Sky Views

The smoke on my way to the gym

The sun is red...looks evil!

Fairbanks has been smokey lately--so much so that people can't go outside without wearing masks. I am not a fan of the red sun and grey air. 

Forest fires are expected in the summer, but when they get this bad I cant have outdoor adventures and summer is less than desirable. Then, I resort to posting pictures of past skies to remind myself of what blue is like.

This was the sky outside of my dorm last spring.

Here is the sky-draped mountains on my way back to Montana.

Sometimes, clouds reflect over the water. I took this picture at the Delta Clearwater in April.

The sky was actually clear at the start of summer...

Sometimes, the sky is full of migrating birds. I took this picture in Choteau, Montana while watching the snow geese migration at Freezeout Lake.

Here is the sky from a pass in Glacier National Park.

This is the sunrise from Freezeout Lake. It doesn't look too cold, does it?

I hope you enjoyed my pictures. Also, here is the Alaska fire map. I will cross my fingers that the red dots go away soon!

Fairbanks Midnight Sun Festival

Vendors lined the streets of downtown Fairbanks. It was hard to find parking, but Fairbanks has low elevation so it isn't too bad to walk.

I went to the Midnight Sun Festival last weekend. It was a nice chance to get outside, listen to music, and stock up on fair food and  ethnic food for weeks. To the left is the sign saying the festival goes from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. To the right is the sign outlining the various vendors. Some sold food, others sold items, and some were for organizations and music groups.

This jazz band was pretty neat.

We had fun singing along to this guy while others danced.

At one point during the fest, people could race rubber ducks down the Chena River.

 I also enjoyed people watching. This person wore a unicorn mask!

The festival is a family friendly event too. I saw people of all ages, and their pets. Games and a firetruck were set up for the kids while the adults could enjoy the shopping and music. Vendors sold all varieties of food and items. There was a vendor selling knives while another vendor sold pretty baby clothes. Many vendors had wheels to spin for prizes. Some vendors were for organizations such as the Fairbanks Food Bank and the Northern Alaska Environmental Center.

I saw all sorts of dogs. There was this big guy, a dalmatian, dachshund, and huskies. Too bad I don't have a dog of my own to bring along

Since the fest was in downtown Fairbanks, you could see the fountain there, the Chena River, and various shops and restaurants.

I enjoyed the wide variety of food, but nothing says Alaska like Reindeer dogs!

Be sure to bring the sunscreen. Contrary to popular belief, Fairbanks makes up for its long winter in the summer.

I had to go home early, but here you can see the light sky even though it is 12 a.m.

I also video taped the sky so you know i'm not playing with Photoshop! :)

I suggest you check out the Midnight Sun Festival if you are ever in Fairbanks during that time of year. It was a neat event. At the very least, you should stay up and enjoy the 21 hours of sunlight. You can learn more about our light here.

Exit Glacier

     I had the privilege of visiting Exit Glacier during a natural resource management field class. We discussed how the Kenai Fjords National Park and wildlife are managed. One of the biggest issues the park faces is how to manage the disappearing Exit Glacier. People come to the park specifically to see the glacier. Yet it melts with each passing year, making access more difficult and viewing opportunities less than desirable for some park visitors.

     You can visit this link to learn more about melting glaciers. (Just don't let the chaos of climate change dampen your outlook on visiting glaciers despite how they are different from the past).
   
My experience at the park was wonderful. We hiked to Exit Glacier through the rain, which I thought added to the scenery. Below are some of the pictures I took. You can also learn more about visiting Exit Glacier here. Enjoy!

Instead of pavement, the park trails near the glacier are gravel. Because of the glacier’s movement, all structures near it including trails and viewing stations must be made portable at a low cost. Doing so ensures the structures can be moved and repaired easily when the glacier moves again. The trails are wide and not too steep until we got within a mile or so of Exit Glacier.

Along the trail we saw signs depicting where

the Glacier's terminus (ending point)

used to be. I can't imagine such a

huge glacier as Exit Glacier in 1926!

