Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

It has been a busy week for photos. And the weather has been absolutely beautiful. We’ve seen high temps in the low 40s at times, with most days seeing 30s.  Add in blue skies and sunshine, and conditions were perfect for getting outside and enjoying the fresh air.

ANNAMAET GOLD RUN

The Annamaet Gold Run Race includes skijoring and four, six, and 10-dog mushing classes. The skijorers started running at 11am, with the mushers following. This is the race that Steve and I took Kayla and Colt to last year, when they came for a visit.

The sun was shining brightly - almost too brightly for capturing photos at the start of the race. After shooting a few frames of the skijorers, Steve and I drove to a spot where we could walk onto the frozen lake and take photos from an area sheltered from the bright sun.

We could hear the countdown for each musher echoing through the trees, and after hearing “GO!”, it took about 30 seconds for the musher and team to come into view.  We were a couple of riders into the four-dog class, and despite hearing “GO!”, no musher came into view. And then, off trail and in the distance, we saw dogs and a sled racing across the ice and snow. It seems the musher had fallen off and the dogs did what they love most - they kept on running!

A snowmachine was dispatched to catch the dog team and empty sled, and didn’t have too much of a problem bringing them back to the start.

Musher Stacy Lanser met the runaway team on her way to the finish line, at about the same time the snowmachine caught up with them:

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The night after I posted my last entry with the aurora photos taken from Nordale Rd, the lights came out again. This time, because it was later in the evening, I stayed home and photographed them from my driveway and the road.

They started out much like the night before, with a low arc across the sky. But then, as the minutes went by, they went higher in the sky and widened. Soon, there were several bands of green directly overhead, dancing in the sky and brightening the night. The orange glow you see in the photos is reflected city lights from Fairbanks and Fort Wainwright. They weren’t as bright as they look in the photos, but with long exposures, they appear so.

Standing in my front yard:

I thought it would be neat to include the flag in this photo taken from our front porch:

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“If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you’ve made me smile,
the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand.” - unknown

This is my and Steve’s 19th Valentines Day together. Valentines Day isn’t as big a ‘to-do’ for Steve and I, as it is for other folks. We don’t buy cards for each other anymore, nor do we go out to dinner.  It’s been many years since Steve presented me with chocolates. It’s not necessary. In fact, the holiday isn’t necessary either. When you love someone, you should treat them as if everyday is Valentines Day. We try to do that.

Last night, Steve stopped on the way home from work and surprised me with a bouquet of flowers. He knows that I prefer mixed flowers and wildflowers over roses. They bring a beautiful touch of color to the house. I hope they last a long time. Steve is such a sweetheart!

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NORTHERN LIGHTS

This week was a good one for photography.  On Thursday night, around 7:30pm, my friend Lori called me to tell me the northern lights were out. I looked out in the yard and could see the green glow low on the horizon through the trees. I was surprised to see them so early in the evening, as they usually don’t show up until midnight or while I’m sleeping.

I took some photos from the road, and then snapped a couple from the back deck, but I was disappointed that I couldn’t see the full array of the lights because the trees around our property were blocking them.  I came inside with my camera, and Steve asked me how things were going. I lamented that the trees were blocking my view and how much better it would be if I were out on Nordale Road where the open fields are.

Steve had been up since 3am that morning and had to get up at the same time the next morning, but he didn’t hesitate to ask me if I wanted him to drive me out there. I really didn’t expect him to do that, but of course I was thrilled! We quickly pulled on some warm clothes and headed out.

The lights were arcing from one end of the sky to the other, with a thick band of green directly in front of us. Clouds in the sky added texture to the scene. We spent about 45 minutes parked out there. Steve stayed in the truck, watching through the windshield, while I snapped away. What a gorgeous night!

This is one of the pano photos I took from Nordale Road:

And here’s another shot from Nordale Road:

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