Call of the Wild

Yesterday was the 20th Anniversary of the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and to celebrate, they opened their gates to the public.... for FREE!  Having never been there (but always wanting to go),  I took advantage of the offer and headed down to see if it was worth the wait.

The first enclosure we encountered housed the musk ox.  I was excited to see the babies that were born in April but they were actually in a different enclosure.

Two black bears had recently been transferred to their new enclosure.  While one was quite visibly on edge pacing back and forth, her sister wasn't as easily annoyed and was napping instead.

I was also intrigued by the caribou and their not-so-massive-yet antlers.  I couldn't imagine carrying those things around on my head! 

 

But the best part of the day happened while we were gazing adoringly at the 'bou.  One of them, with it's head in an odd angle, was snoring.  Don't believe me? Watch this:

                                  

 

All in all, it was a fun experience (and free) and it was interesting to read the stories of how the animals came to be at the center (most were injured and are unable to return back to the wild).  These were just a few of the animals.  We also saw wood bison, lynx, the top of the head of a grizzly, an eagle, owl, and some deer. Much better seeing them there than in the wild! (with the exception of the birds.. and deer.. and maybe the musk ox). 

The not-so-majestic looking elk.

 

One of the baby musk ox.  He was size of a small pot-bellied pig.

When 35 Feels Like 70..degrees that is!

The weather has been phenomenal lately and I have taken time away from paper writing, house cleaning, and whatever other "important" things I have to do in order to get outside and enjoy every second of the blue skies and sunshine.

A few days ago Greg took the day off and we headed down the Seward Highway along Turnagain Arm, with Portage as our destination.

Even though we've both lived here for over 6 years, we are still in awe of this beautiful drive.  Stopping to take the occasional shot, we leisurely drove the 50 miles to Begich Bog Visitor Center where we looked out over Portage Lake.

The snow was somewhat soft and knee deep in some areas but we made our way towards the glacier.  The sun was so hot that we both ended up taking off our jackets and we were still hot in our tee shirts.  At the end of the tree lined edge (in the distance), we took a break, pulled out some snacks, enjoyed the absolute silence and just enjoyed the beautiful day.  Because of the deep snow, and our lack of snowshoes, we never made it to the glacier... but I will be skiing out there before it's too late!
I can't say it gets any better than that.

To see more pictures of this adventure, and many others, 

please visit My Photo Blog

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.”
                                     ― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

If spring were to ever actually show up here in Alaska, I could start on my growing to-do list.  Having only a few short months of summer, I will need to get going as soon as I possibly can.

So snow, go on and melt on outta here!

1.   Plant garden.

2.   Build chicken coop.

3.   Buy chickens and put in said coop.

4.   Paint living room.

5.   Paint kitchen.

Now that I look at the list, it doesn’t seem too daunting and should be quite manageable… hopefully.

Butter Me Up!

Cashew, Pecan, Walnut and Pumpkin.

Those are the different flavors of butters I received from my Foodie PenPal this month.

What does one do with them? I'm not entirely sure, but I'm excited to find out!

Along with the butters, I received lots of fun and new things:

quinoa cereal

LaraBars

Green Tea

Gone Nuts, nut blend

Salad Booster

Barnana- chewy banana bites

What a great package from Kellie in Easton, PA! 

Thank you :)

We Aren't in Kansas Anymore!

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The thing is, it's been darn near 40 degrees here in Anchorage for the past week or so. These temperatures certainly aren't normal for this time of year, nor is the lack of snow. 

Am I complaining? No, of course not.. don't be ridiculous. It's 40 degrees in January!

Yet, it is such a drastic contrast from last year when Anchorage beat it's all-time high snowfall record that it is just a bit disconcerting. Let's not forget the plethora of earthquakes that have been shaking our houses and nerves too! Something fishy is going on here.. damn Mayans.

Now I love Alaska, but if it's going to break off from Canada and fall into the freezing waters surrounding it, I'd rather be elsewhere. I digress.......

Speaking of water.

I went on an excursion down the Seward Highway with my youngest brother today, with the goal of getting water. Yep, you heard me, water. 

Just past Beluga Point, at Mile 109, jutting out of the rocky wall that follows the contours of Turnagain Arm, protrudes a 5" pipe.  From this pipe runs what some folks call:

"The purest water around!"

As someone who is naturally pessimistic and a bit dubious, I never, in a million years, thought I would drink water from a pipe coming from God-Knows-Where carrying water with God-Knows-What in it.  But then.....

My neighbor brought me some one day after assuring me it was good to drink and saying (with a Polish accent):

"Well, it shit, must be good because we've been drinking it for 10 damn years!"

As the aforementioned skeptic, I took the water (you don't deny a gift from a Polack) and proceeded to research said water. He was correct, there had been many studies done throughout the years about that spring, all of which praised the alkalinity and mineral content.  So, I drank it. It was good.. as good as any water can be I suppose.  Then again, the water that comes from my 70+ year old cabin is often brown so I take that back.. it was good water.

In the end, I now get my water from the spring. Which is the whole point of this story and my excursion today.

To make a long story longer, my brother and I went to fill my water jugs and along the way, we took a detour down off the highway and to the water and up the McHugh Creek trail to the point where my lungs told me I had had enough "exercise" for the day.

It was a beautiful day.

I climbed up on the rocks overlooking the water. I attempted to "hold" the sun but the lighting wasn't allowing for it. The sound of the icebergs crashing against the rocks was pretty amazing.

The railroad heading towards Anchorage with the inlet on the far left.

Winter Wonderland

The other day I was driving to yet another Christmas party when I entered a mystical, foggy abyss.  My first thought was that a moose was surely to be lost in the fog and would end up standing in front of my fast moving car.  Fortunately, that was not the case.. whew.  

Although it was -9 outside and I was wearing inappropriate attire for traipsing through the snow, I had to get out and take a few pictures of the fog across the river. AMAZING.  If I had been warmer, and not out of breath from running to and from my car (cold air really hurts the ol' lungs), I could have stayed out there and just stared at it....and pondered life for a bit. Instead, I took these in about 3 minutes, ran back to my car, and away I went.

(don't forget, you can click on pics to enlarge)

Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a spectacular New Year!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow??

I get it.

 I live in Alaska.

  It snows here. 

   Understood.  

But over a foot of snow in the blink of an eye?  

No Comprendo!!

 

The snow does have it's benefits:

- It's pretty

- It's fun to play in

- It's not as cold out when it snows

- It makes my house look even cuter (really, it does!)

- It requires me to get outside and work off a few calories

.. other than that, snow sucks.