Sol.

Sol, Soleil, Sole ... Sun!  It's one of my favorite things about Colorado.  Over 300 days a year of it in our backyard.

Yesterday we ate OUTSIDE for lunch in downtown Denver. And today I ran in short sleeves!  It's the end of December, and this is not Florida, and we ate outside, simply fabulous. The sun out here is so warm, 45 can feel like 70, no lie.  IMHO, a bluebird day in Colorado is like nothing else. 

Here's a pic of Lucy enjoying some rays!

Christmas Day Powder, Colorado style.

It just doesn't get any better than this, folks. Bluebird day, tons of never-been-tracked fresh powder, and my sweetie there to do some turns with me...

Merry Christmas everyone, and Thank You, Mother Nature for all that white stuff!!

Rome, James!

We all know I'm happiest when I have a trip planned, especially if I'll need my passport!  We are likely headed to Africa later next year for our longer 2 week trip - but we've just booked a short week in Rome in January!   Pompeii has long been on my list of places to see, and it's a day trip from Rome.  Our B&B is in the city center and we plan on walking A LOT and seeing all of the historical buildings - coleseum, pantheon, etc.  We'll also hop on a few trains for some day trips out of the city - Tivoli, Florence, and maybe other historical sites closeby. 

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to it.  With this being Tom's busiest time of the year, he's literally been working 7 days a week, and many, many hours a day.  So, this will be great timing for him to relax and for us to spend some time together after the holiday rush.

I'm also VERY excited to report that I have silver medallion status on Delta next year - first time ever.  All those trips home and abroad paid off - when combined with our AmEx points.  Score.  Hopefully it'll get us/me a few upgrades when travelling this year!

Merry Christmas everyone!  We will be headed up to the slopes for the day, then over to a friends' house for the evening. 

Here's hoping you find yourself surrounded by family and friends!

Timber!

This is what Tom awoke to today. Not the best morning greeting to have. It must have just gotten a bit off balance and then...wham!  A first (and hopefully last) for us. 

Thick blinds and seizure meds...

...are what their neighbors need. On the eve of hanging our Christmas lights, I now know what NOT to do. This is actually a house just down the street from us, I snuck this video while driving by tonight...oh...my...gosh.   Can you even imagine living across from them?

Long weekends and old friends.

Since we have no family in town, we will be headed up to the mountains to ski tomorrow!  Our friends are gracious enough to have us over for a turkey dinner tomorrow evening though. Looking forward it it, thank you Ceci and Bobby!

4 days off, good weather forecast, leaves to rake and Christmas decorating to do, should be a good long weekend...Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

In sadder news, Madison aka "Maddie", left this world last Wednesday. She lived 18 long years and was as sassy of a cat as they come. Her first home was in my college apartment, that's how long she was a part of my life. Unfortunately, cancer got her eventually.  She wasn't a loud cat, but the house seems quieter without her.  I miss her furry face and non stop purring. RIP Maddie, you were a good kitty. 

Wood for winter.

Well this fall has been exceptionally warm. It's mid November and the temp is in the mid 60s.  It's awesome!  Hopefully we will finish raking the leaves AND get out for a mountain bike ride later. 

Tom, in true beaver fashion, gathered the last of his winter wood from a huge tree pile we found in Craigslist. He's made at least 4 trips over the past week or two and this weekend he rented a hydraulic log splitter to finish it off. We have enough wood for at least a couple of years. 

However I'm undecided as to whether it's more manly to use a big ax or maul to split wood, or to rent a big hydraulic machine. Any votes?

The finished product. 

I've found the Prairie Dogs...

…up near the bottom of Mt Carbon.  I wasn’t sure what their fate had been following the floods at Bear Creek Lake Park, but I was very happy to see them.  The last time I ran through this area, I didn’t see any evidence of prairie dogs - only their old holes, vacant and barren, but no chirp and whistle of the previous inhabitants.  This time, I was able to run a bit further down the trail due to the water level receding, and as I was running up the base of Mt Carbon I heard it – a warning whistle from a prairie dog!  I have a fondness for these guys and I was SO happy to know that at least some of them survived.  They have dug new burrows out of the hard earth and are happily running around once again, whistling to give warning of hikers and bikers, just as before.

