If there is one thing I have learned about living in the “Last Frontier”. That weather changes are as common as changing one’s mind. If you think you have everything figured out, just wait a few minutes and everything will change. The edge of doubt will begin to creep in often leading you to question the final outcome. Pretty much a prime example of the weather. No sooner had I just finished packing for my trip to Denali last night with colder weather gear when I received a call that had me questioning where my final destination last night.

Denali at that point was under a snow advisory for up to 8″ of new snow. In fact their first snow of the season. With it came the hazardous driving condition warnings, ice and sleet. Things while being a true Alaskan we are used to dealing with, I didn’t want to deal with today of all days. So instead my planning came down to which way the winds would be farer so to speak. If it continued to be unpromising weather, I would head south instead. Maybe to Ninilchik or as far south as Homer on Kachemak Bay.

So here I sit with two day packs packed. After reading the road conditions it does appear I will be heading south.

Alaska; where flexibility is essential. It truly is the Last Frontier.

It was only a matter of time.

As always with this time of year and the hints of late fall permeating the air, any sign of rain and clouds covering the Chugach Mountains around Anchorage leave one glancing towards the mountain often wondering how low in elevation the snow pack will be when the clouds clear. The consummate question of when will the first snow hit?

This is probably one of the few years we’ve actually been lucky in having an extended fall. The colors have bloomed, hit their peak, and are beginning their descent into winter. With it comes the scrambling for those of us that drive with studded snow tires. While most tend to wait until the first snow before journeying to the local automotive shops for their tire changeover, there are some that plan ahead.  But it’s always the game of weather versus time.

I’m finding myself in that race against time as well. The annual State of Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend hits the bank accounts for the first wave of distributions next week and a part of mine will be going towards the purchase of new snow tires. But will I be able to “get ‘er done” before the white stuff hits? Only time will tell.  I’m certainly hoping to as I don’t want to be one of those waiting in line for 6 hours on end. And despite the fact that it’s nearly the beginning of October, I’m still not quite ready to think about snow on a regular basis.

Instead I look to the projected forecast for tomorrow of partly-sunny skies.  And after a week or gray, drizzle and rain?  I’m quite ready for it.  And come tomorrow, I will be finding myself in another race against snow when I journey up yonder to Denali Park way in one of the final road trips of the season

Alas, something to look forward to.

While the leaves have reached their peak and have in fact begun their descent into meeting Old Man Winter, I must say that this is actually the first day I stepped outside and actually felt like fall. The rain sprinkling down from the eaves with a chill permeating the air and bringing with it crispness when you breathe. In fact this is normally my favorite time of year, but with it comes the darkness and shortened hours of daylight. Something I have always had trouble adapting to.

That coupled with September typically being a difficult month for me anyway with an anniversary marking the loss of someone that was in fact such a huge part of my life has sent me on a downward tumble the past couple of days. These walls around me echo with quiet.  A stillness that is not necessarily good. There are a few people I haven’t spoken with in awhile and it’s also their presence I’m missing from my life.

It might surprise some people that I have always been afraid of winter.  Not necessarily because of the crisp snow that blankets the ground or the squelch in activities so many of us face.  Rather it is the reasons I mention above that hit me.  Not to mention the coming holidays are usually anything but joyous for me.

I know somewhere in the months there is a beauty all its own.  I’m just struggling at this time with a compromise to find it.  And not be swallowed by the walls of silence within. 

What does one do with a fall unplanned weekend in Alaska that is projected to be sunny?  Well in my case you head to Seward. Especially in my case where “road trip” quickly appears to be coming my middle name. Either that or I blame it on the off-season hotel rates and the fact that with declining gas prices, travel has become just a little more affordable than it was even a month ago. At least in my mind.

So when Saturday morning rolled around, I packed up the car and set out at a leisurely pace for Seward.  With overcast skies and drizzle in places, as I headed down past Girdwood I noticed that the clouds were making for some impressive scenery.  At one point fog hung low over the base of the mountains and made for an eerie appearance. One thing I have noticed is when I am out on photography trips I will see a sight that catches me. Rather than stopping as I should and taking the photo then, usually I tell myself I’ll come back later to shoot it. This has left me with many lost opportunities over the years because [a] I never go back or [b] the scene was never the same.

The same held true a couple of times on Saturday.  I had no sooner passed Girdwood when my eyes were caught upon the flats before me.  Covered in a majestic sprinkling of fall colors.  That coupled with the wispy clouds clinging to the base of the mountain named for a beautiful photo opportunity.  Did I stop like I should have?  Of course not.  Instead my mind fell upon my common adage of “I’ll just come back later.”  Well I did come back later. In fact I turned around about 10 miles outside of Girdwood and headed back.  And once again, the scene was not the same.  It was still beautiful, but not what had so aptly captured my attention earlier.  Lesson learned.

