A day in the life of us....: Hiking the Opal Creek Trail

You know you are in Kodiak when....

When traffic reports are replaced by the FISHING REPORTS
The water on the floor mat in your car is frozen
You automatically remove your boots when entering someone's home
You use flat-rate priority mail boxes more than envelopes
In Winter, you know who is taking their Vitamin D and who isn't
If you don't already have auto-start on your vehicle, you wish you had it
You know what a Coastie is, and it doesn't mean you live near the beach
You know what Xtra Tuffs are, and you have some
You have to do the Kodiak Stomp before entering a store
Just because you have a ticket to fly, doesn't mean you will actually leave that day--"weather permitting"
It's cheaper to buy DVD's than to have cable TV
Store clerks actually wish you a "Merry Christmas"
You hear people complain about having to drive "all the way to the other side of town" (10 minutes)
Traffic congestion is 3 cars at an intersection
Your car doesn't have a chance to warm up before you arrive at work
When looking out the window is more reliable than the weather forecast
You go to work, church, and shop with the same people
Driving a rusty car is "no big deal"

Monday, August 4, 2008

Hiking the Opal Creek Trail

Sunday we hiked at Opal Creek Wilderness area with our girls and our friends Lynn and Randy.

We estimate that we may have hiked about 7 miles.

Opal Creek is beautiful, clear, cool water. The coloring of the rock formations on the river bed as seen through the clear water appear to have an opal-like appearance. The Opal Creek area is a designated wilderness area, and is federally protected--no logging or fishing.

However, the area was previously logged and has also has a mine from the depression era--the rusty remnants of that time remain for us to see.

The water was refreshing to our feet, but still very cold, and tolerable for only a few seconds at a time. Matt was the adventurous one--walking back and forth in the water from bank to bank. He had a high tolerance level.