Gratuitous Baby Pics

Zoe was born on August 23, at 4:25pm. I've already taken about 5 hours of video featuring her and close to 300 pictures. (These are rough estimates.) Here's a few pictures. The rest can be found at my picasa page: picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna

Polaroids

Polaroid film is no longer being made. I never really used it that much, although I enjoyed using the format when friends had a camera. The immediacy was pretty much the best part. But the pictures themselves did have something to them that digital photos lack. (There's been a few recent articles about this; check this one out.)

Apparently there is still a polaroid of me posted to the wall in the footwear warehouse at the REI in Berkeley. In the picture I'm screaming in anguish at the pile of slippers that holiday shoppers had left strewn around the floor. That picture really caught a moment of employee levity during the hectic holiday shopping season. I guess that's what polaroids were so deft at capturing.

If you are missing the format, www.rollip.com will allow you to upload your digital pictures to see what they'd look like as Polaroids. The site is essentially a one-stop, online filter. And you can order your shots printed to Polaroid film (or something like it).

Here's a few of my pictures converted to Polaroids with a few of the originals to compare. It's a pretty fun way to play with your digital images.

Lea in Monterosso, Italy


Wedding in Moose Pass


The Bulkley Valley, in BC


Avalanche class in Hatcher Pass


Liz and Romer in Norcia, Italy


Lea and I at our wedding


Phil near Thompson Pass

This last weekend

I didn't really do a whole lot this last weekend. I mean, I was busy: daddy bootcamp at Providence Hospital (very helpful), cooking a bunch of lasagna for friends who came over for dinner Saturday night, and riding 50 miles to the top of Hiland Drive with Carina. But not that much happened that would warrant national TV coverage.

But just a block from my apartment on Saturday, the former Gov (a.k.a. the Quitta from Wasilla) was handing out hotdogs. I managed to completely forget she was out there. (I wonder if she or her supporters noticed all the Obama bumper stickers in the neighborhood; the area I live in is like little-Berkeley -- our state rep is a Democrat and ran unopposed with something like 92% of the vote.) But I kind of wish I'd wandered over; if only to play tourist in my own neighborhood.

Sunday, in Fairbanks, as everyone with a television/radio/newspaper knows, Mrs. Palin stepped down from the job she'd worked so hard to get (and then ignore since last August). Television programs had fun with it. At least the TV shows that I watch.

Fireweed 2009

James and I did the Fireweed 200 again this year. Phil Edwards volunteered to be our relay driver. He did a fantastic job. Although his hopes of listening to a book on tape were dashed when he realized how our schedule was going to go: do a switch, drive 7-10 miles, do a switch, drive 7-10 miles. . . and repeat for 200 miles. Not much time to listen. But he held up well and we had a great time.

Despite my feeling that I was in worse shape this year, we dropped almost a half hour off our time from last year. I attribute this to James being a rock star and also our strategy of swapping riders more often. Thus we weren't so tired after each leg.

Lila, Carina, Callie and Elizabeth rode the 200 as a 4-person relay team. They also had a great ride.

One of the only worries prior to the race was air quality -- not usually a problem in Alaska. But there have been quite a lot of fires this summer. So the air was thick with smoke the week prior to the race. Luckily the smoke was less noticeable out at Sheep Mountain, where the race began. The further we went, the less smoke there was. Valdez was actually pretty clear. So we got quite lucky.

The weather was also on our side. Last year we had some rain to contend with at the start. This year it was slightly overcast, but soon cleared up. The whole ride was sunny and warm. We had a pretty stiff headwind to contend with over the pass (I actually starting laughing at one point because it was blowing so hard), but I can't complain.

We spent the night in Valdez and had salmon burgers. The next morning we endured a protracted search for coffee and breakfast, but soldiered through. Eventually we found some tasty breakfast burritos.

We roadtripped back to Anchorage and enjoyed the sunshine on the deck of the Snow Goose.

PICTURES: http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/Fireweed2009

Here's some pics from the weekend:

Carina talks bike maintenance with Callie, Lila and Elizabeth


A smoke sunrise at Sheep Mountain.


Callie and I at the start in Sheep Mountain


The first part of the ride was mostly downhill (with some noteable ups) from Sheep Mountain to Glennallen.


Fireweed by the roadside


Riders cresting a hill as we approach Glennallen

Carina and I at a rest stop in Glennallen. Carina was rocking her UCD team jersey.

Here's me climbing a hill near the Copper River

James beginning our ascent into the Chugach Mountains



Me waiting to swap near the top of the pass



The Worthington Glacier

James riding up the pass. We rode the last few miles to the top together so that we could take turns drafting off each other. (In the relay event, riders can only draft off their teammates.) The wind was ferocious, but the views were so spectacular that it was still my favourite part of the ride.


A view of the final turn up the pass. You can make out James and I in the distance.


