Eskimo Pie (aka The Permanent Fund)

There's a long line spilling out of the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) office every day. I walk by the office on E Street on my way to my vehicle after work. This is the last week to apply for a slice of the 2007 PFD pie... (our own little eskimo pie, I guess you could say...)

The Permanent Fund is facilitated by the State of Alaska which divvies out the profits gained from the State's oil in a given year to every resident of the State. In general, every person who resided in Alaska from Jan 1 - Dec 31 of a given year (in this case 2006) can apply to receive a portion of that year's oil profits. They apply between Jan 1 & March 31 of the subsequent year (right now) to prove they were a resident during that time and then sit back and wait till October when the PFD is dispersed. The amount varies each year. But it's generally around $1000 per person.

We won't be eligible for a slice of this eskimo pie till the 2008 dispersement as we moved here in the middle of 2006. So 2007 will be our first full calendar year in Alaska. But when we are eligible, we'll get 5 slices of the pie. One for each member of our family. It's a pretty sweet deal, and well worth standing around in a long line at the end of March to get your application in on time.

Harley Fever

We went to look at another Harley last night after work... This one's a 2001 Road King with 7800 miles. Looks like it'll be ours (or, I should say... his) before the week is out unless the bank doesn't like it. Stephen's pre-approved for a bike loan. And the asking price for this one is within it's book value range. So we don't foresee any problems. Stephen's now like a kid who just won the candy lottery. The fact that he's been trying to get another Harley for the past 17 years probably has something to do with that. Let's just say... he's pleased.

Now to buy a helmet and some leather....

BTW, the color in this photo (which was on its craigslist posting) shows it to be a little brighter than it's actual green. It's more of a forest green than teal... We both like it better in person. Alicia thinks it's loud (the pipes, not the color).

According to folks here, we're having an unusually cold March. Most years, people are already out on motorcycles in March. Not many out there this March. It'll probably be another few weeks before he can get out there and ride. His buddy from work has just ordered a Harley which won't be delivered till some time this summer. But that'll give him a riding buddy. They've also both joined the Defense Force, but Neil will be at a company in Anchorage where Stephen's battalion is in Wasilla. (I'm just throwing those companies and battalions in there... I have no idea.)

You are my sunshine...

Just about 13 hours of daylight these days... 7:30am-8:30pm. It's nice. Still dark when I arrive at work, but not for long.

Speaking of work, I'm about to change my work schedule. My office offers what's called an Alternate Work Week. I'll go from working 7am-3pm to working 7am-4pm and have every other Monday off. My first Monday off will be next week. I'm hoping this will provide more time to explore Alaska, particularly during those long summer days.

We're making plans for some summer visitors. Memorial Day through the end of June will be a busy travel month, at least for me. We're traveling as a family to Busch Gardens Williamsburg as well as the Bedford, Virginia area to see friends and the D-Day Memorial over Memorial Day weekend. We'll be in that area until June 3rd. Then we'll have guests in Alaska from June 8-16 with whom we hope to do a little Alaskan exploration... kayaking, mountain biking, Denali and wildlife viewing... On June 16th, I fly to San Diego for my week GIS conference. Lots of fun in the sun in June!

Seward's Day

Happy Seward's Day!

What's that? You don't have the day off to commemorate the signing of the Alaska Purchase treaty on March 30, 1867? The last Monday in March is apparently a legal U.S. holiday. But don't be too jealous. Stephen doesn't have it off either, and neither do the kids. But all State offices are closed!

To be honest though, since no one else has the day off, I'm working today and using the time as a floating holiday on a different day. I did the same thing on Alaska Day in October.

Drive

We had our first behind the wheels driving lesson yesterday in a snowy parking lot in Eagle River. One down, many many many more to go...




Alicia May also had a driving lesson yesterday... She was helping Daddy with his Harley shopping. We stopped by the Denali H. D. shop in Wasilla. He's considering buying a used bike. Things are still up in the air a bit.

After all that driving adventure, little Alicia May had to catch some shut-eye.

4th Time's a Charm...

Watch out Alaska! Tess is now legally able to operate a large motorized vehicle on public roadways... It only took her 4 attempts to get 16 questions correct on a 20 question test. She now knows more than any 14-year-old ought to know about alcohol consumption and its effect on her driving ability.

