Oh What a Beautiful Morning
Lately, each morning, I have the incredible urge to throw open the sliding glass doors and belt out the song “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical, Oklahoma.
Oh, What a beautiful mornin’,
Oh, What a beautiful day.
I got a beautiful feelin’
Ev’erything’s goin’ my way.
The Interior is in the middle of the big thaw (breakup). There has been sunshine just about every day, and it even warmed up to 63F a few days ago. While I still have quite a bit of snow coverage in my yard, the depth of the snow has gone from a high of 2′ to about 6 inches. There are bare spots opening up everywhere, and in the lower parts of the yard, there are now puddles. Hopefully the puddles will be absorbed into the ground quickly, so as not to encourage mosquito breeding.
A few days ago, I picked up my friend Abby, and we went to lunch. We ate at the Regency Hotel (Regency Cove Restaurant) - a first time for her, and only the third time I’ve had lunch there. The food wasn’t bad at all, and the tables were full with the business lunch crowd. I like the ambiance at The Regency; the lighting is dim and there are beautiful fish tanks throughout. I tend to forget it’s there as a dining option, unfortunately.
After lunch, we stopped by The Stash for a few minutes. I took new framed and matted photographs in last week, and wanted to see if they had been hung. Only a few are on the wall, as of yet. The owners are planning to rearrange the store - moving some items to the front, and removing old stock and replacing it with new stock, in time for the summer tourism season. It’s going to be a large undertaking, as the store is busting its seams with beautiful new items. If you’re local, stop by and check it out. The Stash is located at 535 3rd Avenue, Suite B, near Mt McKinley Bank. You’ll find photographs, note cards, jewelry, soap, fudge, and so much more. If you happen to go in looking for some of my work, and don’t see what you’re looking for, don’t hesitate to email me: susan@susanstevenson.com
From there, we just had to stop by Creamers Field and see the geese. It’s nice to see huge puddles (the size of small ponds actually) where the piles of snow used to be. The geese and ducks are loving it, and so are we! The fence line is often crowded with parked cars now, as folks stop at the fields to watch the geese on their lunch break or in the middle of running errands.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The snowshoe hare continues to visit our yard. You can see how brown her fur is getting in these photos. Also, I hope you don’t mind me sharing more photos of Airborne and Sushi. I can’t help but photograph Airborne when she’s being so cute!
 |
 |
 |
 |
The arrival of a snowshoe hare always brings an audience. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On Saturday, after learning that the Denali Park Road is open to mile 30, Steve and I decided to go back for a drive and a short hike. The weather wasn’t the best, with overcast skies and temps in the 40s, and we knew that the mountain wouldn’t be out. But our goal was to go in search of wildlife, as well as to stretch our legs. We didn’t see any wildlife until we passed mile 15. As we rounded a bend, I happened to catch sight of dark shapes up on the hill. It was a couple of moose. But then, as my eyes focused and I took in the entire scene, I realized it was FIVE moose - all in a row, grazing on the birch and willow branches.
Here’s a close up of three of the five moose:
And the rest of the photos:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In closing, a reflection photo that I took in Pioneer Park. It is so wonderful to see puddles!
It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is.
And when you’ve got it, you want - oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want,
but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain
I will be on the boat heading to Ak this time next week! Too bad I won’t make it all the way up to Fairbanks–I’d LOVE to see the area. But I’m excited…the one “big” excursion we’re doing is a Rainforest wildlife refuge or something (forgot the exact name) in Ketchikan–I wanted to see nature, and native critters to get my fill of the green, trees, etc. that we don’t have here. If we have time we’ll do a quick tour of town via horse drawn carriage. I want to leave plenty of time for lunch. Hubby LOVES halibut and fries and he’ll be able to get some good halibut up there.
And I have a list of things I want to get to bring home so of course we have to have time for a little shopping.
[Reply]
susanstevenson Reply:
April 28th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
How exciting for you! I hope the weather is cooperative and you get to see a lot of sealife. The whales might still be migrating, which would be awesome.
I’ve never been to Ketchikan, but it’s on my list of places to visit. We’ll be visiting Haines and Skagway this year. I’m quite excited!
[Reply]
Comment by Tracy — April 28, 2009 @ 12:35 pm
Hey Susan,
I really love the black and white pic of Dad, and the one of you and him. I really love seeing pictures of ya’ll. I miss ya’ll soooooo much. Love ya!!!
