Moose Meadows & Turnagain

It's been a busy couple weeks, but I managed to get in a couple cross country days around town. Most of these are shot from Moose Meadows, which is right in the middle of Girdwood and a few of Turnagain Inlet with the tidal debris. As you might of guessed, it can get a bit cold around here and Mako tends to collect snow. We picked up little booties to help prevent ice from forming in her paws, so there is a bit of function to go along with her trendy style...I think her wardrobe is now larger than mine. Anyway, enjoy!

Turnagain Tour

It's finally that time of year again! I dusted off the cross country skis, warmed up the boots and broke out the snow pants; Mako and I took an afternoon tour of Turnagain Pass today. The temperatures were a bit chilly, so Mako got to wear her sporty new vest, which elieve it or not Target has a nice selection of dog vests. Maybe we'll get her a puffy vest if its still there next time. For today though, she was actually happy to wear it, because it was a cool 14 degrees. Granted we weren't out there too long, but once the blood was pumping it didn't seem that cold.

We started the tour in mid-afternoon with the sun already low on the horizon, which made for a beautiful pink sky and some long shadows. It makes me a little nervous to think that those shadows are only going to get longer for the next month or so. I guess it's time to put away the sunblock. Mixed in this set of pictures is one of the Turnagain Arm Inlet and all the small ice bergs floating around. It's a unique inlet due to the extreme tides and the freezing temperatures that leave these stranded ice bergs sitting on the silty bottom. Twice a day it creates a pretty dramatic landscape.



A couple weeks ago I went up to Virgin Creek for a few pictures of the frozen creek and it's mossy sides. Just picture a rainforest that reaches 20 degees with the moss crystilized and strange looking icicles hanging everywhere. There wasn't much sun in creek valley, but I came away with a few fun shots. I hope you enjoy!

Fresh Tracks

Well not the fresh tracks that first come to mind, but tracks none the less. Earlier in the week we had our first decent snowfall and on the first clear day we went for a hike down in Portage. Portage is about 15-20 minutes east of here just before Whittier and it's just a collection of camp grounds and a trail that runs next to the road for a few miles.

Along the way we came across all sorts of tracks all pretty much within a quarter mile of each other. They all looked pretty fresh, but the only animals we actually saw were a bunch of different eagles. The tracks range from bear, moose, rabbit, eagle and a critter's tracks that end with a swoop of an eagle. Oh, and of course, Mako tracks.

AK Cribs

Here's our version of MTV Cribs:

It's been a little while since we've set the house up and we're feeling pretty comfortable in it now. The layout is a one bedroom/one bathroom with a loft.

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It's a quirky little place that's about 6 or 7 years old now.

The landlord lives in Washington and would come up over weekends and time off to build it. The place was supposed to be his Alaskan getaway, but it never really happened. We're actually the first people to live in it. When we first moved in some of our neighbors would drive by pretty slow to check us out, since they were surprised to see anyone in the place.

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Here are some interior shots. The only big additions we made since moving here were a couch and a TV. Everything else we brought up from the "Lower 48." We updated the TV in order to save space and opted for a smaller couch. It seems to work so far. We set the master bedroom in the loft since the views are ten times better than the bedroom. That means the spare bedroom is set up for anyone who wants to visit; I guess that means we're now open for reservations!

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Probably the best part of the cabin is the view. You can't put up pictures without including one, so here a shot from the deck. You can kinda see the same glacier through the upper left window from the loft picture.
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Long story short, it's a great little place and we'd love to have everyone over. If you're not really a skier we'll forgive you, but come on up next summer. There's lots to do!

Beautiful Day

The sun came out today; the temperature was about 50 degrees and I had the afternoon off. These are the ingredients for a hike in the making. Ok, so I have a lot of afternoons off these days, but the sun was out.

Here are some pictures of the Bird Point trail next to Seward Highway on the Turnagain Arm along with pictures of the Beaver Pond Trail. There are also a few shots of Mt. Alyeska.

New Neighbor

Here's our new neighbor out for a snack.

Denali

Last weekend we took in the fall colors and drove north to Talkeetna, which is a small town two hours south of Denali National Park. It also happens to be the nearest town to the Park. The summer season was winding down, but we were still able to stay at the Susitna River Lodge for our first night in the Alaskan Interior.

On Saturday we pushed north and set up camp inside the Park. There is one 90 mile road in the Park that typically only buses are allowed to drive; however, for this weekend only the Park allowed for a lottery where 400 cars per day could drive the entire road. We didn't win the lottery, but we were able to snag a campsite in the Park and access the road.

Along the way we saw plenty of moose, Arctic Snow Bunnies (this is an actual rabbit) and a fox dashing across the Susitna River. Although we didn't see any brown bears, we heard that they were out there somewhere.

Cheers!

Black Bear

Just a sampling of our trip to Seward last weekend. Here's us on the northern end of Fox Island; Seward is off in the distance.



This is Exit Glacier at the enterance to Kenai Fjords National Park. Where I took the photo is where this glacier came to in 1998. It's melted that much in the past 11 years.



Some fun shots at the Sea Center in Seward.

This video is from a few weeks ago when we went south to Homer. Sandy stalked this black bear at the Nature Conservancy, which is down the street from Girdwood.

The Entrepreneur

Mako's new business...

