Chena's Arrival

Chena's first night in her new home

It is official.  We have now become a true Alaskan family.   We adopted a beautiful Husky on Sunday.  We are excited to welcome Chena “Puff” Clark into our lives! 

Chena’s adoption is a long and slightly magical tale.  One might say it began with a phone call from the Southeast…..

Aaron and Emily Routon, our wonderful friends from Sitka, called on Saturday extremely excited that they had just adopted a dog from the animal shelter in town.  They told us she was an Australian shepherd mix named Puffin, our “Puff” for short.  They were swooning over her on the phone with us, and while we were very excited for them, sadness ached in us. We had been looking for a dog for the past 4 months, but couldn’t find just the right fit for us.  Our dream dog was some type of Australian shepherd/border collie/lab mix.  Checking Craigslist and the online sites for the animal shelters in Fairbanks and North Pole was an every day occurrence. I had nearly adopted a blue heeler/lab mix the week before but opted out at the last moment.  He just didn’t seem like our dog. 

The fortuitous bad weather that led us to Chena

When Em and Aaron called, we were in the car on our way to go hiking in the mountains.   During their call, the wind picked up and was beginning to blow furiously outside.  The powdery snow engulfed the road and our views became minimal.  The car was shaking and squealing in the wind. We decided that it would be best to turn around and make other plans for our day.  

We went to Ft. Greely, where Ben teaches, to allow him to do some schoolwork instead.  I immediately checked my e-mail and saw the pictures of Puff that Aaron had e-mailed us.  She was very cute.  The next logical step was to check Craigslist and the listings of the animal shelters to the north of us.  Ben decided to forgo his work and join in on the online search.  I had bypassed any dogs that were available who were huskies.  We had previously decided that we definitely did NOT want a husky.  Huskies are commonly a little too energetic and thus can be unruly as housedogs.  I had also been scarred by a dog-sitting experience for a husky my first year in Sitka.  All of my JV housemates will recall the infamous Takatz and the terror he inflicted on our lives for three straight weeks.  I swore after that time, that NEVER would I get one of those dreadful dogs.  

So it was a surprise when Ben said, “Look at this dog!”  It was indeed a husky.  Her description said she was gentle, sweet, and medium sized.  She was a year and a half old and already spayed and housebroken.  She was also extremely cute.  Her name was Kellick. She certainly fit the bill for us.  In an instant we had decided that we were going to make the two- hour drive to North Pole to meet her. 

When we arrived at the shelter in North Pole, Kellick came shooting out of her cage with three other littermates.  Kellick had more energy than we had hoped, but she also came with another surprise.  Her back foot was in a cast.  We asked the woman what had happened and she said that Kellick had broken her foot climbing fences.  Ben and I looked at each other in horror—this was just the type of husky we did NOT want.  At this moment, one of the littermates came to our side in a calm, docile manner.  The other three bounded around us and jumped up on us, eager for attention.  The blond husky looked up at us with a relaxed demeanor.  Ben and I gave each other a head nod, signifying that this could be our dog.  We asked the woman what the blond husky’s name was.  Her reply was all we needed to know that we had to take this dog home.  “Her name is Puff,” the woman said.  In disbelief, Ben and I laughed and figured if that wasn’t a sign, we didn’t know what would be.  

Chena, our little Valentine

Walking by Donnelly Dome

In true Clark fashion, she is a RED head....

So Puff came home with us and is turning out to be our dream dog.  She has much to learn as she didn’t know any commands (sit, stay, come, etc). Because she came from a sled dog yard, she also believed it was her task to pull you when you put a leash on her.  She also didn’t seem to know her name, which was fine by us because we already had a new name for her: Chena (pronounced CHEE-na)--the name of the furthest north place we have been.  We figured this was a fitting name for our northern-born dog.  On her dog collar is now inscribed “Chena Puff.” In the short week that we have had her, she is quickly learning what we expect of her.   It turns out, she is not only sweet, gentle, and loving, but smart as well!   We love her!

Getting ready to hit the trails by our cabin

Loving the Alaska Range

Romping through deep snow on our first adventure with her this weekend

30 miles from Heaven

Our wonderful, fellow Interior friends, Nellie and Pete (and Otter with Lucey in tow), traveled south from Fairbanks to visit us for the weekend.  For the past 6 months we have traveled to Fairbanks so many times, with Nellie and Pete graciously offering their house and company. They consistently feed, board, and entertain us on par with the greatest of hosts.  But we had yet to be able to return the favor.  Fairbanks offers many more activities and often has much kinder weather (aka no wind) than Delta, so it is rather uncommon for Fairbanksians to travel south and much more common for Deltoids to travel north.  But Nellie and Pete, being the amazing friends they are, went against the grain and spent their weekend in Delta Junction! 

As is normal, Delta welcomed the Fairbanksians, accustomed to calm, still winter air, with 30 mph winds.  It seemed to kill our hopes of getting outside.  But we remained optimistic.  Our plan was to head south from Delta to the Alaska Range on Saturday. We decided to risk the threatening weather (as well as the roads) and started upon one of the most beautiful winter drives I have ever done. When we got about 15 miles outside of Delta, we found that, miraculously, there wasn’t even a breeze.  We passed caribou grazing and napping off the highway. Out the window was snow-capped mountain after mountain.  The sun brilliantly reflected against their white, glowing slopes.   Around one corner, a moose meandering on the deserted highway promptly bolted off the road—the best kind of moose- one that knows to be wary of cars.

Caribou at sunset

Nellie and me on the winter highway

We arrived at our starting point, Castner Creek.  The creek bed winds up the valley towards Castner Glacier.  Because there was no wind present to warm the air, we were expecting to get out of the car in sunny, but subzero temperatures.  As I hesitantly opened the door, I noted that my first breath didn’t hurt as I inhaled and that my face didn’t immediately tighten to the cold.  This could only mean one glorious thing—it must be ABOVE zero!

We happily sauntered up the ‘winter highway’ of the backcountry – the frozen creek bed.   We soaked up the sunshine, majestic mountain views, and powdery snow.  It was warm enough to be outside for hours—something we haven’t done for months in Delta. We quickly realized the most wonderful fact unbeknownst to us until now--Delta Junction is situated nearly 30 miles from heaven!   Who would’ve guessed??

We hiked up the creek bed until we reached jagged pieces of ice sprouting out of the valley floor.  We admired the thousands of years old accumulation of snow and ice and continued on our way reaching the terminal moraine of the glacier.  Glaciers are more conspicuous in the winter since, similar to the surrounding landscape, they too are covered in a blanket of fluffy snow.  But reaching a cliff face of ice was a sure sign that we had made it.

Hiking on the beginning of the snow covered glacier

In front of the glacier wall

Pete, Ben, and Otter approaching Castner Glacier

Pete next to iceburgs

Das ist mein Mann (we're currently learning German)

Nellie, Otter, and Pete enjoying lunch

Ben and Nellie

We ate lunch, enjoyed the remainder of the sunshine and headed back towards the car.  By the time we arrived in Delta, we found that everything was as we left it, with the wind still whipping through town.  People were scurrying from car to indoor protection as quickly as possible.  I had to smile…who would’ve thought that heaven could be just around the corner???  I think our days of traveling north to Fairbanks every chance we get may be ending.  We now know the secret.  Next weekend, you can find us hightailing it 30 miles south to the pearly gates of the mountains.