Greenfield Village

The family went to Holiday of Lights at Greenfield Village, and were taken back in time to Christmas' of yesteryear. There wasn't any pussyfooting around terms like "Christmas" or "Baby Jesus" or any of that, it was straight up Christian Christmas Scene. They still found space to include a Creepy Santa on top of a balcony...would he jump? we didn't stick around to find out.

First Day Open Up Top

Alright, it was only the top of the Tram and not Six... but it was still pretty sweet. I lost a ski on South Face and had to dig for 20 minutes. That hot Mountain Host ended up finding it for me.

Last Light

'Last Light' On White
Originally uploaded by Mark Yezbick.

Remember the sun ?

Nice visit from Mr. Moose

Just when you think you've moved into the suburb of suburbs, sweet old Mr. Moose rambles by to take a nibble on the only tree in the entire neighborhood.

To Girdwood!

Love,
Meeshell

Lest we forget...

Before Annie turned 30, and started losing her memory as all thirty somethings do, she was kind enough to email me this collection of images from our most Hallowed Eve. Thanks Annie, and enjoy a safe trip to Ethiopia !


Mad Monster Party !

Bring Us Snow

Though it was a cold night, the flames kept us warm. Ullr was appeased...although it seems that his gifts are manifested in Man-Made snow this year. I guess times change.

Thankful for Far-Away Friends

Wow, it seems like just yesterday when we were all cutting bread and sucking on a keg at the good old Cervin home. I fondly remember not being able to remember anything the next day. A few things, however, were forever burned into my subconcious, and I have a feeling that about this time of year they will continue to resurface to haunt my dreams. Who can forget Willi's seductive sack lounging, and of course there's the mulleting of our friend Dan. Oh, the good old days. Well, even though we can't be there in person we are there in spirit, I hope you all have a great and snowy Thanksgiving.

We will be hiking through some canyons and stuffing our faces and now that we're eating for three we got an extra big bird. I am excited to be a dad although sometimes I probably look like a deer caught in the headlights...know what I'm reading right now?? What to expect when you're expecting.

Not sure how long we'll be in Flagstaff but you're all welcome, the kegerator is back on-line, hope to catch up with you all soon, and of course have a great T-day!!

Strange site in AZ

The cactus here are HUGE!

Puppy Love

Well, Alice isn't much of a puppy anymore, but she's the first thing on Max's mind when he wakes up in the morning.

Working Hard

or hardly working...you be the judge...

while at work, I came across this page.

Time to lay off the pipe !

Portage

Our trip to Portage for some x-country skiing turned out to be quite fun, and probably the largest number of people I had ever skied with at one time - aside from the ski train. Moses had a fine time, and didnt complain as much as he usually does - I suspect its all in an effort to make it into Party Dudes movie, and get back on the team.

Room With a View

Jerry Stewart's dog Klondike tempting fate for the camera. We are thinking of making our own movie to compete with next year's Teton Gravity Reasearch film. Our film will focus on radical ski dogs running crazy lines chasing tumbling bait. We just have to watch out for those overbearing animal rights watchdog groups... Communist Liberals.

Stationary Precipitation

Inspired by the wonderful weather, Girdwood has taken to the hills. We have had several wonderful days up at Hatchers Pass, and one fantastic adventure down here at Turnagain (my skis are still bleeding).

Good Skiing, good company, good times.

On a personal note, I miss my most constant and dependable ski partner Michele. She has deserted me for a southern climate, a good man, and a swollen belly. I may never forgive her.

Pictured is Jeff (Golden tongue) Hoke on Top of Tincan. For a loud mouthed, silver tongued, philibusterer, the man can certainly ski.

The Northern Lights have seen queer sights...

Sometimes, if you listen close, they whisper back at you...

The fate of our Halloween pumpkin

There's nothing quite like the feeling of having eaten too much pumpkin pie at 10:00 at night. Max and I polished off over half of this bad boy and a good deal of whip cream as well. I went to bed with a full, but slightly upset stomach and Max had dreams of orange moons and snow that tastes like vanilla. Good times...

And the winner is...Pink Flamingo!

Trick or Treat Town is a thing to behold. A conveyor belt of over 50 booths of candy, we grew hoarse from saying "Trick or Treat" and I don't want to smile the rest of the day. Max had a blast, is now high as a kite on Laffy Taffy and Sweet Tarts and tormenting Alice under the computer desk. Keep in mind that a Rolling Rock six pack container makes a great candy collector. Halloween Rocks!

P & T's Back Yard

We can't let all of you out-of-staters go on thinking we are suffering in the rain.

