Friday, May 12th - The Ice Goes Out , Another Trip to Denali, and Tree Swallows.

In May, with rising temperatures, the ice which spans the Chena River all winter, thaws and breaks up into pieces. We call this "break up". Up and down the river, solid sheets of ice split apart, until finally the ice lets go and is swept downstream by the river's current. This is an awesome phenomenon, and occurs very quickly - the bulk of the ice moving by in only a few hours! The sound of the ice floes crashing into bridges and moving against itself is very exciting, and is one more sign of the arrival of spring.

Rachael happened to be driving over the bridge shortly after the ice went out. She called to alert me and then swung by to pick me up and grab her camera. We raced to the bridge - along with lots of other people - to watch. I also shot some video footage of the ice flowing by. You can view that footage on "You Tube" BY CLICKING HERE. If you're on dial up, it may take some time to load.

There is a beaver lodge in the river, and we've seen both large and small beavers while on our morning walk with the dogs. We decided to check out the lodge - which was almost totally submerged by the rising river - to see if there were any beavers out and about. I figured they were either safe in the depths of the lodge, or on the riverbank waiting for the ice to go by. I cautiously made my way to just above the lodge, and scanned the river. One look, and I knew that the beavers wouldn't be swimming around in the water - it was just too dangerous with all the ice floes rushing by so quickly. I moved a little further down the hill and looked at the area where the logs of the lodge were just barely visible in the water. As I was turning to make my way back up to the top of the hill, I glanced to my left. Imagine my surprise to see a beaver perched on the bank looking right at me! I didn't have my zoom lens, so you can see just how close I was when I snapped the photo at left! I was a bit startled, but also thrilled to catch him with my camera. A short time later, he slipped into the river and disappeared beneath the water.

On Tuesday (the 9th), Rachael and I took a drive to Denali. I could go every week and never grow tired of it. Even though it has only been a week since I went to the park with Gip and Carmen, there were visible changes. A lot of snow has melted off the tundra, but the rivers are still covered with a thick layer of ice and snow - with a swath of running water cutting through. Denali (Mt. McKinley) was out for us, but wildlife was practically nonexistent. We saw some ptarmigan and seagulls - and one lone moose far up on a slope. We were both disappointed by the lack of animal sightings, but amazed as always by the grand vistas surrounding us. The panoramic photos below are 800 pixels wide. As you can see, we brought our hubby dolls with us to enjoy the trip. The photo of me with my 'Steve' doll was taken by Rachael. It was windy and cold in the park, despite the sunny skies. Fortunately, the past several days have had much warmer temps. We hope to go back to Denali next week - our last chance before tourism season opens and the tour buses start running.

		The road through Denali National Park

When we got into Fairbanks, we had to make a stop to pick up Rachael's Lab "Stryker" at the doggie daycare. The owners of the kennel/vet office also own horses. I love horses and just had to grab a few shots. They were very friendly, although the dark colored one thought my camera strap was quite tasty and kept trying to eat it.

Rachael and I decided to take our morning walk with our pups at Creamers Field yesterday. We walked the Farm Trail around the perimeter of the property, which was a nice change of scenery. The trail was muddy in places, and we had to cross some very soggy portions of the field in order to avoid puddles. Despite the warm weather we've been having almost daily, there are still places in town (and in the woods) with standing water. And standing water means mosquitos - Alaska's state 'bird'. I could certainly do without them.

Speaking of birds, the tree swallows were out in full force during our walk. Creamers has many nesting boxes erected throughout the property, and I wouldn't be surprised if every single box was home to a pair of swallows. I had my camera with me just in case we saw some wildlife. The swallows had the most gorgeous blue feathers and seemed quite happy to sit still for photographs.