 

The landscape has been very much changed by this flood.  The cottonwood and aspen hold a stark reminder of the water level – brown and dead below, bright yellow fall color leaves above.  The fields where the prairie dogs used to live resemble the surface of the moon and smell like rotted vegetation.  But, the trails are slowly opening to the bikers, hikers and runners.  The water level has receded to normal levels, but the devastation is everywhere – I wonder what plants and trees will survive next year.  Spring will be a telling time in Bear Creek.

The moonlike landscape. 

The visible water line from the flood. 50 feet higher than normal. 

The prairie dogs...hooray!

Beautiful fall cottonwoods elsewhere in the park. 

Being a tourist.

I love traveling, and even though there is sometimes a certain stereotype associated with a tourist, when you find yourself outside of home turf, that's exactly what you are. Maybe not the one wearing the big camera around their neck and a look of being lost written on their face, but a tourist nonetheless. 

So, in true tourist style, I walked a good portion (probably 5-6 miles) of Boston a couple of nights ago and did the Ghosts & Gravestones tour of the city. It was a somewhat dramatic tour with guides that thoroughly enjoyed and exaggerated the spookiness of the surroundings, but it was really quite good!

Some pictures of my rambles:

Triple gravesite. 

Needs no explanation. 

Paul Revere's home. 

Paul Revere's grave. 

The North End, the Italian area of Boston

Boston Commons fountain

Boston

I'm in Boston this week for a conference. As a marathoner, one of the places I wanted to see was the site of the marathon bombing earlier this year. How horrible it must've been for the spectators and the runners near the explosion.  When you're within that last mile of a marathon, you're focused on finishing and, no matter how your race has unfolded, you are ecstatic to see that finish line. That euphoric feeling was ripped away from many, many runners that day. People cheering on their friends and loved ones were suddenly thrust into a horrible situation.  Needlessly. 

The site was surreal. To have seen this only on television, seeing the horror remotely was sad enough, but standing in the spot made it even more real. I'm not sure what expected, or if I had any expectations at all...but that stretch of city street could've been anywhere, in any city in the US.  It's a trendy area - shops, restaurants, bars with plenty of people walking around at night, things to do, great architecture and historical sites. A beautiful part of the city. 

Now it's surrounded by chain link fence, and signs of construction are everywhere. It commands a moment of silence for everyone whose lives were impacted in those few terrible seconds. 

I'm happy to see it being restored, a new sidewalk and rebuilt storefronts.  I snapped a few pictures and walked back to my hotel. But that odd, quiet feeling lingers with me...

Slacker.

I'm a blog slacker, what can I say?!  We've been enjoying the warm weather while it's still around. Picture is from Bear Creek on my Saturday trail run. The park was so flooded, but things are slowly returning to normal. Smelly & muddy in areas, but the water level is receding as they let it flow downstream. They'll have lots of work to do on the trails. 

It was a gorgeous weekend. Tom scored on free firewood off craigslist yesterday too!  Bonus!!

Angry squirrels

My cell phone conversation when driving home from work went something like this:

Me:  "Hi honey"
Tom:  "Hey, I'm going to be a bit late tonight"
Me:  "That's too bad.  And don't forget I have Spanish class tonight"
Tom:  "Bummer, I won't make it home before you leave, so I'll see you after class"
Me:  "OK, how was your day?"
Tom:  "Well, I'm tired.  And I got bitten by a squirrel today."

WHAT?!  For those of you that know my husband, this does not come as a surprise for you.

Yes, apparently, after having irritated the squirrels by creating a new, inventive way for them to have access to their peanuts (blue jay free), Tom has irritated one of them enough (by trying to hand feed it), that is actually lunged and bit his hand, instead of grabbing the peanut.  (Apparatus picture below.)

Me:  "And, are you going to try to hand feed a squirrel again?" (dripping with sarcasm)
Tom:  "Not without gloves!"

Don't hand feed squirrels, folks.

40

That's my age.  40.  The big 4-0.  But I'm OK with it!  Really, I am.  As Tom likes to say, the alternative is death, so hey, 40 is great.  And, Tom made me a fantastic dinner last night, I'm a very lucky woman. 

And I got good news at the ortho doc yesterday - I was pretty sure I tore my meniscus hiking, but they said probably not - since I don't have pain with the "catching" in my knee, only general swelling and tightness sometimes.  So, Aleve and ice will be my friend for the next few weeks.  Just when fall is upon us, my favorite time to trail run.  Shhh...don't tell the doc...but I'm going to sneak in some trail running.

This afternoon, I'm off to Michigan and Ohio for a few days to visit family - then back to blogging, I promise.

Sick.

