It's a bird? It's a plane? It's a flying squirrel! (April 20-22, 2012)

Biking "Bird to Gird"

A view of Turnagain Arm from the bike trail

Jon on "Bird to Gird"

Watching the train from the bike trail

Jake, the Flying Squirrel- Slush Cup 2012

Happy Earth Day! It is a dreary Earth Day in Kenai, Alaska. The fog off of the inlet has had us socked in all morning. We're hoping to get out for an afternoon walk. The temps are in the high 30s with no wind, so it is quite nice. On Friday, we left straight from school to Anchorage. Our goal was to purchase a 4x6 enclosed trailer. We succeeded. This little trailer with be following behind our Ford Escape on our journey home to Minnesota. For those who did not hear, after much debate, we gave our resignations at our school and are currently looking for jobs in Minnesota and Wisconsin. It was a tough decision, but it is the right one at this time in our lives. We will be leaving Alaska mid-June and will arrive in Minnesota no later than June 29th. We have started the packing process, which probably won't take very long, and are anxious for our return while still enjoying the time we have up here in this beautiful state.

We decided to make the most out of our trip up to Anchorage, so on Saturday we attempted to bike the trail known as "Bird to Gird". It is about a 10 mile paved bike path that extends along the Turnagain Arm from the community of Bird to the ski town of Girdwood. Hence, "Bird to Gird". After about 2.5 miles into the ride we were forced to turn around due to snow. Although a lot of the trail is clear, a lot is still covered in snow. We thought we'd be able to walk our bikes through the snowy parts, but eventually the snow was up to our knees! Following our attempted journey by bike, we decided to drive to Girdwood where the town was celebrating their annual spring carnival.

During the spring carnival, they have an event called the "Slush Cup". Participates get selected by having the best costume. If selected, you ski down a hill onto an approximated 75 foot man-made pond. And then onto yet another, the second one being about 40 feet long. If you ski across both without falling in, you receive a season pass of skiing at Alyeska Resort in Girdwood. There were 50 competitors, one being our 8th grade language arts teacher's son, Jake. He was a flying squirrel! The costume was fantastic, but I think it slow down his speed. Speed really is what is need to cross both ponds. A couple made it across, but mainly it was a lot of nose dives and acrobatic falls into the water.

 Spring is here! We still have snow in our yard, but most of it is gone. The moose have been hanging out by the side of the roads, as that is where the snow melted first. A couple of weeks ago, we counted 8 moose on our 10 minute drive to work. It has been nice going to work in the light. The birds have also been returning. On the Kenai Flats we have seen many ducks as well as Canada geese and snow geese. 

Sunrise= 6:25am
Sunset= 9:42pm