...winter's here!

Skates leave tracks on the ice

Chillin' on the ice

A happy skater

One night earlier in the week our lake froze solid. On Saturday afternoon our neighbor used his auger to drill a hole and measure the thickness of the ice. It was seven inches! We decided that would be plenty strong enough for a little ice skating this afternoon. So, we spent about an hour gliding across the remarkably smooth surface of the wind swept lake. It was a great way to begin the winter sports season. Depending on the next cycle of storms we could continue to skate for the next couple of weeks. That would be good. After all...winter's here!

...weather Montana style

A leaf hints of Fall in 80 degree weather

A warm view of the Billings rimrock

My sister's outdoor grill

The view on Saturday morning

Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis already know I was in Montana for a family medical emergency for the past couple of weeks. I won't go into the details here as you most likely know the story. I will, however, focus on the extreme weather conditions I encountered while I was there.
It all started with temperatures above 80 degrees and ended with a raging Montana blizzard. Every bit of it within a ten day period.
Life in the Rockies, eh?
When I landed at Logan International Airport in the middle of the night on October 1st I could feel the warm air and knew I had made the correct clothing choice when I was packing for the trip. But, when I left yesterday I tromped through the snow after parking my rental car and shivered toward the terminal.
In a way it was a good thing because it got me thinking about winter here in Alaska. Maybe the weather man was preparing me what I have to look forward to for the next six months. You know, setting my mind right for the promise of what's to come and all. But, I think I'm ready. I got some new boots at Sportsman's Warehouse. Tough boots. Boots for the weather. I'm prepared for anything, even...weather Montana style.

...another Cook Inlet Saturday morning

I took a quick drive to the shores of Cook Inlet this morning hoping to get some photos of Mt. Redoubt bathed in alpenglow. But when I got there the volcano was enshrouded in clouds. No alpenglow photos this morning, I thought to myself. Then I heard some kind of snort that I knew was animal related. I looked at the edge of the water where I saw three seals cavorting about and staring directly at me. For about 45 minutes I watched them and they watched me. I also took their picture.

After a while the sun hit Mt. Spurr so I took some photos of it before I left to come home. All in all, it was a great way to start...another Cook Inlet Saturday morning.

...moose sausage

Alaskans truly enjoy sharing the bounty of the land. For instance, if a neighbor catches some halibut you can bet they will be calling and offering several fillets as a gesture of neighborly goodwill. And back in August when we were walking on the beach at Captain Cook State Park and some commercial fishermen beached their boat and offered us a freshly caught silver salmon (which I declined--and never heard the end of), it was all about sharing the riches of Alaska's robustly rich and consumable wild game.

So, when a friendly camper entered our site last weekend at Russian River Campground and offered us some recently procured moose sausage I accepted immediately. We put it in our fridge until evening and spent most of the day in anticipation of eating it for dinner. When the time came we formed it into patties and cooked it in a frying pan. The aroma or red pepper flakes and sage filled the cabin of the RV as we waited for it to finish searing and browning.

The first taste was fabulously delicious, as was the next, and the next, and the next, and the last. As we ate we all talked about how good it was and how we hoped someday some Alaskan would share more...moose sausage.

...Fall at Russian River Campground

Those of you reading this blog on a regular basis already know how much we enjoy camping at Russian River Campground. It's a scenic place next to a famous river filled with spawning salmon and Rainbow Trout.

And I'll tell you what. It's prettiest in the Fall

That's where we were last weekend and it was beautiful. The leaves were at their brightest yellow and the mountains looked as if someone had sprinkled powdered sugar on them after the nightly snows.

We had bubbles, too. Lots of bubbles. So, here are some photos you might enjoy from...Fall at Russian River Campground.

...caribou vs cable

Some of you were interested in the fact that the caribou in yesterday's entry was sparring with the stabilizing/support cable on a telephone pole. So, I thought it would be a good idea to show the sequence of photos I shot for your perusal. Too bad a picture can't capture audio because the sound caribou antlers make on a hollow plastic tube is quite astounding. You'll just have to imagine that as best you can as...caribou vs cable.

...the caribou of Marathon Road

This evening we spent about 45 minutes wandering through the brush along the edge of Marathon Road with a small herd of caribou. It was great fun and watching the largest bull spar with the stabilizing cable of a telephone pole was particularly fascinating. The fall colors were brilliant and the early evening air was crisp. Just a wonderful time to be watching...the caribou of Marathon Road.

...a berry fun evening

Our good friends invited us to go raspberry picking this evening and we made a haul! In fact, as I write this a raspberry cobbler is baking in the oven and it smells really good.

The raspberries were from the bushes of a close neighbor and the branches drooped heavily under the weight of the ripe fruit. Our containers were overflowing after a quick 20 minute pick. We had way more than we could use and we were glad we had...a berry fun evening!

...first pics

For those of you who don't know it yet--I finally got the new camera and lens I've been talking about for the past several years. It's a beaut, too! So, here are some photos I took the very afternoon I picked it up. Most of them were taken while we were camping at Williwaw Campground in the Portage Valley. Between spawning salmon and the changing colors of the foliage there was plenty to photograph. The one exception is the spruce grouse picture which was taken at Captain Cook State Park on Sunday afternoon.

I'm certain I will be posting more very soon. But, for now, I hope you enjoy the...first pics.

