Floridana Alaskiana v2.5

Portage Lake area, 22 November 2009

 

The tunnel to the Bear Valley staging area
at Portage Lake, Alaska; 22 November 2009.

Good day!  It's Thanksgiving as I publish this post and my oh my, are we happy to get a tiny little break from the semester. We've only got a couple of weeks left after Turkey Break -- and then? Then we get a nice long winter break. We'll be heading to Florida and South Carolina over the break, to visit with friends and family -- and perhaps to soak up a little sunshine.

Up here, now, we're in full snow mode. The southcentral Alaskan landscape is one bathed in misty whites now. Just last night we picked up another five inches in our neighborhood from a lovely little soft snow storm. Indeed, the snow is brightening up the otherwise ever-darker (and shorter) days of the Alaskan winter.

These shots were taken a few days ago down near Portage Lake (a bit south of Anchorage, at the end of Turnagain Arm and just to the north of the Kenai Peninsula). Portage Valley is one of my favorite places to head to when I get the time -- and on the 22nd, my wife encouraged me to get out of the house and to just drive south for the afternoon.

It was a great little trip. I wasn't gone for more than five or six hours total, but it felt like a full-day trip. Extremely invigorating and refreshing. 

The snow was coming down pretty good in Portage Valley and the entire area looked like some sort of snow-globe fantasy land. I didn't see any wildlife (other than the standard bald eagles and ravens), but no matter. In Alaska, the landscape is even more impressive than the wildlife.

I've got a few posts lined up for the break, before we enter the final two-week mad dash to the end of the semester. It's pretty exciting outside right now. Lovely, fresh, and crisp.

I'm also switching over to a non-widescreen format for the photos. Thus, they're a bit larger than they have been, not in width, but in height. Not sure if it'll stick (I love widescreen), but it makes sense for the blog and how it's lined up and formatted. We'll see.

And on a closing note to this random, wandering post -- I had a great time shoveling snow off the driveway this morning. If you'd asked me four years ago if I would love shoveling snow, I would've laughed at you, taken a swig from my margarita, and perhaps kicked sand on your beach towel. (Okay, I wasn't that bad of an ass...) But you get my point. There are certain aspects about the Alaskan winter I love -- and I really didn't anticipate loving these aspects so much. There's a quiet joy in shoveling snow. 

Strange. Isn't it?

 

Aurelia Zora, 12 November 2009

Aurelia Zora Mumpower Jones at four months of age
 Anchorage, Alaska; 12 November 2009.

After a series of brutal weeks (will they ever end?), I was treated to an unexpected, kind and generous email from a person in Florida -- asking if our young Aurelia was doing fine. It's been awhile since I've posted about her on the blog. Indeed, the time flies! And to answer the question: oh yes, she's doing great!

Aurelia's already four months old. Hard for me to believe four months have already gone by since that amazing birth day. 

Sometimes, during the busier semesters, there's an odd sense of temporal vertigo. On the one hand, the semester feels like it's never going to end, but on the other hand you'll suddenly realize a couple of months have past. A strange feeling of time unraveling. 

This semester has certainly been one of those semesters -- time a million.

But at the heart of it has been Aurelia. A few soft and gentle moments hanging out with Aurelia can recharge my batteries quite a bit. Give me a little extra push to get through the day, through the papers, through the this and the that. Yeah, there's nothing quite like hanging out with one's daughter. Especially when she's in a good mood (as she was today, rah!) ~

Anyhow, here are a couple of shots of Aurelia from this past week. Though I'm not posting a heck of a lot these days, I am still (at least) shooting a decent number of shots during these frantic and busy days. I look forward to the break and being able to put an album together, a book. Just glossing through the shots, I'm amazed at how much she's grown and changed in only four short months. Quite amazing!

Here she is on 13 November, the day after the first shot above:

UAA Main Campus, 09 November 2009

University of Alaska Anchorage main campus
 Anchorage, Alaska; 09 November 2009

Indeed, the snow is upon us! 

Shortly after my last post, the snow finally came to the Anchorage basin. I arrived at work the following Monday to find the campus immediately transformed into the Wintery Wonderland one might expect when one thinks of Alaska during the wintertime.

Yes, there's nothing quite like a fresh paint of snow to brighten up the long, dark morning hours early on a Monday.

Since then, we've had several additional smatherings of fresh snow. Though it's not quite deep yet, the snow is now here -- and here it will stay until well into the year 2010.

