C-46

We got a load of fuel the other day and it came in a C-46.  What a neat old airplane.  It is great to see it still flying, let alone working and hauling fuel and freight all over Alaska. 

Triathlon

Laura and I competed in the second annual Bettles Triathlon on the 4th of July.   We were teamed up with Marty,who is doing some work in Bettles this summer. We called ourselves the B.R.A.  Bombers.  The triathlon consisted of paddling, bicycling and running.  Marty started off with the paddling, I did the biking, and Laura finished with the run.  Marty got the lead in the canoe race and was the first to tag off to a cyclist.  I was able to maintain that lead to the end of the bike ride.  I tagged off to Laura and she started the run. She led until the last 100 yards of the race.  She was actually passed by the only person to do the whole race as an individual.  For the overall race we got second, but we got first against 9 other teams.   It was a lot of fun and by getting first we got a free dinner at the Bettles Lodge.   Congrats to Beau who got first place overall.  Thanks to Fran for the triathlon photos.

BRA Bombers before the race

The canoe race

Laura at the finish

Bettles triathlon participants

and of course Nelson

 

Warm Again

Today was very warm again, mid 80's.   Laura and I went down to the river and waded around .  The river is fairly low and not all that cold, but very refreshing today.   Nelson also enjoyed himself. Another Kodiak came through too.  This one is on amphibs and is owned by the Department of the Interior. 

Nelson and Laura wading the Koyukuk

Kodiak owned by the Department of the Interior

Greenhouse

Here are some pictures of the greenhouse and the things growing in there. 

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Zucchini

Green Beans

How warm it is in an arctic greenhouse at 9pm

We also launched the second beaver today.

Nelson upset that Vancouver lost the Stanley Cup

Random Aircraft and Bugs

   There have been quite few different planes and helicopters come through town lately.  I have only managed to get pictures of a few of them though.  Last night I fueled a Kodiak that came through.  There has also been an R-44 helicopter doing some work out of Bettles.  Among other planes, there has been a Beaver with a turbine conversion that is on amphibs, a Shorts Skyvan, which in my opinion is an ugly airplane. 
   On another note the mosquitoes are out in full force.  They are thick and they are mean.  It makes being outside without some sort of protection not very fun.  Laura has to wear a head net to water her garden.

Quest Kodiak

Robinson R-44

Token Nelson Picture

Green Up

Things have really gotten green the last few days. It seemed like it almost happened overnight.  The warm weather we have been having probably helps with that.  It hit 83 degrees here in Bettles today and is 78 right now at 9:15 pm.   Laura planted last night in the greenhouse and the plants seem to be loving it.  At one point I looked in there this afternoon and it was 103 degrees and the humidity was really high.    We also put the first Beaver in the float pond today. All went smoothly and it is now ready to go. 

Nelson enjoying greenup

Main drag, downtown Bettles

Higher water on the Koyukuk

Runway 01 Bettles

Snow's Gone

I guess I can say that the snow is all gone now.  The only exception is the giant snow pile out on the ramp where it was plowed up last winter.   I think we got close to 70 degrees today and then had a good thunderstorm brush by us this evening, which dropped the temperature about 15 degrees.   We pulled the Otter outside today so we can get to the Beaver behind it. 

Nelson enjoying the lack of snow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dark clouds with thunderstorm

Nelson playing fetch in a thundershower

The Otter outside after the rain washed it off

Bettles

Nelson and I got to Bettles yesterday and Laura joined  us this morning.  There is still plenty of snow but it is melting.  It is good to be back and things don't seem to have changed much.  Here are a few pictures I took this evening. 

Skid Row

BRA Office

Greenhouse

Nelson attacking a moose

Road Trip North

The day after Easter Laura, Nelson and I headed north to Alaska.  The first day we drove just north of Fort Saint John B.C.  We had nice weather and good roads.

Stone Sheep near Toad River

 We also saw some elk and bighorn sheep in Jasper National Park, and quite a few deer everywhere else along the road.  The second day we drove to just past Whitehorse, YT.   This day we saw moose, caribou, stone sheep, and of course deer.

