AHHHLASKA!! 2006 Fishing with my girl.

My wife Kathleen and I took a trip to Alaska in 2006 to try our hand at fishing. We hoped to view some mountains, rivers and animals. We rented a place on the Kenai River and did some fishing then took a drive south and did some more fishing. We had an incredible guide who really did us well. Nobody got seasick while fishing but we did get pretty wet one day. We took a drive up to the Russian to look at bears and take a hike-that was scary!

Here's proof.

I think this was just heading out of Anchorage looking south across the inlet.

 I feel compelled to point out every little thing on our trips. Here I am pointing to something I found exciting-no doubt my wife was thrilled!

Heading south almost every thing you see is photo worthy. Just one of MANY snow and ice covered mountain tops.

It's not a zoo, but on the way to the Kenai is a place where you can look at a bunch of animals, really cool. This is a herd of elk in the park.

Black-tail deer. Sitka variety.

I am a big elk hunter from Idaho-No way I could pass a nice photo of a decent bull.

Not the best pic of this caribou. I think we took a dozen pics of this guy and he always had another bull blocking his head!

Eventually you have to leave the animals behind and head on down the road. This is the sign to welcome you as you turn further south.

Our cabin we rented was great! Just a few steps from the world famous Kenai river. Here is Kathleen putting away some of our groceries while I, no doubt, perform manly tasks.

Like fishing!! I tried for a while but the fish weren't biting. Kathleen borrowed my pole and caught a fish the first cast-The bite was on!! So I took the pole back, and fished forever without a bite!

Early morning on the Kenai river.

We'll soon be fishing again, will we get one like this? This is the world record caught right here in Soldotna.

Saw this ol feller fly fishing on one of the dozens of creeks.

We headed out fishing in the shadow of Mordor.

Kathleen and I both caught a limit of halibut in a couple of hours. We can definitely recommend this activity.

Damn Pinks! I'll bet we caught hundreds of them. In the salt water they are good to eat but by the time they get to Soldotna they are turning and most locals use them for dog food.

I'm pretty to look at. That is an ugly fish!

Our guide, Gary, took us up river for some trout fishing for free(ish). Kathleen was pretty proud of this one. 

Now here's why we came to Alaska! Kathleen's first Silver Salmon. I took her a while to 'feel the bite' but she was soon catching tasty salmon fillets.

Some of our take from the trip.

The guys next door. It took them almost an hour to fill their limit. Probably could have been done even quicker if they had less beer.

Did somebody say...BEAR!!! he was interested in Salmon, not us.

There's no place like home..there's no place like home...

A picture adds 100 lbs. And sometime makes you look like a reject from 'The Beverly Hillbillies!'

I caught this one by floating a piece of yarn into his mouth. I filleted him and put him in my pocket. My wife was impressed with my wise choice to place a fish in my pocket in known bear territory.

A little further up the river.

 The Kenai river is mostly made up of glacial melt so it is always this beautiful color. I think that lot across the way is for sale. For a bzillion dollars!

How many thousands of places in Alaska look just a beautiful as this? Millions of thousands.

 I have saved hundreds of dollars sleeping in the airport. At the end of a fantastic fishing trip, even a couple of hours on the stinky floor isn't a downer.

The fishing was great, the fish tasted wonderful.

Latvia, The Land of Red Stags and Wild Boar

I went to Latvia in 2007 on business. I was there for about 4 months and really enjoyed the people although the community I was in (SALDUS) was a complete armpit. One of the local contractors leased us some heavy equipment, his name is Intz. Intz and I shared a couple of lengthy rides from Riga to Saldus/Broceni area and soon learned we both loved to hunt.It was during one of these rides that Intz first proposed that I hunt with his club in the fall for red stag and wild boars. Obviously I accepted his offer. Intz offered to loan me his personal 30-06. In Latvia a lot of hoops have to be jumped through to possess a firearm and Intz and his group got me all ready to go. 

Soon Intz and I were driving the back roads looking for the coordination point for the hunt.

 This is a photo of the hunters milling about before the hunt. Most were not to happy to see the Americanski. I have to say, many of the firearms looked BARELY usable. The men are a hardy lot but most of their equipment was 3rd rate at best. They may have been unimpressed to see me to begin with but they all warmed to me as the day went on. Eventually a couple of them even wanted to dance with me!(after consuming a LOT of vodka).

