Hiking and Duplexes

Log at the Beach

The Shape of the Roots Made This a Great Picture (still on the beach)

I changed programs part way through this posting - finally figured out how to put some pictures and wording where I wanted it.  COOL!

My temporary room-mate and I decided to go exploring on one of the trails, and we decided on an area that included a combination of trails, Boy Scout camp, and beach.  Yes - beach in Alaska in January.
A couple scheduled to come out with us decided against it when they saw the heavy rain this morning.  Lacey and I decided to go ahead anyway.  I am very glad that we did.
By the time we left Auke Bay and started to head Out the Road it was raining heavily, but within a mile of the condo we hit snow that quickly became very heavy snow.  The trail was maybe a 10 mile drive (drove past a couple of homes that I have been eyeing on the real estate sites).  Out the Road is very beautiful, very peaceful, and very much the area that I would love to live in.  I'm not sure that it is going to fall into place the way I would like it to, but Out the Road is my dream area of Juneau to live in.  We'll see.
Surprisingly we ran into people in the parking lot (bad weather doesn't stop Juneauites from enjoying the outdoors thankfully), and ran into a few more walking their dogs during the 2 hours we were out there.
The trails were........beautiful.  Everywhere I looked it was beauty - mountains, the ocean, snow and ice covered trails, "Christmas trees" (written for you my LC) - sea otters in the water at the point, playfully watching us, submerging, and popping up again - even an eagle.
Winter has always been my favorite time of year.  The trails are always so quiet (whether it's TN or Alaska), so empty, so peaceful, so still.  I had a wonderful and very enjoyable walk on my first expedition into the wilds of Alaska.  The other good news is that my Gore-tex hiking boots held up fine for the duration of the wet adventure (after being put through their biggest test since I bought them a couple of years ago).  Someone told me once that there was no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices......
Tonight went to see a duplex - the rent was reasonable, included all utilities, and most importantly accepted dogs.  I found out tonight that for $1200 in Juneau you can get to live in a place that is in a very high density area, close to the airport, with a front yard that is underwater when it rains, and contains a front porch full of trash and debris.  Thanks.  But no thanks.  We didn't even bother going in to have a look around.