...a day at the Alaska State Fair

The Alaska State Fair is an event unto itself. Nothing like it as far as I know. Big vegetables, lumberjacks, exciting rides, exotic foods (mostly fried), and painted hair. It's all there.

So, we spent the better part of a Sunday taking it all in. We rode the rides, ate the food, watched the shows, and strolled through the barns. In the end we were tired but we thoroughly enjoyed...a day at the Alaska Sate Fair.

...when Grandma comes to town

It's been a busy couple of weeks here in Nikiski. Grandma arrived on the 9th and we spent our time hiking, berry picking, bear dodging, eating out, beach combing, starting school, visiting friends, shopping for clothes, birthday partying, baking cookies and cakes, going to the Farmer's Market, and photographing. We saw a good portion of the Central Kenai Peninsula via automobiles and hiking shoes. It was loads of fun, which is usually the case...when Grandma comes to town.

Trail River Campground...again

A four night camping trip is comprised of many sub-activities including hiking, mountain biking, photographing, campfires, banana boats, and plenty of unstructured setting around time. That’s how we do it anyway and that’s exactly the way things went down on our recent trip to Trail River Campground.
On our first full day we decided to hike to Exit Glacier near Seward. The weather was grand and we enjoyed walking to the edge of the glacier with all the tourists, many of which were toting cameras with massive lenses. We had a picnic on the side of the trail and enjoyed views of the glacier and the braided river below us. We had a pleasant conversation with a volunteer ranger and then made our way back to the parking area and on to Seward where we bought a few provisions. Back at the campground we ate dinner and had banana boats for dessert.
The next day we drove to Anchorage in search of cameras. It was too difficult to make a good decision so we drove back empty handed. We did have a good lunch at New Sagaya.
The following day we drove to Lowell Point and hiked to Tonsina Creek. It’s a beautiful walk and includes some delightful switchbacks just before we reached the creek where we watched chum and pink salmon on their spawning grounds. We walked a bit further and then angled toward the beach where we ate our picnic lunch. As we were eating a frind of ours appeared with his dog Daisy. They had been camping at North Beach for three nights and were on their way out so they could be home in time to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
We returned to our camper and spent the evening enjoying some beautiful summer weather. The next morning we packed up and drove to Sunrise Inn in Cooper Landing for breakfast before returning home glad we had spent time at Trail River Campground...again

...camping at Tek

After landing in Anchorage in the middle of the night we slept in the airport and picked up our truck and trailer from storage as soon as we could in the morning and made tracks for Denali National Park. Yep, we tacked our annual trip to Teklanika Campground to the end of our month long road trip adventure.
It was a long drive to the park through heavy rain but we made it to the campground by late afternoon and after eating dinner we promptly fell asleep.
The next morning we awoke to beautiful weather and decided to spend the day recuperating at Tek. We did take a short walk down the Teklanika Riverbed and went to Ranger Casey's campfire presentation in the evening where we learned about hiking in Denali. Emily got to be the bear for the animal safety segment of the talk.
The next day we hopped the bus to Eielson Visitor Center to see the newly opened facility. During the ride we saw bears in Sable and Highway Passes. Eielson Visitor Center is a beauty set in the side of the hill and uses all sorts of different energy sources in order to reduce its environmental impact. We ate lunch next to a couple that could have been in a Woody Allen movie and then took a hike part way down the hill. Later in the evening we attended Ranger Melissa's campfire talk which was a clever presentation about what the animals of Denali like to eat.
On Sunday we had company and we spent the afternoon riding the bus to Toklat together. We didn't see any wildlife along the way but the driver was entertaining and we all had a good time looking at the fabulous views just outside the window.
It was raining heavily again on Monday so we decided to ride toward Eielson again in hopes of finding a dry area to hike. Along the way we saw a young bear on the road in Igloo canyon and a larger bear in the distance on Highway Pass. The rain became more intense the closer we got to Eielson so we stayed on the bus. When we got to the visitor center it was rainy/foggy and the views were obscured. We ate lunch, got back on the bus and rode back to Igloo Canyon where the rain had stopped. We decided to get off the bus at the Igloo Creek bridge and walk through the campground. Then we headed up the road just to stretch our legs a bit more and enjoy the dry air.
As we were walking a bus came around the corner and stopped beside us. The driver said there was a wolf coming down the road and if we waited quietly it would most likely pass by us on the riverbed. So, we hunkered down on the edge of the road and waited for about three minutes when suddenly the wolf appeared from around the corner. He kept coming until he was about 50 yards away and then he went into the brush toward the river. A few seconds later he appeared on the riverbed and trotted downstream. It was an awesome encounter and made for a great afternoon. Back at Tek that evening we attended Ranger Danica's talk about mountaineering on Denali.
The next morning we left Tek, made a brief stop at Riley Creek Mercantile to do some laundry, went to the Visitor Center to have our Junior Rangers sworn in, checked out the gift shop, and then hit the road for Byers Lake Campground. Two flat tires later we made it, but that's another story.
It was a great trip and we had a wonderful time...camping at Tek.

...lots of miles

It is a long drive from Healdsburg, California to Denver, Colorado. Especially when you are highway 50 which crosses Nevada and is well known to be the loneliest highway in the world. We drove to Ely, Nevada where we spent the first night and then on to Grand Junction, Colorado for the second night. When we got to Denver we returned our rental car and caught our flight back to Alaska. It was quite the road trip and we covered...lots of miles.