cRaZy SpOoNs

You know those straws that you had as a kid? The cRaZy StRaWs.. Ok... so you still have them, they're irresistible... to say the least, if they are anything, they are inspiring. Thus I have created the complementary culinary sidekick for the cRaZy StRaW... the CrAzY sPoOn!!!

Awe inspiring...

Dude get off my quinzhee!

You are most likely asking what in the world a quinzhee is. Well I'll tell ya... it's a fancy Alaskan word for a snow cave. Sorry if you got all excited thinking it was going to be something exponentially more exciting. Don't get me wrong, quinzhees are a blast, just look at that second picture.... that is the epitome of having a blast. That guy is having a blast... I mean just look at him. Who would have thought a quinzhee could have been so much fun. I don't think it would have been so much fun if I would have called it a snow cave... boring...

Quinzhee is in fact an Athabaskan (a large group of indigenous North Americans mostly in northwest Canada and Alaska) word. I would have made it bigger but we honestly don't have that much snow, we have enough just not a lot. I probably shouldn't complain.

Enjoy! If you have snow you should get in touch with your inner quinzhee. I highly recommend it.

Oh and according to Wikipedia the primary cause of quinzhee related injuries is from people climbing on ones quinzhee. Thus the title of this post... Dude get off my quinzhee!

The post you have all been waiting for...

You may find yourself asking.. "Who is that handsome devil in the white helmet and the florescent safety vest?" ya... I get that a lot... yep it's me. That's the beast and the groomer, we got about 5 or 6 inches so I groomed the trails in anticipation of weekend ski warriors. Just doing my part. It's actually pretty fun driving that sucker around except for some of the board walks over open water that are fairly narrow and have no railings. A couple white-knuckled moments have only made me stronger. Thank Laura for the sweet pictures.

Spoonology, the zen art of the Alaskan backcountry

What do you do during a long cold Alaska winter you ask?

Well you've come to the right guy. Sit back and let me tell you the story of the Spoonman. When the nights are long and dark and the you are a volunteer at a nature center in Alaska, let's just say you have a lot of free time. So after you have wasted countless hours on Facebook and adding more blindingly lame content to your really boring blog you go down to your cabin, start a fire, go to iTunes and click on the latest Scientific America podcast, get a piece of wood, a carving knife, lay out a tarp, and carve until your fingers hurt or bleed or both. I recommend stopping if you make yourself bleed. With a little practice you too could become a Spoonman or Spoonwoman. I wanted to share because as I mentioned before, I have a lot of free time.

Start the bidding!

I thought the spoons looked sexy on the beaver pelt, don't you think so?

Shredding it up on Eagle River

Ok, there was no shredding but it was a beautiful day! I would try to shred but that involves hills and gravity and such. Those things along with me and my cross-country skis do not mix. No shredding for me. Eagle River is mostly frozen, there's just a few open spots to watch out for. The snow is really fast which make it a lot of fun. I groom the trails to the river which can be an adventure all on it's own. I'll have to take some pictures of the beast (the snowmobile) along with me in my super-dork white helmet and florescent safety vest. Sounds irresistible doesn't it? Just wait for the pictures, then we'll see who's laughing.

The sun is tantalizingly dancing on the mountains above the Nature Center. Around the first week of February is apparently when we will again bathe in sunshine.

Winter time

Direct sunlight ended for us valley dwellers back on Nov 19. We officially have only 5 hours and 46 minutes of daylight right now, it's not as bad as it sounds, twilight is long and the snow makes everything brighter. I sleep a lot though. The river is frozen in most places and is a great place to ski. We need a little more snow, the trails are ok but could use more. My cabin is cozy as are my down comforter and fleece sheets.. oh yeah.

My neighbor Barry.. a fishing enthusiast

I've been told this is a female, my sexing of Grizzly Bears is marginal at best.

This bear is getting a little too comfortable with people and if they catch it on the trail they may haze it. That's to say they shoot firecracker rounds at it or beanbag shot/ rubber bullets.... so the bear is a little more fearful of people. They don't want it to get into trouble. We all know what that would mean.

It was awesome to get this footage, the fish are just about done running so they may be looking for hibernation spots soon. Hopefully, before she gets herself into trouble.