Neglected?

With all of the recent wedding-related blogging, I've neglected to give an update on my sweet pooch, Holden.

While Craig and I were in Alaska, Holden was spoiled rotten with the Saarela's - Aaron, Jenn, and Gracie the Dog.

He had a fabulous time, as evidenced by these great photos that I swiped them from Aaron's website. Thanks, Aaron!

Small World

Altar Boy

Craig and I had a number of "small world" moments during our honeymoon, from meeting a couple in Kennicott who remembered my parents from the airport in Orange County, CA, to being seated at dinner with a woman from a small town in NC where Craig once worked on a transportation project. However, the most impressive "small world" moment occured when we returned home and met a co-worker, Richard, and his girlfriend, Kelly, for dinner at our our favorite local spot. Craig and Kelly quickly figured out they'd both grown up in Raleigh, but had gone to different high schools. When Craig mentioned he'd gone to Catholic school, Kelly asked which church his family had attended. It turns out they both went to the same church and knew some of the same kids, but hadn't known one another. Then Kelly said, "Were you at the outdoor service the time that altar boy fainted? That was hilarious!" Craig looked sheepish. Yes, he admitted, he was there. And he was the altar boy.

What's In a Name?

Changing my name to Suzanne Unger Young has been an interesting experience for more reasons than I expected. In addition to dealing with the strange limbo of not feeling 100% comfortable with either my old or new name, it's been fascinating to observe our government at work. I arrived at the Social Security office an hour before opening at the recommendation of a co-worker. It was a good call, as I turned out to be 8th in a line of about 50-60 people when the office finally opened. When my turn came, the SS worker explained that their computer system was running very slowly and that it would take a while to process my paperwork. I asked what that meant for the long line of folks behind me. She explained that those at the end of the line probably wouldn't be served until 4-5 hours later. I asked how often the computer system went on the fritz. She said at least a couple of times a month. I asked whether there was an IT person to help fix the situation. No, she explained, they don't get any computer support at their office. Given all the waste in government, couldn't we spare one IT person to help them out?

After my visit to Social Security, I didn't have high hopes for my trips to the North Carolina DMV. Then the strangest thing happened. My visit to get a new license took a total of 12 minutes. (Yes, I was geeky enough to time it.) And then my visit to change my tags/title took a total of 6 minutes. I was perplexed until a co-worker explained that the NC legislature recently contracted out the Charlotte and Triangle DMV offices to private companies. I've never given much thought to privatization of government, but now I'm eager to learn the pros and cons. Who knew changing my name would be so educational?

Dad, Part II

Since so many folks enjoyed my previous post about my Dad, I thought I'd share some tidbits about his big adventure in Alaska. Despite packing his Keen sandals, my Dad wore his shiny white sneakers on the boy's halibut fishing trip. According to Craig, he was mortified when blood got on them while the fish were being fileted.

I expected my Dad to have a suitcase full of NY Yankees attire to wear in Alaska, and he did not disappoint. However, I was hoping that the clothes would be the extent of the Yankees impact on my nuptials. Lo and behold, thanks to a time delay, the Yankees-Mets game was being shown on ESPN at the very moment I was ready for my Dad to walk me down the "aisle" (really across the grass) to get married. As I waited, he slowly put on his shoes and tie, with his eyes clued to the satellite TV the entire time. He managed to only miss a couple of innings while I tied the knot and was thrilled that his Yanks made a great comeback to beat the Mets on my wedding day.

Kennicott, Kennecott

Kennicott, named for the explorer and river, was once home to the Kennecott mine and mining company (someone made a typo). From 1908 until its closure in 1938, $200 million in ore was extracted from Kennecott, making it the richest concentration of copper ore known in the world. After spending years as a ghost town, interest in tourism led to a revitalization of the town in the 1970s and 1980s. The National Park Service now owns most of the old company buildings and is renovating many of them for visitor and park use.

We stayed at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge, a replica of one of the historic mining buildings based on the original plans. It was a perfect end to our trip. While we continued to enjoy incredible mountain and glacier views, we traded sleeping bags and freeze-dried food for a comfy bed and yummy family-style meals. Despite some day hikes, we gained back a good deal of the weight we lost out on the trail!

Beer at the End of the Road

As much as we love backpacking, we were getting a bit antsy to complete the "roughing it" portion of our honeymoon. So, we decided to hike the 6 miles out to our car after already putting in about 12 miles on our day hike to Dixie Pass. We then drove the gravel McCarthy Road for two hours and arrived at the Kennicott River footbridge - hungry and tired - around 9pm. When we walked into McCarthy at 9:30, we were incredibly thankful to find a room at Ma Johnson's and beer and fish & chips at the old saloon.

