There's No Place Like Home

It's great to be home. Five days in Anchorage is plenty. The weather was great while I was there - always a bonus. It was even nice enough a couple of days to sit on a park bench and eat my lunch. Thank goodness for good friends like Dean and Joan who provided a place to stay and a desk with computer to check e-mail. Pearl, our Corgi, injured a disk in her neck necessitating the unplanned trip. She's doing better and we are back into our familiar routine.

I took this photo this morning from Nabesna Road, mile 36 looking southwest toward the Skookum Volcano Formation. The north sides of the mountains still have a lot of snow. Our day time temperatures have been in the mid-30's but night temperatures are still dropping to zero or lower. So, the melting and thawing are slow but none-the-less coming.

Road Conditions:

• Nabesna Road is in good condition. Slana had about 2" of snow last night so there may be some icy conditions in that area.
• Boyden Creek, mile 34.3, has some water crossing the road and freezing at night. As of noon today, the water and ice are shallow but this could change as temperatures continue to warm. This photo of the Boyden Creek road crossing was taken this morning at 10:30 looking south.

Insider Tips:

Time is running out for making it to Tanada Lake or Copper Lake for ice fishing. Snowmachine trail conditions are still good.

The Mentasta Caribou herd's migration route may not be exactly what you would expect. They travel north in the winter where the snow isn't so deep, making foraging for moss and lichen, mainstays of the their diet, easier. Then in the spring the cows and calves head for calving grounds to the south on the slopes of Mt. Sanford and Drum.

Wildlife Sightings:

After a week of no caribou sightings, they were back in force today.

• Caribou x60 (4/10/09)
• Moose x2 (4/10/09)
• Snowshoe Hare (daily)
• Snow Buntings (4/09, 4/10/09)
• Lapland Longspurs (4/09/09)