Icewind's Ramblings

I started this last Friday but have not had time to post this. Over the years I have been jaded by professional sports mainly by the player’s attitudes and the changes that have taken place in almost all sports . . . “For the Love of the Game” has been lost and it’s turned into “Business” for most players as they are in high school making the transition to college or onto professional sports. Things have changed as now it is all about the money and not the way it was when I was growing up . . . in awe of Hank Aaron, Vida Blue, and Ferguson Jenkins for they truly loved the game as a game. They never made the kind of money that is out there today. They played without the scandal, without the ‘personality’ of many of todays players whether in baseball, football, hockey, or even motorsports. Something remarkable happened in a college softball game . . . Sportsmanship. The moment of grace came after Sara Tucholsky, a diminutive senior for Western Oregon, hit what look...

The Discovery Channel has the last couple weeks been airing a series called “The Alaska Experiment” . It follows four different group's experience surviving off the land for a three month period as summer wanes and the onset of winter sets in. They are spread over the 13.3 million acres of the Wrangell/St. Elias National Park . The “volunteer’s” are dropped off and must make their way to a remote cabin or tent for shelter which has some staples but not enough to last the full three months. They forage for firewood or attempt to catch fish for eating or possibly canning and also hunt for food. The program is a great study of human nature and the ability to cope with varying conditions of terrain and weather. My company has been asked to help with a project at the Ultima Thule Lodge which was the base of operations for the production crew last year. A friend of ours spent much of last summer flying his small bush plane out to help Paul and Donna Claus who ...

Attitude is everything . . . How else can you explain how I finished a stressful day at work with a smile on my face? Ice

One of my favorite CD’s is George Winston’s “December” album . Another is “Winter into Spring”. After our snowfall last week it seems to finally beginning to make the turn as we continue our journey into full light. Today is May Eve, a mid-spring cross-quarter day. Tomorrow, May Day is another one, while May 6th is mathematically midway between the Vernal Equinox and the Summer Solstice. To most of us it is mid-spring but some people consider it the first day of summer. Of course there are many people who don’t think about it at all. It feels more like mid-spring to me. Maybe more like in the old John Denver song, “Late winter, early spring . . . when everyone goes to Mexico ”. I can close my eyes and almost feel the sun on me and sense the rhythm of the guitar strumming. Most of the leaves here in Anchorage are not fully out on the trees but the buds are starting to magically appear on the trees. The flowering trees and shrubs are only now a thought but will be...

I started writing this post just after Christmas when one of my presents from my new son in law and daughter decided that I needed a survival kit to make sure I was ready for any emergency on these long . . . cold . . . dark winter nights that we have in Alaska during the winter months. It was put into my working folder until now since I have not been writing much lately. I had no idea I really needed anything like this but I have heard of people who prepare for any road emergency by having in the trunk of their rig a few survival items. Blankets, food, flashlight, matches and a lighter are some of the more common items found in the northlands of the Arctic . Others may be sleeping bags, bunny boots, heavy gloves, and the assorted food items that would not freeze or could be eaten without fire or warmth. It turns out my daughter and her husband decided I needed something a little different now that some things have recently changed for me. I do not need a survival kit...

Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio Icewind . . . “The nation turns its lonely eyes to you me.” Oh, only to be so relevant. Fortunately I’ve heard from a few of you that I have been missed so thanks for the emails and well wishes. I can’t say how much or why, but it feels good to know that some of you noticed I was gone and took the time to drop me a line after Levi’s passing. In any case, it’s nice to be back, if only for this post. Hopefully I’ll regain my form and be posting regularly again, but as you’ll find out below . . . what was melting has now it seems turned to permafrost or the Global Warming has shifted, resulting in a whole new level of discontinuity and madness in the far north. It has nothing to do with the recent warm temperatures in Anchorage . Or maybe it does. Let me fill you in on the last couple of months in “ Icewind’s world”. Unbelievable is all I can say about yesterday as our springtime in Alaska took another turn . . . over 18 i...

Times have been a little strange here lately with our slowly making our way back into the light . . . 10 pm now and there are still the fading rays of light to the west. It snowed here the last two days with about 10 inches up on the hillside and about 6 inches at the house. I was so ready for our things to move into spring and quickly into summer that the thought of going through two breakups this year is a big time disappointment for many here who want the winter over. I have written before about Buzzwinkle our ‘almost famous’ moose who lived downtown over the years and gave many of us enjoyment watching his antics. The Bull Moose with an affinity for fermented crab apples and Christmas lights is dead. The even-tempered moose has popped up sporadically over the years, but it wasn't until he got his antlers tangled in a rope swing in a Turnagain Parkway yard in November 2004 that he got darted and tagged, becoming instantly recognizable. Since then, Buzzwink...

