Read This.

Excellent article about a moose encounter that ended sadly.... Read it!

Not sure I buy the "safety" issue. It was 1:00 in the morning and the moose was protecting its calf. That's what moose do. There's no concern of rabid moose. And, did someone forget to tell the UAF Police that we live in Alaska? I think they just wanted to shoot something. And now I feel sad for the yearling who has to survive winter without his mother.

This is Alaska.

Imagine this. You're driving home from picking up your husband. It's dark. The roads are icy because, well, it's October and that's when it gets icy. You slowly turn onto your dirt road. Well, not your dirt road, but the dirt road that leads to your dirt road. Ahead you see some head lights and say to your husband, "Did someone drive off the road?" He says no, but as you get closer you see that, yes, someone has driven off the road. But wait! What are those glowing green and orange eyes? Oh, of course! It's a sled dog team leading a 4-wheeler pulled to the side of the road. And then your Cheechako brain slowly puts it together. This musher is out running his dogs on his 4 wheeler because the snow isn't deep enough for a sled yet, and the driver of the car in the ditch swerved to avoid them and went into said ditch. So you pull over, get out, help the musher push the car out of the ditch while his dogs are barking in the background, wave goodbye, and hear the musher say to the driver nonchalantly,"Sorry 'bout that." Yup. This is Alaska.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Winter has arrived in Fairbanks. While everyone back east is going to pumpkin patches and corn mazes and enjoying the fall foliage, everyone here in AK is getting their skis out for winter. It's amazing, really. An inch and a half of snow on the ground and two more by tomorrow night. It seems that it snows lightly and often here. And as the weather won't rise above 32 until April, that snow just accumulates.

I met Lee after work today at the University to go for a walk on UAF's trails. They have miles and miles of trails open to the public for walking, skiing, snowshoeing, and biking. They even have lighted ski trails so when it's dark all day, we can still go skiing! Walking through the woods, we both felt very excited for the winter. I forgot how much I love the feeling of being cold on the outside, but all warm on the inside from being active. Then, when it's all done, you go inside and your thighs tingle as they thaw. What a great feeling! It reminds me of downhill skiing with my dad every Sunday as a kid, or cross country skiing across Rangeley Lake with Big E. Now I'm ready for the hot apple cider!

I'm Waaaiiiiting.......

We put up the bird feeder yesterday and Otis was ready and waiting for the birds to arrive the moment it went up.





The chickadees found the feeder this afternoon. Otis spent hours chirping at them and trying to open the window.




His attempts were futile.

Date Night at the Brewery

Last night my amazing husband took me on a date to celebrate our three month wedding anniversary! We went to the Silver Gulch Brewery, a local brewery located just north of Fairbanks in Fox. They have a relatively new restaurant there with many dishes that incorporate their beers. The menu is quite unique, and Lee and I had a difficult time choosing! In the end, I had spicy halibut tacos and Lee had beer and cheese soup (his favorite) and a Pork, Carmalized Onion and Apple Sandwich. The food was great, and the ambiance was fun, but the best part was the beer!

Lee and I have been enjoying Silver Gulch's beer since we arrived in Fairbanks. I like the Fairbanks Lager and the Coldfoot Pilsner, while Lee favors the Pick Axe Porter. But at the brewery, there are many seasonal beers to choose from that you can't get in the store. We tried the -40 Stout, the Cranberry Saison, and the Octoberfest. All were excellent! We came home with a growler of the Cranberry Saison and a pint of -40 Stout Chocolate Ice Cream made by the Fairbanks Ice Cream company Hot Licks. De-lish!




Check out their menu. When you all come to visit us, we'll be taking you here!

Bathroom Brawl... Almost

Because we are without running water, I travel to the university to take my showers. The student union - The Wood Center - has showers available for "university affiliated" persons, which I am, sort of. Let's just say I am. There are two showers of the college dorm variety. Not ideal, but not bad either. I get clean. It works.

Now normally, I shower before I go to work. And always without incident. Often there are others there, also showering before they go to work or class. But yesterday I had the day off. So I didn't go in to shower until around 5:00 pm. When I arrived, there was a young woman blow drying her hair, but both showers were empty. They each have a door that locks, with a sink, toilet and shower that are private. I went into the far shower, and got ready. About five minutes into the shower, I heard some very loud banging coming from what seemed like the other shower. It sounded like someone was knocking on the other door. Strange, but it stopped and I didn't think anything more of it. Until I turned off my shower and heard "HURRY UP!!". There was a woman waiting outside the showers.

Now, my shower wasn't exceptionally long. Ten minutes, perhaps. And the other shower was empty when I came in, so this woman couldn't have been waiting for long. As I dried myself off, she kept complaining. "Come ooooooooon," and "Hurry up!" and "PLEASE." I kept thinking, OK. What am I going to say when I leave? I kept going back and forth between killing with kindness and letting her have it. She was rapping her fingers on the counter, shuffling around outside, and as I opened the door, I readied myself for her to let me know how inconsiderate I was. I was ready for the snide comment she was going to send my way as she pushed past me into the shower.

Instead, I was greeted with a cheery, "Hi! What do you think of this weather? It's amazing how warm it is, isn't it?" I was speechless. And she continued. "Aren't you enjoying it?" (Side note, the weather has been 'unusually' warm - highs 0f 45-50.) I stumbled and said, "Uh, yes. It's great...." She walked into the bathroom, shut the door, and kept talking. "The weather report said it was going to be like this all week," she yelled through the door. Now I was blown away. Did she really think this was normal, or friendly? It was so weird, especially as she was causing such a scene on the other side of the door. I hurriedly brushed my hair, put on my face lotion, and got the heck out of there. I simply couldn't figure out if she was trying to kill me with kindness, or if she was crazy. Then I told the story to Lee. Before I even got to the part where she Jeckle and Hyde-ed me, he said "Was she on drugs?" And the answer was obviously, yes. She was on something.

Moral of the story, shower in the morning when the crazies are still in bed.