Happy Halloween

Do you have on your Halloween socks? That's usually as far as I go (all right, maybe I also wear my pumpkin t-shirt...) to dress up for Halloween, although I love carving the jack o' lantern, hanging up the pumpkin lights, and fixing a special Halloween dinner.

But things here in Ketchikan will be a lot different for us this year - I just read in the Daily News that our street is one of the main "candy routes." They block off our street and two others so the trick-or-treaters can be safe. Do you think about 600 pieces of candy will suffice??? (Stay tuned...) I actually opened the huge bags of candy I bought at Wal-mart and counted the pieces so I'd know how much we'd need for next year.

There are lots of ways for kids and adults to celebrate including "trunk and treat" activities in case it rains. There are enclosed parking lots where people can park and distribute candy to parading costumers. There are numerous activities at lots of downtown locations like the museum, library, discovery center, visitors' bureau and so on.

More fun things about small town living...

YAY Phillies

Yippee - the Phillies won! I'm not a true baseball fan - or sports fan for that matter - but when the hometown team finally wins after 25 years without a win, you have to celebrate. The game was televised here at 4:30, so I was able to watch while I started dinner. The looks on their faces - of pure surprise, in a way, that they had really won - was touching. So, congrats, Phillies, and may you win again and again. Just like another hometown team, which was even more years without a win...

Yesterday I had a big adventure. Robert recently bought and installed a Heinzmann hub motor on my bike. The hills here are so straight-up that it's impossible to pedal up. He's been a long-standing fan (for about the last 15 years) of electric hub motors for bikes. The one he got replaces the front wheel and is powered by a rechargeable battery that slips into a bike pantiere attached to the rack on the back. There's a small tab near the shifter on the handle bars which powers it. The motor and the new front wheel add additional weight, so initially it's a little tricky to get used to it.

I needed some things from the grocery less than a mile away at the bottom of the hill. I thought about walking with the "granny cart" for exercise, but then the lure of motoring back up the hill drew me to the garage to see if Robert had taken it to work. He's been alternating between his regular bike and my bike which can be changed to accommodate his height.

There it was - just waiting for me to climb on. So I did and away I went. The hills are straight down, so I needed to brake hard to get on the main road. After I shopped, I loaded the items in the metal basket on the back and then put the rest in the backpack I had worn. Of course, I bought too much and couldn't even zipper the backpack - so the bag of pretzels peeked out. It wasn't raining, so I was fine.

I took off, still pedalling on my own. But when I got to the mammoth hill to go back up, I flicked the control and WWWHHHHRRR the motor purred. I was still pedaling, to help it along, but the motor was doing 95% of the work to get me up the hill. If anyone had been watching, I would have seemed like super woman pedaling serenely up the hill without so much as a pant, pant.

Today it's sunny and gorgeous - the mountain peaks were covered with snow and the mist was flowing around the middle - a sight I hadn't seen before. Then, within a matter of minutes, the mountains were fogged in. Now it's all burned off and I plan to take out the bike before lunch, go downtown in the opposite direction and pick up the bike path that heads south.

More later...

Stormy Week

This week we've had two major storms, both with wind gusts higher than 40 mph. The total accumulation was about 2-3 inches each day. I think this is what the parents of my friend, Stormy, meant when they named her Stormy after she was born in October...

The first storm was on Tuesday, the same night that Gary Puckett (without his Union Gap of 70's fame...) and Juice Newton were performing at Kayhi (local name for the high school at the bottom of our street). Robert and I went down to see them in the middle of the storm. The wind and rain were both whipping so hard that at times it felt like we'd be mowed down. We both had on raincoats, boots, and rain pants, so we were nice and warm and dry when we arrived. (I had tucked several plastic grocery bags in my coat to stow the wet gear during the concert.) The performance was great. Ol' Gary may be 65, but he can still belt them out!

Ironically, I really like this weather. I feel justified in staying home and working without the temptation to go out. Although, the other day, it began to clear, so I jumped up from my computer, put on my raincoat (just in case - I'm learning...) and took off down the steep hill that our house is on and an even steeper hill into town at the very bottom of the hill. There's a store there - Rain Forest Crafts which has yarn and fabric among other crafty type things, and I'd been wanting to check it out. But the time I was finished with my purchase - maybe 15 minutes, another deluge had began.

I had no rain pants or boots on, but in the spirit of the Last Frontier, I continued to the Safeway across the street, picked up a couple of items for dinner and then set off back up the hill. By the time I got home I was SOAKED. My jeans were dripping and my shoes were sopped. The top third of me was fine - I'd been covered with a raincoat and a hood. Lesson learned - never venture anywhere without rain pants and boots even if it looks like a picture-perfect sunny day.

Cutting Class

Yep. I did it. I cut class.

I was supposed to go to dance class - in fact I was on my way - when I drove to the crest of the hill and saw the sun. It was off in the distance, at the other end of the island, toward Herring Cove. I had my camera with me, so I knew the tap, tap, tap of dance would have to wait for next week. I had to capture the light.

