Aurora Borealis

It took us five months before we witnessed our first Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. We got a friendly text message that they were out and we walked out across the street to get away from the city lights. If you haven't seen them before it is hard to describe how the waves of color slowly fade in and out. Here are a couple slightly blurry pictures using Jessica as my tripod.

Running of the Reindeer

March is a special time of year in Anchorage.  Snow has invaded our lives for the last 4 months and we've endured the darkest days of winter but spring is only a few months away. What a better way to chase away cabin fever than with the highly anticipated celebration called Fur Rody. This festival and sports tournament was created 76 years ago to celebrate when the trappers and miners came to town for trading (http://www.furrondy.net). Now days the most publicized event of The Fur Rendezvous is the Iditarod dog sled races.



Kevin and I participated in one of the less prestigious events called Running of the Reindeer. It's Alaska's slightly less dangerous version of Running of the Bulls. Participants are encouraged to dress up and get silly. A couple of my co-workers (along with our reluctant husbands) took the opportunity to get silly and advertise. We stayed up until the wee hours the night before, coming up with the most absurd tag lines to advertise a dental office. Every time someone would read our signs and laugh we'd follow up with a business card and invitation to check us out.

They used a group of male reindeer from a local reindeer farm at one end of the street. A few blocks down is a lonely female reindeer. A massive crowd of registered runners complete with a number pinned to their shirts are released. Then the studly male deer were set free to zig zag their way through the obstacle of people to find the waiting female deer. Only to be lead back to the beginning of the race in time for the next mass of people to run.

We had a great time hanging out in the fighting crowds and freezing our toes as we waited to run. Elizabeth, my scheduling coordinator, was even touched by a reindeer twice during our run.

Anchorage Folk Festival

The winter can be pretty long in Alaska. To combat the cabin fever and remind everyone that there are more than just bear and moose outside residents organize festivals from January through March.

The 22nd Annual Anchorage Folk Festival was from January 20-30, 2011. We went for the final Saturday night show on the 29th. The night started out with a new age meditation piece that put our friends' kids to sleep before the music even started. It was a worrying start but the rest of the show kept us entertained past our bedtime.

The festival encourages family based bands and two were on display for us. The Wright Stripes playing cover songs from the White Stripes with the entire family in on the act. Then later the Hooper Family Band playing together to "stay together."

The Wright Stripes

The Hooper Family Band

The group Relative-ly Famous from Homer were claiming or reaching for family ties with Jewel's aunt and a relation to someone on Lord of the Rings as members of the band.

Relative-ly Famous

Our favorite bands were The Asteroids with their "swingy jazz grass", the Twangabilies and their "timeless toe-tapping tunes from some grizzled old pros", and The Grass-Fed String Band's "organic blend of feel-good roots music with 'new grass' feel." It helped that I actually knew a few of the songs but they all put a lot of energy into their performance and made it a lot of fun. The Grass-Fed String Band also had a hilarious song about not throwing out the water after boiling your vegetables because it has good nutrients, calling it veggie gin or something like that.

The Asteroids

The Twangabilies

The Grass-Fed String Band

Alaskans are very proud of their eccentricity. Not everyone can enjoy living where it stays frozen for months out of the year. They also like to brag about famous artists that have been inspired by their time in Alaska. Here are a couple songs that were mentioned during the show that I thought some of you would enjoy.

Johnny Cash: When It's Springtime In Alaska (It's Forty Below)




John Denver: Alaska And Me



We'll have an update on the biggest festival of the winter, the Fur Rendezvous or Fur Rondy, soon.

Cheechako

The Alaskan word of the day:

chee·cha·ko/CHiˈCHäkō/

Noun: A person newly arrived in the mining districts of Alaska or northwestern Canada

Obviously Jessica and I qualify after transplanting from San Diego. I still smile every time I see snow falling and I enjoy stepping outside on our balcony just to take deep breaths of freezing air. I'm not sure if you graduate from cheecako status after your first winter but if so we are only a few months away.

Sunrise Panorama

In the winter the sun doesn't rise until after 10am it lets you sleep in, eat breakfast, take the wife to work and still have time to hike out and watch the sun come up. It's even better when open spaces are a short walk or drive away from home. I took advantage of the late sunrise to hike out and capture a panorama of the event.

I wasn't the only one out enjoying the sunrise. In Alaska you always have to be on the lookout for wildlife. This morning it was a friendly moose enjoying some breakfast. She didn't seem to mind having me walk by but I was still peering over my shoulder multiple times to make sure she hadn't followed me along the trail.

Thankfully it is now February so the days are getting noticeably longer and we are discovering the many trails throughout Anchorage.

