hawaii pre view flipping out on the big island

what it be to all you folks were gearing up

for the sun whales and surf many more back flips and cliff diving to be had

grap your swim suit and come on over and kick it with us island style

Wonderland Christmas

Christmas, and Ben and I were snowed in. There was nothing to do but get cozy, fire up the sauna, ski, sled, build snowmen, and ski some more in the backyard. Coming in from the cold we enjoyed delectable home-cooked food and sat by the fire while Christmas choir music played over the radio. Truly, a magical Christmas. The only things missing were family, carolers, and sleigh rides.

Swimsuits in -40

I never thought I'd be warm in a swimsuit at -40, but with a steamy hot spring to hustle to, it wasn't so bad. I never thought I'd volunteer to go aurora watching at -40 and last for 3 hours, but with bunny boots and army mitts mixed with constant jumping jacks and foot stamping, it was bearable. The aurora played around the sky in casting green off the miles of untouched hills and spruce of the north country. I felt the earth's vibration, the empty hills calling me in. And then there was the wolf. As I drove up the Denali Park Road I thought to myself that morning, "I might see a wolf today." Then, walking back from the park's kennels, head down into my scarf, a voice warned me to "look up, you don't know what your missing." There it was. Standing as I had always imagined I'd see it. A white wolf, fur tipped with gray, piercing blue eyes, staring into me from the bend of the trail, 50 feet away. I stopped, heart beating through my chest, pulse quickening through my ears. A frozen moment in time, eyes locked with the wild, and then as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. After a few more moments of silence, I willed myself forward. It was so magical, I had to confirm it actually happened through it's tracks. It had followed mine, paw upon boot print, until that moment we connected. It was real. My lifelong dream, just as I'd always imagined it. The north country, a land of bitter cold, a land where your mistakes can get you killed, a land of raw, undulating, beauty.