Break-Up Time

A recent outing up Donnelly Dome

Although winter is hanging on strong (it’s still frequently below zero in the evening and morning), it seems that we are in the last few weeks of its brawny grasp.  The daytime temperatures are now consistently hovering around freezing or above.  We also have 14 solid hours of daylight!  The depths of winter are fading from our memories.   From this point on, there should be no more:

-frozen, square tires on our cars

-frozen everything inside our cars- batteries, steering wheel, stick shift, brake pedal, etc

-frozen toilets and showers

-frozen floor in our cabin (in which our shoes are literally stuck to the floor in the morning)

-extremely high electricity and oil bills

This makes me very happy (understatement).

Rather than actually being called spring, the season that is approaching us is referred to as Break-Up season.  It occurs when the ice on the rivers begins to break apart, changing from solid to liquid.  It is also marked by the melting of the snow that has been on the ground since the beginning of October.  

In my own mind, I feel that there is a double meaning to the term “break-up” season.  I envision the term as also referring to me ending a tumultuous and semi-painful relationship with Winter.   It’s been a long seven months and although Winter and I shared many good times together, it is evident that we both need a break from each other’s company, meaning it’s time to go our separate ways.   I don’t envision myself shedding any tears over our break-up.  I eagerly look forward to dating Summer once again. 

Winter wasn’t all pain and sorrow, though.  Winter was also beautiful with powdery, sparkling white snow, gliding ski tracks, dancing Northern Lights in the sky, and a peaceful silence that encompassed the land .  As we kiss Winter goodbye, here’s a look back at some fond memories we shared: 

Cross country skiing through the powder, straight from our front door

Lots of caribou sightings in Donnelly Flats

Ditto from the previous caption

Passing the sign that always cracks us up on the Richardson.  Pipeline viewpoint to the left?  Seriously? I think I'll take the snow capped,  MAJESTIC viewpoint dead ahead of Mt.Moffit!  Where's the sign for that one?????  

Snowshoeing in the fluffiest powder I have ever experienced

Escaping from snow by hiking on windblown Donnelly Dome

Moose crossing!  (A whole lot of moose!)

The five moose after crossing the road prior to intimidating a herd of caribou forty strong 

Two cuties out hiking recently

Clucks go to the Desert!

Zion National Park- aka desert heaven

Spring break has now come and gone, but our memories from the week are still fresh.  We have dreams at night of red rock canyons and sand sifting through our toes.  We recall the feeling of warm sunshine touching our skin and the carefree days that lacked any itinerary other than donning our packs and hiking through a beautiful, desert landscape.  As one can tell, we decided to take our spring break away from the great state of Alaska.  We traded in the wintery arctic for the hot desert sun from March 16-23^rd.   It was pure heaven (with only a few exceptions). 

Ben and I mournfully left Chena behind to play in the snow in Alaska while we went on vacation.  We really weren’t worried about her though, because she was in good hands.  Nellie and Pete took her in for the week and Otter was extremely excited to have a play buddy.  Nellie and Pete are always the best of hosts, and it was true for hosting our dog as well.  They texted numerous pictures to us of Chena and Otter curled up next to each other, forming a ying-yang symbol out of their dog bodies.  Otter and Chena are now truly BFFs.  They apparently wrestled nearly non-stop, pausing to take some nap breaks or chew on each other’s toys.  Chena most definitely had a blast while we were gone! 

Kolob Arch- possibly the world's largest freestanding arch

Hiking in Kolob Canyon near Kolob Arch

So, back to our trip.  Ben and I traveled north from Las Vegas (barely surviving the dreaded city for one night) to Zion National Park.  We backpacked nearly the whole week in Kolob Canyons and then on the East Rim Trail and its offshoots.  Each day we awoke from our tent to bright blue skies contrasted against glowing red rock.  We seemed to choose trails that others missed, as the majority of the time, we had the desert to ourselves.  We loved Zion so much, we toyed with the idea of moving to Southern Utah.  That is, until the Dreaded Moment took place.  We were having so much fun, not worrying about bears, moose, or hypothermia that we nearly forgot about the evil creature that resides in this landscape.

These are NOT the evil creatures--these are bighorn sheep!  

