During the last part of our trip, I officially entered my third trimester and quite drastically began to feel a diminishing ability to press on as usual. Some of this is most likely mental since I realized that my baby now would have high chances of survival if she was born today. She is about the size of an eggplant, somewhere around 15 inches long and 3 pounds. Of course, we hope and expect that she will not be making any early appearances, but it is mindboggling to think that there is a tiny person inside of me who with her first breath will change our lives forever.

I can also tell that I have entered a new stage physically. I find myself looking at other pregnant women and thinking, “How can you just stand there when you have a tiny person relentlessly kicking and punching your insides?!” I have to control myself so that I am not constantly holding my belly in fascination, since I think others might find this creepy. I had my first set of Braxton-Hicks contractions on our already foreboding walk to a glacier (see Babymoon post), which have appeared continually over the past few weeks. Sleep is becoming more difficult and my feet have decided to painfully cramp with no warning.  Generally, I just feel large and slow.  Otherwise, my pregnancy continues to be quite easy, however, I am thankful that my Alaskan adventures happened when they did, since I do not think I could manage the trip today.

By the way, can I admit that I am little tempted to buy an eggplant just to see what it feels like to hold?  Strange, I know.

After a wonderful two weeks with my wonderful wife, we are returning to our normal summer schedules. Lisa has returned to Logan and I will be returning to the north tomorrow. For the next week, my supervisor, my major professor, another recreation ecology professor and his graduate student from Virginia Tech, and I will be measuring the extent of informal trail formation in the Atigun Gorge of the Arctic Refuge (see the Google street view below). Then, the other graduate student and I will be traveling south to Denali National Park to compare informal trail formation there with park staff. Needless to say, I am going to be really busy for awhile. Fortunately, I will be in beautiful places and will be packing a camera.

View Larger Map

On another note, the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (WEIO) open in Fairbanks on Wednesday. Unfortunately, due to my fieldwork, I am going to miss the event. Here’s a description of some of the competitions from the local newspaper, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:

• BLANKET TOSS: Several walrus skins are used for this event. The skin has holes on the edges so that rope can be looped all the way around the blanket and used for handle grips. One person gets in the middle of the skin and stands while being tossed. With a good, coordinated effort on behalf of the pullers, the person being tossed can get as high as 30 feet in the air and lands on his/her feet without falling down. It is similar to a trampoline, with the only difference being that people are the springs and they can move to catch an errant jumper. The blanket toss was used in celebration of a successful whale hunt or to spot game on the horizon.

• ALASKAN HIGH KICK: This is a game of balance where the athlete sits on the floor below a target with one hand grasping the opposite foot. With his/her remaining free hand planted on the floor, the athlete springs up and attempts to kick the target with the free foot. After kicking the target, the athlete must show balance upon landing — he/she is at the original position before kicking. Height is the objective.

• KNUCKLE HOP: This is a game of endurance to pain and a test of strength. The object is to see how far one can go in a push-up position, with elbows bent and knuckles down. The only parts of the body touching the floor are knuckles and toes. From this position, the participant hops forward as far as possible keeping the back straight and elbows bent. This game originally was played on the floor of a traditional community center or hut, or outside on the ground. Now, this game takes place on the arena floor.

• EAR WEIGHT: The weights used in this event are 16 1-pound lead ingots, which are threaded through twine. The contestant must loop the twine around one ear and by lifting straight up, without using the cheek, pack the “weight” and go for distance. Before lead weights were used, sacks such as 25 pounds of flour were used. Distances of over 2,000 feet are attained.

• EAR PULL: In this event, there are two people sitting down facing each other with twine looped around each other’s ear — right ear to right ear, left to left. The two begin a “tug-of-war” to see who the winner is. Best two out of three wins the match. Participants alternate ears each round. The victor demonstrates he/she can withstand pain, a trait sometimes needed to survive the harsh realities of the North.

