Living on the Pacific Rim often does bring its challenges when it comes to living. Not only by means off the consummate danger from the “ring of fire” and earthquake country, but also transportation woes and the extreme weather patterns that can hit us quicker than you can bat your eye. One moment you can be sitting pretty by enjoying the remnants of one of Hawaii’s “Pineapple Express” fronts or you can be shivering and quaking in your boots yelling for relief from below zero temps.

So when I heard El Nino was once again taking the Pacific by storm so to speak, I began to wonder what it would bring with it. More often than not its extremes usually bring with it the promise of warmer weather to those on the west coast and Pacific Northwest. While to the south it can mean cooler than average winters. Here in Alaska? It’s much akin to throwing a bunch of balls up in the air and seeing which will land first. I can remember El Nino winters that were warm with very little snow and I can also remember ones where we had major amounts of snow.

I awoke yesterday to only a slight dusting of the white stuff but within two hours of getting into my morning routine, Mother Nature gave us a new ground cover of well over six inches of heavy wet snow here in the Anchorage bowl. Today and tonight? We’re supposed to get an additional four inches of accumulation before it dries out. Of course I’ll be sitting on a plane tonight on my way down to sunny California. Or not so sunny in this case as long term forecasts are promising. But one thing is for sure ~ I do have the feeling that we will be seeing Jack Frost quite often this winter. Instinct tells me it will truly be a snow lovers year.

Looks like I’d better get to work by loving it as well. Where did I put my REI gift certificate again?

Turnagain Arm Sunset, Cook Inlet
Southcentral Alaska

We are those whose habits bring a sense of dread to our significant others or family members, but euphoria to shop owners and managers. We have our own 10-step program and Step 1) in this case it is coming up with a list of relished items that are “must haves” compared to “have to haves”. We are the gear heads. Those who need, want and drool over every piece of sporting and/or outdoor equipment that is imaginable. After all why have one bike when you can have oh, five? Becase there is one needed for each occasion and type.

I’ll always admit to being a gear head. Being a lover of the outdoors and a variety of activities such as I am, one needs to have a good solid base of equipment. Though I readily admit I’m not nearly as obsessed as an ex-boyfriend of mine who was such a gear head that his garage was filled to maximum capacity. Not with automobiles, but for his variety of outdoor gear. That was obviously thinking on a grand scale and I have to admit, I rather admired it! And relished the day when I could sneak in and snag it all and hold it hostage. But alas that never happened and in that time I have slowly been building my own base of gear.

Additionally, I freely admit that REI catalogs are a detriment to my well being. When I open the mail and happen to see one I happily bound off to my space for some quiet time of gear wishes and the list that often births itself from that often are pages and pages long. And despite the fact that I am saying I loathe winter, my secret side is making its list of winter gear I need to buy. After all, what good is enjoying a season if you don’t have the gear to celebrate it?

Dear Santa:

All I want for Christmas is an REI gift certificate so that I can buy new telemark skiis, a new soft shell jacket, a new headlamp, new gloves, and, and, and.

Signed,
The Hopeful Gearhead

One would think that with the turning of days and that of Friday appearing so vividly from my desktop calendar this morning that with it would come the sense of anticipation of the fact it was Friday.  After all, I like many other 9-5′ers or 7-4 in my own case, the fact that today is Friday brings with it its own sense of anticipation.  After all, I’m pretty much a weekend warrior like the rest of you and relish my free time away from the office.

Instead the excitement that is beginning to build is that of my looming vacation.  The promise of a journey out of state and exploring new sites.  Of spending time with friends.  Of road tripping and sun-worshipping.  Oh yes, that anticipation has taken hold.  With as busy as this year has been, the majority of my travels have actually taken me throughout Alaska’s road systems and back country.  And while that in itself holds many good memories I will admit that the ability for those of us that live here in Alaska to get to the “Lower 48″  (as it is deemed) is always a welcome reprieve.

So come next week with my gal-pal T (henceforth dubbed Trouble) parked in the rental car seat beside me, we will explore the roads of Northern California with hopefully some jaunts to the likes of Napa Valley, Yosemite National Park, or perhaps even Mount Shasta.  And with my gaze suddenly caught on the trace of snow from yesterday’s Alaskan “gift”, I shall indeed be looking forward it.  Especially knowing that once I return the snow will be with us for at least the next 5 months.  