The next morning, we enjoyed exploring the old crossroads town. While Kennicott 5 miles away was a clean company town, McCarthy was the place to go for alcohol, gambling, and women. It had its biggest boom from the 1910s to late 1930s and was rediscovered for tourism in the last few decades.

Dixie Pass

On our first date, I showed Craig photos from my Sierra Club service outing to Dixie Pass in 1998. I think somehow we both knew that day that I'd get to show it to him someday.

Although I missed having a big crew when we were bushwacking through the willows (my grizzly anxiety was high with just the two of us), everything else about the trip was perfect.

We camped at a great spot along Strelna Creek and day-hiked to Dixie Pass from there. Either my memory is fading or I'm getting older (probably both), because the climb to the top was harder than I remembered.

Of course, it was well worth the effort. The skies were clear, providing incredible views from the summit of the surrounding Wrangell mountains. The Wrangells contain some of North America's highest peaks.

Simply beautiful.

Alaskan Wildlife?

Although we didn't see a grizzly (no complaints!), we met many beloved Alaskan pets. Here are some of our favorites...

Craig sharing his Moose's Tooth growler with the poodles at Sourdough Sue's B&B in Anchorage

Jeff bought Snausages for Benji at a Memorable Experience B&B in Homer

Sled dogs at The Earth Song Lodge in Healy

I loved Daisy at Aurora Express B&B in Fairbanks

Craig met a goat in Chitina

Riley at the Chitina House B&B

Riley's turkey friends

Aurora Express

With Craig working on the Southeast High Speed Rail project, we had to spend the night at the Aurora Express B&B in Fairbanks after leaving the Brooks Range.
These are old Alaskan Railroad cars, sold by the state for $1 each. It cost a bit more than that to get them moved, though.
While I most enjoyed the beautiful room decorations, warm shower, and huge breakfast (quite a treat after backpacking), Craig had a blast wandering around the cars and locomotive.
We highly recommend the B&B if your travels take you to Fairbanks.

Gates of the Arctic

During his wedding toast, Craig's brother, Jeff, said he knew Craig had met his match when he found someone who'd head off into the Brooks Range with him on his honeymoon.
Little did Jeff know that the Gates of the Arctic backpacking adventure had been my idea, as Craig often reminded me when I laid awake at night worrying about grizzly bears.
Bear concerns aside, it was an amazing trip with some of the most incredible scenery I've seen anywhere in the world.
These photos, taken in the Oolah Lake valley along the Itkillik River, can hardly do it justice. When the skies cleared, we could see for miles and miles.
Although the mountain views were gorgeous, I was most fascinated with the hearty plants and wildflowers that grow in the tundra.
It reminded me a bit of the Southwest in how such beauty could be found in extreme conditions.

Jerry "The Real Deal" Stansel

We knew that getting dropped off in the Brooks Range for a few days of backpacking would be an adventure, but we never guessed how much entertainment our bush pilot, Jerry, would provide. Of all the unique folks we met in Alaska, Jerry was the obvious standout. Here are our top 10 favorite tidbits about a real Alaskan man...

(10) Jerry served with the 101st Airborne Special Forces in Vietnam
(9) He raised six kids... on his own
(8) He's the guitarist for the folk band, Arctic Winds
(7) Jerry landed us in his Cessna 185 float plane on the Koyukuk River in Bettles, since the float plane marina is 3 miles from town
(6) Despite his excellent flying skills, Jerry needed me to read the letters on the phone in the Bettles FAA office, where we stopped to check on weather conditions in Fairbanks
(5) Jerry built a cabin on Wild Lake (shown below), which contains provisions for at least two years
(4) He divides his time between Alaska and Hawaii - when not guiding in the Alaskan wilderness, Jerry plays his guitar and cycles in Maui
(3) He's selling his Alaska Fish & Trails Unlimited guiding business for $750,000 - anyone interested?
(2) Jerry is good friends with Gordon Lightfoot - they often rendevous in Hawaii and Gordon gets out to Wild Lake every couple of years
(1) Jerry inspired the 2000 TV movie, Personally Yours, about a single dad whose kids list him in Alaska Men magazine

Divorce Double

Our seakayaking guide warned us that taking out a "divorce double" boat might be a bad idea for the soon-to-be-marrieds, but we went ahead and gave it a shot. Once Craig figured out I wouldn't flip us, we had a great time.

We got to see tons of birds and other wildlife in Kachemak Bay, including this juvenile bald eagle and sea otter.

It was amazing to watch the chaos the eagle would cause when he flew around Gull Island looking for prey. We could hear the squawks from half a mile away.

Stateside

We've returned to the lower-48 with countless memories and nearly as many photos. Over the next couple of days, I'll post some blogs about the trip highlights. From the Kenai Peninsula to the Brooks Range to the Wrangell mountains, it was an incredible adventure. Stay tuned for some stories! In the meantime, you can click here to see our wedding photos.

Live from Homer!

We did it!!!