• DROP THE BOMB: In this game, the contestant lies down on the floor face down with arms straight out in an iron cross position. Three spotters position themselves — one at the feet holds the ankles, while the other two grab each wrist. The participant tightens all of his/her muscles, and the three “spotters” lift the body so that the body is approximately 1 foot above the ground. They begin walking at the speed dictated by a floor official. When the body or arms begin to sag, the participant “drops the bomb.” The objective is to go the farthest.

For more on WEIO, go to www.weio.org.

Saturday, July 3

Lisa arrived in Fairbanks at 12:30am (2:30am Utah time) after enjoying a smooth flight with a whole row to herself - what more can a pregnant woman ask for!  Dusty’s supervisor, Jen, and her husband, Ian, generously prepared their workshop as a guest room for us and we both slept great despite the fact that the sun never set!

Jen and Ian live in a beautiful cabin they built themselves outside of Fairbanks and are currently finishing their dream home - a sustainable house that looks like it is right out of Dwell magazine.  They hosted a party that night to celebrate the Fourth of July, where we met many interesting Alaska residents, most of whom work for or with public lands in some fashion.  We also tried caribou and black bear ribs for the first time.

Sunday, July 4

Since it does not get dark in Fairbanks in July, we didn’t make an attempt to watch fireworks.  After a morning and potluck at Northern Lights Church of Christ , we spent the afternoon preparing for leaving town.  That evening, we enjoyed dinner at the historic Pumphouse Restaurant outside on the deck overlooking the Chena River.  The food was ok, but the view was beautiful.  And to satisfy Lisa’s pregnancy cravings, we stopped at Hot Licks Homemade Ice Cream.

Without research, exploring Fairbanks can be a little underwhelming.  Winters here are harsh (down to 40 below!) and the actual town looks a little worse for wear.  However, Dusty has been able to find some gems (like Hot Licks) that make exploring Fairbanks fun.

Monday, July 5

After saying goodbye to Jen and Ian, we spent the morning packing and grocery shopping for the week and then hit the road.  The drive to Denali National Park is approximately 2 hours from Fairbanks.  The campgrounds at the park were full, so we camped a few miles down the road.  Our campsite was right on the Nenana River.  It was a perfect spot to begin our baby’s first camping trip, except that the only facilities were an outhouse located up a steep staircase. Thus, being 6 months pregnant equated to a lot of exercise for Lisa.  And while the 24 hours of sunshine made 2 am bathroom runs a lot less treacherous, it also made it difficult for her to sleep.

trying to wake up after a long night with the midnight sun (26 weeks)

Before bedtime, we took a trip down Park Road in the National Park.  Denali is unique in the park system, in that most of the park is accessible only by bus and the park has only few trails near the main entrance. The rest of the park is undeveloped wilderness. As opposed to other parks where you are directed to “stay on the trail”, at Denali it is actually preferred for a group to spread out to prevent the land from being worn away in one area.  Dusty will be looking into this further later in his trip as he studies “informal trails” in Denali where tourists have taken to using the same path over and over.

The Alaska Range

As we drove down the accessible part of the road, the following conversation took place:

Lisa: I think I just saw something on that gravel back there.

Dusty: What was it?  Should I turn around?

Lisa: No, I think it was just someone’s dog.

Dusty: A dog?  Like a wolf?

Lisa: No, it was a golden color, just a dog.

Dusty: Lisa, we are in the middle of the wilderness in one of the largest National Parks in America where the nearest town is miles and miles away.  I don’t think it was someone’s dog.  Was it running away?

Lisa: No, it was eating something.

Dusty (stopping the car and making a sharp U-turn): When you see an animal in a National Park eating something, tell me to stop!

As we pulled back to the gravel stream bed, we were just in time to see a large cat walking into the grass — a lynx!

Dusty: That was awesome!  I have never seen a cat in the wild before!  I think that is really rare!  Um…let me know if you see any more dogs, Lisa.

