National Zoo: Take Two!

May 18, 2018August 18, 2018Leave a comment

I had the chance to head back to DC for a weekend with Brian, which also coincided with another trip to the National Zoo to spend some time with the pandas and other creatures there, which didn’t disappoint this time either. Hopefully I’ll be able to carve out some time for one or two more trips down here while I’m on the east coast.

Even the drive down doesn’t disappoint. I don’t know that I’ll ever tire of a good road trip.

Brian is a huge fan of scary movies (while I have cried during a sitting of the Blair Witch Project: 2) so we made a point to seek out the stairs from the classic scary picture The Exorcist.

Ferncliff Trail

May 14, 2018June 18, 2018Leave a comment

Ferncliff Trail presides in Ohiopyle State Park near where I grew up in southwestern PA. My dad shocked me one morning by letting me in on the secret that he had never hiked the short two-mile loop so we set off for a quick morning hike along it’s dirt path. Kratos and I got to stretch our legs before another long car ride and Dad got to put another check mark on his bucket list.

National Zoo

May 12, 2018June 12, 20182 Comments

Spending so much time in DC has its advantages:

I get to hang out with my super awesome husband whom I wasn’t expecting to see much of during this time.

I get to photograph lots of historic and beautiful places that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to. AND I talked said super awesome husband into a quick walkthrough of the National Zoo just so I could a Panda Bear in real life for the first time. Thanks for that super awesome husband.

Sashimi, Soy Sauce, & Tigers… Oh My!

May 1, 2018June 11, 20183 Comments

Needing an excuse to go to Pittsburgh I called a friend up and asked her to try out a new (to me) sushi restaurant in the ‘Burgh. I’ve been dying to finally try out the sushi burritos I’ve been seeing trending all over social media. Sushi Fuku in Oakland was every bit as delicious as I had dreamed and after eating my body weight in salmon, avocado, and soy sauce I hugged my friend goodbye and headed to the Pittsburgh Zoo with camera in hand. My FitBit and I agreed that a few hours trekking around the zoo before sitting in the car for the three hour drive back to Columbus was much needed. Pittsburgh Zoo Walkthrough - 1 Pittsburgh Zoo Walkthrough - 2 Pittsburgh Zoo Walkthrough - 3 Pittsburgh Zoo Walkthrough - 9 Pittsburgh Zoo Walkthrough - 6 Pittsburgh Zoo Walkthrough - 5 Pittsburgh Zoo Walkthrough - 4

Winter Cardinals

March 12, 2018May 6, 2018Leave a comment

When I was a kid my dad built a small bird garden just outside the big picture windows of our living room. On any given day he could sit at those windows for hours watching the birds flit about. It wasn’t until much more recently that I began to appreciate the garden for everything it brought within a few feet of those windows.

My brother & his family now live in the house we grew up in (his kids are the 6th generation in our family to grow up on that land). On my most recent visit back to my childhood home I too took some time to appreciate the beauty of the birds who were hanging around around that day.

Goodbye Alaska

January 13, 2018April 5, 20182 Comments

I knew this day would come eventually. It’s been pretty much written into our story since before we even got to Alaska. Eve as the years ticked by here the inevitable goodbyes always seemed so far away.

The day after New Years the movers came and packed up our host. The took most of our belongings to port and shipped them back to the lower 48. Three days ago we packed up the Jeep, hugged our friends goodbye, and set our sights on a place far, far away.

We managed to knock out the trip in less than 72 hours – a feat I would not again recommend – but I also wouldn’t recommend driving in -35 degree temps either.

A few snaps from our last few days in the house and our travels through Canada.

I’m going to miss you Alaska… but damn it feels good to be home.

Baby Beluga

December 28, 2017April 4, 20182 Comments

Shall we sing Baby Beluga together?

What’s that? You’ve never heard Baby Beluga?

Well then, it’s time you turn on your speakers, crank up the volume, and give Raffi a few minutes of your time. You can thank me later.

Go on. I’ll wait.

Mind blown, right?!

Okay, perhaps if you’re not a wide-eyed, animal loving youth sitting in Mrs. Ruppel’s second grade classroom, hearing Baby Beluga for the first time wasn’t as life changing for you as it was for me. There was a lot of magic in that classroom. Mrs. Ruppel had a way with kids and making learning fun. I wish there were more teachers like her in the world.

Moving to Alaska has more often than once reduced me back to the blonde haired, blue-eyes-full-of-wonder girl that sat in that classroom. Building snowmen in Denali, running sled dogs to the starting line of Iditarod, watching wild orcas from the back of a vessel, scaling the face of a glacier, and most recently; singing Baby Beluga to Tyonek the baby beluga.

