Turtle and the Indigo Girls

Tawna and Turtle headed to B.C., Canada a couple of days ago; here's Turtle taking a final nap.



Tonight, headed out with friends to see the Indigo Girls. It was fun to have them in Fairbanks and play such a small venue. As you can see, the setting was really quite intimate for such a well known group.





Never thought I'd meet a person called Turtle...but here is Turtle, a 40-year resident of Fairbanks with my buddy Ben. It was a fun evening for all!

Jersey Wedding

Last week, Tawna and I headed east to Washington D.C., up the Jersey coast, to New York, and to our friend's Kyle and Julie's wedding. It was 85 degrees in D.C., and a beautiful full moon first evening on the Mall.





Even though the Jersey shore had never jumped out as a wildlife spot, we found some tranquility and an abundance of birds around Cape May and at the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge just north of Atlantic City. We saw 50 species of bird in just 24 hours or so including a favorite, the black skimmer (a borrowed photo).



The wedding was beautiful, the ceremony outside narrowly missing the thunder and lightning. The 8-strong Alaska contingent made healthy inroads into the libations after the rabbi deemed our home state a "god-forsaken land."

Delta River

Tawna and I took off for a few days on the upper Delta River. An easy float out of it's headwaters at Tangle Lakes down to the Richardson Highway - about 35 miles. The trip starts with a few miles crossing the Tangle Lakes. We spent a night out at the lower Lake. You can see our tent on the right side of the picture, we had the place to ourselves which was wonderful. The blueberries are everywhere but unfortunately we were a week early to indulge.



The second day was an easy float down to a half mile portage around a waterfall. Below that, the river runs through a short canyon with some rocky class 2 rapids.



Much of the water is mellow and when there were no mergansers and chicks to keep her interest, Turtle just kicked back and relaxed. As you'll notice though, not really helping with our general stability.



Lower on the river, she helped my scouting, using her nose to sniff out the right channels.

Tawna and Anchorage

Drove down to Anchorage this week to pick up Tawna and have a bit of time in the mountains. It was nice to be on some of my favorite trails and show Tawna around a bit. She came in at 4 pm, we grabbed pizza at the Moose's Tooth and then up to Symphony and Eagle Lakes.




After a nice run into the lakes of the South Fork of Eagle River, we drove to Hatcher Pass, just north of Anchorage in the Talkeetna Mountains. Found a nice place to sleep, and then headed into Reed Lakes in the morning. This is one of the best day hikes in the area through some really beautiful scenery.





The rock is granite, leading to some fun opportunities to boulder





The weather was even nice enough for a swim (at least for Tawna) in the glacial fed creek that runs by the trail.


On our drive out, this Hoary Marmot decided to come up to the car and torment Turtle who couldn't believe the audacity!

4th of July

Took the chance to spend a bit of time with my friends Julie, and Kyle and Julie who are relaxing before their wedding at the end of the month. Here's Julie enjoying the start of the upper Chena, a very relaxed float!



The dogs alternated swimming, running along gravel bars, and spending some time in the boats. That's Kyle and Julie setting the pace.



Floated down to a nice beach and barbecued up a good lunch of sockeye salmon and burgers. There was some beer along with G and Ts which could have contributed to some navigation issues during the afternoon.



Julie's dog Caz and Turtle swam several miles of the river which is shocking as Turtle has only been swimming a couple of times, and short distances at that since I've known her.



Tawna's back home on Tuesday, and we're all (that's Turtle, Tupac, and me) looking forward to posting some adventures with her again.

Chena Dome

Headed out early toward Chena Hot Springs with the plan to run the 30 mile Chena Dome trail. It starts up through old fire burns climbing about 800 m in the first 6 miles.



Once out of the trees, the views are impressive. You can see the ridge all the way to Chena Dome, the high point in the distance. There's not really a trail along the ridge, making for fun tundra running. I saw a moose and calf just past this spot right on top of the ridge.



Even though we left early, it was oppressively hot for the ascent and there was no water at all on the trail until a tiny little pool at mile 7. Turtle forgot to bring water for herself so we shared. She's pretty good at drinking from the camel back.



We were making pretty good time, but just before we got to Chena Dome, thunder heads started to form, sounding their presence in long barrages. There were a long line of dark storm clouds drifting in, so decided to make this an out-and-back and headed back along the ridge hoping to beat the storm.



Thought we were home and dry but right before heading down off the ridge we were hit with a blitzkrieg of pea-sized hail. Poor old Turtle didn't know what to do, put her ears back, scrunched her eyes mostly closed, and stayed close to the ground. Anyway, it was altogether a fun little run ending up at around 16 miles.

40!

Tawna came back from Vancouver for my 40th and to head out on a road trip to McCarthy and Kennicott. Although a long drive (10 hours), it was wonderful to get out into the mountains. We started with a hike along the Root Glacier, which is where I taught ice climbing when I first came to Alaska.



