Mount Redoubt

Again...we have fallen off of our mission to keep this site updated. So I figured, what better time to get back into the swing of things than to post some of the pictures of the Mt. Redoubt's ash fall from this past weekend. 

I am sure that everyone has heard by now that we are have a "little"  volcano that has been letting off some steam lately. This has really caused a headache, mostly for those who have been trying to travel. This past Saturday, March 25th, was probably the most active ay that the voclano has had this far. Jess and I were out running some errands and when we came out of Petco, we noticed that there where little things falling fro the sky and it didn't look like snow at all. We immediately knew that Redoubt had blown while we were out. So we piled the dogs back in the Jeep and headed back home. We did not receive alot of ash, just enough to cover everything in a fine layer of gray. Above are some pictures from the backyard. You can see where the dogs had made some tracks through the snow. Hopefully this is all that we will have to deal with in Anchorage!

Red Rocks

I really like Colorado. A lot. Craig just finished culinary school, so I decided it was time for me to take some time to go celebrate. I flew into Denver on Saturday, Jan. 24 and spent a few days in the city with my little brother.  Craig took me to some great places downtown... One of the highlights was the Falling Rock Taphouse, where there are about 70 different beers on tap. We also had a great meal (including dessert, of course) at the Cheesecake Factory.  Craig, being the culinarian he is, is generally not a fan of "chain" restaurants, but he was pleasantly surprised with this spot. We also visited the Coors Brewery in Golden, just outside of Denver. 

Here's Craig in the tasting room...

I helped Craig pack up and clean his apartment to get ready for the big move back to Grand Junction. Our parents live in Grand Junction during the winter months, so they drove over on Monday to help Craig move his things. It took us a speedy 3.5 hours to drive over the pass, which was surprising because mom and dad had a rough ride over that same morning. 

Grand Junction is a small city in western Colorado, very close to the Utah border. Mark and I were lucky enough to visit together last year in March. It's situated at the foot of the Colorado National Monument, between two little towns called Palisade and Fruita. There are thousands of miles to explore, and so many hiking and mountain biking opportunities. 

This is Dad and I at Captain Smith's cabin in Escalante Canyon, just outside of Grand Junction. 

Eslcalante Ranch runs through this whole canyon, and we got stuck behind a cattle drive on the road out! The two cowboys had about six herding dogs working the cattle crowd. Being the proud mom of two herding dogs, I had a good time watching these dogs in action. They wouldn't even let the poor cows stop for a drink of water! They mean business. 

Oh, did I mention that Grand Junction is right in the middle of Colorado's up-and-coming wine country? Mom, Dad and I visited a few wineries in the Palisade area: Graystone Vineyards, Garfield Estates Vineyard, Plum Creek Winery, and Canyon Wind Cellars. I bought two bottles to share with Mark, but they never made it home. Sorry, Mark! 

Canyon Wind Cellars' vineyard...

Mom and I at Canyon Wind... 

Grand Junction is very close to the Utah border, so one day we took the "back road" to Moab (mountain biking mecca). On the way, we stopped at Fisher Towers to do some hiking (in January!!!). It was an amazing hike -- one of the best I've ever done. It wasn't too easy or too hard, and the scenery was spectacular.

Craig was busy hunting for jobs this day, so I had a great time hanging out with my parents! Here's Mom and I on the trail...

After we hiked Fisher Towers, we continued onto Moab. This picture was taken just outside of Moab at a place called Gemini Bridges. Gemini Bridges are two bridges that span over a huge canyon. It was incredible, but very, very high up! Here's Dad and his Rubicon near the bridges...

The day before I left, Craig invited me to go hiking with he and his girlfriend LeeAnna and fellow chef and friend Luke. We hiked just outside of the Colorado National Monument on the "Mica Mine" trail. 

Mica... I brought some home!

There were lots of highlights to this trip. One of them was Craig's cooking. He and Luke made a delicious chicken concoction one night, and the morning I left Craig got up early to make me Eggs Benedict (my fav). What a brognar! 

While I was there, Craig landed an interview at a place called Bin 707. The night he had his interview, the family went out to dinner at the place to scope things out. Delicious food, great atmosphere. Best of all, Craig got a job offer the next day!

I had a great week with my family. Mark and the pets survived without me for a week. I even came home to a clean house! :) 

Cook Street

My little brother Craig is currently enrolled in Cook Street, a culinary school in Denver, CO. Here is a slideshow of some of his class' creations -- I want to try some!  Although I don't know about the frog legs... I can't wait to see him so he can cook me up something good! 

I'm very proud of Craig, and glad that he's found something that he loves doing. Check this out!

Cook Street 180 October Class

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: students cooking)

Wet Paint

One of the first things that Mark and I wanted to change about our house was the entryway. But of course, many other projects took priority.  More than two years after closing on our house, we finally bit the bullet and had the stale, nail hole-ridden space freshened up.  Here's Mark and Buddy posing for the before shot...

After many conversations about whether or not we could paint the high walls and ceilings ourselves, we finally opted to hire someone to come and do the job. Although it cost a little more than we were hoping, it was worth the money to have someone else who knew what they were doing come in and do the dirty work!  I had visions of falling paint cans and broken legs, and of course lots and lots of cursing... The idea of painting another high wall/ceiling area also brought back very bad memories of Mark and I painting the sunroom.  'Twas a bad, bad experience.

I found Trailboss Solutions on Craig's List and was instantly impressed with their work based on their online portfolio.  Although this was a small job for them, all the folks at Trailboss were very friendly and professional throughout the whole process.  Here's a shout-out to Scott, Lee and Peter -- thanks guys!  I know for a fact that if we ever need other projects done around the house that we can't do (or don't want to), we'll call Trailboss.  Oh, and hey, one of their beautiful kitchen remodels was recently featured in Alaska Home Magazine. 

In progress... 

Naturally, as the paint was going up I got a little nervous about the color I chose.  After living for two years with the stark white that it was, the warm yellow color was a bit of a shock when I first saw it going up on all the walls.  Now that I've had some time to sit with it, I love it. It definitely has a more yellow tone than I was originally expecting, but it goes well with the rest of the colors in our house. 

We got our new chandelier at Brown's Electric.  It's perfect for the space.  Mark couldn't have picked a better light -- good job, babe!

And (drum roll, please) the final product... Ahhhh.  Home sweet home. 

Jan. 3, 2009 - Alaska's 50th Birthday!

Alaska became the 50th state of the United States 50 years ago today. Happy birthday, Alaska! 

Today, Mark and I headed south and took a drive along Turnagain Arm. Our destination? Beluga Point -- only a 20 minute-ish drive south of Anchorage. We almost turned around after seeing a huge fog bank hugging the Chugach Mountains on the south end of town, but we drove through it and the sun was shining along the Arm. The fog made for some beautiful pictures!

The Seward Highway runs 126 miles from Anchorage to Seward, and is considered a National Scenic Byway because of its amazing views. There's also a stretch of the highway between Anchorage and Girdwood that's considered one of the most avalanche-prone stretches of highway in the world. There are a number of avalanche guns situated at various spots along the highway, and oftentimes the highway will be closed to shoot down any snow patches that look threatening. Avalanches have killed many people, and have been known to close the Seward Highway for days -- not very pleasant for the folks who live south of Anchorage and commute to work in town! 

We were surprised to see a handful of Dall Sheep when we arrived at Beluga Point. There were two hanging out right next to the highway; the others were farther up the hill. 

s'cold

It's been in the negative temps for at least a week now, but we can't complain too much because we've been enjoying the clear, sunny days that accompany the frigid digits.  I heard the weatherman say that our HIGH today is -3*.  It's a good thing Mark got me a long down jacket for Christmas -- I've been putting it to very good use already!

We've been enjoying the clear mountain views from the back of our house.  I noticed that a few ravens were perched in the trees behind our house this afternoon, so I snapped a few pictures of them hanging out (maybe it's warmer way up there?). 

We recently got a new camera (Panasonic DMC-FZ28), so it's been fun playing with the settings and testing out my photography skills.  All of the settings make me realize that I really need to take a class to fully take advantage of the new camera. But it's very beginner-friendly -- I'm able to take good pictures without knowing much about the ins and outs of photography.