Alaskan Metal

Butte, Alaska

Alaska is full of old vehicles.  The lack of salt on the roads in the winter has left a ton of old cars and trucks still on the road and rotting away in fields.    Among these are a lot of military trucks from the bases and the completion of the Alaskan Highway during WWII.

Butte, Alaska

I've driven most of the highway system in Alaska over the past year.  From Seward to Tok, through North Pole and Fairbanks.  Delta's flat farm land and through the mountains from Glenallen through Paxson.  The scenery is spectacular and all the cars on the road interesting.  Old cars from the 1960's and 1970's share the road with modern cars and trucks.

Butte, Alaska

Old boats and old cars line the side roads and highways of Alaska.  The more I travel the more I find.

Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna, Alaska

Chicken, Alaska

Chicken, Alaska

Seldovia, Alaska

Catching up on the blog

Mile Marker 1422 End of the Alaskan Highway

       It's been quite a year in Alaska.  Barely enough time to write in this blog.  I will do better over the winter. I've been all over South Central Alaska, driven most of the road system and from Philadelphia back to Alaska.

Alaskan Pipeline over the Tenana River near Delta

        I've hiked to remote clear mountain lakes and mountain passes this year.  I've passed through Dawson City in the Yukon Territory and Chicken, Alaska, fished for halibut in the Gulf of Alaska.

Denali National Park Front Country

      Two sets of family visited over the summer and I loved playing tour guide.  I skipped rocks into the Prince William Sound and explored old Valdez that was destroyed in the 1964 earthquake.  I hope to return to Valdez next year.

Along the Tok Cutoff Labor Day weekend

     Snow came early as a trip north proved.  The destination was Eagle, Alaska but camping in 30 degrees didn't sound like fun.  I've driven 150 miles of dirt road through the middle of nowhere.  I will talk about these trips and more in coming entries.

Furondy!!!!!

Hanging out on Long Lake waiting for the start of the Ititarod

I've been informed by one of my legion of fans (all three of you) that it's been a month since I've written anything on here.  I've been homesick lately and missing the mountain so I've been re-working some photos from last summer.

The past couple of weeks have been absorbed with work and getting photos ready for display at the gallery on Elmendorff Air Force Base.  It's a small gallery in the PX mall but it's a start.  It's an investment getting the materials around to display the photos and I hope it will pay off by at least getting my name out there.

It's been  a busy end of February and into March.  We attended Furondy, which is short for Fur Rendezvous, in downtown Anchorage.  This hold over from when the trappers of old would bring their furs into town for sale still has a fur auction but also a carnival with rides.  Other events include running with the reindeer and the worlds largest outhouse race (outhouses on skis)!  The first weekend is also featured for the International Dogsled races as the dogs run a sprint race through town, out along Campbell Airstrip and back downtown over.  They run three races over a three day period.  I saw the start and finish of the Saturday race downtown and on Sunday went out to Campbell Tract by the airstrip to get pictures.

The following weekend is the start of the Iditarod.  The 1000 plus mile dogsled race from Willow to Nome.  There is a ceremonial start in Anchorage on Saturday and we went downtown to see the dogs getting ready and talk to the mushers.  When the crowd starting getting thick, we headed out of town to Campbell airstrip where the teams end up for that day.  The crowd was more sparse out there and picture opportunities better.  It was fun watching these dogs do what they do best.  They truly are happier when they are running.  On Sunday, it was an early start for the hour and twenty minute drive to Willow for the actual race start.  We parked early and walked out onto Willow Lake where the race begins.  The dog handler area was off limits so we headed across the lake, down the road and out onto Long Lake to find a good vantage point to watch the teams go by.  People were just starting to set up on the lake for the massive tailgate party that it was.  Ice fishing and bonfires were the order of the day as people celebrated and enjoyed the cloudless sunny day on a frozen Alaska lake.  Snow machines and four wheelers raced every where along with an air boat that wizzed across the ice.  Planes with skis and bush tires (large rubber tires) began to land on the ice before the start of the race.  It's much easier to fly up from Anchorage than it is to drive on race day.  We spent the afternoon with a gentleman named Rob we met on the ice.  Rob's a pilot for Delta and offered us race tips as well as sharing his smoked salmon.  Delicious.  Eveyone cheered the mushers as they raced by ion their way to Nome.  I was rooting for the Allie, one of the cute blonde twin sisters from Wisconsin that I met downtown the day before.  I was also routing for the team from Jamaica because well he's from Jamaica.  I mean, come on, there's no snow there!  He has guts.

