pella and moose

Last night the moose visted again, while I was having some coffee on the deck.

Chitna Salmon Fishin'

Well, we just ate some of the salmon I caught on the trip. It was an amazing trip with two incredible girls. Julie was the experienced fisherwoman, after 4 wheeling down a closed road with most incredible views I have seen yet, we climbed down a steep edge to dip net. Julie and Stacia, showed me how to kill and gut my salmon. We had such a great time, these pictures are only part of the adventure. We barely slept, saw a huge grizzly eating salmon on the other side of the river (they, seasoned alaskan women, barely glanced and my camera broke by this point!), and fished an incredible locals only dip netting spot on the Copper River.


Julie, Stacia and Ellie. Ellie and her husband live way out of down near Delta on 30 acres, have some goats and tons of fishing gear. We stopped by to borrow dip nets and life jackets. Thanks!!

Some of the Wrangell Mtns on the road to the closed road we fished on.

This warning sign, if you can read it, should speak for itself about how crazy this road was....

Getting ready to descend to the river, I love hip waders and I can't wait to buy some!

Not sure if you can tell, but this is from the bottom at the river looking up to where we just climbed down.

Fishing was harder than I thought, the dip nets where huge and the current was fast. We fished all night, slept a few hours and fished the next day.

Julie showing me how to filet one of the 12 salmon, she caught most of them.

gone fishin'

Dea is down in Chitina on the edge of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park dip netting for salmon with Stacia and another girl. they left on Tuesday and should be back tonight, or maybe tomorrow. I would have liked to have gone, but i had to work. there was no way i could ask for time off, as i'll be taking a week of in August to go back to Colorado to shoot a couple weddings.
i'm excited to hear about the trip, and have a freezer full of salmon! there was a salmon cookbook at the bookstore today that i may have to pick up.

i'll post pics of the big catch as soon as dea gets back!

also, i talked to cory today and him and Sharae are gettign close. their doctor said that they could have little Taylor by as early as this weekend, it's unlikely, but still.....my little brother is going to soon be a dad! unbelievable...i need a beer:)

Stacia's Back!!!

Oh, what a great night of stories, good food and dancing. Stacia is back in town from being on the slope. These are the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay. Ravens, grizzly bears, caribou, artic fox and musk ox oh my! After tonight, Stacia, her friend Julie and I are headed to the Wrangell mountains to go dip netting for Salmon. No worries we can get our fishing license on campus next to the pub!


Ben cooking a feast


Dancing to Ani


Dancing to Ani II


Stacia and I eating a great meal.

banff-jasper photos

i'm beginning to catalog some of the trip images. here are a few more from the Banff to Jasper, Alberta leg of the trip..

sunday

Dea and i went running at Birch Hill today. well, Dea went running (over 10K) but i was reduced to a walk for most of the loop. i seems i have a bit of a leg IT band injury. no worries though, nothing a little more riding and a little less running won't fix. Dea is really getting into running again. She's been looking for 5 and 10K races in the area to do over then next couple months as we build up to the Equinox Marathon (as a relay) in September.

Birch Hill wasn't a complete wash for me though- the xc ski 'warming hut' is a complete trip for me. It was built last year for the Junior World Cross County Ski Championships. It's a gorgeous structure looming over the finish stadium.

Ester Dome

We have been running parts of the equinox marathon and today was the top 5 miles to Ester Dome, the turn around and back. The scenery was awesome and as usual we only saw 1 other person. It is not Mt. Evans(colorado bike race), which was today, but still great.
The marathon route ascends on single track trail and parts are really steep. It is Sept. 21st this year and Ben and I are thinking about doing the relay (3 people), we may train for the whole run for next year. Ben took a few pics after the top, where the trail continues to climb and descend until the turn around.

A fun day until Nobel ran away(a well known habit, but she slipped out anyway) and we chased (Ben on foot, me in the car) her down the main expressway in town for 5 miles! She is a sled dog, so she is fast. Finally, after we lost her trail, someone turned her into the humane soceity and she was unharmed. Her paws are a little sore, but she is recovering on the couch. Dea


running around mile 14


though sometimes confusing, the entire trail is marked with these signs and red circles to indicate the route


view from the top, hazy day today so you could not see Denali

friday!

we spent a quite friday night at home, after my first full week of work. i'm enjoying the book store a lot- good people and an interesting job. i have the weekend off, so dea and i are taking the dogs on a hike this morning, and maybe a ride later. i'm anxoius to get out with the camera today too. i've been so focused on getting settled here, that i have taken very little time to shoot. today i'll start working again, and begin scouting opportunities and marketing. so much to think about and do.

