The House... and Banana Slug, Too

I have already posted pics from inside the house, and I have been waiting for a nice, sunny day to take a few shots from the outside. Today is that sunny day... and a magnificent SE Alaska day it is. A few clouds, and looking north up the Lynn Canal on the drive home, I could see snowy-topped mountains for probably a hundred miles.

The upstairs (under the roofline) was converted by the previous owner into an apartment, which is where Mike, our landlord, lives. Mike is a nice, quiet guy, works for the US Forest Service supervising trail and cabin maintenance on Admiralty Island, and so he travels a lot. He is pretty handy, and actually brought a 40-ft container to the yard on the left side of the house to replace the shop he had previously set up in the shed/mudroom that we now use as our storage and entry room. We are the first folks he has ever rented to, so we are endeavoring to train him properly in the care and feeding of tenants.

Like I said, a beautiful day out, and I guess you just can't keep a good slug down when the sun is out. This monster banana slug was cruising up the door frame, that is, before he was unceremoniously flung into the driveway. But he/she posed for a quick picture first.

There are kilo-tons of slugs here, something about living in a temperate rainforest. Our friend (and my able deputy) Danielle enjoys watching them, and actually has several species ID books on slugs and other slimy invertebrates. Wonderful.

In the end, I was enjoying the sunshine too much to ruin my karma by salting the slippery pickle and watching it turn inside-out. Rather, I can go on with stuff, and hope that the birds do the job for me.

KML

The Cats

They're only evil when photographed... yah, right. Who - us, eat Julie's plant on top of the refrigerator?? We're too cute and innocent to ever do something like that...

KML

Domestic Crap

So, the verbal feedback from family and friends has been favorable, but so far, no one has bothered to post any comments. Seems this blog thing is giving you something to do at work when you're not working (but really, doesn't that describe pretty much all of us). Jessica wants pictures of the cats, and the new house. What, isn't my keen wit and droll commentary about the wilds of SE Alaska enough for ya, huh?

The house is nice... three bedrooms: the master for Ken and Julie, the "Purple Room" with a queen bed for guests, and the "Bear Room" with two twins, also for guests. One bathroom to serve all, but it does have a jetted tub. With candles and bubble-bath, it does OK.

This is the love-nest...


And the "Purple Room"...

A really big living room, which is terrific for practicing setting up a tent. Julie and I "debated" for quite some time how we were going to decorate the large wall opposite the TV... you'll have to see it for yourselves to tell who won (and you just might be surprised).



Nice big kitchen, lots of counter space for me to cook my Julie truly excellent fare, and (as you can see) decorated with sunflowers. Big surprise, there. The really important item, the barbeque grill, is out on the back porch.

Julie has filled the antique china hutch that we inherited from my Grandma Lela with the set of Desert Rose china, also from Lela. The hutch was a pain in the ass to get here, but we are very glad we did. By the way, thanks again for everybody who helped us get out of Portland...

We also have a den/office/Ken's box staging area, which continues to confound Julie at her every attempt to get all the rest of the moving boxes either into the shed/utility room/mud-room, or into the garbage. I am running out of excuses here...

So then there are the two cats, Zoe and the Baby. They are adapting well to their new home. They were not happy with the 20-days spent in temporary quarters at the vacation rental house... couldn't go out (for fear the eagles would eat them), we wouldn't let them jump on the window sills (for fear they'd push out a screen, escape, and then the eagle-thing), and the hardwood floors that gave them no traction running around. At least now, there are all carpets and no wood. They are mostly back to their pre-move selves.

Drop us a line, and know that if you can find yourself blessed enough to be in Juneau, we'll keep the light on and the door unlocked...

KML

Hiking City, USA

You have to love a place where everybody tells you the first book that ya gotta get a copy of is called "90 Short Walks Around Juneau." So, Julie and I got our copy, and set off to start ticking them off. This was the first we hiked, back in June. Called the Herbert Glacier Trail, it leaves a trailhead near Mile 24, and goes thru the woods, following the creek, pretty level, about 4.5 miles to a sandy clearing at the foot of the Herbert Glacier. We were probably about another quarter to half a mile away from the actual glacial ice, but the trail stops and the shrubs get thick. Next time, we take sandals and walk thru the water to the gravel bank and then up to the ice. Or snowshoes, if we do this in the winter.

You can't see the Herbert unless you hike in, or take a helo. Well worth the walk... and some interesting 80+ year old automobiles along the trail, rusting into the landscape. And we got up close and personal with a very young porcupine that didn't seem to care about us at all. It was all Julie could do not to try to pet the thing...

