Icewind's Ramblings

It has been hard to find time to post lately as many things are happening right now so finding time to sit and let the writing flow has been hard for me.   Not writers block by any means but I just haven’t felt like putting words to paper or in the digital age we live in type or text to some machine. I traveled to a couple of villages last week and seeing them in an unfrozen state with children playing and jumping off the bridges into the water (freezing cold to many of us) and swimming in the river enjoying life in a much simpler way than many in the modern cities. I enjoy my time in the villages and talking with the people and children who always seem to come out to see me when I am there.   I do not know if it is because a ‘stranger’ is in town or they are curious to this dude with Hawaiian shirts and baseball cap riding around on a 4 wheeler.   They come out and want to ride or see if I have anything for them, like kids all over the world have done in my travels. ...

It’s that time again for the annual trek down to the mouth of the Kenai River in Soldotna to fill freezers with nice red salmon for next winter.   It is called the personal subsistence fishery or as Alaskan’s call it . . . Dipnetting. This year we have had a run of reds of biblical proportions with last weekend’s one day sonar count of fish passing the weir 19 miles up river at 230,600 fish in a single day.   The previous biggest one-day total was 218,000 salmon, back on July 21, 1987, according to a newly revised figure from Fish and Game.   The state began compiling its database on Kenai salmon counts in 1978.   The last several years we have been lucky to get over 100,000 fish in a single day. What the Fish and Game try to manage to ensure enough sockeye salmon eggs get spawned into the river for future returning fish is roughly 700,000 to 1,400,000 sockeyes.   The Department is projecting a run size in excess of 2.3 million late-run Kenai River sockeye...

Have a great Day! Ice

It has been awhile since I’ve written a blog so I decided to do a quick one to let everyone know what I’ve been up too. Alaska finally came out of a pretty harsh winter with a somewhat nice (but short) spring.   With that comes a busy time for me preparing for the upcoming construction season here.   There are so many tasks to do in a relatively short time period where our projects are assigned to the different construction managers to make things happen so construction may begin during the summer. The construction work plan has to be written up along with safety plans and assembling all of the required paperwork and permits.   There are the usual ones for storm water runoff control and spill prevention but there are a couple one would not think about.   There are the archeological permits if we dig anywhere since we may disturb possible ancient burial grounds that are unmarked.   There are very specific plans to follow if you do come across human bones or a...

Or The Alaskan Adventure of a Steinway B This is taken from a newspaper notice last week and I thought it may be a fun thing to see some of the unique fun of springtime in Alaska.  I hope you enjoy!  Check out the short video On Monday, April 18th we made a bit of history as Peter Halstead, classical pianist < http://www.pianistlost.com/peter-halstead/ > and I set out with Keith & Deb Essex of Alpine Air, < http://www.alpineairalaska.com /  Mickey Houlihan of Wind Over the Earth Productions plus crew to fulfill Peter’s dream of performing piano upon one of the most remote wilderness peaks on earth. About 40 miles helicopter flight from Girdwood, Alaska we landed upon one of the most incredible sites I have ever seen about 6000 feet in altitude overlooking the Marcus-Baker glacier and icefield, thunder rolling through the mountains as avalanches broke loose in the spring sunshine, no wind at all and about 45 degrees. As the music began we all stood in awed...

I have always liked the movie Forrest Gump and the way in the movie that Forrest’s life is happenstance and wanders . . . only to find itself in a place in time that has an effect on everyone around him. Take a look at the opening scene from the movie, Forrest Gump. Is it dumb luck or destiny?   Some of both I suppose but it amazes me that our own lives sometimes make twists and turns that surprise us.   Did we have our own plan and it worked out or did things happen as dumb luck blowing in the wind?   Did preparation meets opportunity happen in the cosmos giving us unexpected results? Could it be that simple?   I think not.   Everyone has a destiny, but the journey to find it is undefined.     Forrest is like the feather, blown around by the wind and does whatever he is told.   This journey, though random and simple, leads Forrest to many good things. He never knew where he would end up, but he reached it all the same. Is that how life re...

I have been asked by some friends on Facebook to post “A Soldier’s Prayer” but before I do I wanted to give a little perspective into the Civil War and the turmoil going on in this country at the time.   There are still problems in this country and around the world but we continually strive to live in hopes of a better world.   Do your part to remember those from our past and those of our future whose sacrifice gives us the Freedoms we enjoy today. July 2, 1863 during the battle of Gettysburg in the area of Devil’s Den this prayer was written by a dying confederate soldier.   There are conflicting stories over the years whether it was found folded in his pocket or written in blood on the floor next to his body.   Either way it gives great perspective into life and living. Casualty figures for the second day of Gettysburg are difficult to assess because both armies reported by unit after the full battle, not by day.   One estimate is that the Confederates lo...

