Grayson Lake Kayaking- April, 09'

Grayson Lake, KY April-2009



Kate and I went on another short trip. I took the day off Friday night so I could get some sleep before driving 3 hours into KY toward Grayson Lake. I learned of the lake through a Yahoo Group called Cincypaddlers. As we arrived it was a beautiful day about 75 degrees and sunny. We took all back roads to get there along the Ohio River, so it was very scenic going through the small towns. We arrived at the lake and decided to go get a campsite to make sure we had a place to stay when done kayaking. We picked a decent spot, and set up the tent, then headed toward the put in. We started in about 1:30 in the afternoon. The lake does not seem like any lake you would know. It is at most a couple hundred yards wide, making it seem much more like a river. The lake has many branches off it though, which is what we took. The sides of the "lake" are limestone/sandstone faced walls, where most of the time you can kayak under an overhanging wall. There were only a couple other motorboats, which had to go very slowly due to the tight bends in the lake and how narrow it was (always points jutting out into the water). We saw no other kayaks.


We got to our first falls, which they call Hidden Falls (though I didnt find it very hidden). It was a rather short, wide falls with lots of debris behind it. I maneuvered my 14.5' kayak in behind, got some pics, then went straight thru getting drenched. Kate did the same in her borrowed Otter Kayak 9.5'. After getting a thourough washing, we continued on, drying in the sunshine.





After another short jaunt further up lake, we came to the highlight. A 75 ft waterfall draining into the lake. Again, I'm able to maneuver around behind it... and play around with pics before going through it. We played around here for quite a while. After going through a couple times (filling my boat with water), and Kate joining in on the fun, we started back.

We had heard a waterfall out of sight in a little cove on the way up and decided to try to see it while we were on our return trip. We pulled our kayaks to the side and climbed out. After a 10-15 minute walking (about 200 yards) through dense forest with no trail, we found this falls (which was unnamed, but I though should be called "Hidden Falls" instead of the other one). It was about a 30 ft. falls, but not as much water flow as the previous two. We headed back, got in the kayaks and soaked up some more sun on the way back. Wonderful weather. My only complaint about the lake is that it has no sandbars or spots suitable to unload and hang out. The sides of the lake are thick brush or rock walls.

We loaded the kayaks, and headed back to camp where we got a roaring fire going. We cooked brats/mets over the fire and sat back and chilled till about midnight, going to bed. The next morning we woke up to rain. We went ahead and started our journey home. Great weekend trip.

Alaska Day 9; Kenai Lodge

September 14 - Kenai
Feb. 28th, 2009 at 4:42 PM
Still getting better. We woke up pretty early this morning (6:45 a.m.) and walked down to the lodge for breakfast. The light is so pretty early in the a.m. It rained last night, which magnified the sweet Alaska smell. After eating (nothing too remarkable - just your average breakfast buffet), we met our kayaking group - only one other older couple from San Diego. I love the small tours. A gentleman from the lodge drove us to the lake put-in a little bit early since the group was ready to go. We skipped rocks and marveled at the mountains until our guide, Mike, arrived with the boats.

We set sail around 8:30 on the incredibly calm, clear, neon teal lake (glacier-fed and about 48 degrees). We rode in a double kayak, which Justin and I had never done. We weren't sure how much we'd like it, but Mike recommended it since the singles are much narrower than the singles we're used to. Not wanting to experience any part of the freezing lake, we went with his recommendation. It was actually a lot of fun and not hard to get used to (other than the fact that we had a rudder to control our direction and didn't have to use the paddle for manuevering).



We spent the first hour or so paddling out to a beach about 2.5 miles away. We saw two bald eagles about 50 yards from each other, sitting on top of spruce trees most majestically. One flew away, and we saw him eating a salmon on the shore very near us as we paddled by. They are BIG BIRDS. Despite yesterday's forecast for today, it never rained on us. In fact, the sun even peeked out from behind the clouds a few times, illuminating big swatches of land on the colorful mountains surrounding us. Said mountains are carpeted with huge areas of wild berries, lichens and spruce trees.

We stopped on a little stretch of beach peninsula for snacks (trail mix, Babybel cheese and crackers) and hot chocolate. Mike also pointed out fresh berries we could eat - rose hips, cranberries, red currants and black currants. After hanging out on shore for awhile, we headed back.



Like so many things here, I just can't describe the scale or beauty of the place we're visiting. I'm so glad to be sharing this experience with Justin. He understands how this place makes you feel, how it smells, how the moss quiets your footsteps, how clear the lakes are and how you can see your kayak paddle three feet into the water. It's not really something words were made for.



