Another baby!

Memorial Day not only brought outdoor fun, it also brought a new member to our group. Althea Meghan was born Saturday night, bringing more joy to everyone.



Of course her birth prompted Mette and I to head to the hospital Sunday morning to sneak a peek at the new family. They're doing great, and we were so excited to meet little Thea!


I'm sure Carrie's going to be a great mom.

Memorial Day Weekend Canoe Trip

Memorial Day weekend usually always includes a cookout...check. Another thing that's always fun to do is to enjoy being outside. A canoe trip down the Upper Chena with some friends was just the thing to fit the bill.


We put in Saturday morning and quickly came across many obstacles. There were several log jams to portage around...


...and many shallow areas forced us to walk the canoes rather than ride in them.


Luckily we got all of the obstacles out of the way at the beginning, which only made the rest of the river that much nicer and the smiles that much bigger.

Mother's Day Trip to Denali (One Day Early)

It's that time of year when everyone wants to be outside and soak in some sunshine because we haven't been able to enjoy the outdoors with skin exposed in quite some time! Yes, this is the time of year, when the palest skin you've ever seen begins being shown. It's a wonder we don't all blind each other just walking down the steet, and for many, it's the favorite time of year.

To catch up on our Vitamin D, I decided to take Mette and Kieran to Denali National Park for some Mother's Day fun in the sun because Max was out of town for work and because the Park Road was open to private vehicles for the first 30 miles. (As you may or may not know, for most of the open road season, the Park Road is closed to private vehicles and you may only drive through the park on one of the Denali buses. They don't want anybody having an accident while looking at the scenery, hitting any wildlife, or messing anything else up.)

Although pretty hazy, the mountain was visible if you looked close. Can you see it in this picture? You may have to click on the picture to blow it up to get a better look.


We saw some people we knew, Kevin and Andi, shortly after entering the park, so we stopped to talk.


While hanging out talking, a man pulled up and pointed out a mama grizzly bear with her two cubs walking around by the river below us. The five of us obviously weren't very good at sighting wildlife, so we were glad to check bears off of our list early in the day. Of course, it was a lot more fun to watch them through the binoculars since you could barely see them with the naked eye.


ZOOMED IN (again you might have to click on the picture to see the bears better)


On the way to Mile 30, the only animal of note, aside from the bears, was a ptarmagin, unless you count the other birds we saw, but I wasn't looking up. Mile 30 marks Teklanika River, where we turned around and headed back to the park entrance.


On the way back out of the park, we added another animal to our list, an Arctic Ground Squirrel. OK, it's a good thing the guy pointed the bears out because obviously the rest of our animal sightings were less than thrilling, unless of course you count the moose running toward the highway while we were driving back to Fairbanks. Luckily he was smart enough to turn around and head back into the spruce trees.

Water Walk and Run 5K

Luckily, by the time I returned from California, most of the snow had melted and I was greeted with sunny, sixty degree weather. In other words, it was time for the summer activities to finally begin!!

Although I normally get together with some friends on to walk after work on Thursdays, it was time to participate in a community activity, so Carrie, Dianna, Melissa, Mette, and I signed up for the Golden Heart Utilites 5K. This one took place after work on a Wednesday, so we all met up a block from the start and got ready for the 'race'.



The 5K was fun, and we finished by walking across the finish line in less than an hour, so it was an evening well spent. There was quite the crowd at the finish line, and rightfully so for there were free hot dogs...


...and a clown to entertain everyone.


As you can see from the clown picure, Kieran joined us as well in his Chariot stroller. For those of you who were wondering, he's getting cuter every day!

Training in California

I was in Santa Cruz, California, for a week of training. It was extra exciting to get out of Fairbabnks because the snow just won't go away!! It snowed another three or four inches while I was in California and has been logged as the third snowiest April on record.

Long Marine Lab UCSC was the location of our training. A lot of time was spent on computers, but we also got to be outside a bit.


There was a small beach in front of the lab, but it was pretty windy outside and was a little bit chilly to be hanging out in the sun. However, flip flops were definitely a welcome change for my feet. The only thing I didn't know was that there would be ticks and stinging nettles to plague my bare toes.


I quickly learned to put on closed toed shoes and socks when we were working in the field next to the lab. Here's a picture of Jeremy doing a walking antenna calibration, but I like to think that he's playing one of the three kings and bringing a gift to baby Jesus.


In addition to learning a lot, we also had a lot of fun. The training host company, CODAR, entertained us with a cook-out as well as a couple of dinners out on the town.


After training ended on Friday afternoon, I took the rest of the day to casually drive up Highway 1 to San Francisco. There were tons of beaches to explore. All you had to do was navigate your way down the cliffs!


Remember how I mentioned above that it was windy? Well, these wind surfers were definitely taking advantage of it. I've never seen so many wind surfers packed in to one area. It's a wonder they didn't get all tangled together, but something tells me this wasn't their first time.


And of course, what beach drive would be complete without a lighthouse?