This one had quite the history.  We had this "sixties couch"---that came with apartment we used to rent.  It was really a pretty cool couch; it folded out into a bed---and my Dad even slept on it, when he came up to visit, 'n stuff.  Well, one time I was getting ready for a conference, and had to work pretty much nonstop.  Now, RoSie demands a five mile walkee-walkee---every single day.  Well, as I was workin' so hard, RoSie wasn't getting said walkee-walkee.  She didn't likes that.  :O So, every night, she would destroy (always one item) just a little bit more.  (I don't remember the "sequence" of items anymore---kinda' a pity, as it was really funny (in retrospect, anyway :) :) ).)  Well--you guessed it--one night it was the couch.  RoSie, normally almost "docile," was still "fully equipped" with a full "wolf arsenal."  Dudes. The next morning, when I got up---it looked like an entire construction team had been at work on that couch.  (Note: At this point, my Dad told me I had better take RoSie on her walkee-walkee---as, " . . . Next time it might be your bed!"  Well, I did, and my RoSie "calmed down."  :) :) :) :) )

      So, we thought we'd better get rid of the couch.  The night manager said, "Just get rid of that ****."  ( :) ;) ) So, we set out to do just that.  -Well, don't ya' know . . . our LANDLORD drove by---right as we were getting ready to drive it away in the truck.  He didn't say anything.  :) To this day, I don't know if he was just being "cool"---or hadn't noticed. . . .

      :) ;)

      Boy. It sure gets *COLD at the Hutchinson Career Center:

      (!!!!)

      Okay. You got me.  :) ;) This was an "untouched" photo of their temperature sign, however.  There was an error--which lasted something like 3 days.  Opportunistically, I snapped a picture of it.  :)

      12/21/05 The following six pictures are all taken on the HIGHEST ascent of the sun, during the winter solstice.  The lines on the camera (above or below the sun) are "bad photography"---they are caused by (grossly) overexposed pixels "leaking" into adjacent ones.  However, they look really cool---so I kept them.  :) :)

      Just imagine. . . .  This is the highest point the sun reaches on winter solstice ("up here").  (We're a "day trip" from the Arctic Circle.  In actuality, the sun is only physically above the horizon for something like 30 seconds, on the solstice---the bending of light by the atmosphere, however. . . .

      Yeah. -Winter here can be rough.  :P :P

On to more Alaska pics.