October 2010

No snow on the ground yet, but we see it creeping down the mountains. Today was one of the first freezing nights coupled with a dense fog which left the streets with what is called, "Black Ice". There were at minimum of 3 major vehicular accidents and that was only what I heard about when I was going to work. I haven’t heard how bad those accidents were, but I hope people survived them.

We have a really bad summer up here almost constant rain, so our summer camping vacation was nearly ruined and too cool outside to really enjoy the summer, but at least it was time off and I watched movies, read and cooked good meals. Since it was so cool I made clam chowder for some folks in the campground. We pitched shelter tents and when 5 of them are put together we had picnic tables under them and had big dinners despite the rain. I made brats and country ribs braised in sauerkraut drained and replaced that liquid with Alaska Amber Ale. I also made steamed new potatoes with garlic butter on top of them sprinkled with Caesar’s Garlic seasoning. Additionally I made roasted carrots with a cinnamon with honey glaze. Other folks brought salads and deserts. People around the campo ground took their turns making the big weekend dinners. It was a blast afterward with us all sitting around the camp fire having a few drinks and telling lots of stories and jokes! So we made the best of the summer despite of the rainy damp weather.

Camping is a lot of work, but generally worth it. You are away from all the elements that are part of the ordinary type of life you lead; you can relax and get lots of fresh air as well. We get to see old friends again as many of them are the folks who travel to Alaska to get away from the hot summers there and fish for good salmon on from the Kenai River. Some folks come from Georgia and Texas and other various parts of the US.