Prior to the hunt, the organizer/boss/leader introduces everyone and goes over the plan, the rules, the safety and the limits. Intz is second from left. This meeting dragged on for about a half an hour I got the impression that the boss was putting on a show for my benefit. Notice the dogs? I only hunted with dogs once prior to this, this was much better.

After the introduction, every hunter has to sign the roster of the hunt, it is a very legislated process. The hunters are then sent down a long road where they take up a stand and wait for the game. We all walk together, dropping a hunter every 100 yards or so as we go.

This was my place. The dogs were loosed about 1 mile straight ahead of me and I could not hear them at first but as time passed I could, faintly at first. I was at the end of the line but in the best spot. A small group of what I would call cows came from left to right moving quickly into, and out of, frame. Just behind them was a dink of a bull who stopped in the opening just behind the larger tree in the right center of the pic.The group was permitted to kill just one bull on this hunt so I let the small bull pass in hopes that a larger bull would soon follow. I think as many as 10 seconds passed when a shot rang out just to my right.

The hunter next to me had shot the bull! I moved to where he was and found several of the hunters standing about. Smoking, always smoking.  Eventually the group was all present and the work of dragging the bull to the vehicles began.

They used a pole tied to the bull because a rope bends and some people have to work harder than others. several men carried 2 rifles so that more men could pull. I have been apart of many successful hunts but these guys were REALLY excited!

Here I am with the successful hunter. This was the biggest stag harvested in many years! I am such an idiot! Looking back I am happy for him but on that day I was a bit jealous. See the dog? This dog and the others stayed at the stag and tore almost all of the hair off.

Later I was posted in an area where we hoped to see some boars. I had 3 of the piggies run past me at about 40 yards. I was ready! I took aim! We did not get any piggies. Blame me. I wish I would have been better prepared with a rifle I was more familiar with. I failed to ensure the slide was all the way forward on the semi-auto. By the time I discovered my mistake the piggies had disappeared.

Back at the camp they butchered the stag and everyone took some except me-I did not feel right to take it. Then they took all the innards and put them in a pot with some water, see the pot on the table? They boiled the guts for at least an hour and drank booze the whole time. Finally it was time to eat!!!Oh Man!! That was the second worst thing I ever put in my mouth! Now I know why they were drinking so much.

 10 or 12 men totally destroyed all of these bottles in less than 90 minutes!! Perhaps the most impressive feat I saw in Latvia. Latvians have an incredible ability to consume alcohol. No puking allowed.

These are a few of the smaller deer that can be found in the area. Some of these are large trophies for the breed. These hang on the wall of the camp and belong to all. The antlers from the stag were offered to me as a reminder of the kinsman-ship we shared but I refused. They belong in that lodge.

I intended to bring Intz to the states to hunt elk as my part of the bargain. Sadly, his business went under within a year and he has not been able to join me in America. I get e-mails from time to time from him but I am afraid we will never be able to renew the experience together.

Where we came from and where we're going.

Looking back on the last couple of years brings a huge smile to my face. So many adventures with my wife and so many selfies taken with my family. This page is an attempt to document the fun times and a couple of the 'not so fun' times as well.

 This is my wife Kathleen and I as we embark on a snorkeling adventure to Belize, Wonderful Belize! It is difficult to express how calming and soothing the sun and sea can be to the soul.

 Not all days in Central America are good days. There comes a time when cash runs short and it's time to head for the house and turn some time into money, this was one such day, leaving Belize.

 While on a business trip to England we decided one day to take a drive. Our goal was to see both Sheffield and Liverpool as an ode to a couple of famous bands. Sheffield was done and we drove towards Liverpool but got sidetracked in this beautiful valley and never made it. This is one photo of us having some giggles.

One of several old castles we saw in England. So many beautiful things to see, so little time.

 We had to wait for the tide to go out so we could drive to this island. A fantastic castle on the hill was our reward, but the wind, Oh the wind!!

 A quick day trip to the East coast found us in Scarborough, man we took some nice pics this day...

This is the bottom of a draw in Idaho that I like to hunt. Never have I seen it so green. Of course I am usually there a couple months later in the year

My daughter and I cleared an acre in Alaska for us to build our cabin on. This was not our best day but it is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

One of my favorite subjects to talk about and photograph, ME!! Bad news is there are going to be more like this. The good news is, some of them have some nice trophies in them too!



Not a lot of pics of fish and game I must admit, but a little foreshadowing of some trips we had that I will get to eventually. I hope this whets your whistle for adventure. Now, save this page, or link or whatever the blog-speak is and lets see what the future holds....