Icewind's Ramblings

Wednesday Russ and I drove to Mt. Washington for a few hours to possibly hike if the snow has melted enough to make the trails passable.  We both think that high up where the resort is will still be snow covered as the ski resort closed for the winter season last week and the summer bike season will not open until June several months away. It was about a forty five minute drive south of Campbell River to the turn off up the mountain.  The sun was out, it was warm about 60 degrees with little to no breeze.  The landscape was changing from the farmland at the turnoff to an alpine meadow with mixed forest tracks of thick groupings of trees. There were several high mountain lakes with partially thawed areas with ducks or geese swimming. We made our way on several switchbacks as our elevation changed the higher up the mountainside we went.  The air was fresh and took on a slight chill as the car climbed its way toward the summit. Looking east you could see the Ins...

Campbell River is a coastal city in British Columbia on the east coast of Vancouver Island at the south end of Discovery Passage, which lies along the important coastal Inside Passage shipping route between Seattle and Vancouver shipping docks to Alaskan port cities.  The  population is just over thirty one thousand people with the number growing in summer during the tourist season.  Known as the "Salmon Capitol of the World" there are many areas to fish the different salmon species including salt water and fresh water adventures.  This area enjoys a mild climate with temperatures ranging between 28 ° F to 73 ° F year round with November receiving the most rain during the wet season. I came by ferry from Vancouver via the Tsawwassen ferry terminal arriving in the town of Nanaimo at the Duke Point terminal.  The sailing took 1.5 hours and the time spent was comfortable in large seats with windows to take in the views.  I am a couple weeks early for whal...

As I am making my way south from Anchorage to the Lower 48 on the "Where's the Flamingo" International Tour I was invited by my friend Russ' house to stop in and spend a few days.  Now to "stop in" I had to travel through one large state (Alaska), one large Canadian Territory (Yukon), one large Canadian Province (British Columbia), a 1.5 hour ferry ride and a 2 hour drive from the ferry terminal to Russ' house.  So as we southerner's say, I "do drop in" on Russ and his lovely wife Rose for about a week to visit.   I met Russ online about 14 years ago on a gaming website where we quickly became friends after playing and chatting together for three years finally had an opportunity to meet, oddly in the Seattle airport on our way to a convention in Las Vegas.  I was arriving from Anchorage and Russ flew in from Edmonton Canada where our flights arrived about 20 minutes apart so I met him at his gate and we made our introductions and during t...

Placido Flamingo and Dirty Harry (or spending time on the water again) While I'm visiting my friend Russ and his wife Rose in Campbell River, British Columbia one of the the weekend conversations turned to seafood and fishing.  Russ doesn't like eating seafood or fishing for that matter but it was decided we (Rose and & I) would make a seafood dinner for supper and Russ would eat one of his favorites, spaghetti.  Our meal consisted of fresh live dungeness crab and salmon, scallops, prawns with potatoes, onion, corn, rice, and Cajun seasoning.  It turned into a very nice meal for all and Russ decided that coming from the north hinterland of Alaska where fishing is a big pastime that I should go fishing in Campbell River the "Salmon Capitol of the World".  He booked us a half day charter on the boat "Dirty Harry" and it's captain, Harry.  The trip was set up for Monday morning to arrive at the dock at eight A.M. which we arrived a few minutes early t...

I am sure there are times in everyone’s life that it seems like the hard times are the ones that keep finding there way into our lives which create stress within that person’s being. Every one of us needs to find that center where we can rid ourselves of those things which we may not be able to change or fix.  Lose those feelings of helplessness and pain. Next time you are stressed; Take a step back, inhale deeply and laugh. Laughter will ease muscle tension and allow your thoughts to flow into calmness all around you.  Laughter releases endorphin's that help you feel better and maintain a positive attitude. Remember who you are and why you are here. You're never given anything in this world that you can't handle. Prepare yourself for the unexpected.  Be strong . . . be flexible . . . love yourself and love others. Life changes and you do not want to waste opportunities in your life. Always remember, just keep moving forward. ...

