Back At It

The view from Tenderfoot Trail

Where to begin? It's been a while. A lot has happened in the past few weeks, and I guess, truly it's been over a month. Uff da. Well, let's see if I can catch you up to speed.

The first thing that happened is that my poor little Mini crashed. Hard drive kaput. Which is why I've had the blogging hiatus. We attempted to fix the little booger, then got busy, and well, it's still in the closet waiting to be fixed while I'm typing away on my new bigger, better, faster laptop.

While the computer was crashed we packed up and moved our meager belongings to our little house in the woods. It's wonderful. Peaceful, serene and more than just a little bit freaky. But we all love it. And I'm getting used to the howling dogs, the pitch blackness, and the presence of animals in the woods. I'm a fraidy cat. Haven't you figured that out by now? Hmph.

After we moved and got slightly settled we hit the trails in search of playtime. What a wonderful place we live in. There are new places to explore for years to come. Friends of ours were anxious to ride the Tenderfoot trail, so we decided to go along. I was reluctant, but willing to ride about anywhere. If I had only known, I would have been loaded up and ready to go hours in advance.

Tenderfoot is a nice leisurely trail. It has some straight ups which inevitably lead to some straight downs, but it's fantastic. We found the resting spot below where we stopped to stretch our legs, let the pooches run and be free, and watched a bald eagle swoop and perch on the tips of the trees.

After we left our part-way-there resting spot we continued upwards and onwards. We came to a grassy knoll on the side of the mountain that was perfect, and as far on the path as we were going to go. We parked and perched to eat our ham salad sandwiches, and munch on freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies, as we took in a view that was more phenomenal than the last.

Being warmed by the afternoon sun, we laid on the knoll and napped, visited and some of us even picked a few late season blueberries. It was a nice relaxing afternoon ride. When the berries were picked, and the sleep was rubbed from the guys' eyes we continued back down for some exploration and sight seeing.

On the way down we stopped at an old cabin. It was really just a shell of a cabin, most likely an old trappers cabin, or so I've been told. It has some beautiful tin work in it, but it was seriously lacking. It lacked a roof, and chinking, and windows, and a floor, unless you count the heavily weeded forest floor. I really don't think it was the place for us.

As we continued along, we stumbled upon an old mine site. From what we hear it's not that old at all, but the abandoned equipment says that it's been around for a long time. We came across this crane, and an old trailer home. I cannot even imagine living up in the wilds of Alaska in a trailer. These people are tough cookies up here! But it seems they lived happily and heartily until a few years ago.

When we reached the bottom we found our way back to a friends place near the trail. When we stopped to park the ATV's, now trailered and ready to hit for home, we stumbled upon these beauties. Aren't they magnificent? And surreal? They look like they're straight out of Alice in Wonderland. There were about a half dozen of them, in various shades of orange, some in the perfect domed shape, and others that had flattened themselves out like an over-extended umbrella.

The following weekend we headed off to Valdez, Alaska to do a little salmon fishing. Silver salmon to be exact. It was a cool and misty morning, not to mention dark, as headed off to the south in search of fish, fish and more fish.

As the sun came up we caught the above view of Summit Lake. This is the first time we've been by it without ice on it. It is a huge lake that seems to go on forever, especially when you're hurling yourself through the mist and darkness around the curves and dips and winding roads that follow along the banks, most often without guard rails. Another example of how Alaskans are much tougher than I!

This was our first trip to Valdez. If I had only known, I likely would have taken a week off of work to just explore. I've heard, from the natives, that you'll either love it or hate it. I, for one, LOVED IT. The entire day it dripped or misted, and moisture hung in the air. It was wonderful. You could smell the salt in the air. The views were magnificent, my only wish is that I had had more time.

We started the day with breakfast at the Totem Inn. They have a wonderful atmosphere, keeping true to their Alaskan ways. We were fortunate to be seated closest to a huge black bear, dead and under glass, of course. We enjoyed a tasty, and inexpensive breakfast of eggs, american fries, and reindeer sausage.