Tuesday, July 6

After enjoying Jnn’s Camping Grits for breakfast (instant grits+real bacon bits+dehydrated scrambled eggs+cheese), we caught a Park shuttle for the 8 hour journey to and from Eielson Visitor Center.

caribou

wolf

Wednesday, July 7

Back on the road headed south, we had one last perfect view of Denali.  The rest of the drive was cloudy, but beautiful as we made our way along the coast to Homer.  By dinnertime, we arrived at the beautiful home of David (from Dusty’s rafting trip) and Marga who had generously invited us to travel with them the next few days.

view of Denali from the south

view from David and Marga’s home in Homer

juvenile moose on the loose in the backyard

Thursday, July 8

The next morning we loaded our gear onto the Odysseus (from Homer!) for our journey to Lake Clark National Park.

heading out to sea

rafting sea otters

humpback whale

The ride was wet, cold and stormy but enjoyable, though Lisa did get seasick.  We enjoyed hearing about the lives and adventures of David (75) and Marga (80).

Friday, July 9

smooth seas - a welcomed sight

We were amazed to wake in the morning to clear skies and beautiful, calm waters.  After an exciting ride to shore in the Zodiak (an inflatable motor boat), we were greeted by two volunteer park rangers, who seemed excited to see and visit with us.   Apparently, we were the only visitors that day and due to bad weather, the park had been quiet.  As we landed, we immediately saw two bears with two cubs eating clams down the beach. Later, we walked to the Park Service bear viewing station and were greeted by Verm, an employee of a overnight camp and bear tour facility outside of the park.  Since they had no visitors, he invited us to use their viewing station to get a perfect view of the meadow where the bears like to gather by a river.  Somehow, watching thirteen grizzly bears grazing in front of us was a pastoral scene; it felt like watching cows.

bear necessities

“do I smell a picnic basket?”

Before returning to the dock in Homer, we stopped to visit Gull Island.  The rocks and surrounding waters were covered with thousands of birds - kittiwakes, murres, puffins, and more!  It was an amazing scene, especially when we were joined by a bald eagle who set all of the birds aflight.

kittiwakes

murres

puffins

A dinner of fish and chips made from local halibut and rockfish finished off an almost surreal day.

Saturday, July 10

The next morning we enjoyed a quick visit to the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor’s Center, which was not only educational, but beautifully decorated with local art.  We then headed to the Farmer’s Market where we observed Lisa’s cousin Daniel and his friend, Morgan, teaching local children face-painting and juggling.  Having just finished a month in Morgan’s home town of Talkeetna running a circus camp for children, Daniel and Morgan made their way down to Homer where Morgan’s mother lives.  The distance that we drove in a day, they explored for a week, stopping in small towns and performing with a small troupe.  They plan to remain in Homer for a month, exploring and performing at various local festivals and events.  We enjoyed catching up over a great lunch and marveled at the coincidence of being in Homer, AK (pop. 5000) at the same time.

hanging out with Daniel and Morgan

Needing to get back to Fairbanks in time for Dusty to be at work on Monday, we left Homer that afternoon and drove another 6 hours before making camp for the night.

Sunday, July 11

Before continuing on our journey, we stopped at the Matanuska Glacier.  Located on privately owned land, the path to the glacier was marked out with orange traffic cones.  It was another gloomy day and the setting was ominous.  The huge river of white and blue ice was surrounded by dark grey mud.  The lone figures on the landscape, we were joined only by cawing ravens.  It was only on our way back that we passed guided groups prepared to spend the day traversing the ice.

it was a dark and gloomy day -perfect weather for experiencing a glacier

A few hours up the road, we stopped at the Visitor’s Center for Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest in the country.  It is difficult to imagine how large and impressive this park is except to say that it is larger than Switzerland and has higher mountains.  Though we didn’t venture beyond the park entrance, we enjoyed views of the park as we continued along the road.

The drive back to Fairbanks was long and passed through various small communities.  While the Alaskan landscape is reminiscent of scenes from Lord of the Rings, we are still learning what to expect from the people of these remote places.

The rest of Lisa’s visit will be spent primarily in the Fairbanks area as Dusty returns to work and we settle for the week in a dry cabin (beautiful, with every convenience except running water!) on loan from one of his co-workers.  These adventures definitely would not have been possible without the generous hospitality of those we have met here in Alaska.  Though she won’t remember it, our baby has had some incredible journeys to start out her life.

chillin’ in Fairbanks with the musk ox