Hockey in Homer (March 26-27, 2011)

Jon played in a hockey tournament this weekend down in Homer. The team didn't do very well, but Jon did. The weather was nice enough that we could sleep in the SUV rather than spending money on a hotel. We spent a lot of time on the beach of the Homer Spit and spotted the crew of the Time Bandit docked in the harbor. No sea mammals, but many loons still in their winter coats. The snow is melting fast!

News: Jon will be commercial fishing for red salmon this summer from mid-July to mid-August. He will be a few miles out from land and will be doing set netting.

Current gas price: $4.24/gal
Sunrise: 7:45 AM
Sunset: 8:37 PM

A Unique Moose (Sat, March 19, 2011)

Earlier this week we saw a very unique moose on our walk. It was spotted with brown and creme coloring. The creme coloring was so light, I thought at first it was a caribou. Upon closer look, it was indeed a moose. Today we went out walking again and once again saw this unique moose. In talking to our neighbors, we found out that it is a cow moose who has been in the area the past few years and delivers a calf or two each spring. It sounds like we will be seeing more of her.

More Chena Hot Springs Ice Museum

Chena Hot Springs Ice Museum

Chena Hot Springs (March 11-14, 2011)

We started spring break on Friday by heading up to Anchorage for my post-surgery doctor's appointment. Things look good and my voice is feeling good. From there, we flew out of Anchorage to Fairbanks. On the flight there, as well as the return flight, the skies were completely clear, giving us a beautiful view of Mt. McKinley (which you see in the pictures). Once we arrived in Fairbanks, we took a shuttle about 60 miles northwest to Chena Hot Springs Resort. The hot springs were great, but our main reason for going was to see the northern lights. Two out of the three nights we were able to see them. Unfortunately, they were not as bright as they can sometimes get, but we saw them. What was unique is that because we were so far north, the lights were more above us rather than out on the horizon.

During the day we stayed busy going to the hot springs, skiing, hiking, petting the residential goats, and going on a couple of tours. Chena Hot Springs has a Ice Museum/Hotel. It is open year round. It has four bedrooms, a giant chess board, a bar, a sitting area with a fireplace, a wedding alter, and a xylophone that really works! The coolers used to regulate the temperatures year round all run on geothermal energy, which is the second tour we went on. Because of its location, Chena runs everything on geothermal energy, which not only allows them to have an ice museum year round, but greenhouses at a very inexpensive rate. This then allows them to use their own veggies in the dishes at their restaurant, reducing some food costs.

Nature Out Our Backdoor (Week of March 7, 2011)

We have had two snowshoe hares visiting our abode recently. We're assuming they are a pair. They have been sitting underneath a large spruce tree just outside our side door foraging for food. They have also been chasing each other around the woods. It's quite entertaining to watch.

Not much for moose lately. But we did have one show up across the street the other day just as the sun was setting.

Iditarod Continued (March 5-6, 2011)

The Last Great Race (March 5-6, 2011)

We woke up at 4:45 AM on Saturday to head up to Anchorage for the 39th annual Iditarod Sled Dog Race, also known as the Last Great Race. It was a chilly morning for standing around, but the dogs were in gear, ready to go. There were many mushers from Alaska and other areas of the U.S. They also came from Canada, New Zealand, Scotland, Norway, and Jamaica. The city of Anchorage brings in tons of snow for the event, piling it on major downtown roadways. There is a northern and southern route. On odd years, the mushers take the southern route from Anchorage to Nome. In about a week and a half the first musher will mostly likely arrive in Nome.

For the past 9 days the city of Anchorage has been celebrating to Fur Rendevous, also known as the Rondy. The Iditarod always occurs during this celebration. There are many different activities for people to participate in and watch around downtown Anchorage. Jon and I decided to watch one of these events on Saturday evening. This was the Rondy Festivals 4th annual Running of the Reindeer. It is a spoof off of Spain's Running of the Bull. Many people sign up to participate in this evening every year and even more come to watch. A crowd of runners take off down the street. Moments later, reindeer are released. The reindeer are extremely fast, catching up with the runners very quickly. It is a very safe event, the reindeer don't hurt anyone, but instead weave between the runners. So, how do they get the reindeer to run? Well, it is currently breeding season. The male reindeer that run with the crowd are on one end while a female reindeer is on the other end. The males know she is down there and take off once released. By the way, reindeer are the same as caribou.

We spent the night in Anchorage where we had a beautiful view of the inlet and mountains. We also watched a helicopter taking people on tours come and go right outside our window. The skies were clear most of the day. We were even fortunate enough to see a full sundog at the start of the Iditarod race.