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.   

LL.L

A 40 Below Weekend

                We have become aware of the reliability to not rely on the weather report. The week before last weekend it was calling for decent temperatures for the upcoming week. We were excited about the continuation of decent temperatures, which now is anywhere around zero. As the weekend approached, it was evident that the weather report had gotten it wrong, again. The temperatures began dipping near 20 below and kept soaring down. By Saturday morning we woke up to a L.L. on our temperature gauge. This is not the acronym that ends in Bean, but rather, this is our temperature gauge indicating it is too cold to register the temperature. This depth of cold could be anywhere below 40 below. With the noted deprivation of degrees, we decided to stay indoors for the weekend.

Thermometer display showing LL.L

                The necessity to remain indoors could not have come at a better time for us. Emily had just received an iPad from the library to work on ‘figuring-out’ how to properly use it. What this meant for us was a weekend of cabin bliss and plenty of Harbor Master and Angry Birds.

                We frequently checked the temperature gauge, which at times would come back to life and indicate 39.8 or even 37.3, but always preceded with a -. Eventually the sun warmed up the air enough to allow Emily to go to work, which is called off at -40.

                When we drive in this cold of weather the tires seem to freeze and create almost a box-shape. This causes for slight bumps along the drive, hard to notice but still evident.

                On Sunday, it was the same routine.  We awoke to see LL.L. We did venture out again to go to the post gym to work out, and to avoid any finger cramping from the incisive Harbor Master playing. It was hard to get either vehicle running and after hours of being plugged in, both refused to start in such extreme cold. I had to plug the truck’s battery into a charger to help. Eventually the truck started, but ‘Birch,’ our faithful Subaru, stayed stubborn and was unable to be started. Once the truck was started, we were afraid to turn it off again, but after a considerable warm-up we felt comfortable to venture out and turn off the car if need be.       

                Our toilet and shower continued to work, thankfully, which makes for a weekend in the cabin a much more pleasant few days. Even with such a cold couple of days, there remains a frosty beauty up in the frozen interior. The sun shines for a bit longer, the sky radiates in blue, the sunrises and sunsets are spectacular and easily viewed indoors, the snow covers the non-wind blasted terrain, and the moon shines at night almost as bright as the sun during the day (My drive to school the next day I had to put the sun visor down to block out the moon’s rays). It is a different world than Emily and I have ever experienced or could have imagined. And with each passing day we learn something new about how to live in the interior of Alaska and about ourselves, especially how good our spouses are at playing addictive iPad games

                And to top off the 40 below weekend, on my way to work on Monday I got a call that school was canceled due to cold weather!!!  We decided to take advantage of the LL. L cold and test out whether hot water would freeze instantaneously outside.  We know Aunt Patty, especially, has been waiting patiently for this trial.

Here's the link to the quick video of our attempt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYKsYh9CkeQ
 It is inconclusive as to whether or not the water actually froze before touching the ground, but it definitely steamed like crazy and fell kind of "sheet like."  Enjoy the cold display.  

Vacations are Grand

Vacations are Grand

Horse drawn Sleigh Ride on Mt. Hood 

Chiara having a blast on the sleigh ride

Over winter break, Ben and I were able to escape the frozen taiga to the balmy lower 48 to see our families.  The moment we stepped out of the plane in Portland, we immediately rejoiced at feeling 40 ABOVE zero while being outside. I could feel my skin delightedly drinking up the moisture in the air.  It was raining and I do believe we were the only people getting off that plane incredibly excited about that fact.  We hadn’t seen a drop of rain for over 3 months, which for me, was the longest I have ever gone in my whole life.  Between growing up in Oregon and then moving to the rainforest of Southeast Alaska, rain was a constant.  We must admit, we didn’t miss the rain terribly for the first few months, but as the rain touched our skin in Portland, it felt very much like being welcomed home. 

