Tag: Geocaching
Ray in PA
I’ve not even moved to my final destination in the southwest yet & I’ve got friends from Alaska already making a point to visit. Having the full luxury of retirement at his disposal, and needing to spend some time in PA anyways, I convinced Ray to meet me at my parents house in southwestern Pennsylvania.
We immediately hit the road for photo opps at some of my favorite local places.
It also just happened to be Ray’s birthday, so my mom whipped up a birthday cake for the occasion & a special dinner (that may or may not have coincidentally been my favorite meal).
After dinner, and with daylight quickly fading, we hurriedly picked up my brother and headed off to Mt. Davis – the tallest point in Pennsylvania. We arrived in the parking lot to find a man with the hood of his car popped scratching his head. My brother, knowing a bit about cars himself, stopped to help the guy out while Ray & I wandered off to snag a few quick photos and pick up a couple nearby geocaches. When we returned to the parking lot my brother was loading stuff from the stranded car into his. Turns out, it was going to need a tow back to New Jersey so my brother was kind enough to open his home up to a total stranger and his traveling companion: a full grown mastiff. (We grew up in a very small town in a more remote part of the state – getting a hotel for the guy wasn’t an option and getting him to one would mean driving a few hours round trip for us). This brought back strong memories to a time when I was stranded in the middle of nowhere Canada and a strangers kindness saved me from disaster. Or at least further disaster. So I wanted to take a paragraph and humble brag about my brother & him proving that there are still good people out there in the world. Also, what are the odds that there would be two serial killers in one car?
Before Ray left on Sunday afternoon we biked a 15+ mile section of the Allegheny Passage in order to eat some ice cream cones and not feel quite as bad about it. Worth it. Thanks for stopping by Raymonzelle! I look forward to adventuring with you again in the south west!
Iditarod XLV
I’ll try and keep this short and let my photos do the talking for me…
My dreams of Iditarod officially became reality when I stepped off the chartered Ravn Air plane onto the snow covered tarmac in Galena, Alaska. The air was brisk, but nothing extreme by Alaska standards. After a short layover I found myself boarding a small three-seater plane bound for the village of Huslia. As soon as my feet hit the ground I was whisked away by one of the locals on the back of a snow machine. Having never had a chance to get my face mask out of my bag I zipped my jacked up as far over my face as I could and ducked behind my driver for the trip in to town. I was dropped off at what I came to know as the Ball Field – a large open area in the middle of town that would soon become the our dog yard and main hub of outdoor activity. Thankfully I was working with many seasoned veterans who promptly went to work coordinating with the proper local channels to gain access to the appropriate buildings and find out where all of our gear that had previously been sent up was stored. We set to work setting up what we could right away before finally retreating to a family style dinner in the warmth of the Elders Center. Here I was officially introduced to those whom I would be intimately working with throughout the duration of my time in Huslia. While we were all there to work various jobs our reasons for being there were similar.
The next day began a whirlwind adventure that included earning my keep in various forms, meeting many new faces, trying new foods (including beaver tail, moose tongue, and bear claws), and learning lots of new skills on the fly, but lacked any substantial amounts of sleep. After the first musher arrive my usual sleep cycle lasted about 4 hours and until my last day there, I was able to successfully thrive off so few hours of sleep thanks in part to the adrenaline of the adventure at hand. I hope you enjoy the photos. Some of them are captioned, some of them are not, and many of them were never captured to begin with.
Follow this link to read an article written up by an Iditarod Insider about Huslia. Make sure to play the video at the bottom too for an aerial shot!
A Very Bennett Christmas
Perhaps I’m one of the lucky ones, but I absolutely adore my in-laws. I haven’t met a single person in Brian’s family – immediate or extended – that I haven’t liked. In fact, I rather enjoy their company and wish we all lived closer. When Brian’s parents called to say that they’d be coming to Alaska for Christmas I was ecstatic. Then we found out his younger brother Jesse would be joining them and it meant the whole Bennett family would be together under a single roof for the holidays for the first time in years. The pressure was on to create a perfect meld of Groff / Bennett holiday traditions, but I couldn’t see a better group to test them out on.