Ah sun and warmth.  Sun worshiping ~and reveling in it. 

As a side note, probably the biggest thing I am looking forward to is seeing Yosemite National Park since I have never been there.  But I remember all too often hearing about it from my own family members who grew up there.  In fact a large portion of my youth was spent with hearing stories of my father telling me of his journeys there with his own brothers and sisters.

Of camping, camp fires, and exploring.  So if you have any tips that you think are a “must see / must experience” for me with regards to Yosemite, I would welcome them. 

Whether one is an avid lover of it or not, most of us have to admit there’s always something so serene about the first snow of the season.  And though I had hoped that the first snow would hit sometime after my upcoming vacation, even I have to admit that when I awoke this morning I was greeted by a very beautiful view.

Of course with it comes the daily commute with the games of “bumper cars” or “ditch divers” permeating through the air.  And even though I don’t yet have my snow tires on (being the procrastinator I am) I made sure to leave a bit earlier than norm and take it slower than norm on my own commute this morn.  As a result, I was rewarded with a safe journey to work.  Always a good thing in my mind.

In between the countdown until next week when I fly that big silver bird in the skies, I have found myself focusing on a topic that has become extremely important to me as of late.  The subject of common courtesy.  With the recent days and weeks filled with rude and pushy people, I have to wonder what happened to this subject.

Are there any more respectable people in this world that show this trait? What are we teaching our children?It’s a sad thought that I can only imagine is going to get worse.  What happened to opening doors for people rather than letting them slam in one’s face?  What happened to doing what you say and saying what you do?Most importantly what happened to the art of communicating? 

I don’t know, perhaps it’s just my experiences as of late have left a bit of a damper on my outlook of the world.  Perhaps it is the darkness sweeping the air and chilling the bones.  Perhaps it is the cynic in me raring to push its way to the surface.  But seriously in my view some traits seem to be a part of a dying breed.

So rather than climb up on my soap box and begin my rant on this topic, I’ll instead think of the good things.  Like the beauty that is around us even under the blanket of snow.  And following a motto that I’ve always held fairly close to my heart.  Finding joy in the little things.  Because really, the little things are all that I have these days.  Not letting myself caught up in that thing most people seem to endear themselves to these days. 

That of the game.

These days life certainly seems to have taken on a will of its own when it comes to the passing of time. October had only just begun when it’s already crested and seems to be nearing its end.  And what a busy month it has been with a few spontaneous trips out of town and then house sitting for a friend for nearly 2 weeks. 

That was an adventure in itself as it only reaffirmed one thing I have known ~ an allergy to cats.  Not having any of my own I knew that when I was around friends cats I would start sneezing after a short period of time.  This time around though it had become obvious to me that it is an allergy that has only intensified over the years.  I don’t think there was a day during that sojourn into house sitting that I wasn’t sneezing or having some sort of migraine.  A definite learning experience and obviously one whose outcome will greatly affect my ability to help others in the future.

And with the onslaught of Halloween upon us, so too begins my preparation for a short jaunt out of state to Northern California and spending time in the likes of Sacramento, Napa Valley and Yosemite National Park.  I will be sending time with a dear friend I haven’t seen in over two years, so I am greatly looking forward to it.  Of course I’ll probably need a vacation from my vacation once I return to Alaska.

Now the only unresolved that seems to remain is when will the snow hit?  Hopefully later rather than sooner.  Hey what can I say, I’m still not quite ready for it.

You ever have one of those days no sooner has one odd thing happened to you causing your eyebrows to shoot up in surprise when yet another thing happens leaving you looking over your shoulder thinking, “is the joke on me”? Had today decided to start out on a different foot, I would begin to wonder if it was perhaps a full moon. Instead, I just shall label the very different series of occurrances over the course of the afternoon as “odd”.

