After days of misty rain, fog, and cold, the weather finally broke and we had a gorgeous sunny day today. I loaded up the dogs and we took off south to see Seward, down on the Kenai peninsula. It's still amazing to me how you can be just an hour out of the city and be in some very remote, uninhabited areas. It was beautiful to drive through, though! Started out the day with an up close view of some Dall sheep that live in the cliffs along Turnagain Arm. These guys normally stay really high up, so the most you can see without binoculars are little white specks high on the cliff. Today they had come much farther down and there was a good sized group hanging out just above the highway.


I got into Seward about lunchtime and ended up exploring downtown on foot with the dogs. Got some lunch and ate at a park by the water, keeping the dogs close by so they didn't go IN the water. After lunch, we drove outside the city limits to Exit Glacier, so named because it was used as an "exit" by those hiking down from the Harding Icefield. This glacier was much bigger than other ones I've been to here, even though it's one of the smaller ones in the Harding Icefield. There was an immediate difference in temperature when you got onto the trails leading up to it...kind of like walking into a walk-in freezer. Amazing how much cold comes off of it, even on a relatively warm day.

I got back on the highway to Anchorage mid-afternoon and came across a big bald eagle hanging out by the side of the road. Ironically, he was sitting almost directly above a sign that said "Seward Highway Scenic By-way." Yes, very scenic....I took plenty of pictures.

Brrr...chilly ride

Denali and Mt. Foraker with Anchorage in the foreground

When I lived in Atlanta, I distinctly remember declaring to my friends that it was too cold to ride if it was less than 50 degrees out. My, how an opinion can change in a very short time! I was all fired up to ride outside today, as the forecast called for sunny skies and 50 degrees. I waited and waited, but by 3pm it was still a shade under 50 and not looking like it would get any warmer. It WAS sunny, though, so I layered up and headed out. Great day for a ride! Denali (Mt. McKinley) and his wife (Mt. Foraker) were shining in the distance like pale ivory towers, looming over the surrounding landsape. Amazing how something can seem so big when it's 150 miles away! I haven't seen them since my mom was here two weeks ago, but today I realized why. I had been looking for a dark mountain that would stand out against the light sky, but now that they're snow covered, they blend in with the clouds. It was a fluke of perfect weather and perfect lighting that lit them up like a spotlight today. Oh, how I wished for my camera! I was a ways from home, though, and knew the light would have faded by the time I got back. I borrowed the picture above from a great website, just so I could share with you guys the beautiful view.

So, I've been doing a little better about dressing appropriately for the temperature (it's hard to judge when you haven't done it in a while!) I flubbed up today, though....I was dressed ok for 48-ish when I left, but I hadn't counted on the temperature dropping as the light faded. It was probably closer to 40 when I got home and I was COLD! All good, though...a hot shower and a fleece have done wonders to restore circulation. I made a comment about the temps to my roommate Will, who cheerfully pointed out that it only goes down from here!

What a weekend!

What a busy weekend this turned out to be! This was First Friday, so like many cities, the art galleries opened their doors and many of the restaurants/bars had specials on drinks and appetizers. I met some work friends for an early happy hour, then headed out to see some friends I had met in Hawaii, Margaret and Will. They live up here in Anchorage, but had been in Hawaii visiting some mutual friends of ours and participating in the Honolulu triathlon, where we all met. This weekend was Will's birthday, so they invited a bunch of friends to meet up at Oktoberfest to celebrate! Ok, so Oktoberfest was a little cheesy, but with a fun group of people and some German beer, it was a pretty good time.


On Sunday, I got a call from one of the girls I'd met on Friday night. Several of the friends from that group were going to the Lion King and they had an extra ticket.....yay, count me in! This was the full Broadway show, and we're still not sure how they got the huge trucks of costumes and stage props all the way up here. The show was amazing!!! I've been to many Broadway shows, but this ranks as one of my favorites that I've seen. The colors, the music, the costumes...just spectacular. Even the non-musical-fans amongst us (namely, the guys) admitted that it was a cool show. Yay for Disney on Broadway!

