It has been a fairly cold winter so far this year, and still not much snow. Not much snow means, not much snow machining. However, when the sun finally peaks over the mountains just before lunch I have been able to see it for many weeks now which has been very nice.

After stopping at the school the other day for lunch, Jaydyn and I decided to drive around Cantwell and shoot some photos of places and things that we happened to drive by. I set one rule for myself, I had to be able to drive the truck to whatever it was I was going to shoot. I did this for a couple of different reasons. First, it was cold out and we wanted to stay warm without much effort. Secondly, I was hoping that Jaydyn might dose off and get a little shut eye since she was a little on the ornery side of life  at the time. All I can say is we stayed warm. The second part of the plan didn't work out.

Will's wreath

We had fun though and that is what counts. I will do this again soon because it was so much fun. I found things that I want to go back and get more photos of for sure and explore them further. I ran out of time to shoot other places that I wanted to get photos of so, I have to go back and get them for sure.
So, when I get out there and shoot those places I promise I will share. Please realize these photos were taken randomly, with a 4 year old, in sub zero temps. I hope that you all enjoy them. Hopefully, next time I can capture some portraits of some of the wonderful people here in Cantwell!

Enjoy!

Mater's Cousin according to Jaydyn

Bud and Edna's 

Headed up to RCA hill

Jack River

Til' next time

Justin

Need more lights! 

The holiday season has arrived upon us once again. I love to watch Jaydyn as her excitement grows during the holiday season. She gets all excited to decorate the tree, build a ginger bread house, hang lights outside, and send Santa a wish list of too many toys. The important thing this year she said is that Sam and Kenai ( the dogs ) get a stuffed rabbit with a squeaker inside of it. We play christmas music nonstop from now until the new year. It really is a great time of year for us.

4 year old with an icing bag, I'm frightened!

 Well last night the skies were clear yet again. I am hoping that one of these days it will cloud up and dump some snow on us. We really don't have all that much snow yet this year. It has been cold for about three weeks now and when I say cold I am talking minus 20 or colder on many of those days. Yesterday it got up to about -5 so I decided to go out and shoot a few photos and take a short walk.

The photos I shot were some photos of the house and the surrounding area all lit by the moon. I love shooting low light photography it really produces some interesting results. It was pretty cold last night after dark though, so I did not last very long. My fingertips about froze off despite gloves and Hothands inside of them. I usually don't have this problem but, last night the wind was blowing just enough to make it painful on the hands. When I went inside the thermometer on the porch said -12. Not sure why I do this to myself and my equipment.

Shoot photos, as many as you can, I promise you will not regret it.

Still need more lights!! 

I love this place!

I shot this photo so you can see Denali. It does the mountain no justice. Denali is in the lower right hand side of the photo.

BRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

Until next time.

Justin

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcs. The definition of archery as provided by my Mac Book dictionary. My definition of archery is much different. Archery is a hobby that will help create lasting memories, lead to empty wallets, cause sleepless nights of dreams about bull elk, and bring families together in the outdoors for years. My definition could go on and on and lead to long stories of success and failure while hunting, shooting 3-D competitions, and practicing in the back yard. In short I love archery.

I was very excited yesterday to find out that the Alaska Fish and Game were coming to the Cantwell School to introduce the kids and staff of the school to the Archery in Schools program. I was excited for numerous reasons. First, I was able to shoot some photos indoors in a warm environment. Second, I am excited to see an amazing hobby of mine get some attention that can help carry on traditions and gather support for a sport that I love. Next, archery has brought incredibly great people into my life and has created lasting friendships that I cherish. Finally, when I was younger, archery created a platform for numerous adults to teach me some very important life lessons and has helped shape the adult that I am today. All of these things are exciting to see in a school environment.

It was interesting to watch the kids and their excitement. They were engaged, interested, excited, inquisitive, competitive, and having fun. The smiles on their faces were contagious to everyone. I heard a few them actually saying that they want a bow for christmas. Hopefully, Santa was listening to them. 

If you ever get a chance to, please take the time to thank those from the Fish and Game that volunteer to promote shooting sports around the country. 

Wow! This is after one afternoon of shooting!

Until next time 

Justin

How many moose can you see?

Looking for caribou and found moose! I guess that is just the way it goes sometimes. I love when I go out hunting, fishing, or trapping and I get to see things that you can never see on TV or read in any magazine! I want to keep pushing my photographic skills so that all of you can enjoy these experiences that I come across out in the Alaska wilderness and through out the Northwest when I get to visit.

Young bull still looking for love.

The drainage that I ventured into often times has caribou hanging around in it. Sunday night however , that was not the case. Instead it has a whole lot of moose hanging around in it, 26 to be exact that I was able to see from one single vantage point. It was pretty amazing to see this many moose grouped up. I saw one that I am sure went 60 + inches. They are very amazing to see with all of their headgear still on for a few more weeks. 