I've been pretty sick this week. International germs are the worst, but I'm slowly feeling better. 

Lucy plays nurse when one of us is down, she stays by our side on the couch. She slept next to me from 8:30-4pm yesterday without moving. A sweet girl...

Heading home...

What a great city, we got out and took a taxi to a few of the more interesting spots around town yesterday - Panama Canal & Miraflores locks where we watched two ships pass through, very amazing...Ancon Hill with a spectacular view of the city, and Noriega's previous home where the guard offered a photo and perhaps a few minutes on the inside of the gate if we tip him. Apparently $5 was not enough, so the photo is through the gate instead. Greedy guard. I wonder how much he makes daily doing that!?!  Mucho dinero, I bet!

We also walked down to the fish market for lunch where you can pick from about a dozen or more cevicherias that serve up ceviche and cocktail (marinated raw seafood) in a styrofoam cup for about $2!  Muy barato.  Tom tried 3 different kinds, and loved them all. We also  had a wonderful dinner at Veggie Moon in Casco Viejo.  What a beautiful city!  

Hasta luego, ciudad de Panama. Home, James. 

Ceviche for lunch. 

The craziness of the fish market. Loud, busy and delicious!

Ship in Miraflores Locks

Casco Viejo

We made it to Panama today!  Our last day in Providencia was RAINY, so our motorbike rental day turned into a somewhat lazy day. However, in better news, we found the camera!  We rented a kayak and paddled over to Crab Caye early yesterday morning and found our underwater camera lying on the ocean floor, just where Tom suspected he dropped it, aha!  Fabulous, a bit of very good luck. And the camera still works!  I'll have to give that one a solid online review later on.  

Leaving Providencia, a small, sleepy island with few people and coming to bustling Panama City is a bit of a contrast. Casco Viejo is a historical part of the city coming back from ruins. Many of the old buildings now house residents, restaurants and shops. But just as many are ghosts from the past...buildings in shambles, some without roofs, stand next to upscale restaurants and art galleries. A very cool place indeed, and a UNESCO World Heritage site.  You'll find the history and info on the area here: http://www.cascoviejo.org/.  Basically this area was built to house the wealthy after pirates led by Henry Morgan destroyed the original city site in the 1600s. 

Tomorrow we will find a very yummy breakfast place (one of my fav things to do), hopefully get some pictures of the beautiful architecture in the morning light and then explore, visit the Panama Canal and locks and maybe a walking tour of the area...TBD. 

Buenas Noches. 

 

Building unrestored. 

Part of the restoration. 

Plaza Cathedral at night. 

Our day.

We awoke to a cloudy, overcast day. The first one here for us, as it's been hot and sunny. We headed to Southwest Bay Beach late morning and shared a Plato Mixto from El Divino Niño for lunch - whole fish, lobster, crab, coconut rice, plantains, conch and salad. About $15. Bargain.  Watched it rain and rain. 

Walked back to our hotel in time to catch a cab to hop a boat to Crab Caye (small island) to snorkel.  Apparently all day would be rainy. We were left on the TINY island that has a couple of picnic shelter type structures and watched our boat go back to shore, just beating the first of several squalls.  We were the only people on the island.  We tried to snorkel in very choppy seas until the lightning rolled in, then our "get out of the pool when it is lightning" childhood training kicked in and we waited out several storms in the picnic shelters over the 2.5 hours we were there - watching the seas get ever choppier, and discussing how we would fashion rafts and paddles out of the material on the island if our boat failed to return to get us.  Minimal snorkeling was achieved.  

The boat eventually picked us up and as we arrived back on shore (just in front of the darkest storm yet), we noticed that our underwater camera was nowhere to be found. Figures.  

Tom suggested he take one of the kayaks back over to the caye to retrieve the camera from the watery depths (probably fell out of his pocket snorkeling). Um, no. Storm rolling in, very dark, very bad idea, Tom. So, the very nice people at a hotel we were not even staying at pulled one of their maintenance guys, whose boat happened to be anchored out front, off of his door repairing duty to shuttle my determined husband back into the approaching storm. They made it across as the rain started and, unknown to me, Tom's snorkel mask chose that exact moment to "come undone".  No mask + Storm + Rough seas <> Camera located.  So as the storm hit full-on blowing rain and lightning status, they left the island and headed back to land in very very rough seas.  Empty handed.  I'm very glad they made it back, it was a serious storm. Seriously. 