Crazy dogs...

Snow on the Chugach mountains is an ever-present reminder that winter is right around the corner. It may look and smell like autumn still, but it's getting to be chilly! I've started wearing a coat to walk to the dogs, especially in the evenings.
So today, I decided to take the dogs for a long walk in the morning, since I have to work the next three nights and would be sleeping in the afternoon. Milo, Jacob, and I walked down the trails to Earthquake park and then back up the coastline, making a rough sort of loop back to the house. I was wearing jeans, my winter coat, gloves, and probably could have used a hat. However, the crazy dogs didn't hesitate when we came upon a pond alongside the trails....they jumped right in! I don't even want to guess at how cold the water was, but they didn't seem to mind. They played happily for a while, retrieving sticks and swimming, before we continued on our walk. Too funny!

I decided to go for a run this afternoon when I got up from my nap. There's a great little loop from the house that's a mix of trails and neighborhoods...all of which is pretty traffic-free. I was in the neighborhoods and almost back to the house when a truck pulled over with it's window down. A lady leaned over and said, "Be careful, there are moose up there!" Yup, sure enough, there was a momma moose and an older calf in someone's front yard about half a block up. I had to do a little right-left-right to cut through some backyards and detour around the pair. Crazy!

Lessons learned

Moose by the side of Raspberry Rd

After several days of rain and temps in the 30s, Milo and I were glad to see the sun come out midday today. We took advantage of the almost-balmy 40 degree weather and headed down to Kincaid park to hike some of the trails there. Milo's almost back to normal after his surgery 10 days ago, but he still gets a little tired and can't walk as far as we used to. So, we just did an easy stroll through the fall leaves, keeping our eyes peeled for wildlife. On our way back, we saw a moose grazing the trees by the side of the road...I've been dying to see one of the "resident" moose!

I decided to use the "warm" afternoon as a chance to take my bike out on the Coastal Trail, as I hadn't ridden since I got here. Bundled up in several layers and was good to go! I quickly learned that the Coastal trail is designed more for mountain bikes or leisure bikes, as the path twisted too much to allow for my normal speeds on the tri bike. It was still a great ride, though, and the scenery was gorgeous. I learned an important lesson on this ride....my tri shoes are highly vented to allow for maximum air flow and are made to be worn without socks. These are NOT good features for 40 degree temps! Let's just say my bare tootsies were nice and cold by the time I got home. Time to switch back to my road shoes with some thick socks!

A fresh start

Fall colors in the backyard

Monday has brought a fresh start to our Alaska stay. It's amazing how much Milo improves every day! He's feeling much more frisky and his appetite is back in full force, although he still can't walk very far before he wants to turn around and head for home. On the mend, though! His belly is also looking much better with the bruising pretty much gone.

It's also a fresh start for me this week, as I started orientation at the hospital today. It seems like a nice unit and I'm eager to get started, although nights aren't my favorite! I had to crack up at part of the orientation, though...one of the safety officers gave a little talk about how to handle the moose (and less frequently, bears) that come onto the hospital campus. Moose talk in orientation is definitely a first!

And last, but not least, it seems the weather is turning a corner as well. Fall is a brief season this far north and we've been getting little hints about the coming cold. The Chugach mountains that border the east side of Anchorage have been a gorgeous mix of fall colors since I got into town, but today we awoke to find a dusting of snow across the higher peaks. Ack! I need a little more time to ease into the chillier temperatures!

Sick puppy

Covered up with his "blanket"

His big incision and poor bruised belly

Milo got to come home today! We VERY carefully loaded him into the back of the Xterra and tried our best avoid bumps on the way home. His temperature had been running a little bit low in the hospital, though I don't know if that's from the surgery or from one of his multiple meds. So, once we got him home, I settled him on his bed and covered him with a folded towel. It's a testament to how bad he feels....he actually seemed to like being covered! He's moving very, very gingerly, but seems to be ok. Now we begin a regimine of round-the-clock meds and feedings for a few days!