Snow on the mountains, gold in the trees

Fall is officially here in Port Alsworth, Alaska.  Everyone here has been in denial.  Fall means colder weather, snow, and eventually harsh winters.  I couldn't be more excited about this truth.  Summer in Alaska was great, it was so green and lush, but fall...well, fall has to be the most beautiful time of year here.  The leaves all change to gold, much unlike the fall in Michigan, where leaves turn red, yellow, orange, brown, etc.  Part of the reason I was sold on this trip was my supervisor telling me about how all the colors on the mountains change.  I couldn't really picture it.  But now that I'm here, experiencing and seeing it in person, I know I made the right choice.

One of my favorite plants in Lake Clark is Fireweed.  Before, I thought the name was derived from it's bright magenta blossoms (didn't quite fit), but as fall has progressed, I know see why it has its name.  As colder temperatures occur, the leaves change from bright green to red/orange/yellow, and look like fire!
  

It has been quite the experience to see all the colors change.  Walking around, I can remember how green and muggy the summer was.  Now I walk around bundled up.  I've even needed to pull out my gloves.  Next will be the hat!

This is one of my favorite things about being in Alaska.  I've only one week left here, and when I go home, fall will be just starting there.  Fall in Alaska is a short season.  As they progress into October, it gets colder, and all the leaves fall (especially if these windstorms we've been having keep up).  The great thing about this trip is that I'll get to see fall for twice as long!  It is the best season in my opinion.  Only fault in the trip is that I missed the start of the Spartan Football Season.  But as I've heard, they're not doing the best...must be because I'm away right?  I'd like to think so.  Hold on Spartans!  I'll be there for the next game (well, maybe the game after next)!

  

 

 The big moment that really tipped us off that fall was coming, and soon winter was snowfall on Tanalian Mountain.  All of the other mountains had a fairly large dusting of snow, but Tanalian always stayed dry.  Well, one day that changed.  We first saw a little snow, okay, no need to worry there.  But the next day, it had accumulated!  You could definitely feel a chill in the air that day!  Since then the snow has melted, accumulated, and melted again.  But that's how weather goes out here.  Until we get some real cold temperatures, that snow will keep going away.  I must say though, those cold mornings are great! They wake me up just as well as my coffee (well...almost)!

 

Not quite the visitors I was expecting!

You know those days that you just don't want to get out of bed?  Don't want to get up, make the coffee, go to work?  I was having one of those days a couple weeks ago (it actually happens frequently...must be the college-kid in me still wearing off).  I had roommates staying with me that had to be up and out of the apartment around the same time as me, meaning I had to get up even earlier than usual.  Needless to say, I didn't start the day on the right side of the bed.

But that mood shifted as soon as I reached my favorite path to work.  It was a beautiful fall morning.  The leaves were just changing, and the air was cool.  Perhaps today would be a good day I thought.  I got to work extra early (I'm usually there half an hour early anyways), and decided to put the flag up.

Here I was, jamming out to my iPod as I raised the flag (yes, I know, traditionally it should be done with a level of respect, but I needed something to get my morning going, and music is usually what makes that happen).  I turned around, and there they were; 2 baby foxes watching me.  I freaked out!  I've only seen one fox out here, and only from my bedroom window, so to see 2 within 20 feet of me was exciting!  I snapped some pictures with my iPhone, but couldn't zoom.  So I ran into the V.C. to grab my camera and came back out.

I must've scared one of the foxes because when I came out there was only one there, but he had moved up much closer.  I felt bad for the other one, I'd be scared of me too.  I was flailing about, I mean...I didn't know if foxes attacked people, seemed likely, they are wild animals.  But this other one was super curious!  He walked up super close to the porch of the V.C.  And after some pictures, he decided I wasn't interesting enough, and went on his merry way.  Turns out foxes don't attack people, they're actually pretty curious creatures.  And so gosh darn cute!

Since this day I've seen them quite a few times, but never as close.  They like to play around the park compound.  A lot of interesting people to observe I suppose.  Hopefully before I leave I'll be able to see them again that close.

Needless to say, they made my crummy start to the day so much better!  It's amazing what nature can do for the soul and attitude.

 

Journey to Anchorage!

Well, I had an interesting weekend after my presentation.  A medical emergency sent me out to Anchorage for a couple days.  Don’t worry, I’m fine!  Just a false alarm, stomach problems, you know.  Not something I could really take care of with what I have in Port Alsworth.  

What a growing up experience this was.  I boarded a plane to Anchorage around 5pm, flew through the Lake Clark Pass, which incidentally was a beautiful flight, if only I wasn’t writhing in pain… Anyways, landed in Anchorage an hour and a half later, only to be picked up by a Park ranger who had left earlier, and then dropped off at the ER!  ALONE.  Not quite what I expected, but hey, I’m 23, shouldn’t have expected them to take care of me.  

Several hours later, diagnosis was inconclusive, but my pain went away, so they sent me home.  I ended up staying in a hotel for the night, on my own again, and man, it was great!  I was back in the city!  After being in P.A. with no city life at all, this was a nice break.  There were cars, and streetlights and traffic and restaurants, I was happily overwhelmed.

The next morning I met up with Ranger Chris!  When he's not being a park ranger he's in Anchorage, but really Girtwood (a city just outside of Anchorage) working as a firefighter.  We ended up going to coffee, at Kaladi Brothers (not my first choice, I was looking forward to Starbucks, but alas, it was still really good).  It was great to see him again.  We just kind of drove around Anchorage a bit and then he dropped me off at Fred Meyer, where I was supposed to meet the other ranger to head home.  I did some grocery shopping, quite a relief after having to rely on other people to take care of my shopping for the last 2 months, and just soaked up the feeling of civilization.  

Then it was time to head to the hanger and get the plane ready.  My first bush plane flight.  All the other planes I’ve been on have had seats for over  6 people.  Not this one, with all the seats it could hold 4 tops, but not with any cargo.  Quite an experience.  It was so small!  And took forever and a day to get ready (although in retrospect, I’m glad it took a while, just to make sure it was safe and all).  After a brief safety lecture, which scared the heck out of me, I mean really, the pilot was telling me about what to do in case of emergency or a crash, like I’d remember all that he told me (gah!), we were on our way.

The weather had been great all day, but as soon as we got in the air, we saw rainclouds.  We could hardly see the mountains.  But Rich, my pilot/ranger, was able to navigate through, and once we reached the pass, the rain had cleared.

 

It was gorgeous!  Just to see glaciers, mountains, rivers, and waterfalls was amazing.  I’d wanted to get out in the park by air, so I guess this was how it was going to happen.  Everything happens for a reason right?  Perhaps horrible stomach pains were my body’s way of saying…”This is your chance! Get out!”  And I did, and even thought it was only for a day, I still got to get out and see things that I wouldn’t have if I’d just stayed in my apartment all day feeling sick. 

This Alaskan Adventure is sure providing some memories!

 

Berries, weeds, and trees

I finally  was able to put my PowerPoint skills to use.  I put together my own presentation on Edible and Medicinal plants for one of our last evening programs of the summer.

As you know, my first week I put together a guided trail hike to Tanalian Falls, and talked about the botany of the region.  Well, sometimes things don’t work out, and the hike was one of those things.  Turns out a guided hike isn’t really feasible in a place where visitation is so variable.  But I was not to be deterred; I used the plants I pointed out on the trail in my presentation.

I decided to do this presentation because well, it was something that I’m interested in.  The first thing that I did in Alaska was take a hike through the forest, and learn all the plants.  There’s just so much here that we don’t have at home, and most have a cultural meaning.  Plus, people come into the V.C. asking what different plants are that they see along the trail, so it was due time for a little lecture! 
  

Yvette and I knew that for this program it would be a good idea to have some samples for folks, so she whipped up some Labrador Tea and low-bush cranberry muffins!  A big hit!  

I had 26 people show up, which honestly was surprising because it’s been monsoon season here!  It rained for days and days with no sign of letting up.  The presentation itself was pretty intimidating at first, but, I found that once I got going, it was easy.  Friends, it is so much more relaxing to give a presentation when you know you’re not going to be graded!  It’s actually kind of fun! 

So you may be curious, what plants did I include?  Well, I included all the main berries; blueberries, lowbush and highbush cranberries, and salmonberries.  I also talked about willow trees, wild geraniums, fireweed, Labrador tea, horsetail, and sphagnum and reindeer moss!  All my favorite plants out here.  There was much more I could’ve covered, but let’s be honest, the folks that come to our presentations are coming right after a huge dinner, and with the lights off…we’re just asking for people to take a nap, so I kept it short and sweet! 

 

 

Ending August...home movies and fish!

 Part of my internship here at Lake Clark is putting together evening programs.  But after a few weeks of programs, Yvette and I were stumped!  What to do next?  What could we do that would get people out of their homes at night and head to the Visitor Center?  After a long brainstorm session over coffee, we hammered out the next few weeks!   

The first week after founder's day we decided to do a home movie night!  Check out the flyer I put together!  John Branson, our park historian had a bunch of old movies from Port Alsworth and Lake Clark from the 1950s and 60s.  I was pretty excited to watch them.  Years ago we put together home movies from my dad's side of the family, complete with great music.  Sad to say, these movies didn't have sound, but we had John to explain what was going on during the film.  Our own narrator, just like Morgan Freeman...well, okay maybe not just like him, but pretty darn close!  There's wisdom in those words.   

The people in the movie, the Gill's, were placer miners.  Now, you may be asking yourself...what's a placer mine?  I didn't know either, don't feel bad.  Turns out it's just a fancy term for open-pit mining for minerals.  Specifically gold.  It was done in rivers, creeks and streams, panning in the same manner as any gold mining.  Now you might think, well these folks must've been rich!  Nope!  Turns out panning for gold really wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.  These folks lived a simple life, just getting by.  But from their films, they sure looked happy to be out there doing something!

Needless to say, it was pretty fun to watch a movie about what life was like out here during that time period.  A little slice of history, and another lesson learned about the area surrounding Lake Clark!

The next week, Yvette and I put together a presentation on salmon!  Her first PowerPoint presentation ever!  Finally, all those years of putting together presentations for school paid off!

When people walk into the Visitor Center, Yvette always offers to do an informal presentation on how her family does salmon.  She is from the area, born and raised in Nondalton, the village closest to the Lake Clark National Park Boundary.  She's Dena'ina Athabascan, and thus has a knowledge of her culture that really helps her to be a park interpreter.  Her knowledge most stems from what's she's learned over time from her elders, and from growing up in subsistence-based background.  So, that was the premise for this presentation.  I figured that more people would be interested in her presentation if she could show bigger pictures of what she does!

We all certainly learned a lot about how her culture puts up salmon.  There's a lot involved.  Turns out during the summer, families head down to their fish camps for several weeks.  It's what I'd equate to a family reunion.  There they fish for the salmon, process them, dry them, and smoke them!  In the end, they go home with fresh salmon filets, canned salmon and dried salmon (salmon jerky essentially).  To bait people to come in (yep, pun intended) Yvette brought some of her own dried salmon!

And, per my request, she whipped up a batch of nivagee, which is essentially Indian Ice Cream.  But it's not like the ice cream you and I eat.  No sir.  Not at all.  Traditionally the recipe involves lard, berries, sugar, and  fish.  It can be eaten cold or warm (yeah, that sounds odd...) and is a treat.  What Yvette did though was take the fish out and instead of lard, good old Crisco.  It ended up being very, very sweet!  Everyone was pretty wary to try it, until she told them there was no fish.  I don't think we non-natives are ready for fishy ice cream.  I know I wasn't.

Over the last couple weeks of August I learned a lot about life at Lake Clark.  Because of the Act Lake Clark was established under (ANILCA - Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act), the people of Lake Clark are allowed to live within their subsistence cultures.  They can live here and fish here, but only if they are doing so with subsistence in mind.  An interesting dynamic.  What is subsistence?  It's the ability to maintain oneself at the minimum level.  To support yourself with only what is necessary.  In the home movies I learned about how people could live simply off the land; they didn't make a lot of money then, but still lived comfortably.  In Yvette's salmon presentation I learned how a culture that thrived on the theory of subsistence still lives on today with the same cultural values.  As an environmental professional, I love the idea of subsistence.  Take only what you need.  Live with what you have.  It's a great idea, and I hope that when I go home, I'll be able to maintain that mentality.  Shouldn't be too hard, I'll be just be starting out again when I head home.  No job yet, no money, but with what I have, I'll be able to live off.  Look out mom and dad, future couch-surfer heading your way!  :)  
 

Founders Day!

Again, I've fallen behind in my blogging.  So sorry.  But I think it's important to keep things in order!  So we're time traveling back to August...for my last children's program on Founder's Day of the National Park Service!

Working in such a small park, (well small by visitation standards, the park itself is over 4 million acres) I sometimes forget that we are a part of the Park Service, a part of the bigger picture.  It's just such a small community of people here, and it's quite unlike any park I've ever been to.  But I have to remind myself that this park is a part of the greater scheme of things.  This park, although recently established in 1980, is a part of the big idea put together in 1916 when the National Park Service was founded.

On August 25th, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act, with the distinct purpose to "conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."  So what does this mean?  Well, in my eyes, the Park Service was established to protect and safeguard our nation's natural, historical and cultural resources for the benefit of everyone.  This goal is why I wanted to work with the Park Service.  In my last year of school, I really honed in on what I thought was important, spreading the idea of conservation and preservation to everyone.  I believe in the Park Service.  I believe in educating people about what our environment has to offer, and what the Park Service does for all of us.

Because of this mission, I was more than happy to put together a presentation on the NPS, and founder's day.  On August 25th, the NPS turned 96!  For 96 years we've held onto the goal of conservation and expanded the Park Service immensely.  The NPS now covers 84 million acres of land in almost 400 locations across the US.  So, with that in mind, I put together a little presentation for the older kids in Port Alsworth.

