Is heat like pain?

It was hot here today. Well, really all this week.
How hot was it?
It was above 75.
We remember that 75 is hot here. Maybe like 95 is hot in Tucson. But remembering isn't the same as feeling.  Like pain. You remember that it hurts, but you don't re-feel it during the memory. Otherwise women would each have only one child, and nobody would have more than one tooth pulled.
So, when I picked Peggie up from the popcorn shop where she works on the reservation system after driving her tour, I took her down to the harbor. It was probably closer to 100 in the shop. Not only is it enclosed, but they have those poppers putting out steam all day. A/C?  Nobody here knows what that is.
So we drove down to the harbor where the wind off the water reminds us that it is cool here. We didn't have a thermometer (except the one in the dashboard that I didn't think to look at until just now) but I think it was more like 45 there. We could only stand it for a few minutes. But it sure cooled us off as well as an A/C.
So the tours are going well. We are seeing a few bears. I am up to seven for the season. Saw the same sow and cubs I saw the other day. No, I haven't named them yet. Peggie has seen one. But we aren't keeping score. wink wink

Happy Birthday Jane

I tried to do this yesterday, but couldn't get connected. So it's a day late. But, you're young so you will get over it.
We are enjoying the sunshine and warmth and watching the snow melt. We are wearing short sleeves. The natives and young seasonals are wearing shorts and tanks. Kids were playing in the melt-water at Lake Bennett. Not me. The air is warm, but that is cooold melt-water.

Temporal anomoly

I just noticed, from reading a few previous posts, that another week has passed. I seems to me that it happened more quickly than is normal. My current working hypothesis is that at higher latitudes time passes more quickly because the circumference of the earth is smaller. I will try to design some experiments to test this theory. Since this journal is peer reviewed, I welcome input from other temporal observers. At the moment, I am discounting the temporal distortion created by sitting at a computer, since I get very few chances to do that with our iffy internet hookup. It has been well documented that being busy has an accelerating effect on time, so I will factor that in as well.
It is a day off, and laundry has to be done. Laundry is the kind of busy-ness that actually slows time down. It should create a nice balance to the speediness that causes a day off to pass by so quickly.
So t t f n, I hope your Saturday does not go too quickly.

Finally!!!

Today Peggie was stuck in the office, which is happening too frequently since Heath found out she is good at it, but I went out on tour. It was the day I have been waiting for. Yes, bears. We had a fairly close look at some dall sheep. We saw a moose in the road, but she ran into the woods when we were still 50 yards off. Then, in the section of Tormented Valley where bears are rare, we rounded a curve and three buses were stopped. Atop a twenty foot cliff face was a black sow with two cinnamon cubs. They stopped right above us and the sow stood up to grasp a small tree and bring it to the ground so she could eat the new growth at the top. The two cubs emulated her in typical child-like clumsiness. My passengers were afraid they would tumble down the cliff. They were on the right, so I had to practically lie on my back to get a look. Couldn't shoot movies, which is too bad, because it was so cute. I like that stuff when I'm not on tour. I would have stayed for hours watching if I could have.
On a sad note, our friend and fellow rust gatherer from two years ago is leaving tomorrow. She was just here for a month helping get the quilt and yarn shops up and running. We took her out for dinner to say goodbye.

Just like before

When we came up first in '09, we were amazed how the weather could change so quickly in a day. We still are. This morning we were snowed on at the summit, then this afternoon the sunshine had us seeking shade. Peggie got to take a fun group on tour today. They saw a moose. My group yesterday saw three moose, a cow with two calves. All we saw today was a lone mountain goat. This afternoon, Bryan came into the popcorn shop with four people who had gone on his summit tour, and who had been promised a special additional private tour to Dyea. He didn't know anything about Dyea. So I offered to go along. He eagerly accepted my offer. So I talked as we drove out there, mentioned the possibility of seeing harbor seals and bald eagles. We stopped to watch some harbor seals when suddenly a huge bald eagle swooped down and tried to grab a duck on the river. Right if front of us. It was spectacular. He missed the duck, but landed in a nearby tree. I looked up and saw the mate just a little higher up the hill. Then we went to the head of the Chilkoot trail, took photos of them at the beginning and told them they could now claim to have hiked a section of the famous Chilkoot trail. So the group were thrilled with their little bonus tour and excited to have seen the eagle so close up. Bryan really appreciated my help and the learning he got from it. I liked being a tour guide on the Dyea road without having to pay attention to the driving. Later, the road will be better, as it is being widened in some of the narrowest places, and some of the curves are being straightened.

Follow up on hiking the Trail...

Like 70% of gold rush stampeders, we did not go all the way to the end. We went about 4 miles and it was a walk in the park.
Really. The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.
The first quarter mile is a 200 foot climb and descent back to river level. The rest is level. It is also pretty wet.  Look at Peggie's photo album. We walked across several beaver ponds. Did not see beavers.
Oh, and after hiking 7 3/4 miles, the LAST quarter mile is a 200 foot climb and descent. We were sore in places when we got home, but two Tylenol and in bed at 8:00 and we woke up fine. Mostly. But in an hour we were really just as good as new. So we will probably go again. Hopefully on other trails, also.
We rewarded our hardiness with beer (root beer for me) and burgers.
And, we finally got to skype with our wonderful granddaughter, who showed us her first permanent tooth! And her little brother, who is toothless.
That's a pretty good day off.

Can you guess what we're going to do?

Yep, we're going to hike the Chilkoot Trail tomorrow. NOT the entire 33 miles, in case you're wondering. AND, we're not taking 2000 lbs of goods so we won't have to make 40 trips.

Stay tuned for results and pictures!