Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

The snow we got a few days ago, wasn’t the ‘real’ stuff. We’ve had a couple days of sunshine, and for the most part, it has melted away.

I did enjoy taking some photos in the yard, just after it fell, and this morning I took my camera outside to photograph some of the frosty leaves and plants in my yard.

I’ve left the (now dead) plants on the deck, even though they’re not very attractive. My hope is that we’ll be visited by some moose this winter, who will think the frozen zucchini and tomato plants are a welcome change from bare birch saplings.

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During the summer, you may remember that I photographed the Coffell Family. At the time, Abby and I agreed to barter with each other - exchanging my photographic services for one of her - and her husband Bo’s - beautiful pieces of jewelry.  I’ve written about Abby and Bo a few times in the past. They are extraordinary glass artists, using lampwork, fused glass, and metalsmithing skills to create one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces.

I asked Abby and Bo to make me a bracelet using blue and black beads, adding in sterling charms that were representative of my photography passion and my love for Alaska. Abby delivered the final piece to me today, and I wanted to share it with you all:

Thank you, Abby and Bo, so much for the beautiful bracelet! I will wear it with pride, and of course, I’ll be bragging about you to anyone who comments on it. When you’re famous glass artists, I will be so proud to own one of your pieces. I’m sad to see you leave AK, but I know that you will continue to WOW folks with your talents in your new home too.  You can check out Abby and Bo’s ETSY shop here. They add new pieces all the time, so check back regularly. They also do custom work, if you’d like a piece made especially for you.

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I want to thank those of you who have already emailed me about my 2010 Calendar. While interest hasn’t been as overwhelming as last year - and with the economy the way it is, I can certainly understand that, I am grateful to those of you who have asked to be added to the order list. I will be sending out emails to all of you in a few weeks, with further information.  In addition, I have placed a thumbnail image of the calendar on the top right of this blog. By clicking the thumbnail, you can see a preview of the calendar, with more information on how to pre-order one.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

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Before I end this entry, I want to give a shout-out to my oldest (as in longest) friend, Michele! Happy Birthday Mich! I hope your day is absolutely spectacular! Enjoy that California sunshine, and make sure you eat some cake for me! ***smooch***

Until next time…

This past week has been crazy busy for me, and I’m actually quite happy that things are beginning to slow down.

It’s yearbook time for local high school students (even though they don’t graduate until May), and I was asked to photograph several students. One of my favorite shoots was with Robert - a charismatic and easy going young man, with a love for science and math.

His parents, Wendy and Mike, are personal friends of ours. Wendy and Mike came to AK last year from GA.  Wanting a change of scenery, they packed up their camper, sold off almost everything they owned, and drove across the country with their four children - landing here last summer. They’ve since bought a home, and have been working hard at remodeling/redecorating it before winter hits.

I picked up Robert and took him to Chena Lakes to take advantage of the beautiful fall foliage. He was so easy to work with, and even had his own suggestions as to poses and locations. I like when my model gives me input; I know then, that I’m giving them what they envision.

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VALDEZ TRIP

Steve and I were hoping that Lisa and Charlie would be able to go with us to Valdez, but they had too many things to tend to in preparation for their big move to the Lower 48.  So, instead of spending Steve’s entire 7 days off in Valdez, we decided to just go for four days. The weather forecast for Valdez didn’t look very good anyway, and I didn’t want to spend a week getting rained on.

We left home on Thursday morning, under sunny skies. We both felt a little bad that we were leaving such pretty North Pole weather to drive 365 miles to a rainy place, but Steve was itching to catch some silver salmon, and he didn’t care if there were typhoon warnings!

The foliage as we headed south on the Richardson Hwy was absolutely stunning. With the sun low in the sky, the trees glowed with a colorful light - almost as if they were lit from within. With only slightly hazy skies, the Alaska Range was brightly visible on the horizon; the sun highlighting the crags, and dropping shadows in the crevices. I’ve driven this route countless times before, but I never tire of seeing the mountains. We stopped at Midway Lodge (the halfway point between Fairbanks and Delta) for a leisurely breakfast.

Even though Steve brings five cans of fuel with us when we make these long drives, it is customary to top off the gas tank in Delta - where the gas isn’t priced too much higher than it is here in Fairbanks/North Pole. (By the way, gas here in North Pole is $3.51/gallon - we’re being robbed! But I digress…)

As we approached Donnelly Dome, I noticed a flock of birds in the sky overhead. At first I thought they were geese, but when I looked at them through my zoom lens I realized they were sandhill cranes. And then I saw more large groups of cranes coming into view. There were thousands of them; flying in groups of several hundred. It reminded me of the time we saw the skies darken with cranes over Nenana several years ago - at about this same time of year. We stopped the truck and watched them through the binoculars for a little while. We weren’t the only ones to pull off the road. It was quite a sight to see!

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