Our campsite by the evil creature's home

 One night, mid-week, Ben and I were pumping water from the silty, LaVerkin Creek, when we heard a rustling on the creek bank beside us.  We noted the movement of a grass quickly being pulled into a hole in the ground, which was hidden underneath decomposing leaf debris .  We both paused and wondered what cute, friendly, furry little creature was near us.  The creature didn’t reveal itself while we were eagerly watching, so we went back to our tent, which was pitched about 5 feet from the hole.   About 30 minutes later, Ben noticed a large mound of dirt by the creek that hadn’t existed when we were on the creek bank only a short while before.  We both stood up and looked at the dirt mound from about 10 feet away, only to discover that the excavator was still busily working.  It was indeed a furry animal about the size of my hand, but it was most definitely not cute or friendly.   It was a tarantula. And it was HUGE, as well as being extremely quick and nimble.  We watched in horror as it flung dirt around with the strength of a bulldozer.   Ben and I both have a healthy dose of arachnophobia, as was evidence by Ben’s shrill, shriek when he saw the giant arachnid.  We both decided in that moment of terror, that we were much better suited to the land of the far north…far away from this creepy crawler.  We immediately unstaked our tent and moved it as far away as possible from the tarantula’s home.  Then we came up with a new procedure for exiting the tent.  All exit procedures would now begin with banging the sides and top of the tent repeatedly before unzipping, just in case a tarantula may be on the tent waiting for its chance to jump inside and attack us when we opened the door.  As darkness crept in that night, we huddled together in our sleeping bags, trying to focus on the sound of the creek rather than the rustling sounds on the ground.  Thankfully, we survived the night and the remainder of the trip without any tarantula attacks…but it sure seemed like a close call.  Despite creepy crawlers, we would love to get back to Zion again in the near future!  

Stream crossings in Kolob Canyon

Early morning vista of Zion Canyon from Cable Mtn 

Bear Trap Canyon- it was was still cold back there!

On the canyon edge off the Dear Trap Canyon Trail on East Rim

On Deer Trap Trail

Hiking in the Narrows

Ben in Orderville Canyon

There's nothing like a very large glass of Polygamy Porter after three days of backpacking

We LOVE Zion National Park!  

Interior Visitors

The Bucks with their sweet granddog

It was mid October when my parents, somewhat reluctantly, decided to buy tickets to come visit Delta Junction during the winter.  Truthfully, I believe the courage to visit interior Alaska during its harshest season came from seeing the Clark’s successfully survive their Thanksgiving here.   So, after much planning and preparation (consisting of warm weather gifts from concerned friends and relatives), my parents arrived on February 23 at the Fairbanks International Airport! 

My mom was thoroughly bundled, wearing three layers of pants and four layers on top.  It was enough clothing to even garner a comment from an airline attendant.  Mom swore that she wasn’t wearing all of her clothes for the week so she didn’t have to pay to check a bag, but rather she was just that scared of the cold!  Meanwhile, the citizens of Fairbanks were wearing light windbreakers and pants without long underwear underneath, as the weather was a mere -2.  It was practically summer here! 

Chena waited in the car excitedly at the airport to meet her grandparents!  My dad won her over quickly as he had brought up salmon puff treats.  It was love at first treat!

Chena, our mountain dog

Ben and the Utah/Colorado looking rock outcropping

The Clucks

As documented in the prestigious journal, The Buck Banter, our first day in the interior was spent in the Alaska Range.  My parents are still avid adventurers and snow shoed through the powdery valley floor amidst the towering mountains.  They even climbed up a steep ridgeline with the skill and agility of mountain goats to receive panoramic views of the Alaska Range.   The day was ended with a delicious dinner at Black Rapids Lodge. 

Mother and Daughter enjoying the sunshine!

Dad, trekking up the creekbed

Chena is unpleased by grandma's antics

At Black Rapids Lodge in their library

Ending the hike in the Alaska Range

On the way home, 5 moose were “seen,” with one of them nearly being hit by our car.  I use the word “seen” lightly, because moose are so tall that when they cross in front of your car in the darkness, your headlights only hit their legs—the rest of their gargantuan body remains black.  We were traveling 35mph on the highway to avoid hitting any moose meandering across in the twilight, but unfortunately, a big truck barreling down the highway in front of us was not as lucky and hit one.  Despite their car being partly off the road and their snow machines splayed out on the ground, everyone in the car appeared to be fine.     

The Black Ninja and the White Wolf on Quartz Lake

The next day, the weather remained beautiful, and we journeyed north to Quartz Lake for a cross-country ski.  We glided effortlessly through the smooth powder on the lake, while Chena sprinted back and forth between us.  We trusted that the ice was thick enough to support us given that cars were driving to and from ice fishing huts on the lake.  

Mom on Quartz Lake

The remainder of the week in Delta was spent hiking on the trails from our cabin, gazing at the stars, eating scrumptious meals, and playing games.  May it be noted, that I am back on my winning streak at Ticket to Ride.  May it also be noted that my competitive dad lost to my mom by one point—ouch (very surprised this information was not reported in the Buck Banter).    

A trip north to the big city ended the week. We watched the International Federation of Sled Dog Sports World Championship taking place in North Pole.   We cheered on the teams from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and the USA.  We were all glad that Chena is much calmer than her sled dog counterparts!  

Sled dog racing!

Snake in the center of the ice maze

A lionfish in ice

Visiting with Nellie, Pete, and Otter in Fairbanks, eating at Silver Gulch Brewing, and gazing at the incredibly detailed and impressive ice sculptures at the Ice Park rounded out the week. 

It was wonderful having my parents here and showing them the beauty of interior Alaska.  It was equally as kind of Alaska to remain sunny and almost entirely above zero throughout the duration of the trip!  Thanks, Mom and Dad, for an amazing time! 

Hiking in the Boreal Forest in Fairbanks

Apparently it was a tiring trip for both my dad and Chena.....

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