Anyway, after kayaking we came back to the lodge. I changed quickly and went to church with a small van of other Catholic mass-goers. We went up to a beautiful little local chapel - a log cabin church with big windows behind the altar. Mass was short - only about 45 minutes. I'm glad I could make it this week (there wasn't one on the boat last week). So after mass, I found Justin and we got some lunch in the lodge. I got the bison chili again (SO GOOD) and he got fish and chips. We decided to walk down to the Cooper Landing Cemetery a mile from the lodge. Apparently anyone can be buried there for free, and you just have to inquire at the post office.



Weird, no? Okay, when I kick the bucket, this is the kind of place I want to be buried. It is without a doubt the most serene cemetery I've ever seen. Graves are somewhat informal and accessible by small hiking paths. Most have headstones - some fancier than others - and many have huge mounds of moss and flowers and plant life over the grave area. It's so natural and peaceful. Justin found it slightly creepy, but the only thing that put me on edge was the possibility of surprising a bear or moose. One of the lodge staffers was mauled by a bear about a month ago near the lodge. She survived, but we've caught gruesome tidbits. It was bad enough that she's had to have skin grafts and a bunch of surgeries. So needless to say, I'm wary of scaring a bear into eating my face. Especially since we know there's a mama with cubs nearby.

After our trek to the cemetery, we played horseshoes (Justin schooled me) and shuffleboard (I won in an epic comeback) outside on lodge grounds for a few hours.

This is SO RELAXING! We're just chilling in our cabin now and are heading to dinner shortly. Ahhhh

***

Dinner was mahhhvelous. Justin got a chicken caesar salad and a new brew - the Denali Red. I got the Kenai Princess salad. Wasn't sure it would fill me since my stomach has been stretched roughly to the size of a small whale's over the last week. To my relief, not only did it fill me up, it tasted as good as any deliciously decadent creation from the ship. It included mesclun greens, big hunks of gorgonzola, a cinnamony sliced pear, walnuts and white balsamic vinaigrette. After our last dinner at Kenai, we headed back to the cabin for fire and sleep. I could get used to this life.

general updates on my life

Well, this may have been my longest streak without posting. After deer season, I switched to third shift, caught the flu, and been pretty dismal. Sorry. Haven't been up to anything besides attempting to get used to the slow, weird hours of night shift. It's a completely different world that time of day. But on the bright side, I have been planning for wonderful things. First, the Police Unity Tour in May. Working hard toward it. Second, I have a multi-day kayaking trip planned with Dad in the BWCA (already got the entry permit through a lottery) for late July/ early August. Third, I may be going to Southport, NC with the fam in June.
And last but not least.....my newest purchase. Oh, how I love to get new toys. Especially expensive ones. I just bought myself a brand new compound bow for hunting season this year. I bought early so I could have time to practice. It is a "Diamond" brand "Rock" model. It shoots arrows around 300 fps. So far I've been playing around in the backyard and I seem to be an ok shot. Didn't figure I would be, but doing pretty well. I will increase my distance shooting over time, but pretty groupings so far on my target. Still have to adjust the sights, too, but the guy I worked with at Bass Pro was awesome. He spent a lot of time with me helping to figure out my correct draw length and weight (which is way low right now). Didn't realize how many unused muscles you use shooting a bow. He set up the peep sight, helped me pick out arrows (which he then cut down to meet my draw length. I picked out a quick release while he added a loop closure to the string for it. I really liked how much he was willing to help/teach me. I did spend a lot. The bow itself was $499. Not to mention all the accessories I got with it. Good purchase, though. Really like the way it shoots and feels. Not like bows I shot when I was young.

