2010

Living in a remote part of Alaska, there isn't much to do that isn't related to being outside, which is a large part of why I love living here. This winter has been more of a challenge. Our late winter has yielded unfair amounts of snow which means we have to be much more creative about our outdoor activities. Last year we were snowmobiling across large rivers in the middle of December! This year, well, it's been tough.

Yesterday, for better or for worse we gave Dillingham a fighting chance. Brian, Kirk, Peter, me and two other young men from the village ventured out at 12:30 p.m. Parts of the tundra were nearly barren with only ice, while other parts were fairly snowy. The otherwise raging rivers were well frozen, but seeing the crunchy river banks with their deep cracks, resulting from the daily the twenty foot tide increase and decrease, made me focus to a degree I didn't know was possible. It wasn't pretty, but we made it and home by 12:30 a.m., making the usual hour long jaunt a solid three hour challenge.

I am most thankful for my arctic Carhart bib overalls, my beaver fur mittens, my new helmet and my good friend Brian. Phew! I won't be doing that again until we have some real snow.

Here's a view of the tundra from yesterday: Ice, snow and tundra. Nasty.

More of the same. It's still beautiful, even without snow.

I've been snowshoeing a lot in the evenings. I like how the pink sunset touches the slope. I can only imagine what it looked like beyond the left slope.

Boats by the river. You can see Hank as a little blur tearing towards me. He's the best!

This is my friend Brian. He also biked with me around Lake Superior. He's engaged to my good friend here, Kirsten. Brian just bought this amazing snow bike. It's called the Fat Bike and tailored for riding on snow trails. The plan is for him to ride his bike and me to skate ski to Dillingham and home on the snowmobile trails. I just got my skis and I'm super excited by this new expectation.

Fat Tire!

Love 'em and Leave 'em

This was a great holiday trip for me, it was hard to see end. It went like this: I spent a few days in and around Anchorage, where I shared a king bed with a generous stranger (see below). Then, headed to Denver to be with my cousin Angie for some cocktail partying and downhill skiing. Days later I left for Appleton, WI for some family and friend time and finally, I spent the new year at Sawbill in Northern Minnesota for some quality outdoor activity, fun and friendship.

All of that is incredibly hard to leave. Heartbreaking even: The packing, the goodbyes and remembering that this is the last dose of family, love and friendship, from this part of my life for a while. Reminding me just how separate my life here is from my life in the lower 48 and how the two will never really be able to mingle. When I leave either place, it feels as though I’m sealing up relationships like they are time capsules, not to be opened for several months, and never to be exactly the same again.

Loving too often and too easily has its drawbacks, but I don't know any other way to live. What fun.

I had arrived in Denver about an hour before this photograph was taken. I felt strangely displaced while half naked, drinking alcohol, and fielding questions about Alaska. I went to sleep earlier than everyone else. Despite being overwhelmed, Neil’s cocktail party was still loads of fun.

My friend Alison Bents took this photo. Sawbill is one of the places I feel most at home with friends who are more like family. We play hard and always have the kind of fun that I can only describe as outrageous. I love that.

Caitlin and I found our sled preference this year. She was much more adept at keeping her balance than I was. Sure was fun.

I left Sawbill and headed to St. Paul, MN. I did some last minute supply shopping at Super Target and found myself browsing the aisles with misty eyes. I spent the night at Koz and Tony’s house. They were the perfect pair to stay with on my final night. Tony even expert packed, drilled, duct taped and zip-tied my big container of food and supplies. I can only imagine the frustration I would have endured doing all this by myself in the slightly emotional state I was in. Koz made me a CD she cleverly titled "Connection to the Contiguous" (or songs not played on NPR). My favorite song being, "I'm in Miami Trick" by LMFAO. Tony made a killer breakfast in the morning and I was off. Gosh, they are good friends.

It's fun flying back to Alaska because it's inevitable that I will run into several people who I know. This time I met Brian and Kirsten in Minneapolis, Staci in Seattle and several others once we arrived in Anchorage. We all spent the night in Anchorage where we played darts, had a few beers and laughed before returning to our respective villages. Here's a view flying back into Dillingham.

The runway in Dillingham. What a beautiful welcome home.