Hutlinana

Yesterday, I had the chance to catch up with my friend Kyle on a 12 mile round-trip hike into Hutlinana hotsprings. Apart from the 3 hour drive on icy roads to get there, it was a beautiful day - warm enough to not need hat or gloves, and only a few inches of snow so we just hiked in with running shoes. The hot spring was well worth the trip, tucked in against the small cliff on the left side of the river.



The dogs had fun. Here's Yugi (living with us for four months) and Turtle. We were in prime squirrel country - their favorite!



The sunset on the way home was superb.

Winter's Transition

Fall was still hanging in the air a few short weeks ago. We took advantage of the cool weather to observe the fall colors one last time before the snow turned the world white. This is at Kesugi Ridge between Fairbanks and Anchorage.



When the snow finally hit, it was cause for celebration. Time for skiing and snow angels again.



The early season skiing is great. Lots of glide and warm temperatures.

Anadyr

Ever since I started my research in the Bering Strait, I've been wanting to travel across the short distance to Russia. Last week, I had my chance, taking a small plane for the 2 hour ride to Anadyr, the regional capital of Chukotka. We landed along side Bear Bombers and were met by an entourage of military and customs officials.



For a reason, I'm still a little unclear on, Anadyr is separated from it's airport by a mile or so of water. This involves a ride in a small landing craft as for us in summer, an ice road in winter, and in the intervening seasons, a helicopter.



I went to present my walrus research at the annual Beringia Days conference. It was a great chance to meet collaborators in person and to share information on walrus research.



Roman Abramovich is the governor of Chukotka. Britain knows him as the owner of Chelsea football club. Anadyr knows him for the extensive investments he has made in Chukotka, including in some new paint!







Anadyr is an interesting mix of the old and new. Large murals and Russia's largest wooden orthodox church. We went to a service which was quite moving in its ethereal beauty and singing.



On one of the last days, we took a trip out onto the tundra for a wonderful barbecue of reindeer chased down with some great vodka.



As usual, I was captivated by the kids. We were delayed for a few days due to cross winds at the airport and took a tour of the local kindergarten. Here are a few of my favorite photos.





Finally, at the airport we met families stuck for two days waiting to travel an hour toward Alaska to the town of Providenya. They were fun to play with, including Amy here from KNOM in Nome who used the camera distortion program on her mac to entertain them for at least an hour!

Musings before the Fall

August turned out pretty busy with comprehensive exams and a work trip to Portland, but didn't stop the necessary few last trips to enjoy the summer before it eases into winter. The chill is already in the air and the nights dark and starry again. Northern Lights on Friday were some of the best I've ever seen (see our friend Patrick's blog for some photos of them and the cranes that are congregating before heading south). Here are a few photos of the last weeks. A productive trip out into the hills to pick blueberries with Ben and Julie. You have to wonder if Ben has a red bucket for raspberries and and an orange one for salmon berries.





Yesterday, had a chance to catch up with Kyle and Julie (now back from their wedding and honeymoon in Africa), and another friend Adrian on a mellow float along the Chena River in Fairbanks. Kyle and Julie are enjoying the cleanliness of Fairbanks...which believe me is a telling story of Africa!



The paddle was a pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon, even with the Discovery paddle wheel churning past us during lunch. Even though it was now September 1st, the sun was hot keeping dogs in the shade and us relaxed and ready for ice cream at the finish.

News from the Field

It's been a hectic week preparing for my comprehensive exams, coupled with giving Tupac some extra love. He was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease for which there is no cure. Although quite sick, he's putting on a brave face. So for now, I'm living vicariously through Tawna's adventures.

She's a long-day's drive north of Vancouver at a bird-banding station. The drive really exhausted Turtle apparently.



The banding station is a beautiful place in amazing surroundings. I'm hoping to visit at the end of the month.




Here's one of their birds, a yellow-winged variety.

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.