My weekend:

• XOXO: Picked up Mr. X from the airport.
• "Home, Jim, Home" ~ chaufeured on errands because my wallet was on my desk downtown.
• went for a walk but my head hurt after 1/4 mile, went home to read Band of Sisters
• Va-va Voom: saw our seminary student back from Maxillofacial reconstructive surgery down south, beauti-ful.
• "Watch 5 hours and call me in the morning"~ Mr. X tucked me in on the couch and turned on A&E's Pride and Prejudice. Best cure for a head cold.

Project: Chilkoot Trail

Train Schedule and Reservations: To complete the gold rush experience we've opted to take the historic White Pass and Yukon Train from Bennett to Skagway at the end of the trail. We also had to coordinate this as the train only runs 3x a week. (It was either the train or a 8-mile hike out + coordinating a taxi across the international border. Really it was a no-brainer ‘cause I knew Dad would kill me if I didn’t take the narrow gauge train.) I need to make these reservations this week.

Juneau Tour Co. and Seminary

Last Thursday I taught Seminary so Mr. X could go to Inservice. Our lesson was on 3 Nephi 27 , specifically, the name of Christ's church. The lesson manual suggested having the students name an organzation and then discuss what the organization did. To make it a little more interesting, I suggested that the kids could create their own Juneau tour company and provided hints: the Fudge Shop, TrailMix org and Dolphin Tours. Here's what the class came up with:

1) Juneau Calendar Co./In your face Calendars - scenic photography with a bit of humor. For example a picture of the Glacier with a dead bear in the foreground. A cloud of flies and a lump of magg -Okay, Okay next;

2) SPEAR - SPear fishing Exhilirating AdventuRe - Deep sea spear fishing in Alaska's cold waters. Logical and creative;

3) La Mer de l'Alaska - gift shop that sells overpriced trinkets and trash to tourists who really just want bottled water and an umbrella. There was great debate regarding this name, its authenticity and market for sales;

4) Juneau Barehand Fishing - Purchase dead fish from the hatchery, tuck it under your parka and then ask passengers on the cruise dock if they'll pay you $20 to catch a fish barehanded. Dive into the water, swim around and after a while, present the spawned-out Chum.

I'm not certain the point of the exercise was ever established, but it was enjoyed by all.

Spring Break: John Muir Cabin

Last weekend we hiked to the John Muir Cabin. It was spring break for the schools, which meant no seminary so Friday night after work we hit the trail.

The Auke Nu Trail is 3.5 miles one way and gains 1550 feet in elevation. Add to that wet, slippery planks through muskegs, icy tree roots in the forest and 2 feet of snow at the summit and you have our hike.

The wind picked up and howled, visibility became bad with fog and blowing snow; we were grateful to reach the cabin and its propane heater. We enjoyed jiffy-pop and reading through the evening. Someone was even kind enough to leave behind a book that I'd wanted to buy; I left my copy of Angels and Demons and picked up a book from Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series. And of course, I wrote in the cabin log.

In the morning the wind blew some of the clouds away and we were treated to (partial) views of Mt. McGinnis, Thunder Mtn., Auke Bay, and the Chilkat Mountains.