DRIVE TO AK- OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

It was a long journey from Northern California all the way up to Anchorage, Alaska. Fifty-four hours of driving to be exact, covering 2,968 miles. The mountains exploded immediately as I entered Canada and never stopped all the way up to Alaska. Each day of my journey I saw a bald eagle, as if I was being shepherded up to the north country. I also saw six bears (one grizzly), one red fox, two coyotes, three moose, one porcupine, three caribou, and one golden eagle. It truly was an epic journey bringing me much needed solitude and bliss.

Working with Eric Geisler, at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, I was excited on my first day to learn about my assignments and projects for the summer. There would be plenty of time to talk about that though, it was time to pile in the truck and head down to Homer for the week to do National Resources Conservation Service training. It was a gorgeous drive down to the end of the Kenai Peninsula. I was able to learn about some of the Alaskan vegetation, eat fresh-caught cod, and watch a small otter float on its back, paws and arms crossed, pushing itself through the water.

The adventure continues this week. We drove up to Fairbanks, passing by The Denali Range and Denali National Park. In Fairbanks we got a bit muddy doing ATV training, which was such a blast! It was also a great opportunity to check out my main study site for the summer time in the tiny town of Tanacross. My site was a predominately spruce/aspen stand surrounded by yet another spectacular snow-capped mountain range. There is no escaping the magnificent and massive mountains here, so needless to say I am very excited to see what sorts of adventures I get into this summer. Until next time…

Robbie Tepp. Bureau of Land Management. Anchorage, AK