Dan's Wanderings: December 2007

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.