First Snow

 We had the first real snow of the season, which looks to be about 3-4 inches.  Everyone in the neighborhood seem to enjoy the new snow, dogs included.  The skis are waxed and Mako is ready!

A little snow and a lot of rain

The rain cam down hard all day yesterday.  We now have little channels running down our hill into the driveway, but luckily the weather calmed down enough for Sandy to have a smooth trip back home.

Here's a shot looking at the resort from town.  It looks like there's some thick gloppy snow at the snow line.  We have about a month 'til it opens!!

Wedding

It's been a while, but finally, here are some photos from our wedding.

We travelled out to the Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge, which is a three hour boat ride out of Seward and nestled into the Kenai Fjords National Park.  The ceremony, or uncermony as it was called, happened on the a 40 foot boat in front of Aialik Glacier.  The vows were read aloud by my Dad and took a minute or two and then...smiles all around.  It was an amazing backdrop to a great day.

The day after the vows we were lucky to have a gorgeous day, so we packed up our outfits and went up a ridge for some glamour shots.  The ridge had views of Pedersen Glacier with it's lagoons on one side and the fjord of Aialik Bay and Aialik Peninsula on the other.  I don't think we could have planned it any better than the way it worked out.

Thank you to everyone who made the long trek up here and to everyone who tried, but couldn't make it!! Of course a big thank you goes to Alaska Wildland Adventures for setting up all the details for our event. Geoff, Jess, Amber, Trish and the crew were awesome for the onsite activities and Brooke, Kris, Glenda, Beck for the behind the scenes set up.

Then one more huge thanks to Heather for all these beautiful pictures!!  It was a special treat for you to be out there and all the pictures get sweeter by the day.

A Couple For the Road

Here's a few pics from my last tour of the summer.  It's still on going, but a few memorable shots from the fjord tour did get caught on film.  Below are some Stellar Sea Lions and scenic shots.  There's also one from our neighbor walking by my truck and a glamor shot of Mako on the Gull Rock Hike.  Hope everyone is doing well...

Passage Canal

A couple days ago we kayaked out of Whittier and had unbelievable weather.  Sunny days like this just don't happen there, but we lucked out somehow.  The inlet waters were glassy and the sun was in full force.  It was a lot of fun and hopefully we'll get out and do this more often.  

July

It's been a busy busy month up here, but I did manage to take a few pictures throughout the travels.  Here's a compilation of the three trips I led this past July.  These trips ranged from Kenai Fjords National Park to Skilak Lake to Denali National Park and some of the places in between.

The weather has been unbelievable, especially when compared with last summer.  It's been sunny and warm with the occasional stretch of sun, just the opposite from last year. Let's keep the fingers crossed that it continues!!

Crow Pass '11

On top of Crow Pass

A few days ago, Mako and I went up Crow Pass to check out the new forest service cabin and get the 'ol heart rate up.  Crow Pass is at the end of Glacier Valley or another way to put it, its the dirt road past the steak house on Crow Creek Road.  There's still tons of snow on top of the pass, but we found a nice grassy spot for a snack before turning around.

Raven Glacier

The new Forest Service Cabin

Trip Number 1

I returned a few days ago from my first trip of the summer. It started in Fairbanks, then moved down to Denali, Anchorage, Seward and finally Kenai Fjords National Park. It totaled around 8 days and a bunch of miles, but everyone had a great time and talked of returning. Here's a few shots of some adventures along the way.

Ailek Glacier in the Background

Pedersen Glacier

Ailek Glacier

Rhinoceros Auklet

Young Musk Ox and mom

Catalina to Alaska

Here's a sampling of SS's pictures from Catalina. Thanks for the disk and the memories of a great trip!



A couple weeks ago I went of a training trip for my summer works with Alaska Wildland Adventures. Our trip spanned the distance from Denali to Kenai Fjords National Park, but I pulled a rookie move and didn't bring the camera on the Denali portion of the adventure. Here's a few from that trip.

Sandy's Birthday!

On the 29th Sandy met me down in Seward and we packed up for a couple days in Homer.  We celebrated her birthday overlooking the Cook Inlet with a beautiful sunset behind the volcanos, Mt. Redoubt and Mt. Illiamna.  The next morning we strolled the beach and watched some of the Bald Eagles waiting for breakfast.  Mako wisely only chased the crows and gulls while leaving the eagles alone.  It's a good thing she wasn't any smaller or she may have turned into breakfast.  

Vist-Catalina-Santa Barbara

Here are some pictures of our recent trip to California.  We made it to Vista for Amy's birthday and a tour around Torrey Pines State Beach.  She graciously shared her King Crab and Halibut with us while we stayed there.  Thanks Amy!!

