Maybe My Last Trip

Well, I have taken what was quite possibly my last trip to Nanwalek and Anchor Point. Our field sites are slated to be removed in November, and that isn't a trip that I am a part of. I celebrate with a picture of the plane coming to pick me up one last time from Nanwalek.


Now, what you see leaning on the 'airport' (The airport is the blue building, which is actually just a shelter to keep you and your belongings dry while you wait.) is a sasquatch. Some people reported seeing him roaming around nearby...

Christmas?!

I just got back from the store, and their Christmas displays are already up. They're even selling all of their Christmas merchandise already! What month is it? Has the entire country gone as crazy as Alaska?

La Jolla, California

I had a meeting this past week at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. It was nice to enjoy the sun one last time this year, and there was plenty of it! This was my first visit to Southern California, but it was just as quintessential as one would expect, with sunny skies every day and palm trees lining the streets. It seemed it was almost a requirement to own a surfboard, although there were a lot of stingrays in the water. The best part was that the walk between my hotel and our meeting place was all along the beach, so it was actually a treat not to have a rental car! Now I'm back in Fairbanks, and although there are still some leaves on the trees, I had to get out the ice scraper this morning because the car windows were all frosted in. Sigh. The fall colors are absolutely beautiful, but in the back of my mind, I'm wondering how much a ticket would be back to La Jolla...

Fish Weir

Yet again, I went to Anchor Point to tend to our fickle field site. I wasn't super excited to go because I was headed to a meeting in San Diego just a couple of days later, but I guess that's just how it goes. As I was crossing the Anchor River, I noticed the fish weir and thought it might make for an interesting blog picture, so here it is:


For those of you who don't know what a fish weir is, it basically forces all of the water coming up the river to flow through a particular channel or channels. In these channels are fish counters so that, in this case, you know how many salmon are swimming upstream.

Labor Day

I spent Labor Day picking cranberries up on Wickersham Dome, where it was a beautiful day with above average temperatures. Sure beats sitting in an office without any windows!


Do you know what this next picture is?


That's the beginning of fall. The leaves here are quickly turning yellow, and there is chill in the air. Goodbye, Summer 2007. You were the prettiest one yet!