No sooner had I left work for the day when I decided to drive south of Anchorage down to Potters Marsh to watch and hopefully photograph the Trumpeter Swans congregtating there. And by congregating, I mean well in excess of 40 swans. Such an amazing site. It pretty much started out like any other. I made it down there and had set up my tripod and was minding my own business enthralled with the site before me when suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around I raised my eyebrow in question at an older gentleman who went on to explain that he was a nature photographer for the local newspaper and he had been doing a series of photographs. One of those photographs just happened to be of me photographing the swans. He wanted to know my name so it could be listed in case the photo appeared in print. Inwardly I started groaning. After all, I have never much liked photographs taken of me. Being in front of the camera seems to bring out the appearance of Shrek’s Twin. I’d much rather be on the other side of the camera, the one taking the photos if you will. And when I go out on photo shoots, I tend to go by myself and keep to myself. So reluctantly I gave my name and could imagine the morning edition boasting the headline, “Porky Pig’s Secret Lover? Local Girl Mistaken for Petunia Pig.”

I then continued on with a couple of shots and then decided to head down to Girdwood where I quickly found myself eveloped in a driving rain. Having enough rain to last me a lifetime, I decided to turn around and drive back down to Potters Marsh on the way home in hopes of finding the Trumpeter Swans closer to the road. What was amazing was every single body of water between Anchorage and Portage Glacier held a gammet of swans. I have never seen them in this vast of numbers in all of my years up here. Finally made it back to Potters Marsh and no sooner had I set up my camera and tripod when no less than 4 gentleman decided to chat with me about photography. By this time I’m wondering what on earth is going on. I’m simply not the type of girl that is approached. I am quiet and tend to keep to myself. But today? Someone must have been handing out phermones!

I blame the birds.

There are times when Alaska’s vast size serves as a reminder that despite whatever you may do or see, there really is never enough time to see it all. And for a girl that has logged well over 5,000 miles in-state in the last six weeks, there is always so much more to see. So October was ushered in by me traveling to a location I haven’t been to in well over 9 years. That being the shores of Kachemak Bay and the very end of the road in Homer, Alaska.

Given Denali was under a snow advisory on Saturday, I decided bright and early that morning that I would instead venture south. There was a particular location in mind and one I wanted to set my photographic sites on. That being the Russian Orthodox Church in Ninilchik, Alaska. Now to some it may seem odd to travel such a distance for a particular photo op, but this is one that had burned itself into my mind for at least a couple of months. It was projected to be a bright and sunny day so with camera and backpack in hand, I left early that morning.

And even though my own religious beliefs are not those of the Russian Orthodox, there has always been something about these churches I have found calming and beautiful. Situated on the cliffs above Cook Inlet with Mount Iliamna towering in the distance, it lent itself for a beautiful image.

I did make particularly good time in heading south and decided to take a side journey down Skilak Lake road. Another location which had been many years since it last saw my presence. With fall foliage in peak and the common ptarmigan running continuously across the road, it was a side trip I enjoyed. I do think I ended up seeing about 45 of those suckers on that road. I would stop and let them cross, even though in some cases they decided the middle of the road was there next stopping ground.

Despite that, I still made good time and made it to Ninilchik and stopped to stretch my legs and get my photo ops. And of course with Homer being only 40 more miles down the road, I had to continue on. Blame it on the explorer in me and being ever inquisitive about nearly everything.

I do have many good memories of Homer. After all, it is gateway to my absolute favorite place in Alaska. That being Halibut Cove. My last memory of Homer is a camping trip over the 4^th of July weekend with many of my co-workers from the days of past. We camped on the Homer Spit in pouring rain but had a heck of an enjoyable weekend. Filled with laughter, happiness and the contest on who could build the biggest bonfires. So with those same images of Homer still in my mind, I was surprised to see how much it had grown. And quite honestly, I loved the town it had become. Enough to where I could easily see myself living there perhaps in the future. I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked. And I am already planning a trip back for an extended weekend in February to photograph the eagles.

One thing is for sure - Saturday lent itself to being another wonderful road trip and what a perfect way to wrap up my seasonal journeys. There will be of course many more journeys ahead. Filled with snow, skiing, snowshoeing and more. Albeit not my favorite season, it is the promise of another season that brings a vastly different beauty to Alaska. That of winter.