Andrea puts jackets ont the dogs as they are harnessed.
Tom got the snow go started. It was a close call
We are hosting Dallas Seavey for this year’s K300 Race. We have plenty of room at the house and its a lot of fun to learn more about the sport by hosting a musher.
It’s been cold and windy all week. Everyone was hoping for snow, warmer weather and a lighter breeze. -37 windchill (-12 with 30 mph winds) made it a cold start. My strategy was to keep busy helping with the dogs. Tom and Dallas put a tow line on the snow go to hold the dogs back. The trail was so icy that Dallas asked us to ride on the snow go behind him for the first 6 miles. He told Tom to watch the GPS and try to maintain the team at a steady 10 miles per hour. This would help keep them from getting to crazy and burning out on a fast, icy trail.
The wind was blowing the sled around and the dogs were not happy with the ice. But the trail got a little better a mile out. My gear kept me pretty warm , except my toes were cold from standing around on the ice before the start. Tom had a hard time with his hands on the ropes, the wind was brutal on any exposed flesh. We were both glad to turn back to Bethel. We entered our house with a new appreciation for both mushers and dogs who still have many more miles to go.
Tom, Nolan and I traveled back to Wisco road for the winter holidays. We enjoyed sleeping in the deep woods. There were several snow storms that allowed us to enjoy our trails on snow shoes. We(Tom) also got to start up the snow blower and move a lot of fluff. Oddly enough we haven’t had enough snow in Bethel to do either. ?
It was great to see friends and family. But tough to miss those we couldn’t see.
My grandparents were a big part of my life. I can remember flying to visit them all by my self at the age of five. There was hardly a summer I didn’t spend a large amount of time with them. My grandmother was infinitely patient with me throughout my life. She taught me to play scrabble, draw, swim and cook. They both supportively listened to my eccentric adventures as I grew up. One of my fondest memories is how everyday my grandfather would come home from work with a small present for my brother and I and my grandmother would always tell him to stop or he would spoil us, but he never stopped.
My grandmother passed away several years ago at the age of 86. On one of my visits with my grandfather after she passed away, he took me to a room and showed me the box that contained her ashes. He told me he wanted to save them and have them spread with his when he passed on. My grandfather went on to enjoy another 6 years of life. He passed away in 2007.
My grandparents didn’t want a service and they were very existential people, so it took my brother and I a fair amount of time to reflect on their passing and to organize a time and a place to spread their ashes. We chose the winter solstice as a time and Fort Snelling State Park in St Paul, MN as the place. We walked down the trails along the Minnesota River and spread their ashes on a backwater slough. The family liked the idea of their ashes mixing among the spring flood waters, and washing down the Mississippi River towards the Gulf a Mexico which was a place that they enjoyed living on for 32 years. The park is also a place that is easy for me to visit in my travels back and forth from Alaska.
After spreading their ashes, we celebrated their lives by going to a delicatessen in St. Paul. This was a favorite ritual for a couple that grew up in New York City and met when they where both 10 years old. My grandmother was fond of pickled tongue, but they didn’t have it on the menu, so I ordered a rueben.
To put closure to the ritual my brother and I each saved a small mixed bag of ashes from both grandparents to spread separately with each of our families. I chose to spread the remaining ashes along the our trail at Wisco Road property in the Chequamagon National Forest. Now their DNA can flow down the Lake Superior watershed as well.
Juliet Stern Ross 1913-1999
Robert Benson Ross 1913-2007
It’s been a cold winter already. November and December brought weeks of – double digits. In between cold spells we get a Pineapple Express. Warm winds from Hawaii that melt the snow and send gusts of winds that average 35-60 mph.
Whatever the weather, the games must go on. There are only so many days you can keep a patient dog like Nolan indoors. He doesn’t even seem to notice the cold when the ball comes out. Thank goodness for fur. It beats any modern fabric for cutting icy winds. Just a fluff of ruff makes a heck of a lot of difference. Visibility is another issue.
Santa came early, he brought us a truck. Our 2007 Toyota is sick, and believe it or not, Toyota is honoring the warranty in bush Alaska. They have a “remote” service program and will either walk the mechanic here through the job, or fly the engine into Anchorage for repair. In preparation for a long repair, we bought a 1991 Dodge pick up with only 60,000 miles on it. We named her ” Big Blue. She will save me from a 3 1/2 mile walk in the weather to come.
The Raven’s are an icon of the tundra for me. Their antics constantly amuse me. When I am teaching, there is a crew of ravens that like to perch on the window sill or roof and talk away. They can be quite loud as they move snow around, steal garbage and play games. I have noticed them opening bags of garbage in trucks with no toppers. They also make a mess out of our dumpsters as they dig in looking for their next meal.
Nolan loves to go raven watching. A truck ride to the store or school is sure to provide him with some good raven watching. As a special treat, we will drive to the dump. He goes bonkers when he sees all the ravens at the dump. His nose pressed right up against the wind shield.