When we were full we headed to the parking lot to check out the produce truck that was advertising fresh peaches. Since produce in Alaska, especially Central Alaska, can be tempermental, I was eager to see what this produce aisle on wheels had in store for me. We bought delicious Anaheim and Jalapeno peppers, a huge Acorn squash and a bundle of those previously advertised peaches. They were juicy and sweet, and they're in my freezer waiting for just the right day to be made into a sweet, flaky peach pie.

Since we had time to kill before our boat would leave, we explored the city of Valdez. We bought tickets for the salmon derby. You can buy a ticket to be entered, in the instance that you catch a monster halibut, or in our case, salmon. We shopped, and wandered the piers, just taking in the marina, the sights, the sounds and the smells.

At promptly 1 p.m. we boarded the English Maiden and set out to catch silvers. We trolled and trolled and trolled, and trolled some more. We didn't have a single nibble for about the first two hours.

We paced the entire length of the Sound, or so it seemed, and even caught a glimpse of this pretty little creature. She was trolling for fish as well. She put on quite the show, swimming, diving and surfacing amongst the boats that were vying for the salmon that she so desired.



Once the games began, we pulled in fish after fish. The mist came heavier and we hooked the fish quicker and quicker. It was fun, and messy, but most important of all, fun.

Here is the catch of the day! 19 Silver Salmon with the largest weighing in at just over 15 pounds. Our limit, for the 4 of us, was 24, so we didn't come up too short on the day. In the end we walked away with 42 pounds of salmon per family. Not too shabby. Next time I'm hoping to stay and play more. But it was a beautiful trip and I am anxious to do it again, next summer.

Autumn has most definitely come to Central Alaska. With each season I solemnly vow that it is my favorite season in the Last Frontier. Winter is bone-chilling cold, but crisp and serene. Everything covered in angel dust and the sky that shifts and moves with the Aurora's. Spring is messy, muddy and alive. The trees are budding, the grass greens, seemingly over night, and the days grow longer in leaps and bounds. Summer brings wildflowers in every hue of the rainbow. There are baby animals and the sun never sleeps. It is hot and dry, with cool summer breezes to take the heat away. And then there's autumn. It is a riot of color. Everywhere you look there are shades of yellows, reds and greens. You can smell the leaves turning, the fireweed fuzzes out and fills the air with wisps of white cottony seeds. Autumn in Alaska is magnificent.

These blueberry bushes have born their fruit and their leaves have turned a crimson shade. They coat the forest floor, and the contrast of the red against the blue-green of the spruce trees is beautiful.

Anywhere and everywhere the plants grow, they also change. This rock is covered in maroon and gold, and reminds to cheer on our home state team...GO GOLDEN GOPHERS!!!

Prairie grasses in shades of red and orange. Against the crispy white mountain backdrop, it is hard to imagine a more wonderful sight.

It's hunting season in Alaska. And despite the threat to his health this brazen bull took a walk on the wild side hear Meadows Road. Isn't he magnificent? Brent told me I couldn't give his exact location, as he'll be on the hunt for Mr. Bull next year. He is not hunting moose this year as we are still on non-resident status. I have to say that I am disappointed. We recently had our first taste of moose, and it's delicious. This from the squeamish, not-so-fond-of-venison, picky eater. I am really looking forward to next year, and having moose in our freezer.

This is a view of Donnelly Dome in autumn. Since I have a photo of the Dome in every other season I had to get a picture of it in it's pre-winter glory.

Here is another beautiful beast! This guy is slightly smarter, and he technically lives in town. When his head was down and he was munching you couldn't even spot him amongst the grasses. As soon as he raised his head, his antlers gleamed in the fading sunlight. We just stopped and watched, and he was in no hurry to leave his buffet.

Darkness has come back to Alaska. I let Chessa girl out to pee before bedtime the other night and caught this view. I stood and looked at it for a while, wondering what on earth that light was. I didn't hear a helicopter, and it took me a minute before I realized it was the moon! It's been a while since I've seen the man in the moon.

We have been enjoying our peace and solitude. The last summer, early autumn, has been good to us, and we're trying to enjoy every last minute of it. These are the colorful poppies that grow along the long driveway that leads to our house.

This is our new home. The front windows let wonderful light into the living room. There is an entry door on either side of the house, and the kitchen is at the back. Once we get settled, completely settled, I'll give you a photo tour of the inside.

