The Winter Wonderland Begins

Hi, Everyone!

Sorry for the delinquency in blogging, but life here has been fairly standard the past 2 weeks.  We had the high holidays, and so a lot of time on the weekends was devoted to that.  Mix that with Michigan football, and we haven't had a lot of opportunity to get out.  But, now that things have settled down, we went exploring again this afternoon.  And hence, the blog post!

Some exciting news to begin with: Steve got AK license plates and Tammy bought a car.  We are really starting to feel like we're settled in, and our doors are open to anyone who may want to come visit.  Some people have been asking about weather, so we'll discuss that in a little bit in the blog.

Today we went for a hike with some of Steve's co-clerk friends.  We went to an area called Eagle River, which is about 45 minutes outside of Anchorage.

When we left, we had heard some reports of possible precipitation, and there had been some light brushings coming down, so we decided to do a bit easier of a hike.  We walked along the historic Iditarod trail, which was a really nice and mostly flat hike along the river.

The temperature in Alaska has been changing lately, and we've started to see drops down to the 30s-40s.  As a result, it's beginning to look a lot like fall here, and many of the trees have changed their colors and the leaves have fallen, giving splendid beauty to the already incredible outdoors.

This also meant that Steve spent about 2 hours this week raking leaves from our lawn.  Can you say sore back?

Anyway, as we were hiking, we decided to take a lunch break at a river along the path.  It was beautiful and relaxing, until we noticed this:

Yes, that is ice.  The river was beginning to freeze over.  And then, within 5 minutes of sitting down, the area began to look like this:

It is official.  We have had our first snow fall of the season . . . in SEPTEMBER!  It was like walking through a winter wonderland.  The snow was sticking a bit to the ground, so it made for some really interesting hiking (and loss of trail markers along the way!).  It looks like the cold wintery weather is now here, and will be here for the next 7 months.  So, if you love snow sports, now is the time to come!

There's more snow for ya!

By the time we got back to the car (3 miles later) the snow was gone.  But it has fallen.  We are officially entering winter in Alaska.  Come on and visit!  The bears are hibernating now, and we have bear spray and a bell to keep us safe just in case!

Talk to you all again soon!  Keep warm!

We walked.

Hello!

Well, we've been here for about 2 weeks and are finally starting to feel settled.  Steve is really enjoying his job, and Tammy found one which starts tomorrow!  She'll be working for Camp Fire USA, running its before and after school programs.  Hooray!

Since last week, we've explored the Anchorage area a bit more, including multiple visits to the Fred Meyer (essentially Target) and Costco.  Yes, Anchorage has Costco.  It also has Nordstroms, Safeway,  Banana Republic, REI, etc.  Normal city!  Wooo!

Yesterday, we watched the Michigan game thanks to NBC's national broadcast.  It was a great victory, though certainly emotional and stressful in the last 6 minutes of game play.  A couple of the clerks (and significant others) came over, so we all celebrated together.

Today we went for a walk along the Turnagain Arm.  This stretch of trails runs along the Seward Highway, which has been proclaimed a national scenic highway.  It is unbelievably beautiful, and already established as one of our favorite drives in Alaska.  It is also a mere 10 minutes outside of the city.  Pretty incredible.

The hike was a lot of fun.  It climbed approx. 800 feet and was about 4.5 miles long.  We also went with some of Steve's co-clerks, which made it even more enjoyable.  As usual, pictures below:

That's it for this week.  We'll be back soon with more Alaska adventures!!!!!  Let us know when you're coming to visit :)

Glacier!

Today we went with some clerks to the Portage Glacier, about an hour outside of Anchorage.  We took a boat ride to get close to the glacier, and then did a small hike to walk around another one (including a walk on a snowfield).

There are not words to describe the beauty of both the day and the surroundings, so we'll let pictures do the trick instead.

And, yes, Steve did try to start a snowball fight on this snowfield.  Tammy refused.

More to come in the next few weeks.  Stay tuned!

Established.

Hi, Everyone:

It's been a little while, so we thought we would give you an update of what life is like in Anchorage!

Anchorage is a really amazing city.  There's this awesome 5x3-or-so block stretch of downtown located by the water.  This is where the tourists hang out when they get off the ships, and also where most of the state/federal buildings are located.

The best part of Anchorage, however, is clearly the established trails that run throughout the entire city.  During the summer, there are miles upon miles of biking and running trails that run along the mountains, oceans, lakes, and rivers.  During the winter, these trails are converted into cross-country ski trails, and are crazily lit so that people can use them late into the night.  These trails can be reached by a 5 minute (no exaggeration) walk from our apartment.

Thus, we went for an evening walk this week, and were simply stunned by the view we had, and will continue to have, over the next year.

It really is quite breathtaking to step outside and realize you're surrounded by mountains, ocean, and just pure beauty.  You all NEED to come visit!