Continuing on my way I decided to take a quick jaunt to Hope.  I was certainly glad I did.  The fall colors were in peak and the scenery was filled with absolutely beautiful sites. I would say my biggest surprise of this trip was when I passed Tern Lake and my eyes caught on not one or two, but nearly 25 trumpeter swans that were foraging for food. I was quite clearly surprised. Now I have seen trumpeter swans before, but not usually in those numbers. Of course I had to stop awhile and take photos.  Including a walk down to the waters front on the back edge of the lake.  About 6 hours after I set out, I made it Seward and checked into my hotel and then set off for a very good dinner at one of my favorite restaurants Rays on the water front.

The halibut was as good as I remember it being. Given I had to be up early; I retired for the night and enjoyed the comforts of the hotel. Or at least so I thought. Now to those that didn’t know, there was a medley of events going on this weekend in Seward.  Including a music and arts festival as well as the Blues musical train that had come in for the weekend from Anchorage.  And with it came the party revelers.  Including the young group of 20-something year olds that had the hotel room next door to me.  No sooner had I finally made it to sleep when I heard them come in to get ready for their night out.  Quite boisterous and very obnoxious.  They finally left and then peace settled over the room.  Of course it was a repeat at nearly 2:30 a.m. when they came back to the room.  Finally they figured out that they need to attempt that thing called sleep.

Morning came quite quickly for me after that. After checking out of my hotel I decided to try and find a place for some breakfast.  Who would think it would be such a difficult thing.  After all, Seward is a decent size town right?  Well yes, in summer months.  But most businesses have already begun to close for the year.  I was beginning to see a repeat of the Denali incident and with the battle of wills my stomach was giving me at the moment with strikes of “feed me. Feed me NOW!”, I could only imagine how ugly it would get.

So finally I settled for a mediocre breakfast and even less mediocre service at the restaurant across the street from Kenai Fjords tours. With my stomach finally being somewhat appeased, I headed over to check in for my wildlife cruise that day. The remainder of the day was filled with a variety of visual stimulation including sightings of harbor seals, stellar sea lions, calving glaciers and more.  What was the biggest treat for me that day however was the pod of Orca whales that surfaced 50 yards off the bow in Aialik Bay. Even after all my years of living up here and being out in the outdoors so much, seeing Orcas is a rare thing.  So saying I was thrilled would be putting it mildly.

After a full day of seeing beautiful animals, scenery and wildlife I was treated to a great weekend. And just in line with what I needed.

Each year the National Park Services draws the name of 1600 participants as a part of the annual Denali Road Lottery in Denali National Park. Each day for the 4-days the road lottery transverses, 400 of the winners are allowed to drive private vehicles into the park. For some unknown reason, I had never decided to throw my name into the hat until this year. Oh sure I had known people that had won over the years. And I heard both heraldry and horror stories. From the up close encounters to the wildlife, or the snow that would block the road. So when the 2006 lottery deadline rolled around, I made sure that my entry was in.

Now imagine my surprise to hear from a friend that they had found my name on the list of winners. I was floored and thrilled at the same time. Planning quickly began to take shape and over the course of a few weeks, a group of fellow photographers were the individuals that would later come to share my experiences with me.

So no sooner had I arrived home on Saturday evening from my harvest event when my tasks began to take shape for Sunday’s trip. I packed up the car and all the necessities and then finally ended up going to bed a little after midnight, only to awaken a little more than 3 hours later. The sun hadn’t even rose yet when we began the coordination of loading up the van and picking up everyone for the day’s journey. We ended up getting about a ½ hour later start but finally did make it to the park a little after 10:00 a.m. Given the tourist season has pretty much ended up in Denali, I knew that some of the stores would be shut down. However I was not expecting every store to be boarded up, including the local Subway. Which had been the plan on where we would get our main staple of food for the day. Unfortunately poor planning on my part and we ended up all entering the park with whatever snacks we had brought with us during the day.

Since we were being leisurely in our timeframe and really had no deadlines looming down our necks, we would stop wherever warranted and take photos. Then of course there was the much needed bathroom breaks. We had not even entered Polychrome Pass when we saw our first sighting of wildlife up on a hillside. A blonde tipped grizzly that was foraging for berries and roots. He was quite far away and ended up disappearing after a short time. But not before we were all craning for position and pushing or telephoto lenses to their limits.

