Day Three: Prefumo Canyon

    We woke up early to go biking this morning. After getting the bike ready, which took longer than we expected due to some tire tube problems, Tom said he couldn't go because he had to fix and return a car trailer.  Tim and I would do a trial run to see how the bike (and me) would do in the hills. And so I could get used to working the new GoPro with the wifi remote.
     I strapped the vented helmet mount on the back of Tim's helmet so we would get a video of me riding.  I also put one on the front of mine so we could switch the camera and I could get a first person view. The cool thing about the wifi remote is I could control the camera that Tim was wearing from my bike. When I was in the shot or wanted a video, I would press the button and it would start. I didn't have it quite figured out so I ended up pushing buttons manually after a while but the video we got turned out well.
     We started up the grade and I quickly found that my bike was too small.  Without full leg extension you lose a lot of power and get tired out faster. This on top of the lower gears not working and being out of shape for biking made the going slow. Tim traded bikes with me to give me an advantage but he was still beating me on the even smaller bike for him.
     At the top of the hills we could see the ocean to the west and SLO to the east. It was quite a view

     After getting to the top we took a quick break and started in for the even quicker decent. Tim's advice was "follow my line and don't crash" -good advice. The end the road was winding and in trees so we had to go slower for traffic. That was alright because being on an unfamiliar bike its hard to know how far you can go, and asphalt is not the place to find out. 

     We stopped at Prefumo Falls on the way back and hiked up, leaving the bikes on the shoulder. Tim says not many people go up them but he maintains the trail and keeps it clear. We made it up in about 20 minutes and down in the same time. The rocks were wet from the rain that night and the water running down from the springs above making it a slippery, careful little hike. After the falls my legs were giving out and starting to cramp on the ride back. 

    Hot tubs are a good remedy for sore legs so naturally we jumped in after the ride.  Got a bite to eat before dinner and I passed out on the couch for a few hours.  Nobody knew I was there because I was so wrapped up in blankets, Tim has a funny picture of it.

     Tom came over and we talked and ate as an amazing dinner of lobster, tri tip, Alaska smoked salmon, and peppers was made. Thanks, Sue, Tom, and Tim!

Day Two: SLO Day Hike

    Tom took off early to the bay area to pick up a car on a trailer and drive it back.  Everyone else left the house and I didn't know Tim and company were back from sea trials in LA so I spent the morning watching Alaska State Troopers on natgeo.  I got a text from Tim asking what my day plans were so I walked across the street to make plans and say hi.
     Tim, Sue and I sat around talking about diving, the local area and Alaska. Tim and I planned to go on a quick day hike. After changing and packing a day pack, we were off.

     Bishop Peak is only a 10 minute drive from their house. Tom and Tim use it for a training hike because its short but steep in parts. The night rain had made the slope up the first part muddy. Once we got into the rocks above there were lots of small boulders to walk over and the trail ran through some large rocks we had to climb up.
     On the way up Tim talked about poison oak and that the best thing is to just not touch things along the trail. As we are walking and talking I heard a rushing sound from above and behind. I started to duck as I turned to see a huge turkey vulture diving, just above us.  There were lots of these vultures riding the drafts off the hillside.
     At the top, the trail gave way to a labyrinth of huge boulders. They were piled together so that you could climb through and around them. We made our way through the holes and crevices until we came out on a rock that jetted out but was covered by two larger rocks, making a cave that reminded me of the rock outcropping in lion king.

     We sat there for a while watching the birds fly below us off the adjacent ledge. We made our way back to the trail and up to another peak but there were people there and it was not as big as the other one. We drove back and I met Tim's sons James and Andrew.  We went into town and got a bite to eat before

Day One: FBX to LAX to SLO

     I left Fairbanks at 10:30 pm on the 27th. I was worried about taking all my dive gear through security but there were no problems with that. The first leg of the flight was on a 737 combi, cargo in the first half of the plane and passengers in the back. We walked across the tarmac and boarded the rear of the plane.  I was worried about my suitcase fitting in the overhead as it is exactly the allowable dimensions for a carry on. It fit sideways, but it was in.
     I landed in Anchorage and watched Big Bang Theory for the three hour layover. (Thanks Sam V, next time we should fill my hard drive more as I'm almost out of movies.) When I boarded the plane the ticket agent said my bag was too big and they were short on space so it would have to be checked.  I was prepared for this and I opened my bag and transferred the important, expensive things to my backpack, dive computer, GoPros, first and second stage regulators, and my mask.
     I didn't have much time in Seattle so moved quickly to the next gate.  I took the stairs to get to the train platform. The train was there, doors already open as I turned the corner. I got on just in time. A small kid got on before his dad as the doors were closing. His dad ran ahead and stuck himself in the closing doors to keep from getting separated (sound familiar, Mom?). I was going to meet Shelby B who was in the same terminal but had already boarded when I landed.
     Seattle to LAX was uneventful. My bags came in just fine and all my gear was intact but I walked out on the street into a zoo. The arrival lanes were absolutely crazy, full of cars and vans blowing their horns and people yelling. Quite a shock having come from Fairbanks only a few hours before. I texted Tom Brake when I was on the street and waited as he was caught in all the airport traffic. I saw the cab of the out of place lifted dodge long off and made my way, threw my bags in the bed jumped in.
     We drove up the coast through Malibu and past Point Mugu, stopping once to get ice for the salmon I brought, and once to eat at In-N-Out.  Tired from the flight and staying up the night before leaving, I slept for the rest of the drive to San Luis Obispo (SLO).
     We talked and ate at Tom's that night as we cleaned the glass, wire insulator shot glasses I brought down. I sorted all my dive gear into one bag and adjusted my dive computer for the time zone change.

SLO/LA Diving Trip

I am leaving today for LA where I will meet up with the Waags for diving and lobstering along the coast.  After a little over a week of that I will be meeting up with my coworkers from Poker Flat Research Range in Simi Valley, CA for Puma UAV flight tests with our new camera payload.

Started packing by getting all my GoPro stuff together. I got the Hero3 two days ago and added to it all my old accessories. Tried on all my dive gear with the camera to see how it would work before packing it.  Taking all my dive gear carry-on; BCD, mask, octo/regs, computer, snorkel. 

I plan on taking a lot of video on the trip so I've also been shuffling around data on my hard drives to free up space on my portable one. Between that and all the last minute things to finish in town, its a busy day.

.