Here is the old viewing station and a prime example of why
permanent structures are not a good idea near a glacier. The
glacier receded so it is now very far from the viewing station.
The viewing station was built to last though, so it just sits
as a relic of when people didn't have to hike to see the ice.

Here you can see how Exit Glacier's size changes over time. I found this impressive and somewhat sad.

Be sure to watch for puddles on a rainy day!

Lots of neat plants live near Exit Glacier, even though
the whole area is covered in gravel.

I present to you...Exit Glacier! It was named Exit Glacier after some people exploring Harding Ice Field decided the glacier was a good place to exit. I didn't want to leave though.

We also saw Exit Glacier's moraine. You can learn more about them here.

 Maybe my pictures will inspire you to visit Exit Glacier or some other glacier on your next vacation. They are special to see, especially since they change so rapidly. I am certainly glad I got the opportunity to visit Exit Glacier and learn about resource management at the same time.

May Ruination

I went on a very enjoyable boat trip a few weekends ago in the Delta Clearwater River of Alaska. It is  a beautiful place, certainly worthy of a visit. I wrote this poem afterward:

May Ruination

This is the Delta Clearwater—a river merging

into the Tanana and eventually, by way of opposing

currents introduces a lake. Transparent liquid

blankets rounded river rocks, flowing onward.

This river holds the clearest water

I’ve ever seen, my shadow in the shallows as the sun shines down realizing, today

is subtly impressive

I paddle onward, until meeting the waters

that for nearly a mile, spill from the lake.

the currents diverge here—a role reversal

from downward floating to upstream struggle—

upstream where the birds are, resting in the lake

So I step out of my boat to the river bed,

leading the boat like a leashed dog

to trudge onward, knowing churning feet

serve me better than cycling arms for awhile,

my foot  sometimes swallowed by clay- sludge

And amid this pleasant scene a stench rises

from a rotting salmon carcass, sleeping in the mud,

finished  with her migration to waste in May’s warm weather.

Now  sun rays beat my back and the salmon seeps

into my eyes while swans fly overhead, their calls

penetrating the once silent sky. Mesmerized by the fish’s

grotesqueness against graceful swans, I take one

picture of the fish sinking into muck

thinking each spring I witness these cycles

Those birds just upon the horizon,

calling with clarion cries, flocked

 and pleased with the weather make me look

one last time at the fish before  my boat

drifts beneath the bird stoked sky.

You laugh and say, “This is where things go to die.”

Clearwater Lake, reached after paddling the Clearwater River

*Thank you to Jonnell Liebl for helping me with the structure of this poem. My first attempt was quite disorganized!

Reindeer: “Cattle of the North”

I wrote this article for my school newspaper. It is about the Reindeer Research Program at UAF. The farm promotes research and agriculture, and it is relevant to resource management. Plus, the baby deer are so cute! Enjoy.

Reindeer: “Cattle of the North”

Three calves have already been born this season at the at the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station farm, also known as the Reindeer Farm.

The first calf of the season and her mom live in a pen at the reindeer farm with other deer who have never calved before 2015. Jessica Herzog/Sun Star

They are part of UAF’s Reindeer Research Program, where the “cattle of the north,” as Darrell Blodgett, program data specialist  says, are housed and studied. The herd started when 20 deer from a Seward Peninsula were brought to UAF in 1997. It is now the program’s 15th year with calves, Blodgett said.

Reindeer are synonymous with Santa in the Lower 48, Blodgett said. But at UAF, the 74 reindeer enable agriculture, research about nutritional studies and meat quality and a relationship with natives on the Seward Peninsula.

The Reindeer Research Program is the only one of its kind in the world, George Aguiar, program research professional, said. People across the globe “tap into our database,” discovering the farm’s applied research, which starts with calves.

This is student-farmhand Haley Heniff’s second calving season on the farm. She is a junior studying wildlife biology at UAF.

