We started off our weekend with some hiking in the valley just south of ours. As the crow flies we were only about 5 miles from home but the drive over there took almost 40 minutes! The valley was called South Fork as it is the southern fork of Eagle River. We started hiking and quickly realized how different the two valleys were. Our valley was much lower in elevation so we were used to a lot more trees and flowers on our journeys. South Fork was only a few hundred feet higher in elevation but had fewer trees and different flowers. You could also see much further down the valley than from our backyard. We hiked 5 miles back to Eagle Lake and had a small lunch before climbing around on the rocks that helped make the body of the lake. Just as we were leaving we spotted a Pika scurrying around the rocks. A Pika is a small rodent that lives in rocky places in Alaska. We tried to get closer for better pictures but our new friend wasn't as eager to shake hands as we were. Maybe our paths will cross again someday.
The next day we headed to Palmer to check out a few places. Our coworker Samantha (who is from Wisconsin of all places!) works at a muskox farm just outside of town. A muskox looks similar to a bison or buffalo but is more closely related to a goat. We stopped in not knowing what to expect and had an excellent time learning about muskox and why they are being raised in the first place. They are the most recent animal to become domesticated. The last domestication of an animal was almost 4,000 years ago so it's a pretty big deal! The fiber they produce is similar to wool but insulates 5 times better and won't shrink in the wash. This fiber sells for $100 an ounce! From each musk ox they get roughly 5-10 pounds of these fibers so yeah, these animals are cash cows if you know what we mean. They're a neat animal and we're glad we got the chance to learn about them.
We've been giving our daily nature walks for about 3 weeks now and they've been getting better and better each week. Last week Adam was leading a small group from Eagle River. It was an average day with the usual talks about flowers and trees and such. The walk was coming to an end, but as the group approached the end of the trail they noticed a group of people looking down on a field of dandelions just below the Nature Center. There was a black bear with two cubs eating dandelions! The cubs were playing around in a tree while Momma Bear enjoyed the field of tasty flowers. We both took turns stepping out the back door to watch them grazing in the field. Unfortunately we don't bring the camera to work so no pictures of the happy family this time. But that was a great finish to a nature walk!
Today we got to lead a nature walk together since it was such a large group. Our manager Laura was super cool about covering the desk while we were gone because she's awesome like that. Everybody's awesome here! Anyway we did the walk like we normally do but alternated talking points so neither of us did too much work. We made it down to the observation deck where there a pools of water full of small salmon fry. Everyone was enjoying the sights and taking pictures when suddenly someone shouted, "BEAR!" We quickly and calmly assessed the situation and saw that a black bear and two cubs were walking the trail we had just come down. We made plenty of noise to let the bears know we where there and they strolled back into the weeds toward the stream. They disappeared for a few moments before we saw the cubs splash into the water. They played for a few seconds before climbing back into the weeds and disappearing once again. Everyone was super excited and praised us giving such an exciting experience. Now since we were working again we still didn't get pictures of the cubs. We know, we know we were disappointed in us too, but we'll have good bear pictures to post one of these days!
Yesterday was a special day for us as it marked 3 and a half years we've been together. We celebrated with a night of board games and cheap wine out on the deck of our cabin. It was all fun and games until Ashley got a little upset over how well Adam was playing Othello. She only threatened to flip the table over twice but we still had a great anniversary. The next day we continued the celebration with homemade sourdough pancakes. We got a batch of starter from a lady we had training with and finally made something with it. They were delicious and an excellent start to the day.
That's it for this week. Tune in next time to see what shenanigans we've been up to!
Added Bonus: Driving home the other night we spotted a moose cooling off in a nearby lake. For Alaska it is hot, nearly 80 degrees some days! We have been really spoiled so far.
-the A-Team
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