Anchorage at Alplenglow
Southcentral Alaska

View of Denali
Talkeetna, Alaska

Like most states, Alaska has always had those locations which could be deemed “quirky”. They are full of life and while maybe not much to look at on the outside, the town is filled with a charm through its community presence. One that comes to mind is the little town of Talkeetna. If I had to define its character in one sentence it would be that of being reminscent to the old television show “Northern Exposure.” Talkeetna was in fact the model for Cicely, Alaska.

Bordering on the outer boundaries of Denali National Park, Talkeetna offers breathtaking views. In fact it often acts as home base to those that attempt to summit Denali. Given its locale, it offers a variety of recreational opportunities. From jetboating, backpacking and hunting in the summer to snowshoeing, cross country skiing and snowmachining in the winter. It is a true recreation lovers paradise. So when I had a friend that had only recently moved to Alaska and not yet experienced the backroads and small town charm I thought what better place to visit than Talkeetna.

What was originally supposed to be an outing at the Eagle River Nature Center for an animal tracks class turned into a wild hair for me yesterday as I was on my way out to Eagle River to pick up my friend Cristine. No sooner had I began to leave the city boundaries of Anchorage when I caught from the corner of my eye Denali looming with her impressive views some 250+ miles plus in the distance. The thought of “road trip” soon formed on my mind. Now to those that know me this is not an uncommon thing. I tend to get these ideas in my head for my next adventure and am always looking for someone to ride shotgun beside me. So when I casually mentioned “road trip”, “Talkeetna”, and “Denali” in my sale to my trusty counterpart, the moment I saw her eyes light up I knew I had accomplished that task.

And while the foggy layer resided over Anchorage and part of the Matanuska Susitna Valley, by the time we hit Big Lake the sky brightened and we were offered amazing views. We made fairly decent time to Talkeetna and spent the next hour exploring the town and walking down to the river bank to catch snapshots of Denali in her majesty. She graced us with some amazing views as always as if to remind us that she’s always there. Always watching. I don’t think one ever understands the magnitude of how big Denali is until they stand on the border of Talkeetna and look at this giant looming in front of you and then realize it’s still nearly 200 miles away to the North. That is often when jaws drop and “wow” is uttered as a common phrase.

As we continued to wander the town and get a bit chilled from the biting wind that had whipped up on the riverbank, we decided to grab a late lunch and then head back to Anchorage. All in all our trip only took four hours out of the day, but I do think I accomplished my goal. An afternoon of enjoyment with a little bit of quirky thrown in on the side.

Quirks and perks. This is truly what living Alaska is all about.

Bald Eagle
Eagle River VFW, Southcentral Alaska

I’ve always been one that when it comes to wildlife, loves to stop and watch them.  Whether it be moose, bear, ravens, birds or even eagles.  Having lived here in Alaska for so long, I am still in deep appreciation when it comes to being able to experience our share of urban wildlife. 

So when I found out that there was a group of eagles that tended to hang around the VFW in a town north of Anchorage called fittingly Eagle River, I decided to go and check it out.  After dropping off my photography entries yesterday afternoon for the Fur Rondy Juried Amateur Photography Contest, I took a quick jaunt out there. 

Of course I didn’t have my camera on me and wasn’t really expecting to see anything.  Low and behold as I passed the Eagle River Fire Station and entered the VFW parking lot, out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a tree filled with them.  I quickly counted 14 and sat and watched in amazement after my inner psyche was sitting there cursing me for not bringing my camera along.Not to be deterred after leaving the office later in the afternoon for an appointment, I decided to stop by my house and pick up my camera and run back out there. 

I made it within a reasonable amount of time and arrived to see the tree completely empty.  Just my luck.  I have my camera and there are no eagles around.  So I deidded to try again today at lunch.  Of course I had my camera and arrived to find..nothing.

Are we seeing a pattern here? 

Of course there were no eagles around but there was a murder of ravens cawing with glee over my eagle misfortune.  And despite the fact that I’m heading to Homer in a few weeks for a weekend of Eagle photography and will likely capture their presence then, I am determined to win.

But I swear those birds are mocking me.  Or perhaps they are simply calling me the bird brain.

Winner Creek Gorge
Girdwood, Alaska

Alas it seems no sooner has the weekend begun when it is nearly time for it to end. And indeed my time just seems to be flying by these days. With preparation of the upcoming Fur Rondy amateur photo contest and then a very long day hiking Winner Creek Gorge with some friends, this particular weekend has indeed been productive. And now it’s time to take my weary self off to relax and get what little down time I can.

It’s amazing to me how quickly evenings can pass when you find your nose glued to the computer absorbed in projects. That’s right, I ignored my “no computer” rule I usually have set in the evenings in order to sort through photos for the upcoming Fur Rondy Juried Art Show that will be held in the next few weeks. Of course I decided to enter this fairly last minute and I’m left scrambling to get all the prints developed in their appropriate sizes and mounted on foam core. I think the biggest challenge was going through 5,000+ photos I have taken since early last summer and limit them to 5 entries. I think I’ve managed to narrow it down and will in fact make the final decision when I get the prints back. Of course one of my favorites has and will remain my “Tussled” print.

It looks like the weekend promises to be a gorgeous one ahead with “spring like” temperatures to return and a visit from the sun. I am thinking about heading to either Homer or Denali for a day trip on Saturday and then we’re scheduled to hit the Winner Creek Trail again on Sunday for snowshoeing.

And this time, I must remember to stop and take more photos.

One of the common rules of childhood seemed to be a quick and unwavering response to the age old question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  My eyes still filled with the images that I poured out on paper via charcoal, pen, or even crayon stroke, would inevocably pipe up, “An Artist”.  There was no reason for me to believe my dreams wouldn’t come true, for I hadn’t yet learned fear, doubt or insecurity.

As I aged, I began to lose that dream.  Rather it became filled with my overly practical manner.  I have since learned that I allowed my fantasies to remain grounded because they were weighed down by my own doubts.  Oh dont get me wrong.  I did start down that path ever convinced I would realize my dreams.  Right out of high school, I even took the initiative to further my skills and talent through a means of higher education.  Even after getting a “dream job” in an advertising agency, I felt it was lacking something.  The inner exuberance and pure joy I felt as a child had somehow vanished. 

Determined, I trodded on into the land of free lance.  Armed with a more creative aptitude and business saavy, I found I missed the camaraderie of working in a professional environment amongst peers.  Thoroughly disgusted by that time, I found myself immersed into the world of technology.  A land that while unfamiliar, held great promise.

After my ten years of tenure in the field of technology, I found myself quite by accident in my current career field.  That of contract administration.  Dealing with finite details and constant negotiation.  A stickler for details and overly organized, I often find this field somewhat to my liking.  Or rather it seems where I am “meant to be”.  But despite this, I find I still have not been bitten by the desire that this is what I want to continue to do “when I grow up”. 

It’s like an old shoe.  I continue to wear it because it has become comfortable and familiar.  It affords me the sense of job security and a continually controlled environment.  This profession has given me many qualities that make me “marketable” but yet sometimes I still feel like that part of my soul that yearns to creat or do my own thing is missing.

There are those times I feel the call to set out and start my own business.  “But doing what?” I often find myself asking.  My biggest weakness perhaps is the fact that I have so many interests, it is hard for me to focus on one thing.  Because of this, it is truly difficult for me to narrow it down.  Over the years the business sense has brought images of a photography business, a small shop that focused on bath and body products I made, or even event planning.  Despite this desire, I never really followed through with any of it.

Today that bug is again beginning to rise to the surface.  “Do something.”, my conscious whispers, “Do it now.”  But yet I question.  What to do?  What to do?  I know the reality is that this is the result of the fact that I’m a project person that often throws herself head first into projects on a grande scale.  And with a quiet project slate as of late, the urge is showing itself once more.

But what to do?  What to do?

Living Alaska brings to mind a wild and untamed natural beauty within most people’s minds.  And in the case of iiving in Alaska’s largest city, I can tend to agree with that analysis.  Even after having lived here for over 30 years, I constantly find myself stopping jaw dropped among the beauty the resides here. 

And I admit, I still geta thrill out of the fact that I can walk outdoors and see wild animals such as moose, bears, and eagles only a stone throw away.  I do admit however that sometimes I take such things for granted and it is in those moments that often something happens that leaves me with a reminder that these are in fact wild animals and as such you never know what can happen.

I have noticed lately a pregnant cow moose hanging around the residential complex I live in as of late.  It is not uncommon to see her out munching on the trees or bedding down in the deep snow at the rear of the complex along the fence line.  She’s been hanging around now for a few weeks and of course with each passing day, she is getting increasingly larger and larger due to her reproductive state.  Being one that has an interest in wildlife and nature photography, I have long since learned to give an animal a respected amount of distance.  And because of this, I have been able to get some wonderful pictures of this particular cow.  She has never been uneasy when I have been out with my camera.  In fact she usually tosses a look over her shoulder before she returns to ignoring me and continuing her efforts to forage for food.There has been a group of people unfortunately that have taken it upon themselves to begin feeding her carrots.  I gave warning to these particular people and requested that they please not feed her.  Of course my words went unheeded and they continued on. 

As a result, I started becoming concernd when I began to notice how food aggressive this cow moose was becoming.  She began to wait under the balconies of those that fed her and in some cases she met them at their front door and bullied her way into getting more handouts from them.  Again I warned them that if they continued on this path it could very possibly lead to dire consequences, including the moose having to be destroyed as a worse case scenario. Yesterday when I happened to be going to a friend’s Superbowl get together, I happened to run into the 8 year old girl that lives downstairs and has always been very sweet and well behaved.  I was quite concerned when I noticed she had a black eye and asked her what happened.  I was shocked to find out that she and her friend Jennifer who is another child in the complex had been out feeding this moose and when they ran out of food, the cow moose became agitated and head butted her.  Which sent her flying back into the snow and resulted in her having a black eye.  In fact, she not only suffered a fairly bad cut underneath that eye but a wound that looked to be filled with blood and probably would need to be lanced.

Now given I feel somewhat protective of my neighbor and have a good relationship with her, I sat her down in my car and discussed the consequences of what happened and what could happen if she continues to feed the moose.  When I left, she promised me that she no longer would feed her.  However, that did not stop other residents from feeding her yesterday and by the time Iarrived home last evening I found a very agitated cow outside my door. Given she was blocking the entry to my residence, I stood calmly next to my car and started talking to her in a low pitched voice.  After a moment when it became obvious to her that I wasn’t going to feed her, she wandered off.  I’m honestly beginning to wonder how this scenario is going to end. If it continues along this path, I only see her continuing to become more aggressive and Fish and Game will probably have to be called.  I will be going to talk to the management office today asking if they could put out a notice to residents not to feed the moose. I would be devestated to see this moose have to be destroyed because of the actions by others.

Please folks, if you live in an area where you are fortunate enough to have wildlife around, do not feed them! I know they can be furry and cute and appear hungry. But in the end, doing so may very well lead to their destruction.

It’s a good thing to remember.  People food is NOT formulated for animal consumption.  When animals learn that humans can provide a cheap and easy food source, they often lose their natural fear and in some cases can become aggressive.