How Tyonek came to the Alaska Sealife Center is a story in itself. You can read more about that BY CLICKING HERE or follow his upcoming adventures and move to the San Antonio, Texas BY CLICKING HERE.
I’d been following the story of this little guy since his discovery and transfer to the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward, which is only about 3 hours south of Anchorage. The Cook inlet beluga population is in critical danger of being wiped out and Tyonek was initially kept out of the public view; a rule set by NOAA standards to protect the precious case. I was beginning to feel like he wouldn’t be released for public viewing before our scheduled move out of Alaska when I finally heard the news.

Three days after Christmas I drove to Seward and spent the afternoon sitting in front of the big windows overlooking the pool containing Tyonek.

Of course, I made two laps around the aquarium while I was there, needing to stretch my legs after they’d fallen asleep.

I’m going to miss you Seward, you’ve been good to me.

Float My Boat

August 12, 2017December 27, 20171 Comment

For as long as I have memories I have suffered from motion sickness. Please don’t ever stick me in the back seat of your car unless you’d like it plastered with my most recent fare, and there have been occasions where particular winding roads in Idaho have meant even the passenger seat wasn’t safe from my sensitivities in a moving automobile. No vehicle is safe from exclusions either – whether it be plane, boat or train – they’ve all proven to make me queasy.

Despite this fault in my genetic make-up, I’m usually not one to skip out on an adventure when it’s presented to me and when my friend Ray asked me to spend a day on his boat with him, I wasn’t about to pass up what was probably my last opportunity to adventure out into Resurrection Bay. Our goal was to spend the majority of the afternoon scrambling up a mountainside on an island at the mouth of the bay in an attempt at a geocache (GC1ED58) that hasn’t been located since 2013. However, true to Alaska in August an impending storm prevented us from reaching our true goal and we set off for a secondary adventure that is something both of us are very happy to do – take pictures!

Instead of bushwhacking up a steep and rugged island, drenched in blood sweat and tears we spent the afternoon standing on the bow of a rocking boat observing various wildlife feeding and getting drenched by frigid rainfall. That much time on a boat left me sickly for hours after I left the boat for solid ground but it was all worth it tho and I hope you also see why:

Thanks for the adventures Ray. This might be our last in your boat for a while, but even as we ready to leave Alaska for good, I know this isn’t our last adventure!

Dip Netting

July 4, 2017August 18, 2017Leave a comment

According to my calculations I’ve been a transient in Alaska for exactly 3 years and 25 days. It’s always been a known fact that my time here was (most likely) going to be cut off at some point or another, so I’ve tried my best to experience Alaska to the best of my ability. Despite all my adventures here it was this weekend that I firmly believe I became a tried and true Alaskan after dip netting the Copper River. (Don’t worry Montana, you’ll always have this girls heart) To fish this river one usually employs a boat to avoid having to navigate the steep cliffs and raging current, but wanting a true Alaskan experience, we chose a different route.

Brian’s Army buddy Scott flew in to town to visit his brother who was stationed at JBER just two days before. Brian is not known to be the most outright adventurous person, there is one person – other than myself – who can talk him into crazy adventures, it’s Scott. So when I learned that Scott was coming into town I knew to expect an adventure and got excited for his arrival.

The four of us took off for the little town of Chitina (pronounced Chit·na by Alaskans) where we parked our vehicles, loaded up our gear onto our backs and took off down an old mining trail for our destination. About 5 rough and tumble miles down river Scott took us down an even gnarlier path through the tree to the cliffs directly above the river. Here we set up shop for the night and got to fishing.

The boys made quick work of it and by morning we were already packing up and heading back down the trail; except this time we have about 70 lbs of fresh salmon fillets to add to the weight on our backs.

We had strategically taken two vehicles so that the boys could return to Anchorage and I could set out to explore one of the few unexplored (to me) , drive-able sections of Alaska. I made a quick trek into Wrangell – St. Elias National Park as well as explored the town of Valdez.

Zoo

June 4, 2017August 3, 2017Leave a comment

My friend Steve and I met back in college @ DelVal. We were both in the Zoo Science program and fancied lacrosse. Since then he’s gone on to an impressive career as a keeper with the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore and has been known to pick up a camera from time to time to document the animals he works with and around. His photos, which you can check out HERE, are a frequent reminder of a life and passion I’ve left behind. Seriously, you should stop what you’re reading and go check them out. He does great work and I can promise you they aren’t even in the same league as the photos you’re about to scroll down and see. Go!

Feeling inspired by Steve’s work, I found myself wandering about the tiny campus of the Alaska Zoo this afternoon. It was one of those overcast days where the sky couldn’t decide if she wanted to pour down on you or let the sun shine forth, so it stayed in a constant limbo all day. For me, that is the perfect kind of day for viewing wildlife and keeping the hoards of mosquitoes at bay. A few of my favorite shots: