2006 Christmas Collage

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2006 Christmas Letter

Season’s greetings from the Bajka Family!

Well, we did start our Holiday letter last year but things got so hectic we just couldn’t finish it and get it out. For those that read these things, sorry about that. For those that don’t, sorry…..it’s back!

We hope everyone has had a great 2006 (yeah yeah, and 2005 too). We’ll spare you all the gory details for 2005 and just mention our getaways. We’re in a mode now with our girls where we take advantage of all their time off school to travel somewhere memorable. So that means we typically go somewhere for spring break, a big summer trip and then Thanksgiving break. X-mas and winter breaks are pretty much still dedicated to being at Squaw with the kids training/racing, Mik coaching for the ski team and Doris skiing and snowshoeing (with Bodie) as much as possible.

Our 2005 Spring vacation was in Sedona, Arizona with a side trip to the Grand Canyon. Thanksgiving was Orlando (Disneyworld and Kennedy Space Center). The summer trip takes a tad more explanation. Both girls are still swimming competitively and Nicole was invited to swim in the Friendship Games that took place in Holland. Since Nicole was only going to be days into her 12^th year of life, Doris wasn’t quite ready to send her away without at least being on the same continent. Doris took the girls to Amsterdam and then sent Nicole off to train and compete with the California contingent for the week. Doris and Kaycie got to tool around Amsterdam for the week until Mik showed up at the tail end to watch Nicole compete. While she didn’t bring home the gold, Nicole did well for her age and had a fantastic experience. After the games, we picked up a rental car and toured more of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and we even made time for one foray into Sweden. In much the same way we did a “roots” tour through Hungary (and Romania) a few years ago, we took advantage of our proximity to Denmark to do a little roots tour for Doris’ side of the family. We visited the town where her folks grew up and received a very warm welcome from her Danish relatives. They took us into their homes and showed us around much of Denmark including a trip to Legoland and up to the very northern tip of Jutland (Skagen) where the girls dipped their toes into two seas at once. We also spent about 5 days seeing all the magnificent sights in Copenhagen. It was a very fun and memorable trip.

The other major happening in 2005 came in May when Doris learned that her best friend was diagnosed with a rare and particularly aggressive brain cancer. Survival estimate only 12-18 months. Doris has been spending a great deal of time with her friend as well as her husband & two young boys. We’re hoping for a peaceful resolution in the coming months.

Life goes on for us in 2006. Kaycie turned 8 & Nicole turned 13 (we won’t mention how old the parents are). We again celebrated the New Year with great friends in Squaw and let it snow, let it snow, let it…... Both girls had a great time on ski team last winter and both did well racing at various ski areas in the Tahoe League series. Doris and Kaycie had an interesting run down one of the steeper hills in some thick snow early in the season. Doris managed to get caught up in it, and dislocated her right shoulder. After a couple of very painful attempts, she managed to pop it back in (anyone else grimace at this?). Nothing that some surgery couldn’t get back to 80% a few months later. Both girls went to waterski camp in June where they greatly advanced their wakeboard and skiing skills. Kaycie is now officially a slalom skier after mastering deep-water starts and now she’s trying to make “rooster tails” like her big sister (very cute). Toward the end of July, Doris was doing some turns on her slalom ski (I’m sure her surgeon said this was OK), tried to compensate for her bum shoulder and managed to take a rather bad fall at high speed. This of course resulted in 2 broken ribs (see a pattern developing here?). Our two guppies had another great year on their swim team and goofin’ around in our pool all summer. To balance their athletic endeavors, both girls are also progressing very well in their piano lessons and, academically, they could not be doing any better even if we tried to force it (and of course, we do…..).

The spring 2006 trip took us to Oahu for a few days touring the whole island including Pearl Harbor. We continued on to the Big Island for a week for plenty of snorkeling, surfing and sightseeing fun. Mik’s mom turned 70 this year (sorry mom) so she decided she wanted to duplicate Doris’ mom’s 70^th wish which was a family cruise up Alaska’s Inside Passage in 2002. So we happily agreed to repeat the same cruise at the end of July with Mik’s family (his folks, sister + fam & brother + fam). The week-long cruise was great and they all extended their trip by staying in a Wilderness Lodge at the entrance to Denali National Park. We took the opportunity to see more of the wild side of the state this time. We spent a few days in landlocked Cordova exploring the incredible Copper River Delta as well as the spectacular glaciers and the cute little fishing village of Cordova itself. We then flew west to Kodiak Island and spent another 4 days checking out the beautiful and remote sites there. We accidentally came upon a couple of Kodiak Bears (yes, from a safe distance). Even then, we could see why they are so impressive (twice the size of grizzlies due to the over abundance of salmon). We took a float plane trip (in a cool but rickety 1943 Grumman Widgeon) over to the Katmai peninsula to get up close and personal with some coastal grizzlies. It was awesome being right there with them in their natural habitat, watching cubs frolic in the stream a few feet in front of us and spying adults trying their luck at salmon fishing. Speaking of which, we later borrowed a couple of poles and found a stream teaming with pink salmon. The girls each bagged several fish, which provided a tasty BBQ dinner just minutes after catching them. From Kodiak we flew back to Anchorage, picked up an SUV and drove to Denali National Park. While we had ventured a short distance into the park in 2002, this time we decided to go as far as we could go (90 miles, 8 hrs, all the way in on a dirt road). There we stayed in the only homestead cabin remaining in the park for a week (no electricity, no running water, no toilet, no one around for miles, no kidding!). When we wanted to “make like a bear” we had to take the 150ft hike to our cozy little outhouse. On the plus side, the cabin was surrounded by never-ending wild blueberry bushes and it had one large picture window, looking straight up to majestic Mt McKinley. The gorgeous views and surroundings definitely made it worthwhile. We took several hikes and borrowed one “tippy canoe” for an outing on Wonder Lake. We saw many caribou and moose. On our last day we happened upon some grizzlies, Dall Sheep and arctic wolves (in that order) in a wide river bed. For a description of the events that unfolded next, you can find a narrative of our “Wild Kingdom” experience at http://www.bajkafamily.blogspot.com/. Alaska was unbelievable and perhaps the most amazing place we’ve ever been with some of the most amazing experiences we’ve ever had. No kidding…….

We arrived back in California just in time for the start of a new school year. Kaycie started 3^rd grade and Nicole started 8^th grade. Both are doing well and enjoy school very much. After a week though we couldn’t quite adjust to civilization so we went on a camping trip to the Sierra Buttes north of Truckee. A few weeks later Mik was invited to go on a very adventurous 4x4 trip with his best friend from Chico and a week after that we returned to Chico (after 15 years) with our girls for the first time since we graduated. It was strange feeling going back with our own kids after all these years but it was a lot of fun.

In October Mik made the mistake of going on a business trip and leaving Doris at home with gas powered garden tools (see where this is going?). Long story but suffice it to say, she got a bad boo boo. She fell and broke her left wrist very badly (end of the radius bone snapped off). Again, nothing that emergency surgery, a titanium plate and 9 screws couldn’t put back together. She’s now about ½ way through her 3 months of rehabilitation. Ironically her shoulder surgeon and wrist surgeon share the same office. They told her the 3^rd surgeon in their office is a hip specialist so if/when she happens to break that, the third one’s free :-).

Just about the time it started raining at home, we managed to escape on our Thanksgiving break to Puerto Vallarta. First time there but this was our 3^rd visit to Mexico and each time it gets better. We spent about 10 days exploring the historic fishing village and its environs. The old town with its cobblestone streets, numerous shops and restaurants was very quaint. The locals were all very friendly. We got to swim with dolphins and snorkel in some beautiful remote islands. We also went on a canopy tour in the jungles of the Sierra Madre where we were propelled from tree top to tree top on zip lines suspended several hundred feet above and across (1/4 mile) a large river gorge. It was a real kick. They also had squirrel monkeys and marmosets we could handle as well as a 10ft long python, a large iguana and even tarantulas (the girls let them crawl on their faces; Mik & Doris would have as well but someone had to take the photos; uh…yeah). Anyway, the trip was fantastic and it was really really hard coming back to work, school and cold/wet weather. Such is life.

Well that brings us current. A few quick notes on extended family. Mik’s folks are still at nearby Combie Lake where they are doing great and loving life, still traveling to Europe once or twice per year. We see Doris’ folks fairly frequently either in Elk Grove or when they come to visit. They are still healthy and enjoying life there as well as doing some more fun traveling these days. Doris’ sister and her family are doing well in Fremont. Mik’s sister and family have completed their new house in nearby Nevada City and are just now settling in. Things are good for Mik’s brother (Andy) and family down in the South Bay Area as well. Anyone in to motorcycles should check out his web site, which gets a lot of traffic (www.Southbayriders.com). Andy also manages the bajka.com site.

Mik stays very busy at TriContinent, working very long hours but it helps to justify the long vacations. The hard work seems to be paying off as they have had record sales the past 6 months. Even though Doris has to work through some physical discomfort sometimes, she continues to overdo things on an almost daily basis. This also has its rewards as the girls continue to grow and develop into ever more capable, confident, caring and beautiful creatures under her guidance. All in all, we’re a happy family unit and we feel very fortunate to have our lives the way they are and to have our great circle of extended family and friends in our lives. Just wish we could see everyone more often.

We’re now in the throws of the Christmas rush along with everybody else. Snow is coming late this year but Mik & the girls have had a few runs in so far. Hopefully the storm door’s open and we’ll have another cold & white holiday season.

Wishing you and yours a fantastic holiday and a fabulous 2007!

Mik, Doris, Nicole, & Kaycie (& Bodie)

Alaska Wild Kingdom Experience - Aug 2006

Alaska’s Wild Kingdom

(Mik’s e-mailed description to his work on our last day in Denali)

On our last day we were enjoying our last breakfast of oatmeal and wild blueberries in our little homestead cabin/outhouse about 90 miles inside Denali National Park. While we had a great time we were feeling a little gypped because we didn't see "the big four" in the park all week (Grizzlies, Caribou, Moose & Dall Sheep [rams]). We saw the first 2 but were hoping to see all 4 plus the elusive Arctic Wolf. So we start driving out of the park on our last day thinking we may see another lousy caribou or something. Well we do see some of those and finally we see some Moose so we were happy. We drive for about another hour and finally see three Dall Sheep a short ways down below us in a wide river bed. Bingo, got all 4. Drove a little further and we see a pack of 4 Arctic Wolves. At this point we were happy and figured the trip was complete so we start heading out. Then we see one of the sheep dart down the river bed, top speed, with one of the wolves right on his little white tail. The wolf takes him down in a hurry. Of course now it hits us...we just saw the wolves stalking the sheep, duh. I then grab my video camera and start filming. A pro videographer pulls up next to us and whips out his camera and starts setting it up. But before he gets set up, we see another sheep rippin’ down the river bed with 2 wolves right on his tail. They take him down right on the riverbank. So the wolves are enjoying their 2 kills that are about 100 ft apart. The videographer is asking me if I got the 2nd kill on video because he’d really like a copy. He tells me he's been filming every year in Denali for 18 years and this is only the 2nd time he's seen something like this (he sells his stuff for big $ to National Geographic and BBC).

But wait there's more action. A few minutes later a big mama grizzly and her two older cubs that we had seen 15 minutes earlier come running down the river bed to take their place at the top of the food chain. Mama chases the wolves away from one carcass and leaves the cubs to feast while she runs to the other to scare the wolf off that one too. Of course she's successful but then the wolves go back and harass the cubs so she runs back leaving the first sheep unguarded. This goes on for probably 30 minutes until another player enters the field. A big male grizzly comes out of the woods to see if he can get some lunch as well. He has no problem intimidating the wolves but gets backed down by the mama in a hurry. Of course while she’s distracted the wolves are right back to the sheep and trying to harass the cubs again. So mama goes back and actually pounces on top of one of the wolves and looks like she’s ripping him to shreds. Somehow the wolf emerges but looks quite beat up. While this is going on the male grizz tries to get a piece of sheep from the cubs and one cub actually takes after the big male backing him down (learned well from mama).

So this round-robin goes on like this for well over and hour until the big male finally gets hold of one of the carcasses and drags it into the shrubs out of our view. All the critters were getting little bits here and there but mama and the cubs got the majority. With a lull in the action I turn my camera off and exchange info with the videographer. He gives me a DVD of the one other experience he had like this a few years ago that involved a moose. As we prepare to leave we see 2 more grizzlies (brother and sister team) heading down to the hunting grounds. I quickly turn my camera back on which is now almost out of juice and tape. Mama senses the new bears’ presence and tears after the male with full force, both now standing, and giving him a face full of teeth and fangs, battin’ him around pretty good with some loud grizzly growling to complete the intimidation. He backs off and gets nothing. The rest of the time we just see the mama and cubs with their butts up in the air finishing off the one sheep, leaving scraps for the lesser mammals and birds. So inside this couple of hours we saw 6 grizzlies doing battle with 3 wolves (and of course the 2 unlucky sheep that sacrificed themselves for the show). Almost guaranteed to be one of those once in a lifetime experiences. It was like watching Wild Kingdom without commercials.

-Mik