- Happy Birthday to me
a snowshoe journey
with friends to find a lost canoe
summer hidden there
27 December 2007 Talkeetna Home Sites
little cabin in Talkeetna
We've begun to think about building a house on our Talkeetna property. We'd like a small house that we grow old in ... entertain friends and family in ... live lightly on the earth ... be part of this beautiful corner of the boreal forest ...
Two corners of the property give us a small view and are high so we can get some southern exposure. One site is near the cabin at the southwest corner of the property; it would give us a view over the 'Dismal Swamp.' This area was dubbed 'dismal' by a realtor who couldn't understand why anyone would be interested in living near a wetlands and didn't seem to know that this creek and wetlands are full of birds and wildlife. The other site is at the northeast, near an overlook of Lake 5, and on the edge of the Numbered Lakes Natural Area. We'd have a small view of the lake through the trees.
view from Lake 5 site
view from Dismal Swamp siteChristmas Day 2007 Numbered Lakes
snow-topped rocks in a Numbered Lakes stream
We woke with the sun on Christmas morning. Clouds obscured the sun all day, creating a bluish light for the five plus hours the sun was above the horizon.
In early afternoon, we stepped into the ski bindings and headed out to the Numbered Lakes for a holiday tour. Several of inches of snow had fallen the previous day, and light flakes were still floating down as we started out. Wind on Christmas Eve had blown snow over many of the tracks that we or friends had made in the previous few days. Coupled with the flat lighting, we had difficulty following the tracks though we could feel when we were on their packed path.
The solitude and beauty of the Numbered Lakes was our best present this Christmas Day.
23 December 2007 Numbered Lakes & beyond
Our Christmas holiday in Talkeetna consisted of holiday and retirement parties, snowshoeing, skiing, and sleeping late. In short, the perfect winter vacation and a wonderful Christmas.
On Sunday, we explored the Numbered Lakes Natural Area to the east of our property with Doug and Ellen. After traversing Lakes 4 and 1, we headed southeast to Halfway and Spruce Lakes. Paul and I are still getting our bearings outside the Numbered Lakes, so Doug pulled out a map often to show us where we were.The sky was cloudy, promising snow, and the temperature had warmed to near 20. No trails are established in this area but there are some common routes of travel. Most of our route was untracked so required breaking trail through several inches of snow. When we crossed overland from lake to lake, we often found ourselves getting stuck in downfalls and shrubs that aren't sufficiently covered by snow yet.
We looped through Spruce and Halfway Lakes, back through the woods to the black spruce bog east of Lake 4, and then to the springs that form the small creek that feeds Lake 5. At the lake, we entered the woods to reach the 'Dismal Swamp' and D&E's home. We had just enough time to nap and make dinner before returning their house for an evening of games.
Dropping down onto Spruce Lake
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