I took most of the day off from work today and brought 5 teens to the Dimond Center (a big mall in south Anchorage) as well as Alicia May. It's a nice mall with a bowling alley, movie theater and indoor ice skating rink. Donald went bowling, but the girls mostly shopped. They did paint some ceramic tiles at one of those paint-your-own shops which puts the items in a kiln and you come back and pick it up a few days later...

In addition, Uncle Sam direct deposited our tax refund today! Yahoo! We've already bought our plane tickets to fly to DC on Memorial Day Weekend. Busch Gardens, here we come!

Tonight the kids are going to Teen Night at the church. I volunteered to supply dessert. They're having a spaghetti dinner. So I'm making 2 Rocky Road Chocolate Chip Pizzas. Tess & Alicia May helped out with the cleansing of the beaters...

Alaska Sports Report

It's March Madness, Alaska Style. The top 16 high school basketball teams from around the state are in Anchorage this week for the State Tournament. Basketball is by far the biggest sport played in small towns and villages around Alaska. Its bigger than the other sports because it involves a lot of people, players & spectators, and it is played indoors. Whole villages support their teams whether they have kids on the team or not.

This year's tournament has both the girls' and boys' teams from the village of Kalskag. That's the first time they've had both teams make it to the state tournament in 21 years. Almost the whole village has come to Anchorage to watch them play. It's very much a way of life for these small communities.

In other Alaska sports news... Ellen Halverson has captured the Red Lantern in Nome for being the last finisher in this year's Iditarod Sled Dog Race. The lantern is lit in Nome when the mushers depart from the Start Line in Anchorage. It remains lit until the last musher crosses the finish line. Congratulations to rookie musher Ellen and to all 58 of 82 mushers who completed the race this year.

Spring has sprung... someplace else!

It's snowing here in Anchorage today. This is going to make for a messy ride home as the temps are right around freezing, so the road grime is not frozen solid and will be coating all vehicles. At least it won't be dark on my evening commute and I won't need to have functioning, grime-free headlights.

I brought in a lovely Chocolate & Peanut Butter cake to work today for our March Birthday celebration. We only have one March birthday, and he's a fan of Reese's PB cups. Thus the cake. To make up for the fact that the cake might not actually taste that great (for some reason, the recipe which I downloaded off the web didn't call for any eggs??), I brought in my lovely glass cake stand to give it a dramatic presentation. The cake wasn't too bad actually. Not light and fluffy, but the PB frosting was divine so it boosted up the cake's flavor.

I was reading an article in the Anchorage Daily News today about a couple of young folks who decided it would be fun to drive from Anchorage to Edmonton (in Canada) to go to the Mall for Spring Break. They took a wrong turn just north of where we live and ended up stuck on an unmaintained Alaska Hwy 160 miles out of their way. People have apparently died on that road under similar circumstances. What were these dimwits thinking? The girl driving was 20 and her male passenger was 16. Who in their right mind lets a 16 year old go off on a 2000 mile journey through AK and Canada in the winter to go to a MALL?

What's that? Bare asphalt?

I've been tempted to swap my studded tires out for the normal ones because the roads are completely clear, for the most part. There are a few icy spots on the side roads through our neighborhood, but nothing so treacherous as to require studded tires.

However, it was recommended by one of my coworkers that I leave those studded tires on at least till late April. Sigh.

The snow has been melting a bit. Even last week when the winds were whipping and it was hovering around 0 degrees, I think the increasing sunlight has still caused some melting. It won't be long before we can see the grass in our yard and the wooden floor of the deck. Okay, it might still be a while... just not a LONG while!

Weekend Update

More eagle pics at the Dropshots page...








Family Update:

Stephen:
An Officer and a Gentleman
Stephen was sworn in to the Alaska Defense Force on Friday as a 2nd Lieutenant. Apparently, this means he's expecting the occasional salute as he's now an Officer. The ADF is a volunteer organization similar to the National Guard, but on a State level. He was also in the Virginia Defense Force and enjoyed the people he met and being part of a military style group.
On Thursday last week, Stephen bought me some flowers. They're potted (Gerbera) and lovely yellow. I have them sitting on my cubicle window sill at work. He said he bought them for me because I'd been so nice to him this week while he was stressed out, not sleeping well, and cranky. I think it must have been about 7 years since the last time I was nice to him sufficiently to deserve blossoms.... :o) I recall a dozen roses I received on my 30th birthday.

