Are you Alaskan?

This week went really, really fast. I don't know if it was because Brent had Monday off, or just because I'm settling in to some sort of routine.

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!

Gorgeous Day

Today was a gorgeous day here in the Northland. It was about 34 degrees, which is awesome because Northern Minnesota was in the -20's. Awesome. The wind was low and now that we are settled and the house is clean Ches and I spent a lot of time outside.

This morning we actually had some sun, and while the clouds moved in this afternoon it was still beautiful and calm. I truly thought we just might get some of that precipitation that was predicted. I was happy that it stayed away.

We meandered around the farm, and down to the neighbors to see the piglets. I was shocked to learn that they had already placed them up for sale. For pete's sake they were just born on Saturday! I'm used to keep those little buggers around until they hit 40 pounds, but not here. They are hot ticket items. I wish I had a place to put a pig. Hmmm. I do have that extra bedroom...

After leaving the neighbors we checked the mailbox and the field for moose. We wandered down towards Jack Warren highway, but one of the neighbors has a Saint Bernard and I'm not too anxious to meet him. As we wandered back towards home Ches heard a noise in the woods and alerted. I stood still, unable to move. I never did see what it was but I'm suspecting a grouse. I have read too many "don't leave your house without a weapon" stories. I have totally freaked myself out. Totally.

I think the most interesting moment of the day was as Ches and I were sitting here. I shut off everything electronic to read today, in an effort to cut our next electrical bill. (Yes, it was that high.) Anyway, I was reading, listening to the poor little dog next door try to dig his way to China when there arose a clatter on the porch. I had an inkling that it was my buddy, the squirrel from Tuesday, so I chose to ignore him. I continued reading, when all of sudden there was a major ruckus on the porch, and I thought maybe squirrel buddy and his posse were crashing my pad.

As it turns out, there was only one squirrel. My buddy. He had discovered Ches' balls on the front porch. The orange orb had caught his attention and he was having a ball...literally! I laughed hard, then went for my camera. As I opened the door the ball fell off the porch and Buddy was attempting to get away with Ches' ball. When I came out the door he dropped the ball and ran, looked back momentarily, and then scolded me from the safety of his tree. It made for good humor for the day!

When Brent got home we were standing outside in the yard, playing with Ches, and we just talked about the day. It turns out we both had moments where we just looked up and said "can you believe we live in Alaska?" It's not something that we planned, but it's turning out to be a really great experience. I'm excited for the future.

Have a happy day!