One more dog story (news) and I’ll move on to other things . . . Over the last two weeks I started my Iditarod coverage but with all that has happened never finished so tonight I’ll give you the end . . . and the rest of the story. Jump back to the middle of March and the closing days of Iditarod 36 . . . Sled-dog racing pundits said it couldn't be done. The Thrill of Victory . . . Win the brutal 1,000-mile Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race and the punishing 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race both in one year, both — in fact — in the space of little more than a month? Impossible, you say . . . and then a hardscrabble, cancer-beating musher from Fairbanks by the name of Lance Mackey did it. But that was last year’s race in 2007. How about an instant replay this year? First the Quest was run through the Yukon Territory in Canada and in Alaska in bone-numbing, flesh-freezing 40-degree below zero temperatures that left Mackey with frostbi...

I have not been able to write this week but there have been so many things going through my brain and sorting through all of the emotions from the last several months. We are all creatures of habit . . . sometimes without totally realizing the small mundane things that make up our lives are so very much a part of what makes us happy or whole. I found myself this past week coping with the death of my Levi, my 12 year old Golden Retriever and as such have been one of the hardest weeks of my life. I found myself stepping gingerly onto the floor as in years past to not step on Levi as I awoke and not finding him under foot or within a few steps from me as I made my way around the house. There were no treats or carrots the first thing in the morning . . . no opening the door for that first morning snow angel before Levi would get to his business before I left for work each day. That time spent each morning as we went outside to start my rig so it would warm up before maki...

He died on a Monday at 8:45 AM ADST looking into my eyes . . . I’m left with a hole in my heart . . . My best friend . . . a great companion and fishing buddy. A friend to moose in the neighborhood . . . He loved to ride in my rig . . . and looked so forward to Sat breakfast Levi was loved by everyone and touched so many lives . . . I’ll miss you and will remember our time until we meet again on Rainbow Bridge . Ice

Sometimes life happens when you least expect it so I have not been posting lately but it does not stop the mind from thinking about things or observing something that triggers your mind to explode with possibilities of so many different things. Trying to pick up the pace in my life to make sure all of the things put off lately get accomplished I dropped by the local Costco this afternoon on my way home from work. It was no big deal and I only have several items to get with TP being the most important item. The compulsiveness of walking up and down the aisles really not wanting to buy anything that you did not need or want must be hard for many people who stop in to Costco or Sam’s Club. You arrive with those few items on the list and first they parade you by the liquor portion of the store . . . next is the huge high definition televisions and computers within easy reach . . . I turn the corner and realize we must be starting to thaw in Alaska as there are bathing suits in m...

This last week and a half has been for me a time not unlike the mushers who are running the Iditarod. I have been working hard on several large bids and have not had more than a few hours of sleep on any given night lately. I have been ignoring almost everything around me to finish the bid that went out this afternoon and as such many things have been almost put on hold during this time period. The last few days of the Iditarod has been a wild romp through the wilds of nowhere Alaska . The two leaders, both past champions have been going in a slow leap frog-ing of each other along the trail. As each passed the other at different checkpoints there has been friendly banter of last years race and how both are using different strategies to win this year. Is it gamesmanship or just being a little cocky of oneself . . . as each seems to worked through the exhaustion, the lack of sleep, and the personalities of their many dogs in harness. What does it all mean? I think it m...

Iditarod 36 is running through the interior of Alaska with a few teams at the halfway point while many teams are still working their way along the trail. The weather has been warmer than normal forcing many teams to travel in the colder night hours using the midday times to break or rest the dogs. High winds and blowing snow kept teams that were in the back of the pack hunkered down at Rainy Pass waiting for conditions to improve. One of the camera helicopters flying over Dalzell Gorge while filming mushers Rachael Scdoris and Joe Runyon for a feature film crashed when gusty winds caused the aircraft to spin and impact the canyon walls. Luckily no one was killed and there were only minor injuries to the pilot (the father of a friend of mine) and his cameraman. During this time in the race with the mandatory stops (a 24 hour & 8 hour somewhere along the trail) being played out it is hard to know exactly who is in the lead until everyone is on the move again. ...

