Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

Again, time has flown by and I’ve been remiss in writing! Things have been crazy around here, as I’d been packaging and shipping off calendars, as well as preparing prints and notecards for the Holiday Marketplace, which was held this past weekend here in Fairbanks. The Holiday Marketplace is a fabulous venue for “one-stop-shopping” for holiday gifts. It’s held at the Carlson Center - a huge arena with plenty of room for booths and tables. I’m glad all the prep for that is over. I now have a little bit of time to breathe, before I start working on my holiday newsletter and cards for friends and family.

This time of year is so hectic, and I’m not always in the best of spirits to deal with it. This is also the time of year when insomnia kicks in for me. Many people have the opposite reaction to the long, dark days of winter and find themselves sleeping a lot. Not me.  In looking back at journal entries over the years, I have seen that I suffer from insomnia the most during the winter months. I’m so thankful I don’t work outside the home. I don’t know how I could work a full-time job with my winter sleep habits.

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Gratitude first, before I talk about close encounters:

November 11th - With much Gratitude to our Veterans!
From the time America won its independence, brave souls have stood to protect the freedom we hold dear. Thank you - all of you - for your dedication and sacrifice for this great nation.

With personal gratitude to my father (USAF - Korean War), my husband (ARMY - Persian Gulf War, OIF), my son Brandon, and my daughter-in-love Becky (both Marines - OIF) for their service to our country.

Thinking of, and praying for, the soldiers of our Fort Wainwright Stryker Brigade - and all of our brave warriors on foreign lands.

Flag Flying over Denali (Mt McKinley)

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We had a moose encounter today. Look at the photos and read the captions. It was awesome! (I’m sorry I’m posting in full size - that’s the only way you can follow the story easily)

I was working on photos, standing at the kitchen counter. Steve came into the kitchen to get a glass of water. For some reason I said something about a moose, while taping a package. I raised my eyes to look at Steve as he responded, and saw a moose in our yard, just out the kitchen window.

She finds one of the still-standing - although frozen - sunflowers in my yard:

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When I started this journal more than five years ago, my goal was to share my journey to Alaska, and my life in Alaska - via my words and photographs - with the rest of the world. I also decided that there would be some topics that I would not write about - subject matter that I, and many others, consider very personal. Two of these issues are religion and politics.

It has been two days since Barack Obama was named President-elect.  Over the past two days, the airwaves, the newspapers, online blogs, and television have bombarded us with a wide range of responses to this news: elation, sadness, fear, relief, happiness, anger, and too many more to list.

However, no matter your response to the election of President-elect Barack Obama, we can be proud that there will be a peaceful transition of government. This is not the case for many of the countries of the world.

How many of us were raised by parents who told us that America was a country where anyone could grow up to become President? A few days ago, those words became a real truth.  Perhaps our next president will be a woman!

There has been so much divisiveness in our country - our UNITED States of America.  And now that the election is over, I am saddened to see that this divisiveness remains.

I don’t believe that McCain or Obama would have gotten as far as they did, if we didn’t believe that they had what it takes to lead our country. We knew going into this process that only one man would win the position, and American voters made that decision. The outcome may not be what some hoped for, but such is the democratic process.

McCain used gracious and eloquent words in his concession speech, and I think we should all take heed:

“I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulate him but also our offer him our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to overcome our differences to ensure our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world and leave our children and grandchildren in stronger, better country than we inherited.

“Whatever our differences we are fellow Americans, and please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.”

We have a long, hard road ahead of us, but I believe that together we will make it. Together, we can heal our wounds and reach for the future.  United we stand, divided we fall.

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Over the past few years, I have been asked by readers of my journal if I had a calendar available for purchase.  Up until now, I never took the time to put one together, as the research I had done in regards to printing a calendar always left me feeling less than enthusiastic.  It seems that if you’re not in a position to make a bulk order (500+) calendars, there’s no way to offer a calendar for the $5 prices you see in large department stores.

Using an online printing company - who I’ve used in the past to print my photos - I am able to purchase enough calendars to offer them to my readers for $20 each. This $20 includes S&H to anywhere in the US (extra shipping costs for outside the US).

The calendar includes landscapes, wildlife, skyscapes, etc. It’s a 12-month calendar - full size (11×17) and spiral bound. (The full-size photo at the top of each month is 8.5×11)

I need to place my order by 10/27.  I will only be making one bulk order and one order only, as it won’t be cost effective for me to make several smaller orders.

Here is what the calendar will look like:
Cover photo of Denali (Mt McKinley) says “Alaska Through My Eyes, The Photography of Susan L Stevenson”

Here are the inside pages:

Please email me privately at susan@susanstevenson.com if you are interested in ordering a calendar(s). I will respond to your email with more information in regards to your order. I expect to have the calendars printed and ready for shipment by the end of November - in time for the holidays.