Deer Season (Gun) 2008

Well, for the first time in many years, I got together enough stuff and know how to go hunting this year. I don't have a bow, so I stick to gun season. When a co-worker, Frank McPherson, said he wanted to go, I quickly jumped at the opportunity. We decided on a location in East Fork Lake State Park that was open to the public. Frank decided to scout the area a little during bow season (he bow hunts). The morning of opening day came and we were out of the house by about 5:30 a.m. to arrive at our location about 6:30. Sunrise was set for about 7:30. As we started to pull up on the spot he had picked out, we found about 20 cars parked in the lot with about 2-3 hunters per car. This is for hunting an area only a couple square miles. Lets see..... 20 cars times 2.5 hunters = 50 hunters for this area. There was no way for that many people to hunt without watching each other hunt (not safe)! They would be on top of each other. We decided to go further down the road and see if we could work our way in by the lake away from most others. Few cars were down that far, so we gave it a try. After about an hour of working our way through thick woods in the dark, we tried to settle in a thick area before daylight was completely on us. Nothing happening. We heard about 6 gunshots all morning. On our way out, we found a much more open area that didn't look like it was over run with people.....but it was time to go home to go to work.
The next morning, we went to the more open area. All morning, I had a good feeling about the day. We drove past the parking lot that was over run the day before to find about 7 cars (less than half). A good sign. As we passed our planned trail entrance, we see a doe take off into the woods. Another good sign. We suit up and enter with our tree stands on our back. 20 yards into the trail, we spook a doe which goes running away (mind you it's pretty dark, so you can only see the white tail and the crash through the brush. I decided to get Frank into a tree in the nearby area in case the doe came back around that morning. He set up looking into the start of a deep ravine. I kept going down the trail about 1/4 mile hunting the same ravine, but around a corner from Frank. After I worked my way up my tree, I realized that I could just see Frank's orange hat if I stood. Perfect distance from each other to be hunting the same ravine. No gunshots all morning. We went into the woods at 6:30 that morning. All morning long, I heard movement in the woods and continued my good feelings. I kept telling myself we were getting a deer that day. Around 8:30 I heard the sound of a running deer coming down the ravine from Frank's location. All at once it stopped.....and BANG!!!. As I was thinking, yeah....Frank got one.....BANG!!!. He must have missed, so I got ready as I heard the crash of deer running again. Then I heard the sound of a deer bleat, the sound stop....BANG!!. Then I could hear it crash to the ground. I sat for a few more minutes, till I knew it was okay to come down, and worked my way down my tree. I headed to Frank who showed me where the doe was that he had missed twice, but got on the third shot. It was across a very deep raving with very steep walls. We left our stands, and headed for it. After a few snapshots on camera phones, we field dressed it and attempted to figure out the easiest way out with it (no easy one). We attempted to drag it a little ways, but it wasn't working well. Frank decided to get it on his back and work his way up the ravine slowly. After about an hour we were able to get out of the ravine (with many rest breaks). We loaded her up and checked her in at the local check-in station.
Frank knew how to skin one (which I didn't), and neither of us had ever quartered and butchered one. So...as any country boy does...we took it back to my house and strung it in a tree after stopping by the local butcher shop for butcher paper. Frank began showing me how to skin it, which I joined in. It was remarkably easy, just time consuming. Then, we had a skinned deer. So we went online (technological country boys) to get directions on quartering and butchering. After a lot of hack sawing and butcher knife work, we got into a routine that worked well. About 4:30 that afternoon, we finished. Frank gave me a bunch of the meat, which I gladly accepted.
After a long day of work, we came out with a sense of pride and the ability to fill our stomachs. Although Frank is the one that shot it, I can't help but be just as happy as if it were mine. Quite an accomplishment to scout, stalk, hunt, kill, drag, load, check, hang, skin, saw, butcher, clean, and package a deer. I haven't filled my tag this year, but feel just as accomplished as I had. Think I may be done for the season.....or at least a while, till I run out of meat.

Police Unity Tour 2009

I am preparing to do a 4 day 300 mile bike ride with the Police Unity Tour in May 2009. It is a fundraiser/remembrance ride in honor of all the line-of-duty deaths that have occurred to police officers over the years. Every year this event grows. In 2008, they had 1000 riders as well as more than 100 support staff. The event rides from NJ to downtown Washington D.C. where there is a candlelight vigil at the Police Memorial. All of you who know me can understand why this means a lot. I have to collect a minimum of $1700 to be allowed on the ride as well as the first $500 within 2008. I am going with 4 other riders from my department, but we each have to raise $1700 a piece. We are doing various fundraisers (i.e. a softball tournament which was held in the fall and a basketball tournament that will be coming up called Springdale Madness). For all of those who wish to contribute or know someone who may please forward this cause on to them. I created a website to make donations easier at

Also, a quick widget on the right side of my blog makes donations simple. Any help you are willing to give would be greatly appreciated. For those who can't give monetary contributions, please keep me in mind as I train and make this 300 mile ride. Thanks to all.

Alaska Day 8; Whittier to Kenai Lodge

September 13 - Whittier to Kenai Lodge



Nov. 9th, 2008 at 6:23 PM
We grabbed a quick breakfast this morning and waited to disembark. That whole process went fairly smoothly. We were docked in Whittier, a tiny town about an hour from Anchorage. It's a very strange place. They only have 300 residents during tourist season and a population of 100 in winter. Most of them live in the same apartment buiding ("Begich Towers") off the lovely Prince William Sound. We boarded a coach bus with about 50 other people and got a quick (and I mean really quick) tour of the town. We had to kill time because traffic can only leave the city on the hour, and traffic can only come into the city on the half hour. Trains can come through whenever they want.

