Angel Rocks

If you look closely you can see the 2 moose in the water.

Chena Hot Springs

Went to Chena Hot Springs last night, today is Chrissy's birthday, so we wanted to do something nice. We soaked for a few hours in the 106 degree water. We were going to camp last night somewhere out that way, but the rain was supposed to be coming down and the ground was still all wet. We just decided to drive on home and head back out in the afternoon today. We'll be headed out to Angel Rocks to do some hiking today, I can't wait.
43 and sunny
-Justin

RAIN

It's been raining nonstop for what seems like a week now... well, maybe not nonstop, but it's been raining a lot. The temperature has also been steadily dropping and there's been a lot of talk of snow. I'm looking forward to it. There isn't much of a transition period between fall and winter here in AK. The leaves fall one day and there's snow on the ground the next. It's a lot different from the seasonal changes I'm accustomed to in the South.

Chrissy
41° and well.... rainy

Moose for dinner

I cooked up the first bit of that moose meat that I got. It was delicious, I broiled a large round steak in the oven. I don't have any sauce or seasoning at the house besides salt and pepper, but it still turned out awesome. The dogs got the gristle and I got the good meat. Chrissy isnt big on meat from anything but a fish or shrimp, so she did not partake.

I woke up this morning to see a squirrel sitting on our front porch railing. This is the same squirrel that has been burrowing into our roof and making a home for himself. I have been just a little to slow with my slingshot to end our struggle, and this morning was no change. I may have to get a cage trap from work or something, I don't think I want to spend the winter with a squirrel scurrying around in the roof tearing up insulation.
45 and cloudy, its going to be winter real soon
-Justin

Crazy!

Our neighbor saw a bear in his yard last night.

Awesome Day

Had a really good day today, got about 20 lbs. of moose meat from a guy at work that doesn't really like it too much, and went fishing all day.
We went out to 21 mile Chena Hot Springs Road and fished for Grayling for about 5 hours, caught a few really nice sized ones on no. 1 mepps single hook spinners. The Chena River is a catch and release only river for graylings, so we let them all go, but it was awesome. Next week I'm headed over to the Chatanika River where you can keep 5 a day. These things looked too delicious not to try eating.
After alot of fishing, went and got some food at Carl's Jr. and headed over to Ballaine lake for some Rainbow Trout fishing. The fishing there is superb, as the state stocks it every year. The fish all die off at freezeup, so it didn't seem like any big deal to take home 4 of them to cook up for dinner. Delicious. I am going to have to make a habit of stopping by that lake a few times a week for fresh fish.
Getting a little colder out this week, we got our heater installed in the cabin and after talking with some friends that live a few doors down, found out there is a cow moose and two calves that have been hanging around the area. I was beginning to wonder what all the brown fur I kept finding on the driveway was from, now I know.
50 and nighttime
-Justin

Floating the Chena

Yesterday a friend and I took her canoe out on the Chena and floated the winding river through town. We met at the Chena campground, left my truck, and then drove back to her house where we put the canoe in. It's pretty awesome when you can walk 30 yards to the water and take off on an adventure. I didn't take any photos because the view wasn't that spectacular- mostly just a bunch of fancy houses. You can see that anywhere. Being on the water was invigorating and the repetitious motion of rowing was super relaxing. It's odd to think that in a couple of months, that same river will be used as a secondary road for snow machines.

Chrissy
sunny and 55°

Denali

I'm pretty sure that the Park gets more and more beautiful every time we visit. It was especially nice this time because it had just rained. The clouds were really dramatic and the fall colors painted the landscape with such perfection. The photographs I posted pale in comparison to actually standing there with the soil underfoot, but I think they give an idea of its magic. I would like to go camping there again before it closes for the season in a couple of weeks. I think Justin might need a little convincing. We'll see.
Chrissy

good times

This past weekend was awesome, it was the final weekend of the State Fair down in Palmer, so we packed the dogs in the truck and headed south to meet up with a friend and check out the massive veggies. We left Fairbanks on Saturday afternoon, drove through part of Denali and got to see fall in full swing. It only lasts about a week down there, so we got lucky to catch everything changing. It was nice to relax a bit and see such awesome scenery. Drove on down the rest of the way into Anchorage where we stayed with our friend and 4 basset hounds for the night. These hounds were pretty intense and bossed our dogs around pretty good.

Drove up to Palmer on Sunday around 11 and walked around the fair for a few hours. Chrissy was way more into the rides than I was, I felt like they were all about to break apart and hurl me earthward, but then again, I guess that's what we pay for when we go on rides like that anyway. The danger. The Flying Bobs is apparently a universal ride that exists even in AK. I rode it and have nothing but good things to say about it.
We left Palmer around 7 pm and started heading north, long drive ahead. About 6 hours later, Chrissy is asleep, the dogs are asleep, and I am barely holding on. We get home and then for some reason I cant sleep. So tired, but sort of strung out from the road.
Monday was spent working and then we rented Blades of Glory, I couldn't stay up to watch it all the way through, so we finished it today. It was hilarious. I think that I will need to watch it a few times before I can pick up on all the hilarious subtleties though. Alaska is a bit behind the times on some things, one of them being that whole no late fee at Blockbuster thing. I had all but forgotten about the idea of a one night rental until this one. I guess we get spoiled by things like that down south.
We went out with friends for Thai food tonight. It was pretty good Fairbanks fare. The restaurant was packed but the wait wasn't too bad. We looked through all the wedding photo proofs and had some good conversation. The northern lights are nice and bright tonight, hopefully we can get some good photos of them this winter.

-Justin

The drive back to Fairbanks

The Fair

Alaska State Fair (Lumberjack Competitions)

Headed to the fair

We are headed down to the fair this weekend, stay tuned for pictures of monster Kohlrabi, Cabbage and more.

Denali Park

Just outside of Denali National Park