Thank you!

I guess the term “wonderland” depends on who you’re speaking to. Winter? Yes. Wonderland? The jury’s still out on that one.  I happen to think the fresh snow is beautiful, and I usually welcome the onset of winter with a little bit of excitement.  I love the pureness that the snow lends to the landscape. I love the contrast of blue skies against sugar-coated trees.  I enjoy the sense of quiet that settles over everything, and the way you can hear your own footsteps amplified in the silence.

With that being said, I don’t particularly care for driving in winter - and especially early winter. In early winter, fresh snow covers ice patches and I find myself driving 10-15 mph under the speed limit, because I’m afraid of going off the road. Driving slow on multi-lane roads isn’t too bad, as those who are more confident - or are in a hurry - can go around me. But when I’m driving down a two lane road like Badger Road (which has sections like an ice skating rink), I’m much more stressed out - particularly when vehicles come up on my tail.  I’ve had this happen to me, even when there are vehicles in the ditches on either side of the road! As the season progresses, and the snow doesn’t fall as much, the roads will become better graveled, and the small rocks will embed in the ice and create more traction.

Some of you reading may not realize that in Fairbanks (and perhaps all of Alaska?), we do not salt the roads.  The salt does little to melt ice, as it’s too cold (imagine -30F to -50F). And if we could melt the ice, it would refreeze immediately and create even more driving hazards. While gravel does help provide traction on snowy roads, it also makes pristine windshields an incredible rarity. I think I have 4-5 dings in my windshield, and Steve has huge “bullet-like” indentations in his.  We won’t replace the windshield until our vision is obstructed, because the odds are pretty good that we’ll get dings and cracks in the next windshield too.

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I’d like to start this journal entry with a shout out to my number two son - Brandon! Today marks 25 years since Brandon made his appearance in this world, and quickly found his way into my heart. Brandon will always be my “baby” no matter how many years pass by.

The other day, I was checking out his MySpace and saw that he had updated his photo albums with photos from when he was just a little kid. I wasn’t too surprised when my eyes filled up with tears as I looked at those photos. How has time passed so quickly? I began to reminisce about those early days, when Brandon was only 2 or 3 years old.

I remember going into his room to wake him in the morning for breakfast. He always woke up in a good mood, and I’d sit on the end of his bed and say “Wake up, BooBooLa” softly. (I still call him BooBooLa) He’d stand up on his bed, and put his arms around my neck, while wrapping his little legs around my waist.  I’d carry him to the kitchen, while he snuggled his soft face into my neck. Gosh, I miss those days! When I told Brandon that I remembered carrying him from his bedroom, he jokingly told me that I could do that the next time I came for a visit, but that he’s sure it would be a lot more difficult. Silly boy.

Now Brandon is a man, married to a beautiful woman, “father” to a boxer named Pandora (but I hope that someday they’ll give me a grandchild that has only two legs!), a full time college student (and getting all A’s!), and a loving and caring soul.  I love him with all my heart and soul and wish him nothing but sunshine and rainbows.  Happy Birthday my BooBooLa!

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On Sunday, Steve and I met Gip and Carmen for brunch at Pikes Landing. As always, it was delicious and quite filling. We went hungry - to take advantage of all the fabulous food, and made sure to leave some room for the awesome dessert table. The champagne flowed freely, conversation was interesting (they just returned from a cruise which took them to Iceland and Greenland), and by the time we left I was feeling very guilty for stuffing myself so full. I couldn’t wait to get home and out of my jeans and into lounging pants!

I asked Steve to take me driving around town, as I wanted to take some photographs of the winter landscape. The snow hasn’t melted, although I was holding out hope that it would. It seems winter truly is here and the snow isn’t going anywhere.  I suppose I should get used to this, as it will be here for the next 6 months. Now I’m holding out hope that the below zero temps don’t come for a while. *fingers crossed*

This is the sign for the ice bridge next to Pike’s. After the river freezes, vehicles can cross here. Unfortunately, there is always one or two vehicles that try to cross before the ice is sufficiently thick.

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Last night, Steve and I went to the First Friday Grand Re-Opening of The Stash. We only stayed for about 40 minutes, and the place was packed while we were there! My friend Abby (her jewelry is there) stayed for almost two hours and told me that after we left, a bunch more people came through. I’m so glad that people are checking out the place.

Steve and I planned to get a bite to eat while we were out, but couldn’t decide on a place to go. Then he reminded me that he had a $50 giftcard for Chilis that he had won playing golf a few months ago. Chilis is on my ‘three strikes and you’re out’ list, but since we weren’t spending any of our own money, I decided to go with him.

