Summertime, Summertime, Sum, Sum, Summertime...

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way
I have to go to bed by day.
~Robert Louis Stevenson


A few snapshots of where I am for now...

Portrait de Hayward, Wisconny


Mainstreet Hayward



Hayward's Claim to Fame
The 'Big' Musky



This is for Albert, John Teddy and company up in Quin!
Start planning your Wiconsin fishing trips Now;)
I have no idea who these guys are.


Another Haywardian Claim to Fame
Logrolling/Lumberjack Championships
(Couldn't the guy on the left be Principal Eric, lol)

Sorry! I could give you every excuse in the book but I'll only give you 2: A) I have no internet at my summer digs and 2) I've been spending all my time with family and friends catching up and storing up. Such has gone the summer so far. So this little update is brought to you by the wireless connection at Backroads Coffee in Hayward, Wisconsin. Definitely recommend poppin in for a cup o cafe if you are ever in this neck of the woods. The weather here has been rainy the last few days so I'm taking advantage of it and cooping up indoors. This is a 180 from our initial temps upon arrival back in the Dairy State from Alaska...temps in 'Wisconny' (as Principal Eric lovingly refers to it) were soaring amid the high 90s with humidity that nearly sent Ani and I into the underground hiding. I am certain that blood seriously thickens cause the heat about killed me. Ani has already shed a layer and I think he's gearing up for round two.

The Journey of 3000 miles begins with Ani puking twice. A person should drive the Alcan (Alaskan-Canadian) Highway at least once in their life... and that is enough. Geri and I, the self proclaimed marathoners that we are, attacked the 3422 mile trip in much the same fashion that we would our races. Nonstop and full speed ahead without much of a plan! But well stocked with Starbucks Double Shots, 5 Hour Energy and the old faithful Red Bull. Looking back on it now seems like a fuzzy-ish kind of dream. The miles ticked along like seconds on a stopwatch while the changing darkness and light all ran together as one long unending day. Highlights you may wonder???? Well, the wildlife was ever abundant 6 black bears, 1 dead brown bear, 1 moose, 5 caribou, 4 mountain goat/sheep things, a fox, a couple coyotes, the waft of a skunk (oddly familiar after not having smelled it for a year) and a partridge in a pear tree....lots of trees that is, I love trees. The colors just popped, greens of every kind! (My eyes were used to the palate back in Quin, the tundra had been turning from brown to yellowish at that point in May, though as I hear from Fannie at the Post Office, the yellow is now changing to green up there too.) Anyway we thought we blew out a shock (can you blow out a shock??? whatever you get the idea) on the passenger side after I nearly lost the car in a pot hole that would be better described as a pot 'crater' within our first 500 miles out of Anchorage. We were literally airborne, totally Dukes of Hazard-esq, I envisioned us saying to heck with the doors and climbing in and out of the windows for the rest of the trip just to keep the theme consistent. As it turned out we had the passenger side loaded down way more than the driver side thus the seemingly 'absent-blown out' shock every time we hit a bump, or so explained my mechanic once I arrived back in Hayward. Yes, it's true we ignored it until we got back to Hayward. Figured if the car is still going in a forward motion with relative ease then, we're good. When all was said and driven...we pulled into Hayward 56 short hours after leaving Anchorage. I slept through the entire next day. Geri on the other hand was up and working hard by 9 am. She is crazy and a best kind of friend! Quyana my dear, couldn't have done that without ya, surly I would still be on the road somewhere, probably straggeling around in Whitehorse.

Back Up At the Last Frontier I've been trying to convince my lil' bro Joshie to continue the blog from Alaska this summer while he proceeds adventuring around the state. He threw me a pacifying "We'll see..." probably too much commitment but you never know, he just might get a wild hair and shoot us a post now and then. He's been busy updating me via text about his goings on such as but not limited to: boating with a pod of humpback whales, bear hunting/searching, climbing every possible peak from Homer to Fairbanks and trekking every trail he can find. Last I heard he was headed to Delta Junction for a job so we'll see what that entails.

Well folks, that's the latest from Lake Wobogon....not gonna promise a post anytime soon. We'll catch up again in Alaska for sure (Lord Willing). And until next time have a safe, wonderfully refreshing summer everyone! Be blessed!

Shout Out To: Alicia, Allison and Allison (sorry if I've spelled any of you wrong) our newest recruits in Quinhagak, Alaska:) They'll be joining us this fall for the 2010-2011 school year! Welcome Aboard Chicas! It's been fun getting to visit with yas over the phone. Can't wait to meet yas live!

"Oh, how sweet the light of day, And how wonderful to live in the sunshine! Even if you live a long time, don't take a single day for granted. Take delight in each light-filled hour, Remembering that there will also be many dark days And that most of what comes your way is smoke." Ecclesiastes 11:7