In between a very demanding work schedule, and an equally demanding play schedule, we (mostly Brent) have been busy cutting, cutting and cutting firewood for the long winter ahead. I highly doubt we'll feel even the slightest bit of cold this winter! I am fortunate in many ways. Fortunate that we live in such a beautiful place, blessed that we both have jobs that we love, and lucky to be married to a very hard-working man.

Phew, well, that gets us a little more current. I'll be back soon with more photos from this weekend. I'm sleepy... Have a happy day!

Online Again

Well, my new little beauty has finally arrived. What am I talking about? My new laptop. As I sit here, in my living room, watching a movie on Netflix and typing away, I have found bliss, once again. I have much to say, so I plan to get it all updated this weekend. We have been busy, exploring, riding, snapping photos of the gorgeous Alaska fall foliage and MOOSE!

Stay tuned...

A Fallish Feeling

My favorite time of year is fall. So I have to say that I'm loving the temps the past few weeks here in Delta. A little more sun would be nice, but beggars can't be choosers, and well, sometimes you just have to find the silver lining. The days have been in the 60's, for the most part, and it makes for very nice working weather.

We've moved. We are settling in to our little log house in the woods, and we ALL love it. The biggest adjustment is that we are alone. All alone. And since it's a different house, the things that go bump in the night are different too. When we stand outside we can hear neighbors, running their chain saws, or driving nails to get the walls up before the four letter word beginning with "s" and ending with "now" comes. But the best part? We cannot see a soul. We are all alone. Except for the animals.

Brent has been busy cutting wood and cleaning up the yard. I estimate that he has cut about 6 cords of wood in the past two weeks. The yard clean up is moving along, but was slow at first because of the dry weather here in Delta. The weekend we moved was horribly dusty, and with the burn ban we had to settle for making mountains of dead limbs to burn when we finally received some moisture.

I'm happy to report that we have finally been blessed with some rain, and while I won't be needing Brent to construct me an ark anytime soon it has helped settle the dust. In addition to his Paul Bunyan duties Brent has been busy defending our home from visitors of the 4 legged variety. We have plenty of moose sign, but I have yet to see one in our yard, I'm thinking that will come later this winter. We have heard cows mooing, though that I don't suppose is so special, and we've heard the scream of a lynx, which is chilling but magnificent. I just hope they keep their distance. Unfortunately Chessa met up with a new "friend" and Brent had to shoot and kill a porcupine in our yard. It was a bummer, but since Mr. Porcupine was primed to fill our Chessa girl full of pointy quills he was left with little choice.

I have been busy readying the indoor space. We found a screaming deal, by my account anyway, on some gently-used furniture. Brent would have loved to have used milk crates, but since I'm not as inclined to having permanent diamond shapes impressed on my backside, I went against his wishes and bought some furniture. In addition I recently made an unlikely purchase. Unlikely because I have a serious lack of patience, but I did it, I bit the bullet, and I bought myself a sewing machine! Woohoo. I have yet to use it, because in my anticipation and excitement I didn't think about the lack of surface area to use it, but I will be heading back to Fairbanks soon to buy a table. I cannot wait to become the domestic goddess that lies within... watch out Martha Stewart...there's someone new in town!

So, after hauling wood, stacking wood, covering wood, and getting the fireplace ready to burn, we should be ready for winter. I just hope it doesn't find us too soon!

Have a happy day!

Welcome to the Dust Bowl

The view on Coal Mine Road- close to the top of th world

Picking blueberries with friends- Ches LOVES blueberries

Lowbush blueberries on Coal Mine Road

Curious Caribou- This male was all alone- but isn't he beautiful?

Chessa ready to ride!

We have been busy, busy, busy. We're trying to explore more of our area and enjoy our first summer in Alaska, before the snow flies. I swear I can smell fall already, so I don't think it will be long now.

I've been away because our mini is still down, and well, we're moving so I just don't have time to get it all up and running right now. So, I'm bopping in to say "Hi" and tell you what we've been up to.

*Blueberry picking- Sunday we went out and picked piles and piles of blueberries. Everywhere we looked there were tiny bushes loaded with plump blue berries. We picked for hours and hours and came home with a big pail of berries for the freezer. What a treat! I was hoping to get out again this week, but with moving and work, I just don't think we'll get there.