Surprisingly, the meal was good (for chain restaurant fare), although the service - as always - was slow. I had the Chicken Caesar Pita, and Steve had the Quesadilla Explosion. We both had a bottle of Guinness to wash it all down. The bill came to just about $43.00, so with the tip, that card was spent.

After our meal, we stopped to get gas ($4/gallon at Freddies with our discount card - will we EVER see prices below $4 up here????!!!), and then I asked Steve to drive me back downtown so I could take some photos of the riverfront area at night.

I took this from the pedestrian bridge. On the left side of the photo is Golden Heart Plaza, with the Marriott Hotel behind it. You can see in the plaza, the ramp leading down to the river. This is the ramp I photographed when the river was at flood stage and the water came up on it. The bridge spanning the river is the Cushman Street Bridge. It replaced a wooden bridge in 1959. The old wooden bridge used to wash out or become damaged every year during “break-up”, when the ice floes came downriver. This is where the Yukon Quest starts and ends in February, when the river is frozen.

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I stayed up until nearly 2am this morning. Steve was on day shift, so he went up to bed early. I wasn’t ready to retire for the evening, and found myself channel surfing from a prone position on the sofa, until finally I dozed off. Steve woke me when he left for work and sent me up to bed. I dozed on and off, until dragging myself out of bed (and to the coffeepot) at 9am.

I pulled back the vertical blinds to let Sedona out, and was shocked to see tiny “marbles” of ice falling from the sky and bouncing on the deck. I immediately called Steve at work to report the hail, and was told that it had been flurrying up at the mine site all morning.  Later on this afternoon, it flurried some more - big fat flakes, that fell intermittently and melted upon contact with the ground.  The skies have been gray, and it’s feeling much chillier (as in damp cold) even though the temperature reading isn’t much lower.

I picked up my friend Lisa today, and we went to the theater to see “Nights in Rodanthe“.  It’s definitely a “chick flick” or maybe even a “date night” movie (if you’re a man who doesn’t mind watching love stories on the big screen). We both enjoyed the movie, but left the theater wiping tears from our eyes. It ends on a sad note - much like most of Nicholas Sparks’ novels - so take some tissues if tear-jerkers always make your eyes leak.

We grabbed a late lunch at Brewsters (the original location near University Blvd) and were less than impressed. The food was lackluster, and the waitstaff seemed to disappear soon after delivering our order.  We really need some better choices for dining out in Fairbanks! Something with a varied menu, that doesn’t price burgers at $11 would be nice.

I arrived home shortly before Steve - perfect timing!

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The past week has ebbed and flowed with both activity and pure laziness. I find myself settling into the slower pace of autumn, and trying to mentally prepare for the onset of winter.

The trees in my yard are now totally bare, and the ground is covered with dull brown leaves. Gone are the beautiful golden canopies which shaded the yard from the sun. My world is becoming “plain” again, with muted colors of brown, tan, and gray.

A few days ago, my outside thermometer read 29F. I didn’t see any frost on my deck plants, and my sunflowers were still doing OK, although the leaves seemed to be drooping. I knew that it wouldn’t be long before the cold came and killed off all the flowers. That cold came last night.

I woke to a sugar coating of frost on my deck plants, my sunflowers, and the ground. I almost lost my footing when I went out to take photos of my flowers; the deck was slippery too.  You’d never know that the morning was so chilly, as the sun is shining brightly now and it feels like a typical autumn day.  As I type this, it’s 44F, but it feels much warmer with the sun shining. I just wish the trees still had their leaves. Then I could pretend it was still early fall, and we had several weeks ahead of us before the first snow falls.

Here are a few photos I took this morning:

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Hello friends! I can’t even begin to tell you how perfect Saturday was, for a drive into Denali Park! Thank you, thank you, thank you to JOHN for making it possible for Steve and I to have such a spectacular adventure!!!!

We dropped Sedona off at the kennel at noon on Friday. Since we would be sleeping in the bed of the truck, there’d be no room for Sedona. There was also the chance of rain, and wet dog and close quarters do not make for a nice roadtrip.

This is the first time that Steve and I have “roughed it” since just before moving to AK in 2003. In the old days, we tented - both alone and with our boys when they were younger. Somehow, I’ve blocked out of my mind just how uncomfortable and cold tent-camping could be.

Steve built a platform from plywood that fit snugly over his wheel wells in the back of the truck (we have a cap on the truck). We used a feather bed, several thick quilts and well-padded sleeping bags on the hard wood base. Let me tell you… we were both wishing for our comfortable memory foam mattress this weekend!  But other than achy hips and sore backs, it was good to discover that we still had it in us to travel so sparsely. Now there’s nothing to keep us from driving up to the North Slope next summer.

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