The Rocks of Red

 Arizona. Digging it.

The Sedona Santa

When you have Arizona on the brain, its time to pack your trash and head to Arizona. It doesn't matter where you live or what you do, certain parts of Arizona are just fantastic for scenery and outdoor activity......YEAR ROUND (that's the kicker). Time to look for some real estate.....

The Material Xmas

 I'm typically not a very material person, but this is my dream car in Alaska. Its the first new car I have ever owned and I gave it to my wife for Christmas today. Wow, did that ever feel good.

The Sagavanirktok River and Coastal Plain

Summer on Alaska's North Slope is brief and explosive. The rivers go out, and the green season begins and lasts about 4 weeks. Then the tundra turns brown, the fog rolls in, it snows and another winter begins.

These are pictures of the Sagavanirktok River, which flows north from the Brooks Range and into the Arctic Ocean.

Stacking Pizza in the Rain

What could be more enjoyable on your las night home before two weeks in the arctic than standing outside in the rain baking pizza in dutch ovens? Nothing, thats what.

Here you can see the actual stacking method utilizing charcaol briquets for heat.  The bottom oven is a 12" dutch, so I use the +4 -4 method. I put 8 briquets under and 16 on top. The top oven is an 8", so I just threw 12 on top of it. The heat was good, the pizza was awesome. The rain? Oh well....

The Alaska Range

The Alaska Range, featuring the Kahiltna Glacier, Ruth Glacier and Denali herself. Enjoy.

When Pigs Fly

Pigging is the term used in the oilfield for sending devices through the pipelines to scrape, clean, and monitor. Smart pigs are capable of detecting corrosion levels in the pipe. Regardless of what the pig is doing, it must be launched and received.
Much of this winters work has consisted of preparing for these mods. We built ice roads and drove pilings, welded caps, and did lots of piping work to accomodate the new routes that these pigs will take throughout the field from the drill pads to the processing facilities. The lifting and setting of these pig mods was a much anticipated, high profile, very dynamic job. And we pulled it off in two nights without a hitch.

Dutch Oven Madness

It's official. I am mad about cooking outdoors with a dutch oven. This summers addition is a 12 inch, 9 quart oven that is capapble of feeding a small army. We took it camping across the bay and it was a culinary success every time.

I did a little research and asked a few trustworthy folks on the proper way to heat these ovens. The answer is charcoal briquets. A 12 inch oven requires 24 briquets; using the "plus 4, minus 4" technique we put 8 briquets underneath and 16 on top. This resulted in an oven temperature of 350 degrees fpr about 45 minutes.

 This wonderful dish is called a strata ,which means layers. We put down multiple layers of artisan bread, eggs and cream, sauteed vegetables with cream cheese, and a smoked king salmon topping. It was crazy delicious.

We also made a delicious rhubarb, cherry, strawberry crisp for dessert that was out of this world. Here also is a large lasagna that fed 10 people twice. It took quite a while to bake due to its voluminous size but was well worth the wait. 

Dinner's Looking Good Tonight

Grilled, wild, sport-caught, local king salmon filet with a charred pineapple bourbon southern sauce and grilled asparagus on a bed of brown rice. Replete with boxed red wine.

Doggies

 We have two cats at home, but that doesn't mean much to a dog lover (take it from Poppa). She is just kooky-badookey for the canines.And she's been talking about them all the live long day.

Snertz' Farm

The dog yard at Jeff's home. Fiona loves the doggies.......

Fiona Rides A Horse

Thats all she said all day, "I rode a horse!" She said it before she fell asleep. She said it in the middle of the night. She wants to do it again. She rode a horse.

Stop By and Say Hello

The Yukon River

This view of the Yukon was taken on a southbound flight looking east. If you look carefully, you can see the bridge over the river.  I flew this same route yesterday, and the river had open areas of water on it. May 8th was the first day I had seen waterfowl arrive on the coastal plain of the Beaufort Sea, though there is no open water and everything is still frozen with a hard crust of snow. Temperatures are supposed to rise into the 30's this week in the high arctic, and the long days will open lakes and expose tundra. Another fast and furious summer is on its way to arctic Alaska.

Easter Sunday

The Penthouse

We managed to come across an affordable used playset from a friend recently, and after the minor hassle of disassembly and delivery we introduced our daughter to it. Actually, the delivery was done in true Beverly HillBilly style with two trucks and a trailer sliding down the highway (We even stopped for lunch at a local eatery). Anyway, our daughter just loved sliding and swinging on it, and actually got into bed tonight and turned the lights off herself. Now that's worth the price of admission.

Denali Winter

Heading South Towards Fang Mountain on the Frozen Savage

Camp at the Confluenece of Jenny Creek and the Savage River

Just because I felt like it, here are two more photos from the 2010 winter trip into Denali. Now that I am certain to go back again on another attempt in 2012 I have begun reminiscing and pre-planning. I am hoping that health, weather, and the planets all collide in our favor next year. Last year was way too warm, this March was way too cold--nighttime lows were regularly in the -30F range--and I hope next year is just right, with lots of snow base.

Denali Spring Trail 2012

It's Gonna Be A Really Big Show

Well, back to my true form. Denali is still eating away at my skull, and another attempt will be made on the dog trails in late winter 2012. Much was learned from the attempt in 2010, and these lessons will be applied to aid the success of next winter's mission. The route remains the same, but we will begin where we planned on finishing last year. In order to alleviate the pressures of a predetermined plane pickup in Kantishna, we will fly into Kantishna and then ski the 100 miles to McKinley Village. The best news of all? I will be joined in 2012 by Jarl Gustafson; friend,trapper, fisherman, and lover of the Alaskan outdoors. Look for more posts on our planning and execution of this trip of a lifetime. The photo caption says it all!

Surf and Turf

Surf and turf, Hawaii style. 2011 has been a busy start with me taking a new job in a new career field, though still in the arctic oil patch. We were lucky enough to get invited to Kauai with Dave and Sandy where we spent 14 days in the beautiful sunlight and warmth. We hiked, swam, ate seafood, drank beer, and had an all around wonderful time.

Ann Arbor Xmas

A few shots from around the house in Michigan over Christmas. Seated at the dining room table is the Anderson clan, including Carl and his girlfriend Chris from the U.P.

This was Fiona's second Xmas , and now she loves trains.