A very new year.....

The New Year is here, and I can almost see the line in the sand that falls through the hourglass in my mind...after 30 years of traveling to Alaska and sharing the ups (and occasional downs) and adventures of adventure travel, it feels like a natural time to re-assess. 

As my mind drifted back over the years, a few of the charactors and faces sharpened into focus for a moment, I thought of how thankful I am for each and every one of the people who have made Great Alaska the "long, strange trip it's been".. 

I guess one of the reasons that I've struggled to make regular entries in this blog is that I wasn't sure what to say- or what not to say for that matter, but in the spririt of "Re-assessing",  I decided that with single-digit followers, I really didn't need to worry about that all that much and should just say what comes to mind.  Heck...most of you are probably related to me at this point in any event  :)

But I digress...one of the moments of sharp focus rested on my friend Bob Ernisee.  For anyone who reads this and does not know Bob, you are the lessor for it.  Bob was a very special friend who took us under his wing and introduced us to what passed as polite society in the late Eighties in Anchorage, Alaska.  He and his amazing black lab, Duchess, were regulars on our beach at the confluence of the Moose and Kenai rivers.  I've attached an excerpt from a favorite article from the Anchorage Daily News that featured Bobby. 

There are too many stories of Bobby to tell for this forum, but here are two.  Bobby would come down as often as he could in the summer, and he would occassionally park his 23 foot duckworth  on the beach and spend the nite in it.  At that time, fishing at the confluence of the two rivers (in boats) was allowed and there were more fishermen than in a dozen weekends these days, so our boats and gear were a concern and we'd had a few incidents recently, so bobby sat up with his black Lab, Duchess with a Remington 870 12 guage.  When that kid came back for more he ended up face to face with the business end of that Remington and we didn't have any more problems that year. 

The other side of Bobby was just as over the top.  There was literally nothing he wouldn't do for a friend- and that's saying something because no one had as many friends as Bobby.  In the days way, way WAY before facebook, Bob was the ultimate social media.  And Bobby would go to the mat for you every time.  Somehow with all his friends he had an uncanny way of making you feel as if you were the very best of them all.

So I miss my friend Bobby, and I hurt for him yesterday, as his beloved Silver and Black Oakland Raiders lost to "Tebow Time" in Denver- but I also know he's out there somewhere, playing practical jokes on unsuspecting angels and helping where he's needed. 

Happy New year to you all - I hope you have a healthy and happy New Yearl