Pat's first black bear

Carrying a bear is hard work!!

Melissa and I got our first bear this morning. We started up the Sky Line trail about an hour before daylight and quickly gained about 2,000 feet in elevation. That will really take one's breath away!! Our plan was to get to the top of the string of peaks and glass for bears on the other side. From this vantage point above the tree line we would be able to see bears feeding on the many berries found above the trees. After spotting a bear, I would plan a stalk to within rifle range (less than 300 yards) using Melissa as a director to get me close (she would stay on top and watch the bear). We were within 100 yards of the top where we would begin our search when Melissa said "Wow, look at that view!!" I did and when I looked back I noticed something black moving across the hillside. It was a bear!! I motioned to Melissa to hide and I began to judge the size of the bear. It is illegal to harvest a bear with cubs or a cub less than a year old. This bear was traveling alone and his ears were small in relation to its head. He had seen us but did not know what we were as we were being as quiet as we could. I could feel my adrenaline pump as I steadied the cross-hairs on him, it had been two years since I had killed anything with my Remington 30-06, but it all came back to me as I pressed the trigger. A loud bang was followed by a satisfying thump indicating a solid hit. The 165 grain Balistic Tip slammed into the bruin's neck and he was dead instantly. Melissa saw another bear in the bushes about 400 yards on the other side of my bear, but with one on the ground already, we decided to let him walk. Melissa took the rifle and covered me while I circled around and found the bear. A few shots with my slingshot confirmed the bears fate and that's when the work really started.

It took all we had to drag the bear onto flat ground and begin the skinning/caping work.


A few trophy shots were in order, I really enjoy my hunting pictures.

My trusty backup is the most amazing wife anyone could ever want! How many women do you know that will hunt bears with a pistol?

One Year!

Can you believe we've been here a year?!! We have definitely had a few adventures! We have recently concluded that digital cameras do not like water! They don't float, and upon that revelation, we have lost our current camera. Subsequently, we will be posting photo's when our film is developed and/or when we purchase a new camera. Our adventures are continuing as we are heading up Skyline Trail again tomorrow to actively hunt for a black bear. We will scale the heights and look down below us to find the elusive creature, Pat will carefully and quietly stalk the bear as I guide him from my higher vantage point, and we will hopefully achieve our goal and be able to pack out a black bear before dark! We did invest in some "headlights" this time! We'll let you know how it goes!!

Hiking/Glassing

If the day would have been sunny, this little meadow/swamp would have photographed much better! The fall colors are becoming quite stunning! This is up by Rainbow lake, a small lake on the way to Cooper Lake. We went by here looking for bears for Pat to hunt later this month!
This is on the Skyline Trail. We had the bright idea to hike up this very steep trail the other day and it took us much longer than anticipated! We looked for bears along the top of this trail, as it does as the name implies, have a great view! We saw no bears, but did pick some nice raspberries & blueberries along the trail!


Here's a view from the upper part of the trail. It was absolutely gorgeous, but definitely a strenuous hike! It was about 3000 feet up, and mostly straight up! Unfortunately, we didn't make it back before dark, but isn't that what Adventure is!?!

Pat's Work's Stand on Weapons

"Weapons (defined as, but not limited to, any firearm from which a projectile is fired by force of an explosion or compressed energy [e.g., air rifles or pistols, blow guns, spring guns], such as a rifle, carbine, shotgun, submachine gun, revolver, pistol, derringer, or zip gun, any archery equipment [bow and arrows] or crossbow, any spears, harpoons, or lances, any knife or edged blade not intended specifically as or reasonably useful as a tool [i.e., daggers, dirks, bayonets, push knives, boot shivs, Tantos, stilettos, Bowies, switchblades, ninja throwing stars, large combat or hunting knives, swords, sabers, etc.], grenades or other explosive devices or materials [i.e., Molotov cocktails, bombs, dynamite, blasting caps, fuse cord, etc.] or bludgeoning instruments [i.e., nightsticks, nunchaukus, maces, combat axes or halberds, war clubs or hammers, morning stars, tomahawks, cudgels, truncheons, billies, saps, blackjacks, brass knuckles, slap chains, weighted gloves, loaded canes, etc.]), ammunition, and alcoholic beverages are not permitted beyond the security checkpoint..."Whooo! Good thing we left the ninja throwing stars at home! I wonder if our trebuche would be considered as a "bludgeoning instrument?" I'd better find out!!!

Hooray!

Here's a great photo of a couple neices and a nephew of mine! I wanted to share the excitement that last week, Jackson asked Jesus into his heart! This week marks the one-year "birthday" of Sydney asking Jesus into her heart! What a great pair of siblings Raegan has, despite the apparent "choking!" I'm sure it's just a love hold!!

A Rose by any other name...!

Greenhouse work is now over! I'm a little bit sad, but it was so rewarding to be a part of a beautiful place! It also seems strange that it is already "Autumn" here! I was able to bring home a tiny piece of the beauty that filled Trinity Greenhouse! They smell incredible!

A Sunny Day!