The weather was hot and sunny making the glacier really slick, although that didn't stop a little bit of exploring on the ice...Tawna's first time. Turtle seemed to do fine with her claws although the sharp ice was hard on her pads.



We ran for much of the trail alongside the glacier, the 3000 meter "Stairway Icefall" as a backdrop.



On the way back into Kennicott, the trail drops back into willow and alder. It was soon after this picture was taken that Turtle found a black bear although Tawna called her in before trouble ensued! The bear headed up into the brush, not to be seen again.



Small waterfalls were a welcome place to cool off in the heat.



After a few days in Kennicott, our friends Justine and Stacia joined us for some dipnetting in Chitina. Here's Stac at 5 a.m. (having already driven 2 hours to get here) showing how it's done at the confluence of the Chitina and Copper Rivers.



The scenery at Chitina is spectacular. That is Mount Wrangell behind.



Unfortunately, the fishing was a little slow, although Tawna managed to catch this 20 kilo King Salmon. It was a little unclear for a while if the King would take Tawna into the river before Tawna got the King onto land. Luckily, Stac and Justine were close at hand!



Turtle was ready for dipnetting with all the running and hiking she had been doing. She's tuckered out but should get some rest until my comprehensive exams are done in the next few weeks!

The Dalton

Ben and I had long been planning to head up the Dalton Highway to take pictures, and this weekend worked out well on timing. So, at 5 a.m on Saturday, we jumped in the car, and headed north on a mini-adventure. Here's the crew, Ben, Turtle, and Pella (keeping a low profile).



The trip was a chance to get out of town, and for Ben to work more on his photo project of the Dalton Highway. Turtle was wound up the whole trip with plentiful wildlife to keep her excited. This was fine until she decided to chase a rabbit before the car had stopped! So...at a little over 10 mph, Turtle leaps through the half opened window (about where it is in this picture), hits the ground, and without missing a beat heads into the forest at full tilt. Ben and I ...hmmm...well, we just didn't know what to say! Confronted, Turtle just told us in her nonchalant manner that "I do my own stunts."



Much of the drive is through the boreal forest on dirt. There had been some heavy rain, leading to muddy conditions!



But, by the time we got through Atigun Pass onto the North side of the Brooks Range, the weather and scenery were just perfect! We camped at Galbraith Lake, where after 12 hours driving, we enjoyed a beautiful hike on the tundra. It was a perfect moment - good company, happy dogs, wildlife, and that intoxicating feeling of adventure in all directions.



Unfortunately, we had a stove mishap...like a "where's the stove?" mishap. That led to a coffee emergency this morning. It was 4 hours driving to Coldfoot where we enjoyed a great breakfast and coffee. It was good...real good!



We stopped for a break at Finger Rock, about half way back to Fairbanks. A breeze to keep the bugs down, and sun on your face sent us both to sleep. Turtle slept as well while Pella looked on in her dastardly way. For those of you that remember Mutley from Wacky Races, you have to admit that there's a resemblance! See the Sappy Birthday episode if you have a few minutes to take a trip down childhood memory lane and get reacquainted with Mutley!

The Turtle Dog

Tawna is in Vancouver, leaving Turtle, Tupac, and me to look after the house. It's been quite the adventure, so here's a blog of some of our adventures, starting with Chena Lakes where we clocked Turtle at just over 20 miles an hour - thank goodness for fast bikes!



Had a fun road trip to Juneau a few weeks ago. It's a 10 hour drive to Haines and then a few hours on the ferry. Got to see humpback whales, sea lions, a grizzly bear wondering along side the road, caribou, and moose. It was wonderful to run the trails in the forests, all the giant skunk cabbage was sprouting.



Unfortunately, Turtle decided to go for a late night snack of porcupine, which landed us in the emergency room at midnight. I think it was more traumatic for my friend Chanda and I; Turtle recovered from the anesthetic, and was ready to chase porcupines again by lunchtime the next day. Fortunately, she didn't catch another one!



Judging by the blogs, it seemed that all and sundry went to Granite Tors this weekend. I went with my friend Ed to run the 15 mile trail through some amazing scenery. Thunderstorms pounded the hills a few miles away, but we were treated with gentle breezes - keeping the bugs away, some clouds - keeping the temperatures cool, and views as far as to Fairbanks 40 miles to the west.



Turtle and I have been working on who is boss. Here I am trying to pose her for a picture. Turtle is ok with Tawna being boss, but she (in her mind) ranks above me, which leads to a variety of obedience problems...such as her not chasing porcupines and thinking it's ok to cruise for ice cream at Hot Licks! Luckily Tawna is coming home on the 18th to remind her that there are rules in the world and that her mum still loves her.



Nevertheless, Turtle will humor me with a picture once in a while. It was a great day out with Ed and Turtle...although we're both a little tuckered now!