here are a couple pics from our first relaxing friday night at the cabin:





ben

birch hill

dea and i went mountain biking with Brad and Ted (from Dea's lab) tonight at Birch Hill. Birchwood is a network of xc ski trails on the other side of town. It's a huge complex- we were really impressed. Skiing and riding is free, and the trails are well maintained and mapped. we had a b last- we worked hard, got muddy, and had fantastic scenery. dea was ont he cross bike, and rode really well. the trails are challenging, but aren't full of drop offs and rock, because they are primarily ski trails.
there is an incredibly striking building that serves as a warming hut as well. it's a huge modern piece in this otherwise vanilla town. it's a gorgeous piece of work that was built last year for the junior world xc ski championships. i'll post pics at a later date.


dea after the ride.

Riding in Fairbanks

Ben commutes to work now everyday and rides the trails alot. So today we went for a ride after his work and already he is kicking my butt!


Ben climbing away from me on his mountain bike. (Obviously I am taking all these shots with my camera)

The roads are great; endless, nice shoulder and no traffic. At one point not far from our house, the sign reads "no gas for 117miles". I guess you have to carry a few spare tubes and a cell phone. The weather is awesome, sunny and 75.



the mailbox


we are watching nobel- stacia's dog. nobel loves ben- here are the girls and ben relaxing.

Dea

T-storm and the IARC

I went for a trail run today next to the IARC(international arctic research center). The building where my lab/ office is located. It is next to the skate ski warming hut! I am excited for the winter to ski these same trails.


Thunderstorm looming behind the IARC

Dea

Lazy Sunday

I took some pictures of our typical Sunday night, everything is back to normal. Instead of riding all day we have been running on the trails, there is water everywhere, so Pella loves it. All of the trails are marked with milage on the Equinox Marathon route. Maybe your next marathon, Sue?



Pella is guarding at the door for the next visit from the neighborhood moose. This morning the moose was inbetween the shed you see in the picture and deck!




Ben is reading about cycling on the computer...



I am reading a book Chris gave us. Alaska, a novel by James A. Michener. It is very good so far.
Dea

chena hot springs

made it up to chena hot springs today. i had to work late last night, so we slept in and got a late start North, parts we had not seen yet. wonderful terrain.






fairbanks is full of mushing teams- today was an opportunity to get closer to the dogs.

thursday

i rode my bike to town this morning to get my schedule for my new job. felt incredible to finally be on the bike again. it's about 6 miles into town, with two substantial hills to break it up. i had to be at the book store by 9:00, so the air was brisk, and only a small handful of cars. also explored the trails a little after my meeting- there is an asounding amount of trails between UAF and the cabin. the trails in town are all cut wide enough for skate skiing in the winter- there is a network that skirts the entire perimeter of town, and many of the trails by campus are lighted.

near our cabin there is a network of dog mushing trails as well. at night you can hear the dogs sometimes- they sound a bit like coyotes, but are very distant. we will be able to ski on the mushing trails in a few months as well.

dea had thai with her graduate crew and advisor today. i was able to take the tour of the IARC (International Artic Research Center) with dea and Bill (her advisor) after lunch. the building is really quite amazing- very modern for fairbanks, and has impressive views of Denali (on a clear day). the building is also home to the national weather service. dea will have an office in this buliding, and i'm sure will post more about it at a later date.

a couple pics of the mushing trails the cross the road we live on..

the cabin.

Hi all. It's Dea. Ben shot some photos of the cabin after he came home from his new job. He is very excited to work at this independent book store down town called Gulliver's. It is two stories and has an internet cafe. His first day is a book release party for Harry Potter...

We love the cabin. Here are some pictures. The bedroom and large shed are not in the photos because we are still installing shelves, ect.....here is the new info:

hey dad, dave and other golfers- Fairbanks golf course is open 24 hours right now(there are two in town).


..........


the kitchen.


the living room.


our little corner of the Alaskan woods.


pella is slowly adjusting.

take care and come visit anytime!

Fairbanks- week one

Hi all. It has been an interesting week here on "Alaska Time" in Fairbanks. We almost have a place. Everything is accomplished via word of mounth, so we were lucky to bump into Stacia's landlord Charlie at the college coffeehouse. He is going to rent a cabin to us, but he is still fixing it up. He has been very generous and helpful. He is going to continue to work on the cabin while we move our stuff in today!! We are very excited to have some space to call our own. We are still living out of the car and sleeping at Stacia's cabin. We now have my school pass to the student center for showers and working out. To say this whole trip has been a life changing experience would be an understatement. We should have pics of the cabin by tommorrow. It is out of town a few miles and it is on a large plot of land. It is very beautiful up there and we are grateful to be living in the hills.