Sunday afternoon Mom, Dad, Melissa and I went canoeing on the Swan Lake canoe trails. The weather was awesome and the loons were swimming about. When we neared the stream that feeds the lake we heard voices coming down the stream toward us. As the canoe floated into the lake, I recognized the paddler at the stern of the canoe as my friend Sean "Sully" Sullivan. He and a friend were paddling Sully's first moose out and they were very exited!! I cast my lure into the water as I asked Sully about the hunt. He and his friend had paddled/portaged five lakes back and shot the moose earlier in the day. As we spoke about the hunt, a huge silver salmon struck my lure. I played the fish on my ultra-light rod as we talked. As we parted company, Sully handed me a large hunk of backstrap, some foil, and some black pepper. On the next lake, Dad caught two nice rainbow trout and we headed for the nearest camp site. Melissa started a fire and we cleaned the fish. After wrapping the seasoned fish in the foil and putting them in the fire, we cut the moose meat into chunks and roasted the chunks marshmellow style using green alder branches. Talk about "Surf and Turt"!for dessert we ate fresh raspberries that we picked along the trail.




We arrived home at about nine after watching a beautiful sunset, it was a hilight of the summer for me!

Halibutting!

Well, Pat and Phil had their turn on the halibut charter, and I can't say that they fared any better than me and my dad! The weather was a little less rainy, but it seems that the swells were just as bad! Unfortunately, the boys went on an all-day charter and went out a little longer. The dramamine overdoses that they both had didn't help! Pat did his best to give back to the ocean since he took something away from it!! They did end their day early and us girls picked the tired and sickly boys up around 2:00. They both had their limits of 2 halibut each and had an experience they won't soon forget (even if they wanted to!)!

Wet Adventure!

WILD ALASKA!!!!
A life long dream came true for me this weekend. For years I have dreamed of a trip down a back-country river fishing trip with my dad. Thursday noon dad and I put my canoe in on the upper stretch of the Swanson River. The river was swollen from the recent rain and not a mile into the 24 mile float we tipped the canoe over spilling all our gear into the creak. The "dry" bags our clothes were in leaked and all of our stuff was wet except for our bedding. One of the pictures is of our gear scattered about drying in the sun. That night a terrible wind blew up and gusted at about 40 mph. We had a head wind the next day for a portion of the float. Our spirits were high even though the rain came down for most of the day. The salmon fishing picked up as we made the turn to the northwest signaling the half way point, silver salmon fresh from the ocean were attacking our light tackle and putting on a good show with their signature acrobatic leaps and flips that they are known for. At times the salmon were coming up river in such numbers that it looked like the whole river was moving up stream. It reminded me of the movie "Jaws". Dad managed to land a few six and eight pounders on six pound line using an ultra-light rod. We were glad to have my handmade landing net to help bring the flopping salmon aboard the canoe. At 2:00 in the afternoon we were ready to get out of the rain and have some lunch. We stretched a tarp over a rope and managed to get a fire started. Next we wrapped some seasoned salmon fillets in foil and placed them in the fire. The delicious salmon flesh was washed down with hot coffee and were ready for more fishing.
I was continually amazed at my dad's positive attitude even through all the hardships we were facing. As I go about camp chores and woodsmanship in general I am begining to realize just how much I learned about the outdoors from my father. He is in my mind a true woodsman and I can't wait to spend more time in the woods with him now that he is retired!
As we reached the point in the river that indicates the last hour of paddling, the rain picked up and the wind whipped the surface of the river into a torrent of ripples and waves that made the water impossible to read. We tied all of our gear into the canoe and prepared ourselves for what lay ahead. The last half mile of the river, before it dissapears into Cook Inlet, is known for it's rough white-water sections. It was this stretch of river that had kept me up the night before. Would we roll the canoe with our heavy load? Would the recent rain make this stretch impassable?
My heart raced as I guided our craft through the first rough stretch. It wasn't pretty but we came out down stream intact and ready for the next challenge. I assumed a knealing position in the bottom of the canoe to lower our center of gravity and give me more leverage with the paddle. We dodged most of the "sleapers" (rocks that lay just beneath the surface) and powered over the few that were unavoidable. Just when we begin to relax and enjoy the rush, the sign indicating the take out came into view and we paddled our boat to the take out point.
I traveled over 200 miles by canoe this summer alone, but this 24 miles of the Swanson river will hold a special place in my heart forever. Thanks Dad for being so tough and making my dream come true. I love you!
Pat

More Fishing!

Pat & Rusty out in the Russian.
Dad trying his hand at those reds!
A great day for two fisherman!

Salmon Fever!

Here we have the boys! Dad and Rusty both caught some lovely Pink Salmon the other day, and are here preparing for the next trout fishing excursion. They have both caught several Red Salmon, but I haven't been with them to photograph the catches before they went to the processors! Tomorrow Pat will be with them to document the affair! Dad is reading up on Rainbow's here in Alaska, and Rusty is preparing some salmon egg hooks. We'll see how it all turns out later!!!