Tricia:
I gave my first GIS training this week. Maybe I mentioned that. The course is called "How to Build a Basic Map: Quick & Dirty GIS". It's a 4-hour workshop with a powerpoint presentation and 5 hands-on exercises. I developed the course materials myself and think it turned out pretty well (if I do say so myself!). I was unsure, as I was putting the course together just how long it would take to get through the information. But, as it turned out, the class lasted 4 hours exactly!
In addition to offering it to students in the Anchorage training room (13 people), we also linked in 3 staffers from Fairbanks via the internet and a teleconference. I have 2 more classes scheduled for later this month, both full. And I'm being scheduled to bring the class live to Fairbanks at the beginning of May.

Donald:
Finally got off being grounded, so he's now back in possession of his electronic toys. His phone was also finally retrieved from the tubing hill on Elmendorf AFB where he lost it during a church youth group trip at the end of January. Turns out, someone found it and turned it in and they had it in their safe. I got a Visitor's Pass to get on base after work Friday on my way home, and drove in to the snow hill lodge to pick it up.

Tess:
Both she and Donald are on Spring Break of course. Tess is between basketball seasons I think. I keep hearing rumors about a Spring league. Maybe that requires Spring to actually arrive. Not sure.
She went shopping at the 5th Avenue Mall yesterday with her friend, Melissa. Alicia and I were also in attendance. Stephen was across the street at the Egan Center attending a Motorcycle Show and drooling over Harleys.
Tess got some new stuff from American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch and Wet Seal. Oh, and I bought her a wide belt at Nordstrom's.

Alicia May:
She is now in the possession of a new little table and chairs set that we picked up at an Indoor yard sale yesterday for $10. She's been needing a little table to sit at and color or play with her Play-Doh, two of her favorite activities. She also got a new Barney video yesterday and sat mesmerized by it at her new table with a crayon hovering over her coloring book for the duration.

Little Bit:
The dog is 1/2 naked if the quantity of dog hair on my sofa is any indication. She only crawls up there when we're all asleep or away from the house... Hmmmm.

Elmo:
The cat is getting fatter because Alicia has a great fetish for dry cat food distribution.

Spring Break

The kids are on Spring Break starting today. It's not the TV version of Spring Break with lots of swimsuits and sunshine. Actually, I think the temperature today is expecting to get up into the teens. Wow! Dare we hope to break 20 degrees? It's -8 right now... with wind chill it feels like -18. Wahoo!

Tess is planning to spend a day snowboarding next week down at Alyeska with a girlfriend or two. A bus picks them up at a grocery store in Eagle River at 8:15am and drops them off again at 7:15pm. I'm not sure if Donald plans to join them or not.

We may also rent a state cabin for a night for a winter camping experience. Oh, right... this is SPRING Break. Whatever. We'd have to snowshoe or ski a 1/2 mile from the road to get to the cabin. I'm going to catalog that under Winter Camping.

Nenana Ice Classic

I bought two tickets for the Nenana Ice Classic this morning at the Trading Post in Peters Creek. Tickets are $2.50 each to guess what date and time Breakup will occur.

The folks in the town of Nenana, which sits at a bend of the Tanana River 75 miles north of Denali (Mt. McKinley), have been betting on the Breakup since 1917. It has grown considerably since then. During a 3-day festival in March, they erect a giant black and white striped tripod in the middle of the frozen river. It's attached to a trip cable. When the ice starts to breakup and has moved a certain distance (like 100 feet), the cable trips and stops a clock, indicating the exact minute of Breakup. Generally it occurs between the end of April or beginning of May.

People buy tickets and mark their date and time of choice for a chance to win a jackpot of over $300,000. Last year, 8 ticket holders had the exact date and time down to the minute (5:29pm on May 2nd). They split the pot.

This isn't just a little betting pool. It's in the legislative statutes for the State of Alaska, and has been since the first session in 1960. Proceeds from the classic benefit all sort of things including the Special Olympics of Alaska.

