It is Friday. I am very glad. It looks like I will be doing two jobs for a while longer. Darn......
No matter. It is Friday. And I am very glad.
For the next two days I will spend my time only focusing on my Mountain Boy, my goofy dog, and being outside as much as I can.
The morning started off partly cloudy, then as the day progressed the sky struggled to hold on to the last pieces of sunshine before finally giving in completely to the clouds.
My Mountain Boy and I agreed to meet at the Airport Dike Trail right after work. I have heard a lot about this trail, and after having visited it this afternoon I think it is so popular because it is so accessible.
It is located directly adjacent to the airport, and at least the first part of it (that we walked on) was simply a double track gravel trail surrounded on one side by the Mendenhall River and on the other side by construction.
We took a few interesting pictures along this short part of the trail, but the Mendenhall Wetlands Trail that we accessed from the Dike Trail was much prettier and much more interesting.
We did not wander very far tonight. LC's knee bothers him far too much to travel too far. But what we did see on this lovely trail, that overlooks the mountains and river was very beautiful.
I am glad that we had a chance to wander and explore together.......
When my hard man smiles, it lights up the world......
No matter where we travel and explore in this beautiful place, the glacier is always beside us. Or so it seems....
This airport is amazingly busy for a small airport. With Juneau being the capital of the state, and with Alaska having the largest population of private plane owners in the country, I suppose I should not be surprised.
But knowing it and seeing it are two different things.
Planes were taking off and landing non-stop the entire time that we were on the trails.
What amazed us the most, in addition to the sheer volume of air traffic, was the steep banking that some of the commercial planes had to do before landing.
I read somewhere.........I don't remember where.......that pilots receive specific training in order to fly into Juneau (maybe all airports in the state).
Steep mountains, short runways, severe fog and cloud banks.....
The few times I have flown between Juneau and Seattle I was surprised to learn that we were cruising at 40,000 feet. Even on international flights I do not remember flying at that altitude.
Very interesting to watch them fly directly overhead of us, and then watch them bank and land on such a short runway.
On the other side of Mendenhall River were two eagles. One had landed on a series of posts, and the other landed on this very complex, interesting and large piece of driftwood 100 feet away.
The eagles talked with each for quite a while and then finally this one took flight and landed on the posts, directly beside the other.
They sat side by side for a while and then eventually flew off in different directions.
Somehow I do not think they will stay in different directions for long......
Meadows of wildflowers and long grass, surrounded by sweeping and very beautiful mountains. I do not ever get tired of looking at such things.......
On the way back to the car and the truck Jamie came nose to nose with a little hot dog......
These next few pictures were taken at Eagle Beach last night.
My Mountain Boy called me from the gun store in the Valley to ask me if I wanted to make some sandwiches, and when he got back we would head to the beach.
That sounded like a very fine idea.
He bought a Ruger Super Redhawk 454 Casull and put a Marlin 45-70 on layaway, so celebrating with sandwiches, cookies, apple slices, diet coke and potato chips at Eagle Beach in the late evening sun seemed like a great idea.
We went to the campground side of the beach and ate our picnic.
There were a handful of young girls at another picnic table who came over to our table wanting to know if they could pet Jamie.
They called her name and she eagerly went right up to them, eagerly look for attention. Not exactly a killer guard dog by any means - Jamie has never met a person that she did not like.......
This is a picture of a handicapped bridge, sturdy as a rock.
A picture taken at the same time of the night - the above facing into the sun, and the one below taken with the sun at my back.
Jamie, my homebound dog for so many years, has become a wanderer along with both me and my Mountain Boy. She is greatly enjoying exploring, and yes.......my historically car-sick dog seems to have gotten over her car-puking-lap-puking ways.
We did not stay long. It was getting late. But I am glad that we took the time to visit this beach again.
So so beautiful.
The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man.
~Author Unknown
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