper, I’m taking a vacation from all the asshole customers. Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, at 3:00pm I will be off until Monday next week. Not a very long vacation, I don’t want to eat up all my time, but it sure will be welcome.

I had a guy the other day that was upset that he could get his photos developed right away, all the time he could see we had a tech in working on the developer. He was saying, “I spend hundreds of dollars here on dog food and always get lousy service.” I felt like telling him to stuff his dog food up his ass and go buy it somewhere else. Some, a lot, people are just plain assholes, and even that is being nice.

Don’t get me wrong though, not all are assholes, some of our customers can be great to talk with. Mainly the old timers, having lived here for 30+ years, that have been here for quite some time. Funny thing is, is that most the time they, the old timers, have the same view on the other people as I do. And also how wimpy so so many people living here are. For one, how wimpy they are towards the weather, summer and winter. We’ve been getting a bit of rain the past few weeks, not a big deal, and not very much rain at all, but they think that a few cloudy days with sprinkles of rain is really bad weather. Now comes winter. They think that 6 inches of snow is a snow storm. These asscheeseheads don’t have a clue what bad weather is, really. My guess is that most of these dickheads are from warm, sunny southern states. To me, the weather here is well, to be honest, quite boring. The sunny skies during winter are fabulous, and the amount of snow we get here has it’s good and bad. The bad is that I do miss that deep deep snow, the drifts, the blizzards. The good is that I don’t have to deal with much snow but once or twice a winter with over 6 inches.

Now that that is out of the way. 🙂

During my time off I’m heading down to the Kenai Peninsula and wander around. Basically, where I end up at the end of day is where I’ll be sleeping. Sounds good eh? Just me and the dogs. I bought a cheap tend incase I need it. I have my Gerry Can strapped to the roof of the Jeep just incase. The first night I plan on driving up into Hope then out on Palmer Creek Rd for the night. Next couple nights I’m not sure on, though I would like to head down to Homer for a day. The only real plans, besides the first night, I have is going to a party in Nikiski come Saturday. Then drive home on Sunday. Oh, and taking lots of photos of course.

Anyway, enough of my rant and now you know where I’m heading the end of this week.

’til next time
Laters
Ed