Palinized

I don't know how to explain it. We didn't see one person who intentionally wore a costume that resembled Alaska Governor and Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin.

The Snows of Kodiak Island

We've had several days of snow here on the island. The roads are getting slick (we saw three trucks in the ditch today) and the peaks are showing a bit of accumulation. Haven't put the skins on yet, but I sure am feeling the itch. We snapped these photos this afternoon while spotting a few potential tour routes. The three peaks shown here are known as the Three Sisters. They are visable from several spots in town. Every clear day there they sit, glistening white, each of them taunting me with their unique topography. Click the photos to get a closer look. Ski them all in one day? The countdown has begun.

They know a bit about Mavericity 'donare' in the 'Burgh'

Sam Franklin, Kenyon Lord, at his all time best status. Looks like he's working hard to get out the vote in the "swingin'" state of Pennsylvania. Enjoy.

Shelley Visits Kodiak & Hilarity Ensues

Guest Blog: Shelley Sanderman

Clockwise from top left: Here I am, opening my "welcome" gift. My lovely hosts provided me with Alaskan beer, Alaska magazine, Alaska sticker, postcard and mug. Best of all...Alaska socks! Photo right: My triumph over Pyramid Mountain. Meghan showed me the amazing views of the ocean, mountains, and volcanoes. It looked very pirate's cove-esque.

Next: Enjoying reindeer sausage at King's Diner. Impulse item. Last picture: Reconnaissance. I was able to thwart the local seabirds' activities by building my own nest in the Kodiak grasses. Although my wildlife viewing skills have vastly improved, the Kodiak bear remains elusive. We seem to visit all the same locations, but he leaves shortly before I arrive. I am hoping to have better luck finding him if I wear my new socks tomorrow...

New Bike + Hungry Bears = Kodiak Excitement

The bears on Kodiak are in the final stages of hyperphagia. Although most have of the bears around town have fattened up, they are still looking for a few thousand more calories before heading to the hills for winter. Their preferred food sources, salmon and berries, are becoming less available and we have had numerous reports of bears picking through trash cans. The local experts say that we will see bears in and around town for the rest of the month. That said, we are on high alert for hungry bears. I was on high alert for big brown bears on my mountain bike ride yesterday. Sure enough, near the end of my ride at Boy Scout Lake, a forested state recreation site, I rounded a turn as a very fat dark brown bear was making his way down the hillside toward a stream. I skidded to a stop and caught the attention of the bear. He started to move back up the hillside, stopped, and looked over his shoulder to figure out what I was. A large tree blocked our direct eye contact as both of us waited for the other to make a move. After catching my breath and relieved to see that he was not moving any closer I used the most confident voice I could muster and told the bear to "go on, go on." Once he realized that I was just a nonthreatening human he began to walk down the hillside, keeping one eye on me as he made his way down to the stream. After that I headed for home, on the paved well-traveled main road. October bear count = 2.