And the green grass grew all around.

I wish I'd taken more pictures when we first arrived so I could better document how rapidly the scenery has changed up here. When we first dipped into the so-called Anchorage Bowl, we could see that the area was further along seasonally than the other parts of the state we'd seen. Within days of arrival we could see that the snow was receding on nearby peaks (though they've since received a few new dustings). After just a few more days, we started to notice how quickly the plants were growing. A short-cut to our cabin was primarily brown when we arrived, dotted with the beginnings of many (then unidentifiable) spouts. We now have to wade through massive cow parsnip and a huge range of wildflowers that are knee-high at points. Many of our trails are lined with horsetail; in two weeks the plants have tripled in size.

The weather has been either 50 with drizzle, or sunny in the 70's - ideal growing conditions for plants... and insects, apparently. We've been warned about the late-season mosquitoes and have been preparing ourselves for the worst. Four days ago, quite abruptly, the number of bugs (and bits) skyrocketed, and I worried that it was still only a taste of the bugginess to come. The local volunteers eased my mind, though, when I overheard them moaning about how bad the bugs seemed to be this year.
We spent our days off exploring Lake Eklutna and hiking along a ridge (from Peak 3,980 - many around here are named for their altitudes) with Ben.














Steve has news that he asked me not to post, but... ask him about it. Here he is, playing "a different kind of pooh stick," as he put it.