Nice bull that found love and is still very possessional.

I love the mountains here in Cantwell!

The scenery here in Cantwell for the rest of the winter will be very white and fairly cold. As I get to travel down to Anchorage and up to Fairbanks through out this winter I will try and surprise you with more colorful photos. I am sure that I will have help from a little 4 year old to bring more color into my photography. Please enjoy the photos! I hope that all of you are healthy, happy, and making the most of everyday.

B & W I love it!

I will never be caught again without my 300 mm lens. This bull is amazing and I am just to far away to give him any justice. 60 + with long, very long tines and brow tines.

Did I mention there were 26 moose in this one little area.

Talkeetna Mountains

Kiss of light!

Until next time

Justin

Chris rowing across Paxson Lake 

 Chris Romine, a good friend of mine, suggested that we do a trip of some kind on the water this last summer, did not matter where or how, just a trip. We talked about a canoe trails journey on the Kenai Peninsula and many different rivers that Chris had been on before in the state. I was excited just to go, did not matter where or when, I was in! After talking about it for a few days while in the office and over a few cold IPA’s in the evenings, we decided we were headed to the Gulkana River. 

Now, lucky for me, Chris had done this trip multiple times before and a had a good idea what to expect, what we needed, and how to do it. He knew important things like how much beer we needed, which is very critical on trip like this! He gave me the five gallon keg, told me where to get it filled up in Anchorage, and said we would be set for the trip. He even knew that the last day we would probably run out of beer in the keg and had the foresight to have a 12 pack in the bottom of the cooler to get us back to the takeout.

IPA and fresh salsa, does it get any better?

The great thing about being invited on a trip with a retired, whitewater guide, and kayaker is that they know how to shit in the woods properly. Chris has the best toilet ever for multi-day float trips in the backcountry. I had the best views in the world when it was time to go. It was great to sit comfortably and watch the water go by and watch the sunset while on the can.

Best bathroom views ever!!!!

Stephanie, Chris’ wife, made some incredible boil in the bag food for us to stuff our beer filled bellies with each day. Jeni, my wife, bought some amazing steaks for one night’s dinner. I had to have gained at least ten pounds on this trip. It was wonderful. 

I was promised that the fly fishing would be wonderful and I cannot begin to explain how good it really was without being called a liar. So, I will spare you the number games and just say that I caught lots and lots and lots of grayling. These grayling were just not the little 5 and 6 inch grayling that can be found around the state, these were large trophy-size grayling for the most part. It is amazing that a fishery like this still exists!

I can’t thank Chris and Stephanie enough for inviting me on this trip and showing me this truly wonderful and wild river. I can’t wait to do another trip like this with Chris and hopefully this next summer, the rest of our families can join us and we can make more memories.

Waiting for a bend.

Bella living the good life!

If we found the gold at the end of that we could quit, hmmmmm.

One of many wonderful campsites.

Alaska rarely disappoints!

Alaska Pipeline spanning the Gulkana River

Camp site visitor.

Once again, I hope you enjoy the photos of the trip. Please remember that if you see any photos on the Blog that you would like to purchase, just drop me an email I can get you a price and the photo. 

If you would like any info about visiting Alaska and playing in this wonderful state, drop me an email, and I will help you in any way I can. If I don’t know the answer,I know a lot of wonderful people up here, like Chris, that can help us out. Just do not ask any of us for our secret moose hunting spots because the answer is always the same- Lard Lake that is located up a pigs ass! 

Have fun and play hard! Until next time.

Justin 

I thought that I would share some photos with all of you today that were taken during the trip back up to Alaska from Montana with my dad. We traveled up from Montana out to Bellevue, Washington hopped on the Alaska Marine Highways and then finally drove the Northern section of the Alcan Highway.

 The Ferry is a great and cheap way to see Southeast Alaska. It stops in numerous different communities and villages on the way North. You can spend time in each community on the way and see the different cultures as you go. The food isn't to bad on the ferry. You meet all sorts of different people with great stories and reasons for heading to Alaska. The scenery is amazing the entire way from Washington to Alaska. It does rain a lot in Southeast so bring a rain a coat and some warm clothes. Every time I have a done a multi day trip on the ferry I have seen the sun so have faith when it is raining out. Bring your binoculars because their is a lot of marine biology to see along the way from Puffins to Humpback whales.

In Canada and Northern Alaska the history, scenery, and wildlife are all amazing. Plan to take your time and enjoy all of it. I can't wait to get an opportunity to do it again. I hope you enjoy a few of the photos that I took along the way.  


Justin