Spindrift

~ 9:15 am December 2, 2007

Driving to Lee's house on Sunday morning there was a wonderful sunrise and I noticed snow blowing off the Alaska Range mountains and had to stop for a few photos. The past few clear evenings and morning have been spectacular for sunsets and rises. The other day Denali was magnified by the mirage effect of differing layers of air, some warmer and cooler. I cursed myself for not having my camera with me.

A tornado of sorts formed near the west flank of Mt. Deborah.

A blurry close-up of the snow tornado.

Raising a Wall, Dec. 1, 2007

At the crack of dawn, 7:30 am (well that would be in most areas, here in the Interior the sun was a few hours away), Wendy Shiffler drove up my driveway. I was just out of bed and hadn't even had the time to get dressed yet. He was there to help me put up a wall in the second story of my place. He even brought breakfast! I had not expected him. I had left a message with him a few days before saying that I would be building a wall on Sat. He took it upon himself to show up when he did! What he didn't know was that I had to go to a friend's place and fix his fuel line from the tank to the oil stove in the house. That took 2 hours then we got to work on the wall. Thanks for all your help Wendy!!!

The first section.

Wendy left around 2:30 pm. We got to the door and he helped me mark out where to put the rest of the wall. I had to make a lumber run to Home Depot and then finished up the wall by about 8 pm. Nice to have some definition to the space.

Looking towards the stair case.

White Mountains Ski Trip Nov. 24-25

My first trip into the White Mountains State Recreation Area, a pretty sad fact after being here for over 15 years.
Lee Zirnheld set the trip up but was unable to go along. 2 other couples did go; Becky and Cameron and Eamon and Anja. The 28-mile drive from Fairbanks to the trail head (actually a shortcut to the main trail) on the Steese Hwy. was thru low clouds/fog. It was a very warm day, in the upper 20's. As we skied in from the trail head we got above some of the low clouds, making for beautiful views. Conditions on the shortcut were marginal. Rocks and bare ground were intermittent. The total distance to Eleazar's Cabin was 10-11 miles.

On the main trail. It was like a highway. A little while after this stop, Becky and Cameron turned back to go back to Fairbanks. Becky was having blister problems and Cameron ski problems. They left the next day's breakfast with Eamon. This "highway" only lasted for about 2 miles and then we were on a narrow snowmobile trail again full of hummocky ground that made for no-so-pleasant skiing.

The foggy forest on our way up to Eleazar's (El-ah-zar) cabin.

As we climbed up to the cabin we came above the fog and low clouds and had a lovely view of the sun and surroundings. Here Eamon and Anja stop for a nice photo.

Me at the cabin.

The clouds we came out of.

Nice silhouette of Eamon.

Pretty shot.

Looking towards the higher White Mountains to the north of the cabin.

A beautiful full moon.

A beautiful sunset.

A butterfly was "awakened" after the cabin warmed up and it took a liking to Eamon's head.

Scout and Bailey snoozing. That nite we feasted on curried rice with cashews, apple, and raisins. Dessert was rum-laced brownies and malt wine. Yum!

Wonderful sunrise to great the day.

The Alaska Range to the south, looking from the front porch of the cabin.

Down in the valley on the ski out the next day. The views were much better from there compared to the day before. The fog coated the trees with a light coating of frost, making for a magical ski out.

Elaezar's cabin can be seen from the trail here.

Dwarf Black Spruce.

Another warm day.

A wonderful view, looking back from where we came, as we climbed out of the valley.

A broader view. A great trip with some new friends. I'll definitely be back to ski to more cabins.

New Stairs

On Nov. 9th my good friend, Wendy (Wendell) Shiffler helped me on build and install the stairs to the second floor. We knocked it out in about 7 hours. I had spent a few hours the day before sanding and rounding the corners of the rough cut lumber. The wood was really wet, having been milled from fresh cut trees not long ago at the local saw mill. So the stairs will have to dry for a month or more before I can put a coat of polyurethane on them to protect the steps, etc. For now I've got scrap pieces of carpet on the steps, because I'll be going up and down a good deal as I start to finish the upstairs. That is the next project.

They are really solid stairs. All the lumber (white spruce) is a true 2 inches thick. The stringers are 2x12s and the steps are 2x10s. Later on, as I have more time I may replace the 4x4 legs of the landing with real logs.
The house is pretty humid these days with the house logs drying and now all the lumber from the stairs drying. The hygrometer (humidity gauge) that I have reads between 50 and 60%. I've yet to have any static electricity from my bed sheets or clothes!! A rare thing here in the dry Arctic.

Tolovana Hotsprings Nov 16-18

Tolovana HotSprings Trailhead on the Elliot Hwy on the way to Manley, 100 miles from Fairbanks. There was a stiff breeze which is normal, so you need to be bundled up to prevent from getting cold at the start. The trail is 11 miles long, taking 3 to 4 hours depending on the conditions of the trail and your physical condition.
On Friday afternoon 8 of us skied in. That nite 5 more followed. The next day another fellow arrived so we had 14 for dinner on Sat. nite and Sunday morning breakfast. It was an awesome trip with really great people. I've been in Fairbanks for 16 years now and this was my first time to this gem of a place.

Almost immediately from the trailhead you begin a descent, first thru birch stands and then on to spruce. The downhill is about 2 miles. The wind present at the trailhead also disappears.

About 3 miles of fairly flat skiing before another 2 mile climb.

A look back at the climb, but more to go yet. It was easier to walk than to ski or use skins. The sled was attached to the belt I took off my back pack. Pulling a sled is a bit easier than having the pack on your back, but you still get sore hip flexors from the sled pulling at you.

Some great shots of trees covered in some snow/hoar frost. This area burned a few years ago.

Nearing the top of Tolovana Hotsprings Dome. Here the wind can be very strong. It was blowing on this day but not badly.

You can see that the wind is a constant presence here.

Now a steep descent to the springs. There was very little snow so it was safer to walk down, rather than ski.

The newest cabin at the hotsprings. There are 3. I stayed here with 3 other folks.

Where the hot water seeps out of the ground at 125-145 degrees. It has no odor. Pipes carry the water to 3 tubs that are spread out along the small creek.

The upper tub. It is a round plastic holding tank. It can hold 12 persons easily.

Looking down the little valley.

Mike Hayes, a fellow I met while working at Pogo Gold Mine, soaks in the bath tub next to the upper tub.

The main cabin that can sleep 6. All our meals were taken here. All 3 cabins have propane lights, propane stoves/ovens and wood stoves. All utensils and cooking pots/pans, etc are provided. There is yummy fresh cold water available from a spring. All you need to bring is your towel, a sleeping bag and loads of yummy food!

The oldest and 3rd cabin. It can sleep 4.

Enjoying a group soak. Swim suits are not worn here!!

Cooling off in the tub.

Getting dressed after a soak.

Natalie showing here hook trick.

Downing whip cream in a can. I provided desert the nite before, brownies and ice cream, and forgot to serve the whip cream, so it was passed around the next nite. We ate like kings out there.

The pancake breakfast on Sunday morning. Soooooo yummy!!

The trip out. No wind on this day, even up on top of the dome. It snowed nearly the entire weekend so we were blessed with beautifully covered trees.

Beautiful grey skies made for a good backdrop on this photo.

It was so warm, in the +20's, that I skied in a light top nearly the whole trip out.

Water break with Ed and Ann.

Vladka showing her frosted dreadlocks. She is visiting Alaska from Slovakia. A great spirit.