Taking it to the World Circuit

Ah yes, Center Ridge in Turnagain Pass...a sneaky blue square run nestled in the Chugach Mountains.

And Moses totally got kicked off the team, again.

Happy Birthday Max!

Max turned 5 today and strange growths appeared on his face. Is that normal? To celebrate, we visited the miniature donkeys in Hope and had a Power Ranger head, Spider Man body, dinosaur feet birthday cake. I wish every day was his birthday...

Mountain Hosts Past and Present...and Jeff in the Background Ooogling

Mountain Hosts Past and Present...and Jeff in the Background Ooogling them.

Congrats to Tiffany and hopefully Gwen, on the successful completion of their first year at med school, and their imminent captainhood. I have also thought Gwen would make a good captain, though I was thinking more in the superhero sense...like Captain Cheechako, or Super Sourdough.

Also a congrats to Vicky, who has recently landed herself in the Masters of Illustration program at University College Falmouth.

Momma I'm Coming Home

Dear Alaska, we're coming home.  The packing process has started, the selling of goods on Craigslist is well underway, I pounded my last nail at the job site and we are getting ready to roll out.  I feel like Kurt Russell in "Escape from New York," minus the guns and mullet of course.  

And yes, I have started wearing an eyepatch.

Mazzy is overwhelmed by it all.  Our tentative re-entry date is Friday, May 23 via Anchorage, then north to Fairbanks.  We will be towing a 5x8 UHaul trailer full of Trader Joes consumables.  Consider yourself warned.

one more thing...

Thank you, and goodnight.

The Tooth, the Whole Tooth, and Nothing but the Tooth - Part V

Eggs, Mushrooms, Apple Sauce, and ice cream.



What do these four edibles have in common?
Well, they are all very easy to chew when you are having tooth problems.

My cousin Jennifer, who holds a Masters in Divinity from Vanderbilt University, recently inquired if I had any wisdom to share upon turning 36. At the time, pre-Friday evening, I could not think of anything much more than to live a happy and healthy life, and that money is a tool - a bit of passed down wisdom from my father. A few hours later, however, it struck me. Literally. In the mouth. On my face. And leaving a nice broken smile reminder, that nothing is for certain and shit happens.

Certainly when I left Joe's, I would be stumbling a familiar, jagged path homeward and wouldn't remember any of it - and that is exactly what happened, for the most part. I do remember being hoisted up from the ground and exclaiming,"I broke my tooth !" Which personally, I think is pretty amazing considering the state that I had put myself into.

I would like to steal this opportunity to share with you the wee bit of wisdom that I gained from that fateful moment and some previous experiences that led thereto...

This wisdom is as follows: Take care of your moderation, all things are tools, and money = teeth.

You see, I am no stranger to the Tooths. I would invite you to come over and look at my collection of human adult teeth that I keep in my bathroom cabinet, carefully hidden away in a small blue bottle marked Excedrin PM.
I pity the poor sleepless fool who inadvertently cracks open that medicine cabinet in hopes of finding something to ease their wearied mind to sleep, only to find a handful of teeth to come spilling from the blue container of hope. Hopefully, they will notice that the little white tablets they hold in their hand are not the intended remedy for their late night insomnia before clamping down on them, lest they add to the growing collection. Perhaps I should bury them in the spring garden, in hopes of new growth ?

It would seem that the damage I have inflicted upon myself may have been greater than visible to the untrained eye, as my dental assistant had pointed out that each tooth on both sides have subsequent cracking. Sympathy cracks, perhaps? She went on to further prove my point, stating,"They may never break off - you may have them forever...or they might just one day up and die on you and you'll have to have them crowned." BLAM! Nothing is for certain and shit happens!

You see, my friends...when the first tooth came out way back in 2003, it was very elementary. I kept poking at the tooth because it hurt and carried itself a bit loosely, until one day it just fell out right there in the bathroom sink.
You might call it a Wake-Up call from my mouth. Soon enough, I made an appointment with the dentist (Let's call him Phat Finger Phil for anonymity's sake.) Great dentist, wonderful person, incredible environment but the man has some large fingers.I don't have a problem with that, I have a large mouth. Well, maybe a big mouth. Okay, its average. Either way, the boss had called prior to my arrival and arranged for my experience to be "pain-free" on their dime. He could have parked a bus full of elephant turds in my mouth and I would have called it candy. Thus brings me to my next point, Money is a Tool.

For those of us without any corporate-sponsored medical / dental insurance, money - or lack thereof - can sometimes pose a bit of a problem. However, I can seriously encourage anyone and everyone who can find the extra cash to spend it on your aches and pains. Kudos to the boys who limped through part of the winter, and my sorrows to the poor lass with the cauliflower cup. Your body will thank you in the long run, and you might not have to pick your teeth out of the bathroom sink in the interim. Money is a tool for you to use, because shit happens and then one day you might fall flat on your face. God Bless the Credit Card Corporations and the Student Loan Syndicates !

Now I have made public my secret shame and shared the secrets strangled from such strange satisfactions. I do hope we can still be friends.

The Chardonnay bottle that joined me for a halibut searing this evening is telling me that I have said enough. I would like to give a shout-out to the birthday girl Tiffany Kelly Peterson, who has a beautiful smile and a massive debt, and to her husband who always inspires. Happy Birthday !

Happy Birthday Old Man!