At exactly noon on Friday Brian & I pulled up to the curb at Ted Stevens International Airport with Kratos in tow. It was a short wait for baggage claim to deliver their checked bags and we were on our way home. Brian’s mom had visited our cozy little two bedroom home right before Brian’s deployment to Korea but we hadn’t seen his dad or brother since moving to Alaska back in 2014. We dropped off everyone’s suitcases, gave a quick tour of our home and headed back out the door so everyone could finish up a few last minute Christmas errands.
We spent a better part of Christmas eve at the house watching football and catching up. Other than my daily outing with Kratos and a trip to the store to find the last minute request for eggnog that took me 4 stores and 2-ish hours to find, I didn’t stray far from the comforts of my couch and visiting family. As evening approached I buzzed about the kitchen preparing a traditional seafood smorgasbord. Parmesan crusted halibut, BBQ shrimp with a light lemon aioli, and king crab with a garlic lemon butter dipping sauce topped off the menu. Several friends and neighbors joined in on the feast and the full house transported me back to the Christmas eve’s of my childhood where dozens of friends and family would filter through our door for my parent’s annual seafood bonanza. The hour was late when our last guest strolled out the door. Soon after everyone was in their beds snoring. I snuck out of my room to retrieve on last hidden gift from it’s hiding spot and added it to the stacks of gifts that had accumulated under the tree during the month of December.
I was the last to rise on Christmas morning. The house was dark and chilly per usual in December and I had no desire to leave the warmth of my down comforter just yet. I was finally coaxed out of my warm cocoon with a mug of hot tea and the promise of gifts. Not long after there was a flurry of boxes and wrapping paper only Bucket could truly appreciate. One large neatly wrapped package remained near the tree at the end of all the calamity. It was an electric ice auger that I’d somehow managed to pull off as a surprise gift for Brian. I’m really proud of myself for that one because surprising my husband is no easy task. Before long he and his dad had donned a few more layers and were out the door for a day of fishing. I pushed back plans for dinner so the boys could utilize as much usable daylight as possible but headed for the kitchen to get all my prep work done anyways. That night, once again accompanied by friends, we feasted on pot roast, mashed potatoes, corn, {Aunt Joy’s special] rolls, and my paternal grandmother’s recipe of Yorkshire pudding – another family tradition of mine.
On Monday we finally made it out on the ice as a family. Since our ice hut is only made to fit two comfortably we rotated between holes we drilled at various spots in the ice of Matanuska Lake. Fishing was so-so but we managed to spend most of the day out on the ice anyways. We headed back to Anchorage for a hot meal out on the town and then home for some quality family time. I headed back to work on Tuesday morning, which left Brian playing tour guide by himself for a few hours before sending everyone back to the airport. Until next time family! Hopefully it’s during warmer weather next time we meet! xoxo.
Thankful
Swan Lake
The ground was disgusting and soggy but the rain continued to fall. Thankfully, Kratos is still limited to fairly short hikes so our time out in the typical fall in Alaska elements was limited to only a couple hours.
My pawtner in crime was snoring like a buzzsaw as soon as the Jeep started moving back down the highway towards home. The sun was just reaching the golden hour as we drove alongside Potter’s Marsh. A duo of swans – who are on their migratory route back to the lower 48 – feeding in the water caught my attention. I swerved into the first available pull-out and grabbed the Nikon from my pack.
After spending some time at the shores of their current residence I bid them farewell and was on my way back to my own abode. This was probably my last chance to visit with these majestic creatures this season, as the temperatures are quickly dropping in soon the snow will be falling. I look forward to seeing you in warmer temperatures.
Shroomspiration
My librarian from elementary through high school has been really getting into photography the last few years. We’re friends on Facebook and I always enjoy her photographs from all over the east coast.
She recently released a series of photographs of mushrooms that I loved. Knowing that I only had a few days in between Debbie’s visit and my upcoming visit from my Seester, I grabbed my camera and the puppy and headed for the woods nearby to capture some of the diverse fungal life Alaska has to offer.
