Hiking to a Glacier

I have some time off coming up!  Woohoo!!! I was talking to a few friends about ideas of places I can explore during my time off around Christmas.  One person suggested hiking out to Portage Glacier- a glacier that is usually only visible from a boat- but during the winter you can hike/ski across the frozen lake and get right up next to the slow moving glacier.  That just sounds awesome!!  So I grabbed one of my more adventurous students and we set off on an adventure!

We left Anchorage pretty early because I wasn't sure how long it would take us to hike across the lake to the glacier, but I did't want to get stuck out on the ice in the dark (and it gets dark so early now! we only have about 4-5 hours of sunlight on a clear day),  

We finally got out to the lake- expecting it to be frozen (the girl who told us about it made it sound like she'd just been out there a week ago or so)- it wasn't.  The lake was completely thawed.  So no hiking to a glacier.

But I got to see some awesome eagles- this one was just perched on a piece of glacial ice!

I love the northern lights!!

Eklutna Lake

I had the most amazing hike last week.  It had been a long week- my students were gearing up for finals and heading home on holiday, my co-worker has been on sabbatical for a month so I've been running the show here in Anchorage, and the dark days are getting old.  Its difficult to explain but it covertly effects your mood.

So on my day off, I decided I wanted a nice quiet hike in a beautiful place!   There are so many to choose from!  I decided to go back to a place I'd been already- Eklutna Lake.  Eklutna is a glacier-fed lake so it looks teal when the sun hits it. Its an easy hike around the lake, beautiful and only about 45 minutes from my house.

When I got to the trail head- there was only one other car in the parking lot.  AWESOME!!!   I had the entire lake to my self!  It was fantastic.  Some really good alone time for me (always important) and just some wonderful time to think and pray and enjoy creation.  The day was so calm, there was hardly any wind, all I could hear was the blood pumping in my head (until a ptarmigan jumped out of a tree- just about gave me a heart attack because I was listening so hard for moose that the ptarmigan (like a grouse) moved I was sure it was something HUGE!  it wasn't.)

Dark Skies

I knew when I moved here that the days would be short in winter.  Let me tell you, its one thing to know it cognitively, and an entirely different thing to experience it!  Right now, its 2:30 and I'm watching the sun set.  Its already below the treeline.  It will be below the horizon by 3:30.  The sun rises late and doesn't ever get high in the sky- it just sort of arcs across the Southeast to the Southwest.  But we still get some spectacular sunsets!

 But at least we have some sun- in Barrow, AK the sun set last week and won't rise above the horizon until late January!! I honestly don't know what I'd do. The days will keep getting shorter until Dec 21.

This whole lack of sunlight thing can get to you.  A lot of people struggle with seasonal depression and since the snow melted and the days continue to get shorter, its getting worse and worse.  (the snow bounces the light back at you, so even at night, if there is a lot of snow- it doesn't feel so dark).
I notice it.  I notice when the sun shines- it draws me like a magnate even if the sun shining through a window in a different room.  But I don't think I'm depressed.  I just notice and take advantage of the sun!

When you talk to people here, most aren't fond of the long nights.  And I get it.  Its inconvenient.  And you just sort of feel tired all the time because you can see stars by 4:30.  But on the flip side, you can see stars by 4:30!!!   I LOVE the night sky.  Stars, meteors, moon, northern lights- I love it all.  And when its clear, I get to see it for HOURS!! No more staying up to 2am waiting for the northern lights!  I saw them at 9:30 a few days ago!  I can't get to my usual place to take northern light pictures right now (the roads are pure ice and its straight up a mountain- not a wise plan) so I'm finding new places to go.

These are star trails over Mt Susitna.  So fun!

Dall Sheep

On Saturday, I was being lazy.  I had slept in, and was watching a movie in bed when I realized I could see sunrays coming in my window.  I was excited!  Its been cloudy and we haven't see the sun much lately. But then I was horrified.  My window faces southwest.  The sun was SETTING!!! It was 11am and the sun was already so low in the sky!  I jumped out of bed, grabbed my camera and jumped in my truck because I was NOT going to waste the couple hours of sunlight I had left!

