First ascent of Mt. Verstovia...

By a poodle of Arrowhead. See my photos of this absolutely great day, including one of where my house is and other cool stuff.

I did this fan-tab-u-lous hike. The weather was stunning; warm, sunny, unbelievable...the perfect day for a hike. My hiking buddies and I (Davie, Odin and Louie, the dog, of course) climbed Mt. Verstovia. But we didn't stop there. I let Odin convince me that it was only 45-minute hike to the top of Arrowhead. I didn't really believe him but was game. So we hiked all the way up to Arrowhead, Louie, too. For a poodle, he's a pretty cool dog. I can't believe he made it all the way. That is a 3,300 ft vertical foot climb. For those of you not into hiking and vertical feet, that is a f@#$ing lot of feet to climb. Parts of it you are literally climbing the rocks. It was such a clear day I could see the Fairweather Mountains west of Glacier Bay -- about 90-100 miles away.

We did rest along the way and picnic but left the summit when one of the local gallery owners, a Russian named Eugene, wanted us to go so he could sunbathe in the nude. And he did!

I don't think I'll be attempting Everest anytime soon, but Louie might!

Odd signs posted in my environment

• Dangerous Invader
  (in reference to the New Zealand sea slugs that have somehow taken over the island)


• Service dog in the building
  (in reference to the Rottweiler in the Forest Service building who is still waiting for his "official" vest)


• Suspicious mail alert
  (in reference to weird or Anthrax-laden packages you might receive in a U.S. Government building)


• Evacuation plan
  (in reference to how to get out of my 4-bedroom apartment that only has one door; they recommend using the door)


• Do not create dust
  (in reference to how the apartment is old and has asbestos in the ceiling, linoleum, walls, etc. and they don't want you to saw walls or paint the ceiling or anything)


• Have you seen this bird
  (in reference to letting someone know if you see any black oystercatchers because they are very rare and they're trying to get a population count)

You know it's a small town when...

You've only been in town a few days and you know the person who's house was destroyed by the float plane crash.

Yes, there was a float plane that crashed a couple blocks from my office on my first day in the office. Fortunately, the person I know had left the house 10 minutes prior to get a milkshake. Unfortunately, it was a fatal crash. Read the story.

My float plane experience was great...I even got to sit in the co-pilot seat. Note: If you're in a float plane and taking pictures, keep your camera ~away~ from the open sliding window if you ever want to actually see those pictures.

See pictures of my Prince of Wales trip, including my float plane pictures (near the end.)

Back in Sitka

Whew, it's been a whirlwind! I am now on my first second-day-in-a-row in Sitka. I returned Friday p.m. after my tour of Prince of Wales Island (photos to come later). In that 24 hours, I went on a 6-mile hike w/ Davey (one of the founders of SEAtrails) and his dog Louie. Then Davey took me out on his boat for a wildlife viewing adventure. I saw sea lions tearing at fish, puffins, whales, seals, sea otters -- it was fantastic. Best part is I can count it as "work". Ha! I have yet to go to the office but should be there on Monday ... at least for part of the day.

See some of my photos of Sitka.

I've been everywhere, man; I've been everywhere...

Crossed the Strait of Georgia, man
I've breathed the fumes of ferries, man
Of travel I've had my share, man
I've been everywhere

I've been to:
Provo, Twin Falls, Boise, Hells Canyon, Coeur d'Alene, San Juan Islands, Vancouver Island, Vancouver, Bellingham, Ketchikan, Wrangall, Petersburg, Sitka, Hollis, Thorne Bay, Coffman Cove, Naukiti, Craig, Klawock

Of travel I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere...I've been everywhere.

My mailing address

I haven't even been in town to set up a P.O. box but it appears you can send stuff to me anyway. It appears that you can go to the post office, wait in line, and they'll hand you your mail. Who knew? How crazy is that? I plan to set up a p.o. box but in the meantime, you can snail mail me at:

General Delivery
Sitka, AK 99835

Ferry trip photos

My great adventures and travels continue so I haven't had time to get these posted until now.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=agcywwg.bpettww&x=0&y=-q2wb93

I'm currently in Ketchikan, going to Prince of Wales Island. I've only spent 2 nights in my new Sitka home and may return there on Friday ... but who knows?!?