The Ballad of Zoooma The Hiker

One Friday Zoooma had off from work.
He decided, Hey Man, Chop Some Wood;
You Ran Low This Winter, For Next Winter Get Prepared.

So on a day off from work, Zoooma worked.

What's up with that... man?

During a brief pause to rest his weary arms,
all that splittin, and ax swingin, you know,
it makes a person kinda tired,
Zoooma's sittin down on a log,
and after grabbin' his bottle of water,
over walks Cassidy the K9 to say
Hi Man, Pet Me a Bit While You Ain't Busy.

So after some pettin and some drinkin of that water
and some rest that was oh so surely needed,
Zoooma said to himself,
he said Self, You Done In The Past Hour
More Than You Thought You'd Do Before September!
Way To Go -- Now Go On, Go Do Something Fun.

So Zoooma said back to himself,
he said Hey Man, You're Right,
Damn Straight, Biotche, I'm Outta Here!

So the day, or actually just an hour,
of gettin a head start on next winter's wood supply,
with a smile that came to an end.
Productive it was but now twas time
to lace up them hiking boots and head on out
for some of that real wilderness enjoyment.

This is, after all,
A-freakin'-laska, right?

So a hikin Zoooma went
and a hikin' Zoooma he did enjoy.

And that there be The Ballad of Zoooma The Hiker.

Or in other words... words that aren't coming from the folk singer in me... man, what a great day! Well, at least a great evening.

I don't know what possessed me to chop wood when normally I wouldn't start that job until the last minute almost, September 1st at the earliest. But I chopped. One tree on the property was down from last Fall so I started there. Some chainsaw work later, I was ready to split logs. Swinging that ax over and over and over is just not fun. Hey, but the more I do now, the less work when the weather turns cold again in a few weeks... no, no, no, we've got at least three months of spring & summer left before that happens.

At some point, though, I had decided I'd had enough; I was going hiking.

Easily I could have taken off on local trails and paths along the river here in town. I kinda wanted more so I headed east, about 60 miles down the Chena Hot Springs Road to Chena River Recreation Area. There's a great trailhead there. A person can so easily wander off into the wilderness... and never be heard from again... or enjoy a nice hike. Either/or. I chose the latter... obviously or I guess I wouldn't be typing this.

In the parking lot I hopped out from behind the wheel at just before 8 p.m.

Angel Rocks was my main destination, a relatively short hike away (about an hour.) Through the evergreens and over the rocky ground, with the Chena River rushing nearby, I made my way up through the lower hills to this cool spot where giant slabs of granite rise from the ground like kings.

There's another trail here, saved for another day, that heads off to a spot (The Tors) where the rocks are just like this but even bigger, like buses, no... like... what's bigger than a bus? Like a ferry so we're talkin massive here.

Anyway, this time it was just the Angel Rocks for me. Since that would have been a tiny hike for a long round-trip drive, I wanted to walk on some more and stay out there on the trail awhile.

A couple hours further is the Chena Hot Springs Resort so in that direction I headed. Turned around before I got that far but along the ridge and through the trees, what a great trail it is to be hiking on.

Unfortunately no music. Locally around Fairbanks I feel more confident that I can hike with music while not listening for bear activity. Out here I probably could have because while I'm up on a mountain ridge, bears are down near the river... usually... but there's no guarantee of that. A bear attack is so unlikely but it could happen. While I'm at peace with dying... my dog would wonder what happened to me so that would suck. So no music sometimes. That's okay. On a trail that not so spectacular and I'm just there for exercise and to enjoy being outside and moving, music helps make that time better. But when I've got a great hike like this, no music is perfect!

Anyway, that was just sweet. To get there and back it was nearly 3 hours of driving for only a couple hours of hiking, but absolutely worth every cent in gas money. Interestingly I could have stayed all night with there being daylight at midnight and 2 am and 4 am... but with work tomorrow which is now today, essentially, for more people it's now Saturday, I could not stay... not that I brought enough gear with me anyhow. So back I am, pulled into my driveway around 11:30, showered and now pondering some sleep.

An hour of chopping wood is a LOT of work and I now know -- never do that before hiking! That combined with the hike has got me now feeling like perhaps I should've stayed the night at the hot springs to soak my bones in the soothing waters. Ahhh well, Say Goodbye To Chena Hot Springs, say hello, Mr. Advil.

Driving tunes & my album of the day...

	Billy Joel Songs In The Attic recorded in 1980, released in 81
Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway) Summer, Highland Falls Streetlife Serenader Los Angelenos She's Got A Way Everybody Loves You Now Say Goodbye To Hollywood Captain Jack You're My Home The Ballad Of Billy The Kid I've Loved These Days

Been a freakin' long time since I've listened to Billy Joel. Freakin' long. I originally thought this was a studio album that I'd use for running but nope, a live album culled from performances in 1980. Apparently Mr. Billy wanted to re-introduce his newfound fans to some of his older material (but performed by his current band) and that's the basis for this collection.

I've never heard many of these tunes so that was a new experience. Others I dig like Say Goodbye To Hollywood and Miami 2017... although Miami 2017 is sort of a sad one now, even though it's got such a great (musical) feel to it; Billy played that after 9/11...

"Seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the Empire State laid low
And life went on beyond the Palisades"

"I seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the ruins at my feet"

Some lines that have gained a new emotion meaning to Billy Joel and to so many.

Pretty good album, though. Soft rock's not my thing but it's not all soft rock... this is New York rockin', in a way, okay, not like The Ramones NY rockin... but still, this is classic rock that the best classic rock radio stations in the country loved playing... and hopefully still do if they've got any soul.

find a dload @ Gustavoeo

How about a Video?!
Billy Joel & Marlee Matlin (with Oscar The Grouch)
from 1988 -- "Just The Way You Are"