This last week has been like one of those “E” ticket rides at the fair. Long hours at work and my daughter has been wiped out by some stomach virus to the point of being in and out of the hospital trying to get re-hydrated with IV’s and medication to help with the nausea. It’s been a tough time for her with trying to get better and keep up with an almost one year old . . . an almost impossible task. Having my grandson while she is ill has been a fun challenge in helping him learn balance and trying to take those first unassisted first steps. I need to find time to upload some pictures of the Iditarod but here is an update . . . Postcards from the trail this week as Iditarod 36 began over the weekend and now teams make their way across the interior and the Alaska Range . Several teams out of the 96 that started have scratched along the way withdrawing as the first 350 miles of trail provide great challenges. The mushers leave the land of highways and bustling activity of An...

It’s that time again that I still love each year when men and women with their beloved dogs take to the trail in “The Last Great Race”. Thing have been totally crazy at work lately biding on the project for the coming construction season. It has been a grueling time of deadlines, planning, schedules, and getting it done. I need a break and Iditarod weekend came at a much needed time. The first Saturday in March each year is the ceremonial start and this year is the 36th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. My Saturday started off much like most other weekends with our group breakfast at a local eatery. I tired getting my friend Scott to go see the start of the race again this year but to no avail. He has lived in Alaska all his life and does not view the annual running of the dogs with the same enthusiasm that I do. I still marvel that those who choose to runs dogs eleven hundred miles across the untamed landscape that is Interior Alaska in conditions that most of u...

The nicest thing about the future is . . . that it always starts tomorrow. Ice

It’s a funny thing . . . perceptions. Life has been full tilt lately with work keeping me burning the candle at both ends bidding on work for the upcoming construction season in the far north. There have been many bids going out lately almost 6 a week with about half of them being projects in ‘bush’ Alaska , many off of the road system. There have been health clinics, schools, house rebuilds that have been destroyed by fire, and even a large swimming pool project. The pool project was an indoor pool complex out in one of the middle/high school upgrades in rural Alaska . There have been boiler room upgrades (swap outs) and multifamily housing compounds and even an animal shelter. We have bid many jobs of late and are winning several of the ones we wanted and lost some of the ones which we would have gladly worked on but did not really want. In the overall scheme of things the game of bidding is giving perceptions on many different fronts. You may put your name o...

It’s “Rondy” time again . . . and we’re gonna love it! When "winter" lasts almost six months, you have to find things to do to break up the monotony . . . So we party. Every February, we celebrate . . . whatever . . . at the Anchorage Fur Rondy. Remember in the full light of summer during forth of July you cannot see the fireworks so we save them for Rondy. It started many years ago as a gathering of hunters & trappers to trade furs and get supplies. Now, we spend the time with parades, outhouse races, food, ice & snow sculptures, sled dog races, snowshoe softball, ice bowling, fireworks and many other events. Tomorrow (Sunday) there are more dog races, as well as the inaugural “Running of the Reindeer” (you can’t make this stuff up!). Late Feb/Early March in Alaska where the additional sun, the slightly warmer weather, and the snow all combine to make people just a little bit lightheaded we are all ready to have a little fun. I have ...

I started this around Winters Solstice and as the Christmas season came and went the process of thought and clarity at the time was lost to finish this until recently. From darkness comes light and from silence comes sound For most people there is something a bit intimidating about darkness and silence. Be it a dark room that you hesitate to enter . . . for what awaits you is unknown or the stark silence of a long moment where sound is absent which I have found out in the wilds of an Alaskan adventure a time or two. Each of these brings with them their own feelings of apprehension. In the midst of darkness and silence we cry out for light, for sound, for anything to break the emptiness of what we are experiencing. The ironic thing is that darkness and silence often weave in and out of our lives on a daily basis bringing both fear and peace. But that peace only comes when we know that the darkness and silence are not eternal, are not our destiny. We can appreciate what...

I make my drive to and from work everyday and during that 20 to 30 minute commute I am constantly bombarded by the radio ads for Cal Worthington Ford. He has been an Alaska icon for his zany television and radio ads over the years but he drives me crazy. Anybody over 25 who grew up in Southern California or Alaska knows this guy . . . Its Cal Worthington . . . normally ‘with’ his dog Spot as the ads featured his "Dog Spot", except that "Spot" was never a dog. Often, “Spot” was a tiger or an elephant or even a bear. Now Cal has been at this game appearing in his own television and radio commercials for over 50 years now and I believe he has gotten so old now that when he farts he only blows dust now. What drives me totally nuts lately is all of the ads for 4x4 vehicles. In one thirty second ad, Cal says the words ‘4x4’ nineteen times. That’s almost one every two seconds and he still has time to give brief details of about 10 vehicles. It’s...