July 3th, 2007 Juneau, AK

So i hear that July 3rd is a crazy time to be in Juneau, all of the downtown streets shut down and everyone has a great time. If anyone is thinking about coming out here to visit, that would be an awsome time to do it. They have a huge fireworks show that they shoot out barges in the channel. The fireworks are at midnight on the 3rd, and all of the bars shut down at 12 and everyone rushes out side to watch the fireworks and then the bars open again after the fireworks. Its supposed to be actually really huge and beautiful with the mountains and everything. If anyone's considering that would be the time and i can gaurantee a blast.

Also July 3rd Wisconsin Slim is playing another show at the Alaskan. I am not going to miss it - no way no how. I did some research on him and he doesn't have any CD's out. He does however, have some vinyl out. He put out only 100 vinyl records and released them in Juneau and didn't keep one for himself. In the beliefs of blues/live performances he rolls like that, which i think is really cool. So they are out and around. I am gonna try to find one and ship it home. Apparently he is somewhat of a Juneau legend. I like him.

The Alaskan

Well yesterday i was feeling a little down, its been raining quite a bit, my clothes are wet quite a bit. I hadn't really met people that i consider top quality. I did get some good encouragement from customers at work. Usually its the other way around being a bartender but i figured i could have a day of my own. i wasn't planning on going out but i decided i would. So i go down to the Alaskan and have a few Black Butte Porters. Then the live music sets up. The Alaskan is a little pub thats connected with a hotel and i think its one of the oldest hotels in Juneau. This place get rocking and everyones having a great time. I rate it one of my top 5 favorite bars in the world. This guy named Wisconsin Slim was playing some bluegrass/blues/jazz music that was UNBELIEVABLE. He is from Juneau but hadn't been back or played there in 5 years so everyone was amped. Now, i am not that in to bluegrass but this stuff was awesome. Then the dancing started oooh oooh, I had a blast on that dance floor, and once again the whiskey was flowing. i came in to work late with a heavy head. he he. It's all good though.

In the last day or so i have met like 8 people that i really like. Here's the interesting part: they're all travelers too. I think a big percent of the locals are a bit dull. Considering Juneau is disconnected from the rest of the world it has a different dynamic. That is a generalized judgment based on 2 weeks of being in town but as it stands thats what i feel like. Now i am meeting more people and that is encouraging. I was getting kinda worried for a bit there.

I am thinking about looking for a place to live, but i don't know. I like being in the woods but it would be nice kinda nice to have the luxuries of a washer/dryer. I am surprised to here myself say that, but nothing gets dry in the rain forest. Pardon my ignorance, i should have expected that. Even if i hang up clothes for days it wont dry out. The inside of my tent is dry though.

But last night was a blast.

Haven't had that much fun in a while.

Quick note

I have just noticed that i cannot send or recieve text messages in AK, therefore if you have sent me a text i didn't get it. Thats all for now
B-

My first day off since i got here went really well. I worked harder than i do when at work but that's life. Work hard, play harder i guess. Nick and i went to mendenhall glacier in the afternoon. We took a trail out to it and it was about an hour hike each way. It was nice to get out for my first Alaskan hike. We were actually able to go right up to the glacier and touch it. Everyday 13,000 people get off cruise ships in Juneau and pay $20 to take a bus ride to a viewing dock 1/2 mile away from the glacier to take pictures of it. If only they knew they could spend $1.50 on a city bus and then hike a for an hour and touch the glacier. hehe. So the glacier kind of empties in to a lake but where the glacier meets the rocks on the shore there were ice caves going under the glacier. They don't go too deep but we were able to get in one. The clear blue color from this glacier was amazing. The deeper the ice the deeper the blue. I got some decent pictures but they don't do it justice. You can see these pictures here.