And so, on our last day on Providencia, we are renting a motorbike (the preferred mode of transport here) and likely the first stop of the day will be renting a kayak and paddling back to Crab Caye with our snorkeling gear (Tom fixed his mask) and searching the sandy bottom for a camera that was probably "carried by the current due to the storms and possibly covered with sand" as the locals said. Should be a productive morning. 

Southwest Bay Beach. Deserted and perfect. 

El Pico

The Peak. The highest point on Providencia, not high by Colorado standards but add in 90 degree temps, humidity to match, and a walk to get to the trailhead  and you have a good hike - probably about 10 miles total. 

Our day started about 8:30am from the hotel.  There was no cell reception so they couldn't call a cab, so we'd be walking the 3 miles to the trailhead. If we saw a pickup truck along the way, we'd hitchhike. Apparently NO pickup trucks were circling the island in the correct direction today. It was already blazing hot.  

Supposedly, everyone goes with a guide but we thought we could tackle it alone with the help of some directions from a local woman passed through a fellow traveler from Quebec. The directions were this:

1) go right at the first house

2) go right at the next house without a roof

3) when there is a fork in the trail don't go left, go "kind of" straight

4) eventually you'll have to go through barbed wire, even when it looks like you shouldn't. 

Believe it or not we made it. Only one slightly wrong turn that led us through very steep jungle for a while. Luckily we turned around.  The view from the top was beautiful, well worth the trek. 

We also went sea kayaking through mangroves along the east coast yesterday, and snorkeled out front of our hotel today. This is by far my favorite island I've ever been to. Warm people, awesome seafood, fantastic snorkeling, calm seas and just a really cool out of the way place. Pictures below!

For future travelers, here is our modification of the directions for The Peak/El Pico:

1) make the turn off the main road at the large, obvious sign. 

2) at the first "side street" take a left, walk to the end and you'll see the trailhead sign to the left. The trail veers right immediately and passes some houses with friendly dogs. 

3) at the first buildings (I believe there were 2, one a stable) take a right, even though the better trail leads left

4) at the colorfully painted utility building the trail goes left. 

5) eventually, you'll step up to the right and step through an opening in an old fence, this will be fairly obvious

6) further up, after passing open fields with more barbed wire fences, you'll find barbed wire blocking the trail with "no arroje basura" on a sign...GO THROUGH THE BARBED WIRE. If you go up to the left, you'll find yourself on a steep jungle slope. The rest of the trail is easy to follow past this. With these directions, you do not need a guide...Happy Hiking!

Spotted Eagle Ray while kayaking

Providencia from the water on Maricaibo Bay

Kayaking in the McBean mangroves

From "El Pico"

A Sunday bike ride.

We explored on bikes today. It's always good to get "the lay of the land" on vacation, so we circled the entire island on our rentals. It was hot, hilly and wonderful. This truly is an island almost untouched by tourism. Friendly locals, only a few small guesthouses and hotels and restaurants and stores that still close on Sundays. 

We took our snorkeling gear and snorkeled on Santa Catalina island from a beach. Santa Catalina is a small neighboring island connected by footbridge to Providencia.  It has a few historical sites, maybe one restaurant and a few homes. Very pretty. We also stopped at almond bay beach where some local kids promptly borrowed our snorkel goggles and swam around for a bit. Happy kids. 

In other news, the electricity went out for a few hours tonight, I believe for the whole island. Luckily our hotel has a generator, unluckily none of the restaurants do (there are only a few to begin with).  So, for dinner we had a picnic in our room of cheese and crackers, homemade ginger cookies and apples. Tom tried to make some piña coladas but...um, they weren't exactly tasty.  But I love him for trying. :)

Tomorrow morning we are headed out to sea kayak in the McBean Lagoon mangroves (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Providence_McBean_Lagoon_National_Natural_Park).  Should be beautiful. 

Pictures below of our day...

Beside the road. 

View of Providencia from Santa Catalina. 

On the footbridge. 

Colombia

24 hours after we left Denver, we arrived in Providencia!  It's a beautiful little island, not many people and almost non-existent tourism, perfecto! 

The two things we learned in Bogota were that Dunkin Donuts are horrible in Colombia and that blondes are few and far between - Tom was the only one in the domestic terminal at the airport. He got quite a few looks.  But then again, he's a nice looking man!  ;)

We are exhausted, had a great meal and are headed to crash. The picture below is from our balcony. Tomorrow we rent bikes and explore the island!  It'll be nice to get our legs moving after all that travel...  Buenas Noches!

