Brent got off early on Friday since all of his co-workers took the afternoon off, and he's not allowed to work on his own yet. So, he came home a bit early. We started off the afternoon with a nice family nap. I didn't really need a nap, but since I'm over the age of 4 I'm rarely going to turn one down.
After we woke we decided to head into town. Brent headed out onto the porch and was surprised by Buddy (yes, the squirrel). It seems that Buddy found Ches' extra large bag of dog food on the deck and decided to help himself to the buffet. Brent jumped back, Ches charged forward, and Buddy scrambled up the porch support and proceeded to scream at the top of his lungs. Brent covered and ran, and took his butt chewing with a giggle. You can't help but laugh at the goofy little thing.
As we were driving into town Brent decided that Buddy was indeed "a woman" and we needed to change the spelling of her name. Funny guy, huh? So now Buddy is known as Buddie. :)
We cruised into town and picked up a couple things at the IGA, then rented some movies from Nanci's Castle. It's the movie place in town, just in case you're wondering. Then we took a drive around and scouted out some new places. It really is a beautiful area up here, and I cannot wait until it's warm enough to get out and explore it deeper and further.
While we were driving we headed out to the Clearwater Lodge area. If we were ever to buy something, THIS is the area I'd want to live in. It's gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful. It reminds me a little of the lakes area in Minnesota, near Bemidji, maybe Brainerd. The trees snug right up to the road, and you're convinced at any moment a big, ambling moose will emerge from the evergreens. Alas, no moose. But it was a great drive.
This morning Brent got the brilliant idea that we should go register our vehicle and get our drivers licenses. Well, as it turns out you have to test here in Alaska. The last time I took a drivers test, or even looked at the book, was when I was 17 years old. Brent being the go-getter he is, plopped his rear end down in the chair and failed the test miserably. Now that's payback!In the meantime I decided to register the Envoy. Turns out, however, that I forgot the first born at home and despite the fact that I had my passport, drivers license, registration, proof of mailing address, I didn't have proof of PHYSICAL address. Yes, we have two addresses. It's so ridiculous and confusing.
Since we had struckout on licensing anything, we headed for Fairbanks. We set out in search of a printer and some other smaller things, and we were hoping to find a table & chairs and a storage piece for the TV. No such luck. Although I did bring home a printer. We are definitely feeling more comfortable in Fairbanks.
I drove the 90 miles to Fairbanks. The roads were so-so, and while in Minnesota I wouldn't have driven more than 10 miles in that condition. However, here it's just the way it is. I still drive slower than the native Alaskans, but they pass me with ease and speed.
The Fairbanks area got some snow it seems since last weekend. This is a photo of the Tanana River at dusk. I still can't help but thing how beautiful it is. It truly is magnificent.
The sunset was glorious. It flared over the evergreens and seemed to consume the entire skyline at this point. The color bounced off the cloud cover and seemed to just radiate. 
I saved the best for last. Sunset over the Tanana River. The glow keeps going on and on and on beyond the scope of the lens. If only all days could end with a sunset this glorious!
Have a happy day!
4 comments:
Oh, you'll have to go back and read my early blog entries about our own squirrel resident! LOL
I'm glad you guys love your resident squirrel. My husband and I routinely tried to make ours dissappear... mafia style, as our landlord was quite attatched to the rodent.
Um... just as a word of advice, you might want to find a different place for your dog food, before something much larger than a squirrel is attracted to it!
Good luck with that driving test! It really wasn't as hard as it seemed like it was going to be. Make sure you know the rules about alcohol and driving in Alaska... it's a big issue and DMV puts lots of those questions on the test!
Welcome to Alaska! I wandered over hear from Moose Nuggets blog. I've been here in AK since June 2003 and we're here for a long time. We came up with the army, and my husband retired in 2007 and we knew we were going to stay. I live in North Pole.
There is so much to see in this great state. If you're a lover of the outdoors and wildlife, and natural beauty, you will enjoy life in the Last Frontier.
Take care and enjoy! And this summer, make sure you drive down to Paxson and onto the Denali Hwy for some beautiful country. Or go all the way to Valdez. It will knock your socks off! I love it here!
~Susan
Nugget- We moved it very promptly. :) It actually wasn't there very long, but Buddie helped herself. She'll have to go...but I'm not doing it. We're trying to lure her away from the house at the moment!
Susan- Thank you for stopping by!! I'm anxious for summer, although I dare say we've enjoyed the winter immensely, so far! Have a happy day!
Wow! I don't think there's any way that I could pass a drivers test. I think it should be a law- at 16 (or whatever age it is now), you should have to take "THE" test- the book stuff. Then I think they should re-test you every 10 years or so on the way people *actually* drive. I'm a big advocate of common sense, can you tell? ;) Most drivers have none :P Sorry you weren't able to be licensed on anything, we didn't have any trouble here in FL but we did take the first and second born with us ;) I thin after they saw how wild they were, they just licensed us to get us the heck out of there ;) I hate the whole mailing/physical address stuff too, we've had to deal with that a few places.
You take the most beautiful pictures!!!! :)
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