The smell of autumn

Autumn has come and is about to go! One windy night and the leaves will be all gone. We got some rain yesterday that wiped a lot of the leaves down, but there are still a few hanging on. The smell of dying plants and high bush cranberries is rather pungent this time of year, sending one into a sense of euphoria.. errr at least to someone who likes this time of year! Breathe in it, suckers! It won't be here for long. Soon it will be skis and fat tired bikes. Not such a bad thing...
Steve, Cameron and I took on the Upper Chena yesterday and barely made it back to shore before dark. The Upper Chena is much calmer than the Chatanika but still pretty and had a few sweepers and small waves. We got caught in two rain showers in the 18 mile float, but honestly being caught in a rain shower means I was getting out, and that is always a good thing. Despite the lack of sunshine we still had a nice time enjoying the fall colors and laughing about the stuff we could have used that was accidentally left in the car.
Winter is looming.. at work I checked out the weather models and our first chance for snow is either the 22nd or 23rd. Did I mention how much I love snow?!

I spy something silver in the trees! Could it be the Silver Bullet???? :)

Bike some, ice knee well, repeat!

Chillin' on the Chatanika

Hoooooray! After feeling very down for a lot of this weekend because of perfect weather (70 and sunny, doesn't get better than that.) and inability to enjoy it fully AND knowing that last year on this weekend I had the most scenic bike trip ever, Erica and Steve invited me on a float trip up on the Chatanika. I was totally pumped about this, because I have been fighting with a semi-handicapped-ness in the sense that I am able to get around just fine and walk, but not for very long - so mentally I am in a go-go-go mood but my legs are like - "what the crap are you trying to do?! I still have stitches in me! You should be sitting down and wasting time away watching movies!" So, a less than 3 hour float on a new river was just up my ally. I sat there and barked orders at my paddling chauffeurs and provided commentary... and Twizzlers.

Colors are at their peak right now. But the good news is I get another (east coast!) autumn in October..... mmm speckled trees! Remembering that makes me not feel so bad about missing a few of my favorite weeks of the year here.

Erica was our guide. She used to be a canoeing guide down in Georgia so I trusted her with my life to not knock us in the water. So I guess this was a bit risky of a trip for me because it would blow chunks to have fallen out caught up in a sweeper without full swimming capabilities, but it was a risk I was very willing to take for this last beautiful weekend of the year. Everything worked out. But it sure was an exciting float trip. There were a lot of sweepers, tight turns, fast-moving water, and small rapids. A lot of stories didn't get finished because Erica and Steve would get distracted by more-intense-than-usual manuevers.

Cam tried so hard to nap on the trip but it was a bit too bumpy for him to pass out.. though it looks like he is below.

Thumbs up for floating something more exciting than the usual! I could get into this.

We made contact with a few trees... err.. maybe 4 or 5 total.. there were 3 in a row that we could not avoid. I was able to get my sunglasses on, sweatshirt hood up, and get down to canoe level but Cam shows some damage below from the sweeper contact. He was such a trooper!

I took a ton of pictures with Steve's fancy camera so once I get them from him I'll post more of the colors. In the meantime, my camera is at a near-death state.. moreso now because it got some water damage. It decided to turn on today (by itself), and let me grab these photos, so maybe it needs another day to dry out. Maybe it's just going to malfunction from now on. Meh, now's not the time to buy a new one so hopefully it will make it through another few months! This blog would suck without pictures!

A Smoky Fourth

On the 3rd of July, the university's 'day off'', a group of us went over to Chena Lakes. Some enjoyed just snoozing in the sun and some of us went a floatin'.. it was a perfect day for it.. in the 80s and sunny. Below are Steve and Erica and our moose-friend. Everyone smiled for the camera!

This is really zoomed in and kinda blurry, but still kind of neat.

The actual 4th of July, Fairbanks woke up to poor air quality and mounds of smoke from wildfires. Even though the fires aren't THAT close, the wind shift brought an unpleasant stink to the air and reduced visibilities for most of the day.
But we still gathered 'round to set off a few fireworks that worked as day-time fireworks.. including the infamous parachute men barrel.

And slingshot a few rocks at cans. We're classy like that.