Off I went, and I was not disappointed. I've posted a sampling of the photos I took. I am entranced by the shades of blue, grey, and white in the sky. I love the way the light reflects off the water - it is just magnificent. I've been taking photos in the hopes of entering several in a photo contest sponsored by the North Pacific Research Board for photos taken within US Alaskan waters.

One thing that struck me today was how much different the images are in the fall - despite the fact that the colors here are much less vibrant than what I'm used to on the East Coast. Still, there is an "autumnal" feel to the photos as the grass has turned golden.

Rainy Sunday

The weather outside my window is true SE Alaska from what I've been told. The wind is whipping the branches, and it's pouring. The temperature this morning was in the forties. Believe it or not, I like it. We have the wood stove going, and it's very cozy inside. I love the cooler weather, and the rain makes me feel like I have an excuse to goof off - work on the Sunday crossword puzzle, finish the so-so book I'm reading or crochet some more of the baby blanket I'm working on.

Last week, I was excited to finish the first draft of a picture book manuscript. Last year was such a lost year with selling the house and moving, that I didn't accomplish much writing-wise. So, to actually finish a manuscript was a big deal. Now I'm on about draft #50 and hope to have it wrapped up by next week.

Last night was the Monthly Grind. It's a town talent show held at the Saxman Tribal House south of town which contains a stunning carved "screen" which is sort of like a wall of totems. This screen also serves as a backdrop for the stage. The rest of the large room is rustic with benches along the walls and a stepped down, pit area in the center where folding chairs are set up. Last night's line-up featured a preview of Pirates of Penzance, the First City Player's performance for November, tap dancing and several musical acts. It also happened to be Alaska Day which commemorates Alaska Statehood. (It's interesting how I'm indirectly learning all these facts about Alaska... I couldn't tell you when PA became a state!) Some skits and songs celebrated the regions of Alaska.

One of the best parts about the Grind is the dessert table. There's a contest for best desserts and if you bring one, you get your money back for one ticket. Attendees bring an amazing array of goodies. I tasted some yummy cookies, cakes and even an apple torte. Amazingly, there's enough for everyone to have samples.

Silvis Lake Hike

I should have been doing my 1,000 words a day for the women's novel I'm working on (a goal I've only met a couple of times - but I still try...), but when I saw that sunshine, I knew I had to get outside. I called a new friend who lives by the water in bear country. She had suggested a hike to Silvis Lake earlier in the week, and today seemed liked a great day to do it.

From her house at the other end of the island, she scooped up her Jack Russell, and we drove down an unpaved road for about ten minutes, parking near the hydro electric plant. The trail was a gravel road that was mostly straight up! Directly straight up - so that talking, initially (for me, anyway...) was hard. My friend is in great shape and seemed fine to talk.

She pointed out all kinds of interesting botanical information like what a muskeg is and where the wild huckleberries and blueberries are. I had a small container filled with water which I emptied. We loaded it with huckleberries so I could take some home. The trees I thought were birches were actually mature alders. They're the ones which turn yellow.

I was reminded of how much I liked the change of seasons in NJ and MA because of the differences in the wetlands. It's similar here in AK. The foliage display is minimal because of the number of conifers. But the rest of the landscape - shrubs, muskeg (sort of like a cranberry bog/marsh, but not as firm), berry bushes, moss, and lichen - turns shades of red and gold which are very pretty.

The Silvis trail meanders past the pipeline through which the water runs to the hydro plant. There are holding ponds which can be dammed up, depending on the amount of water. But one of the best sights was the snow on the mountains. It's new snow because it wasn't there last weekend, and this week is the first time the temperature has dropped into the thirties at night in town.

The hike up took about an hour. We were rewarded at the end with a spectacular view of lower Silvis Lake as well as upper Silvis Lake in the distance. Apparently, you can hike way up there, over the mountains and eventually get into town. Maybe next summer as once it snow up there, it's not as safe to hike.

When Robert came home from work, there was a nice surprise - a sherry glass full of fresh wild huckleberries.

Sunny Day Photos

I had planned on writing today, but when I saw that the early morning mist had burned off and the sun was out, I packed a quick picnic lunch (sandwich, carrots, apple and some of that yummy sweet/salty Kettle corn they have here) and hit the road. I drove south of town along Tongass Road and parked at the Rotary Beach parking lot. From there, I walked along the bike path that runs for more than 5 miles along the shore. It was gorgeous. The cliffs I photographed were right along the left hand side of the highway.

After dinner Gates had a soccer game at Fawn Mountain - an elementary school which is located at the top of a very, very high hill. The soccer field is located above the school - it's so high that you can't even see it from below. You just see tall firs stretching into the sky. There is a great new track up there, too, that's fun to walk around while we're watching Gates play.

As we were driving towards the school, I caught sight of waves crashing against rocks on the beach. We had never driven along Tongass at high tide, so this was new to me. I knew I had to try to capture it. After we parked, down, down, down the hill I walked and then up, up, up I hiked when I was done. By the time I took these photos, the sun was gone and replaced with a twilight mist.

The final pictures I took - I couldn't resist - were of Old Glory and the Alaska state flag flying above the school.