Sisters

Neighborhood kids Jessica and Michelle.

The Trout House

Dropped into Trout's Place & Windbreak Cafe for a burger and a brew (or two) today. I heard it was good from the locals and just the name Trout House was enough to lure me in. One burger is called the "Bail Out" Burger with fries for $6.50. I went for the Avacado Cheese Burger for $8.75. An ice cold mug of Alaskan Amber was $3.75. Which hit the spot when the temp went over 60 degrees in the valley today!

I didn't see trout on the menu. Trout is the nickname of the owner and the Mat-Su Valley is known for its many stocked trout lakes.

Let's see what condition the ice is in

Nenana Ice Classic 2009
Ice Conditions
Updated April 27, 2009 (photo says March 27)
The last ice measurement we took was on April 23 the ice was 42.7 inches thick. There will be no more ice measurements this year due to the ice conditions. There is water on top of the ice on the banks of the Tanana River. There are no open holes yet on the Tanana River.

The Nenana River went out late Saturday afternoon, and the water flow is cutting into the Tanana River ice. The Nenana River runs into the Tanana River about 1/2 downstream from where the Tripod is standing on the Tanana River.
The ice on the Tanana River generally breaks up about 2 weeks to 10 days after the Nenana River goes out.
The 5 day forecast for the week of April 27th is daytime temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees and between 38 and 41 degrees in the evenings. If temperatures reach 70 and stay warm we will start seeing more action with ice melt and the ice could go out as early as this coming weekend.
Again there will be no more ice measurement this year, however we will continue to update photos every other day.

Radio Paradise Every Day

Bonnie Raitt - It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

Bob Dylan - Desolation Row

Amy WinehouseYou Know I'm No Good

The Be Good Tanyas - When Doves Cry

John Lennon - Imagine

FishTaxi and the Volcano

Mt Redoubt ~ Easter Sunday

I think I will go down to the Kenai and get closer to the action.

Camping on the Rim of Fire soon.

FishTaxi in 1940

Fish Taxi
April 23, 1940 in Popular Mechanics

A new taxi service has arrived, not a regular type of taxi, this taxi service caters to fish only. This has been established so the salmon and steelhead can get to the spawning areas up the river. Fishing is a $300,000 industry that is affected by blockades that line the river now. These “tax’s” will catch the fish in a bucket like “elevator” and load them into the “taxis” to take them up the river, the trucks are refrigerated to the temperature of the river as not to kill the fish.

(Source: http://books.google.com/)








flowers

Pizza Alaska Style

Got my winter tires switched over to summer tennis shoes today at OK Used Tires on Bogard. Good job guys! Only $40 bucks and they told me I will be needing front break pads before next winter. Thanks for the heads up.

Right next door is Pizza Alaska Style which I will be checking out once I get over this big bad allergy/spring cold I'm currently suffering with. Who wants to eat pizza when they can't taste it? The place did smell great when I went in and got a menu.

Pizza Alaska Style is Alaska Style Meat ~ Reindeer Sausage-Caribou & Buffalo.

Valley Trash Pizza is Pepperoni-Sausage-Mushroom-Onion-Black Olive-Sweet Pepper.

I think I will go for the Valley Trash Pizza, please, minus the Sweet Pepper. Replace them with Jalapenos.

Feed a cold, starve a fever.

Rings and Things

Treasure hunting on a sunny spring day in Alaska.

Legalize it!

Not For Sale Brand

Moosketti. With italian sausage, mushrooms, black olives and garlic bread on the side.

Playcrafts

Only seen on the Price is Right and in Big Lake, Alaska.

Went for 2 job interviews today. Should find out later this week where I will be spending my summer. Hopefully the Kenai Pennisula.

Kim Chee & Ham Peas Soup

There is a little packet of ham flavoring in the bag like Top Ramen.

Add some Kim Chee for a salad crunch and a Korean bite. If you can't make your own Kim Chee try Sun Luck.

This stuff is addicting!

Good News Bears

Do you have room

Bear cub rescued in Valdez is a thriving Texan now.

RESCUED ALASKA BEAR CUB A TEXAN NOW, WITH WEB PAGE (Valdez Star): Lucky, the orphaned black bear cub rescued by Valdez Animal Control last fall, has settled into his new home at the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary in Texas and now has his own web page so his many local fans can track his progress. With photos

Wasilla Checking In

Quite the turnout today on the corner of the George Parks Hwy and Crusey Street. Crusey Street heads directly towards the Wasilla High School pool. Took the picture from the Pizza Hut parking lot which overlooks Wasilla Lake. Which is still frozen. The snow is melting fast around the Matanuska Valley. The smell of spring is in the air.

Big Bad John

The things we do for love.

Busy Corner

Easter Ham Plate

Hope everybody got their belly full and had a wonderful Easter weekend. I made a bone-in shank ham, greenbean casserole and sweet potatoes. Great combo anytime! Split pea soup coming up this week...

The Thursday before Friday

New Roomies

Hera and Noni. Two lovable female boxers. Hera is 3 years old and Noni is 7 months. Ironic that I found a place to live with boxers. When we were kids in Germany our dad brought home this boxer dog named Assie. Being American we could not call our dog Assie even though Assie was trained to guard the bowling alley by the German Boxer Club. So dad changed the "S's" to "D's" and we called her Addie. Fun dogs. Fun house.

Favorite TV Show

House Hunting in Alaska

Nice looking dog houses for sale at Spenard bUILDERS in Wasilla.

Help Around the House

Sweet Larry

Tommy Moe Street

Right, left then stop, look both ways and your on the way to the Olympics.

TOMMY MOE - born in 1970, and a local boy, from Palmer, Alaska. Wasilla boasts a street called Tommy Moe Drive. Tommy won the downhill gold and the super-G silver at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Tommy was also the first U. S. man to win 2 Olympic Alpine Medals in one year.

Jumped Ship

It was a fine time to leave Lake Lucille. Groundwater and sewer is seeping into the downstairs (where my bedroom was) and flooding. I hauled my stuff out and put it in a storage unit and am staying on a friends couch. I hated to jump ship but it was sinking and I wasn't the captain. I'm really going to miss Jefferson.