Hot Chocolate Anyone?

What do people in Fairbanks, Alaska, do when the temperatures have been hovering near -40 degrees for a week and a half?


Apparently they drink hot chocolate. Who knew? Maybe I should stock up. Stay warm!

Stuck but not Stranded

Well, it wasn't in my plans to be in Alaska for Christmas, but that's how it has turned out. You can't control Mother Nature!

I'm just glad my flight got cancelled before I got out of Alaska because I could have easily gotten stuck in the Seattle airport for the 25th. Yikes!

Chick Here for Fairbanks Daily News Miner Article

Happy holidays to all!!

Tolovana Pilgrimage

Every December, about fifteen friends make the trip from Fairbanks to Tolovana Hot Springs, but this year was different. New babies and people on vacations left us with only four of 'the gang' going this year, plus three other people we know who just happened to be going the same weekend, which was a welcome surprise.

If you do it right, every trip to Tolovana begins with breakfast at the Hilltop Truck Stop where the menu includes such items as the Train Wreck (which Jeremy tackled with some help from Tom), the Breaker Breaker Breakfast, and the Trucker's Special. Ah yes, after breakfast at Hilltop, you won't have to worry about eating lunch, which is nice because it is an eleven mile trail in to the hot springs and can require a bit of effort to get there.


Usually the parking lot at the trailhead is super windy, but we lucked out with just a slight breeze and pretty good temperatures.


Jeremy and Tom mushed in,


Dianna handled the snow machine with giant gear sled in tow, and I trotted around on my own two feet with a sled for the downhills.


These downhills aren't just downhills. They are sometimes STEEP, which just adds to the fun.


The sled on the snow machine had a little bit of trouble with some soft snow on the way in, but other than that, things went pretty well. Tom took my picture upon arrival, and I was surprised to see that I wasn't even all that frosty.


From there on out, we enjoyed four days and three nights of eating, relaxing, exploring a bit, and soaking in the hot tub under mostly clear skies and temperatures that I think remained above zero. What a life! Good food. Good friends. No email. No cell phone. No plumbing. No electricity. It was great!

The cabin...


The view from the cabin...


The 'Upper' Tub...


Checking out the Airstrip...


Visits from Emma, Brian, and Emily helped to break up the day.


Before we knew it, it was time to head back home. The trip out was beautiful with gorgeous views of the White Mountains, Alaska Range, Denali, and the Minto Flats.



Of course, it wouldn't be a complete trip to Tolovana without just a little bit of drama...on the way home, a flat tire on the snowmachine trailer rounded out the trip.

Sea Ice Workshop in Barrow

Mid-November took me to Barrow (place to hunt snowy owls), Alaska, the farthest north town in the United States and one that I had never been to before. I, along with a few other people, gave a tutorial to representatives from various coastal Alaska communities on how to access scientific information about sea ice on the internet. The workshop was a success, and I was happy to have finally visited the town of Barrow because we may set up a field site there next summer.

The workshop was held at the Barrow Global Climate Change Research Facility, whose doors were just opened last year, and it was a great place to host a meeting with plenty of computers and high-speed internet access.


The signs labeling the rooms were given in English, brail, and Inupiaq.



I'm thinking about taking an Inupiaq class in the spring, but I'm not sure how well I would do. We'll see how it goes. The Barrow Arctic Science Consortium provided lodging in a Quonset hut onsite.


After the meeting was over, I got to drive up and down the coastline a little bit. It looked just like you would expect the Arctic Ocean to look this time of year...frozen.


Another treat for me was the opportunity to see the last sunset of the year for Barrow. Goodbye from Barrow until the spring, old friend. Makes me glad I live just below the Arctic Circle.

Halloween

Steve Springer hosted his 10th annual Halloween party on November 1, and as always, the costumes didn't disappoint. In this posting, the pictures pretty much speak for themselves:

The monks...


I went as Joe Six Pack.


Georgina the illegal alien...


Marla the penguin...


Karen the queen and Hank the witch doctor...


Party host Michael Jackson...


And what respectable Alaskan Halloween party would be complete without a Sarah Palin?


Paige the crazy sweater lady and Cody as Ali G...


Cashell the Care Bear and Tim the gnome...


Max, Kieran, and Mette straight out of The Wizard of Oz...


Carrie and Duff as Olive Oil and Popeye...


There was even a band, Steve Brown and the Bailers, and they dressed up too!