The clearing at the trail's end might make a good backpack destination, except for the sand. Oh, and the tourist helicopter-inspired flashbacks to "Apocalypse Now." Darn tourists, making a noisy nuisance even way the heck out here.

When the summer sun doesn't go down until really late, you can start an adventure at 5pm, pack a dinner, and go. We went up the Spaulding Meadow Trail on a beautiful afternoon.

There are a series of alpine meadows, a sort of treeless marshy bog, as you climb the ridge. It is a fairly rough, muddy uphill slog thru forest, emerging into the sunlight of the first meadow. The view looks out to the southwest, with Auke Bay and Douglas Island right there. Here's Julie on the boardwalk.

Here's me...

This was the "clean" us, on the way up.

The climb thru more forest to the second meadow followed a very wet, very muddy drainage, lots of standing water, and places where the trail became hard to follow. I think beyond the first meadow, this is mainly a winter snowshoe, because it was just ugly. But in the end, it's only mud, and once you have that up to your shins, it can't really get worse. I think Julie was secretly digging the dirt. Anyway, the second meadow was worth the effort, but we really couldn't get more than about half the way thru the mud from there up to Spaulding Meadow at the top. We walked down knowing that we gave it a vigorous try, and we would be back in the snow when we can follow the blue diamonds on the trees instead of the least muddy path.

This Sunday we ticked off two more: the East Glacier Loop, and the Nugget Creek Trail, on the east side of the Mendenhall. It was lightly raining all day, and the Nugget is less travelled, and so has lots of underbrush to walk thru. Julie once again learned about wearing cotton jeans, as she was thoroughly soaked by the end of the 8 mile trip. Lots of old gold mining remains being absorbed back into the landscape, and a funky old mining cabin-like shelter at the end of the Nugget. The trail climbs along a gorge cut down from the icefields far above, with a roaring, milky torrent rushing by.

Water running in motion everywhere, frozen or liquid, with lots of either kinetic or potential energy. This seems to be a common thread in SE Alaska. This is the A J Falls, not related to the Nugget Creek, but a short walk off the East Glacier Loop, and so typical of the landscape. Water moving everywhere, constantly working the rock.

KML

Here we are in Alaska!!!

Can you believe that we are in Alaska? What an awesome and beautiful place that we live. I would have never guessed that I would live here. I always dreamed of visiting Alaska and seeing all its splendor. But then I meet that great guy in the Coast Guard and now I live here.
We both really love it here, even though its only been 8 weeks. We have so many things planned to do and see. We will be old and gray before we see everything Alaska has to offer. We are getting settled in our new home and the cats are adjusting. We have gone on a couple of bike rides and hikes. We even had a black bear in our back yard. Oh, and lets not forget all the eagles that we see. Every single day we see eagles, they are so big and beautiful. We invite you all to come and we will show you what Alaska has to offer. This is a picture of downtown Juneau w/ Mount Juneau in the background.

Julie

Alaska Marine Highway

The trip from Bellingham to Juneau on the ferry was wonderful. There is no doubt in my mind that the Inside Passage is about the most beautiful piece of water on the planet.

We departed on the COLUMBIA on Friday the 2nd of June, at about 6:00pm. It was a longish drive to Bellingham from Longview, where we stayed the previous night with Jan and Mike, but we got there early and had a last meal in the lower 48 at a cute italian place in town.

The COLUMBIA is no-frills, but the two-person stateroom was clean, well laid-out, and quite comfortable. Besides, we spent most of the time out on deck watching the scenery go by. Julie thought it a bit cold and windy, but I loved it, regardless of the rain and wind.

KML

Juneau and the Mendenhall Glacier

Everyone that passes thru Juneau has to take a shot of the Mendenhall Glacier. Here's mine.

I took this one in the evening on the 10th of June. Julie and I had just arrived in town on the Ferry on the 5th. We were living in a cute little two-bedroom rental vacation house off the back-loop, and took this during an evening explore to the Visitor's Center. I love the late twi-light alpenglow...

So, Juneau is beautiful. How can you go wrong with a town that has its own glaciers and snowfield?

KML

Here I Am

Welcome to this space.

My name is Ken Lawrenson. I live in Juneau, Alaska, with my awesome best friend Julie. I work for the US Coast Guard, and just transferred here in June 2006, taking a promotion as the Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Coordinator for the 17th CG District, which means the entire State of Alaska.

I moved here from Portland, Oregon; an amazing place between the Cascade Mountains and the North Pacific Ocean. As much as I loved Oregon, I have no regrets moving north... it seems my destiny. Kinda sad that I moved from my three kids (who live with their mother in Beaverton), but I hope to share my enthusiasm and love for this country with them.

More to follow soon.

KML