more family pics...

just got a few good pics from my sis from my trip back east last month. don't think my mom and dad have made the blog yet so here they are....
my nephew Bryce was hilarious playing in the beer bucket at the wedding reception, he was soaking wet!! 

everybody is doing it

ellie and jeff are the latest to join us blogging geeks - check out the link to their new blog. i stole this photo from there - it's from the castner glacier - caz's namesake. cool photo you guys. 

dalton highway

here's a bunch of photos from my road trip last week from deadhorse to fairbanks. despite having ridiculous weather, it was a great great trip. great scenery... great company...
the half empty pipeline follows the highway the whole way.
wiseman alaska. population: 8.
this was infact a "work" trip. we stopped to inspect this one impressive raven nest near franklin bluffs, south of deadhorse. 

"yeah, but it's SO beautiful!!"

Having just spent 3 months on the North slope, Stac was looking forward to driving SOUTH and enjoy some SUMMER. I drove her pretty crazy cause I was just blown away by how beautiful the Brooks range is with fresh snow. These pics certainly DON'T do it justice...
a killer lunch spot...

we finally got to see the great fall tundra colors once we got to the southern foothills. 

bou hunting...

we spent a few days looking for caribou, but never saw any.
we DID see fresh tracks at least. don't worry, the caribou don't take us seriously either.
 

backpacking...

campsite 1: just north of atigun pass. hiked ~ 10 miles up this cool valley, no bou.
campsite 2: rude awakening at galbraith lake, isn't it august??
one of us, not to name names, was EXTREMELY cranky about finding 4 inches of fresh snow in the morning.
campsite 3: just south of atigun pass. somehow this spot looked flat before we set up the tent. campsite 4 was on the yukon river - cool spot but it rained the whole time we were there. still trying to dry out gear... 

road trip

 
 
 
  

wet wet wet weekend

I had planned a long canoe trip to Nenana on the Tanana river with my friends Kyle and Julie. We were smart on Saturday - woke up early, looked outside, and promptly went back to bed. Some reason we weren't so smart on Sunday and we decided to go anyways. Got on the river at 5:45 AM!! and it rained non-stop for 9 of the 10 hours, it took us to get to nenana. If the rain wasn't bad enough we had a 15 mph headwind to contend with for at least 40 of the 60 miles - crazy long day! The crazy thing is that I've skied this exact route in almost half the time - I never would have thought my skiis were faster than my kayak! Now after a long hot shower and 6 cups of tea later, I'm finally warming up and drying out.
Thursday I head up North for a short vacation - I'm helping Stacia drive all her field gear from Deadhorse back to Fairbanks. Should be interesting to see Prudhoe Bay in this midst of this major crisis, but really don't plan to spend much time there, we're planning to backpack in the Brooks range for a few days on the way back south. plan to be home by tuesday...


 

Maine

Just back from a great trip to Maine for Lynette's wedding. I couldn't handle the heat (and I left before it hit 100!) so spent a lot of time at the beach or in the neighbor's pool. The air feels so good here in Fairbanks now, lots I miss about Maine but not the humidity!


 

crockett ridge kids

1st generation... 2nd generation...
 

had a blast with these guys...