Down The Swanson River

The end of the adventure for Dad came with a trip down the Swanson River! It was an overnight canoe trip that presented some great fishing for Silver Salmon, unfortunately, Pat and Rusty caught most of them! Dad caught a spawned (red-looking) one, and I caught a couple silvers, but most of the fishing action came from the other guys! The morning we headed out of camp, the fog was rolling on the water and it was gorgeous! We came out just a mile or so from the mouth of the river into Cook Inlet. Behind us lies that lovely inlet with the best, clear sky that we've had in months! Across the inlet are the mountains & volcanoes that are really best viewed in person!! I had a great time with Dad this past week! I got to do some real adventuring with him! Have him fry up some halibut for you sometime and hear all the details!! Thanks, Dad! I love you!

Just for the Halibut!

Here's a view of the Halibut charter! The weather was a bit rough with 6-8 foot seas, 15-20 mph wind, and off/on showers. We still made it out and caught our limits! We were in a bit of a hurry, so no fishing for trophy's, but these were hard enough to reel in from 200+ feet deep!

Record Day!

Dad caught his record size fish the other day with this lovely red Salmon! The halibut photos are coming!! We had an evening fishing for salmon in the Kenai river, since they opened it back up, and Pat caught one and Dad caught one. I hooked 3 and landed none : fish win. Poo! At least Dad had a good day!!!

YUMMY!

My Sister-in-law, Lesli, posted a recipe for these FABULOUS "Tostadas Ode to Carlita" and we tried them this weekend! If you haven't tried them, you need to! She's created a new staple for our menu! Go to "Lesli's Blog" on the right and scroll down to get her recipe - its very yummy! Thanks, Les for passing it on!

Slow Down

Well, it seems that the run of Red Salmon has been completely closed in the Kenai River. I keep hearing fisherman (not the tourists) saying that this is the worst Red year in 20 years. We don't really have anything to compare it to, but our friend Gary, here with Pat, has also been quite disappointed! This evening they are off to a lake to try their hand at some land-locked salmon or hopefully some monster trout!! Bring home the bacon, er, wait, the 'Bows! (Rainbow trout!)

Well, we didn't do any fishing this weekend. We've heard that the reds are pretty slow this run, or maybe they are late, so we did a little relaxing instead. We did have the opportunity to go to the shooting range and do a little shooting with some friends. We both shot our hand guns ( .44 and .357) and also our friends' .22 handgun & 9mm Glock 41. It was fun! I was feeling quite on top of my game as I consistantly hit the metal targets with both my .357 and Pat's .44! We also shot some rapid-fire, close range shots to simulate a "real" situation. I shot the .357 loads instead of the lighter .38 loads and Pat shot his heavier loads, and we both shot really well! It was a lovely day so it was good to get outside a little!

What Talent!

Nephews and Nieces are the best! I had the wonderful opportunity to receive these fabulous works from these two! I just had to show them off!

Moose River

This weekend we had the BEST time! We portaged a total of 7 lakes (one was the Swan lake which is 2 miles long) mostly against the wind, and with off & on showers. We finally made it to the Moose and saw the lovely brown water. It seems to be stained by vegetation to a nice tea color. We hopped in and made our way under tree-falls, around log-jams and through gravel bars. We continued to travel and thought we must be close to the first camp site within an hour or so. We were wrong. The Moose River (more like a stream this far upstream) is a very winding river. I have a muscle in my shoulder that likes to tighten up after repetitive motion or stress, and we were having both which caused my shoulder to really hurt! Pat's neck hurt from the canoe, and my shoulder hurt from paddling - we were a pair! By 6-ish we finally found the first camp and even a few fish! We had been working so hard to get through the river unscathed that we hadn't really fished at all. This is the hole that had these red salmon. They are either spawning or ready to spawn and are all red and really falling apart at this stage. Still neat, though! The next morning we continued along the never-ending river. The sky was better for the morning, and that had our spirits a bit better. We came around a bend (one of about 47 million), and I heard some grass rustling. Pat and I were talking and I began to talk louder and say "hello!" Once I saw the brown bear, I began to loudly say "bear" and Pat began to draw his pistol! He saw us and pretty much hi-tailed it out of there! Whew! It was only 15 yards away or so at the closest! Another many hours later and another 27 million bends, we came around and saw a moose cow and her baby! That was sweet! They weren't too interested in leaving the river and Pat had to slap the water with his paddle to make them leave and give us a chance to continue! As we continued to wonder "are we there yet?" we began to loose patience with each other, as I'm sure most of you reading can identify with! We were both quite ready to end our quest by the time we finally reached the bridge in Sterling. We can't quite figure the "charm" in this particular trip, but perhaps in our inflated view of our expertise, we overestimated the difficulty. I suppose if we mentally prepared ourselves for a difficult or long run, we may have had a better time. Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention the mosquitos! One was utterly unable to escape them except in the tent. It made eating meals especially quick, and stopping to try and fish, frustrating. Well, despite our SUPER experience on the Moose, I'm sure we will look back and laugh - someday.