Early Hikes around Girdwood

We have been here close to three weeks now and of course we have gone on some hikes. There are some pictures of Flat Top Mtn., which is a popular hike just south of Anchorage, Byron Glacier and Virgin Creek.

Girdwood is at the northern most aspect of a rainforest and you can really feel this in Virgin Creek. The trees are full of moss with mushrooms abound and the tree leaves are huge.

I'm sure I'll add some more soon!!

The Last Legs Of Our Trip

Alright, here are some pictures of the last couple days of our trip. These cover from St. John's, British Columbia to Girdwood, Alaska. It took us two full days of driving to cover a little over 1,000 miles. On this leg of the trip some of the notable towns we passed through were Watson Lake, which claims a tourist attraction of the Sign Post Forest; Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon and bigger than expected; Tok, the first recognizable town upon re-entering the U.S. and of course Anchorage.

Surprisingly we didn't see as much wild life as expected, but we did come across some wild buffalo that stopped us in our tracks. They were a bit intimidating when they looked down at us as we drove by. Since then we have come across some moose and Mako wears a bear bell when we go hiking.

Half Way

We are officially over half way! Just over 2,000 miles have been cover and only a measly 1,500 more to go.

We met up with Sandy's friend Pam in Sandpoint on Sunday and spent the afternoon on Lake Pend Oreille. It turned out to be a beautiful day while we enjoyed a swim, friends and our brief time in town. Yesterday we moved north of the border and spent the night at the Fairmont in Banff. It was the last Fairmont reservation for a while, but quite a spectacular place.

After a night of luxury we continued north through the Canadian Rockies stopping at Lake Louise and Jasper, which are still within the Provincial Park borders. With the high North American sun on our side we were able to stretch the daylight and make it past Grande Prairie and into St. John's for tonight. Tomorrow brings another big day of driving and we are aiming for at least Watson Lake, Yukon.

Cheers!

Day One

A long day, but we are in Dillon, Montana tonight. The day started at 5 am and after 850 miles or so we rolled into Dillon. It'll be another early day tomorrow, but we're aiming for Sandpoint for early afternoon in order to enjoy the lake in the afternoon. Here's Mako and a parting shot of Sandy and me in Telluride.

3,540 miles

We have our trip to Alyeska mapped out and the movers will be here on Wednesday. It will be a busy week of packing and goodbyes for us here in Telluride, but we are looking forward to our new home up north.

Attached is the route we plan on taking. It should be about six or seven days and total of 63 quality car time hours together. We have our sight on Dillon, MT for the first night and then on to Sandpoint, ID to rendezvous with some of Sandy's friends and maybe a little lake time at Lake Pend Orelle. We then move to Banff, Alberta for night three and a posh room at the Fairmont there. Between Banff and Girdwood there will be at least two nights somewhere, but that will be decided later. It should be fun...


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The 4th & 5th

Between thunderstorms the fireworks finally went off on the 4th. The next day a few of us went up to Blue Lake and enjoyed the sun and greenery. I'm not sure how the dogs were able to go swiming in the frigid lake, but the tempurature didn't seem to bother them....Enjoy the photos.

Backyard hikes

We did the usual Jud Wiebe tour on Sunday and then found ourselves at Silver Lake on Monday. The hikes are more or less on either side of town. Jared & Stella joined us for the Jud.

Cheers!

Great Sand Dunes National Park

For Sandy's birthday we headed to the Great Sand Dunes National Park for sight seeing, camping and a little celebration. Here are some pictures of all three with Mako doing the birthday cake celebration.

San Francisco

Here's some shots from our recent San Francisco trip. Congrats Jenny!

Placerville Swim

Mako going for swim in her park in Placerville.


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We're back in Telluride and we have a lot of pictures. Here is a sampling of pictures with a lot of nieces and nephews. Believe it or not, there are no pictures of Mako. I'm sure we'll make up for that later.

Recent Photos

Here are a couple pics from a recent trip through Ridgeway. The weather was a bit ominous and hasn't really let up the past few weeks. This is a shot of Mt. Sneffels and one of a young beaver.

Murphy & Ingram

Mako's new friend Murphy

Ingram Falls at the end of the canyon

March 1 & 2

It's spring in Telluride or at least it feels like it. The weather is getting warmer and the snow if melting, which means it's time for skiing and climbing. Here's a few shots of today along with some pics of Bear Creek and the waterfall...plus, I had to throw in Mako checking out the beaver dams on the San Miguel River.

Here's a couple..

The past couple weeks have brought a little snow and a lot of sun. Here are some shots of Mako in both settings. The best pictures though are from Sandy during her Helitrax day a little over a week ago.

Groudhog Day!

Well, Mako and I didn't see any groundhogs on our trek through the Lizardhead Wilderness Area, but we enjoyed a beautifull day just south of Telluride. Here's our tour with a view of Lizardhead from this past Monday. Cheers!

January in Telluride

Here's a shot overlooking town and some downed aspens. There was a rock slide a couple weeks ago that cleared a path of aspens and eventully stopped in a construction zone.

Park Time

Here's Dave in the park...

Beginnings of 2009

We have had some recent alpenglow that sent everyone from the town searching for their cameras. Here is the waning moments of a recent evening plus a shot of Lil' Dave picking out a line in Revelation Bowl. It's a great start to 2009...

January 4th...

For a snowy Sunday we decided to head to the cross country trails with a little furball in tow. The trails are the golf course in the summer. There are also a couple shots from earlier in the week from some alpenglow.