It’s days like this that I wish I had the money to invest in more lenses. Who am I kidding? I always wish I had more free money to invest in camera equipment. Either way, it was a fun bonding experience for Kratos and I as we’ve not had much alone time up until this point.
Symphony Lake
I have a hard time accepting the fact that there are people in the world who have never packed the essentials on their backs and spent nights out in the wild. So when I found out that my friend Cally had never been backpacking before I immediately knew that was a wrong that needed to be righted.
It had been nothing but nonstop rain for over a week, but there was supposed to be a break in the weather that was coincidentally on a Friday and Saturday. We packed our bags the night before over Skype to coordinate who was carrying what and as soon as I was out of work on Friday we hit the road for the trailhead.
The start of the trail lies in a parking lot just on the outskirts of Eagle River, AK. It’s a 6 mile hike out to the lakes that is on a fast, flat trail until you come to a slightly more technical boulder field in the last mile.
The sky looked ready to soak us at any moment as we strapped our Kelty’s to our backs. Come rain or shine we were trekking to a new destination for the both of us – one step at a time. Thankfully, not a single drop fell from the sky as we made our way through the valley towards our destination for the night.
Once we found finally found ourselves emerging from the far end of the boulder field we searched for just the perfect spot to pitch our tent. When it was found we made camp and settled in for the night.
One of the top four worst feelings in the world is being all cozy and snug in your sleeping bag in the middle of a chilly night and the unwavering urge to pee strikes you. As if being at home in the comforts of your house in the middle of the night when this happens isn’t bad enough, I now found myself, somewhere around the hour of midnight with just such a predicament. There was no hope for waiting it out, so I threw on a fleece I had hidden in my bag with me, unzipped my bright yellow Marmot Ouray, and begrudgingly tied my shoelaces. Out the hatch I flew into the dusk (I was able to guestimate the time of night by the amount of darkness that had fallen on us this time of year/night) and down a short path to the spot I was deeming my bathroom. As I looked out over the beautiful dark blue Symphony Lake I knew that even though I was up to pee in the middle of the night (thanks bladder), at least there wasn’t a better view for miles around to do my business. I repeated my process in reverse and quickly settled back in for the night. Just before I could drift off to sleep again my heart began to race at a sound in the [not far enough for comfort] distance. I closed my eyes and relaxed my breathing so that I could better make out the sound I thought I had just heard. Over the sound of my own racing heart in my ears I could hear the heavy footfall of something not far away. I strained my ears to differentiate the noise of the animal from one (happyface = moose) to the other (frownyface = bear). I had unholstered my revolver long before it stepped into the clearing of our campsite but when it did it finally put it within viewing distance of about 4-6 feet away from our tent in the darkness. I had never been more excited to see a big, beautiful bull moose in my life. He continued on his way, grazing on the shrubs as he went. As soon as I could get myself to relax again I drifted off back to dreamland. ZzZzZz.
At first morning light we attempted to summit a nearby ridgeline in search of a geocache by one of my favorite cachers – MTboy (see the waterfall cache we hiked to back in May) – but were turned around at a stream crossing that was beyond what we had prepared for thanks to the recent heavy rainfall. I was not even the slightest bit disappointed as we sat in a small boulder field behind Symphony Lake being serenaded by the tiny screams of Pika.
After sitting for a long while we headed back to camp for breakfast overlooking Symphony Lake. Our camp was set up on the spine of a lateral moraine between the two lakes. Each lake gets its water from different sources; one from glacial run-off and the other from snow melt and groundwater. This causes the water colors to vary dramatically from one lake to the next so you’ll note the color of one as deep blue and the other as turquoise.
We packed up camp after breakfast and, with our packs once again on our backs, headed for the Jeep. Before we got there though, there were a few geocaches still to find.
Thanks for a new adventure in the books Cally! I appreciate that you’re always down for one.