After the hike i decided to get to work on my house (campsite). I worked for a long time on it. I have a 4 palate floor and it is off the ground! The hardware store gave me nails for free and i borrowed a hammer. Haha heck yea. I did buy some tarps though, but they were cheap. I was really sick of hauling palates and wood up the side of a mountain. I basically have water-side property though. I can see the channel from my site. I tried mooning a cruise ship as it went by but i am sure they didn't see me. I am really tired, building this crap by yourself is very frustrating, there's no one else to hold the other end or just have a second pair of hands. I am really proud of myself though, i finished it, and the floor is pretty even. It's pretty sturdy and i am sure it will hold for the summer. I washed some clothes after that and am drinking a much needed Black Butte Porter at my favorite pub The Alaskan. I am really tired and am going home to my site. good night

Good News for People who Love Good News: I Live In the Woods

I am proud to say that i live in the rainforest. Ha Ha. i love every second of it. Its awsome, a temprate rainforest, that is. In Juneau, Alaska. I built a little floor with some pallates i was able to get for free : ) The floor is slanted still so it needs some work, and i had a tent sent out here and set it up on the palates on the side of a mountain in this little campsite. The tent is a two man and is definately small, but i am not going to be in it much...Its so cool. I need to get another tarp and i am gonna build a roof/lean-to and set up some chairs and make a living room with some shelves too hopefully. If anyone wants to fly out for my house warming party let me know. your all invited. This campground is great, but it definately didnt start so great. I had an interesting situation that involved 2 drunk people and me trying to calm them down and convince them that im not such a bad guy and didnt steal anything from them. They were seriously pissed and threatening. I can tell that whole story later over cocktails. Its gotten better since then, its kind of a community campground that people live at. Some people built serious stuff, like an actual small house. I am trying to get people together for a community meal or something. It has a really nice stream going right through it coming off the mountain, its nice clean cold water. Its close to my site too so i sleep and wake up to a running stream. And i dumpstered some buckets so anytime i need water to wash clothes or what-ev and can get water from there. Next time i bathe i think i am gonna head up the mountain a bit find a nice area of the creek, strip down and wash up. He He. I will post some pics of my new house soon.


Tomorrow is my first day off since i arrived, I am headed to

mendenhall glacier

tomorrow where there are ice caves to explore. I am so excited. Also i am told you can take some ice that has already fallen off and bring it home and pour your whiskey over it AND IT DOESN'T MELT. I have been told you can drink a whole bottle of whiskey with the same two glasses of ice from the glacier. WOW, due to how condensed it is, how long its been ice and plain and simple its a glacier it takes really long to melt. Ha ha

Beware, this next paragragh is me b*tching about the restaurant, feel free to skip, kind of funny though:
Work is going well now, i am making good money, most of my hours are actually during the day which is awsome most of my coworkers are pretty lame but its all good. The restaurant is kind of wierd, the servers are terrible as well as the kitchen staff, ticket times are impossible to deal with and i have people from all over the world coming in sitting at my bar. There are quite a few people in the world that dont understand how american reataurants work. They walk in and seat themselves, and then come to the bar and try to get a drink and then find whatever table they think is nice as if this is a cafeteria or something. I actually said this to a guy today:

He walks up to the bar after sitting at his table for 1 min (seated himself of course) and asks for a beer.

Me: Sure i can get you a beer, are you sitting somewhere?

Him: yea i'm at that table over there

Me: Ok well there's actually a server that will come over and serve you, you know the whole restaurant thing.

Your the customer and you sit there and someone serves you, right?

I should be nicer but i was so frustrated
I also had a guy that came to the bar and wanted to just taste the alaskan beer, for free, he just wanted a free taste of beer and didnt want to buy one. What?!?!?! are you insane, where do you come from?
Also a guy that came to the bar sat down pulled out a sandwhich, started eating it and didnt order a thing. I 86 him after 2 bites.

I have found some really cool pubs here. There is one called the alaskan that is my favorite, they have good live music all the time and people are always dancing and having a blast. Most of the bars here have a huge loud bell and the history behind them is back in the day fishermen would come in from sea and if they had a great catch and came in with tons of fish they would go right to the pub and ring the hell out of this bell and that meant he was buying everyone at the bar a round. Sometimes these bars are packed...now thats a bar tab. Last night someone rang the bell, he wasnt a fisherman, but the whiskey was flowing. I am gonna ring the bell before i leave, when i have a good night at work or something.