One less-romantic aspect of the arrival of snow each winter is the ice on the roads. This was also a week of ridiculously slippery and icy roads. Fender-benders are a common occurrence in Anchorage. An unbent, non-beat-up car just doesn't really feel... Alaskan. So, in a way, our own little fender bender this week was the final, last rite of passage in our long transition of becoming actual, bonified Alaskan residents. Nobody was hurt, thankfully -- and the damage was extremely minor (just a beat up fender) -- but finally, on the dawn of our third winter in Alaska, we christened the Jeep with a nice little bang.

Right now, as I type this on Saturday 14 November 2009 at 2:17 p.m., it's eighteen degrees outside. The sun rose at 9:01 this morning and will set at 4:23 this afternoon. I believe we're losing about five minutes of daylight each passing day. This is perhaps the hardest facet of the Alaskan winter for me -- the loss of daylight. Fortunately, the snow makes the dim and short days all-the-brighter. It's an odd sense of vertigo at times, perhaps, but I do find a subtle joy in the ground being brighter than the sky overhead. In many ways, despite the slippings, slidings and crashings, the snow is the saving grace for me during the winter up here. It brightens everything -- and there's nothing quite so crisp and refreshing as a fresh coat of snow. 

Incidentally, the portfolio-framed shot was from my phone. Not tooooo shabby...

Basher Road over Anchorage, 07 November 2009

Basher Road Trailhead
 Anchorage, Alaska; 07 November 2009

Alas, an actual post with new photos! Yes, things have been mighty slow here on Floridana Alaskiana. This semester has proved to be the most difficult of our careers thus far and we simply don't seem to have the time (or energy) to get out there and just walk around. To just take in the sights.

Today, I finally hopped out for a little bit and cruised up through Far North Bicentennial Park to check out the edge of the Chugach Mountains towering above Anchorage. It's one of my favorite areas and it's quite literally just to the side of our neighborhood.

The road heading up from the basin was rather slippery. We had a nice dusting this morning -- the first light bout of snow to actually stick this year. For Anchorage, this is quite late. They like to say that Halloween is D-Day when it comes to snow. Well, it's been a week since Halloween and we just now got a light smathering of snow. It was enough to slick up some of the roads, but hardly enough to change the tone of the landscape.

Of course, the Chugach Mountains (on the east-side of Anchorage) are already thickening and adjusting to the snowy whites we'll see through May of next year. This first snow, the draping whites over the mountains, is called Termination Dust -- a signifier that the dry times are hereby terminated. Any last thoughts or lingering feelings of summer are slowly whited out by the ever-creeping and descending Termination Dust.

Looking northeast from the Basher Road trailhead, you have a fantastic view of the Anchorage basin. The mountains far to the north, beyond Cook Inlet, provide a backdrop to our modest city. It's a hell of a sight and one I never grow tired of. 

Today's view was, of course, shrouded in a blanket of gray and purplish tones. The sky is overcast, the weather is chilly, and one can almost feel the forthcoming onslaught of snow that is sure to arrive in the next few weeks. This view, the one photographed below, is probably the last time I'll see Anchorage relatively clear of snow until April or May of 2010.

Winter up here is serious business. It's long, it's hard, it's dark -- but it can also be quite romantic, quiet, and relaxing. It's when you get to wear the cool gloves, the heavy boots, the thick coats, the awesome scarves. It's when the kids throw snow balls at each and when the dogs bounce through the towering snow drifts. It's when the moose move into town for the long, cold haul and when the wolves grow more audacious and daring. 

We're right on the edge of this. It won't be long now. 

But hey, in Alaska, you never know... The snow could come this week or it could somehow hold off until December. But once it arrives? It'll be here to stay. For a long, long time. 

vg009: american alligators - video

vg008 portage pass - video

vg007: wichita mountains

Note: vg006, for some reason, won't load on YouTube. And thus, I ignore it for now...

vg005: diamondback watersnake

vg004: byron glacier

vg003: turnagain arm

vg002: avalanche creek

vg001: teslin

Brown watersnake, 10 June 2005

Brown watersnake (Nerodia taxispilota)
 Palm Island Park; Mt. Dora, Florida

A small and young Brown watersnake at Palm Island Park in Mt. Dora, Florida. These snakes are closely-related to the Diamondback watersnake (Nerodia rhombifer) of Oklahoma -- but lack much of the Diamondback waternsnake's fiery temper. In my experience, the Brown watersnake has a fairly soft demeanor. Not overly reactive, not too hot headed when cornered. They're more likely to simply look for a way out of the situation.