I ended up driving down the Seward Highway looking for some good pictures (the Seward Highway is always good for pictures- no matter what time of day or what time of year, there is always something to photograph- whales, or mountains, or stars, or waterfalls- it all pretty).  Its a super windy  road that follows the Cook Inlet.  I came around a curve and saw a huge group of people stopped and looking up at the cliffs.  It stands to reason that if there are 15 people all looking up, there is a good chance that I'll want to see what they all think it so interesting.  So I pulled off the highway as soon as I could, walked back to the group looking up.  WAY up on the cliffs there was a heard of Dall Sheep (long horned sheep that live in the mountains).  I haven't see Dall Sheep in the wild yet- but apparently they winter in the Chugach mountains south of Anchorage!   So I got out my camera and started taking pictures.  But these sheep were WAY up on the cliffs.  My camera is pretty snazzy but it wasn't doing the job.  Quite a few of the people who were stopped to photograph the sheep were professional photographers (or at least had professional grade gear).  One of the women started chatting with me and she said she had a spare zoom in her car I could borrow- so I did.  WOW!  High end lenses are NICE!! But seriously, who lends a lens that costs three times my rent to a total stranger? A VERY nice person, that's who!

An Arigaa Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!   I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with some good friends!

Quite a few of my students stayed in Anchorage for Thanksgiving, so we had a big Thanksgiving together. It was a blast!  Tons of food, and lots of fun.  We had more than 30 people come in the end! There were games, fellowship and we all enjoyed a great holiday together.  If I've learned one thing in all my travels, its that you need to find a way to celebrate wherever you are- find a few friends and find a way to celebrate- even if it isn't like the celebrations you are used to.   

Frost

Today was my day off, so I got up late and went out to take pictures in a park near my house.  At around 12:00, the sun was still low in the sky- just over the mountains, so I got some amazing frost/sunrise pictures without having to be up crazy early.  

Its been super cold at night (definitely below zero every night), and the frost that forms is just crazy! I've never seen such huge frost crystals on everything! 

This isn't snow on this tree- its all frost crystals!

Adventures in Photography

This weekend, a friend and I drove north on a photography adventure.  We didn't have any particular plans of places to go, we just stopped whenever we wanted to take pictures.  It was so fun to have someone who wants to stop for pictures as often as I do!  Most people don't want to stop on the side of the highway to take pictures of frost- or hike under the overpass to get a better picture of the river from the other side of the highway.  

With the shorter days (we are getting around 7 hours of sunlight right now and its getting shorter every day) we were able to catch both the sunrise and the sunset over different mountain ranges.  

We ended up heading to Hatcher's Pass in the Talkeetna Mountains.  It was GORGEOUS!! and FREEZING!! The temp in Anchorage was around 4 degrees, but it was easily -14 in Hatcher's.  But that didn't stop all the skiers and snowboarders from getting out and enjoying the sun! 

This is a glacier-fed river that runs through Hatchers.  The minerals picked up by the glacier turn the water blueish green.  

 Sunset over the Talkeetna Mountains.

 SUCH a fun day!  And I found some fantastic places to go back and explore (and to try to catch the Northern Lights).

Frost on the Windshield

Learning the Ropes

The snow is here!!

But that means the ice is here too.  The snow is beautiful.  The perpetually icy roads aren't quite as stellar- but I'm figuring it out. I put a boat load of rock salt and sand in the back of my truck for weight/traction and that has made a huge difference.

Now that I've been here a few months, I really do feel settled in.  I know where I'm going.  I know how to get places.  I know where to direct students for help with things like scholarships and problems in their classes.  I haven't turned the wrong way on a 1way street in months.  I know how to get to Costco from just about any part of the city.  I also know about 8 different places to view the Northern Lights (one of which is the McDonalds parking lot not too far from my house- not the best place, but it works in a pinch).

But the last month has been heavy.  A lot of big, heavy problems that students have been bringing to the table.  Abuse, sexual assault, depression, suicide.  I've had a crash course in learning how to walk with students though issues like how to report and receive care after a rape.  (crash course really just being a fly by the seat of our pants, figure it out as we go, kind of thing.  Not the most preferable way to deal with issues like this).  And then a few days later, what to do when a student is suicidal.

I learned very quickly that I didn't know some seriously key pieces information here- and honestly, no one around me could give me the answers I needed.  So I've been on a quest to figure out this system.  Particularly, how to report rape in Anchorage and get proper care for the victim.

 Its not as simple as it sounds.

And its not something people talk about much.

I understand that.  It is uncomfortable.  And distressing.  No one wants to think about rape.  But avoiding the topic doesn't change the fact that sexual assault is staggeringly present in Alaska (and all over the world). Its more prevalent than you'd think- even in small communities in the Midwest.  In the US, 1 in 6 women have statistically experienced sexual assault (16% of the population).  In Alaska, that number is more then 1 in 3  women have experienced sexual assault.  That is INSANE!  39% of women!  I'm sitting in a coffee shop right now and can see 12 women in here with me.  Statistically, 4 of them have experienced sexual assault. And even more troubling are the rates of child sexual assault in Alaska, which are 6 times the national average.

So I've been on a quest for a plan.  What do I do when a student tells me they have been assaulted?  What services are available for them? How do you best report this to the authorities?  How do I get this information in the hands of other people who work with students (and the students themselves because they and  their friends are struggling with these same things) because I know that we are all woefully ignorant in this area.

