Late last night, a long-anticipated but completely unexpected task arose that kept me going until 3:15 AM and then took up still a bit more time after I arose this morning. The upshot is that I do not have time to prepare the entry that I planned for today - the entry that I anticipated would wrap up my Point Hope wanderings.
So I am going to keep it very simple with a few wandering-Wasilla-by-bike-and-foot images, beginning with this one, which I took the night before I suddenly fell so ill I could not eat anything.
I was out riding my bike about 9:00 or 10:00 PM and it was a beautiful, exquisite night. The air temperature was probably a bit above 50 degrees and the bike breeze felt wonderful against my skin. As I was pedaling fast down the bike trail on Seldon, I saw these three sitting atop the hill ahead of me.
Normally, I would have just snapped off three or four frames as I pedaled past and if I got something, fine, if I didn't, that was fine too.
But the three looked so lovely in the light of the night-time sun that I just had to brake my bike and shoot the picture right.
"You all look wonderful in this beautiful light," I shouted up the hill. "I must take your picture!"
They smiled and said, "thank you."
I took the picture.
"Beautiful!" I shouted up the hill.
"Thank you!" the young woman shouted down to me.
"Thank you," I shouted back to her.
Tuesday, I had felt so rotten that I did not eat, I did not leave the house and I spent somewhere between 16 and 18 hours lying flat on my back and the rest just sitting about in miserable stupor.
I still felt ill Wednesday morning, but was improving. I could not handle oatmeal, but I did scramble some eggs and both Margie and I were able to eat them.
Finally, I stepped into the open air and took a walk. I came upon this scene. At this size, the words scrawled on the 2 x 4 are very hard to read, but if you could see the picture full size then you could clearly and easily read:
"NO TRESSPASS this Means you I HAVE NO FRIENDS WHEN I'M NOT Home I WiLL KILL."
I do not know these people and do not know what they may have experienced that has put this kind of fear into them, but I do know their dog, although I have not seen it in quite awhile. In my nearly 29 years of wandering about Wasilla on foot bike, and before they built Serendipity and took away my access to the woods, by ski, I have met many, many, many dogs.
Most have been friendly, many have tried to act tough at first but then have proved to be false toughies and a few have been truly mean, nasty, snarly and snappy - but only one has actually bitten me. The dog from this place.
By last night, I was feeling much, much, better and so was Margie. Again, the air was wonderfully cool. I got on my bike and I pedaled as hard and fast as I could down to the Little Susitna, across the bridge and a short distance beyond.
When I came back, I again decided to make a stop instead of a pedal-by-picture and so braked and shot this image from the middle of the bridge.
;)
Normally, I would have been in a hurry to just keep moving and so, even if I had stopped to shoot the scene from the bridge, that would have been it. I would have continued right back on, leaving the couple to enjoy the night alone. Perhaps it was because I suddenly felt well and good after being so suddenly, but thankfully shortly, ill, but now I felt like I wanted to meet this couple, show them the picture I had just taken of them and tell them about this blog.
So I pedaled down to the bank and right up to them.
It was Luke and Lauren, both of Wasilla. Neither had been to this spot on the Little Su, but were glad they had discovered it tonight.
So was I.
I shot this closer scene of them and then pedaled home, so that I could get back to work.