My first overnight stop on the Alcan was in Whitehorse, Yukon. Slept and work up at first light and started driving again about 5:30 am going through Whitehorse looking for coffee.  Nothing was open yet so figured I would get some later down the road.  About. Ten minutes south of Whitehorse during the start of the day's first light outside I could see a vehicle approaching me about a quarter mile away.  I would guess we were both driving about 45 to 50 miles per hour as the darkness waned and the morning light creeped over the mountains to the east. All of a sudden from my left side of the road a large moose ran out of the darkness of the roads edge and into the path of the car approaching me.  The vehicle's hood drove under the moose's belly causing the full body of the moose to impact the windshield crushing the front of the car, glass and top with the moose bouncing off the vehicle into my path! I was able to swerve to the right stopping just past the bloody c...

They say that one should know their place… quite civilized I’d say, But if that’s true, one thing for sure… in one place one can’t stay. You need to move around a bit… comparisons be made, Thus for a certain Georgia boy… farewell to home he bade. He wound up far across the world… an Asian war some say, Flew rescue choppers for a time… might say he saved the day. Continued with this chopper thing… went to the Middle East, Some royalty they say he flew… or V-I-Ps at least. Too hot, too dry (I’m talking booze) . . . and so he came back home, But “home” as in the USA… inside it he would roam. He had a business, built it up… then sold it and moved west, Went to a place where Mormons dwell… he felt he was a guest. And so he headed way up north… where polar bears do roam, Of salmon, “ice”, and long dark nights… Alaska now his home. In fifteen years, traversed it all… by plane and truck and sled, Once more the wanderlust sets in… and so down south h...

In all our lives there are things that we go through where choices were made, right or wrong that sends us on life’s journey down a path or several paths in my case.  In this walk through our life’s experiences they come at you like seeing a 70 mm Cinerama movie (three curved screens with 3 projectors) for the first time at the theater when you were a child. Mine was “How the West was Won”.  Life in full surround with everything filling all your senses, both good and bad. Robert Frost said in “The Road Not Taken”: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden...

Personal Digital Breathalyzer Today one of my Groupon ads was for a personal digital breathalyzer, $129.98 now $11.99. What I found interesting is that it showed over 25,000 had been bought. This must be nationwide but either way that is a whole lot of a**holes out there drinking too much that they need a pocket one to test themselves. Highlights:           Pocket-sized breathalyzer uses police grade sensors to measure your blood alcohol content, then displays the number on its LED screen. Fine print:           Free returns, does not ship to PO Boxes/AK (Alaska)/HI (Hawaii)/Canada/Puerto Rico. There were several questions and comments, including: “Garbage! Bought this and it didn’t work, got busted coming out of the bar parking lot.” I offended on several levels:  1.  They do not ship to Alaska and I know there are some power drinkers up here that use...

Life is busy, life is good. Wish you all lived in my neighborhood. I've been thinking about a certain hammock on a beach in Mexico, wishing I was there . . . I know a place with many hammocks. Ice

In many bathrooms, work and at home there is oftentimes air freshener to make our daily pooping rituals mask or remove the smell.  At home I have several aerosols in various scents.  Two are Fabreze® Air Effects; Hawaiian Aloha and Mediterranean Lavender. At work someone replaced my aerosol can of air freshener in the bathroom with some harmless looking spray that comes in a pump bottle, apparently that person was very conscious of our environment.  So, I went to the bathroom and after almost completing my moronic pooping ritual, I grabbed for the air freshener.  I picked up the spray pump bottle and eyed it suspiciously.  What the hell?  I'm okay with someone messing with everything else, but when you change my bathroom routine, you're only trying to magnify my anxiety.   I read the label.  Cinnamon.  Okay, I can deal with that.  I sniffed at the nozzle.  I don't know why.  I guess I wanted to make sure whoever didn't r...

On my recent trip to Mexico something totally unexpected happened.  I have carried around different burdens on my shoulders for the last forty years and while on vacation had the opportunity to release those burdens in a most unexpected and unusual way.  The area I was visiting was in the Rivera Maya in Mexico.  This area is approximately an hour and half south of Cancun and about twenty miles south of Playa del Carmen.  There is a rich Mayan culture here with many temples and ruins within a short drive.  The Mayan influence is everywhere, in the food, the art work, and most importantly the people who are proud of their heritage.  I was staying at the Hard Rock Rivera Maya a large sprawling resort with two sides to accommodate everyone.  Hacienda is the family (kids) side of the resort and Heaven is the adult only part of what I jokingly called “the compound”.  When you turn off the main highway there is a large guitar lighted in red and ...