Christmas Morning

There is something so satisfying about drinking steamy hot chocolate while gazing at a world saturated with snow.  This is my new normal and the realization sends chills of excitement and ambivalence down the back of my arms.  I recover quickly with another sip of my creamy coco and turn my attention to the unwrapped package laying at my feet.  Today on Christmas morning is the perfect time to try out my new neon green snowshoes!  In a moment the merino wool and Gore-tex are layered on and Kevin and I head out to the Far North Bicentennial Park.

The snow is crunchy dry and my snow-shoe feet sink deeper than expected as we forge a new trail meandering into the woods.  I soon become aware of not only the cold settling into my feet but of little icicles forming on my eyelashes as the moisture from my breath escapes past the balaclava.

We approach a clearing and spy a possible snow covered beaver den.  We hesitate a moment to examine the tracks of others that ventured before us across the frozen water.  The view is surreal to this So. Cal. girl. I feel as if I can’t open my eyes wide enough to take in the sparkly snow covered forest, framed by distinguished mountains, all while standing by a beaver den.

Even passing moose poop seems oddly satisfying in this beautiful setting. A few more photos are snapped and my fingers join my feet in protesting the cold. It’s a much quicker trek home over the lake, through the woods, and back to our apartment. Once inside the first order of business is a kettle on the stove and within minutes I’m once again cradling a steamy cup of coco and gazing out at my own little winter wonder land.

Freezin' For A Reason

A beautiful day for a swim

When was the last time you thought about jumping into a frozen lake while wearing a costume? I (Jessica) have to admit for a split second I considered it. And in fact the locals here aren't completely crazy because it was for a good cause. Every year the Special Olympics Alaska raises money at their Polar Plunge on Goose Lake. While we didn't take the plunge we did go out to support some of my coworkers who did. Even without getting in the water this was the coldest I've been since moving to Anchorage. Negative 4 degrees is quite toe biting when you're standing waiting for your team's turn. Our little Canon camera felt the same and insisted that the battery was dead after a few minutes of videoing. Thankfully our SLR is much more resilient and had no trouble performing even though the view lens fogged when you placed your eye next to it. It was a memorable experience complete with free soup from Qdoba and a truck from Ice Road Truckers honking when each group jumped. Many safety precautions where taken for the participants including lifeguards in dry suits, firefighters helping the jumpers out of the water and hot tubs inside heated tents.

Studded Running Shoes

Here in Alaska the crinkling sound of studded tires is at almost every stop light. So it was natural that we would join the locals. Less than a week after getting our Subaru we had purchased studded tires on craigslist. Similarly, within a week of Jessica jogging with her co-workers we determined she needed her own studded running shoes.

The balaclava is key to the winter ninja look

In California most people would just skip running if it was icy outside. But with icy roads for half the year in Anchorage runners are a little more serious about finding ways to pound the pavement all year round. Making studded shoes was really pretty simple.

Material:
Shoes (air and gel soles not recommended)
#6 hex head metal screws, 1/2" length or less (10-12 per shoe)
Sharpie
Multi-bit screwdriver (without a bit installed)

I used the Sharpie to plan out where to add the screws. The plan was to space them out so there would always be two or more screws in contact with the ground during the entire stride. I also looked at where her shoes were slightly worn and made sure to add a screw where it would be well used.

The end result turned out great. I did have to warn Jessica to stick to the carpet after she strayed onto the kitchen floor. Also the "cleats" will dig into skin so make sure you don't scrape yourself pulling them off your feet.

Greetings from the Frozen North

At the top of Flattop Mt. 7/2010

If you haven’t visited the 49th state it lives up to it’s tag line of the Last Frontier. Even in downtown Anchorage you can see mountains and moose. There are multiple trails throughout Anchorage. The most notable is the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail that leads hikers and cyclists 11 miles from downtown Anchorage to Kincaid Park. It is fully paved and follows the coast with terrific views of the inlet and planes arriving at Ted Stevens International Airport. In winter it’s also known for its great for cross country skiing which we’re looking forward to trying during the 5 to 6 months of snow.

Picture taken flying over Triumvirate Glacier near Beluga Lake 7/2010

From living in Oregon Kevin is used to an occasional snow fall that disappears in a few days. But here it seems that our first snow will be melting along with the rest in the coming spring.  We moved in October for the tail end of fall with the first snow falling shortly after Halloween.  Needless to say the landscape looked very different when we moved compared to when we visited for Jessica's interviews in July.  The pictures included here are of our July visit.

Countryside in Palmer 7/2010

A moose family in Kincaid Park, 7/2010