You can read more about it at http://www.nenanaakiceclassic.com/.

If you'd like to bet on the Breakup, drop me a line and we'll set something up!

The Big Finish

Looks like Lance Mackey's going to take it! As a matter of fact, I think he must already be in Nome. He left the last checkpoint before Nome at 4:44pm this afternoon and there's only 22 miles between Safety and Nome.

Lance's dad won the Iditarod and his brother also won. Both were wearing bib #13. I had heard at the start in Willow that Lance had camped out for 3 days to assure that he got bib #13. Now here he is, on the 13th of March, winning the Last Great Race! What a story! And he's setting records to boot.

The team he's running just won the Yukon Quest sled dog race a few weeks back. Some kennels have enough dogs to field 2 teams. But Lance's dogs are the same ones that ran in the Yukon Quest. At the end of this race, he's down to 9 dogs. He started out with around 14. The teams drop dogs along the trail and a herd of volunteer veterinarians care for the dogs as they are flown back to their homes.

I drove by this musher's truck on my evening commute today. This dog truck is apparently from the Salty Dog kennel (note the license plate). I don't know where that is, but they appear to be on their way either to or from a mushing event.

Dogsledding is a popular sport in this state, whether it's for the fun of it, or to strive to overcome one of today's greatest challenges... The Iditarod.

Hitting the trail...

Stephen, Bit, the baby and I found our own Iditarod Sled Dog Trail yesterday during an evening walk. We had a trail, a sled, and a dog. And some lovely scenery.

We think this area is probably a bog during the summer as much of Alaska seems to be. But during the winter, these sorts of places freeze solid and transform to snowmachine or ski trails, or actual winter roadways... We saw some snowmachine tread marks on the trail we used, but we also saw other boot and dog prints...

Well, we got our tax return documents back from the CPA. Yahoo! Big refund! I may be taking that DC trip in late April after all! And the San Diego trip for the family is June (to join me at my conference) is also probably ON! Yay for the IRS and good CPA's!

Sunday Scenery

Can you find the moose lying down in this photo?








I snapped this shot behind the church this morning. You should see a mommy moose and her baby moose. I was hoping she would stand up, but she seemed content to lounge around in the snowbank.

After church we took a spin around Eagle River to drive by a few houses on the market. Near the Taco Bell we came across 3 eagles sitting near one another in some bare tree branches. Here's the one we found to be the most photogenic.

We've come to the realization that we either need to lower our standards or find more lucrative employment if we're going to be able to qualify for buying a house this summer. We're still not positive we'll be buying this year. But it's fun to look. A lot depends on what happens with our Virginia house.

Hitting the high note...

Tess sang the National Anthem at last night's Mustang Roundup. That's when the rising 8th graders and their parents tour the high school to get an idea of what they'll be doing next year. She did a lovely job, as usual.

She also sang the Anthem a few weeks back at the Honor Roll Assembly. What a gal!

We're starting to scope out the housing market on the chance that we are somehow able to afford to buy a house here this summer once we sell our Virginia house. Despite the fact that house prices have supposedly dropped, they still seem pretty high to us. The average 4 BR, 2 BA house in our school district is over $300,000. We're used to living places where housing costs are considerably lower. But I don't actually think this is much above the national average. It's just above our average! Nevertheless, house hunting is a favorite activity... so the game is on!

Let there be light....

Okay, so I was wrong about the whole daylight thing. Wishful thinking I guess. Apparently, it won't be till the middle of April that my morning commute (6:30am) will be in daylight. This weekend's time change will just make matters worse. But it will be light later in the evening which, in Stephen's opinion, is a bonus. That means his walks with Lotta Bit won't be in the dark and he can even swing by the archery range after work and shoot a few rounds on his way home.

It's 5:30am right now, and wouldn't you know it... still dark outside. But I've got to get ready to go to work. Alicia May still has a cough, but she seems to be improving.

We're up to 14 mushers who've scratched from the Iditarod. They're saying on the news that this year's trail is one of the worse they've seen for difficulty. I think they've hit some very bad weather with a lot of wind and temps (with wind chill) dropping to -55 or -60. Some frostbite, busted up sleds, and busted up mushers are doing battle in the Alaska bush as I type. The race is certainly not for the faint of heart.

