Alaska has officially won my vote for the most beautiful autumn colors.  Denali Highway also has won the favor of Forbes Traveler as one of the top 15 Fall Foliage Drives for obvious reason.  The weather been perfectly sunny and crisp this week but unfortunately pictures do not give justice to the natural beauty found here.

Sunset seen from blueberry hill in the Chugach range

we took sadie on a hike to see the sunset one evening

flattop in the background is a popular short hike that provides beautiful views of Anchorage and the inlet

strike a pose

the city is just turning the lights on

The hills here are covered with birch trees which provide a nice yellow hue to the fall

five minutes from the house and we get into our backyard of the Chugach mountains

us and our dingo for a dog

Mt. McKinley made a stunning appearance today (although you should just come visit because i can’t seem to capture the reality on camera)

Sadie munched on wild blueberries all the way up to Near Point

At the top of Near Point

On our way down we spotted a large bull moose.  In the middle of the picture are two white dots, that’s his huge rack

as always – click for more

A few pictures of what we’ve been up to lately:

Ah, the Home Depot.  We are there enough, they really should be offering us some sort of benefits package.  The good news is that we finally purchased cabinets!  For those of you who have built or remodeled a kitchen, you will understand the satisfaction (and fear) of finally selecting and purchasing cabinets.  For those of you who are looking forward to future projects:  take your budget and double it, take your time and triple it and don’t forget its all downhill from the cabinets.

Our cabinets are about 6 weeks out which gives us about two weeks to finish selecting the countertops, paint and lighting (flooring and appliances have also already been ordererd) before we start demo and the smaller projects.  Lighting has been tricky because we have this sweet textured ceiling, it’s like exploding sunbursts of whipped cream covering the whole ceiling.  You can imagine patching will be difficult so we’re trying to just upgrade the existing lighting which isn’t quite as modern as I’d like…but it’ll do.

I also have a fear that I have underestimated the level of difficulty it will take to install this kitchen ourselves.  Even down to the small things – I mean the paint job in my bedroom back in college was far from professional looking…how am I going to be able to hang cabinets level and not ruin door after door trying to screw holes for the knobs and drawer pulls! I have used “I” a lot in this paragraph mostly because my better half and saving grace is much more able and confident than me, as you can so obviously see:

He’s got the camera holster, the bear spray holster and he doesn’t even have to clip his backpack on! Amazing!

Besides trips to Home Depot we’ve gotten in a good amount of hiking and biking too.

The drive out to Seward for a night.  It was such a beautiful drive, the 3 hours down and back made the trip more than worth it.

Bald eagle fishing at our campsite

Derek and his gf Lindsey are up this week too.  They hiked up Mt. Marathon in Seward with Greg while I was nursing wounds down at the campsite.

We have raspberries in our backyard! Yum yum

Biking from Greg’s parents house up the powerline trail to hike up to a glacier fed lake.  It still amazes me that a five minute bike ride will get us into the wilderness…how lucky are we

Cherie and I taking a relaxing stroll after a fierce bike ride and hike

On the way up to Little O’Malley

John and Ross came to visit and the guys did the hike/raft Crow Pass trip again.

CLICK ON ANY PIC TO SEE THE WHOLE ALBUM

And I remember why I don’t post that often…it takes FOREVER!

over and out

Well, I haven’t seen darkness in three weeks, but who needs to when it’s sunny all the time!

My mom wants to see my beautiful face so I feel obligated to post some pics of our first two weeks up in Alaska.  Quick briefing:  Greg started work right away and just two days before I started at my new place of employment, Camp Fire USA. Evenings and weekends have been filled with bbq’s, bike rides (some better than others), hiking, and trips to the Jernstrom Family Lake Cabin (JFLC).  Pictures are below – click on any one to be linked to my webalbum.

We made it!

Biking along Turnagain Arm

Greg’s big birthday!

Water fun at the JFLC

Check out the webalbum for more pics!

No cell phone reception, no restaurants, no town but there is a dodgy hotel on the side of the highway with free wifi…that’ll do.

So far we have 15 bear and 17 caribou sightings. Plus 2 moose, a couple hawks, bald eagles and a bunny.

We drove 15 hours yesterday and 13 today, we could make it to Fairbanks tomorrow night with just two nights on the road….we’ll see though maybe we’ll just camp somewhere instead.

Fresh out of hibernation, too hungry to run when we stop to take pictures and Greg wants me to camp outside? I don’t think so!

I’m sure the never ending daylight will be a topic in many of my future posts, but, it’s 9.30pm and the sun is shining high in the sky. We have a lake view from our hotel and it makes me want to grab my bikini and go sunbathe. Well, except for the snow on the ground.

Well, as if traveling around the world wasn’t enough to make 2009 an exciting year, we’re also saying goodbye to friends and family in Washington and moving north to Greg’s hometown, Anchorage Alaska.  We’ll take a little over a week to drive up the Alaska Canada highway before we settle down in Anchorage.

Greg and I have extended the invite to come and visit Alaska to dozens of people from family to friends met in faraway lands and we hope you all will take us up on this open offer.  Stay tuned!
Love,

K&G

We had a GREAT thanksgiving holiday up in Alaska. The first two days were spent on the road to Fairbanks….7 long hours each way, but totally worth it. Back in Anchorage on Monday we went cross country skiing (my first time!), sledding, dh skiing, hot tubing, reading, cooking, eating and more. The temperature dropped down to -20 degrees in Fairbanks, my lungs hurt and the snot in my nose froze within seconds of being outside, I’ve never experienced such a cold. Anchorage was in the mid-twenties most of the week, nice and balmy. But in all seriousness I was just as warm up there as I am during the winter in Seattle, I just wore a different coat. The Jernstrom Household was also equipped like an REI store so I had warm boots, skis, hats, gloves, coats, and new long underwear and pants. Cherie (Greg’s mom) obviously knew I would refuse to wear tainted and used items

Things of interest:

• Designer jeans exist in Alaska
• Warm boots change everything
• There is always a car in a ditch
• Cross Country skis are really slippery
• Greg and I are still undefeated at Beirut
• Thigh deep concrete powder will leave you sore four days later
• Sleds will always slow down and stop

Squeezed in the back of the ‘Burb for the trip to Fairbanks

The best lookin Eskimo I’ve ever seen

We had a big bonfire at the cabin

Caribou

The cavernous third row seats

When it gets close to 0 degrees the inside windows turns to ice

This owner is probably upset they incorrectly judged the thickness of the ice on the river

-20 and still smiles

Mama Moose in Greg’s Grandparents neighborhood

The wind would whip snow across the highway making it look like a snow field

I took off like I owned that sport….and then I fell

Greg working hard

Me staying warm

Bob’s homemade pumpkin creme brulee

Greg is ready to sled!

Sonja is all smiles

Cherie and Greg

Our course

Thanksgiving Dinner

pumpkin creme brulee

Alex’s Lemon Pie with candied lemons

We’re heading up to Alaska in a few hours for the next week to spend Thanksgiving with Greg’s family.  We’re really looking forward to getting out of Seattle and spending some time with family.  I’m busy getting everything in order today before we leave, mailing passports, giving the landlords our 30 day notice, canceling gym memberships (Greg and I are going to protest outside of Gold’s if they continue to be difficult) and packing! Here are some pictures from last summers trip to AK, I imagine pictures from this trip will be a bit more white. brrrrr