The cruel irony of our trip to Oregon and Colorado was that while we were gone, Delta Junction experienced a heat wave.  We left with temperatures stubbornly hovering at 30 and 40 below zero.  The day after our departure, though, the warm Southern winds blew into Delta bringing above zero temperatures for the first time in a month.  We had to laugh while we were in Colorado experiencing colder weather than the current temperatures in Delta.  We found it oddly similar to trips taken out of Sitka where suddenly the rainy skies would depart and sunshine would blast the land for the duration of our time away.  Meanwhile, we were always getting rained on somewhere else in the country.  Mother Nature must be a jokester. 

Ben and I had a wonderful time with the Clark and Buck clans.  We are both so incredibly fortunate to have such amazing, loving families.  Between games, feasts, and winter outings, many memories were created that will last us until the next family get-together! Even though it didn’t seem possible, our nephews and nieces are getting cuter and more wonderful with age!  Spending time with them was definitely a highlight of the trip.  We were also able to catch up with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and cousin-in-laws as my Aunt Patty and Uncle John graciously hosted the ever growing family!  In addition to family, we were also fortunate to squeeze in time to see a few friends while down South.  Sarah, Jill, Emily, Aaron, Matt (surprise visit!), Zach, and Jess reminded us that time with good friends always goes too quickly.  We miss everyone already!

 

Hike with my parents in the Columbia Gorge



Thankfully, the warmer temperatures in Delta didn’t leave the instant we returned like we half expected.  Rather the winds continued to whip through town, making the ambient temperature much more bearable.  Unfortunately the wind chill made the weather still quite impossible to be outside in, but at least we didn’t have to worry about our cars starting. 



Lucy on Mt. Hood



Today, it is a balmy 0 degrees and dropping.  I am taking advantage of the mild weather to fill our water tank because it is supposed to plummet back down to 20 or 30 below tomorrow and continue the cold streak for at east the near future.  We are looking forward to my parents visiting in a month.  We commend them for planning a trip during the coldest month of the year!  Also, Happy Birthday to my sister, Megan!   I hope Mary and Lucy are busy making a beautiful troll birthday cake for you!

It was great to be home for Christmas!


P.S. More pictures coming soon.....

Caribou Curse

The Sun about to peak over the Alaska Range at High Noon

This weekend, feeling a little cabin fever from the cold weather that has forced us indoors for far too long, Ben and I decided to try to go for a hike.  It was 25 below outside, but we heard that if you climb Donnelly Dome, which rises abruptly a few thousand feet from the valley floor, that it can be 20-30 degrees WARMER at the top.  0-5 degrees at the summit?  That sounds WONDERFUL!  So, we headed down the snowy road, contemplating the cold weather logistics of our trip, such as how we were going to keep our water bottle from freezing en route up the mountain.  We were prepared with layers upon layers to cover every inch of our skin. We put toe warmers in our boots and hand warmers in our gloves.  We felt we were ready to take on the cold. 

We drove the 40-minute drive towards Donnelly Dome with the sun just about to poke over the mountains.  It was fifteen minutes before noon.  We had timed our departure perfectly.  If the sun poked up shortly after noon, that would give us a solid 2 hours of pure sunlight for our climb before it started its descent behind the Alaska Range again.  Supposedly, we currently have four hours of daylight between sunrise and sunset, but that doesn’t take into account the mountain range blocking our precious sun during its rising and setting.  We were eager to see those rays, even though not a one would actually touch our skin. 

Caribou on the Richardson Hwy

About 2-3 minutes before our hiking destination turn-off, we drove over one of the few hills in the highway to see three caribou sauntering down the road a short ways ahead.  We were very excited to see our first caribou in Delta and felt this was a fortuitous sign for our hike. 

