Last Visitors: Valdez and Onward to the Richardson Highway (Friday-Saturday, May 4-5, 2012)

Daffodils in Valdez

huge snow pile in Valdez

Bridal Veil Falls

Horsetail Falls

mini avalanche next to Bridal Veil Falls

Horsetail Falls

A view of the Chugach mountains

Another view from the Richardson Highway

On Friday night we stayed at the Downtown B&B. Although, it is still their winter season, so it was just the first B, bed and no breakfast. It was simply a place to rest our head. You may or may not remember from an earlier post that Valdez had record snow this year. They received a total of 420 inches. As you can image, they still have enormous piles throughout the town. Despite the snow, as we pulled into our B&B, there were daffodils blooming.

 After checking into our rooms, we ate at an "authentic Alaskan-Mexican" restaurant. The food was actually quite good. On Saturday, we roamed around town the small town checking out all the snow before heading out on the Richardson Highway, which connects to the Glennallen Highway, which takes us into Anchorage. The Richardson Highway was a beautiful drive, especially with the snow still covering the mountains. Once we started entering the mountains, we took in gorgeous views of Horsetail Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and even saw a mini avalanche.

Last Visitors: Whittier to Valdez (Friday, May 4, 2012)

The Aurora

Ferrying across Prince William Sound

Billings Glacier

icebergs

Jon, Rochelle, Danielle, Nate, Ken, and Sandy on the Aurora State Ferry

Stellar Sea Lions on the Sound

an oil tanker (pulling 2 boats behind it)

At 1:45 in the afternoon we drove our vehicles onto the "Aurora" ferry, our abode for the next 5.5 hours on our journey from Whittier to Valdez. Both towns sit on the shores of beautiful Prince William Sound, known for its breathtaking scenery, shrimping, fishing, and wildlife viewing. Unfortunately, this beautiful body of water and its wildlife are still experiencing the affects of the Exxon-Valdez oil spill of 1989.

 On the ferry we took in the Chugach Mountains, many islands, and Billings Glacier. We spotted much wildlife: Stellar Sea Lions resting on a buoy, Dall porpoises riding the bow of our boat, and sea otters floating in the water and resting on icebergs. We even saw a group of 5 otters together. We had never seen that many together before. The weather was cloudy with some rain, but no complaints.

Last Visitors: Whittier (Friday, May 4, 2012)

Sandy, Ken, and Jon waiting for the Whittier tunnel to open

Jon and Rochelle in Whittier

Whittier boat harbor

Jon, Danielle, and Nate looking out over the Whittier boat harbor

Nate, Jon, and a very large anchor

On Thursday evening, Jon and I drove up to Anchorage to pick up our last Alaska visitors. Jon's brother (Nate), Nate's girlfriend (Danielle), and Jon's Godparents (Ken and Sandy) flew up for a week long stay. We spent the night in Anchorage on Thursday before heading out for our adventure Friday morning.

We drove to Whittier, a small town only accessible by a 2.5 mile single lane tunnel used by both cars and trains. The tunnel opens every half hour to travelers going in and out of Whittier. To get out of Whittier you travel through the tunnel on the hours. To get in to Whittier you travel through the tunnel on the half hours. At 10:30am we were driving through the Whittier tunnel, right on top of the same tracks the trains use. At 25 mph we traveled through the 2.5 mile tunnel, the longest tunnel in North America. It was eerie, but exciting. Once through the tunnel, you are immediately in the town on Whittier. They still have quite a bit of snow. After checking in for our ferry ride, we explored the small town.

Official Sign of Spring (May 1, 2012)

The robins were singing today! Spring is now officially here. We spotted three, our first ones of the year, while out on an evening walk. After going to bed around 10:00, they were still singing as the sun was beginning to set. Looking forward to our company coming tomorrow. Ken, Sandy (Jon's Godparents), Nate, and Danielle will be joining us in Alaska tomorrow for a week long visit. Yay to company!

Spring Phenology (April 25-29, 2012)

algae on Headquarters Lake

Centennial Trail at the refuge with moose scat

Kenai Beach

Eagle at Kenai Beach

Mount Redoubt

Wednesday- first 2 sandhill cranes spotted coming in for a landing over the Kenai Flats
Thursday- first 2 trumpeter swans spotted on the Kenai Flats, snow completely gone from the front yard 

We have also been watching a pair of hawks gliding by our house. Not sure what species they are. We think the darker one is a juvenile sharp-shinned hawk and the lighter one is a male Northern Harrier. We are seeing less moose by the roadside, which means the break up is almost done. Not much snow left. Everyone, including us, thought we've have snow clear into May. But with all the sun we have had as of late, the snow has evaporated quickly. We went hiking at the Wildlife Refuge on Sunday. There is still some snow along the trail, but most of it is gone, exposing all the scat from the fall and early winter. In the early evening, we walked down to the beach and watched the eagles and gulls.

dawn= 5:11 am
sunrise= 6:05 am
sunset= 9:59 pm
dusk= 10:53 pm

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

Murder Mystery Weekend in Homer (April 13-15, 2012)

Views from our hotel room

Spectacular!

Stunning! What a Day!

Jewel's grandmother

Jewel's family

We spent our weekend at the Land's End Resort in Homer for a Murder Mystery weekend, a theatrical production of murder, clues, and hunches. There were 44 participants, actors and real guests. But who's who? All participants meet during meal times starting with dinner on Friday evening and ending with breakfast on Sunday morning. Although we did not figure out every piece of the mystery, we did fairly well. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for good, humorous entertainment with a taste for solving puzzles.

In between solving 3 murders, we had plenty of time to walk the spit, visiting the local art galleries, and taste test at our favorite winery, Bear Creek. We also wandered through the resort looking at old photos and came across a picture of Jewel's family (the singer). For those who don't know, Jewel was raised on her families 600-acre homestead in Homer, AK. The picture is of her grandparents and 3 aunts. I think Jewel looks so much like her grandmother. What do you think? Quite the resemblance if you ask me.

Sunrise= 6:46am
Sunset= 9:24pm