I Love Anchorage
I had the pleasure of taking over the I Love Anchorage Instagram account over the past weekend. The account was created by the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation in an attempt to make Anchorage the #1 city to Live, Work, & Play in by 2025. The account is handed over to a resident of Anchorage every Monday and Thursday to showcase to the IG world how they live, work and play in and around the city. For my friends & family on here that don’t have Instagram (IG), I thought I’d share my journey with you.
On Thursday I was given my password for login and quickly got to work.
Good morning IG! My name is Holly & I will be hosting leading up to the 4th of July. This photo of my husband & I is a #TBT from last month in front of Barbara Falls. It’s a short but stunning hike we enjoy throughout the year. I’m looking forward to showing you how I #LiveWorkPlay in beautiful Anchorage! Until my next post! @camerae
The rules are simple; 1. you’ve got to sign off on every post, 2. keep it clean, 3. and post at least once a day. Hating when people over post on their social media accounts (I’ll never understand nor want Twitter for this exact reason), I settled on trying to make 2 posts a day for my time in control.
There are only a few weeks of King salmon fishing left at Ship Creek before siver salmon season begins. Have you caught your freezer full yet? Despite eating salmon several nights a week, our freezer is filled to the brim with King salmon caught fresh this year & that’s okay with me! It also helps when we haven’t yet started to get all the rain they’ve predicted for today. Tag me in your fishing photos around Anchorage! Until my next post, @ camerae
Although I work with a stellar group of people at Frontier Therapy, I am more than happy to have today off as part of a 4-day 4th of July weekend. The rain this morning has kept me close to home enjoying a short walk through the lush Alaska Botanical Garden. Now it’s time to head home to dry off before finding a new adventure to get into this afternoon. What’s your favorite rany summer day activity? Until my next post, @ camerae
Just coming in from a hike with Bucket (more on that later). One of my favorite post hike foods when I don’t feel like cooking the the Beef Panang at Lahn Pad Thai on Abbot. It’s so good I haven’t even looked at a menu since discovering it! OmNomNom… Until my next post, @camerae
Spent the morning with several members of @GeocacheAlaska doing a CITO event at the Prospect Heights trailhead. For those of you who don’t know their geocaching slang yet, CITO stands for cache in trash out and is a pivotal part of cleaning up the geocaching game board – Earth! GeocacheAlaska! hosts numerous CITO events around Anchorage every year to give back to a community that provides so many great places that allow us to play our game. Do I have any fellow geocachers on here today? Until my next post, @camerae
My favorite geocache in Anchorage has got to be Battery (GC17YMY) It’s a clever container on a well executed hide near Campbell Airstrip. Do you have a favorite cache? Or questions about geocaching? Until my next post, @ camerae
A few of you might have already met her at one time or another out on the trail, but I’d like to formally introduce you to my hiking partner, Bucket. Yes, you’re seeing this right, Bucket is indeed a cat. She is a 2 year old Lynx Point to be exact that came into our lives as a tiny kitten with a lot of spirit. Who’s your hiking partner? Until my next post, @camerae
If you haven’t made it down to the Girdwood Forest Fair there’s still time! I walked away with a housewarming gift for a freind in the lower 48 as well as a few other goodies for myself. Please drive safe if you’re heading out of town today! Until my next post, @camerae
No trip to Girdwood would be complete without a visit to Virgin Creek Falls. This short trek has become one of my favorite places in Alaska & just so happens to be easily accessible. Where’s your favorite place in Alaska? Until my next post, @camerae
Thank you so much for letting me take you around the last few days for a little piece of how I #LiveWorkPlay in Anchorage, Alaska. I hope you enjoyed adventuring with me as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you. Feel free to head on over to my personal account and give it a follow if you’d like. Take care! @camerae
I have no idea how people post to their social media accounts multiple times a day (or even once a day for that matter) unless it’s part of their full time job. It was a mental workout to be constantly thinking about the posts; how to set them up & execute them to my ideals. Thanks for those of you who followed along. Now on to my next adventure – filling the freezer with halibut!