Fairbanks is denfinelty not Boulder. We are enjoying experiencing the different culture of this town. Very good coffee shops (one that roasts their own beans) and severa have WIFI. Great prices on wine and good restaurants- since we don't have a place to cook, we have found every restaurant with a decent glass of wine. We have been dealing with the extra sunlight very well. We have a few pics from around town. We have many exciting trips planned as soon as we move in to our cabin! I hope you all are doing well and thanks for checking in.


There is a farmers market in town every Wednesay and Sunday. We are looking forward to riding our bikes from our new place on Wednesday to get ingredients for a homecooked meal at our new home..





There are several good resteraunts in town- last night was pasta.

Dea

a recap...

we're hanging out at one of the many coffee shops this morning- still looking for a place to live. we are getting more aquainted with the town, and have found some wonderful places to eat and play. we had dinner last night at Lavell's- we both had incredible fish, and a nice bottle of wine (thanks Megan!)

we havn't had any time to post images from the last day's drive, so here are a few...


the view of Kluane Lake.


Pella loving life.


Ben taking some time to shoot.


We had a perfect, and rare, view of Denali under the midnight sun on the drive in. Apparently, these views are rare- delighted that we could see it, if only for a moment.

we will post again leter, once we get settled and have a place.

later for now.

WE MADE IT!!

We finally descended into Fairbanks last night at 2:00 AM. The last bit of the drive was incredible- we were greeted by views of the Wrangle-St.Elias Range, and a few moments of unobstructed viewing of Denali at midnight, as the sun was setting. The last 100 miles was difficult as we were so tired, but the hazy dawn made the roadside active with the occasional Moose in the road, Dea saw a glimpse of a Grizzley cub (we have only seen Black Bears to this point), and a guy mowing his lawn at 1:30 AM with sunglasses on.

We have many photos to post of yesterday's drive- wonderful lakes and blue skies (a rarity this trip). For now, however, we are a bit overwhelmed with the prospect of finding a home. We will update again later. We are well, and enjoying the next phase...

Hey Stacia...

....we are on our way! We just bought a pound of Raven's Blend at the Midnight Sun Coffee House for you. We'll be in Fairbanks by sun up...

love ya.

Day 6

Blogging from Whitehorse, the capitol of the Yukon. It is 186,500 square miles and only has 30,000 full time residents. (most road side stops are only open in the summer)

Incredible Day 6

We awoke in Ft. Nelson after a long day on the ALCAN. We are experiencing 19 hours of daylight this far North. The temp is 8 degrees C( around 45F) in the morning and reaching about 18 degrees C. (65-70 F).The sun sets at around 1 am and rises just before 5am.

We found ourselves in a gypsy caravan today; seeing the same folks along the way. ..


Breakfast at the Toad River Café-home of 6,736 ball caps. We ate a hardy steak and eggs.


Ball caps on the ceiling at Toad River Café. (this is where our caravan informed us that the UHaul back door was open about a foot, nothing fell out and we all had a good laugh).


We stopped at Muncho Lake for a hike and swim for Pella. The water was crystal clear blue and wild life was overly abundant here.


Pella swimming - the clear water freaked her out a little.


Another Bear! Wow that was awesome.



Everyone we spoke to on the road and in Colorado said we must stop at the Liard Hot Springs. The pools were the most remote either of us had seen-nothing commercial simply a plank walkway of the fragile ecosystem and wonderful natural pools. We stayed long enough to work some of the drive out of our weary, but happy bodies. Despite the many warnings no bears tried to share our swim. Then back to the road…..


Dea at the upper pool at Liard.


Some of the most amazing spots on the Alcan are nondescript pull-offs. We found ourselves doing a quick hike to Rancheria Falls.


We drove to our destination for the night, Dawson Peaks Lodge. This lodge was built by hand on a beautiful lake by a married couple that started their humble beginnings cooking under a road side ten with two Coleman stoves for travelers. We really loved this stop and the Dave and Carolyn were great to talk too. Check out their place:
www.dawsonpeaks.ca

We had a cabin on Teslin Lake. It is 92 miles long and 190 meters deep. We grabbed some dinner in Teslin to go and had a Canadian Beer under the near midnight sun.


Family photo on the docks. This photo was taken at around 11:00PM - no flash! It's surreal how late the light lingers.


Day 7 is just underway. We are having coffee in Whitehorse at Midnight Sun Coffee Roasters. If all goes well the next post will be tonight from Fairbanks. Alaska here we come!!