blizzard in April

Monday am Update:  I totally have a black eye.  Damn.

I can't believe it's snowing, and has been, for the most part of the past three days.  Steve was going to drop me off at the lab this morning the go to the gym, but we didn't make it to the lab because the roads were pretty much impassable.  We took our snow tires off weeks ago (by law they are supposed to be off by April 15, through the issued an extension this year until May 1).  When we turned around, we stopped to help push a guy in a big SUV off the main road so he wasn't stuck in the main flow of traffic.  In the process of helping him I slipped and hit my forehead on the back of his vehicle - I'm not bruised, but I do have a fancy lump now.  We managed to get back home ok and Steve went into the gym - the weather is a bit better as you go towards town.  Ugh.  I'm ready for spring

I have a bunch of photos to post from last weekend but that will have to wait until I can get to the lab.  It's the last week of classes this week, so it's busy, and Steve flies to Wisconsin for a short visit on Tuesday.  

Beach clean up and bonfire

Saturday morning, five students and 1 of the faculty took the UAF research boat out for a test drive.  We're heading out to Sitka in about 2 weeks for field work and wanted to get out on the water so we could all have a chance to drive the boat.  It was a cold, windy day, but fun!  The boat is pretty much brand new - on 23 hours on the engines!

Later, in honor of Earth Day, the fisheries students went to the beach to pick up trash then had a bonfire and cookout.  Some photos:

Emily and Aaron hamming it up.

There were seven dogs at the party!  Seca, saying hi to a few new friends.

Grillin'.

Jessica with Zephyr, the most chill, relaxed puppy ever.

Herbert Glacier Hike and Alaska Folk Festival

Herbert Glacier

I need a weekend to recover from my weekend.  :)  It was another FABULOUS, sunny, warm(ish) weekend here in Juneau.  The kind that makes you want to stay forever and never live anywhere else.   Friday night there was a fun potluck at one of the faculty's houses, in honor of a visiting scientist from South Africa.  The view from the house where the party was held was incredible - I wish I brought my camera.  His house overlooks Mendenhall Lake and Mendenhall Glacier, and the mountains seem so close you could touch them.

Herbert Glacier is at our backs, were heading back down the valley.  Chilkat Mtns in the far distance.

Saturday we did a 10 mile hike to Herbert Glacier and back, then went downtown to the Alaska Folk Festival.  Sunday we did five loads of laundry, cleaned the inside of Irv and tidied up around the outside (going to plant plants soon), ran errands, and tried to catch up on life. 

Si Kahn and guest at the Alaska Folk Festival

The Folk Festival was fun.  It's the 39th annual Folk Festival and you can go to the Convention Center downtown to watch live (free! though donations encouraged) or you can listen live as they stream it on the local NPR station.  Every night for the past week (Mon-Sun), from 7 -10:30pm or so, they have performances.  Each artist gets 15 minutes, so there's a lot of variety and most were very, very good.   Some were so good that I'm going to look for their CDs. 

For the glacier hike, we packed a lunch and relaxed a bit before hiking back.  There was a stiff breeze coming off the glacier, so we tried to find a sheltered spot to tuck in for lunch. 

Glacier spires

Steve, happy in the sun.

We saw a mountain goat!

Point Bridget

Berners Bay, AK

Well, it did snow Friday night, about 3 inches, but that's ok because it all melted Saturday and Sunday was spectacular!  It was sunny, 51 degrees, and no wind.  We decided early to go for a hike, but took Seca out to Auke Rec beach for a walk first.  That's the same place where I fell and hurt my hand in February.  Today I didn't fall, but did manage to smash my camera into my face while trying to adjust the straps.  Now I have a fat, bloody lip.  Awesome. 

Near the start of the trailhead - Point Bridget trail

We've been eyeing up the hike out to Point Bridget for a while.  It's all the way at the north end of the road system, the round trip hike out to the point is 7 miles, with only about 50 ft of elevation change.  But, the point overlooks Berners Bay, a beautiful bay full of wildlife and surrounded by mountains.

Getting close to the bay!

The first 2.4 miles of the hike is along a wide valley where Cowee Creek runs.  There's a beaver lodge on the creek, making a large marsh.  We saw ducks and swans - I think they were trumpeter swans, and there were four that looked like they were in pairs making nests. The birds have just started to come back in the past two weeks or so.

Swans!

There are several cabins that available for rent (by the night) in this area, they were built by volunteers and are run by the State Park system.  This is the Cowee Meadow cabin, it's only a 1/2 mile or so from the beach. 

 

This is the view from Point Bridget, with the Lynn Canal and Chilkat mountains in the background.  We stopped here for lunch before hiking back out.  There's another cabin here on the beach, the Blue Mussel Cabin.  This one is also rentable by the night, run by the state.  What a view!

In Berners Bay...a river otter was checking us out.  It seemed content to just watch us from the rock.  we also saw seals and sea lions.

River otter

Juvenile bald eagle, Chilkat mountains in the background.

Pretend I was able to get the horizon straight here.  This is my favorite view in AK so far...

So, when are y'all coming to visit??

snow.

I know this is Alaska and I should expect snow at pretty much any moment, but still, I am surprised and sad that the forecast is for 2 inches of snow tonight.  It's gorgeous and sunny outside...how can it snow?  Maybe they'll be wrong.

Good thing there's a Jimmy Buffet/Hawaiian themed birthday party we're going to tonight.  That will help me forget, until we go to leave and it's snowing.

Easter egg hunt

The awesome office staff (Louisa and Gabby) at UAF hide Easter eggs for the students (and faculty) to find.  There are over 100 eggs, all over the building, all of them filled with chocolate!  This is the best way to start a cold, rainy week.  :)