June 12, 2013

First Trip of the Summer!

Filed under: Roadtrips, Wildlife — Susan Stevenson @ 12:53 pm

It’s that time again! Time to hit the road with our camper. This trip, we’re heading to Seward for a few days. The weather forecast is calling for overcast and partly cloudy, but hopefully we won’t have constant rain while there. Not that rain stops us, but it can make wildlife cruises and fishing a little less pleasurable.

We needed to do some much needed maintenance to the camper to ready it for the road. We spent several hundred dollars having the wheel bearings repacked, the slide serviced (it was a little off level) and greased, and the camper de-winterized and systems checked. Money well spent to send us down the road less concerned about problems.

Our travel trailer is officially 10 years old now. Mileage wise, we have about 55-60,000 miles on it. That’s not too bad considering we’ve had it ten years, but since we live in Alaska, we only really use it a couple of weeks each month from June to August or early September. It’s saved us many times what we’ve paid for it in lodging and travel expenses over the years. One of the best investments we ever made in my opinion.

We discovered that voles got into it again this winter. This time, though, there wasn’t much for them to get into, as we pulled most of the stuff out (paper towels, toilet paper, pots and pans, etc). But Steve forgot to empty the utensil drawer and guess where we found vole droppings? BLECH! Needless to say, all of the silverware went through a HOT cycle in the dishwasher yesterday. There are droppings here and there throughout the camper, so we know they were hanging out in there. Which means some heavy duty sanitizing before we pack it up with dishes and linens, etc.  At least we didn’t find sunflower seeds stashed under the bedspread like last year.

Good friends of ours will be house-sitting for us. It’s nice to know that someone will be here looking after the place, watering plants, etc. It’s so much nicer to go off on vacation when things are taken care of back home.

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My friend Amanda and I took a drive up the Steese Hwy last week. We went as far as Central, before turning around and heading back to North Pole. There is road flooding north of Central at mile 145, so even if we wanted to go all the way to Circle, we wouldn’t have been able to make it.

We drove into the White Mountain Rec Area (mile 57 on the Steese) to take some photos from the high point on the road. There were thick clouds, as it was sprinkling rain off and on that afternoon. We were pretty much IN the clouds, which was a neat thing. It was nice to see alpine wildflowers blooming up there too. We saw Narcisus Flowered Anemones, Wooly Lousewort, Alpine Azaleas, Lapland Diapensia and other mosses and plants. We also saw some Alaska Cotton along the way, but I didn’t get any photos of it.

The road into the rec area (Nome Creek Rd) is washed out at Nome Creek, so there’s no way to get to Ophir and Prindle Campgrounds unless you walk in or have an ATV. We drove to the washout and then turned around and came back out to the highway to drive the remaining 65 miles or so to Central.

You can pan for gold on Nome Creek. Gold mining on Nome Creek began in 1900. That year 20 acres of placer mining ground was found on the creek. It was officially known as the “Discovery” claim.

The views up around Eagle Summit were gorgeous, with the range off in the distance. The rolling hills, some still with patchy areas of snow, were lovely and green. It’s so nice to see green! We continued up the highway until we reached Central.

In Central, I directed Amanda out to Circle Hot Springs. According to information I found online in a Fairbanks Daily Newsminer article:

For countless years before Westerners entered Interior Alaska, only Athabascan Indians used the hot springs located on the northeastern edge of the Tanana-Yukon Uplands, near where Birch Creek meandered out into the Yukon River lowlands. Then, in the 1890s, gold was discovered in the region and prospectors scattered into the hills in search of the motherlode.

Circle City (now just called Circle) was established on the south bank of the Yukon River in 1893 to supply the mining camps in the Birch Creek area about 50 miles to the southwest. (Miners erroneously thought the town was on the Arctic Circle, which is actually about 40 miles to the north.)

A roadhouse was built along the trail at Central, about 35 miles from Circle. Then, in the fall of 1893 a prospector named William Greats stumbled on the hot springs while chasing a moose about eight miles southeast of Central.

Other prospectors quickly learned of the Arctic Circle hot springs and began spending their winters there, at first in tents, then building cabins. In 1905 Cassius Monohan homesteaded 106 acres around the springs, and Franklin and Emma Leach bought the homestead from Monohan in 1909.

According to the Alaska Community Database, the Alaska Road Commission began building a wagon road from Circle to the mining camps in 1906, and by 1908 the road had reached Central. The ARC completed the road to Fairbanks in 1907, and in 1930 the Leaches decided to build a hotel at the hot springs.

They hired local sourdough Billy Bowers to oversee construction, and work on the hotel begun in March 1930. Some accounts say most construction materials came by river to Circle and then by wagon to the springs. However, in a 1970’s taped interview, Emma Leach said the logs used for lumber were felled at Medicine Lake several miles northeast of the springs, and that additional lumber was trucked from Fairbanks. The hotel was completed by that fall.

