So much for pretty snow...

If you click on this picture to make it larger, you may be able to see the volcano (Mt. Redoubt) - it is the white mountain where there should be sky. This was taken from my office.



And this is what all of the snow looks like now...



We have a fine dusting of ash everywhere and 40 mph winds to go with it. Mt Redoubt has been erupting periodically for the last week (19 times so far?) but yesterday was the first day we had ash here. And believe it or not, it smelled like sulfur. Who would have thought the smell would travel 100 miles??

NOW I have to figure out what to do to clean it up...if anything???

On a separate note, Robert and I are leaving Alaska. The company is transferring us to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. We are sad to leave this wonderful place but an exciting new adventure is getting ready to start.

And just think of the future blog fodder!

On something again - totally unrelated - a picture of several of our hoary redpoles. They go through the thistle!

The sound of a volcano...

There I am, laying awake in bed just after midnight, wondering when Squirt will get up for his nightly drink and how long it will take me to get back to sleep when I heard...

PFOOOM

PFOOOM

PFOOM, PFOOM!!!

and here is the associated thought process after hearing the noise...

Haven't heard that here before in March and why is the bed shaking? Earthquakes don't normally sound that way that I have heard. In Oklahoma or Houston, Texas, that sound would have signaled someone setting of mortar style fireworks.

But here...

when it is 15 degrees out and nothing specific to celebrate???

Is a moose on the deck? Did a bear find the bird feed - they're out you know...?

HMMM.... I wonder if the volcano blew...

I then get up, get dressed, head downstairs, make Squirt go outside just in case ash is headed our way, check the volcano web site and sure enough, we are condition red - whatever that means.

I head back upstairs to let Robert know I think the volcano blew and we both head back downstairs to check the web site again to confirm, then call a couple of friends so they are prepared and get the house sort of ready for ash fall. Robert plugs the 9 inch air in-take in the garage (there's enough air leaks that this one is good to plug for a couple of days) and I tape up the windows by the electronics. (Having learned in the hurricanes in Houston that there is such a thing as too much tape.)

Sure enough - there were 5 different explosive eruptions last night and it is still going on. We did have to work today because ash went the other direction from Anchorage - thank goodness.

So how many mother nature phenomena have Robert and I been through?

Tornadoes
Wind Storms
Hail Storms
Blizzards
Earthquakes
Hurricanes
Floods
Drought
and now a volcano

so what's left besides a Tsunami and Sand Storm???

Regardless - I'm leaving the windows taped for another couple of days!

Looks like Redoubt is blowing!

Volcano information page.

Time to hang up the harness

The most well known dog in Alaska, Larry, is ready to retire...


Only 13 mushers left on the trail to finish!

It's not all fun and games...

Some on the Iditarod trail don't have quite as good a run as the winner...

troubled run

I am so glad more didn't perish including the musher...

Mackey and his team do it again!!

What an incredible set of athletes! Lance Mackey has once again won the Iditarod sled dog race (which I have watched religiously this year)! He made it to the burled arch with 15 dogs (several of them were rookies this year) dropping only one which is also amazing. (local news story)

Just before arriving in Nome, he stopped and took time to rub each dog and tell them good job. Coming down Front Street, his new lead dog, Maple, was a little hesitant with all of the people and she stopped, turned right and dumped his sled. Oh well, things happen - he switched Maple with Larry who has done this several times and knows the routine. After finishing, he didn't celebrate until he had once again, taken a kibble snack to each dog and told them good job. He loves his dogs.

Speaking of several times, Mackey has now won 7 races since 2005 which were over 1000 miles each. That's 7000 miles alone on the back of a dog sled (just think how many miles in the 4 years he has run in training).

Lance has joined a very elite group with his 3-peat this year...the great Susan Butcher and Doug Swingly. Rick Swenson is the only person that has 5 Iditarod wins under his belt. Can Mackey join him? I can't wait until next year!

Waxing Poetic and the Reindeer Run

In case you haven’t figured it out OR are new to the blog, I am a dog lover. If the world were made according to my rules, some of them would be, no one is allergic to dogs, dogs don’t get rabies and dogs are allowed to go anywhere humans do. That is why I love this time of year in Alaska. Dogs are center stage for a couple of months between the weight pulls and mushing competitions. Dogs live to do what their humans ask of them and a dog’s unconditional love continually amazes me.

That being said, who doesn’t like a good reindeer run. :)

We were a little too close to the finish line this year and couldn’t see as well…(having been at the start and finish – I know EXACTLY where to be next year) but still the excitement and show was fantastic. People actually started lining the streets over an hour before the start for front row viewing. We had a former astronaut in the mix this year and about 2-3 times the runners. Oh – and they ran 9 reindeer per heat instead of 4-5.

It went smoothly for the most part. One reindeer got confused and went the wrong way. That was exciting trying to get him/her caught and corralled.

A couple of people accidentally ran into the corral instead of beside it.

Two handlers got poked by antlers.

And I think only one person fell during the run (on the icy streets) – but no injuries.

My only criticism of the entire event would be I thought it a little tacky to park the reindeer right next to the reindeer hot dog stand.

Pictures to follow - and maybe movies!

Fur Rondy 2009

I love these three weeks of the year in Alaska and this year so far, the weather has been exceptional. Yesterday, it snowed all day long - a light, fluffy fairy tale snow. (Of course we had to shovel it later but it was worth it!) The temps were perfect for outdoor events - 26 to 28 degrees. And BEST of all, Iditarod starts Saturday!

We spent about 4 hours out and about yesterday taking in the Fur Rondy activities. There were some beautiful pelts to be had and some were going for low prices - the economy has hit the fur trade. We bid on a couple of beaver pelts but lost out on them. It was tough to let the silver fox fur go by. They had some lynx also but those were going for close to $300 and we didn't need one that bad.

This is a wolf pelt.


We also watched some of the sprint dog races. The dogs are so amazing. They pull up to the starting line and jump, bark, yap, etc., the announcer counts down and they're off. It is perfectly quiet. All you hear is the sled runners gliding across the snow. The dogs are running - concentrating on going as fast as possible loving every minute of it.



We ended the day at the dog weight pull. Once again, these dogs are amazing. The smallest one we watched was 37 lbs and if I remember right, that dog pulled 570lbs if not more. The largest dog there was a 210 lbd St. Bernard. We didn't see his final pull as we left before the end of the competition but we did see him stroll across the finish line attached to 740 lbs as if it didn't exist. I am sure the winning weight for the large dogs was well over 1500 lbs and it is possible it was a lot more.

This little Australian Shepherd was amazing. Look at how low to the ground she is. I think this was her last successful pull of the day.


Another smaller dog showing fine form.


This dog, Yeti, looked like a giant teddy bear.


Here is Riley - this is one of the dogs we have seen the last 3 years.


And then there was this dog who didn't want any part of the weight pulling stuff. It would take 7 minutes 13 seconds to hook him to the sled and 4.3 seconds for him to pull the weight. As soon as they pointed him toward the sled to hook him up, he went down and either rolled over or dug in. It was hilarious!





Payton - the big, 210 lbd boy...


Today's excursion is... The Running Of The Reindeer! I can't wait!