LOST!

Tuesday nights are LOST nights! I have a growing group of friends who watch the show which is awesome because we can get together to have dinner and discuss theories before the new episodes.  What night is complete without getting into arguments about quantum physics? hahaha, I love it!

I can't believe it's the last season!

 

  

 

Yay Seward!

Dan and I got to take a day last week to visit the SeaLife Center (for enrichment purposes only, of course).  It was really really cool.  They have a lot of great exhibits that really draw you into the center and make you care.  They also have one of the world's largest underwater aviaries (think puffins and tons of other diving ducks), sea lions and seals.  AND the SeaLife Center is in Seward.

 

Seward is a special Alaskan town because it has a really nice little downtown area where Dan and I got a bucket of Halibut for lunch and walked around looking at the mountains.  Exit glacier is also in Seward, but it is too dangerous to try to get to this time of year.  The drive between Seward and Soldotna can be a little treacherous; luckily we decided to  go the day before a big snow storm.  Now the whole town is white again, and I am happily back in Soldotna.

P.S.  I applied for an internship at the SeaLife Center as well a bunch of other places, so wish me luck!

I Am an Eskimo!

Well, at least I can pretend like one!

There are ice sculptures all over town because of the winter games.

This one at the visitor's center is my favorite!

Just a short walk on the beach...

Dan and I thought that we were going to be having an easy Sunday by skipping our usual hike on the refuge to go for a walk on the beach.  First of all, we should have known our walk was doomed from the start when we couldn't get to the beach from the parking lot because of the lake of melting ice slush blocking our way.  Then it might have been a hint when we were walking towards trouble when we had to keep on getting closer and closer to the water because all of sand on the bluff side of us was covered in massive ice chunks.  But really we would have been okay if we had just paid attention to how fast the tide started coming in.  Ok, so actually our timing wouldn't have been that bad if it wasn't for all that ice.  While we started out having a great walk on the beach, we ended up slipping and sliding our way back while the water crept closer and closer, and our walk ended with a climb...up the side of the bluff.  oops.  I didn't remember my camera which is too bad because it was a beautifully clear day and we could see all the mountains across the inlet, but I do have proof of our trip...

Mittens? check!

I finally finished knitting my convertible mittens!  They are super warm and perfect for stream trips where finger tips are sometimes necessary.  Plus if I ever get the urge to take my ipod outside, I can still work the touch screen without taking my gloves off.

 

Here is the pattern I used to make them. 

I just though I would post this since I was working on them for most of my Christmas vacation.

It still isn't old yet

Bertha is back! I saw her the other day while driving home with BOTH of her calves. I am so happy they are still alive and together.

They were hanging out beside my window today while I ate lunch.

Just one baby with her today, though. The other one must be off in a neighbor's yard finding his own food.

I love seeing these guys hanging out around my house.

Just a little weekend trip...

I made it back to AK safe and sound, and my first few days at work flew by.  I started off on the first day with a class visit and spent the rest of the week in the office. 

Last weekend, Heather invited me to come on an overnight trip with her family to a cabin on the wildlife refuge.  We had a ton of fun! The cabin was about a mile away from the road on the other side of Dolly Varden Lake, so we packed up some sleds and set out across the lake (it was totally frozen).  One huffing and puffing trip later, we made it to the cabin where we roasted hot dogs for lunch, played in the snow, made s'mores, ate a delicious dinner cooked over the wood burning stove, and spent the rest of the night playing cards and farkel.  Heather and her family had never played before, but now they are hooked.  Fortunately, the wood burning stove kept the cabin warm all night, and we woke up the next morning, ate breakfast, packed up and left. 

Heather, Shaun, and Wyatt at the cabin:

Dolly Varden Lake/our trail:

Inside our cabin:

 (more pictures here)

It was a great way to come back to Alaska.  We were really lucky that the daylight hours were totally bright and clear, and it never got too cold (in fact, I think it was warmer here than in Tennessee).  Everybody had a great time, and we all took a moment during the sun set Saturday night to remember how amazing it is to be living in Alaska!