Over the course of the day we did continue to see quite a variety of wildlife. The numerous ground squirrels that would poke their head ups up as if to say hello. Or rather throw out the taunts of “Whatchu doin Willis?” Then there were the suicidal tree squirrels that decided to play their kamikaze stunts with our drivers van. There was the larger wildlife as well. We ended up seeing 11 bears, numerous sheep and a couple of moose. Also the pack of wolves that were bouncing and playing all over the valley on the way out. It was just so much fun to watch them. The highlights of the day however were two particular things. The Dahl Sheep Ram that was holding precariously to the side of Polychrome Pass while foraging for food and the three grizzly bear that were wandering down the park road as if narily a care in the world. The funny thing was we saw the line of cars stacked up shortly before we reached Wonder Lake, so we knew something was ahead. Finally the park ranger came up next to us and whispered there were bears in the road and we could pull off to the side and let them pass. No sooner had we did so when a mother and two cubs came lumbering by. Anxious I began to ask everyone if I could roll down my window for a picture. Only to be met with echoes of “no” permeating from the car. Pfth on them. Finally I couldn’t stand it anymore and had to roll down the window and lean out. And in doing so I was awarded with a photo of one of the cubs digging up roots nearly a few feet away from my car. I only should have rolled down the window sooner.

We did make it all the way to the end of the road, being Kantisha. I had been a long day by that point with over 9 hours on the park road in the car. So we decided to start back. We didn’t end up making it back to Anchorage until after 3:00 a.m. in the morning. But it was a memorable day.

So in the end. Would I do it again? Will I enter next year? Absolutely! There would be some things I would change, but it was like those other things that have occurred this summer. Another good memory to add to my summer of 2006.

Next up? A weekend trip to the local marina town of Seward for a glacier and wildlife cruise.

While the clouds are lying low and the smell of rain permeates the air, I took it upon myself to go and pick up the food donation barrel during my lunch hour for the upcoming harvest festival I’m a part of. While out, I happened to have passed a car that was covered with leaves.  Ever gracefully so clinging to the window. As I turned my head I saw leaves dancing on the trees and then gently falling to the ground.

I’ve always loved this time of year.  When the leaves are nearing their peak and the ground is a virtual carpet of them. I can remember one particular year growing up going out and raking them up. We were apartment living at the time and the lawn duties did not fall upon us, but I did so just because I enjoyed it. And rather than jumping in those piles like most children do, instead I began to dump them into bags of trash bags and these leaves later became my fill for a scarecrow I created from Halloween. If I say one thing I do create a pretty mean scare crow.  We ended up hanging him off of our balcony that year, only to be surprised by a visit from the local law enforcement later on. It appears that a passerby had noticed it and thought that particular scarecrow looked too real.

With Monday and Tuesday on the horizon and my days off, I am left with calendars of empty days. But rather, one think I will do for myself is just to simply take a walk in the woods. And remember what this time of year is all about.

While on my recent trip to Denali, I returned to the news that the notorious croc hunter Steve Irwin had passed away. Now being an avid lover of wildlife, I was like many that joined in the mourning of this man. To lose a life so young and so full of vigor is indeed a sad fate, especially with such young children. And in the amount of time since his passing the news has been plagued with interesting and in some cases troubling stories. Manta Rays showing up dead on the shores of the Australian coast.  Retaliation? Some animal equivalent of Bubonic Plague? The reality is we will never know. Also joined with this are the outspoken voices on what a bad person he was. How he had no right to be doing what he was doing. As will always be the case, I shrugged and moved on my way. After all, we know that everyone has an opinion.

One particular note of interest was yesterday when perusing my nature photography forums I came across a thread with the following subject: “Steve Irwin = Ambassador. Timothy Treadwell = Pariah. Why?” I opened the thread and began to read with interest.

Now to those of us that live here in Alaska, the name Timothy Treadwell brings to mind a lot of images. Crazy man? Bear man? Wildlife Conservationist?

We have heard it all. His story is long and interesting. Timothy Treadwell came to Alaska in the early 90’s and set on a course to raise awareness about the fate of the Brown Bear. He did it in rather unconventional ways. Often spending time with them and documenting his life with them via a home video recorder. The fate of Timothy and his partner Amy Huguenard came to a dramatic end in the summer of 2003 when they were mauled and killed by a 1,000 pound male grizzly while visiting Katmai National Park. What occurred to some extent still remains a mystery, but the story of Timothy Treadwell brought to the forefront a movie called “Grizzly Man” which tended to take a critical role on Treadwell. Or so I’m told.  I actually haven’t seen the movie, but will eventually.

Once I began to read the tread, I found it quite interesting that many responses in fact deemed Treadwell and Irwin to be the same type of person. But with very negative views. I can’t say I agree with it, but it was interesting reading.

While I can’t say I am in fact a Timothy Treadwell fan from what I know about him and that I did in fact like Steve Irwin, I’ll say this. Either way, the legacy of these two men do have one similarity. The brought with them a higher level of awareness when it came to wildlife conservation. After all, how much did we truly hear about crocodiles before Steve Irwin? And while the plight of the brown bear was definitely more commonly heard before Timothy Treadwell, I will say since his death I have heard more about Katmai than I have ever heard before. That these magnificent giants are in fact worth saving.

I’ve always been one that believes education is the key to everything and do believe each of these individuals did accomplish that. Just in two very different ways.

Brown Bear Feeding
Portage Valley, Alaska