Caribou near Muncho Lake

 We woke up on the third day to a very frosty morning, about 19 degrees.  We were in Fairbanks, AK by 2 pm on the third day.

 

Laura and Nelson "enjoying" the drive.

 All in all the trip went well with no problems or bad weather and went by fairly fast.  The only complaint was the price of gas, close to $6.00 a gallon in Canada.

Road Trip

 Laura and I recently got back from a road trip to Indiana and Minnesota.  We went to Indiana to see my grandparents and to Minnesota to see Laura's parents.

Needles Highway in the Black Hills

We always seem to take the scenic route, we could probably get places a lot faster if we went direct but that's not any fun.  Everytime we have headed East we try and take a new route we haven't been on yet. This time we went through central Montana and into South Dakota to the Black Hills.  I think we spent over half a day driving around there.  We took the Needles highway which was very scenic for South Dakota, lots of exposed rock.  After exiting the Black Hills we went south into Nebraska, which was nice for about and hour, I think it took us about 8 to get across it.  Then it was on to Iowa and Illinois and well, there's  not much to see there unless you are into corn fields.  

The  eye of the "Needle"

Buffalo in the Black Hills

Once in Indiana we had a good time with Grandma and Grandpa.  they took us to a couple of state parks and showed us around .  We also tried helped them out around the house as much as they would let us.  We also got to experience some really warm weather.  I think it hit 83 one day while we were there, which seemed almost too warm for me.  Especially in April.  After visiting Grandma and Grandpa we headed to Minnesota to visit Laura's family.  

Ryan at Turkey Run state park in Indiana

  

On our way to Hutchinson MN we stopped in Montgomery MN to see Laura's friend Shannon.  While in Minnesota we got two nice days and then it turned cooler and windy.  It didn't help that I caught a cold somewhere along the way and didn't feel very well most of the time we were there.   The day we left Minnesota there was a dusting of snow on the ground and we drove through snow all the way to Bismarck ND. 

Spring in Montana

After Bismarck we drove out of the snow until about Havre MT, where we got to drive over snowy and slick roads.  In fact the snow got worse and worse until we came out of the mountains at Columbia Falls.   Marias Pass was terrible, it was about 20 degrees and the snow was deep on the road and visibility was minimal.  Beautiful spring weather in Montana.  

Altogether we drove over 5000 miles.  We will be back in Idaho about a week and then it will be time to head to Alaska.  Just enough time to do laundry and repack.  

Spring Ski

Laura and I went for a hike / ski on the first day of spring.  It was a beautiful day with lots of sun.  The temperature was 27 at the house and that made for some nice walking on top of the snow.

We went from the Burton Road up Myrtle face and continued up the ridge to the end of the Burton Road and the Burton Peak trailhead.  From there we skied down the road and back to the pickup.

We hiked 1.9 miles before the snow got soft enough to justify putting the skis on.  From there we continued up the ridge to the end of the road where we had a fire and ate some lunch.  

After lunch it was a fairly easy ski down the road.  Snow conditions did run the full range though. In the morning it was frozen hard as concrete at the lower elevations, as we climbed it got softer and softer until it was just drifted powder at our highest point.  On the way down we went back though the crusty zone and as we got closer to the pickup it was like skiing through a slushy.  

Overall it was a fun trip and it wore out the dog, which is not an easy thing to do. The weather was great too.  We ended up skiing/hiking 10.5 miles with just over 2,500 feet of elevation gain, all of that in the first 3 miles or so.  

Bike Ride

 

It was incredibly warm today (about 50) so Laura and I  decided to dust off the bikes and go for a bike ride.  The only problem was that there was too much snow around the house, we went down to the valley and went for a ride at the refuge.

 The road was pretty soft in places and snow covered in others, but it was still nice to get out on the bikes.  We did about 8.5 miles doing an out and back.  We also saw lots of deer and birds of all kinds starting to show up at the refuge.