All good things must come to an end...

A momentous occasion occurred since my last posting.  A once-in-a-lifetime event that relegates one's personal thoughts to bucket lists and mid-life crises.  Like myself, those who have been there know what I am talking about.  Those who are nearing it have prepared in some way, maybe unknowingly, maybe with anticipation, maybe with trepidation, and maybe even morphologically (damn gravity).  Yep, Cathy hit the big 4-0 and I was honored to help her and her friends celebrate the occasion. 

Although Cathy had picked up some sort of unfortunate bug/virus/mutation that left her a bit under the weather she was a trooper and slugged her way through the festivities of the day.  A beautiful log cabin with beautiful views overlooking Lynn Passage was rented and the momentous event brought together friends and family, some of which haven't seen one another for quite some time.

The log cabin is in the left side of the picture.  Great views from the hillside.

Sunsets have been scarce since I came to Juneau.  It was worth the wait.

This is from the same porch (just a different angle) as the last sunset picture but nearly two hours later.  It was a long, memorable and fitting sunset to celebrate Cathy's birthday.

We saw this baby porky (Erethizon dorsatum) during a walk.  I couldn't resist throwing it in here.

I returned yesterday from working in Crooked Creek which is located on the Kuskokwim River in the northeast portion of an area known as the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska.  The trip required a series of plane rides with each plane getting progressively smaller the closer we got to our destination.  The village has about 130 residents and is only accessed either by boat or air (via a single ~2000' long slightly bumpy gravel landing strip).  Traffic within the village consists mostly of ATV's (and snowmobiles in winter) with a limited number of personal vehicles also being used. 

The airport (the blue building) and the beginning of the runway.

The surrounding landscape is made up of tundra and mountains.  Seeing, and experiencing, the tundra was a first for me and I am completely awestruck and amazed at the beauty and uniqueness of it.  We spent most of our time walking through it, digging in it, and identifying (Cathy did most of the id's, but I managed to help on occasion) the plant life which resides on it.  A lot of steps were like walking on a waterbed (which occasionally sprung a leak - waterproof boots were a must) with solid ground randomly interspersed.  I also experienced permafrost for the first time and even though I was well aware of its existence I was fascinated by the concept of frozen ground being as close as 14" from the surface in August. 

View from one of the hillsides overlooking Crooked Creek and the Kuskokwim River.

Bog cranberries (Vaccinium oxycoccos) and lichens - both pretty common vegetation on the tundra.

View of mostly black spruce (Picea mariana) from one of our work sites.

We stayed in a lodge which is only one of three places in the village which has running water.  The remaining homes rely on a central area called a washeteria for laundry and potable water.  With the exception of the places with running water the sewage facilities consist of "honeybuckets" which are emptied by residents into the sewer lagoon. Cathy and I were there to delineate wetlands for proposed projects which would eventually bring updated plumbing, sewer and road facilities to the village.

The lodge from the helicopter - thanks for the picture Karl.

I enjoyed my first helicopter ride which was a fantastic way to see the landscape of the delta. A land survey crew that was staying at the lodge were nice enough to let me join them as they flew to area mountain tops to retrieve some of their survey equipment (thanks again Karl and Sarah!).

I'm in there somewhere.

More mountains.

View of the open tundra in the area. 

One of the mountain ranges as seen from the helicopter.

From the top of one of the mountains.

I was hoping to see a grizzly which has been eluding me since I got here but it wasn't meant to be - looks like I will have to return at some point.  It was by no means a let down as I did see a couple of bull moose (Alces alces) and a cow during what I would classify as early rut activity.  The pilot was kind enough to circle them and allow me to take some pictures, which proved difficult while trying to hold the door open and steady the camera with the zoom lens on.  I did manage a few non-blurry pictures.

A bull approaching the cow and a second bull noticing.

Hormones kicking in...

...still pretty early to chance an all out battle.  Admittedly, I sure would like to have witnessed one.

The lonely - for now - cow.

I am headed back to Wisconsin with a number of firsts I can cross off my mental checklist.  The trip has been an amazing opportunity for me and would not have been possible if it wasn't for Cathy and her crazy idea to let me help her out for the summer.  I owe a deep felt gratitude for her generosity and will be forever thankful for the opportunity, her willingness to put up with all of my questions, leading and pointing the way in various explorations, and for giving me numerous places to stay the last few months. 

Thanks, dear "old" (however, not quite as old as I am) friend.