Icewind's Ramblings

This one has been filed away for some time now and I just realized it was never posted. This one comes from a road trip I took to drive above the “Arctic Circle” and see the start of the Alaska Pipeline in Prudhoe Bay my first summer in Alaska. I guess I need to look in my ‘working posts’ folder more often. Four hundred and fifty miles into Friday's 16-hour drive from Anchorage to Prudhoe Bay, I jam my credit card into a Chevron pump just off “the haul road” in Fairbanks , Alaska . The pump spits it back at me and tells me to go inside and make arrangements at the counter. I'm not in the mood. I shuffle up to the counter and tell the woman, "I don't know what's wrong out at Pump 8 but it won't take my credit card." She doesn't bat an eye. "Must not like you," she deadpans. Then she grabs the card and says, "Go pump your gas." By the time I get back to the car, I'm laughing. It's two o...

Alaska is “hot” for a change with temperatures near a record of 80 degrees here in Anchorage . The past weekend was nice with warmth like has not been seen for several years but with the dry comes forest fire dangers. There are several large fires in the interior west southwest of Fairbanks and with our high pressure situated just so is bringing the smoke down from the north across south central Alaska . It reminds me of my travels to the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Appalachia and the hazy look found there. The lake wasn’t too bad but the view around Anchorage today is quiet hazy. With the smoke and haze it reminded me of one of my childhood friends. It’s hard to believe Smokey Bear is 65 years old. Many people still think that his name is Smokey the Bear but that is not right for all these years. Happy Birthday Smokey! There are still the teaching tools for the kids available and updated commercials and print ads that show Smokey has a...

The future you have control over is the one you create. There are some things we have no control over. It is wiser to accept what you have not been given the power to change. I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday weekend. I spent mine with friends (Scott & Kim’s family) out at their cabin on Big Lake . It was a combination of families which included: dogs (3, with one having OCD), kids (5), grandkids (1), grand dads (2), Nana’s (1), Mom’s (1), and Dad’s (2). This is just sort of a mix match of all kinds of things. It was an interesting weekend with many things going on between relaxing, riding wave runners, 2 pontoon boats, a speed boat, and a paddleboat. The kids were all over the place having fun and one surprise Saturday evening was 6 kids ranging in ages from 5 to 15 years old all on a trampoline jumping, having a great time without anyone mad, whining, hurt, or not wanting to be there. It was strange but nice. The wea...