Hi everyone! It has definitely been a while since I have posted our adventures. Frankly, we have been so crazy busy this year that adventuring has taken a back seat. So, let’s consider this post a family update and hopefully soon I will find some time to really fill in the details for some of the bigger things I will mention below.
Hi friends! It has definitely been too long since I have last updated you. Everything has been going great for us up here. Homeschool is smooth sailing, I am now even working from home and about to start some online courses towards another degree, and Fil is 2 weeks away from his promotion to Major! This winter has been INFINITELY better than last winter in terms of temperature and snowfall. Brock and Fil have been out ice fishing a handful of times, but many weekends we just relax at home with our crafts and playing family games. The lack of sunlight paired with our busy weeks at work and school leave the need to adventure on the weekends lacking. (It doesn’t help that we live hundreds of miles from most things we haven’t explored yet).
That being said, we marked one thing off my Alaska bucket list this weekend. I wanted to visit the Castner Glacier ice cave all last winter but the frequent snowfall and horrific temperatures made that an impossibility. However, like I said, this year has been fantastic so off we went! Continue reading “Castner Glacier Ice Cave”
Hello friends! Today we are trying out something new… Today you will not hear my voice, but instead you will be hearing Fil’s. I asked him to write about his adventures this past month caribou and grizzly hunting. For one, I would have no idea how to record his story, and for another, I know this is a story we will want recorded just the way Fil would tell it. So below you will be able to read Fil’s own words. Since the end of this story, Fil has harvested a second caribou and between the two, our freezer is bursting at the seams and we feel prepared for the winter (in terms of protein).
Buckle up friends, this is a LONG read… Continue reading “Once in a lifetime hunt (x2)”
To celebrate Fil’s birthday we planned to camp for the week leading up to his birthday on Friday, July 10th. At first, he wanted to camp down on the Kenai Peninsula but as we looked into campsites we realized that plan wouldn’t work too great for us. Bears are a real issue down there and all the campsites we were looking at not only noted that, but had policies that if a bear was sighted tent camping would be banned. If we were there we would have to pack up and leave. With Brock and Poppy in tow we just simply didn’t want to take that risk. We decided on another campground, not as far south as the Kenai that Fil has camped at a number of times, Montana Creek. At first it seemed like an excellent idea… Fil would still get the fishing in that he wanted, and we would have a little more to do as the creek isn’t as dangerous and there are trails in the area for light hiking. It was also a shorter drive (4.5 hours) so that was a bonus. Little did we know the trip would basically be a complete disaster. Continue reading “Bears, Bears, Everywhere!”
One thing on my summer bucket list was to camp in the Arctic Circle, and we crossed it off the list on July 4th. The Arctic Circle, at 66.5° N, crosses the state of Alaska with about one third of the state above the line. Right on the line is a roadside stop with a sign, and a small campground which was our final destination. We had no desire to drive any further, as this was already far enough. Plus, as evidenced by the last 190 miles of driving, there really is nothing up there. In the 190 miles from Fairbanks that we drove on the Elliott and then Dalton Highways, there was 1 rest stop with fuel and food– as in that was the only thing along the drive. Absolutely nothing up there. The thought of continuing another 300 miles on the Dalton Highway just to say we drove as far North as you can, although is somewhat appealing to my inner adventurer, it is just overall not a good idea for so many reasons.
As promised from my previous post, now I will tell you all about our wonderful four days at the King for A Day campground. Fil has camped in his tent here before, and it’s such a great campground. The sites back right up to the Klutina River. This time, since we were all going, Poppy included, we decided to rent one of the two cabins they have on site. Aside from the obvious, the cabin had running cold water, a mini fridge, microwave and toilet. There were 4 beds that we could roll our sleeping bags out on, a table and chairs, plus an outdoor cooktop. It was so much easier managing all the crazy in a cabin versus a tent.
For starters, there was a lot more mosquito free play space. 40% DEET is the perfume of Alaska and we all sprayed down multiple times a day plus carried a Thermacell- fuel powered mosquito repellant that clips on and is about the size of a walkie talkie. It was also just so easy to not have to worry what Poppy might do to tent walls. She was fine in the cabin and had no issues. She was so at home that she kept up the routine of sleeping with me. Typically she sleeps under the covers with me, so in the cabin she crawled into my sleeping bag with me. Classic Poppy. It was a huge relief to have the fridge and not have to worry about ice in the coolers, and an added bonus was that included in our rental was freezer space for our catch. Continue reading “King for A Day”
We have officially had our first big adventure as a family in Alaska! This past week we spent 4 days salmon fishing on the banks of the Klutina and Gulkana Rivers. Probably tomorrow I will publish a blog all about our camp adventure, but this trip required a special post just about the journey.
One fun thing about driving in Alaska is that you don’t need a gps. Just a map, and maybe The Milepost (mile by mile guide). To get to Copper Center we just had to hop on the Richardson in Fairbanks and drive south for 261 miles to the campground. It took around 5 hours. Continue reading “Driving the Richardson Highway”
Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly Mount McKinley National Park, is about 2 hours from our house in Fairbanks, and we finally made it out there to explore over Memorial Day weekend. The drive is a straight shoot and was gorgeous. Deep, green valleys that extended for miles, crystal clear rivers and streams—some even still bound by ice, and just one little town. Driving in Alaska is always an adventure. For long trips we often take extra gas with us as towns and gas stations are sparse. We also carry emergency supplies and make sure no matter what our destination is, that we have on appropriate hiking boots and clothing just in case. On this drive we saw a few fox, squirrels, and a couple moose. Continue reading “Denali, round one”
We did it. We survived one of the worst winters on record in Fairbanks. Brock isn’t completely convinced that it is over though since we STILL have snow on the ground at our house. In town it has been gone for weeks, save for a few lingering plow piles, but up at our place we still had quite a bit till about the 11th of May. The picture below was on my birthday, May 7th. In my 32 years I have never experienced a birthday like this.
Now, almost 2 weeks later, we have just one little ice pile remaining in the shade from the garage. I think it’s safe to say Winter is finally over! Time to start adventuring! Continue reading “We made it!”
Three weeks ago, in my last blog post, I asked if Winter would ever end. I am now convinced it will not. In a small victory, we did cross over 32 degrees after 110 consecutive days being below freezing. And frankly, much of that was even spent below 0. With the warmer temperatures the snow finally started to melt. Just a little bit. Just enough to leak into the house. It turns out that our roof has failed and needs to be completely replaced this summer once it is safe to do the work. A combination of old shingles and improper insulation has created a situation called a “hot roof”. Ice formed inside the roof, behind the insulation and started melting, and leaking its way around. For a few days we had 10 bowls placed around collecting the drops of water as they fell but then like always, it got colder. We dipped back below freezing and the water refroze and stopped leaking. We have emptied the buckets but are keeping the plastic covering our furniture until we know for sure the thaw is over.
Just as we started to feel that Spring would come soon Mother Nature slapped us back to reality and laughed as she reminded us that we live in Fairbanks and Spring will never come. Over three days she dropped 19 inches on us. And since it was warmer now, it was heavy snow instead of the easy to manage light fluff we usually get. Brock loved it. The snow was finally sticky enough to make a snowman!
Borealis, Bears & Brock 