Clearwater Float

For Al's last day in Alaska, we spent what I would call a "family day" with some of my buddies with little ones, floating the Clearwater in Delta. Here are Pat, Jenny and Michael. Michael likes to run around my cubicle area sometimes... he's a nice distraction to work.
And here's Anna and Chloe on Chloe's first boating excursion. She was SO GOOD and happy the entire time. What a pleasant little girl. She is super fun because she just wants to stay outside all day long and can be entertained by pebbles on the ground.. needless to say, her and I get along really well.
Here's a group shot. There was one more boat too but I didn't get to know the people very well on this trip. Thanks to Jenny and Anna planning this trip, I was off the hook for being in charge and was able to sit back and relax. :)

Back on the Water

It's that time of year!! Time to cruise the Chena.. here's my over-enthusiastic boat (Alexis and Ashlee) testing the waters.

Kayaking with the Gators and Swimming with the Dolphins at Latitude 24

High today (at FMY): 81 F
Low today (at FMY): 63 F

Everything this break so far has gone wonderfully as planned. Thanks to my friend Debbie, I was able to get a flight down to south-central FL to visit my sister Val, and bro in law, Keith! Being about 5000 miles away from home made me want to bust out singing to the song we all know well by the Proclaimers. But alas, I digress.
First day here we went kayaking down the Myakka River, a place flowing like the Chena River (barely flowing at all) swarming with gators, which I had never seen before. Needless to say I was as nervous about the gators as my first time hiking in bear country. Kayaking was fun and I saw enough gators to crave my taste of danger for the time being. I've decided that I like large mammals better because you can read their body language. I stayed as far away as the big gators as possible but had to of course pose by the baby gator... the other kayakers informed me that they won't do anything at that size.. not sure I believe them 100% but in any case, this little guy stayed still the entire time enjoying his time as a star.More gators lined up along the beach, taking a high noon siesta in the sun.Val and I spent every other morning on the beach soaking up some vitamin D. I'm no longer the whitest white girl on the beach, woo!

One of the nights my friend Rena from Fairbanks(!) and her sister came to meet us for dinner at my favorite restaurant down here. She is originally from FL and they were on their way south to take her sister back to school.Otherwise Val, Keith and I spent loads of time relaxing, rocking out on Guitar Hero, and being entertained by the furry ones in the house. It was beneficial to sit back and chill out for awhile!Got animals??

Mmm grapefruit straight off the tree!

Chena Cruisin'

High today: 66
Low today: 44

Lots of smiles and laughs on the Chena last night. First one of our canoes was having trouble getting out of the shallow water.. I don't think these things are necessarily made for 4 adults...
There was a serious water gun fight going on, instigated by yours truly. We'll just say I got pay back by more than one person.
At the Boatel we had a game of horseshoes and pool going...
Below you can see our engine Ted pulling the realm of three canoes..
We were having such a good time that we had to show our joy in some jumping pictures...
Below, Evi has the best pose and expression by far.Thanks to Ed, Trevor and Ted for supplying the canoes as usual... without canoes we would be having a swim down the Chena instead.. and that would be flipping cold!!

Row Row Row Your Boat

High today: 84
Low today: 50

Celebrated the 4th on the 3rd by spending the entire day on the water. First kayaking at Chena Lakes then canoeing the Chena River!

Some people weren't so fortunate as to stay in their canoes. ;)Happy Independence Day! Now go set off some fireworks for me because we can't see any!

What We Do On Weeknights

It's summertime.

And that means a few things.

1. BBQ. Delicious.. we are getting good at making skewers. If only the sticks would stop catching on fire... you are supposed to soak them in water but we keep forgetting.2. Friends. Well, friends are all year long but the endless nights and no classes make people a little more willing to come out of their holes. Or maybe it's the BBQ that brings the friends.. it works out in any case.3. BEAUTIFUL WEATHER! The tasty smell of AK is still in the air, my nose has not been numbed to it yet and hope it never does. The air is fresh and crisp and unpolluted. The lungs enjoy air like this.
4. Cruisin' down the Chena working on our farmer's tans. Because we can.

Mini-Chena Cruise

High today: 65
Low today: 40

Carrie's bro was in from North Carolina for a few days. Trevor, Carrie, her bro and I did a mini cruise down the Chena. Trevor brought his canoe and packraft to use. There were some scenic views of fine Fairbanks housing... fun was had by all!