Table Top Mountain

Fairbanks has been having great weather this summer. Yes, the entire state has been on fire and that has made for some smokey days in the 'banks, but in general, it's been a terrific summer. Days at the lake, paddle boarding, kayaking and most recently a lovely hike in the White Mountains.

My friend Hilary, her dog, Cedar, and I tackled Table Top. Getting out of town was an endeavor all on its own. We returned her husband's cell phone to him at work, dropped her son off at daycare and lastly got coffee. I'm impressed with all we did pre-coffee. It is not easy to answer a three-year old's questions sans caffeine. We should have had a pre-coffee coffee but therein lies the dilemma: how do you think clearly about coffee when you haven't yet had coffee? Thank goodness for Fairbanks' many, many drive-thru coffee huts. If you can just get yourself to the coffee hut, it will all be okay.

We hiked to the top of that plateau. 

Fielding Lake

In June I stayed at the Fielding Lake public use cabin for two nights. It's a great spot. I was glad to have the cabin though because the wind was ferocious. And when it did stop the mosquitos came out in full force. If I'd been tent camping I would've been miserable. I kayaked one day. The wind was just tolerable. Not so bad that I couldn't get anywhere, or was worried about tipping over, but strong enough that when I stopped to take a picture I was blown back and lost ground.

The cabin. 

Circle

It's taken seven months but I have finally written a blog post for 2015. It's been a good summer with local trips and ventures to the "outside".  Yesterday I drove to Circle. It's a small village at the end of Alaska State Hwy 6, the Steese.

Meditation School Drop-out

I went on a 10-day Vipassana meditation course over my winter break. I used to refer to it as a retreat but it was nothing of the sort. It was work. Why go, you ask? Many reasons but mostly the timing was right. I've been wanting to do this for several years and since the course coincided with my winter break, why not. 2014 wasn't the best of years what with my dad dying and all. Seemed like a good way to clear my head.

The basic premise of the course is to learn the technique of Vipassana meditation and to practice sufficiently so that you can incorporate it into your daily life. During the course you must observe noble silence. This means: no talking, no non-verbal communication of any kind including eye contact, no reading, and no writing.

Men and women are segregated and we took a vow of celibacy for the 10 days. You could talk with the course managers if there were problems with your accommodations, you needed aspirin, etc. You could also sign up to speak with the teachers during lunch break but only to discuss questions about the technique we were learning. All of this was meant to help you focus on the meditation and to eliminate distractions. Noble silence was important to help you have your own experience so you didn't feel the social pressure of wondering why your experience wasn't measuring up to the person next to you.

Fall is Here

Today is different. It's fall. The air is not just cool -- it's  crisp. We didn't have much of a summer up here in the 49th. And we are on track to go on record as the wettest summer. Ever. But fall is here and it's one of those magnificent days that makes you wonder how you could possibly conceive of living anywhere else.

Upper Chatanika River

I wrote the following post three years ago. Despite that it was borne out of heartbreak (which is now ancient history and those memories don't evoke anything) it remains one of my favorite pieces that I've written.

Click here to read, "It's Fall, in August?"

Moose in the Slough

My day:

1) Floating = good.

2) Held hostage by a moose for 1/2 hour = good, but tense. 

3) Pulled over by trooper = bad turned good when he gave me a citation for a correctable offense instead of a moving violation. The fact that I was still in my bathing suit (having just come from floating and all) has no bearing on the situation. 

America

What I love about America is this:

As a single woman of a <ahem> certain age I can go camping and kayaking if I so wish. I don't have to get anyone's approval or even tell anyone where I am. This, is a tremendous privilege and one that I am continually grateful for.