Last night, we also went to our first Shabbat service at the local synagogue.

Yes, they call themselves the Frozen Chosen.  Hysterical.

It was awesome being 5500 miles from home, and yet still hearing the same songs and prayers to which we have become accustomed over our lives.  It really made for a relaxing, peaceful evening.

Plus, on the drive home from shul, we saw 2 moose on the side of the road.  It was actually a very strange experience.  Everywhere else we have gone, whenever there has been serious wildlife nearby, there are cars lined up along the sides of the road with people inside trying to get a closer look.  Yet, this time, while the moose were no more than 5 feet from the shoulder, people were just driving by as if it was nothing strange or exciting was happening.

Turns out, it was nothing strange or exciting.  Seeing moose so close to buildings, roads, and people is no surprise here (just like seeing deer in MI), and it is actually a bit of a nuisance.  But, HOORAY FOR MORE MOOSE SPOTTINGS!

Oh, and today we watched the Michigan game at the local sports bar.  We are VERY excited that we'll be able to watch all of the games while in Alaska.  Hooray and Go Blue!!!!!

And now, the end is here . . .

Hello, Everyone!

Well, we have officially made it.  After approx. 5500 miles of driving, we arrived in Anchorage late this afternoon.  Unbelievably, we managed to make it the entire trip without a single car problem . . . until we were about a mile outside of Anchorage and had a rock jump up from the highway and chip our windshield.  Nonetheless, the problem is being taken care of tomorrow, and we are safely in the city we'll call home for the next year.

To give y'all a quick update on the past 24 hours: we spent the night in Tok, AK, and then drove along part of the Alaska Highway to get to Palmer, AK.  Tammy took some awesome pictures as we drove through the Yukon Territory to get to Tok from Haines yesterday afternoon:

As Tammy's fun fact,we have now found out that there is one area code for the entire state of Alaska.  It is 907.  The only exception is the small town of Hyder, which uses the British Columbia code of 250.  907 is the largest area code (in physical size) in the US.  It is also the farthest east and the farthest west code (for an explanation, see the first post in this blog on how Alaska is both the farthest west and farthest east US state).

This afternoon, we arrived in Palmer.  Palmer is where the Alaska State Fair is located, and we, of course, needed to go.  Being only an hour outside of Anchorage, we thought it would be a good way to celebrate making it to our destination.

The fair was a ton of fun.  We started the afternoon by watching a lumberjack demonstration.

It was awesome.  This guy carved a chair (originally pretending he was going to carve a rabbit) using just this saw.   Other competitions included log rolling and climbing up a 50 foot post as fast as possible (pole climbing).

We then went and viewed the farm exhibits, including a live goat milking demonstration.

Of course, Steve felt the need to step into the farmers' shoes for the afternoon.  He was a bit scared by the idea of "driving" a tractor.

Then we got to see all of the vegetables.  These things are amazing.  People grow them as long or heavy as they possibly can, and they look so weird.  The long, snakelike vegetable you see below is a gourd, and it set the Alaska world record this year for length.

This was the first place pumpkin this year.  You read that correctly.  It weighs 902 lbs.

Finally, after leaving the State Fair, we headed into Anchorage, the city that is now our home.  We'll update a bit more sporadically over the next few months as we head out on weekend adventures to exciting towns around Alaska.  Until then, keep us posted on how all of you are doing, and we look forward to having you as visitors in Anchorage!  Until then . . .

HAPPY TRAILS!

Northern Exposed.

Hi, Everyone:

Today, we officially had the Alaskan experience.  But, more on that to come in a bit.  To start with, yesterday evening we took the ferry again from Juneau to Haines.  Some readers were interested in what this ferry we keep talking about looks like, so we took a picture of another one in port.  

As you can see, it is basically a stripped down mini-cruise ship.  The cars go in the bottom, and then the decks (painted white) are composed of lounges, a cafeteria, restrooms, etc.  So, we drove the car onto the ferry and then went onto the deck for the 4.5 hours it took to sail from Juneau to Haines. 

Once again, the ferry provided amazing views of the surrounding mountains as we sailed by.  Below you can see the mountains, and the little white buildings that compose the town of Haines.

After getting off the ferry, we headed into downtown to find a hotel for the evening.  We ended up staying in the Ft. Seward Lodge, which is amazing.  Ft. Seward was actually the first fort built in Alaska, and it was built due to conflicts between the United States and Canada over where the border lie (Tammy Fact!).  The conflict has since been settled, and we are now about 45 miles from the next crossing.  (For those keeping track, we'll actually cross the border twice tomorrow as we head into Tok . . . once right outside of Haines, then we'll drive through BC and the Yukon Territory, and then we'll cross again outside of Tok).