James, another cyclist, and I heading up the final stretch of Thompson Pass. James and I later passed this guy's teammate a mile from the end. We were younger and used better strategy -- we drafted off each other for the final 2 miles where you couldn't make any more rider switches because of a narrow shoulder.


Thompson Pass - Elevation 2678 feet

James and I at the top of the pass

James descending Thompson Pass

James and I finishing -- only one rider from each team got to cross the finish line. So James did the honors and I looped around the outside. Both of us riding the final 2 miles allowed us to draft and really finish at a fast pace.

Callie and Carina ride into Valdez

Callie at the final turn

Carina rides into the finish. (And she's Finnish, HA!)

Carina and her friend Aaron enjoy the sun on the Snow Goose's roof deck.

Granite Creek Campout

Usually, when someone plans a BBQ and/or campout on the Fourth of July, that ensures that the rain gods will laugh our plans and bring down torrential downpours. Apparently the weather deity took pity on us Alaskans after last summer (a.k.a. worst summer ever) and gave us the nicest Fourth of July weekend I've ever seen. We spent it on the Kenai Peninsula, camping with 40+ of our closest friends, packrafting, mountain biking, grilling and generally being silly.

Callie and I started the weekend off right. Jeff (Callie's boyfriend) and Lea volunteered to drive our stuff while Callie and I biked. So C and I headed off early, left my truck at Indian on Turnagain Arm, and biked the rest of the way to the campsite. The weather was amazing -- sunny and warm. We had a tail wind for most of our way down the arm. From Indian to Girdwood we were on a bike path well-removed from the highway. Bears had been a concern on the path earlier in the summer, but was now open.

We made Girdwood and from there had to ride on the Seward Highway. The shoulder was mostly wide enough to let us ride two abreadst without too much fear of catching an RV's mirror upside the head. Also, the 4th of July traffic worked to our advantage in that people were having to drive slower than usual. I can't overexaggerate how nice it was to be out in the open, biking along the dramatic fjord with snow capped peaks and glaciers around us.

Once we reached the end of the Arm at Portage, we had to head back up the other side into the wind. Luckily it was a short stretch before we headed south up Turnagain Pass. Out of the wind it got downright hot. Also, there was less of a shoulder. But we made it to the top of the pass without incident.

Once we crested the top of the pass it was all downhill (with a slight tailwind) to the campground. We flew along the now generous shoulder, enjoying the gorgeous surroundings.

The Granite Creek campground, where we were staying, is on the bank of the creek. Friends had reserved four to five sites, and so we spread out. Lea and Jeff arrived with out trucks shortly after Callie and I arrived (and got some refreshments, i.e. a beer, from Ben and Brandy).

We set up camp. We sat around the fire. We grilled sausages and salmon. We made s'mores with Petit Ecolier cookies. Life was good.

The next day was equally, if not more, bright and sunny. Ian had kindly lent us his two packrafts while he was out of town. Packrafts are small, inflatable rafts that are light enough to carry in your backpack but river-worthy enough to handle up to a class III rapid. We didn't do anything that ambitious. About 15 folks piled into their rafts and headed out on the creek. The lower portion of Granite Creek is very mellow, and an excellent place to learn to paddle a packraft.

The main difference between a packraft and other watercraft is that packrafts don't track. At all. They are completely flat on the bottom and don't have a keel. So you spin almost as much as you move forward. But you quickly get used to paddling with shallow strokes and quickly alternating sides. Once you get that down, they are actually quite maneuverable. And they bounce off just about any obstacle. They're very stable. And they're very fun. Alex even brought his two-year-old, Ian. Ian loves to packraft.

Our float went wonderfully. After shuttling back to the campground, another group of us headed out for round two. Alex, Ben, Callie, Jeff, Justin and I headed up to the pass to raft down the upper part of the creek. The creek was narrower and flowing more quickly. We had a great time. Twice we had to hike around trees that had fallen all the way across the stream.

I can see how people really fall in love with packrafting. You get out on streams you wouldn't normally be able to carry a kayak to. You end up feeling very adventuresome.



Once we got back to camp, Lea organized a beginners float down the lower part of the river. (Lea is not a beginner, she was giving lessons to the beginners.) So another group headed out. One woman flipped, but was fine. All in all, everyone loved it. Even the woman who got wet. The low angle light was dramatic and brought out the color on the mountains around us.

That night we cooked salmon and went campfire hopping. Eventually all our friends migrated to one campfire for shenanigans and singing.

The next morning people dispersed. Lea, Jeff and Justin headed out to get in one last float in the heat. It was probably about 80 degrees. When they got back Lea and I cleaned up and headed back to town after a liesurely morning in the sun. We'd had a wonderful weekend.

PICTURES: http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/GraniteCreekCampout



Video of Ben, Jeff, Callie, Justin and Alex on Upper Granite Creek:

From Granite Creek Campout