Alaska State Fair, Part 2

Atz Kilcher (Jewel's dad) performs

A Beautiful Day at Hatcher Pass

After spending much of the summer tethered to the laptop, I was delighted to get out to Hatcher Pass today. It's always gorgeous out there, no matter what the season or weather, but on a beautiful summer day, it was great. Okay, true, a few raindrops, but that just added a special sheen to the lighting, I think.

This photo was taken before you get into the Pass, down near a pull out on the river. As you can see, the blue skies and blue waters cascading over the rocks complimented each other nicely. There's always a roar of sound, too, near the river, which you don't fully appreciate until you move away, but just one of those sounds of nature I love.

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You also come to appreciate how tough some trees in Alaska can be. Can you imagine clinging to life in this spot?

Looking back down into Mat-Su Valley from the heights of Hatcher Pass. You're really on a level with the clouds, an odd feeling, but cool

We climbed up the slope with our park service guide (one of the perks of Donna's summer job), and snapped this one at the top. Old mine cars, stilled forever near the mine's entrance.

Hatcher Pass, Part 2

Clouds have rolled in one one side, but simply provided a story book lighting as we climbed up and looked down on the gift shop and out buildings.
This picture gives no clue how high up were are nor the steepness of the slope just to the left. Mat-Su Valley to the rear again, of course.
Had I taken three steps forward, I'd have gone headfirst down a sharp decline that barely shows in this photo. Let's just say, you don't wanna do that.
About the only thing standing was the wall, which had this window I used to frame the mountain beyond.
Independence Mine is a bit of a junk heap, gotta admit. It's tough to see, but this is a waterfall pounding down the hill.

Hatcher Pass, Part 3

Helen and I braved the short entrance to the mine shaft (see the stop sign), thoroughly enjoying the coolness within. A HUGE difference in the temp in there and outside.





















This is the end of the tracks that lead out onto the trestle as seen from the hilltop.











At this point, I'm more or less atop the area where I took Helen's photo above.


This is the side view of the trestle shown above.







Little did I know I was not only going to wind up "climbing a mountain," but even scarier, going down one, too. That's Helen in front of me, above, Donna and Mary a part of the tiny group sorta left lower center. That's where the fun started. See the cable stretched down the hill here?

I'm obviously a rotten photographer cos this photo does not show the steepness of the drop, but I was definitely not taking pictures coming down. Instead, I was hanging onto that cable for dear life and using my right hand to balance.




Looking the other way, I was whining that we weren't all the way down even then!

Finally back on something resembling flatness, I turned my attention to the water over the rocks once again. This place is just full of such great sights.

See what I mean?

Taken out the window of Donna's Honda as we headed down, down, down and back toward home again. I love this place!

Togo is displayed at Iditarod Headquarters, Wasilla

"Give Moose a Brake!"

That's the slogan on signs that line not just the Glenn Highway, but pop up along many of the corridors of Alaska. With good reason. You're putting along one moment, then the next thing you know, you're slamming on the breaks and watching a moose crossing the road right in front of you. Happened to me yesterday on the way back from Eagle River. Fortunately, I was leisurely cruising along, giving some serious thought to exiting at the next exit, Eklutna, so wasn't flying low. Next thing I know, poof, I see a big ol' moose bursting outta the brush to my right, heading straight across the road in front of me.

You know how you just react and don't really think about it. Somehow, I'm slamming on the brakes, heading for the side of the road, and checking my rear view mirror to make sure I'm not about to get slammed into from behind while I'm doing all this. Fortunately, only one other car close at that point and they obviously saw the moose, too, or were confused enough at my actions to decide to slow down, too.

Good thing, cos while all this took just seconds, as mama heads across the road at a trot, I realize that she's got her baby with her and it's closing in on the road, too. Mama looked agitated (bear?) but baby just seemed confused and balked at the edge of the road. Mama got to the median, saw it wasn't behind her, and spun around and recrossed the two lanes of northbound Glenn Hwy.

Somewhere along the line during all this and recognizing that there was traffic coming from behind us, I had the thought, "Hey, Einstein! The camera's on the car seat beside you. You should take a picture."

Duh, did, slowly moving forward as mama and then baby began to trot along the side of the road. I still wasn't quite sure how safe it was and didn't want to be added to that "Give Moose a Brake" sign total for moose collisions, but about that time 2-3 big SUV's just go flying past me and the now two cars crawling along behind me. That was scary, cos had the moose made a left, they'd have been on the road again in a heartbeat. Fortunately, all was well at that point and as the left lane cleared, I moved over into it and cautiously passed myself, as did the two cars behind me. Even better, didn't hear anything about any unwanted moose encounters by vehicles on the news, so hopefully this story had a happy ending.

And that was my Monday Adventure.

Wow, long time no write... Denali Jaunt

Looks like I've been slacking, so here are some photos from the "Driving to Denali" jaunt that Mary, Helen, Donna and I took last Friday. It turned rainy, but we didn't care. Denali National Park is glorious even between raindrops.

Idita-tourists begin to arrive

Donna, with Betty and Doris, who've just arrived for Iditarod 2007.

Doris, Betty and Donna heading out for Donna's place in Willow, where they'll be staying the first couple days.

DIno?

So, how bored am I when I'm going around seeing tiny ice dinosaur sculptures in the melting snow on top of Hazy's house?

Fire Sky

Days like today remind me why I live here. Mother Nature outdid herself with this sunset, surely one of the most spectacular I've ever seen.

Uh, yeah, just a bit of snow in Willow

Somewhere under all that snow is a four foot fence. This is one year that mushers in Willow won't be complaining about having too little snow, that's for sure.

Happy New Year!

Just as the sunlight hitting the tips of the mountain's peaks gives promise of what is to come, may your 2007 be all you've hoped for and more.

Happy New Year!!!

Weather Front Coming In!!!

The weather was changing, and fast, early this afternoon a I headed down to the post office. Snapped this across Lake Lucille around 1 PM. Looks almost like a small twister in the sky, huh? Given how much the wind has been kicking up, gusts to 50 MPH, a pretty fair comparison, tho' it was just a quirk in the clouds.

Merry Christmas!!!

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday to everyone! With 12" of snow on the ground and more falling, plus more in the forecast for tomorrow, I'm truly living in a "Winter Wonderland."

Mooned Again

Just as was the case on Monday, the moon was up big and bright again at around 4 PM today. I took this shot near Fred Meyers, looking out across Wasilla Lake. The wind had been fierce all day, so the icy surface was largely snow free, creating a nice reflection.

Big Moon Rising

Our days here in Alaska may be getting shorter and shorter, meaning I took this shot, no lie, close to 3:45 PM, but there are obviously perks that help make up for the occasionally all too brief hours of daylight.

My Sourdough columns

http://www.thesourdough.com/index.php?sectionID=308
I've been busy doing some writing for The Sourdough, an online newspaper, so have sorta been ignoring this blog, sorry. Most of mine will be found under this link, plus those by others. A few of mine may be elsewhere, depending on their topic. For instance, one about the Aurora is under the Science linked one, go figure.

Bruce Linton-Jason Mackey Dog Truck Wreck

Yikes!

That was about all I could say after seeing this photo, sent to me by Bruce, after the wreck. Amazingly enough, not only did Bruce and Jason emerge alive and relatively unharmed, but all the dogs are safely accounted for, too.

Oh, Christmas Tree

After attending a dog show at Raven Hall in Palmer the other day, I opted to cruise out past the bridge over the Matanuska River. Just beyond it a bit, I stumbled across a lovely scene. Huge, snow covered spruce trees with a gorgeous backdrop of mountains. Ah, yes, the perfect Christmas tree, perfectly decorated by Mother Nature. She does good work, doesn't she? I've added it to my CafePress site, http://www.cafepress.com/sunhusky and to the http://sunhusky.com/photos/ . It's a balmy -8 degrees right now outside, so it's definitely "beginning to look a lot like Christmas."