This morning we woke up, and were simply amazed at the "downtown" of Haines.  Simply put, this is the quintessential Alaska town.  The town has a population of 2,400, and unlike its counterpart Skagway, the cruise ship industry has not overtaken the town.   If you want to imagine what it looks like, think of the 1980s TV show "Northern Exposure" and you've got it.  Seriously.  They even have a radio station that people can call into and get on the air pretty easily.  

As a side note, if you've never watched the show "Northern Exposure," do it.  It is an awesome show.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKHzIXZBF74

So, that was how we had our first Alaska experience, take one.  

Then, after walking around downtown, we decided to do the bike ride we missed out on in Vancouver.  So, we rented some bikes, and did a 20 mile ride along the Pacific coast to Chilkoot Lake State Park.

When we rented the bikes, the manager of the store told us that the salmon were currently in full swing in a river near the lake, and as a result the bears were out fishing for the upcoming winter.  We figured we would ride out there, and there would be a ranger of some sort guiding traffic and we could take pictures from a distance.

This is where Alaska experience number 2 comes in.  We got to the lake, and saw 4 or 5 vehicles lining the street with people standing on the road with their cameras.  We looked into the river, and saw the following walking onto the road:

Yes, folks.  That is a sow and her cub (there were actually 2 cubs).  They were literally 50 feet from us.  We, of course, were extremely nervous and kept hiding behind cars.  The locals, on the other hand, were willing to get a bit closer and snap some shots.  Nonetheless, 50 feet was close enough for us to provide some amazing pictures.

The bears continued to walk along the river until they got to the fishing weir that had been set up.  For more info on what a weir is, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_weir

Essentially, the weir is being used by the area to help count the number of sockeye salmon in the river.  The bears, on the other hand, view it as an easy opportunity to catch fish because the salmon get caught as they hit the weir.  Thus, the cubs went onto the top of the weir, while mama bear stood in the river catching fish and throwing them to the cubs.

The eating party continued for a good 20 minutes, until the fish-counting guy got annoyed because he couldn't do his job.  So, like any good Alaskan, he fearlessly made a lot of noise and commotion from 10 feet away to make the bears move on.  

So, we now feel initiated to Alaska.  We've walked, biked, and slept in a quintessential Alaskan town, and we've had the socks scared off of us as we biked near bears.

Tok tomorrow, and then Anchorage on Monday!  We're almost there!

Juneau the capital of Alaska? Juneau.

Hi, Everyone:

A quick update before we head back on the ferry towards Haines.  We spent the day exploring Juneau yesterday.  We started by hiking in the Mendenhall glacier area.

This is definitely the highlight of Juneau, and where most of the cruise ship passengers go to explore.  Unfortunately, you can't climb on the glacier itself (without a tour company), nor get close to it, because of the dangers involved with glaciers.  As moving objects, glaciers frequently break apart or bump into things and create crevasses, and thus they aren't very secure.  Hiking on them could actually result in you falling into a 10-story crevasse that is hidden by snow.

However, there was a nice 3.5 mile hike along the side of the glacier through the woods, so we did that and got some awesome views.

We also got to see some wildlife along the way.

This type of bird is actually a nuisance.  We were once in a campground cleaning up, and this bird flew down and started pecking at Tammy's cereal.  Needless to say, we were not thrilled to see it on the path, especially because it makes loud, obnoxious, threatening noises.  But, we did snap a picture . . . and then scared it away.

After the hike, we went to the visitor center where Tammy learned all about glaciers.  Her fact of the day comes from this visit.  It is that while Mendenhall glacier is receding, it actually moves forward about a foot and a half a day.  How is this possible?  The face of the glacier is actually melting at a rate greater than the advance of the glacier down the valley.  Interesting!

While in the visitor center, Steve also met up with Evan, a friend from law school who is on a cruise of Alaska for his bar trip.  It was great getting to see HLS people out in Alaska, and we look forward to many more coming to visit us in Anchorage this year!

We then went into downtown Juneau for dinner.

This is cruise ship tourist central.  We had a great Italian dinner and then went to the infamous Red Dog Saloon for a drink.

                            

This bar has been around Juneau since the 1890s and contains a lot of fun memorabilia inside, including a gun allegedly left by Wyatt Earp as he was heading out of Juneau to Nome.  You can learn more about this gun, and other treasures on the wall, simply by visiting their website: http://www.reddogsaloon.com/

We also got to try our first sip of Alaskan Brewery in the Red Dog Saloon.  We are REALLY looking forward to more of this awesome beer over the next year.

Finally, we drove back from town toward our campsite, where we got another beautiful sunset.

Now that we'll be living on the Pacific, we're looking forward to many more of these over the next few months.

That's all for now.  Off to Haines, back into Canada, Tok, and then Anchorage!  Almost there!