*Cutting wood- Our new home, which we move into Saturday, has a wood stove in addition to the Toyo. So, we are stocking up on piles of wood. After we picked our fill of berries on Sunday we headed further into the woods, which is a forest fire area from 1998(?). The wood is spruce but it's the perfect size, and they say it's the best around. Since it's free, it sounds like the best for me. We cut a trailer full and should have a good start on a warm winter.

*Riding- We've been out riding the ATV. It's so relaxing and since Delta has trails that lead anywhere you care to go, we ride a lot. I'm dreading winter when we can't access some of the gorgeous trails we're on now. While riding this weekend we stopped to watch a family of spruce grouse that were on the trail. Mother Hen and her quads just wandered around, taking their time, and eventually Mama rushed them off into the safety of the woods.

*Shopping- With more space comes the need for more stuff. In reality it's not a lot of stuff, but we will need some pieces of furniture, and to Brent's delight we needed a chain saw. Saturday we went to Fairbanks and picked him up a new saw, which will be worth it's weight in gold with all the wood he has yet to cut for winter.

*Moving- Moving day is fast approaching. We actually plan to start moving furniture on Saturday morning. My plan of action is to clean, then move the largest things. One thing nice about starting over is that there just isn't as much stuff to move. The process has been much more relaxing than the frenzy of store/sell/pack we experienced just 7.5 short months ago. In actuality it feels like much longer, and we're both pretty pumped and excited for the weekend.

*Working- Life is good, and our jobs are still great. Brent has been working quite a bit of overtime and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down any for the next month or so. He has training coming up in late September, and he's looking forward to that. I am still (like it's been a long time) loving my new job. It's always changing, challenging, and well, it's fun. It's great to have a place to go that you actually want to go to every morning. We're both very happy here, and have agreed that this was a great move.

*Missing you- Living great distances from family and friends, inevitably means that we will miss important days, events, times in our loved ones lives. My cousin Kelsey and her new husband Ben were married over the weekend. We were sad to have missed such an important day, but we were with you in heart.

On Friday past we also said goodbye to my Grandma Adeline. It was hard knowing that I couldn't be there to share the grief with my family, but I also know that they have eachother to support and comfort.

Also, Brent's Grandma Helen celebrated her birthday in Watertown, SD. Her daughters put on a great party for her with lots of family and friends.

My sister-in-law Sara celebrated her birthday on the 22nd. Hope your day was super special! And Brent and Sara celebrated their wedding anniversary as well. 16 years! It's hard to believe. We hope that each year just gets better and better for you both!

We love and miss you all!

*Enjoying Alaska- In our journeys and travels we enjoy seeing the wildflowers, the mountains and of course, the wildlife. We haven't been seeing a ton of moose, but we did manage a sneak peek of our first fox. She sat so proudly along the Richardson as we traveled to Fairbanks this weekend. Very pretty girl.

We have also been relaxing and spending time with friends. Enjoying the bounty that Alaska holds in it's recreation. Friends of ours brought us fresh red salmon from the Chiitna. What a delight. It melted like butter in our mouths. We're looking forward to being able to dip net there next year.

We also tried our first batch of yak. When we first moved here I decided that it didn't sound like anything I'd want to eat, however, one of the boys here at work professed that it was his "favorite" meat, and if a 6-year-old likes it, I decided I could at least try it. Try I did, and I will say that while buffalo is still my favorite, we'll be adding some additional packages of yak to the freezer. Very mild, yummy, and lean. It makes excellent taco meat.

It is extremely dusty and dry here in Central Alaska. We could truly use some rain. The forest fires are making our skies hazy, and while they're not as bad as the Fairbanks area, we are certainly affected by the smoke and haze. The dust here in Delta has been unbelievable. When we ride the ATV we prepare to come home dirty, dusty and gritty. Friday evening was terrible, and last night we noticed the humidity was up a little which definitely helped the dust factor on the trails.

Well, that's it for now. I need to get back to all of those things listed above.

BrrrrrrrrrrrOKE

Fortunately I'm not referring to money, just equipment. I haven't updated, in quite a while, and you might be wondering why. So, here she goes...my hard drive is fried. No sunny side up here, it's hard as a rock. Dead. I guess I'll be buying a new computer sooner than later. The good news? I have a warranty. The bad news? I live in Alaska, and everything takes longer. I might wilt, and die before that thing gets here.

So, we're good, still playing, mudding, exploring. Just not able to chat about it right now.

On a sad note: Prayers go out to my Grandma Adeline who suffered another stroke about a week ago. We are praying that she finds peace soon. I love you Grandma.

Living it Up...Alaska Style

We’ve been away, out playing in the glorious summer sun. We finally got some sun last week after too many rainy days. It seemed like it rained for weeks on end, and yet you’d never know it in most areas around Delta at this point.

Friday Brent and I both had the day off. Brent headed out bear hunting with a friend of his, and I headed to Fairbanks for a little shopping. Brent had a great day out in the woods. They did a little fishing, a little hunting, and Brent stumbled upon a caribou shed. We now have horns for our Alaska home.

When I got home we went over to meet Brent’s co-worker and his wife. They live close to us but due to schedules we were having a hard time meeting up with them. Success was had and we relaxed. The guys shot off a few rounds, we chatted, the dogs played and we just enjoyed the heat.

Later in the evening we drove over to another co-worker of Brent’s to look at an ATV he had for sale. After a thorough inspection, a lot of glee on Brent’s part, we wrote a check, loaded up and headed for home. I don’t know who was more excited, Brent or Ches. We are now the proud owners of a Rhino, and I will post some pics of that later.

We rushed home to take it for our maiden voyage, to feel the wind our hair and the bugs in our teeth. Ches camped out in the box and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that nose work faster, or those ears flap harder. Pure glee was felt by all!

Saturday morning we packed up and headed to the M Family’s home in North Pole to celebrate Independence Day with a soldier and his family. E had barely begun our journey when we had the pleasure of enjoying the splendor of a bald eagle perched high upon a spruce tree. As we traveled the windy, windy road towards Fairbanks we caught a site of a cow moose and her twin calves. Awesome! My first moose twins.

We hit up the Prosepector for some 4th of July deals before heading back to North Pole. We caught a glimpse of the parade, and then headed to the banks of the Chena Slough to spend the day. We had a nice day, hanging out with the M family, meeting T’s parents, and celebrating A’s birthday.

I was in charge of dessert for the day and spent the previous evening constructing a red, white and blue trifle in honor of our nation’s birthday. However, while we were loading up that morning we came to the unfortunate conclusion that the dessert would not fit in the cooler. Talk about a blonde moment. Oy. So, we shelved the dessert and picked up cookies and ice cream for ice cream sandwiches

T knocked herself making a 5 star dinner. I even enjoyed my first serving of moose meat (that I remember anyway) and I have to say, not too shabby. We’ll see how the next tasting goes. I’m reserving judgement, but my first try was mighty tasty.

As we were enjoying another warm Alaska day the smoke began to fill the sky and much to our dismay the sun became difficult to see. We managed to stay dry during an afternoon thunderstorm, and headed for home. I have to say it was strange not having fireworks on the 4th. However, some of the neighbors were setting them off and they were pointless, you can’t see anything, just suffer the annoying pops, whistles, and sputters. Not nearly as fun in the daylight. I guess I’ll have to wait for New Year’s.

Sunday we hung out at home. Brent did a little vehicle maintenance while I shoveled out the house. Goodness. I have been too busy playing. I cooked up a storm. I made homemade biscuits and gravy for breakfast, halibut rolls for lunch and potato salad and steaks for dinner. Delicioso. That’s the most cooking I’ve done since I’ve started work.

After dinner we took a little ride on the best-money-I’ve-ever-spent and landed at Brad and Rose’s house for a cool refreshment and some good company. After enough jokes to make me forego sit-ups for eternity, we jumped in our love buggy and cruised home. Phew. What a weekend.

Monday after work we loaded up in the Rhino (aka love buggy, best-money-I’ve-ever-spent) and headed to another co-worker of Brent’s to look at a Pro Pioneer. That would be an inflatable raft/boat for all or you non-Alaskans. We’ve been going round and round about the boat/canoe debacle for weeks now. And I’ve officially thrown up my hands.