Too Cute

Sorry Tiff, I just couldn't resist. If anyone is at a loss as to what to get mrs. wintergirl for her birthday, a t-shirt with this design can be purchased at cafepress.com

Tired of Hiking?

I think I'm about ready to toss the skis in the back closet and jump in my kayak. Anybody want to take a paddle?

Best Friends #1

Kate and Dan have recently been moved to the top position on the Best Friends List that Philip and I keep. They broke us out of our nerdiness by hooking us up with tickets to see Michael Franti at the Bear's Tooth last night. We had so much fun. Mr. P with the knee even danced.

If any of you are looking to move up on the Best Friends List you are going to have to do something really big.

Whities See the Sun

Philip, Mark, Lily, Moses, and I spent Saturday on Pyramid Peak in the sunshine. Although we could see people on many of the surrounding peaks, we had this one to ourselves. Mark and I did a little bull dance to celebrate the fact that it is April and we will soon be under our sign: the Taurus. In case you were wondering these are the traits of a taurus according to Wikipedia:

disciplined • hard-working • good sense of humor • prudent
great work-ethic • artistic • loving • creative
romantic • sensual • Very sexual • attentive
comforting • strong • steady• introverted
organized • cautious • harmonious • trustworthy
calm• tenacious • stable • patient
resourceful • easygoing • careful • dependable
honest• conservative • determined • loyal
protective • practical

Oh yeah, they also mentioned these:
Controlling
Stubborn
Gets stuck in ruts
Resentful
Possessive
Overindulgent
Jealous
Overly self-conscious

I decided I don't put any faith in Wikipedia astrology after reading the ideal careers for a Taurus: Banking, almost any form of bureaucracy, auctioneering, managers, singers, chef and acting.

Seriously? Auctioneering?

The Word Around the Campfire

Well it's all down in black and white in this morning's edition of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner; the thrills, the spills, the good cookin' and the good lookin' Brooks Range.  Jillian Rogers wrote about our Brooks Range exploits at Iniakuk Lodge and now it's just a matter of time before Philip and I are doing the Oprah Circuit.  Do you think Larry King's glasses are really that big?  Is Dr. Phil a cyborg?  We'll let you know in the following weeks, stay tuned...

Party Dude - Culinary Ninja

Hello people of Girdwood, this post is here for two reasons:

1: Push the last post off the front page (What in the Wide Wide World of sports are they putting in Oregon's drinking water?  Those people are Cra Z!)

B:  Tell the world about Philip's culinary prowess above the Arctic Circle.

I could attempt to describe the delicacies Philip set down at Iniakuk Lake Lodge but it's best just to show a few of the pictures.  For those of you with Google's Aromavision get close to the bacon wrapped scallops and take a big sniff.  For those who love bacon and for those who love scallops this is pretty much the perfect food.

Spanikopita!

Smoked Salmon Fettucine!

Bacon Wrapped Scallops! (sniff here)

Philip's shy smile with a side of shrimp in white wine sauce!

SOOO Exciting!

I hope I am not letting the cat out of the bag! We just spent a great week in San Fran with John and Angela and we were so excited to learn that they are having a baby! Angela looks great! Congratulations you guys- you will be amazing parents and I can' t wait to introduce Clarity to your wee one.

Gaedeke's Smoke Trail

Spring break AK style. Forget wet T-shirt contests and beach volleyball. Gimme cold smoke any day.

How Can You Be So Thin, And Live So Fat?

The Beastie Boys once posed this question and as oil prices pass the $100/barrel mark like a hot sauna streaker on a dark Fairbanks night I look forward to the PFD smiles that will come in the fall.  Of course I'm ineligible this year so everyone literally gets my 2 cents.  You're welcome.  

Anyways, here's me strokin' Benjamins atop the Alaska Pipeline in Coldfoot (photo by Mr. P).  For those feeling guilty about the blood money they will receive in October, feel free to donate it to me in the form of a new snowmachine...

Home on the Range, Brooks that is.

It's not often that one has to take time to let a herd of 25 caribou pass by while skinning a ridge, but here we see Mr. Peterson doing just that.  Ok, I guess it's more like he's pointing at caribou about 1/4 mile away but that is still pretty damn cool because we were are about 2500 feet.  

Note that Philip keeps his towers at full extension, in the event of a sudden stampede he is always ready for a rapid ascent.  Experience like that can't be taught so take heed Girdwood, take heed.  This technique also works for Dall Sheep and the occasional meandering wolverine.

Don't Mind if I Do

That's what Tiffany said as she dropped a knee and showed the caribou what fresh tracks in the Brooks Range should look like.

And Philip was very happy,

because his knee was making tele turns after a forced hiatus.

Guess Who's Back, Back Again

Former G'woodians Philip, Tiffany and Me returned from the frigid northern reaches of the Brooks Range after yet another successful voyage. Yes, of course there were broken snowmachines, -70F windchill and the hardships of a finite alcohol supply but we all returned in one piece with visions of caribou dancing in our heads. We also got to play in the best powder of my life. So we had that going for us, which was nice. Now we must all return to our paying jobs and the annoying squeaky sound of life on the big Hamster Wheel.

Stay tuned for more pics dear readers...

ABC Cookies

This twisted version of the gingerbread man cookie cutter is sometimes missing an arm, a leg or his entire head. They were a big hit with Max, (thanks Ang!) and he tore up the kitchen today w/Uncle Johnny.