Junebug came back today from her 10-day kayaking trip in Prince William sound. If it was raining here in Anchorage, it was pouring in the Sound. Seven out of the 10 days they spent wet, but the last 3 were marvelous. She's asleep now in my room. I don't think she would have accepted my bed if she weren't mortally afraid of having to sleep another night in her self-proclaimed sleeping bag o' funk.

Roommate and I planned to go to Flattop this morning, but didn't make it there until about 2 pm, when the entire Municipality of Anchorage was there. This was the first nice weekend in three weeks, so everyone was out in full force, including some man who said to us cheerily "Konnichiwa!" Fucker. (You know, it's always a man who says that shit too. Never EVER has a woman assumed we'd be enthusiastic about a greeting in any other language than English.) A number of folks were picking blueberries on Blueberry Hill (we ate some too). And we made it to the top, which boasted a great view of the city and Cook Inlet, as well as a most beautiful glacier-carved valley to the east. The picture below will be the first in the calendar I'm going to put out. I'm thinking of calling it "hk presents: ALASKA."




Pretty quiet weekend. Woke up early yesterday to accompany someone at work to Whittier, where everyone lives in one building. I kid you not. It was built during World War II to house the military, which blasted through and laid down railroad tracks through the Chugach Mountains for a secret saltwater port. The 14-story high rise that everyone in town lives in was once the highest building in Alaska, and was built so high then to lessen the need for snow removal.



Going through the tunnel was pretty wild -- it's only the width of a train, and is run as a one-way passage, half an hour at a time. You actually drive on the train tracks through the 2.5-mile tunnel through solid rock. It also costs $12, which is why I let my co-worker pay (she was going there to pick someone up anyway).

After gawking at the building (and the empty-except-for-asbestos, "Shining"-like abandoned buildings on the other side of town), I mostly ran errands, including getting a new used tire put on the Sube, to replace the one that's worn down to the threads. My first visit to a body shop for a car I'm driving! Very exciting. Below is a pre-new-tire shot of the Mighty Mighty Subaru.



Also spend a LOT of time yesterday in Helly Hanson, Alaska Mountaineering Center, and REI with Roommate, who bought a pack and a sleeping bag. I got a fleece jacket (that's hk -- 10 years behind the times), a Gore-tex shell, some base layer clothing, and some socks. Oh, and also a bandanna. Red. This is also very exciting -- I feel quite outdoorsy. Which is what you're really paying for at REI, where some of the prices are sick. (That's some Bethel slang for "bad." Am I authentic Alaskan or what?)

The REI stuff is for the trip to Denali with Roommate and her law school friend. They planned a backcountry camping trip in the wilds, and invited me along, and though it might rain the whole time and though I have to go to work on the 15th and 16th to make up the time, I thought, "Hell, when I'm I going to get to do this again?" So they're taking the train up on Thursday the 11th, while I go to work in the morning, and I'll drive up at noon, arriving hopefully by 5 pm at the backcountry visitors center. Eek! Lions and tigers and bears!