Great news in Alaska, Burger King has just announced that I can have it my way . . .   finally.   It was debuted today the left-handed Whopper. It’s the same sandwich . . . with the condiments rotated 180 degrees for all of us ‘lefties’ in the world. I hope this will spread like wildfire all over the world. Ice

Alaska is receiving Japans newest export . . . Iodine- 131 that much hyped radioactive fallout from the Fukushima nuclear reactor 2,700 miles away from Dutch Harbor whose monitors caught three times the levels from any other monitor in the United States. Maybe we can get many miles per gallon out of that mess. Ice

Accept that some days you're the pigeon . . . and some days you're the statue. Ice

When you join the military or are elected to public office you take an oath to protect the country from both foreign and domestic enemies which is part of our Constitution. Throughout history world powers nearly always fall from within. We may be going that same route as we look for ways to get involved in all the world’s conflicts when we cannot take care of things on our own home front.   We have invaded Libya to stop another nutcase from killing his own people as we watch over the country’s oil fields without taking anything for our efforts to stop the violence in that country.   It has been that way in all of our Middle Eastern protective missions. Does that make us a stupid country?   The foreign oil is there for us to take as part payment for helping countries gain freedom from dictators who think nothing of killing their own people.   Within our own borders exists 1,000 to 2,500 years worth oil and gas.   We have hamstrung ourselves from using it and...

It has been over a week now that the events in Japan has cause so much heartache and change to so many people.   Where do they go from here to move forward with their lives?   How many will never find family or loved ones swept out to sea or buried within tons of rubble or mud in the communities heavily effected by the earthquake and the following tsunami?   I’ve said many times that music is a common thread for many people and as I have sat and watched the news footage and listened to the commentary of the aftermath in dealing with so many problems and obstacles I turn to music to help ease my mind and search for understanding which may never come. One song over the years seems to say so much for each of us as we may sometimes be full of ourselves or have an incident to shake us and wake up and adjust our attitude to the ‘real world’ around us.   It is “Part of the Plan” by the late great Dan Fogelberg.   His music over the years has affected so many peop...

The events over the last three days in Japan have brought attention once again to man’s struggles on this planet we call home.   To the people of Japan, I hope all your needs are soon met.   My thoughts and prayers are with anyone who has been touched either directly or indirectly by this horrible act of nature. Take heed world, and know that all men are equal regardless of race or creed.   What can happen to one man or woman, nation or race can happen as well to any other.   We are all brothers and sisters in this struggle filled world and only by coming together of each and every one of us can alleviate the stress and pain of another. Our human hearts all beat the same, and we all suffer the same grief when loved one's are taken . . . to the people of the world, we should all look in our own neighborhoods, and treat everyone . . . everyday the way people somehow do when there is a crisis.   Sadly, too often it takes a tragedy for people to come together! ...

Our world of global communication and almost instant access to anything you could imagine shows us once again how much has changes in the last 56 years since the earthquake in Alaska in 1964. The news captured almost everything except an undersea camera of the earthquake itself.   Within seconds there were videos of the shaking in many areas in Japan and shortly thereafter the incredible videos of the tsunami wave coming on shore and devouring everything in its path.   The push of the wave with the debris swirling carrying vehicles, boats, buildings, and anything else in its path inland.   One report said the wave went over six miles across the mainland before retreating back out into the ocean. There were sixty to 80 foot ships being pushed on their side and hitting a bridge along with twenty or thirty vehicles which looked like a Hollywood disaster movie.   This was real and the shot of all the houses and cars swept away with the water on fire from the natural...

The Race restarted Sunday afternoon at 2 PM Alaska Standard Time (AST) in Willow on the frozen lakebed with another throng of people waving, hollering, and wishing well their favorite musher on to Nome. They ran through the night and into the bright sun of an Alaskan spring morning as the leaders headed into the Alaska Range and climbed their way to Rainy Pass.   Several of the mushers are on a blistering pace to Rohn checkpoint an abandoned cabin which is about 200 miles into the 1,150 mile race to Nome.   Robert Bundtzen with his 16 dogs arrived in Rohn at 5:17 PM with defending champion Lance Mackey arriving just 18 minutes later but after his time check was off again and back on the trail headed to the Farewell Burn. Other events of the day . . . 5 time Iditarod champion Rick Swenson crashed on the Happy Valley River steps leading into Rainy Pass and is considering his options after it was confirmed he appears to have a broken collarbone.   He should decide sh...