My Float down the Chena. . .

This is the life!! I took the opportunity to float down the Chena River a couple of times this week. The first time I kayaked down from Nordale to Pike's Landing. . . a five and a half hour paddle in the brilliant sunshine (85+ F)!!











Along the edges of the river, near the Badger Road section, there is apparently an old car dumping ground that has been buried- Houses are built on top of the 10 feet of soil that buries the old cars- they sit precariously above the rusty, toxic oozing tin and tanks of vehicles sticking out of the banks with trees and other foliage growing from them . . . what does this mean for the wildlife in the waterways?!?

I happen to be floating at the right time to see a young bull moose on the shore line. I watched it for nearly 15 minutes- eating and walking along the shore line. . . I could hear him drinking, I was so close! Very cool! Aside from the moose, I saw an eagle, several beavers, fish and too many birds to write about. . . it was a great time! I ended the day with sunburned shoulders and happy to be out enjoying my day. . . Did I mention I love my summers?!?!

Tangles Lakes. . . trip #1

I celebrated solstice with Andrea and friends downtown at the Solstice Festival, and got to hear The Legends of Rock rock the house :)











The next morning Andrea and I took a canoe down to Tangle Lakes for a two night stay. After getting a late start on Friday, we ended up getting down to the lakes around 9 p.m. Deciding it was too late to jump in the boat (and realizing neither one of us were in the mood to pack it up) we spent the night in the campground and started out Saturday morning. We got to use my new tent for the first time. . . a tight 2-man, but lightweight and perfect for me! It's a Sierra Design Clip Flashlight.

The Friday skies were filled with smoke from the Trapper Creek fires, and we were worried the weekend was going to bring more of the same. But Andrea assured me that it was going to burn off and we were going to have sunny skies the rest of the weekend.

And to my amazement, she was right! Saturday started off a little cloudy and smokey, but far clearer than Friday. By the early afternoon all signs of smoke was gone and we were hiking in sunshine and blue skies AND clouds of mosquitoes!! It turned out to be a great weekend, and we had a perfect dog to join us on the trip (Anaie- a dog Andrea was dog sitting).









It was a great trip, and I can't wait to get my kayak out on the waters next time! Thanks for the fun Andrea!

Glamorous Glacier

After being back in the state for a week, I drove to McCarthy to visit my friend Mark. The first thought was to bike in the McCarthy Road, and after 13 miles (of the 60 mile dirt road), and hurting my ankle, I decided it may not be the best choice. I turned around and drove in the 60 miles.

For those of you unfamiliar with McCarthy, you have to cross a foot bridge (2 in fact) to get to the small village. So I parked my car, and biked in from there (a short 2 miles :) Mark and I hiked out to a place called Erie Lake, off the Kenicott Glacier. The skies were blue and the temps perfect. Due to the fact we were on a glacier there were no bugs to speak of! What a treat in the Alaskan summers! Saturday we hiked to the icefalls of the glacier, and enjoyed even more bright skies. So bright in fact, I managed to burn my legs from top to bottom! To give you an idea, it was painful to squat to pee, and it felt like tiny needles pricklying my entire legs as I walked back through the brush on the way home! Note to self: don't leave home without the sunscreen!! As for the hiking itself, it was glorious, and despite very angry ankles, I enjoyed the trip and am looking forward to another trip to McCarthy later in the summer. Thanks for a fun trip Mark!

My New Car!!

Within 25 hours of returning to Anchorage from Colorado, I had a new car! Thanks to Andy Haviland (my principal from White Mountain, and friend) I was able to get around town to see the vehicles and take them to mechanics to check over the vehicles. I decided on a 98 Kia Sportage and am very happy with my car. And don't worry- I lock it every night :) :)

I'm still waiting for my roof rack to come in, but that didn't stop me from taking out my kayak for the first time this season. . . the roof is a little taller than I was expecting, but it worked out okay, and will be a little easier once the rack is up on top. . . I can't wait!!
(*note the fancy rims. . . nice green, huh?! What were they thinking!!?!?)

A little view of the Chena River on my first float trip this summer. . . calm and quiet. . . (can you beleive this is right in town?!)
After doing the car shopping in ANC, I drove up to Fairbanks and had enjoyed a two-night stay at the Holt's compound on my way back. They have a yurt in Talkeetna and it was the first time I had gotten to see thier new home since they moved from UNK. If you'd like to see pictures of my visit, you can see them on their blog (June 8 and 9 entries). My visit included chatting, putting in a garden and enjoying good friends! Here are a few pics I took of the surrounding area. . . they live above a pond, and I ventured down to explore the area a bit one night. A very peaceful and beautiful place. Thanks for a great visit. . . looking forward to seeing you again soon!

Tiff and Heidi starting the morning off with coffee and a list of chores to do for the day.
Rick's brilliant method for scooping poop- a back saver for sure in a dog kennel of 13 dogs!

End of the Year in Unalakleet

So, I guess I need to catch you up on things. . . the last month in Unalakleet included prom, traveling to White Mountain to be their graduation speaker, and CASC meetings.

PROM:
The kids did an amazing job this year with decorations and presentation. You couldn't even recognize the MPR!


















Josh was my date for Prom this year :) With Stacie out of town, he was the cutest bachelor in town :) Thanks for loaning him out Stacie :)



















WHITE MOUNTAIN:
I was honored by my first set of freshman to be asked back to be thier graduation speaker.
I flew over on the 17th of May, and participated in the great ceremony Andy put on.





















*an aerial view of White Mountain- ice is still covering the Fish River, but it went out a few days after I left
*The graduates!! All eight of them . . . from front to back: Elston, Alice, Andy, Sankey, Marjie, Hunter, Yorise and Chelsea.
*Sharing my thoughts with the kids. . . talking with my hands of course :)
*Andy Haviland, principal and friend, dressed up for the ceremony :)
I was lucky enough to also spend the night - I got to hang out and enjoy some BBQ and good friends, and was able to stay for the school picnic on Friday before returning to Unalakleet Friday afternoon.









*Fun with the fire truck. . .
*kids playing at the picnic which was held down at the beach
*Sheri and her daughter Chelsea (a graduate) and myself enjoying the sun at the picnic

After the school year finished up, I remained in UNK for an extra ten days- the first few were used to plan for the fall inservice I'm helping with, and the others were spent working on our math standards. There were ten of us working on improving and updating standards and we did a great job- if I do say so myself :) If you are at all interested in the work we did, you can find it on the wiki page linked to the MATH CASC group on our districts wiki page. (yeah, I know no one will look, but I wanted try adding a link to my entry :)

At the end of CASC I headed straight to Colorado for Dad's retirement party. . . that will be found in the next entry :)

Trip to Colorado!!

Michelle, Onan, and I surprised Dad by coming to Colorado to help him celebrate his retirement (the real one this time). He finally retired after 42 years in education. Eight years spent as an assistant principal, and the other years in the classroom in one capacity or another. Truely an inspiration to me as a teacher myself, and an amazing teacher that has touched thousands of lives. The classroom won't be the same without him.

Here are some pictures of us surprising him, and the big event itself :)