[Reply]
susanstevenson Reply:
April 29th, 2009 at 8:52 am
I took that photo of your dad while we were driving. I made the background black so his face would stand out. He likes being “Grizzly Adams” on his days off. Love you too!
[Reply]
Comment by ~~*Kayla Melton*~~ — April 29, 2009 @ 3:59 am
I love all your photos, but I’m really enjoying the ones of Airborne and the hare, and the fish. So CUTE! I love that you added in pictures of yourself and Steve. Thanks for sharing your view of Alaska with all of us.
Lea Ann
[Reply]
susanstevenson Reply:
April 29th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Hi Lea Ann! It’s tough to get photos of Steve and I together, since he has to hold the camera out really far and usually cuts off my chin or his head.
I’m going back to Denali this weekend with my friend Lisa. Hopefully there’s less snow and more wildlife. The weatherman is predicting 75F on Friday!
[Reply]
Comment by Lea Ann — April 29, 2009 @ 8:40 am
Susan, Your photos are so gorgeous. I hope to use some of the money from the consulting contracts I have this summer to by some camera equipment. I might get to go to Fairbanks in a couple of weeks. I really want to go to Creamer’s Field. You are very talented. Thanks for sharing your work.
[Reply]
susanstevenson Reply:
April 30th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Thank you! Creamers Field is one of my favorite places to visit at this time of year. The geese are here in great numbers and the sandhill cranes should be here soon. A friend in Palmer said they’re already there, so hopefully this week! I hope you get to visit.
Thanks for keeping your blog. I’m not sure if our travels will take us back to your area, but it’s so nice to be able to read a road report. I wish I would have known about your blog last summer. Then we would have been prepared for the disappointment of not being able to get to the end of the road due to flooding. I hope this year is better for all of us as far as excessive rain and flooding.
[Reply]
Comment by VOP — April 30, 2009 @ 10:12 am
I’m so in love with Alaska and drooling over the incredible prices of cruises I’m seeing now. We have taken the inside passage cruise, but would like to see more of the interior of your beautiful state. Any “must do’s” if we make it all the way up the inside passage into the ‘real’
AK? Loaded question isn’t it??!!
[Reply]
susanstevenson Reply:
April 30th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Hi Susan! If you take a land/cruise combo, the typical itinerary takes you from Seward to Anchorage and then by train to Fairbanks, with a stop in Denali. Denali is ALWAYS a must see. The shuttle bus into the park (various distances) is relatively inexpensive, and best of all kids under 16 ride free. I usually take my guests on the 8 hour RT shuttle ride which goes to the new Eielson Visitor Center. The new VC has awesome views of the mountain (when she’s out) and several interactive ‘please touch’ displays about wildlife, geology, etc.
With smaller kids, they might not do so well on such a long shuttle ride (there are bathroom stops, but no place to buy food/water, so you have to be prepared with snacks, lunch, etc.)
At the park visitor center you can catch a shuttle to a free dogsled demonstration. The kids can pet the dogs, meet new puppies, and learn about the sport of mushing. They even hook up some dogs to a sled and pull it on a trail to show how it works.
If your travels bring you to Fairbanks, the land/cruise tour almost always includes the Riverboat Discovery and Eldorado Gold Mine. The Riverboat is quite informative and interesting, and you get to pan for gold (all ages) at the Eldorado Gold mine. If you decide instead to cruise and then rent a mobile home (or just fly in and rent a mobile home), you’d have much more flexibility on things to see and do - on your own. More and more folks are seeing AK that way.
Check out the TripAdvisor website (tripadvisor.com) and skim through the Alaska forums. There’s a wealth of information there from travelers - including cruise passengers, RV renters, and everyone in between. OH, and time of year has a lot to do with recommended activities and sights too.
Do you have a particular month you were thinking about making a trip? Weather varies from month to month, and later in the summer (late August to Labor Day when most businesses shut down) brings the possibility of seeing the aurora if you’re in the interior (Fairbanks area).
[Reply]
Comment by Another Susan — April 30, 2009 @ 7:55 pm
Thank you Susan for taking the time to give me the ‘real’ life version of seeing AK’s interior. I actually love the idea of cruising into Anchorage and then renting an RV!
We obviously would me more free to stay in an area that we enjoyed longer and skip others. I’ll keep you posted if we head North and West!
S.
[Reply]
Comment by Another Susan — May 7, 2009 @ 8:39 pm