Kayaking Gone Wrong

**I'm working through some posts I wrote awhile back, but never published. This was originally written May 2016**

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Several weeks ago, The Bachelor and I went kayaking on Pile Driver Slough -- one of my favorite paddles in Fairbanks.

It started off great with a sunny sky. One of the joys of Pile Driver Slough is being able to not paddle your boat if you don't want to -- the current will carry you along. When it's warm out, it's delightful to float underneath the sun. The Bachelor had even brought snacks to share, which was good because I was starving.

How quickly it all fell apart.

Tobaccy

Have you ever wondered what it might feel like to smoke an entire pack of cigarettes at once? I had not wondered that, ever. I found out though when I took a swig from a coffee cup thinking it was my left over morning coffee and it was someone's spit cup. 

As in chew. Dip. Snuff. Chewin' tobaccy. I wasn't grossed out by the fact that I drank and swallowed someone's spit. At least it had belonged to someone I know. Does that make it better? I'm not sure. 

My throat burned and I was certain I had instantly contracted laryngeal cancer from the carcinogens in the used dip. My future passed before me -- I didn't want to burp speak through a stoma in my throat! No, no, no, no, no! 

It All Comes Down to This

This Saturday I'll be competing at a powerlifting meet in Fairbanks. It's a USA Powerlifting sanctioned meet where state records can be set. Lucky for me the rules of USAPL dictate that as a Masters athlete (that is, 40 years old and up) you compete in the age bracket based on the age you'll be on December 31st of that year. 

Ice Fishing

This week marked the 5th anniversary of my arrival in Fairbanks.  To mark the occasion I went ice fishing for the first time. 

I hadn't been fishing in years.  The most fishing I did as a kid was at the Trout Farm in Calistoga, where everyone gets the catch of the day. 

Here I am with my catch at the Trout Farm. I was about 4 years old here. 

Grandma Mary

My mom's mother, Mary, passed away on Wednesday. I wasn't particularly close to her but she was certainly the matriarch of the family. Thanksgiving was the big holiday for my mom's side of the family to congregate. My mom was one of nine children, although not all biologically belonging to Mary. My mom has one biological brother and sister. The three had been in and out of foster care most of their young years before going to Mary's house. Mary took my mom and her siblings into her existing family of six. They were never formally adopted but Mary treated them as her own. I only knew her as my grandma.

Table Top Mountain

Fairbanks has been having great weather this summer. Yes, the entire state has been on fire and that has made for some smokey days in the 'banks, but in general, it's been a terrific summer. Days at the lake, paddle boarding, kayaking and most recently a lovely hike in the White Mountains.

My friend Hilary, her dog, Cedar, and I tackled Table Top. Getting out of town was an endeavor all on its own. We returned her husband's cell phone to him at work, dropped her son off at daycare and lastly got coffee. I'm impressed with all we did pre-coffee. It is not easy to answer a three-year old's questions sans caffeine. We should have had a pre-coffee coffee but therein lies the dilemma: how do you think clearly about coffee when you haven't yet had coffee? Thank goodness for Fairbanks' many, many drive-thru coffee huts. If you can just get yourself to the coffee hut, it will all be okay.

We hiked to the top of that plateau. 

Fielding Lake

In June I stayed at the Fielding Lake public use cabin for two nights. It's a great spot. I was glad to have the cabin though because the wind was ferocious. And when it did stop the mosquitos came out in full force. If I'd been tent camping I would've been miserable. I kayaked one day. The wind was just tolerable. Not so bad that I couldn't get anywhere, or was worried about tipping over, but strong enough that when I stopped to take a picture I was blown back and lost ground.

The cabin.