The way I see it....

Here they are... the long-awaited photos from Tess's last game of the season! Okay, maybe not that long-awaited. But here they are just the same.

The girls' last game was at Home against Eagle River. Donald's last game was Away at Eagle River. Stephen went to that one. Both Chugiak teams won. Both Donald and Tess scored the first 2 Chugiak points of their games. No one was injured, so both games were a vast success!

I haven't gone to www.iditarod.com yet to check the status of the mushers out there on the trail. As of last night, I think 8 or 10 had scratched for various reasons. Most of the reasons are because the mushers feel they are unable to adequately care for their dogs for the remainder of the race due to self-sustained injuries or problems with their sled. The Anchorage Daily News has been doing a nice job of keeping up with the action as well, if you're interested.

We're getting around 11 hours of daylight at this point and after this weekend's Daylight Savings Time jump, I should be driving to work in sunlight! Yay! I made it!

At work, I'm in the process of putting together some GIS training for the troops. I'm calling the class "Quick & Dirty GIS". So far I've filled the two originally scheduled classes and have almost filled a third offering. The first class is next Tuesday. I was hoping to complete the course material development yesterday, but I'm making good headway. As long as the baby's cold doesn't worsen to the point that I need to stay home with her, I should be okay...

That's all for now... Stay tuned for the next episode of... "The Anchorage Hillbillies!" [ensue with canned banjo music]

Trail Report

Well, Lance Mackey has made it to Nikolai. That's well before the 1/2 way mark, but past the hardest terrain of the race. They just climbed a steep incline up and over Rainy Pass and have completed the treacherous descent past Rohn to Nikolai. At this point, he's the only one who's checked in at Nikolai.

He was so far ahead when he got to Rohn that although he was the 3rd to leave that checkpoint, he'd been able to get a 6-hour rest there for him and his team. So that's got to make a huge difference for them.

So far, 6 teams have scratched from the race including DeeDee Jonrowe... whose dogs wear pink harnesses and she wore a bright pink kuspuk style coat. Photos available on our Dropshots page. I heard on the radio this morning that she'd hurt her hand on the same stretch of ice that caused Swingley to scratch also. Must be rough going on some parts of that trail!

We're watching Jim Lanier (bib #9) as he's from our town. He's apparently friends with one of Tess's basketball team mates. It's his all-white dog team that you'll find on our Dropshots page from the ceremonial start on Saturday. Really pretty. He was in 3rd for a long time but slipped back to 11th overnight and I think he's now in 9th heading out of Rohn.

Speaking of basketball, the kids have their last games tonight. If Donald's team wins, which they should, they'll be the winningest boys C-team in Chugiak High School history. So that's pretty cool. Tess's team is also expected to win. They've had a really great season as well. She's thinking of playing Spring league basketball just to keep in shape. It's more recreational than competitive. Donald will be trying out for baseball and soccer and will play on whichever team he makes!

Tess says she's going to play girls' flag football next fall instead of cheering. So that'll be something new and interesting. I think she'll do well at it.

And they're off....

We drove an hour up to Willow after church this morning. And we weren't alone! By the time we left Wasilla, we were in a fairly steady line of traffic for the 30 miles up the Parks Highway to Willow.

In the past, the restart of the Iditarod has been in Wasilla. But on years when there's not enough snow in Wasilla, they move the restart north to Willow. I think it's been about 4 or 5 years since the restart was held in Wasilla.

So when we got to Willow and made our way past the parking fiasco, we joined several thousand others on a frozen lake where the restart was already underway. The first team we saw depart was number 19. There were 83 teams in all this year, and they were sent off at about 2 minute intervals. I posted some photos on our Dropshots page which can be accessed from one of the links to the right.

The temperatures were up to 20 degrees and really pretty nice. Sunny, not too much of a breeze. We had dressed for colder temps, somewhat unnecessarily. We even had Toe Warmers and Hot Hands in our boots and gloves to ward off the cold that never materialized. But at least we didn't have to retreat because Alicia got too cold.

Things to remember for next year: Bring cash for food vendors and parking fee ($10). Bring a sled and picnic food with us from the parking lot because you aren't going back to your car until you leave.

