Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Eureka!

I was invited by some of my running buddies on a Boys Only Hunting Trip. We hitched up a trailer with four ATVs (four-wheelers) to a gigantic RV (house on wheels) and headed 2 1/2 hours out of Anchorage to Eureka.




After an epic five-hour trek around Anchorage before we even set off, we finally arrived in Eureka at 1am where we were greeted by some faint Northern Lights(!) and snow...




We set out early on Saturday morning on our ATVs to go and find us some game. Most of the party were dressed in camouflage gear and carried enormous rifles.





We saw lots of bear tracks but no bears. We did come across some caribou, ptarmigan and a lynx, though. Unfortunately none of them ended up on our dinner plates! We cruised across the wintering landscape, passing glaciers and snowcapped peaks, and even a signpost in the middle of nowhere.





On the way home we stopped off to "shoot some bottles" (literally) so at least we shot something. All in all it was a great weekend away!



Colorado

At the end of September we headed down to Colorado for a weekend of sight-seeing. Our itinerary included a trip up to Estes Park, gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park. We started at an altitude of 7,500 feet and drove up the most scenic highway in America to 12,183 feet. We crossed the continental divide and passed spectacular vistas.








The wildlife was a little thin on the ground, but we managed to spot some smaller rodents (squirrels, chipmunks and pikas) and a few mule deer and elk.