A Swarm...

The picture of the day was taken by Tom just before work today. The hummingbirds are migrating and he said we have a swarm of 20+ at the house right now!  I always seem to miss these events somehow...but it's a great picture from under one of our feeders. 

In other news, we leave for Colombia and Panama tomorrow evening!!  I expect cell and wireless to be spotty at best in Colombia, we will be pretty far off the beaten path there (through next Friday). So, I'll post when possible. In Panama, we will be in Panama City, so definitely more "on the beaten path".  Now to pack!  :)

Inhospitable

Anyone hiking on Guanella Pass today may agree with this desrcription of the weather, especially those on Bierstadt.  The day started out very cloudy, but nothing threatening.  So, we made it to the top of Square Top Mountain, but the clouds had already moved in and shrouded the summit.  The winds were howling and it was pretty darn chilly!  Welcome once again, September and Autumn...

The first video was taken on the final ridge to the summit - it's a bit better resolution than the second one and you can see the clouds rolling across, but you can't hear what I'm saying.  I took the second video on the summit.

Square Top Ascent

Square Top Summit

22 lbs

That is the max weight for our luggage from San Andres to Providencia next week. Apparently it's a small plane and they're concerned about weight.  I've been on some VERY small planes and have never seen quite as low of a limit as this. I have seen them weigh everyone on board before taking off. Makes me wonder what kind of plane it is and what made them impose the rule to begin with!  Hopefully it wasn't a close call...  :)

We will simply get creative - 10 days, 22 lbs. We will pack light (luckily Colombia and Panama will be very warm) and do much laundry in the sink in our room. It's a beach vacation, the heaviest thing we bring should be our snorkel gear, right?  :)

Now, where's that scale?

10 things we learned in Kodiak

It's good to be home.  Thank you to our hosts and good friends Karen and Robin - our Alaska adventures wouldn't be the same without them!  We had sooooo much fun...we laughed (and laughed and laughed), ate lots of good food, brought back tons of fish, scaled some very cool mountains and saw fantastic wildlife.

And we've returned with brand new knowledge about Kodiak Island and Alaksa in general:

1. Take a gun fishing (for various reasons).
2. Kodiak brown bears are shy and not cuddly at all.
3. If you don't own a pair of XTRATUFs, you shouldn't live there (if you don't know what they are, ditto).
4. Have at least one camouflage clothing item, or you'll be voted off the island.
5. Never hike in the fog.
6. Dodging potholes is a sport.
7. What's a trail switchback?
8. Schedule extra time in between flights to allow for delays and cancellations (they WILL happen).
9. There is always room for another freezer in the house.
10. Sea Otters are hard to find if you're looking for them.

Hasta luego, Kodiak

Well, we leave in a few hours. We'll fly through Anchorage and Seattle on our way home.

Kodiak is a beautiful island. After a few days of clouds, we awoke to sunny skies and temps in the mid 60s. Perfect hiking weather, so we tackled Barometer Mountain. Not a hike for those with any fear of heights. They don't believe in switchbacks here and their trails are straight up up up, sometimes coming pretty close to steep drop offs. Tom is definitely part mountain goat, but I kept up, albeit with some encouragement in spots. The view from the top was, of course, beautiful - mountains and water as far as the eye could see. 

I would definitely come back to Kodiak. There are more fish for Tom to catch, sea kayaking to be done and many more peaks to climb.  And it wouldn't be the same without our good friends Karen and Robin. Top notch for sure. 

See you in Denver!  I'm ready for some hot sun. :)

From the summit. 

Also from the summit. You can see the memorial cross (center) for a hiker who fell and died. Very sad. 

Fog.

We got up with full intent to hike Barometer Mountain today. It was foggy. Really foggy and "socked in" with clouds. Barometer shouldn't be done in the fog or when you can't see the top through thick clouds (basically fog only higher). 

So we went to breakfast at Java Flats (http://www.javaflats.com/) and checked again. Fog. Then we shopped a bit and checked again. Fog. Then we went to the fisheries research center with aquarium and a really cool "touch tank" where you can touch sea anemones, starfish and more. Then we checked Barometer again. Fog. Then we went to the Kodiak Brewing Co and had a beer, then checked again. Fog.  We finally called it and did a short hike elsewhere, no Barometer today. Maybe tomorrow, we have all day before our flight. But guess what is outside right now. Fog. 