The hotel itself has changed little over the years and for the most part kept its rustic charm. The bay windows on the first floor can be seen in photos from the 1930s and 1940s, and appear to be original features. The only significant changes are the addition of a restaurant at the rear, and a front entry vestibule.

Until the 1950s the hot springs pool remained in a relatively natural state. A 1947 photograph shows the grass-fringed pool with a few Adironack-style chairs along the edge, and a diving board at the pool’s far end. Other early photographs show expansive gardens and several greenhouses to the right of the hotel (where the pool and other buildings are now).

Frank Leach died in 1955, and Emma managed the hotel until her death in 1974. They are both buried in a small cemetery (which contains about three dozen graves) on the hill above the hotel. In 1980 Bobby and Laverna Miller purchased the hotel and hot springs, which remained open until 2002.

In its heyday Circle Hot Springs attracted visitors from all over Alaska and beyond, and was well-known for its aurora viewing. The hotel supposedly even has its own ghost. Some employees are reported to have seen or felt the specter of Emma Leach roaming the halls or haunting the kitchen.

The hotel and hot springs are now closed and the property is for sale. Most of the land around the hot springs is private. You can drive by and see the hotel, but get permission before wandering around the property.

We stopped and got out of the car for a few photos, but didn’t wander the property due to the “No Trespassing” signs. It felt a little creepy too, so we were happy to just photograph from afar.

We didn’t stay in Central very long; just long enough to take a few photos of some of the cute cabins. Next time, when the road is open, we’ll have to go all the way to Circle.

But the highlight of the trip was as we were driving back to Fairbanks. We saw a black bear on the road eating something! When we got closer, he ran into the bushes next to the road, and then ran up a steep hill. He was FAST! The rain was really coming down, so the photos I managed to get (through the windshield) aren’t the best, but I’m happy I got them.

This is one of the photos I took of him, when he was high up on the hillside above us:

Black Bear, Steese Hwy, Alaska

Here are the photos from our drive up the Steese Hwy:

Cabin on a Pond, Steese Hwy Pond, Steese Hwy In the clouds, White Mountain Rec Area, Steese Hwy
White Mountain Rec Area, Steese Hwy Narcisus Flowered Anemone, White Mountain Rec Area, Steese Hwy Wooly Lousewort, White Mountain Rec Area, Steese Hwy
Alpine Azalea, Steese Hwy Overlook, White Mountain Rec Area, Steese Hwy Pavilion, White Mountain Rec Area, Steese Hwy
White Mountain Rec Area Overlook, Steese Hwy Nome Creek, White Mountain Rec Area Nome Creek Washout, White Mountain Rec Area, Steese Hwy
Steese Hwy Steese Hwy Lupine, Steese Hwy
Raindrops on Lupine, Steese Hwy Bohemian Waxwing, Central Alaska Horned Grebes, Central AK, Steese Hwy
Circle Hot Springs Sign, Central AK Circle Hot Springs Pano, Central AK Circle Hot Springs Cabin, Central AK, Steese Hwy
Circle Hot Springs Hotel, Central AK, Steese Hwy Central AK, Steese Hwy Cute Cabin in Central AK, Steese Hwy
Steese Hwy, AK Steese Hwy Landscape, AK Steese Hwy Landscape, AK
Steese Hwy, AK Steese Hwy, AK Bear on the Steese Hwy, AK
Bear on the Steese Hwy, AK Bear on the Steese Hwy, AK Bear on the Steese Hwy, AK

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The wildflowers are finally starting to bloom in our yard. It is so nice to see colors again. Prickly Rose and Labrador Tea. The Bluebells haven’t bloomed in our yard yet, but they are blooming on Fort Wainwright.

Prickly Rose, Alaska

Labrador Tea, Alaska

Bluebells, Alaska

Until next time…

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June 3, 2013

“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wildflowers in our hair”

Filed under: Everyday Life, Photography, Roadtrips, Wildlife — Susan Stevenson @ 11:31 pm

(Title is a quote from Susan Polis Schutz - an American poet and producer of greeting cards)

Summer arrived right on time. But it sure didn’t waste any time showering us with warmth. Hard to believe that two weeks ago we were having snow flurries, and just last week we saw temps in high 80s. Our house, which is very well insulated, was about 78F inside; too warm for us. How in the world did we survive the 100 degree days before we moved to Alaska?

We broke down and bought a portable air conditioner for the bedroom. Sleeping at night really isn’t a problem, as the night cools down enough to make comfortable sleeping possible with just a few strategically placed fans and some open windows. But when Steve is on night shift, and has to sleep during the daylight hours, the bedroom gets quite warm as it’s on the sunny side of the house. Despite the room darkening curtains, which are great insulators, it still gets uncomfortable in that room. So we bit the bullet, and parted with a couple hundred dollars, to buy a 12,000 btu unit that is on wheels and vents out a window.

We had to go to three stores to find one, as both WalMart and Home Depot were sold out. Lowe’s came through for us, but I heard from friends that they are sold out now too. Forget trying to find fans too. Must have been a mad dash when 85F hit with a vengeance. So glad we bought ours when we did, although we only had to use it a couple of times as things cooled off when some rain came yesterday.