International Dogsled race, Campbell tract

International Dogsled race, Campbell tract

International Dogsled race, Campbell tract

International Dogsled race

International Dogsled race

International Dogsled race, Downtown Anchorage

Ceremonial start of the Iditarod, Campbell Airstrip, Anchorage, Alaska

Iditarod, Long Lake, Willow, Alaska

Iditarod, Anchorage, Alaska

Iditarod, Anchorage, Alaska

Iditarod, Long Lake, Willow, Alaska

Iditarod, Long Lake, Willow, Alaska

Iditarod, Long Lake, Willow, Alaska

Iditarod, Long Lake, Willow, Alaska

Iditarod, Long Lake, Willow, Alaska

Iditarod, Long Lake, Willow, Alaska

I was planning since my trip to Alaska last August to attend the start of the Iditarod and I did it.  My next big adventure is tentatively planned for Memorial Day weekend and a trip north to Fairbanks at least.  The days are getting longer.  The sun rises at 8:00am and sets after 8:00pm so summer is coming.  A large laminated Alaska map is on the bedroom wall marked with dots of the places yet to be seen.  The benefit of working at the University where the USGS has an office full of maps.  This along with being asked to judge a cookie contest for the Culinary Arts school makes Kevin happy....and fatter.

Bush plane with skis on in Cantwell, Alaska.  The Alaskan Mountain Range in the background.

Start of the Iron Dog

Start of the Iron Dog Snowmachine Race

As I pulled into the tiny town of Big Lake, Alaska, north of Anchorage, I was greeted by the vast frozen lake stretching west before me.  The line of traffic ahead of me crawled through town and turned into the park on the end of the lake and continued down the boat ramp onto the ice.  As I parked, donned my winter gear and ice spikes, I noticed that Denali was visible and lit up far to the north.  Finally the great mountain had shown itself to me on this cold 18 degree day.  It looked like it was a five minute drive away when in actuality, as I had learned a few weeks ago, it was a three hour drive. Today was to be the highlight of my first winter in Alaska, the start of the Iron Dog Snowmobile Race, the longest, toughest snowmobile race in the world.  Starting in Big Lake, Alaska running to Nome on the Bering Sea and then back to Fairbanks for a total of 2032 miles through some of the harshest terrain in the world.

The crowd gathered around the pit area as the the drivers received their final instructions.  The
sleds lined up in pairs ready to head out on the course across the vast Alaskan tundra.  I made my way past the start line to find a spot to get a good vantage point.  People on snowmobiles, 4 wheelers and in side by sides cruised up and down the area next to the starting chute.  Children bundled up against the cold played between their parents legs and small children were being pulled in sleds as the first pair of drivers positioned themselves at the starting line.  The National Guard honor guard stood at attention as a beautiful version of the Star Spangled banner was sung and the Lieutenant Governer said the invocation.

As the announcer counted down, the first pair of sleds raced out the shoot heading west toward the first stop in McGrath hundreds of miles and several hours away.  The teams left in two minute intervals as the 37 pairs of drivers started the race down the chute.  People lined the chute near the starting line and dispersed farther down.  Others rested in their warm trucks and cars keeping warm while they watched the sleds rocket down the chute waving to the crowd and snow flying behind them.  One innovative couple brought their love seat from the living room on the back of their truck to watch the race in comfort.  Bush planes landed on the ice and helicopters hovered overhead waiting to tail the riders on the trail.

Each pair of sleds left the starting line and raced down the chute curved to the left and headed out onto the open ice of the lake.  The trail conditions were reported to be bad with ice and bare dirt areas taking a toll on both riders and machines as the temperatures at times can drop to -60 below zero causing metal to become brittle and snap.  The riders cover every inch of their exposed skin often using duct tape to cover the areas left bare by helmet and goggles to protect the skin from freezing instantly in the harsh temperatures.  As the iron dogs headed out across the tundra, the fur covered dogs are preparing themselves for their run on the open tundra in a few weeks for the Iditerod.  Iron dogs or sled dogs the result is the same as brave souls attempt to overcome the harsh Alaskan environment.