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Alaska in August
C and I think August is the best month for sportfishing as we enjoy fishing for silver salmon (coho). https://roaming-nature.com/2023/08/15/long-weekend-with-coho-count/ If you want to fish and visit Denali National Park, spend several days (or more) in Southern Alaska to fish, then head north for several days (or more) in Denali. We ate a lot of salmon…
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Alaska in April
If you visit the far north in April you have a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights. Aurora II, Week 4 in Healy – Me & C (roaming-nature.com) The temperature in interior Alaska will be cold, but the bright sun is lovely when it isn’t snowing. Days are longer and brighter than in September…
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Alaska in September
A number of people have asked about a good time to visit Alaska. I am guessing July will be my winner, but I will consider one month at a time. Since most of the folks asking live in Virginia, this week is a good time to post about September. The recent weather here in VA…
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Phased Retirement
I continue to work part-time as Shenandoah National Park’s Recreational Fees Budget Analyst. Last winter I offered my resignation if the park needed me to commit to the full position. Simultaneously I offered to continue to work part-time while the park found my replacement, as long as I could work from Alaska. It has worked…
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March 2023 Recap
As I was writing my annual holiday letter I decided to share some of it via this blog as well. Last year’s letter had several questions about what 2023 would bring (travel questions in bold below). I have been having technical difficulties with this post, hopefully it works out! What is the coldest temp on…
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Persimmons and Pomegranates
Oatmeal with pomegranates reminds me of my Alaska spring oatmeal with lingonberries. Deliciously tart red jewels, yum! While I can’t grow pomegranates in Virginia, there are lots of options for persimmons. I can forage for tiny native persimmons, and ate a few this year. The cultivated varieties are bigger with fewer seeds. I grow ‘Ruby’,…
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Blog Upgrade, Me and C Ad-free
I just upgraded this blog to a paid plan. No more ads! Hopefully this is true both in email and on a browser. If you keep seeing ads going forward, please let me know. The tipping point was photos. I had maxed out my 1 GB of free storage and didn’t want to delete the…
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Routine
A significant change in routine for 7 months presented unexpected challenges when I returned to Virginia. I thought that I would settle quickly into my old life but found I had lost the groove. This last week I have felt somewhat more settled and productive. The first 3 weeks I found it especially difficult to…
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Forest Sounds
I have a nice forest loop for my daily walk. On returning to Virginia, I was surprised by the noisy chorus the insects make in the woods. Did I just not notice in Alaska? Or are the Virginia forest insects louder than insects in interior Alaska? Certainly crickets chirp far louder than mosquitoes whine… No…
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Fall Colors
I am not sure about the rest of Virginia, but around our place it is an exceptionally colorful fall. This is the longest and most beautiful fall of my life, starting with the blueberries and aspen in Alaska in early September. When we arrived in Virginia 2 weeks ago the black gum trees were red.…
Me & C
Roaming: Shenandoah River to the Alaska Range
Me & C 