They seem to like the fog and low clouds here. We heard two different people at breakfast say "what beautiful weather today"! This when we were impatiently waiting for it to lift and reveal Barometer and we thought "WHAT?!".  I asked Karen about this comment and she agreed, a beautiful day. Very little rain, above 50 degrees and no wind. A good day in Kodiak. 

We had a wonderful time with our friends and hosts Robin and Karen at dinner tonight, good food & great company.  No more bears were spotted on the way home. 

Kodiak is definitely beautiful, low clouds, fog and all. We'll see what our last day here has in store for us tomorrow. 

Bear count = 4

Eagle count = 5

Seal count = 2

Otter count = 1

Sea lion count = maybe 10

Puffin count = too many to count

Fox count = 3

Whale count = 0

Sitka black-tailed deer = 1

Sign in Kodiak Brewing Co

View from trail in Fort Abercrombie State Park

My superpower...

...is not my ability to avoid nausea. Least of all on an anchored boat in the ocean. In true form, I lasted at most two hours before waving the white flag and asking to be returned to shore. It's so pretty out there and I love boats, but even though it was "as calm as it gets", it wasn't calm enough for me. I've never actually thrown up from seasickness, but I've sure felt like it. Today 4 more halibut were caught, and a smaller one thrown back. Our cooler will be full...

We also returned to the same bear spot from two nights ago and saw the same mother and two cubs as well as another shy bear that peeked out from the bush, but was too timid to cross the road with people around. But he looked BIG. Maybe tomorrow. 

We also hope to hike Barometer Mountain tomorrow, weather permitting. 

Bear count = 4

Eagle count = 5

Seal count = 2

Otter count = 1

Sea lion count = maybe 10

Puffin count = too many to count

Fox count = 3

Whale count = 0,  but we heard two spouting on the water today

Kodiak from the water

A Halibut Jamboree.

Well, with a fantastic fisherman like Robin, it's easy to fill a cooler with halibut. And that's just what they did yesterday.  We now have a cooler of it to drop off for processing!  The biggest one they reeled in was about 160 lbs. Huge!  AND we are going back out today, all 4 of us. Should be fun!  Hopefully the seas are calm. They weren't calm yesterday and Tom actually tossed his lunch, which if you don't know him, is not common. Usually his stomach is pretty tough. 

While all the fishing was going on, I took a great trail run yesterday, it's nice to see green and ocean for a change!

We also took a dinner cruise on the Galley Gourmet last night. Yum!  Saw otters, puffins and sea lions. And tons of jellyfish, not something I expected to see. 

Bear count = 3 ( we narrowly missed incrementing this)

Eagle count = 4

Seal count = 2

Otter count = 1

Sea lion count = maybe 10

Puffin count = too many to count

The Haul. 

View on my trail run in Fort Abercrombie 

From our dinner cruise

Eagles, Bears & Salmon...oh my!

Bear Count = 3

Bald Eagle Count = 2

Seal Count = 2

Three Kodiak bears!  A mama and two cubs. We saw them just before dusk as they were fishing for salmon in a river by the road. Very cool. Even cooler, we started our own bear jam (pictures of bears and bear jam below). Previous visitors to Yellowstone will appreciate this. 

Also spotted today were two Bald Eagles, one of which was easily the largest Bald Eagle I've ever seen.  And two seals out fishing for salmon in the ocean at the mouth of a river. 

We planned on hiking another peak but the island was pretty much fogged in all day, and after multiple warnings from locals of "don't ever hike in the fog", we decided to postpone that until later this week.  

Tom is heading out to fish for halibut and salmon tomorrow with Robin. I may get a trail run in and some exploring around town while he's filling our cooler with fish to take home!  We also have a dinner cruise tomorrow night on the Galley Gourmet ( http://www.kodiak-alaska-dinner-cruises.com/kodiak-dinner-brunch.html ).  

Bears - mama and one cub

Bear Jam

Pyramid Mountain (bear count = zero)

We arrived in Kodiak yesterday. It is beautiful...green and mountainous!

On Karen and Robin's recommendation, we tackled Pyramid Mountain today...what a beautiful hike!  One area was definitely a "hands-on" scramble, a bit intense (for me) - the rest was just very steep trail. 

We were rewarded with sweeping 360 degree views of Kodiak Island and the surrounding waters from the top. 2500ft elevation gain in just 2 miles.  Luckily they have LOTS of oxygen down here at sea level!

Now we are hungry. Dinnertime?

Pyramid mountain (point in the middle), we approached from the right. 

From the summit.