Caribou with Donnelly Dome in background

We watched them for a few minutes and then continued on our way, eager to start our climb up the mountain.   As the pull-out for the hike approached, we didn’t think twice about steering off the highway to park our car there until we were physically in the process of doing it and felt our car sink down into a solid foot of snow and quickly bottom-out.  The pullout had never been plowed.  We both realized our demise instantaneously and Ben, who was behind the wheel, tried to quickly do a U-turn and escape, but it was much too late.  It was at that point that we realized that a shovel was not something on our list of cold weather gear to bring.  We are definitely still rookies.  We learned a few important lessons that day.  First, it made complete sense as to why 99% of Deltoids drive big, burly trucks with high clearance.  Birch, our poor Subaru, didn’t stand a chance in that snow.  Second, it registered why no one ever talks about going hiking in Delta.  And third, and most importantly, we realized that there must be such a thing as the caribou curse.  

  

Realizing a big truck would be a nice car in the future

We spent the next 25 minutes digging our car out with our gloved hands and our ski poles.  The sun poked out behind the mountains and we paused for a few seconds in awe and then kept digging.  We broke branches off some willows in the area and put them under our tires for more traction.  With a lot of car pushing by Ben and a heroic effort by Birch, we eventually escaped the captivity of the snow and pulled back onto the highway with a sigh of relief.   In all of our time being stuck, not a single car passed on the highway.  No sooner than 20 seconds after we got back onto the road, not one, but TWO, massive trucks capable of towing smaller cars passed us.  We could almost hear those caribou laughing at us.  At this point, we had no idea where we could park and we were both tired from digging and digging, so decided to forgo the hike.  By the time we got back to our cabin the sun was starting to disappear behind the Alaska Range again, a reminder to take our vitamin D supplements.   We waved a sorrowful farewell to it and then to boost our spirits, reminded ourselves that the winter solstice was in a mere few days!   Bring on that daylight!

A Clark Thanksgiving

A Clark Thanksgiving

Nanook of the North

Ben and I were lucky to have family willing and crazy enough to visit us for Thanksgiving!  Charli and Todd left Colorado’s 60-degree temps to come to the frozen north.  Temperatures only once got above zero (2 degrees) during Charli and Todd’s ten days in Interior Alaska.   As it turns out, the cold couldn’t stop these two.  They would go out for two-hour long snowshoes and return without hypothermia.  Now I know where Ben got his enthusiasm for the outdoors from!  Todd was nicknamed Nanook of the North (a great 1922 movie we found out) due to the large, frozen icicles encrusting his bearded face during adventures. 

Thanksgiving dinner at Nellieland

We all survived our trip to Chena Hot Springs “Resort” leaving with many fond memories and a few repressed ones as well.  We have blocked out the moments of freezing arctic agony experienced during our geothermal tour as well as the discomfort (that’s an understatment) of getting in and out of the hot springs at 15 below with 30 mph wind gusts. 

The northern lights did not disappoint, coming out for a beautiful showing while we were in Fairbanks.  Thanksgiving also did not disappoint.  A delicious meal and great company was shared with Nellie, Pete, Otter (and poor Maddie).   Someone may have even mentioned that this Thanksgiving was their favorite Thanksgiving.

 Arctic Hare tracks 

It seemed the only disappointment was the lack of actual “seen mooses” during their stay.   Moose tracks meandered everywhere on the trails and around our property, but the large ghost-like herbivores remained elusive.  The surprise came when we found tracks that walked directly up to our outhouse, in which the moose must have stuck her gigantic head inside, and then opted out of entering.  We just hope in the future that the moose isn’t that inquisitive when the outhouse is occupied.

Visiting the Museum of the North

Besides Charli and Todd staying at the cabin, for at least a few nights, it seemed that the curious “outhouse moose” was also sleeping in our front yard under our landlord’s RV topper.  We noted tracks going underneath the camper to a snow-free section of land, and then tracks going out the other side.  For a few nights in a row over Thanksgiving, we noted new tracks on a daily basis. 