When we were leaving we stumbled upon Brad, Rose and Willie on a flower-gathering expedition. We both decided to throw caution to the wind, live dangerously and we headed out on possibly the dustiest ride of our lives. It was worth every single minute. Even the dusty uni-brow you’ll see in the pics below. We were all a dusty, dirty mess, but it was so much fun, I could do it every night.

We had planned to ride Bluff Cabin Trail tonight with Brad and Rose. They had something come up so we decided to go anyway, all by our lonesome. We started down the trail we had tried to walk a few months back, and were pleasantly surprised at how dry the trail was.

Well, that’s another thing I should have learned by now. Never count your chickens before they hatch, or shall I say, never count your dry spots before they become gaping mud pits ready to suck you in and swallow you up. Ridiculous really. We made it threw 6 wallowing pits before we got hung up, backed out and headed for home. While Brent was splashing around I got out to watch from the sidelines. As I was standing on the muddy banks of the trail I looked down and saw the largest paw prints, made by an obviously huge bear. I’m not talking a yearling people, those paw prints were the size of my HEAD!! Good heavens. That was all I needed to have an epiphany. I tromped through the mud with my camo flip flops, had Brent pull forward, piled branches under the tires and he backed out, turned around, we loaded up and we were out of the bear’s den. I don’t know if I’ll be willing to try that again for a while. You can officially call me a chicken shit. Fact is, I’ve been called worse. J

After dropping off some muddy boots and slop covered supplies we rode over to Sid & MaryLou’s to show off our new ride. We sat on their deck, watching boats come in and out of Clearwater Lake and I started thinking about how nice it might be to have the Pro Pioneer. I did, however, keep that little tidbit to myself, we’ll see what Sparky does about that. Frankly, I would be happy either way.

That’s our update. If you made it through all that dribble you should be awarded a medal. I’d offer to send it to you, but I’m pretty sure the shipping would be grossly exaggerated against the value of the medal!

I’m off to try to catch a couple winks of sleep on this hot evening without a breeze. Someone smarter might have bought a fan over the weekend, but then again, we’ve been busy buying bigger things. Ha!

Have a happy day!

In Remembrance

One year ago today I was attending the wake of my Grandfather. Grandpa Elmo was a very special man. I have so many memories of him, and it’s hard to choose a favorite.

Grandpa Elmo was ornery and sweet, all wrapped up in one complicated package. He liked to drink his coffee from a plain white cup. He chewed tobacco, and liked to play tricks on us grandkids with his snoose tin. He would empty his Copenhagen tin, poke a hole in the bottom, and when he’d pop the top open his thumb would pop out and “surprise” us over and over again. We were surprised every single time.

He loved to tease everyone. He teased my mom about making him his favorite lemon meringue pie, every time he saw her. He teased me about his “nosey’ nosey”. He would bribe my older brother (who lived with them one summer) to buy him tobacco and stash it in their secret hiding spot, when he was supposed to be quitting.

When I was a toddler I was staying with Grandma and Grandpa overnight. They set up a portable crib next to their bed, and despite their efforts I would not sleep in the crib. Eventually they brought me into bed with them, and at some point I crawled on top of Grandpa, straddling his chest, and pointed out his “nosey, nosey”. I don’t remember the story fact for fact, as the words “nosey, nosey” generally about fits of laughter and the details of the story would be forgotten.

I know that each of us have special memories. We miss you Grandpa.

July 5, 2008 we laid my Grandpa Elmo to rest, and mourned the passing of Brent’s Grandpa Earl. It was a very tough day for both of us.

I know that most of Brent’s earliest and fondest memories involve in some way, his Grandpa Earl. Summers at the farm in South Dakota, trapping and fishing the creek that ran through the pastures of their farm.

We think of them both often, and we miss them, along with their other loved ones. And though they are in a better place, with spirits that are whole, we long for their return to fill the empty spaces in our hearts.

Also, on this Independence Day we must remember those who have, will, and are fighting today for our freedom. We pray for their families, we pray for their safe return and we honor those who did not return from the wars of their time.

GOD BLESS AMERICA.