November in CT

We have been visiting with Scott's family in Thomaston, CT.  This area was known for brass... the town grew up around the Seth Thomas clock factory.  In the center of town is a little plaza with... of course... a Seth Thomas clock.










We were there checking out the brick pavers.  Scott was looking for names of family and his classmates from the THS class of 64.

St Thomas Catholic Church & town square 

Afterwards we drove through some of his old neighborhoods. 


Although some trees are bare,
there are others still in full color.

          Fall is the prettiest time in New England. 

The Adventure Begins

All the comforts of home.... PDX airport provides plugs for computers and Scott gets his cup of Starbuck's coffee.  Free WiFi keeps us connected.  We fly east this morning.

October Adventures

After a very busy summer, a car crash on Friday the 13th (Sept), an early snowfall just as we were leaving for Oregon, and an otherwise-uneventful trip down the Al-Can highway, we finally reached the beach house.  Then two days later we were hit by a typhoon.  September was quite an adventure.  Scott finally could relax a bit!

 

It seemed like his relaxation only lasted a few minutes... between hosting guests from Alaska (during the typhoon) and Texas, and packing for our upcoming trip, he managed to take down the two trees that were blocking our front steps, rebuild the deck in front of the library door, build a work bench and shelves for the garage, arrange to have a generator shed built, and clear out most of the remaining storm debris from the yard.

 

 

As you can see the place looks pretty good now.  We bought a "bollard" to give the yard a bit more nautical look and we are looking to turn the new area into more of a rock garden.  Every time we take the dogs for a walk, we check out the gardens in the houses we pass...we've got some great ideas for the landscaping.

 

 

The dogs have given a four paw rating to the improvements in the front yard... they now have a sunny porch on which to work on their tans.

Iditarod

Jeff King

Sunday was the Iditarod restart in Willow.  We go to Crystal Lake and assist with traffic control.  The mushers come across the lake towards us, then go down a trail, across a road and onto another lake. 

Since snow machines, skiers and people on foot are also using this access to the lake, it’s important for the safety of the dog teams that the trail is clear.  We spot the teams as they come onto the ice (about a quarter mile away) and then relay the information to the crossing guards on the road.  They get a “one minute out” warning so they can stop traffic.   Then, once the team clears the chute, the trail is re-opened. 

 

last year's winner, Dallas Seavey, heads towards the road

 

Ray Reddington Jr. ready to pass Cim Smyth

The teams start two minutes apart, so generally there is time between teams.  But the flat terrain of the lakes is easy running for the dogs, so we sometimes have two or three teams together on the ice.  A couple of years ago we had a problem when one of the teams stopped at the road and the two teams right behind them had to slam on their brakes to avoid a collision.  I got a shower of snow as the musher hit the snow brake on the sled right as he passed me. 

Wade Marrs

Our Scottish musher Wattie McDonald is not running this year.  He dropped out before last year’s race when his wife became ill. Wade Marrs, a young Wasilla musher ran his team last year to get them experience.  Wattie expects to be back next year. 

Brazilian Luan Marques

This year has rookie mushers from Norway and Siberia – cold climates you’d expect to have dog teams.  But we also have a guy who works in a pet shop in Brazil.  He’s been working with “Dream A Dream” Kennels for two years to learn mushing, training with a veteran who happens to be our representative to the Borough Board of Supervisors. 

Jamaican Newton Marshall

Our favorite outsider in this race is veteran Newton Marshall from Jamaica… this is his third race.  He's always dancing when he comes past us.



“Unless you’re the lead dog, the view never changes,” is a well-known observation about mushing.  More importantly, “if the lead dog stops, everyone stops” – as we got to see when the Russian team stopped right in front of our position.     

Mikail Telpin

 

This is the 41st Iditarod...

three racing today have each won 4 races (Jeff King, Martin Buser, and Lance Mackey) ...

there are three others who have previously won (John Baker and father & son Mitch and Dallas Seavey)...

racers range in age from their 20s to their 70s.

 

One of our favorites -- DeeDee Jonrowe --  is doing her 31st race.  Of the previous 30, she finished 28 times, including 15 in the top 10!  She's also battled back from a near-fatal car crash, has beaten breast cancer, and ran the famous Hawaiian Ironman race (she had to learn to swim at age 55 to do it). 


pretty in pink... here comes DeeDee

 

 

No More Curl!

After not being able to see out the kitchen windows for the past week, Scott decided it was time to do something.  Donning snowshoes and armed with his trusty roof rake, he made short work of the overhanging snow. 

Before

 

After

A Mild Winter

The national news is focusing on the snowstorms hitting the northeast.  Up here in the north we are experiencing a relatively mild winter... only about 2 feet of snow. 

We had temps in the 40s last month, and this month we're seeing low 30s.  That means the snow on the roof starts to slip.  This gives us the Alaska curl...

To give you perspective,  the propane tank you can see below the overhang is about 4' high.  Right now the snow is almost to the bottom of the window, making it a bit dark in the kitchen.

We are taking bets as to when it will fall off...

Getting Caught Up

from lower lookout, Cape Perpetua

 2012 finished with a trip to Oregon...

 

with friends and family visiting from Connecticut and Hawaii we had the chance to explore the central coast and enjoy some spectacular views.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also did a lot of sunset watching...
      always trying for the green flash!

from the end of Fircrest
 

We walked the beach.  The dogs had plenty of place to explore, and they were usually too tired to walk back up the hill.  The last stretch coming up the hill is exhausting when you have to carry a pooped out pup!

Can you tell who's from Hawaii?  This is warm weather for Oregon!

Bori took us out on his boat crabbing and we came home with 30 crabs... not bad for an hour and half on the water.  Jill's only comment on the catch... "that's 300 legs to clean, let's hope for some amputees!"








Scott had been thinking about getting a boat, and we just lucked into a deal!  Coming back from the Post Office, we saw a for sale sign on a nice boat parked on the main highway.  We circled the block, checked it out, then called the owner.  It was all set up for crabbing, and he threw in all his crab gear.
Two days later, after a rendezvous at the bank, we had ourselves a new boat. 

Luckily, the boat fits in the garage, so we can secure it when we aren't at the beach.


Of course, once we had the boat,
the weather turned stormy. 
But, right before we left,
we had a beautiful day,
so we got the boat in the water for a test run.  

We're ready for all sorts of fishing now.