Dinner and a Show

The nearby town of Fox, Alaska consists of a gas station, a bar, a restaurant/brewery, a truck weighing station and a public water source. I like to call it the Fox Watering Hole. I had just returned from Fox with eight 5 gallon jugs of water and a some takeout from the brewery, because I didn't feel like cooking. I backed in the car, and proceeded to enter my house as usual. After I put the key in the door I noticed Apollo was on high alert.
I turned behind me to see a young moose chomping away at some willow bushes in my front yard. "Young" by no means equates to small. This guy was probably 3 or 4 years old and maybe 7 feet tall at the shoulder. Apollo was only about 10 feet from him. The moose didn't like this very much, but he stood his ground. I called Apollo back, and, interestingly enough, the moose didn't mind my yelling to the dog and continued right on chomping.
So there I found myself in a lawn chair on the porch, beer and burger in hand, dog sitting diligently at the edge of the stairs, and a moose meandering in the brush not more than 20 feet away. Dinner and a show, Alaska style.

P.S. Note the sunrise/sunset time in the little box to the right ---->
The darkness has just about left entirely.

First backpack

Spring is certainly upon us, so last weekend was time for the first backpack of the season. Even though it snowed yesterday, it was 60F today and I sit here with light significantly on the horizon at 11p. The extra light was very nice for hiking out, we didn't have to leave until late afternoon and were able to be 6 miles in with camp set before dark. This was Apollo's first backpack, and he did great. He even went face to face with a moose. (Neither one was harmed)

Oliver and Brittany heading up.

Good work on the tarp, Oliver. Instead of taking refuge in the tents when snow came, we had a fire and a dry spot to cook dinner.

The view in the morning. Add a hot cup of french press, and its hard to beat.

Snow-melt water, though, not always so pleasant.

On guard, and alert. Believe it or not, that sign behind him was the only thing that freaked him out the whole trip.

Happy dog. His backpack broke after 5 minutes, but I have since got him a better one. He can pack his own food!

Back in the cabin.

My Alaska Pt. II

Sorry again for the delay, I've been sitting on these pictures since the end of winter. But it is spring here now! Temperatures are pushing 60F in the day, the sun is warm, and the clouds are puffy, well rounded cumulus. So to finish off the wintery side of things, here is "My Alaska" Part II:

Satellite adornment.

Breaking ice.

Forgotten Nash.

Watering hole.

Neighbors.

Neighbors long gone.

Winter's dusk.

Thanks for looking! Don't forget you can click on them to enlarge them.
-PJ

Tobaggan Lane Luge

Made possible by Helmet-Cam v1.0.

Gaining Light

With the turn of the equinox, light is quickly returning to the North. Although it is still 20F outside, it is officially spring, and I wrote this song in celebration.

My Alaska, Pt. 1

Alaska means different things to different people. For some, its working the pipeline and snow machines, or maybe its skiing 30 miles to a cabin in the wilderness. It could be studying musk oxen in the Arctic, mushing dogs, or owning an espresso stand. I've finally gotten around to taking some photos just for the sake of taking photos. This is the Alaska that I've found, so my ongoing project is called "My Alaska".


I decided to start with the pipeline. I drive by it often and always wanted to take a look at these funky things. (They are convective radiators so the ground below the pipeline doesn't thaw and sink.)

Apparently Sattie loves Cal.


The ol' Howling Dog Saloon, closed for the winter because the building isn't insulated.

An adornment of the less-traveled St. Patrick Road.

Willow Run.

North Star Borough Solid Waste Disposal, Fox Station. (No curbside pick-up around here)

Part II is in the works! Snow is melting quickly...

Some aurora

The aurora hasn't been all it can be recently, but it was still worth going out and trying to take some pictures. We froze our butts off on the highest elevation in the area, wind brought the wind chill well below zero. I got the one above, which looks a lot like how it really appears to the naked eye. Exposure time was about 45 seconds.


This one is an awesome long exposure by Oliver, about 8 minutes. The sky looked nothing like this, but it shows that the entire atmosphere above us was glowing even though we couldn't see it. The strong bands were visible to us, but other than that it was dark sky. The burrs from the stars are from them moving across the sky while the shutter was open.