When we go for a walk, the ravens will tease Nolan. They will swoop at him and play a “catch me if you can” games with him. Our new house has a raven nest across the street. There is a group of teenage ravens that are hanging around the nest territory. They have a few good dumpsters in the neighborhood. Today I caught them swooping at Nolan while he was out on his line. They provide him with hours of entertainment.
The birds roost on our roof and the neighbors. They use our houses as a wind break in the cold. I think they have figured out were the hot air vents warm them too.
Here is the peice I wrote for my Alaska History class. I thought folks might enjoy this.
I went on a walk in the frozen tundra that surrounds Bethel. My dog Nolan and my husband Tom went with me. It was a cold October day. The wet mossy surface of the tundra had frozen in irregular bumps. There was a thin dusting of snow covering half the surface. A thick hoar frost clung to every plant. The tundra stretched on for miles and miles to the North and West. Gentle slops often dip onto the surface of a frozen tundra pond. To my right I could see the city of Bethel. The large radar ball and radio tower suck out on the flat land. To the south I saw the airport which I knew was about a 1/2 a mile from the Kuskokwim River.
The snow was broken by shrubs and grass. I recognized Willows and Alders as the most common brush along the trail and stream edges. As the trail opened up, frozen grass stalks became more common. Underneath the snow where the tough plants that I had learned from the months of walks on this trail. Lousewort, Blueberries and Salmonberries had receded into the frozen ground and lay dormant for another year. Tundra Tea, Red Berries, and tundra birch are tougher plants and could be seen poking through the frost and snow. Their leathery leaves still holding a bit of color and form. You could even see a shriveled berry here and there. In the snow there where signs of animal activity. Voles and Snow Shoe Hare tracks broke the trail. Every few meters, my dog would follow these track and bury his nose in the snow to get a better sniff. Hoping that he would find a Ptarmigan he saw here the week before. We saw one set of fox tracks as a half mile into our walk.
The infamous Ravens of Bethel were our only wild companion on this day. I noticed that there was a Raven nest tucked into the base of the radio tower. There are Raven nests tucked in many of the man made structures of Bethel. The Raven is an example of a bird that has adapted to living with people. They take advantage of the high structures humans build to nest in. They feast on village garbage. They even played with my dog. Teasing him as they landed in front of him on the ground. Letting him get close, but flying off over his head, close enough that I could feel and hear the beats of their wings. Each walk I take in the tundra adds to my knowledge of this unique ecosystem. I have seen Moose tracks, Plovers, White Fronted Geese, Snipe, and many other birds on this trail. I have seen carnivorous plants such as the sundew and the butterwort growing in the moss. I could spend hours studying the plants and photographing them.? These are experiences that I can draw from as I teach Ecology. I can point out plant adaptations and use local examples. I can show my students that I know about the ecosystem we live in and can make connections between their subsistence lifestyles and the western concepts of Ecology.
Tom had a busy year flying the 172. He took one of the observers on an orientation flight this summer. I spent the day in the hangar completing some of my training. I was monitoring the radio when I heard a plane radio that their engine had failed. I also heard his next calls as he predicted that he would not make the closest runway in a nearby village. Then I heard Tom’s voice saying that he was within 5 miles of the site. He flew over and found the airplane hanging in the willows. Everyone was waiting to hear how the pilot was. Tom was able to radio in that there were two people walking out of the airplane. He landed and let them use his radio. There were several planes that radioed in and volunteered to transport the crew.
The Bethel squadron also assisted in the delivery of tons of food to villages this winter. As heating oil prices rose, many villages had to choose between food and fuel. CAP planes transported much of this to the remote villages.
All of these accomplishments were recognized at the Annual Conference in Anchorage. It was an adventure to get our id’s at Elmendorf Air Force Base, but then we were treated to very nice officer quarters.
I also helped out with a cadet program. We did an engineering challenge and the kids did a great job and enjoyed themselves. 
I had the good fortune of attending the Alaska Science Consortium this fall. The group sponsors a Math/Science conference every other year. This year the meeting was held in Juneau. This was my second trip to Juneau. I flew in on a beautiful day. Miles and miles of glaciers and mountains. I forgot and checked my camera. I could have gotten some great Earth Science pictures. 5 hours of mechanical delays in Anchorage cut in to my glacier hiking time, but the sunset was beautiful.
The conference sessions were great. I went to a lot of sessions on science notebooks. One of the best was on the effects of climate change on seabirds. It was good to meet with other professionals. I have lots of new ideas for my classes.
Nolan just came back from his fall trip to North Dakota. He got to hang with his brother Desperado Keenan. The shot Huns, Sharp Tails and Ducks together. Nolan demonstrated his skills at finding and retrieving birds. Tom was invited to accompany Nolan on his adventure and serve as chauffeur.
