A Ride Down The Road

 Gave the car a spin this afternoon.  It's good to get out of town a bit.  

Looking across Turnagain Arm from the Seward Highway.  Can you see the tracks where rocks have slid down over the snow?

Same mountain, a little closer view.

McHugh Creek

Looking across Turnagain Arm from McHugh Creek

A muskrat at Potter Marsh

A Satruday Hike In Alaskan Fall. Then Sunday Winter Came

I drive my van even less during the winter than the summer.  Partly because I avoid driving as much as a I can.  But also because we spend more time during winter with grandkids to the south.  We have it parked out of the street so it doesn't block the snowplows while we're gone.  And since we've been gone a while, I felt I should take advantage of the lack of snow, to go for a ride to charge up the battery.  Which is why we got to McHugh Creek.  

The sun made itself known through the clouds.

The total lack of snow or ice in the beginning of November feels weird, but no one was complaining.

Blends of yellows and oranges, with the green of the spruces.  The clouds hanging low, well below the ridge.  A little up the trail, we could see the faint outline of what I suppose is McHugh Peak through the clouds.  

Rocks have various kinds of lichen.   

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And there's still green plant life showing.

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The cottonwoods are skeletons now, the trunks are ridged, which I've always assumed is a sign they've been around a while.  The cottonwoods in our yard have much smoother trunks.  

We passed Potter Marsh on the way out and saw folks skating.  On the way back we stopped, but the skaters were gone.  These two guys were venturing out in their tennies.  

And then today we woke up to winter.  Nature pays no attention to humans turning their clocks back.  

Out For A Hike

 

I try not to drive too much and an Alaskan hazard has kept me from using my car as we await a new windshield.  The car spent much of the winter in the neighbor's driveway, which is much wider than ours.  But sometime during its stay, an icicle crashed down from above and made a very impressive web of cracks right in front of the driver.  The very center is even leaning in.  I've put clear packing tape all across this creation as we wait for a new windshield to make its way north.  I'm still concerned a good bump would send it all crashing in.  They told us it would be four weeks and I called today because it's overdue.  

So my wife's car got us on our first outing for the season.  McHugh Creek tends to have less snow than Anchorage and is a good first hike.  But it was not as snow free as we had expected.  It was also windy until you get into the woods and a gust grabbed my had and it disappeared.  J is usually pretty good at finding things, but didn't see it at all in amongst the trees.  Another couple came by and they were at the right angle to spot it and retrieve it.  

The view of Turnagain Arm never disappoints.  

The entrance to the parking lot was blocked with equipment and there was a new entrance.  At first I though they were rearranging the entrance, but there was road construction ahead, so I'm guessing they're just storing the equipment in there.  

 The upper parking lot (to the Potter trail) had a lot more snow than I remember from past early hikes.  

And the trail had a lot more snow than we expected.  We ran into a group of Air Force guys out exploring around Anchorage.  They weren't that excited about the snow either.  

Potter Marsh was still mostly frozen.  

From the boardwalk it was still snowy and we only saw a few birds - a goose, a duck, an eagle - all in the air.  

Our very snowy winter and colder than normal April still can't hold off spring too long.  There are tulips and daffodils poking through the soil at home.  

McHugh Creek And Potter March Beat Out Computer Screen

 

I remember as a kid, in the city in LA, there were so many more butterflies than I see nowadays.

Spruce tips.

This robin led me along the trail, presumably away from the nest.  It kept look back to see if I was following.

The nasty thorns of the devil's club shining in the sun, the leaves just opening.

The Arctic Terns are back at Potter Marsh and on high alert when a gull strays into their territory. 

And the swans are passing through.  

And while geese are all around in town, I don't get good opportunities to catch them flying.

Meanwhile. . .

I did check the Supreme Court docket.  There are two new filings today.  Scott Kendall informs the Board he's representing minority Board Members Nicole Borromeo and Melanie Bahnke.  He also asks if the Court won't allow them in as Board members, then they'd like to be  Amicus Curiae.  

Yesterday, Nicole Borromeo file a notice to the Court that the Board's motion asking for a stay and the brief explaining why was illegitimate because the Board never voted to approve it as was their procedure.  She included the vote to have the Board as a whole needed to approve such actions.  

This is starting to seem like the plot of new Netflix drama.  

Afternoon In Alaska - And Thanks Cameron Lowther

 We took advantage of late October sunny day to go for a hike this afternoon.  

McHugh Creek ought to still be snow free we thought.  And it was.  Well, a little snow up on top, but not like all the hillside snow in Anchorage.

All the leafless cottonwoods look so cool, just waiting for us to join their party.  

And ripe rosehips everywhere just begging to be tasted.

There are a number of little streams crossing the trail and sometimes just random water making the trail muddy.  But there are boardwalks here and there most of the time when needed.  And this particular stretch even told us that Cameron Lowther built it for us.  So thanks Cameron and all the other anonymous boardwalk builders for making our hike a little easier.  

Yes, there was sun when we left and it was still out when we got there 20 minutes later.  But it seemed clouds were coming in from the south.  But the sun was resilient and the clouds not that diligent.  

Here's one of those little rivulets I was talking about.  

Whoever lives in here, wasn't answering the doorbell.  

McHugh Creek was the perfect spot, because just south of the entrance to the parking lot there was road constructions and cars were lined up.  Which also meant, when we left, there were no cars for a while because they were waiting to get let through the construction zone.  

Driving back the tide was out in Turnagain Arm and the Alaska Range was visible in the distance.  

A quick stop at Potter Marsh.  There were three swans off in the distance.  I don't have one of those huge telephoto lens like the lady at the pull out, so I didn't eve try.  But the grasses and the still water were enough for me.  

Getting Out - Short Hike At McHugh Creek And Watching Birds At Potter Marsh

Went for a walk at McHugh Creek Sunday.  This was our greeting at the beginning of the trail (to Potter Marsh).  That's when I realized that the bear spray was at home.  I figured it was better off in the house than in the car during the winter.  [Of course, when I say something like that, I have to look it up.  There are forums where people talk about bear spray, but not very authoritatively.  But from Mace.com:

" Do not store unit in a cold environment under 32 degrees F (0 degrees C). This may cause depressurization and the loss of effective range."]

Never mind, we aren't likely to see a bear.  

It's still that in-between-time, not white and not green yet.  But lots of light from very early to later and later each night.  But it was a gray - not rainy - day and my phone camera was having trouble getting the colors right.   

 

 We took the trail going up to the homestead, but by the third long stretch of very muddy trail.  Actually, water is using the trail to get down the hill.  We decided to go back down and just stay on the trail that goes to Potter Marsh.

If you look closely, there are spots of green where plants are pushing their way up out of the earth.  

A surprise was the vibrant green and apparent health of the spruce trees.  Lots of trees have been killed by spruce bark beetle in South Central Alaska.  But there were good sized young trees that were doing just fine.  Or so it seemed.   Notice the healthy spruce in some  of the other pictures too.

The nasty spines on the devil's club are even more apparent than normal when the plants are still naked.

And during this still leafless period, the odd shaped trees along this trail are apparent.  

And there were lots of broken trees leaning in odd angles and piles of broken branch debris.  It was about this time that I remembered that our 2021 State parks parking permit was in my wallet and not on the dashboard of the car.  

Unlike the first trail, this one has boardwalks when the water gets to be too much.

The picture below is my favorite from yesterday.  The lower resolution on here doesn't help.  But I just like the texture of the tree covered hill and the various subtle shades of orange to budding green with trunks and branches here and there.  

We are almost back to the parking lot.  

My windshield was free of notices and I quickly transferred new parking pass from my wallet to the windshield.  The view of Turnagain Arm never disappoints, no matter the weather.

Right near McHugh Creek,windsurfers were out.

When we pulled over at Potter Marsh, the photographers were out.  

Soon all the straw colored grasses will be bight green.

There was even a pair of swans guarding a nest.  I'm still battling my camera when it comes to focusing on distant birds.  Eventually I hope to have a truce.  

A steady wind kept the water dancing.