I’m Going to Patagonia!

I finally got my tickets the other day. I’ve been keeping an eye on the prices in hopes of catching a super deal but there really hasn’t been much movement on prices lately. Since it’s getting closer and closer to time to go, I figured I might as well get that done.

And by that I of course mean that I had Bryan get my tickets for me. I have very little patience for that sort of thing. If I do it, I typically buy the first thing I come across that looks half-way descent. When Bryan does it, he spends weeks researching every possible combination of flights from every possible airline, looking at it from this angle and then from that angle, until he eventually comes up with a few options that might or might not require yet more weeks of researching.

He had all kinds of issues to deal with, too. First, American Airlines website was down. Then he couldn’t get my passport information to match up with any of my accounts with the various airlines (seriously, why do we have to use a middle name on our passport? I never use it in real life.). Then when he got all of that cleared up, his computer battery died. Then he couldn’t get my computer to work because he’s a Mac guy and not a PC guy. Then I threw a monkey in the pile by saying we should use Expedia since I get points through them, so he had to start all over again with the “Passport/name” issue and the “Mac/PC” issue. Then of course the website crashed again, and he lost all his saved options.

I think I owe him a beer – or two, even.

Eventually, however, we did it: we actually bought my tickets! I got a fair deal on it, spending about $1,550 round-trip to Buenos Aires, and another $370 to get to the rendezvous point for the expedition. I even manage to get a long layover in Miami so I can visit my friend Sarah – that will be nice.

Next on my list of things to do was to get a hotel room, since I arrive the day before the expedition starts and leave the day after. Earthwatch has us rendezvousing at the Hotel Libertador, so to make things easy on myself I chose to stay there. Judging by the pictures on their website, it’s a very nice hotel, and they have been very helpful as I navigate the language barrier. I believe I will be quite happy there.

Now that I have all that behind me, I have a whole list of things to do to get ready for my trip:

• Continue practicing Spanish
• Review the recommended gear list to make sure I have what I need and purchase any items I don’t already have
• Learn how to use WhatsApp
• Get a currency exchange calculator ap for my phone
• Load the American Airlines ap onto my phone
• Load the Expedia ap onto my phone
• Get a fancy new travel credit card (better exchange rates than my normal one)
• Get any inoculations I may need

South Fork Eagle River Trail

My boss unexpectedly gave us the day off last Monday (Tuesday was the 4^th of July, which we also got off) so I took the opportunity to go for a nice long hike with my friend Jessica. We chose the South Fork Eagle River hike, as it is absolutely gorgeous up there. It is normally quite crowded but we got there pretty early so pretty much had the trail to ourselves.

The trail is a popular one, so it’s well groomed. The first mile is rather steep with an elevation gain of about 800 feet, but once you get up above the tree line it levels out and the walking is quite easy. It’s about 7 miles to the end of the trail but Jessica and I did only about half of it. She is a realtor and had to show some property that afternoon and we wanted to be able to eat lunch together before she had to go to work.

We had such a good time, chatting about this & that and just generally enjoying the great outdoors together. The highlight of the hike, for me at least, was rescuing a frog! It was in the middle of the trail and had gotten so cold it could barely move. I gently picked it up and took it several feet off trail , tucking it into a nice little indentation next to some shrubbery. I’m hopeful that it could burry itself and warm up a bit. At the very least, it was not in danger of being stepped on anymore.

Hiking with Family

I had a 4-day weekend to myself last week, so made a point of going out hiking with my brother Reed. He likes to do The Butte, since it’s relatively easy and yet still quite a hard work-out, and it’s located very close to his house. As luck would have it, my niece Laurel and her two girls joined us!

Reed works hard all week long, so he requested a 10:00 starting time – that’s a bit later than I originally wanted, but it was quite doable. The wind was really blowing, especially up at the top – and the trail was super dusty, so there was grit in our eyes pretty much the entire trail. It was still a nice hike, regardless.

I am always surprised at how difficult it actually is. It’s only about 1 mile long with a 700 foot elevation gain, but it still kicks my butt each time I do it. And check Laurel out – she did the entire trail while carrying a 40-pound child on her back! She is pretty badass, if you ask me.

After the hike, I stopped at the new International Market to check it out and got myself some tea – then I stopped at Bushes Bunches and got myself some fresh basil to throw in the dehydrator.

Not a bad day!

Our New Roof!!

As you may recall, our roof was damaged during that horrible wind storm a few years back. We hired a roofing company to repair it, and they informed us that the whole thing really needed to be replaced – not because of the wind damage but because it was just that old. Most roofs only last 20 years or so, and our roof was much older than that. So, we began the process of gathering quotes and saving up some money.

The first thing we learned was that there is a lot of acreage up there. Our house is quite large, roughly 4,000 square feet of living space. This means there is at least 6,000 square feet of roofing material = that’s well over double most residential roofs. Our initial estimate of costs had to be doubled and then some – which meant that our dream of getting solar panels had to be shelved for a later date. We just can’t afford them.

But we finally nailed down (pun intended) a roofing company we liked and set a date for the construction to begin. Topp Roofing & Construction were great: very professional, they did exactly what they said they would do, they kept the yard clean and went out of their way to protect our flowers, and even put up gracefully with Mother, who spent all her time out there supervising them. They even swept the yard with a big magnet afterwards to make sure there were no nails left behind.

The job took a bit longer than expected, and it was exceedingly loud in my “office” the whole time they were up there, pounding away. But they did such a good job and our roof is so pretty now!

We still need to get the rain gutters replaced, though – that won’t happen until mid-August.

40th High School Reunion

This year was my 40^th High School Reunion!

At first, I wasn’t really interested in attending any of the events planned to commemorate the event – but Bryan talked me in to it. And I must say, I’m glad he did. While I am not the most social person in the world, it was really nice to see a few familiar faces and talk to people I hadn’t seen in over 20 years.

The venue was very nice: MountainField Farms is a Flower Farm, growing peonies, dahlias, sunflowers, ranunculus, anemones and dozens of cut flower varieties. They have a couple of VRBO rentals and can host private events like weddings and/or high school reunions. And it just so happens that one of our classmates owns the property – so I have a feeling we got a bit of a deal that weekend.

Friday night was a Meet & Greet, with an open bar and a smorgasbord full of nibbles to munch on. The main event was Saturday evening with dinner catered by a local Mexican chef. Sunday breakfast closed out the weekend. I fully intended to go to each event but ended up with a migraine Sunday morning so had to miss that one.

The organizers of the event did a great job, with baskets full of old photos on each table, a special display of classmates who have unfortunately passed on, lots of games like Trivia and Cornhole, and even a scavenger hunt spread out all over town.

My New Dehydrator!

For my birthday this year, Bryan got me a new Dehydrator. 

I finally got around to trying it out this past weekend and I absolutely LOVE this thing! It’s so easy to use, and the results are just perfect. The first food item I did was a bunch of mushrooms that Mother brought home from the Senior Center. 

First I cut them all into ¼” slices. 

Then I arranged them on the wire racks. 

Then I set the timer & temperature gages and just walked away! The machine did it all, while I got to move on to other chores around the house.

The next day I unloaded the trays and put the mushrooms into a jar for the pantry.

They are quite beautiful, I must say. I have since dehydrated some Basil and some Parsley as well.

Seward with Mother

My brother Reed let us borrow his toy hauler for a week in Seward a few weeks ago. Bryan drove down on Tuesday and set up camp, spending his days working remotely, and his nights fishing for silvers.

I can’t do my job remotely like he can so was not able to join him until that Friday (my regularly scheduled day off), and since we had the trailer, we decided it was a great opportunity for Mother to join us! She loves Seward and has gone on numerous camping trips in the past. So early Friday morning, Mother and I loaded up the car with our gear and headed on down the highway together.

She had a great time watching the scenery go by. We stopped a couple times to stretch our legs: once in Girdwood where we got a cup of tea/coffee and a donut, then once again at Summit Lake where we threw some rocks into the lake and worked the kinks out of our hips. We made good time, getting into Seward just in time to join Bryan for dinner at our favorite pizza joint downtown.

Reed’s trailer had plenty of room for us, giving Mother her own “bedroom” with a door for privacy even. Her bed was comfy with plenty of blankets to keep her warm, although it did require a little stepstool to get up into. Bryan and I slept in the bunk bed over the top of the table in the “dining room” with a curtain for privacy. The kitchen is well equipped, so he was able to cook our Sunday Sourdough Pancakes! We even had a “real” bathroom complete with a shower and everything!

The weekend turned out to be quite rainy, however, so on Saturday Mother and I chose to wander through the Sea Life Center rather than walk the streets window shopping. We have gone there almost every year since it opened, and yet there is always something new to see. We enjoyed our time there, but decided we needed a nap afterwards so headed on back to the camper.

Sunday morning saw us back on the road after a hearty breakfast, with Bryan packing up the camper and following us home a few hours later. All in all, it was a good trip – and Mother had such a good time.