I caught this individual just off the elevated dockwalk at Palm Island. The dockwalk runs for a bit over the water, just off shore. Brown watersnakes often like to bask in foliage overhanging water. This way they can easily slip into the water when threatened or disturbed.

 

Southern black racer, 18 August 2006

Southern black racer (Coluber constrictor priapus)
 Residential Mt. Dora, Florida; 18 August 2006

I think I'm going to dip back into some snake photos for the next week or two. I must admit, I do miss my snakes -- and anybody who really knows me knows how hard it's been acclimating to life in a state that has ZERO snakes in the wild.

This particular snake is a Southern black racer, Coluber constrictor priapus. A rather lovely, sleek, agile, and temperamental snake. They're usually quick to flee when spotted, but if and when cornered, they are able to pack quite a strike -- in self defense. Though non-venomous, they're what I call "aggressively defensive" (meaning they're not aggressive at all, but can and likely will fight back with some wonderful attitude when attacked or cornered).

I caught the individual photographed here in my parents' backyard in Mt. Dora, Florida. The shots were actually taken in their covered back patio, on a glass table -- hence the rather darkish background in the first two shots. The snake was, obviously, a bit reactive and pissy. Totally understandable. From the snake's perspective, this was not a fun picnic on the back patio. It was survival!

After a few shots and a few strikes, I let the snake trek about and continue on his/her way. I think that's one of the things I miss most about life in Florida. Quite frequently, I'd just run into a snake -- and then an impromptu fifteen-minute session would follow, photographing and handling the snake. These little run-ins were quite commonplace. Just a part of my daily routine in central Florida.

U2 in Tampa, 16 November 2005

Bono of U2, Vertigo Tour '05
 St. Petersburg, Florida; 16 November 2005

I'm a bit bummed out right now. A little crushed with work, a little short of energy. A little moody. A little bummed out. To add to the dreariness, last week U2 played in Tampa, Florida  and last night they played in Norman, Oklahoma. Two shows I was obviously unable to make. And they will most decidedly not be playing in Alaska during the current U2 360 tour... 

This is the first tour I'm missing in just over a decade.

The first time I saw U2, it was during the PopMart tour in 1997. I'd been a fan of U2 since I was a kid, from around 1984 or so, but had never had a chance to see them live. I remember trying to get tickets for ZooTV in 1992. They were opening the tour in Lakeland, Florida. Unfortunately tickets sold out in just three and a half minutes... And so, I waited until U2 caught up with me and I caught up with them in Dallas for the PopMart tour. Ah, PopMart. It was a fantastically absurd show.

A few years later, I got to see them on the Elevation tour with my soon-to-be-wife, Lori. We'd headed down to Texas together and caught the show on our way back from a weekend getaway in San Antonio. We were engaged that weekend. The U2 show was simply the icing on the cake. And what a glorious icing it was. This remains one of my favorite weekends with my wife and in my life.

A few more years later, we caught them in Tampa during the Vertigo tour in 2005. It is from this show that these grainy, low-res shots are from. By this time, I was knee deep in serious photography, but I couldn't get my Nikon into the show. The lens was "too big." Fortunately, I had a backup plan: an expendable, cheap-ass, old Olympus digital camera. Yeah, the photos suck -- but hey, the show was awesome.

And so, here we are in 2009, approaching 2010. U2's on tour and we're living in a place that U2 will most likely never visit: Alaska. But hey, it's good to hope, right? After all, U2 just played Norman, Oklahoma -- for the first time ever. The last time they played anywhere in Oklahoma was in 1983. And if they can manage to play Sarajevo just after the end of the Bosnian conflict in 1997, perhaps they can play Alaska just after the reign of Palin in 2010?  (I dare to dream... even when in bad taste...)

Anyhow, I'm trudging through work, busier than ever, and listening to some old U2 to keep the mojo juiced and the energy flowing. I must admit, U2's helped me get through the slogs of work many times in my life. I can honestly say that they've been the soundtrack of my life. We may miss them on the current tour, but maybe we'll make it to the next one? And if they last long enough (!), maybe one day I'll be able to take my daughter to a show?  Maybe?