A Full-time Life

Category: Alaska

  • SLED DOGS and MUSHERS

     

     

    P1000575 Usually the symbols on those roadside "Visitor Services" signs will tell you about lodging, campgrounds, food, fuel, maybe shopping …  but it took a while to learn that this one means 'dog-sleds'.  Only in Alaska.

     Sled dog racing is a big part of the Alaska culture.   Mushers (almost anywhere around the State) may open their kennels to visitors and sometimes take tourists on a 'training run' during the summer.  

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    We visited the Iditirod Race Headquarters in Wasilla.  Below is a team  waiting to take a practice summer run.  These dogs live to run and were so happy when they got to start.    The only time these dogs barked was when the musher switched a few of the dogs from resting to pulling.  Then the ones who were switched in looked at the ones they replaced and said 'ha ha my turn now'.  (We both swear that's what they said!)

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     The  musher (dog owner/trainer) here at Wasilla was the son of Joe Redington, the man who revived the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.  

    The Race begins on the first Saturday in March.  All dogs must have a medical checkup and a clean bill of health before beginning.  Mushers must have between 12 and 16 dogs to start and must finish with at least six dogs on the towline.  

      P1010337The sled used today is the same design that was used by Alaska's Native people centuries ago.

    There are three mandatory stops.   One 24-hour layover whenever the musher chooses, one 8-hour layover somewhere on the Yukon and an 8-hour layover at White Mountain checkpoint.

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    There are additional checkpoints every so often and at each one the musher must present a notebook to the Veterinarian on duty.    The notebook records  how much the dogs are eating, drinking, how they are running and a whole list of other things the Vet looks at before giving each dog a thorough check.  (If the dog doesn't pass it, or just doesn't want to run any more, he will be trucked back and that is how a musher may end up with fewer dogs than what he or she started with.)

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    There's a whole list of things each team must carry.  One of the most interesting was eight booties for each dog.  These are little colored socks to keep their feet warm.  

    We learned that  Colleges of Veterinary Medicine (not just in Alaska) have had researchers studying these dog teams for many years.  One thing that I remember hearing  was that they learned the importance of Omega Threes to a dog's diet.   These dogs have enviable heart rates!

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    These dogs are well-loved and well cared for.  And they are also trained and highly skilled athletes.  We enjoyed learning a little more about them. 

     

    FOR:  OUR WORLD on TUESDAY and next week's SATURDAY CRITTERS (if I am able to link; we may be out of cell-phone reach next weekend.).

    Thank you to the hosts.

     

     

  • FIREWEED

    Fireweed is a  tall beautifully-colored wildflower that is blooming prolifically in fields and along roadsides wherever we've been in Alaska so far.  

    It is lovely to see masses of these magenta flowers as you walk or drive along.   

     

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    Fireweed is known as Alaska's Summer Clock.   Local wisdom says that once the fireweed blooms to the top of the stalk,  summer is over and it is only a few more weeks until the long winter sets in.   

     

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    Believe me, we are keeping a  close eye on it! 

     

    Here are a few more beautiful Alaska wildflowers.   We've enjoyed these lovely color spots as we travel in the state and, for year-round Alaskans, I would imagine they are even more welcome after a long cold winter. 

     

    Alaska wildflowers

     

    I'm planning to link this post* to TODAY'S FLOWERS AND NF BLO-MA.  Thank you to Denise and the TF team and to Monica for hosting Blo-Ma.  

    (*if travel and internet connections cooperate)

  • Brownish SANDHILL CRANES — in Alaska

    We were puzzled when we first glimpsed these birds (and about half a dozen more) feeding in a lovely grassy field near the harbor in Kenai.  We really didn't need binoculars to tell that they had to be Sandhill Cranes.  

    Everything about their shape, their size, their walk and their behavior was right.  

     

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    Except that we had never seen them with reddish-brown feathers before.  

    We've  watched these guys in New Mexico, in Utah, in Texas, and in Florida … maybe other places too … but they've always always had gray/white plumage.

     

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    We took a ton of pictures of course.