Why such a strict schedule? Because Whittier is only accessible by a single lane road that runs 2.6 miles through a mountain. The railroad tracks run on that same road. The tunnel is only open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. in the summer and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the winter. Apparently animals take refuge in the tunnel if it isn't closed. But this also means NOBODY can get in our out of Whittier during the closed hours. Including ambulances. Or women in labor. And there's no hospital in the town. A little backwards, no? Apparently the residents are also extremely resistant to any change or growth, so they fight to keep the status quo. Weird as it is, there's something to be said for a town that refuses to be over-industrialized or controlled by chain conglomerates and Wal-Mart.

We enjoyed a gorgeous ride through the Chugach mountains. So many fall colors on the mountains right now. The only bad thing about the ride... was that it definitely smelled a bit funky. Either someone had drenched themselves Eau de Olde this morning or the close quarters just amplified the natural scent. I mean no disrespect -- I'm sure I don't smell like roses. It was just... unpleasant. Probably exacerbated by the fact that I was really beat from our week of constant activity. Anyway, we got to Kenai Princess Lodge around 12:45. What a change from our cruise week! This place is SO mellow. We're in a cabin with a wood burning stove/fireplace and a deck view of aspen trees and a mountain.



We walked the nature trails around the lodge and probably saw 10 different types of mushrooms and lichens and fungi in just one mile.






We used the spotting scope at the main lodge to watch a mama bear and her 3 baby bears on a nearby mountainside. After that, we grabbed some lunch (bison chili and a corn muffin for me and salmon sliders with pineapple and green onion aioli for Justin), then walked around the grounds for awhile. Definitely kept our eyes peeled for bears.



After that, we came back to the room and watched Wedding Crashers until it was dinner time. So very relaxing. Dinner made us miss the ship, as we now have to pay for food. Ouch. We're uesd to "free" five course meals and endless snacks at our beck and call. Oh well, this is probably a good detox from our gluttonous lifestyle. Dinner was good, though - Justin got a monstrous & meaty pecan crusted halibut steak and I got thai salmon. We had berry cobbler and ice cream for dessert.



Chatted with the very friendly table of people next to us for awhile and from what they said, we're going to really enjoy the upcoming week. They are heading south and start their cruise portion this week. So now I'm finally caught up on the journaling, and I am going to kick back in my leather chair and watch the crackling fire. Life is darn good!

Alaska Day 7; College Fjord

September 12 - College Fjord
Nov. 8th, 2008 at 2:16 PM
Woke up today feeling quite icky. I recognized the symptoms of seasickness after taking a shower, and things went downhill pretty quickly. Add a monstrous caffeine headache and you've got a most unhappy Kate. I actually curled up in bed and slept until noon. Dragged my butt out of bed after that and got some lunch before going to the final naturalist talk. We stuck around and talked to Rob the Naturalist for a long time after his presentation. By the time we parted ways, we were entering College Fjord, so Justin and I ran back to the room to put on warm clothes suitable for the chilly glacier valley. As we were getting ready to head out to the deck, I remembered that we hadn't packed yet... oops! So after hastily packing up our "travel with me" and "meet me in Fairbanks" bags, we hurried up to 14 aft. Made it up there just as we were entering college Fjord.

Wow.

What a cool glacial system. Lot's of that famous "glacier breath" and crazy silty blue water. We saw a couple of calves off the Harvard Glacier, but nothing too dramatic - mostly just small cascades. The Harvard was insanely long and wide. I'll have to find out exact measurements. It's nuts how far you can see out there.


I really felt the Glacier Presence in College Fjord. It's hard to describe, but they're like ancient living creatures that have been there long before me and will still be there long after I die. They're so ridiculously huge, just unbelievably massive. Their size and age and slow, deliberate movement and breath makes being in their presence almost spiritual.

Spiritual or not, though, it got really freaking cold really freaking fast, so we went inside to the Skywalker Lounge. Managed to snag a seat next to the window with an aft glacier view. Nothing like warming up with a cup of hot chocolate and a view of such an awesome earth-altering force of nature.



We decided to eat dinner since it was our last night on the boat, and we went back to the Santa Fe restaurant. Justin got a chicken and mushroom puff pastry, Pepper Pot soup, caesar salad, medium rare prime rib and dark & white chocolate mousse dessert. I had a tres delicious seafood salad in an avocado, pureed asparagus & tapioca soup, herb crusted halibut and vanilla-honey icecream with crunchy almonds. After such a decadent feast and an exhausting week aboard the Sapphire Princess, we crashed.