Charli, also now known as Nyla (Nanook’s wife) was tough enough to use the outhouse rather than our functioning toilet (we got our toilet working right before they arrived, and it stopped working promptly after they left!). Charli became enthralled in research on an outhouse problem that we were experiencing at the time.  Now, if you decide to read on about our outhouse woes, you MUST promise not to make fun of us about this unfortunate circumstance or use it as blackmail against us in the future.  (NOTE: if you are still reading this, then you solemnly swear to never mock, laugh, jest, or at anytime bring up this situation in front of other people while we are present.)  Anyway, because we have been using the outhouse now for many months, and temperatures have been well below freezing for many months, a tall tower of frozen poop (commonly known as a poopsicle by outhouse owners of the north) had accumulated in the outhouse, making progress towards its escape to the top.  While Ben spoke of nightmares of the poopsicle grabbing him while he was on the toilet and pulling him down, Charli decided to aid her son, coming to his rescue through the saving tool of her omnipotent iphone.  She compiled a list of appropriate tools and methods for the proper way to get rid of the dreaded poopsicle.  Although she was an enthusiastic researcher, she unfortunately did not oblige to putting her knowledge into action.  While most guests probably left their Thanksgiving dinner with plates full of leftover turkey, pies, or stuffing, we left Nellie and Pete’s with a gift of rebar, the perfect tool to be used in our war against the poopsicle.  We waited until after our guests left to do the dirty deed. 

Cutting down our Christmas tree- VICTORIOUS! 

All in all, Charli and Todd’s trip reminded Ben and me how much we have to be thankful for in our life.  In addition to having the best husband a girl could hope for, I have gained amazing parents-in-law as well! 

And now, a pen switch to Ben!

Hiking in Fairbanks

Having visitors to our cabin in Delta Junction was a treat, and definitely worth being thankful for. My parents were here for 10 days and the time seemed to fly-by with playing cards, cooking dinners, beating Emily at Ticket to Ride, hiking in 15 below weather, being awoken at Chena Hot Springs to get outside and see the Northern Lights, averaging two visits to Fred Meyer’s a day, and basically just seeing how adventurous my parents still are. And as my parents learned to appreciate the beginning of winter in the Interior, Emily and I were able to reflect on how we are so thankful for having two loving families. We were fortunate to have time with my parents and are thankful for all that we have and, most of all, for the people we share our lives with. And if anyone wishes to come and visit we promise the poopsicle will not be one of your ‘dirty jobs’.   

Mom and Dad!

Ben, attacking the Poopsicle...we are proud to say it no longer stands..... VICTORIOUS again! 

I Got Burned

No School! Cold Day!

I recently pulled into the local post office after a day of teaching. The temperature outside lingered around 30 below all day and with the dimly radiating sun gone from its short daily stint, I left the car on as I walked into the post office. Before moving up north, I remember hearing about a ghost scene in the interior during winter; cars running with no drivers. And now here I found myself contributing to the scene as I quickly checked our mail. Thinking that the in-and-out of the post office run would be quick, I opted out of putting my gloves back on- the walk was only 20 feet or less.

Life is very procedural here, with constant preparation. If I want to go outside, I have to put all my winter gear on, including my moon-walking boots. If we want to drive anywhere, we have to warm up the car and bring the plug-ins. If we want water we have to put our water jugs in the car and take them into town the next time we go. With this constant formula for existence in the interior I purposely opted out of wearing my gloves- maybe to rebel, maybe to resist against the procedures, or maybe out of pure stupidity.

The 20 foot walk was as cold as one may expect 38 below to be, which I saw was the current temperature. I put my hands in my warm, down jacket’s pockets. And as I have countless times before I reached my hand out and opened the door, but this time was different than any other previous time opening a door. My fingertips immediately stung and I pulled my hand off the door knob in pain as I walked inside. I shook off the brief shock-like pain and felt the tips of my fingers. They were smooth and red, and felt as if I had accidently put them on the top of a burning stove. In reality I had burned my fingertips, and in a way that I had never done before- by freezing them!

The cold creeps into every crevasse and hangs out in any metal here. And it is evidently not going anywhere for a solid four more months, so I need to start getting to know it better and improving our relationship. I am aware that in order for a healthy relationship with the cold I need to keep all extremities and skin under thick layered clothing- a lesson hard learned.