The basic premise for the program was the quote by Wallace Stegner, a historian and writer, who described the NPS as the "best idea we've ever had".  I put together a poster presentation with the first being this:   

During the presentation I talked about the goals of the NPS and why it was established, as well as talked about how Lake Clark fits into the idea.  Then I talked about what the symbol of the NPS means!  This was a good opportunity for me to learn a little more about the park service; I had no idea prior to this presentation what the Arrowhead meant.  Turns out, the symbol represents all that the park service protects!  The shape, the arrowhead, represents the historical and anthropological values, the Sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, and the mountains and water represent the scenic and recreational values!

So then I asked the kids what Lake Clark's symbol would be.  A real chance for them to be creative!  I asked first what the historical and anthropological symbol would be, and the first answer was...."the state!"  So I had that kid draw the state of Alaska.

Next I asked, instead of a bison and sequoia tree, what would our symbols for wildlife and vegetation be?  And they said the Spruce and the Ptarmigan (that's the bird in the middle).

And finally for the scenic and recreational values, they drew a bigger lake (I mean Lake Clark is the 6th largest freshwater lake in Alaska) and mountains (since, well, we're surrounded) and glaciers!  And grass, they insisted on drawing grass.

It was great to get them involved in the presentation.  

For the last part of the presentation I had the kids make their own symbols!  A great idea from the other interpretive ranger out at Lake Clark's other office in Homer. 

Initially they weren't up for it, but after some prodding and suggesting that they wouldn't be graded for it, they did great! 

What's my symbol?  Well, Michigan is my main historical value.  It's where I was born and raised.  My homeland.  My family are very important to me as well, so they got a place on the symbol.  A Spartan symbol for my Alma Mater, and finally, trees, the sun, and water to represent my desire to protect the environment.  There's so much more I could incorporate, but you know, that would just make it way too busy!



Overall it was a great success!  My last program was amazing, and it was all my own.  Quite the accomplishment I think. 

That evening we had our Park Historian come in and give a presentation on the Telaquana Trail, a trail that's 50 miles long and goes throughout park.  People used to walk this trail in one day.  Quite a feat I imagine.  John, the historian, has done this trail several times (not in one day though....although he probably could, he's one of the fastest moving hikers I've ever met, he probably slowed down for his hiking companions).  One of the things that struck him most about this trail is how it has changed over time.  The tundra has been dynamic.  At one point in time the brush was very low, but over time, it has grown.  In some places it is hardly navigable.  Not really a one day hike anymore.  But that's how the environment works, one day it's working in your favor, the next it's not.  That's why it's so interesting to me, it's ever changing!  And being in Alaska, I can really appreciate these changes.

With these two presentations, I've learned so much about the Park Service, and the park I'm working in, and it's made me enjoy this experience all the more! 

   

Berry Picking in the Bush

I'm so sorry it's been so long since my last post!  Since it's a rainy day, and I have the day off, I'll catch y'all up!

The day after Ranger Chris and I headed out on Lake Clark via kayak, we decided to go berry picking.  This time, no kayaks.  The waves were still pretty big, so it just made better sense to go by motor-boat.

I didn't really know what to expect.  The only berry picking I've ever done was on the side of the road in Michigan with my study abroad group.  So when we reached our location, I was supremely confused.  Ranger Chris pulled the boat up to a beach, and the only way to go was up.  We had to climb a huge hill to get to the berries!  Chris hadn't done much picking before in the area, so it was really just a random spot to look.

Climbing the hill was quite the experience.  We stepped over a lot of sphagnum moss, which if you know anything about sphagnum, it's incredibly absorptive.  It was like walking on squishy pillows the whole way up, and if you lost your footing, well, it was a long way down.  There were a couple times that I needed the help of a spruce tree to make it all the way up.  This is the view from the top, looking down to our beach.     











And if you looked out, this is the view we had.  Worth the climb I assure you.  We got to the top, and....no berries.  There were one or two around, but no huge patches like we expected.  But we were persistent.  We were determined to go home with enough to make some blueberry pancakes!

And so the search began.  I was pretty enraptured by the scenery, and the thought of being out there.  I didn't look too hard at first for the blueberries.  I was pretty impressed by everything else out there.  The trail hike I tailored taught me a lot about all the plants of the region, and as my hike hadn't been too successful, I took joy in identifying the plants I saw.  There was Labrador Tea, Sphagnum Moss, Reindeer Lichen, Salmonberries, lowbush cranberries, and fireweed.  And (mom you'd be proud) I saw the most amazing mushroom!  Growing on the side of the hill.  I quickly pointed it out to Chris, who thought I was crazy for getting excited about fungus.  But, alas, that's the kinda girl I am I guess.   










We walked up and down the length of the hill looking for the berries, and eventually we found them!  Turns out blueberries grow best at the higher elevations here.  And they were amazing!  It was hard for me to collect them.  Every time I stumbled across a bush, I ended up eating more than half the berries.  I felt a bit like a bear.  But in the hopes of blueberry pancakes I starting collecting, and soon had enough!  Our excursion was a success and I can now check blueberry picking off my Alaska Bucket List!