Halloween 2006

Halloween 2006
Originally uploaded by Mark Yezbick.

The poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who was born in 1807, wrote in "The Pumpkin" (1850):


Oh!—fruit loved of boyhood!—the old days recalling,
When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!
When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,
Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!

Teach a man to fish...

Hello Girdwood peoples. I see posting has been pretty weak lately so I can only assume it's pissing down rain and you are all drinking heavily. Hopefully at least the rain will let up soon. In the meantime I thought I would share a bit of summer '06 and the lengths that Party Dude will go to in order to keep his feet dry. The man is a true aquaphobe but he does have a nice profile. Anyhow, keep your chins up and you will all be knee-deep in powder before you know it.

To be or not to be...

Halloween is upon us and Max needs help deciding what to dress up as. Should he be a pink flamingo or a flower? Or both? I know many of you have had this delema before, any input would be greatly appreciated.

Happy Feet

I often have mixed feeling about living out of Alaska but my feet are darn happy about the move!

Stretching

As some of you may already be aware, I have been engaging in rigorous exercise on a daily basis. Last weekend, I took myself for a multiple mile jaunt - only to be in serious crippled pain afterwards. Silly me, I had forgot to stretch beforehand. Well, I have learned my lesson, and since I care so much about all of us...I am uploading this simple stretching How To video for you to learn and live by:


Stretching is good for you !

Also, the Keeler - Mohatt clan has finally joined the 20th century with both a landline (0146) and DSL. We should do our best to encourage them to join in our crusade to bring Girdwood to the world via da blog.

What's up, eh?

Hello friends, just a quick post to let you know I am alive and well. Mazzy and I put 6oo miles behind us today and made the Fairbanks to Whitehorse trip in 12 hours despite gale force winds, dust storms that blotted out the sun, and enraged bison that appeared to be attracted to my white toyota pickup, perhaps it was the 400 yards of green tarp billowing seductively from the bed.

Anyways, I'm alive and headed to Liard Hotsprings next once I get a good nights sleep on the steering wheel.

Sweet powder dreams to all..

J

Riders of the Storm

For those of you still residing in the maelstrom, hang on...it's on the way.

Rossinator

Rossinator
Originally uploaded by Mark Yezbick.

Primitive, Steep, and Difficult - but not for the Rossinator !

Looking Back on an Odyssey....

Looking Back on an Odyssey....
Originally uploaded by Mark Yezbick.

Moses and I hiking up the ridgeline of Worthington Glacier. Occasionally, there would be cracks in the ground that would drop a long ways down - but Moses managed to avoid them.

Rossi made it up half way, but set down after a while due to germs.

Yellow

Today is October first and we are still enjoying a colorful fall in southcentral Alaska. We've been saying to each other, "Doesn't it seem like the colors are brighter this year? Aren't they lasting longer? It must be all the rain." Aparently we were right. According to the ADN the wet summer gave the birch trees a chance to fight back against the leaf miners. The leaf miners have caused the birch to lose their leaves early in a dull brownish flurry during the past few summers. The fall of 2006 has been gorgeous! Now, if the snow line could just keep on dropping. . .

Movin' on Up

After much insane city driving and $100 in parking tickets Angela and I have found a home. An Edwardian Mansion to be exact- stunning view, immaculate kitchen, and a butler named Fetid who makes a mean espresso as he irons my socks in the mornings. Incidentally, Edwardian is a time period, not a style, so don't make the foolish mistake I did and complement someone on their Edwardian good looks. If you do you will actually be telling them they were built from 1901-1910 when King Edward VII ruled a whole lot of white people. Quite embarassing but a good icebreaker nonetheless. I have posted a picture of an apartment very similar to ours, but alas, technical difficulties are not allowing a posting of the actual Casa de Johnny G. Keep your eyes peeled though dear readers, more to follow...

Coffee House

Coffee House
Originally uploaded by Mark Yezbick.

and the coffee was delicious.

Uncle Steve

This is Aubrie Jane, she is 2. She is sooooo happy that her uncle Steve got a job in Flagstaff and is going to be a billllionaire. I am going to be a kept woman.

Can't Wait to get Back

This Spring, we'll be heading back up North to aquire more funny stories. If I was the King of the world (secretly working on it) I'd order you all to come with us, or be beheaded.

And remember to vote for: His Royal Heigness King Peterson of Philtopia!

3rd Time Around the Sun

Tiffany and I celebrated our 3rd Aniversary at the end of August. While we were paddling through this lawn, it occured to me that I am a very lucky fellow.

