It’s been a whole new experience living in my van instead of my condo in my home city. Such a sense of freedom. I seem to go more places every day. Life is more spontaneous. And scenic! At least 4 days a week I’m walking the various multitude of trails around town. I’ve done a couple of hikes in the Chugach mountains. But frequent rain and the number of bear sightings have limited the forays. There is some time left for another long hike or two but time is getting short. My fellow traveling nomad, Jody, and I are going to try our luck with crossing the Canadian border in 2.5 weeks.

I did get to spend time with Deb, a filmmaker friend, and her husband + 2 days dogsitting big old Nestor and his sister Nellie, their Golden Retriever “kids.” Nestor is huge. Big enough for a kid to ride. The two of them just want to nestle and nudge so close that they become one with you. I was dogsitting to give them some well needed time out on their boat fishing in Prince William Sound. Their weather was perfect and a great respite from the challenges of moving back in to their house that had to be renovated after a 130 mph storm took the roof off and totally ruined 4+ years of personal remodel they had been doing. The fishing wasn’t too good but the weather glorious and the blueberry picking stellar I understand and according to the blueberry stains on the deck. And I had a chance to wash my clothes, take a shower and clean my van while they were gone. Sweet.

The day after the fishing trip, Deb and I went to the Saturday market. What stunning vegetables, fruits, flowers!! Because of our long daylight in Alaska, everything grows really big!! It was as if you could eat the colors they were so brilliant. I was awestruck. My biggest score was getting some live flowers for the van. The cabbage rose is my favorite. Oh…wait…no the sunflowers are. Well, both of them, but if I had to chose one, it would be ……

My favorite hangout during the day has become Lake Hood, the world’s busiest floatplane base. There are little A-frame type huts around the shoreline, each with their own plane. In the past the wait list for one of these was 7 years. Don’t know what it is now but having an anchorage along the shore is coveted. I wish my Android phone could capture photos of the way it really looks. A few are attached but I sorely lack the professional photography skills that would convey the magic of these small float planes taking off for the wildlands of Alaska to go fishing or bear watching or sightseeing. I need to start shooting with my good camera. Hmmm…need to spend time practicing.