Goodbye to Winter

Spent the Easter weekend at the Yuditna Cabin on Eklutna Lake, about 35 miles from Anchorage, Alaska. Pulled in a sled load of stuff on a trail that was mostly ice which made for easy pulling. The occasional stretch of bare ground we crossed was the opposite. In a few weeks if not sooner, the ice and snow will be gone completely. Time to put the sled away.

Champ had a blast as Kaya, a friends lab, accompanied us on this trip. Kaya has a fancy dog bed/bag while Champ had the old piece of foam that he shares with Lester, Bear and whoever. Every chance she got, Kaya lay on his bed rather than hers.

We had ham, garlic roasted potatos, green bean casserole, and brownies, a real Easter feast. Came home to a late afternoon snowfall. Not sticking as the temps are above freezing for most of the day now.

While I made it through winter with the firewood I cut last summer, it was touch and go for awhile. I decided to buy a cord of wood so I'd have some for the occasional evening fire and campfire wood for summer. Spent yesterday getting that stacked on the deck. So I'm set for the Alaskan summer.



Headed to Hope with the Anchorage Adventurers Group. About 40 of us plan to camp at Porcupine Campground Friday and Saturday, hiking and biking the area. It will be the largest gathering yet for this group. I have visions of the Rainbow People gatherings we used to hear about from time to time.

Sunshine and Earthquakes

Have had spectacular sunny weather for the past six days. Highs are going all the way up to 45. WOOHOO summer will be here before long. Hit the ski trails yesterday at Hatcher Pass. Did alot of falling down but had fun. Champ did his usual thing, peed on everything that needed peeing on.

Had a nice earthquake yesterday about noon. A 4.58 on the good old Richter scale. Alaska is just full of surprises this year. Volcano eruptions, earthquakes, I guess a tsunami isn't out of the question.

Fooling around

Can't believe its already April. Time to start making plans for all the summer fun things. May try to drive the Haul Road all the way to Prudhoe Bay, way north of the Artic Circle. There are numerous places to camp along the way so you could take your time and get a real taste for a different part of Alaska. Also will spend a week in Wrangell St. Elias on a fly in trip to IceBerg Lake in July. And then theres always Denali National Park. Planning is half the fun.

Happy Birthday to Kellye!

Mount Redoubt

Our local volcano has been busy. There have been a series of eruptions beginning last Sunday. Saturday night, we got our first taste of the ash cloud that is created each eruption. Made the snow a dirty gray color. Not too much but enough to know we don't want anymore. Much worse in some places like Anchorage. Also very disruptive on the airplanes. Have a friend who went for a weekend trip to Ruth Glacier, the base camp area for climbers of Mt McKinley. Due to the eruptions, her departure was delayed...by 4 days. Luckily her group was well supplied with food.

Neighbors geese are acting up. After spending the entire winter together the flock has split into separate camps. Each side consists of a goose and a gander. Lucky me, one side has decided to live under my deck. Nothing like being hissed at every time you step outside.

MORE GLOBAL WARMING

Looking at the electric bill I see that the average temp in Big Lake for March is listed as 18. Last year the March average was 29. Interesting stuff. Its certainly been warmer the past few days with temperatures reaching the upper 30's and then just dropping to right at or just below freezing at night. Spring has sprung I guess. Maybe April will be warmer than last years average of 30. And with any luck at all we will see warmer temps this summer. After all, it won't take much to best the 51,56,56 we had last year for June July and August.

Busy Month

March has been busy. After distinguishing ourselves at snowshoe softball, we put on the party hat and hosted an Iditarod Slumber Party. Had a houseful of people (14) and lots of good food. Sunday morning we headed to Willow for the official start of the Iditarod. My second time and it was just as much fun as before. Got to see all the racers start this year and spent some time viewing the various dog teams on pit row.

March 12 had me at the airport picking up my brother Matt and his daughter Shelby. It was a real treat showing them Alaska for the first time. Snowshoeing at Hatcher Pass, cabin camping at Byers Lake, the ice festival in Fairbanks, another night of cabin life on Chena River (minus 15) and a beautiful day in Seward.

In the midst of all that activity, winter technically ended. Weather had been very pleasant and yesterday we hit 40. Lows are just reaching the teens during early morning hours although a cold forecast has been issued for early next week. Had a slight snowfall Saturday night but nothing big. My deck is snow free although my woodpile is virtually gone. Hope I make it!

Big news of late (besides Mackey dominating the race) was the eruption of Mt Redoubt, one of the local volcanos. No effects here but further north the ash cloud was a problem.

Another indication of spring is the geese next door laying eggs. Never had a goose egg for breakfast but I was given one yesterday so that will change tomorrow. So stay tuned!

Frosty Balls

Winter hasn't left us yet. Saturday morning the snow started falling and by days end, there was 18 plus inches of new powder at my place. It made the drive into and back from Anchorage for the Snowshoe Softball tournament quite the ordeal. Overturned cars, cars in ditches, lane closures...no fun at all. Softball was a blast and my team actually won a game. Pretty good for a bunch of folks who haven't played in forever. Best I can remember, its been 23 years for me. I went four for four at the plate and didn't drop any balls so I was satisfied. Falling down while running the bases was common as the harder you try to run the more likely you are to fall. Everyone on team Frosty Balls had fun so that was the main thing.

Speaking of Frosty balls, it was minus 24 this morning. Totally unexpected as it was 18 above when we went to bed last night. The sun is out so it should warm up but its taking its time. Will spend the week getting the cabin ready for the Iditarod Race party I'm hosting on Saturday night. Nothing like a sleepover with 12 people you hardly know, especially considering the size of my small cabin. Should be fun although I'm sure the cat will disagree.