“I feel like I have been trained to sense what to do and how to handle any calving situation,” she said. She has helped with several births, ensuring the best care for the deer.

“It’s easy to get attached to the deer, especially calves,” Heniff said. “I certainly have my favorites, but don’t tell them.“

Although Heniff gets attached to the animals, she “has no reservations” about reindeer research, she said.

Studying aspects of meat quality is vital when choosing a product to feed yourself and your family. The farm educates people about reindeer, which aren’t studied in many other places, she said.

Workers grow different grasses and experiment with food sources, exploring reindeer weight gain and food preference. Meat is presented to taste panels to create a satisfactory product, Blodgett said. Workers test satellite collars on the herd for use on the Seward Peninsula herds. The farm even made a portable slaughterhouse to encourage the presence of inspected reindeer slaughterhouses in Alaska, Blodgett said.

The research is crucial to promoting reindeer agriculture, especially for Alaskans and natives who own the Seward Peninsula herds, Blodgett said. The farm herd has been an indicator for the Seward Peninsula herds since the mid-1980s.

Applying research from the farm to the Seward Peninsula herds can help make reindeer production viable to benefit the natives, Aguiar said.

People from the farm used the mobile slaughterhouse to teach residents of Nome how to process their own animals, Blodgett said.

Without a slaughterhouse, people field-slaughter their deer on frozen ground. Meat is sold across Alaska, but outside of the state the meat is labeled “eat at your own risk,” Aguiar said.  This causes meat prices to decrease in value.

However, reindeer meat is very valuable if grown and marketed correctly.

“Reindeer can live where other livestock can’t,” Aguiar said, and reach market weight in 27 months. This makes them great livestock for Alaska and elsewhere.

The meat contains 25 percent protein and tastes sweeter than other meats.

“Its good quality threatens beef,” Aguiar said. People will pay $30 for prime cuts, but there are no deer auctions so putting a “tried and tested” auction price on the meat is challenging, he said.

To determine a base-line meat price,the farm will auction some non-producing steers during the summer of 2015 to see what people will pay for the meat, Blodgett said. 

The Reindeer Farm is “an animal production facility focusing on producing meat,” Aguiar said. They have and will continue to research and improve reindeer agriculture and production with their herd. Educating, encouraging and supporting reindeer producers benefits people. After realizing this, everything done at the farm makes sense, Aguiar said.

 *This article originally appeared on April 14, 2015 in the UAF Sun Star. Additional pictures were added. Thank you to Darrell Blodgett, George Aguiar, and Haley Heniff for your insight.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone! Today is the holiday where we give back to the earth and take time to contemplate how our actions effect the environment and ecosystems. I encourage you to start making changes to become more sustainable today.

First, I encourage you to watch The Lorax. When I was little, I watched it and was influenced to express concern for my surroundings, but the movie has relevance for people of any age.

I like the message and the simplicity of it. Without the use of confusing language and scare tactics, we are nicely reminded to consider the environment and the impact we have upon it.

Furthermore, there is a multitude of actions you can take, both small and momentous, to support a better earth. Just research terms like "sustainability" or "zero waste" to generate ideas. After seeing what you can do, take the initiative to implement what works best for you to help out the environment.

Here are some sites I like:

Learn how to reduce the amount of waste you generate at zerowastehome.com
Figure out how and where to recycle things you didn't know were recyclable at earth911.com
Learn about composting on a large or small scale at eartheasy.com


Enjoy your Earth Day and I hope you all have the chance to get outdoors and start "going green"!

Welcome to the Arctic

Hello readers! It's about time I posted again, isn't it? I've been very busy with school, but I had the chance to drive up to the Arctic Circle for the weekend. My time there was short, but enjoyable. I went camping, hiking around Finger Mountain, and enjoyed a scenic drive. I hope you enjoy my pictures. 

Finger Mountain off to the right...Who knew a mountain was so small?

 I spy a raven wing.

There's nothing around but the ravens.

We wandered over the snow.

The wind leaves marks in the snow.