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     And did some research later when we downloaded the photos.  Here's what we found on the National Wildlife Federation's  site:

     

    "Although the feathers are gray, sometimes they can have a reddish-brown appearance. The reason for the change in color is that sandhill cranes preen themselves by rubbing mud on their feathers. The mud can be brown or red. The red mud comes from iron rich environments."

     

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     At three to four feet tall with a wing-span that can be over 5 feet, sandhills are always an impressive bird.  I think maybe even more so in their ocher "dye job" which certainly made them stand out in their green field.      

     

     LINKING TO:  Stuart's WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY and Annie's BIRD D'POT (on Saturday).    Thank you both for hosting!!!

     

      

     

  • SELDOVIA

     

      Seldovia is a small island town in Katchemak Bay that is accessible only by boat or plane.  It was our mid-way destination when we took a wildlife and sightseeing boat trip from Homer.  

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    Our Captain took the slow route getting there, with a lot of stops so that we could look at  all the wonderful sealife and scenery that I posted about here (and more that I didn't get pictures of).  Then he docked at Seldovia where we had almost three hours to eat lunch and stroll before re-boarding the boat for the return trip  (which was faster,  pretty much without photo-op stops).

     

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    We walked all around the little town.  There were a few nice homes, an interesting old Russian Orthodox Church, several sweet little pocket parks on the main street, and an awful lot of homes and buildings that had seen better days.

     

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    Seldovia was very heavily damaged by the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964.   It used to have boardwalks throughout the whole town, but most of them were destroyed during  the quake or in the following "urban renewal" projects.   One person told us that the town, which was a fishing village really, was just beginning to recover from the severe quake damage when the bottom fell out of the fishing industry.  Now it is mainly a  destination for tourists and  sports fishing charter boats.      

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    The tourist literature said that artists  and craftspersons also find it a good place to live and work, but in our limited time there we did not find a whole lot  that interested us.  (We weren't in the market for art in any case — not much room in our teeny tiny RV for art or crafts.)   There were a lot of rustic chainsaw carvings, which normally don't impress us much, but I rather liked these puffins.

     

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    A few of the sights  as the boat pulled away from Seldovia on the return trip.

     

    SHARING WITH OUR WORLD TUESDAY with thanks to the wonderful ladies of the hosting team.

      

     

     

  • WALKING THE BABY (moose)

     

     

    Mama Moose and her baby came strolling right toward us as we drove down the road to Cook Inlet State Park.

    At first the little one looked quite wobbly on his feet.   It just might have been his first long-term outing.

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    He seemed to get more sure of himself though as we watched.

     

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     Heading for greener pastures.

     

     

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     Let's try going a little faster now!

     

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    Mom, Mom, MOM, look at me — I can do this by myself!! 

     

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    Stop right now and wait for me before you cross that clearing!!

    (All pictures taken from window of parked car — we pulled over as soon as we saw them walking down the road.) 

     

    Linking with SATURDAY CRITTERS.  Thanks to Eileen.  

     

  • HOMER ALASKA

     

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     We really loved Homer.  It was one of those places that called our names — where we felt right at home — where we could almost imagine ourselves living happily ever after.  At the Southern  end of the Kenai Peninsula Homer is literally the end of the road …   the Sterling Highway ends in the town and you can't drive any further.   When you are ready to leave, you have to turn around and go back the way you came.  

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     A seacoast town, with a slight counter-culture vibe existing side-by-side with a working fishing village.   Birds and whales and fish and boats.  Nice people …  and even some pretty darn good restaurants  ….  what's not to love!

     

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     And of course the amazing views!

     Glaciers, ice fields, and volcanic peaks are visible across the bay from the Homer Spit (the very end of the land, down on the fishing wharf and docks.)  

     

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    We stayed in an RV Park on the Spit … about 2 minutes from the dock area and about five from the town itself.    All of these pictures (except for the one from the wharf with the glacier) were taken on different evenings as we walked on the beach.    In front of where we were camped.  At around 11 p.m.  (Yeah, I still haven't quite gotten over that!)

     

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     SHARING with SKYWATCH FRIDAY and SCENIC WEEKENDS.    Thank you to THE HOSTS.

  • MURRES and other “common” birds

    I sort of hate it when a  bird I've never seen before is called "Common …" but since we saw hundreds and hundreds of this bird on a tour of Katchemak Bay it's apparent that "Common Murre" is an appropriate name.

     

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    6 27What's definitely not common is this bird's ability to "walk" — or more aptly, "dance" on the water.  

    That is such an amazing behavior to watch.  

    Here's a closer look.

     

     

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    Below is a look at some other common — or maybe not so common — birds.  We saw hundreds of these two kinds of birds on the piece of floating real-estate called (surprise) "Gull Island".    

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    If these birds have a round black spot on the bottom of their wings, then they are  Kittiwakes  - a bird found pretty much only in Alaska (according to our tour guide).  

    If they have no black spot, then they are a glaucous-winged gull found in pretty much every landfill in every state (again according to our guide, but we all know this).       I have seen the black spot clearly several times, but it is definitely harder to get  excited about this lifer.  

     

    P1010007This boat trip from Homer to the little island village of Seldovia was a great experience.  

    Other birds we saw (not lifers) included puffins, oystercatchers, eagles — more eagles — there are  so many of them in Alaska (I'll have a post about that another week).  

     

    And, though the picture below isn't about birds, I think most birders enjoy viewing all wildlife, so just because I love these guys, I think I 'otter' end  this way:

     

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     FOR WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY.  Thank you Stuart.

     

     

     

     

  • RUSSIAN RIVER FALLS

     This small adventure in OUR WORLD happened last week when we were still staying in Soldanta.  We've moved on a couple of places since then.  I might still be blogging about Alaska next winter — so much to see and do here.  (And such iffy Internet connections.)  

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    P1000830We hiked a 6 mile out-and-back trail up to the Russian River Falls (uphill both ways, it seemed like to me). It  was the beginning of the run for the red salmon (Coho).

     It was amazing to watch the fish try so hard to swim up these falls.  There were so many of them.  And people told us that this was just the beginning.  Soon there would be even more. 

     

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    We watched several parties netting the fish from the bottom of the Falls.     In assigned places, rural Alaska residents  are eligible to catch salmon using dip nets.    It used to be only Native Americans who could do this, but now most  residents of the State are eligible. 

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    It was interesting to see families hauling their nets, ice chests, and other paraphanalia along the trail.  I think if they are willing to go to that much work, they certainly deserve to put fish in their freezer for the long winter ahead.

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    The beautiful  day was perfect for a hike.   New spring growth and lots of wildflowers.   In spots of clearing we could see snow-covered mountain peaks, but we were in shirtsleeves the whole time.   

     

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     For  OUR WORLD TUESDAY and  SCENIC WEEKENDS

     Thank you to the hosts!  

  • MIDNIGHT BLUE

     

    After Midnight,  June 20 2014.  Soldanta Alaska

     

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    There was more color in the sky that night than we had seen since we'd been in the State.

     

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    Mostly the nights have  been — well — not night.   Just pale blue daylight all the time… until we go ahead and go to bed anyway.  And still the same color when we get up the next morning.   Takes a little getting used to.

     

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    The next day it rained almost all day.  So I guess the color was the storm clouds gathering.  That was June 21, the longest day of the year.   Not a good day for the city's Solstice Celebration.  We decided to skip it and we probably weren't the only ones.

     

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    FOR:  SKYWATCH FRIDAY.  Thank you to Yogi, Sylvia, and Sandy

  • LILACS IN JUNE

     

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    We have learned that there is a way to see typical early Spring flowers even if during that season you are in Florida where it is too hot for them.  

    And even if you don't arrive for a summer visit with your kids in Oregon until mid-May, when the earliest spring blooms have faded.

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    The way you do it is to arrive in Seward Alaska in mid-June.  Spring has barely begun here.  It has been years since we've seen lilacs.  I wanted to bottle their wonderful scent.

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    Flower gardens were certainly not our primary reason for traveling to Alaska but aren't these beauties a nice bonus?

     

     

    FOR: NATURE'S PHOTOS BLO-MA,  TODAY'S FLOWERS and MOSAIC MONDAY.  Thank you Monica, Denise and Mary.