After our Vista Visit we wandered off the mainland to Catalina.  Sandy and I realized that we really had just been in Alaska for the winter when our skin went from directly from bright white to red.  We had two sunny days with Amy & SS on the island before we took off in a couple kayaks to tour the island.  Our 5 day tour took us on the leeward side of the island and through flocks of cormorants and pods of dolphins.  It was great to be back on top of the food chain during our camping.

Our last leg of the trip brought up back to the mainland where we met up with Glo in Long Beach for a couple days.  It was great to meet her and Brian before we went north to Santa Barbara to meet up with a couple Telluride buds, Jess, Jared, & Stella.  Seeing the was a great way to finish a fantastic trip.

Now it's time to switch gears to summer and watch the last of the snow melt around our yard.  Enjoy the pics!!  

Trailers

We arrived back in AK a couple days ago from a great trip down in CA.  We met up with Sandy's parents at the beginning of the trip, Glo & Brian in the middle, and Jess & Jared at the end, plus a little kayaking trip mixed in there somewhere.  I'm currently going through the pictures and put this together.  Maybe it'll act as a preview for the photos.  I couldn't let Mako feel left out, so she has one too.

April...

There's lots a happening around these parts.  April is half through and the weather has been sunny and beautiful.  The resort is on it's last week before closing with the slush cup finale, school is winding down for me, and, just as everything closes up shop for the winter, we head on down to CA for some kayaking, sun and friends.  We're both looking forward to it.

In between papers Mako and I headed out to Portage to check out the melt and get some air.  The mountains still have plenty of white on them, but the glaciers down there are starting to pop out.  Here's a picture of Explorer Glacier, which is one of the three or four off the road over there.

This other shot is of Turnagian Arm looking east, towards Portage.  It's not visible here, but Explorer Glacier would be around the corner on the right, just before that first ridge coming in to view.

Mako the Moose Master

Yesterday Mako spazzed out over a moose walking up our steps. The tricky part about the situation was that she was outside when the moose came strolling up our steps. Luckily Mako never took up the courage to leave the deck, but by the time I corralled her inside and scrambled to get the camera these were the best pics I could come up with...

Iditarod

Last weekend Sandy and I went up to Willow for the official start of the Iditarod.  Willow is a little under 100 miles north of Anchorage and beginning of the 1,150 mile race.  It had a Alaska tailgate party atmosphere with snow-machines (snowmobiles) and small planes everywhere.

Currently the leader of the race just left Unalakleet and has about 200 miles left to go.  Here is the website that tracks the race, www.iditarod.com.  The guy wearing number 6 and toasting a Red Strip in the picture is from Jamaica, but he scratched from the race in Anvik.

Here's a few pictures from the start of the race, plus some pics from the top of the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage, oh and a night shot of Alyeska.  It was pretty neat to see and an event to check off the list.      

Northern Lights

We finally saw the Northern Lights!  They have been out the past two nights, but were much more vivid on the first night.  We drove down to the airport to get away from all our neighbors' lights and watched the show from there.  Luckily the display was around 11pm, so we didn't need to set any alarms.







Here's a link on Northern Lights FAQs.

Sunny Days

The thermometer read 1 this morning, but by the time the later afternoon sun was setting the temperature had risen to 20.  The sun had a big part in the warmer temps and we all took advantage of it before the sun went to sleep.  We headed out to the train station and walked along the path for a little ways; it felt good to be outside and away from the computer.

There's also a few pics from last weekend's snowfall.  Mako had a scavenger hunt in the snow for all the treats Sandy was throwing to her.  Hopefully we'll get some more snow here in March.

Twenty Mile

The other day Mako and I were able to escape Girdwood for a little walk up Twenty Mile River, which is almost across the street from the Wildlife Conservation Center.  It was a bit chilly, so we didn't go too far, but we caught some clear skies for the sunset.  It's been a little while since I've been out with the camera and it quickly turned into a Mako photo shoot.   

We walked along the bank of the river which was covered in gray snow drifts from the glacial silt.  The ice creates a mangled scene with the tide breaking it up twice a day.  Hopefully we'll get out more and take advantage of the current clear skies and moon cycle coming up.  

She's ready to head in about here.  The wind was starting to pick up and I followed her lead back to the car. 

School

It's been a number of weeks, but not too many pictures have been taken.  School has become a priority, but I'll pick up the camera soon enough; however, the commute to school has been eventful the past couple days.  In the miles between Girdwood and Anchorage, I've passed a fox, Dahl Sheep, and a Great Horned Owl; not to mention all the views.

Pictures will follow.