I've spent time the last few weeks meeting with different services and organizations around Anchorage.  I've made some fantastic contacts, met with some interesting people who serve in this community and I finally feel like I know how to best advocate for my students when they tell me they have been assaulted.  I know what to do now. And that is such a relief.  Because, let me tell you, there is nothing worse then meeting with a young college student who just told you about the most horrific, terrifying thing in their life, and you are sitting there thinking "I have NO idea how to get them help.  Where do I start??  What do I do??" And having a couple ideas for next steps but not knowing how to help them start the reporting and care process.  And then essentially watching this girl dismissed by authorities.

Our world is so very broken.

John 1:15  The Light (Jesus) shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.   Praise the Lord there is hope, even when things feel so broken.

A Good Excuse To Be Late To Church...

So pretty much every Sunday here in Anchorage, I wake up early to go out and take pictures.  I've found that even if I don't get a chance to take many pictures throughout the week, this quiet time before most of the city is up and moving is the perfect time for me to spend some time outside.  Anchorage is a busy, packed city and my job is all about spending time with people (and I love it!).  But Sunday is the first day of my weekend, and early on Sunday mornings I find some nice, quiet, alone time. 

This morning I went out on a trail, took some fun pictures, enjoyed the quiet and the snow and the ice.  I was on my way to church, driving down the road, when I saw this:

Sorry Pastor Phil, but this was just too gorgeous to pass by!   TOTALLY worth having to walk into church late. 

Sunrise at the Creek

This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice.  Alaska is just to amazingly beautiful!

It Snowed!!

I woke up to snow this morning!! Yay!! I even got to try out my 4-wheel drive (there wasn't a ton of snow but it was super slushy- 4 wheel drive is amazing by the way!)

I even got to run to the park and enjoy the snow this morning before work.

stars

Beluga Point

I love eagles!

Pretty Fall Day

It has been rainy.  SOOOOOOOO rainy.  Grey and rainy and cloudy. 

Until all of a sudden, it the entire sky cleared and it was SUNNY!! Yay!!!

So It Snowed....

It snowed.  

In September.

And not like a little dusting.  It SNOWED.

The forecast was calling for snow throughout the day on Tuesday, and it did snow a bit- it was mostly rain but there was definiately some snow mixed in there, but it was warm enough that it wasn't sticking around.  So I settled in for the night thinking "It snowed in September!" but there wasn't any actual snow on the ground.  

I happened to look out my window about 2 hours later and saw that it was snowing- legitimately snowing.  Accumulation on the ground, flakes falling, it was great!  There was about 2" on my truck, I went out and took some pictures, it was nice!  But the air was still above freezing and I was sure the snow would melt by morning.  

 I was incorrect. 

I woke up to a solid 6" on my truck.  The city was covered (well all of Anchorage got snow but I apparently live in an area that usually gets more because I'm right on the edge of the Chugach Mountains.  Lucky me.)  The kiddos in my neighborhood made a full-sized snowman. 

Most of the snow had melted by the time I was able to take pictures much later in the day, but the snow has arrived.  Probably not to stay, but it did make an appearance! 

Good thing I like winter!  And have 4 Wheel Drive!

Autumn in Alaska

So Autumn comes early in Alaska (surprise, surprise).  The leaves were on their last legs in Anchorage this weekend- but I was a bit farther North this weekend and surprisingly, the colors were still at peak around Wasilla!  

This weekend our Native Alaska college group, Arigaa, met up with other Arigaa groups from Fairbanks and Soldotna, as well as a few elders.    We had a ton of fun.  There were great speakers, lots of time for fun and canoeing, great food and lots of great NATIVE food.  No muktuk this year (bowhead whale skin and blubber) but we had tons of smoked salmon, fried halibut, moose, caribou, and of course frybread!  We all had a blast catching up with old friends and meeting new people. 

After the retreat, I went up to the mountain I usually go to to take pictures of the Northern Lights to get one last look at the Fall Colors (the news says snow is in the forecast later in the week...).  I'd never actually been up to this place during the day (its actually the parking lot for a trailhead) but it sure is pretty.  

Northern Lights

I will never get sick of the Northern Lights.  Seriously.  They are just spectacular and pictures will never do them justice. 

Last night, the sky was full of lights and they were dancing directly overhead!  It was spectacular. 

 Both of these pictures are facing SOUTH!  That's how amazing the show was last night!  The sky was so full the southern sky had the most activity!

Fall in Anchorage

Sunset at Point Woronzof

Flock of geese flying over the Cook Inlet at sunset:

Chugach Mountains: 

Campbell Tract Park: