Down to the "Big City"

on sunday night i got back from a weekend trip to anchorage...the "big city"
yeehaw!

drove down on friday morning, and did a little bit of skiing along the Parks Hwy, outside of Denali National Park. it was super beautiful, though the snow was deep, and at one point i was stuck up to my waist :)

once in anchorage, we stayed at a lil' bed and breakfast - susitna inn. it was sooo nice! my first experience with the b&b thing...i dig it. if you've travelled with me, you may understand my penchant for a free breakfast. indeed, there was no hottub, but let it be known that lodging in anchorage is waaaay overpriced. go for a b&b, they're great and most affordable!

on saturday we went skiing in anchorage for a bit (great xcountry ski trails) and then headed down to girdwood, alaska (about 45 minutes south) to see some friends from seattle at the pacific seabird group meeting. it was pretty fun, though it was really kind of like crashing a scientific meeting, as i wasn't registered and showed up for the last few hours of a three day thing. i saw some interesting talks and got to see a bunch of people i hadn't in awhile, so that's that. we took the "tram" up to the top of the mountain (it was at alyeska resort) and had some drinks at the bar/resteraunt thing. all in all, it was a great time.


the drive back on sunday sucked (to put it eloquently...) there was lots of snow and wind, and near whiteout conditions for most of it. evan was great and drove the entire way. hurray!

and now, on tuesday, the winds are howling (which is quite odd for here...) and i'm back in fairbanks. i'm working on my thesis stuff, and i have master's comprehensive exams on saturday. hurumph.

that's all for now, but be in touch! oh! and i "discovered" myspace.com. it's addicting, so be careful, but if you're into "those kinds of things", you might like it.

and an update from alaska

so i'm back in fairbanks, and all is really going quite well here. it's warmed up considerably from the -40 degree weather we were having. it's in the 10s and 20s (above!) and it's really seriously warm-feeling. though i agree. it's not warm. here's a picture from the weekend - i headed out into the field and went snow-machining, checking out the area. this is a part of my study site, with the alaska range in the background. sweeet!


then on sunday, evan, myself, steffen, and sumi went x-country skiing up in the white mountains of alaska...it was beautiful!!!

here are a few pictures from that lil' excursion...

Finally a new update!

A lil' picture from New Years Day, back in Maine! Chris, Dad and Donna (sorry, guys, hope ya don't mind me throwing up a picture of you!) with the first salmon of the season! And my first salmon consumed out of East Grand Lake!
I had a great time back, visiting with family on both sides as well as friends (see below). Sadly, I didn't get to see everyone, but that is pretty much always the case.





Here are a bunch of pictures from NYC! Lucky me got to visit with Emily, Bridget, and Nola! And hang out in the city. I would love to go back and spend a solid amount of time. It was fabulous. Thanks, guys, for all of yer hospitality! And, Nola is coming to Alaska!!!


Woohoo!

yeah! there's snow!!!! it snowed two weeks ago, on and off, but the ground wasn't frozen yet and it all melted pretty quick. no longer is that the case! this morning i got up early (thanks, uncle ted for the wakeup call!) and put a studded tire on the front wheel of my bike. the ride in was *great*, with snow all over the place and flying in my face. it was a little over 20 degrees, which is pretty good so far. i've ordered a facemask, and i'll probably get pogies for my bike handlebars. and i may need to get another studded tire for the back wheel...overall i'm pretty stoked about biking to school!!! the top two pictures i took from the hallway outside of my office. then there's my office. my desk looks awful, but there is a *little* bit of organization involved! anyways, here's all my love from alaska to everyone! come visit, it's great!!!!

we're now in late autumn...

well - it took me a bit to log in again to update this blog thing, since i actually forgot my password there for about a week. but i'm back in!
things are good in alaska - it's been chilly and *wet* for the past few days and it's getting rather old. very much like late-fall in new england, the leaves are mostly gone and you can tell winter is comin' quick. i guess it might snow tonight. isn't it still september?? last weekend it was fabulous, i went on a great bike ride and denali (mt.mckinley) was spectacular (see the picture!)
so i'm just going to throw some pics up on this thing. is there a place you can leave comments up on this site? if so, i hope you do!!
pictures are as follows:
a moose, outside of fairbanks; denali!; the roads can be dangerous up here, and the signs are great!; a picture of my office, which has more books and pictures up now!; and meg and i when we hit the yukon boarder on the drive up here!!
i miss everyone, and am still trying to figure out christmas/january vacation.
much love
rachel

We'll see...

Well, here it is. I'm going to try a "blog". We'll see how it goes...Mostly I want to post pictures for ya'll to see, as I'm living up here, alone, and chances are this will be the only way to share my life with you all. Though the invitation is *always* open for visitors!!!! More soon, including pictures and all that. For now I'll just throw in some of my cabin and Fairbanks. The top picture is from outside of my building on campus yesterday morning. My camera doesn't begin to show how great it was, but the Alaska Range is amazing, and the autumn colors are spectacular! The other two photos are of inside my cabin! I love it, though I'm still working on some of the organization!