The amount of sunlight here is crazy, the bars close at 3 and when i leave them my bike ride home is as the sun is half up. I woke up this morning at 3:45 because of the sunlight. wow

Thats enough writing for now
the weater has been perfect the last 5 days, sunshine and today it hit 70 degrees, I am told it it will hit 80 here.

Juneau, AK

Does anyone know per capita the city in the U.S. that consumes the most alcohol?


Ready?


It's...


JUNEAU, AK


Really


A local told me that today...it seems to be true

Poem//goodnotgreat:smile

I smile because of sunlight
I smile at trees
I smile at green grass
They smile back at me

I grin at bicycles
I grin at fruit
I grin because of the blue sky
They grin back at me

I smile at beautiful women
I smile in the face of music
I smile because i am thinking
They smile back at me

I smile because there's so much to smile for
I smile because i can't help it

Poem//needswork:smile

Juneau, AK

Well kids i am here. everything went smooth and i am in Juneau. I had another really hard ride in to downtown Juneau, about 9 miles with my pack. I did have a brake this time though. There are definatly some mixed feelings going on in my head in this city. It is beautiful, there are mountains on both sides of me, still snow on them too. They had a record high of snow this winter. I did see a glacier for my first time today. The city is very small and seems to lack a younger crowd. This observation of course was a span 5 hours on mothers day but the city is a little rough around the edges. There is a little strip of shops and stuff downtown filled with crap nobody needs. Old people like it though. I definatly get some looks here as well, shameless stares too. Its kinda chilly at 50 degrees F. I did get to see the restaurant that i am working at. It is on top of a mountain that you have to take a tram to. I met the head chef and he is a chill young guy from chicago. I can tell they will give me the freedom i need. I am starting work tomorrow and am kinda excited i think i may have to work a double, not sure though. I think its gonna be a nice relaxed place, not as much as the LPB but still good. Bicycle shops are few and far between, that search starts tomorrow.
signing off
B-

Vancouver Extended

so... Vancouver is awsome
super clean, friendly people, beautiful mountains that can be seen from downtown. There are some sketchy areas and sketchy people but they dont seem to mess with people. When i got off the bus it was in a sketchy nieghborhood and i was worried the whole city was going to be like that. Everything is easy to find, i found my hostel with out a map, relying on my photographic memory, yea!!
When i get back to Seattle i will put some pics up of Van. I went to the aquarium today and saw a balooga whale show. It was really cool. Went to the beach as well, and hung out on commercial drive (strip of good shops and cafes). I have been meeting some good people here too, some local and some traveling. This really seems to be a very peaceful city. I feel like i could live here, If they ever let me in again. I leave for Seattle tomorrow and then have to get up early to catch my flight to Juneau. Hopefully all that goes well again. I have to get up by like 4 am to catch the bus, get to the airport disassemble my bike, pack it safely, repack my bag, Drag them thru the airport, check in and get on. Then after that i made it. I win. for now

Canada doesn't like my kind

I took a bus from Seattle to Vancouver today. When we stopped at the border to go through immigration i was thinking, in and out no big deal. So i pull up to the counter and dude asks me for passport and how long i am staying. I say two days
he says step over here.
I then get searched. Asked tons of questions. The guy goes through every card in my wallet asking about them all. Searches my bag - which had nothing in it because i was only going for 2 days. I brought (this is my favorite) my camera, some sandwiches a banana, my journal and my book.
Dialogue:
This is what i don't get my friend, you are traveling all this way for only two days?
Um.. i don't really know what to tell you, i am going to visit Vancouver
Vancouver's a big city, what are you going to see?
Ahhh. i dunno the park, the aquarium, the city.
Have you ever been to Canada?
No, Never, this is my first time.
Do you know anyone in Vancouver.
I don't know a single person in British Columbia.
How did you hear about Vancouver.
(me rolling my eyes) You are asking me how i heard about the city of Vancouver?
yes.
(pause)Ummm.. i dunno, shit a map? (what kind of f*cking question is that?!?!)

I then have to tell them my whole story about moving to AK and all that, they want documented proof that i am taking a job in AK. I finally after an hour of being searched and questioned convince them to let me in the their damn country. The bus was held up and everything.

