A reMarkable day

Last Saturday Captain Mark, or reMarkable, as he later became known, graciously took my mom, our friend from Australia Jane and me down the Snake River Canyon in an oar boat. It was Jane's first time on a raft, and we went into the trip planning to avoid all the rapids, but then Mark jokingly asked if we wanted to hit the meat of the Big Kahuna ... and the rest was whitewater. The fall colors in the canyon were busting as big as the smiles on all of our faces. We saw bald eagles and even a black bear cub ... a first for Mark in the 10 years he's been guiding that section of the river. A truly reMarkable day!

At the end of the trip, we had to push the boat back out into the water to get around some rocks so we could load the boat ... Mark pulled is best Huck Finn.

Ahhh-tum

An 'oh wow' night

Tonight was one of those "oh wow" nights. I joined my Monday running group on an excursion along the ridge between South Fork and Ship Creek. The skies were crystal clear as far as the eye could see ... and boy could we see. Mount Redoubt (the volcano that made headlines in March and April) puffed off some steam to the south. Denali jutted up to the north, making the rest of the Alaska Range seem so measly. Mount Harp stood stoic, bathed in soft sunlight. Symphony and Eagle lakes peeked out through a moraine and tundra valley bottom. And to top it all off, an iridescent orange sunset swept across Cook Inlet and the Anchorage cityscape far below. Alaska at its finest, and the reason I won't be gone for too, too long.

Wound up

Zippy, Gessy and I went up toward Reed Lakes off Arch Angel Road in Hatcher Pass a few weeks back. We had a good time hiking, picking blueberries and playing. Zippy got a little wound up ... I have no idea how that could have happened ; ) Summed up, a beautiful fall Saturday in Alaska.

Lost Lake and laughter

Last weekend, I headed out with a group of fabulous women to run the absolutely stunning 17-mile Lost Lake trail. It was my virgin crossing, and I finally understood why all the rave. When you get up to the pass, it opens up into this expansive rolling alpine tundra, dotted by lakes and flanked by glaciers. The overcast sky showed us some mercy, and stopped raining long enough for us to make the trip. We ended our excursion with burritos, and then coffee in Seward. The best part of the day? Laughing! With such a fun group of ladies, there were times when I was literally crying because I was laughing so hard.





Here's the link to see the Lost Lake photos individually in a Web album.

amy

Winter up high, fall down low

Winter on the peaks, fall in the valleys ... its perfect running weather. Today I went with a group of friends up McRoberts Creek toward Matanuska Peak ... we got every kind of weather under the sky ... snow, sunshine, rain, fog. At some points we were traversing over golden leaves, at other points we were tromping through ankle-deep pow-pow. The views from the top were spectacular, with snow all around and yellows, oranges, greens and reds blanketing the flat expanse below. To every season, turn, turn, turn ...

Equinox in Fairbanks

Last weekend I went to Fairbanks with my friend, Greg, for the Equinox Marathon. We did the relay. I ran the third and last leg of the race ... perfect because it was all down hill and I got to cross the finish line!

While the race was great - super fun and a beautiful course - perhaps the best part of the weekend was just having time to chill. We stayed with Greg's friends, John and Tina, who were fabulous hosts. We spent the weekend sitting in Tina's hot tub, making delicious food, talking about whatever and drinking coffee, tea, beer and wine (at separate times, of course). I came back more relaxed and calm than I've been in a while.

Also, it was a great time of year to make the six hour drive (each way) to and from Fairbanks. Reds, oranges and yellows blanketed the tundra, mountains and trees, while peaks were cloaked in white from the season's first snow. September is definitely one of my favorite months in Alaska.

Our team for the Equinox marathon: Lisa, Greg and me.
John and Tina (who we stayed with) and their third team member in the relay
Me crossing the finish line
We were driving along and noticed this reflection on a perfectly still pond

The Nenana River ... we walked down to it while taking a break from driving

Me and Xela

Greg and Xela Xela
Greg eating some blueberries we found Greg

Denali

Kotzebue: tundra colors, moose meat, jelly fish

I just got back from my third and final trip to Kotzebue (northwest corner of Alaska, above the Arctic Circle) for a video project Joshua and I are working on. The oranges, yellows and reds splashed across the tundra were B-E-A-beauitful! It's hunting season now, which means camouflage is in style ... at least in the tiny Kotzebue airport where rugged-looking Alaskans checked guns and moose meat. Below is a picture of some kids I befriended. They were playing with the jelly fish strewn along Kotzebue's rocky beach ... using sticks to prod them and pick them up.