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

View from our porch

Northern Lights, Lunar Eclipse and laundry

Monday was a good day for the most part, Chrissy got a new Carhartt jacket that shes been wanting, we found some great stuff at the transfer site and generally just had a good time all day. We did however have to do laundry which has become one of our least favorite aspects of living without running water. I guess that its not really even that we don't have water, its that Fairbanks doesn't have a laundromat (that we've found yet) that is reasonably priced and has working machines. What we have is bad and worse from what I can tell. We spent nearly $40.00 to wash 4 loads of laundry, and partially dry them. By the time the money ran out, so had the time and they were closing so we packed it up and set up a line outside on the porch. Hopefully we'll have another bright sunny day today and they will all dry. Last night we stayed up to watch the lunar eclipse, it was sort of lackluster compared to what I remember from grade school, but I think that those memories may have been of solar eclipses, not sure. But as a side bonus, being out in the dark, cold night we noticed the Northern Lights dancing overhead. Its been a long time since I had seen them, and even though they weren't that bright (too close to city lights) it was really cool to see them.
Chrissy took a few photos of the eclipse, so I'm sure she'll post them on here later today.
64 and sunny, headed to work.
Justin

I love wild blueberries

Thoughts on living in the cabin

Yesterday I was talking to a friend about how much I love living in the cabin. Already it has taught me so much about preparedness and thinking ahead. It’s taught me about appreciation for the things that we take for granted on a daily basis. For example, I’m so accustomed to turning on the faucet and consuming an infinite amount of water, and now I use just a trickle to wash my hands. Before there was this unknown person or company supplying the water and now I have become the supplier. It’s me who has to go to the spring to get it and it’s me who has to carry it up into the loft. Trash is another issue. We’re also responsible for taking our trash to the dump, which has in turn made me acutely aware of how much we throw away. Cooking- in order to use the stove we have to have propane in the tank. The list goes on. Living in the cabin has raised my awareness of the present and at the same time has forced me to logistically consider the future.

Chrissy

63° and sunny

Fairbanks Skyline

Great weather

We have made the best blueberry milkshakes the last few days. There is a dairy up here called Northern Lights located out in Delta Junction, Ak. They make some vanilla ice cream that is truly delicious. Amazing stuff. We went out to Cleary Summit a few days ago and picked a bunch of blueberries. We need to get some more before they dry up. Alaskan blueberries are much smaller than the lower 48 variety that I have mostly seen, and much sweeter.
Hauled water tonight, got a bunch this time so we dont have to go back quite so soon. 4 x 7 gallon jugs and the regular 4 5 gallon jugs. We'll see how long this lasts. We have become very water conscious since we have been hauling it all and Im amazed at how much water I must have used in the past.
52 and a slight rain,
Justin

Blueberry bushes

Picking blueberries on Murphy Dome

Last night we finally went and picked wild blueberries at the top of Murphy Dome. They were fairly sparse this time around, but it was just as fun foraging for them as I had remembered. It’s so peaceful with no one else around and just completely focusing in on what’s in front of you.
Chrissy



We are supposed to be getting our own internet connection on Monday. I am really anxious to have a steady connection at home. Our landlord is building us a fence around the front porch today that will really make the house look nice, along with allowing us to leave the front door open and let the dogs run in and out. Its been hitting up in the high 70’s and maybe even the low 80’s here in the last few days, and having that front door open would really make it comfortable in the house. I think that the insulation in here is going to prove to be really good, seems like when it heats up in here the slightest bit, it stays warm until a window is opened. We’ll see.
72.7 and sunny
Justin

Hauling water from Fox