Exploring Alaska: The Alaska Range.2

The slight yellowish blur is from the wooden pop on the airplane. The colors aren't very saturated, looking from this angle, but things improved later on.

The sky cleared a little. It looks like there is snow on the peak.

There are times when I don't mind if the struts from the wings obstruct the view. Sometimes they help to frame up the photo nicely and add interest. A light amount of sunshine brought out the natural red colors.

This peak reminds me of the glow from a burning coal briquet. This is one of my favorite photos from the flight.

It looks like someone was watching. Maybe it's my imagination, but there appears to be the bust of a saint in the lower left hand corner.

This was a quick look back before we headed back home.

An example of the ever changing light over the tundra. Our flight lasted about an hour and a half. This picture was taken around 8:30 in the evening, August 4th 2011.

Exploring Alaska: The Alaska Range

This is my third flight in the Alaska Interior, but my first with David in his airplane. We started out in Fairbanks and headed to the Southeast toward the Alaska Range.

The Tanana River meanders through the Flats. It is glacier fed, and is heavy with silt. The river has a tendency to shift from one season to the next.

This fire started the weekend of July 23-24th. A damper has been put on it since, with our rainy August days.

One of many Black Spruce, Birch and Aspen covered hills.

There are hundreds of swampy ponds like this one where moose can be found.

At this point we are continuing to the south east of Fairbanks toward the Alaska Range.

More of the Tanana Flats with the Alaska Range in the background. I will show some close-ups in my next post.

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Visitors are Welcome: Jim Griset

Jim came all the way to Fairbanks July 26th. Jim is a friend of ours from Prescott Arizona. He received his private pilot's license through David. He also lives in Southern California part-time. A visit here isn't complete, until we drive out the Steese Highway to show the famous pipeline.

Wait... in a few minutes these guys will know enough to build one of their own.

One of the highlights of Jim's trip was to make it to the North Pole. That is North Pole, AK a 45 minute trip slightly to the south of Fairbanks. Jim still believes.

Jim was lucky enough to be here the day the Fairchild came to Fairbanks. However, he was not lucky enough to go on a flight. It rained Moose & Dall Sheep 30 minutes after this photo was taken.

Our blue tail drager.1937 Fairchild.

The fabric cover gives this graceful bird the ribbed look.

An ominous summer's stormy sky hovered over Fairbanks as David taxied  in. She was flown all the way from Ohio, a harrowing and exhausting trip. The white buildings in the background are the UAF campus.

To My Readers and to Fairbanks

Fourteen months have whizzed by since we started this blog! The decision to move to Fairbanks had been a tough one. David and I flew to Fairbanks in May of last year so that David could go to his job interview with Warbelow's Air Ventures. I tagged along just in case Fairbanks would become home for  awhile. David of course, took the job with the airline based in Fairbanks and the rest would become blogger history. This will be my 98th post!

It was more than a year ago when we spent nearly every waking hour painting and repairing everything on our Prescott home that we could, decided what to take, and packed boxes until the last moment. As it was, time ran out and our son, Sebastian had to tape, label and ship (the least expensive way to move to the 49th state) our packages. We had 2 weeks to finish everything. Our daughter Stephanie graduated High School, David's parents were in town and I had my final 2 weeks at 2 jobs to complete.

Exhausted, we hugged our kids, squeezed ourselves into our tightly packed 2 seat Hot Wheels car and ventured North... far, far North. As I closed the car door, I remembered how gritty, grey, and bleak Fairbanks looked that third week of May. I thought: What are we getting into? 

We arrived June 11th last year and Fairbanks proved herself. Suddenly flowers appeared as if they sprang up overnight. The long summer days brought warmth and sunshine. Then the long days were suddenly whisked away by winter's cold and dark decent. The short winter days provided incredible, fascinating sunsets and nearly all white landscapes with trees that turned white from frost.

I'm dedicating this post to Fairbanks and all the friends and family who are enjoying this blog immensely. Feel free to check out the archives on this post in case you've missed something, and of course tell your friends and family that we are here. Also, bookmark us, if you will.

I'm often asked how I handle the extra light in the evening hours. The best answer I can come up with is that I take advantage of it. This photo was taken long after the sun set in most places. Sure, I lose track of time. Some of us struggle when it's still light at 12:30 in the months of May and June. If I lose sleep one night, I'll only do better the next. This photo was taken June 20, one of the longest days of the year.

I'm often asked what there is to do in Fairbanks. There is  plenty here. Some of the best discoveries are the simplest. There is something around the corner in your hometown too. This small part of the forest is a 30 minute brisk walk from our home.

Always take a camera.

One and a half miles of trails meander through The Alaska Bird Observatory, which is part of the 75 acre Wedgewood Wildlife Sanctuary.

There are more than 110 bird species here. This is where I saw Alaska's State Bird: the Mosquito. Bring plenty of bug dope (insect repellant). The more Deet, the better.

An abundance of Birch and Aspen grow here and in the Fairbanks area.

Ferns and wild flowers cover the forest floor.

Wander Lake was once a gravel pit. It was renovated by excavating shallows, transplanting fish and aquatic plants, removing weeds and creating a habitat for wildlife.