So tonight, the 83 mushers and their dog teams are somewhere on the trail... According to the news, several have already checked in at Skwentna. Stephen's getting Iditarod fever and claims he's going to be running a team in the race next year. And while we did buy Bit some doggy booties at the event today, I have a feeling she'd be more comfortable riding in the sled.

Iditarod, Ceremonial Start

We watched the ceremonial start of the 35th Iditarod Trail Race this morning. We had a couple hours to hang out downtown before going to Donald's game (and then Tess's game) at South Anchorage High School.

The ceremonial start is when the teams are released in 2 minute intervals on 4th Avenue in Anchorage. They travel 11 miles through Anchorage and then load the teams into trucks and head to Willow (about 50 miles north of Anchorage) for the official timed start tomorrow. This ceremonial start gives the teams and fans a chance to get a good look at one another. It's also an economic boost for the city I suspect.

Donald was already with his team by 9am this morning. We had dropped him off at a breakfast restaurant in Eagle River. But the rest of us parked in the JCPenney parking garage on 6th Avenue and walked the couple blocks through big crowds of bundled up spectators. The air temperature was 7 degrees above zero with minimal wind. Pretty pleasant given recent conditions.

After maneuvering for a good trailside position, we watched as many teams depart as we could before Alicia May decided she was too cold to be out there anymore. Then we made our way to the cafe at Nordstrom's in the 5th Ave Mall for some warm liquids and a chance to thaw out.

Tomorrow we'll be heading to Willow after church (we're going to the early service) to see what that's like. It's sure to be a lot of fun.

Couldn't resist these three non-Iditarod photos taken at the games today. But I did post a bunch of Iditarod photos on the DropShots page!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

The wind is whipping in Alaska today. And it has been for a couple of days. Some places have wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour or more. Combine the winds speeds with the fact that we’re in Alaska… you get some mighty cold wind chill factors! I think our area is getting -30 degrees with the wind chill.

The walk from the parking garage to my building, less than ½ a block, is a major workout. For some reason, once you get within about 100 feet of our building, the wind speed picks up by about 20 mph. We look like those people you see on Weather Channel specials where they’re basically walking sideways with a tight grasp on anything they may have with them: hood, purse, lunch sack…

The good news is, the wind is supposed to die down by tomorrow. That should improve the situation for the ceremonial start of the 35th Iditarod here in Anchorage. The official start of the 1100 mile race is on Sunday up in Willow. That’s about 50 miles north of our house. We may drive up there for the festivities.

Tess has decided not to participate in this year’s Iditarod. It conflicted with several basketball activities and that is where her priorities lie. So much for stories to tell the grandkids. But I came to the conclusion that I can’t force her to do things to eliminate regrets. She needs to know what regrets are, even if they’re a long time in coming. Maybe next year we can be more involved in this historic race. But this year, we’ll at least be spectators. And that’s a good story for the grandkids on its own.

One of those days...

It’s been a rough day. No particular reason… just a rough day. On the plus side, the day’s got no place to go but up!

The Tuskegee Airman talk yesterday was interesting. Lt. Col. Leo Gray is from Boston originally but currently resides in Ft. Lauderdale. He spoke of his time in the Tuskegee Flight Institute in Georgia as well as his experiences flying escort fighter jets during WWII. The thing that struck me the most was that he (and most of his buddies) were only 20 years old at the time. I guess I’ve always known that the average age of a fighting soldier is pretty young. But you just don’t think about it. I mean in 4 years, can I see Donald flying a fighter jet over enemy lines and shooting down enemy planes?

We spend a lot of time trying to raise good kids and help them make good decisions for their futures. But I don’t think we realize that so many of those decisions will be out of our hands well before we know it. One day we’ll wake up and say “Hey, I don’t want to hear any of your excuses about needing to run a country or finalize the cure for cancer… get in there and clean your room!”

“Wait a minute… who are you? And where’s that belligerent brat I’m still trying to whip into shape?”

Best not to fall asleep. There’s a LOT of work to be done.

Here are some photos of Tess from her game last night. They were defeated by Dimond, but they played a pretty good game. Things went bad in the 4th quarter, too late to be remedied. Tess played lots of good D.
Blocked pass!