Author Archives: icefogger

About icefogger

Just a basic, down to Earth, laid back type of guy here, who loves the outdoors, the indoors, jazz on the turntable, a fire in the woodstove, the northern lights blazing across the sky, and the company of good friends.

QOTD

The Feltleaf willow

“All over Alaska, moose are sucking in new leaves like whales inhaling plankton.”

—The Juneau Empire


Katmai Bear Cam

The Bear Cam at Brooks Falls of Katmai is back on. Tune in at your leisure to check in on your favorite bruins as they fish for salmon and fatten up for the upcoming winter.

Link:

https://explore.org/livecams/brown-bears/brown-bear-salmon-cam-brooks-falls


4th of July Parade

First Avenue Fairbanks, Alaska; circa 1911?

The second building in the picture is the George C. Thomas Memorial Library, which was built in 1909. The log building was home to the Fairbanks public library until 1977, and it was registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1978. The building still stands today.

Happy 4th of July.


Dusted

A great photo of the crew of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Manning. They were covered with volcanic ash from the Novarupta eruption of 6 June 1912.


Life in the North

Murphy Dome, just northwest of Fairbanks

Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN

Simply The Best

youtu.be/T2T5_seDNZE


River Watch

An ice jam right at the mouth of the Nowitna River; Photo credit: The NWS and the River Watch Team

It’s the time of year where we all watch the rivers up here. Break-up in Fairbanks has lost the drama it had in the early days, before the flood control tamed the Chena River. There was a time when the Cushman Street bridge was rebuilt every year after the ice took it out.

Elsewhere across Alaska, the shifting ice still packs a punch. The ice jam in the above photo has caused flooding 90 miles upstream. Tanana, Alaska has experienced minor flooding from this. Communities all along the Yukon, from Eagle to Buckland have experienced severe flooding.

The Kobuk River has been added to the flood stage list. An ice jam could bring flooding from Kobuk to Ambler if the ice doesn’t break up soon.

Graphic credit: NWS and NOAA

In Fairbanks, we saw our first 80F degree day this season on Friday. It broke a record for not just the high temp of the day, but also broke a record for the highest low temperature for the day. It was the earliest 60F degree low on record for Fairbanks. It was certainly noticeable when I went out in the morning.


Green-up Day

Photo credit: NWS-Fairbanks; University of Alaska – Fairbanks campus

The phenomenon known as Green-up occurred on May 16 this year. In one day, the tree buds burst open, giving the hills around Fairbanks a very sudden green tint.

It’s eight days later than the average green-up.


May 13

10:07 pm ADT

The first beaver tail slap of the season.