Anyways, i am here, I like Vancouver alot, I think more than Seattle. I am staying downtown at a hostel and tomorrow am gonna bum around the city.
peace

Seattle

So i got in to Seattle today. Everything went fine, my bike wasn't damaged or anything, flight went fast and i got off and got my bags and bike and took it out side and assembled the bike. I was really looking forward to that. One guy watched me as i walked out with my 2 huge packs dragging my bike in a box and i throw my stuff down and slice this box open and produce a bicycle in 15 min and then take off on it. I could tell he was trying not to stare but couldn't help himself. hehe. The bike ride to steve's was really challenging. I haven't wieghed my pack but i think its atleast 60 lbs. Check the link below for some of my routes. I need to get a brake on my bike because the hills here are way too intense. Nobody is riding a fixie that i have seen. I haven't been downtown yet but i asume everyones got a geared bike here. It was probably one of the hardest rides i have ever been on. After it i didn't feel too bad so i decided to go out and ride some more. I ended up riding all over the place, got kinda lost on all these windy roads. So i am exhauseted. It's really somthing when your bike works you and it never gets tired. I definatly got worked. I stopped and had a few pints of Guiness and am going to bed.

Seattle is georgous, i really enjoyed my ride along the coast. the trees and water are amazing.




My route from the airport to Steve's place: click here
My route tue evening: click here

May Day Parade

The may day parade was a few days ago and i got to ride a tall bike in the parade. It was really fun because i hadn't ridden a tall bike before. I also got to hang out with my friends Megn and Jordan before i left. It was nice to just chill with them for an afternoon. I got some good photos of us and the parade. Click here to see more mayday photos on my flickr site

Domestic

So the other day Dale and I are riding in his Jesus van on E 35th st going by the Chatterbox pub. As we are riding by i remembered that i left a vest there that i needed to pick up. So i tell Dale to pull over. As i am crossing the 4 way stop sign a buick skids right in front of the little chevy. Comes with in 1 foot of the car. He gets out and yells "what the fuck are you doing" at the lady in chevy. He opens her door and drags her out. He then pulls her dog out of her car and proceeds to kidnap her dog. Well she gets off the ground and runs to his car as hes getting in. She is trying to grab her dog and fight this guy at the same time, well he then peels out and she falls out of the car and is rolling through the street. Meanwhile her car is rolling backwards through the street because she didn't put it in park. This whole time she was screaming to me call 911 call the police. This lady had serious fear in her eyes. So when this is going on i grabbed the bartender and he chased the ladies car down, while i was on the phone with the cops and trying to help this lady of the pavement. WOW what a 5 minute trip. People are interesting.

Let me sum that up for you:
I saw a dog get kidnapped. What?
what evs

Going away party

We had my going away party last night. I wasnt happy that it was raining so i threw together a lean-to. Then it didnt end up raining in the evening but what ev. It was fun, thank you to everyone for coming. After everyone left i decided i was going to sleep outside for the evening, get some practice for Alaska. It was great to wake up looking at the leaves of the tree in my yard. What a beautiful tree we are blessed with. My sleeping bag and pad were great, i got a good nights rest. I am very excited to sleep outside for the summer, that is one of my goals...sleep outside for a summer.

Leaving for Juneau

Well,
I just started this blogspot site so i could keep stuff organized when i leave for Juneau, i think this will be the easiest because Myspace sucks ass. I leave in 5 days and am not ready at all, my collapsable bike is not even welded yet and may car is in my garage in south MPLS with no tabs. Everything else is pretty much in line though. I want to get my car to my Dads house for the summer before i go and i need to get this collapsable bike built and figure out how to package it. Most of the stuff i need to do is out of my control so i am gonna sit back and not worry about it. Also my cat Fitzgerald has run away. I am not too beat up about it but i really dont want him to be hurt. I think he heard me talking about Alaska and got pissed and took off, maybe he'll meet me there. Who knows. A week ago my head was not at terms with the fact that i will be leaving soon. Leaving for 3+ months, living with whats on my back and not returning until my adventure is over. The last couple days i have come to terms with it and feel mentally ready. I am amped to see Seattle and Vancouver and cant wait to see the mountains in Juneau.