I’ve been spending as much time outdoors as I can. That’s what we do in the summer months. There’s no way we’d let these days get away from us without enjoying them to their fullest. The goal is to be totally exhausted by the time mid-late September comes so that winter hibernation sounds appealing.

I took a walk with my friend Amanda over at Wander Lake (which is located adjacent to Wedgewood Resort and Creamers Field). The mosquitoes were out, but not as hungry as they are now. I survived the walk wearing my OFF clip-on mosquito repellent fan.  I’ve had pretty good luck with it, thank goodness. I also use an organic bug spray that has ingredients such as citronella, clove, rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender and mint. It smells really nice (much better than DEET), and even though I have to re-apply it more often, I’d much rather douse myself in non-poisonous stuff. It works well for Raven too, as it’s not poisonous in case she licks it off her snout (which is where the mosquitoes bite her the most).

It was so nice to be walking beneath trees with leaves. The leaves early in the season are so beautiful, as they are such a brilliant yellow-green. Since just about all of the snow is melted now, there are ponds and other bodies of water throughout town. This makes for some great reflections. We’re also seeing shore birds and a lot of ducks in all this water.  I don’t consider myself a ‘birder’, but it has been fun to photograph and identify birds over the last several weeks.

I took these photos on my walk with Amanda:

Path through the woods Trees Reflected Creek in the woods
Lesser Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs
Tree Reflection Trees Reflected

I’ve been taking my camera for a walk around my yard over the last week. It’s amazing to see the mosses and lichens that are growing in addition to the bigger leaves and buds on the prickly rose bushes. The detail in this tiny ground cover is very interesting, and I try to identify everything as best I can. But some of the plant life is a mystery to me at this point. Perhaps as they continue to grow, they’ll be easier to identify.

Horsetail - quite invasive Summer Sunbeams through my trees Sunbeams and Birch Trees
Still waiting for the grass to turn green in the back yard Horsetail Horsetail
Leaf Beetles engaging in a little romance, while the third one eats Raindrops on Leaves Raindrops on a Leaf
I think this is Club Moss I'm not sure what this is I think this is Club Moss too.
I believe this is called Reindeer Moss More moss growing at the base of a birch tree

My friend Julie and I took a drive part of the way up Chena Hot Springs Road the other morning. We both needed a break, and we were going in search of the violet-green swallows and the peregrine falcon that other photographer friends had captured with their cameras.  We couldn’t stay out all day, so we decided to go early. We were on the road by 8am.

We hoped to see some wildlife along the way (moose), but only saw ducks and other shore birds in the many ponds and streams. When we got to the Tors Trail Campground at mile 39, we parked and walked up to the cliffs where the swallows have been nesting every summer for several years.

The swallows are FAST. And they’re not overly large either. We had our long lenses with us (400mm) which means our cameras were quite heavy. We also had our tripods, because we knew our arms would get tired. The tripod wasn’t really the help I hoped it would be, but hand holding my camera and panning the flying birds was bound to wear me out in only a few minutes. So instead, I kept focused on the areas with the most activity and tripped my shutter when birds came into view. But with the bright sunshine, the light was rather flat, and the part of the cliffs where the swallows were nesting was in the shadows. I deleted about 80% of the photos I took because they were blurred. Not a good day for shooting swallows, but I did manage to capture several images that are better than nothing.

The highlight of our swallow shooting excursion was seeing the peregrine falcon. Unfortunately, he was also tough to catch in flight, and when he did decide to sit, he was so far away that even with my 400mm lens, I had to crop the image to see some detail on him.

We didn’t hang around long, as the bright sunshine was hot and I could feel my face burning despite my SPF 30 sunscreen. On the way back to North Pole, we stopped in at Twin Bears Camp for a few photos and to watch the kids and teens learn how to fly fish. The lake was like a mirror and reflected the cabins beautifully.

Horned Grebe Morning Moon Peregrine Falcon
Violet Green Swallow Green Up Chena Hot Springs Road Beaver Pond
Julie Northern Shoveler Pair Great Danes in the back of a pickup truck
Twin Bears Camp Fly Fishing Twin Bears Camp

We had a gorgeous sunset last night - or rather this morning. The sky turned lovely shades of pink and purple-ish at 12:30am. I took these photos from the end of my driveway:

Soon we won’t even be having any sunsets and sunrises. We’re closing in on Summer Solstice and a true 24 hours of light.

Before I end this entry, I just had to share this photo of Raven. I have been having such a blast with her throwing the frisbee, going for walks, and taking drives. She’s such great company and I love her so very much. I love when she smiles at me. OK, so maybe she’s not really smiling, but it sure looks like it!

Until next time…

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May 31, 2013

Protected: Private to Stella - Newborn Magnolia

Filed under: Proofs — Susan Stevenson @ 2:44 pm

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