Transport

This is a 1954 De Haviland Otter. It was our mighty steed for hopping from lake to lake. I especially enjoyed the safety paddle (size of a junior canoe paddle) strapped to the Otter's float, in case the engine died. It would take weeks to paddle this behemoth to shore.

This Old House

While up at Iniakuk, Tiffany and I stayed in the "Club House." It sways ever so slightly in the wind giving it a Swiss Family Robinson sort of feel. I made a fire in the small stove each night and spent many hours reading on the deck hiding from my sinister employers.

Send Off

On our way out of town, Cory stopped by to introduce me to this new drink he has found. It is manufactured in a garage/warehouse in town by a bunch dudes in Carhartts. Cory said that it is not much more than some water soaked with nuts, seeds, and sometimes some berries. I must say that it was...interesting.

Hello from J & A

Hello Girdwoodians! Hopefully all is well in the Great Wet North. We are alive and well despite being in California- I'll be posting here: http://blackicehole.blogspot.com/ with all the gory details and photos.

Vaya con Dios amigos

-John and Angela

thursday morning

morning
Originally uploaded by Mark Yezbick.

for those of us who wake up at ungodly hours...(Joe/Dan) you probably already dropped your jaw at this morning's sunrise.

I mean really...

I can't even explain this one.

CA in bloom

Hi Frenz,

This is a very different September than I remember having in AK. This photo was taken yesterday.

Wish you all were here to share it with!

Typhoon !! YAAAA ! TYPHOON !!

Because it just doesn't rain enough, anymore.

Hikers on Kesugi Ridge Trail

Hikers on Kesugi Ridge Trail
Originally uploaded by Mark Yezbick.

An easy short hike (3.1 mi.) up Ermine Hill Trail gets you to this vantage point, from where you can choose to hike Kesugi Ridge in either Little Coal Creek or Troublesome Creek direction.

Lots of berries and sweeping vistas.

where is the rain?

where is the rain?
Originally uploaded by Mark Yezbick.

Joe, fighting shoulder bursitis and general old manliness, takes a moment to ponder how much simpler his life would be, if he were a kittiwake.

Later, Joe would fight a common foe between him and the kittiwake - the fearful headwind of Passage Canal.

Much cursing would occur, and the sea would accept him as a salty dawg.

Random Site of the Day

Sometimes, at work, I kill hours by randomly looking through other blogs on blogger. Today I came across

Proyecto RAÍZ

which was pretty left wing stuff. I suggest running it through Altalvista's babelfish and having yourself some revolutionary party.

NA NA NA NA......HEY HEY HEY, GOODBYE!!!!

I was heartened this morning when I read that Sarah Palin gave old ol' boy Frank M a good ol' fashion spankin' (notice the ol' school paddle). It seems that perhaps there is a limit to what the average Alaskan voter will put up with. As someone who may return to the great state of AK, I must admit I danced a little jig. Now perhaps the stranglehold of fear based politics in AK will be broken and we can set out sights on Lisa M and dare I say it?....girdwood's own Mr Stevens. Now that it's available maybe they would like to procure Frankie's jet for some touring. Anyways, I'm just so happy I had to shout out.

Go Tony!!

- Esteban-

The Peregrine

Just got back from Barrow, and the Arctic Ocean. It snowed on Aug. 13th and was generally cold. Only one day of bad weather, and I held it all in. All of the bright orange balloons pictured were decoration for a whiskey gala that I hosted. Party Dude came on board and was doing naked swan dives off the pilot house to the thunderous applause of all the rough necked salty dogs in attendance.

alyeska

alyeska
Originally uploaded by Mark Yezbick.

From V in MT

Hola from Paradise Valley! I can think of a few different places that could warrant using the word paradise in their names but for the time being, this little valley will do just fine. I'm falling for this place a little more everyday and when I can see it from a 10,919 ft peak, well, I just want to marry it. I climbed this mountain a few days ago and it has turned me into a junkie for heights. It's a big mountain, the tallest I've ever summitted, but when you take into account the fact that I started at elevation 4,882 it's not that much of a gain. Dannyboy and I summitted Pioneer Peak which beats this climb by 224 ft. Still, it's a hell of a hike and I loved every minute of it. You can see more of the climb here...

All is well down here in the states except that I now have all of my fishing gear and I haven't sunk one line yet. Please don't tell Dan or Nate. However, I've been enjoying paddling the yak down the Yellowstone River on these incredibly hot summer days. I vow to tango with The Dancer (Dan will get that one) the full length of the valley before summer's end, perhaps I'll stop and catch me a fish along the way too. That should be fun.

Glad to see everyone is enjoying themselves!