Evening at Egan - Being Caribou

In the fall, the University hosts a lecture every Friday night. When I learned the lecturer on November 16th would be Karsten Heuer, the author and adventurer from Being Caribou, I invited Mr. X to join me for a night out.

You might recall that I recommended his book and his wife's film in 2010. I first became aware of them soon after we moved to Juneau and read Being Caribou and Y2Y in 2007. This year Being Caribou was chosen as the "One Book, One Campus" book selection, and I was excited that the University brought them to campus so we could meet these adventurers in real life.

 Karsten has been a Canadian park warden in Banff for the past 18 years or so. His background is in wildlife biology. Leanne Allison is a filmmaker. Being Caribou is the real life story of this couple's trip following the caribou to their birthing grounds in the arctic and back again. The Y2Y initiative is a Yellowstone to Yukon corridor which would improve animal migration, and hopefully their survival. This is an idea that I have been aware of for many years as we've seen and heard of the increase of wildlife at Mack's Inn and the surrounding areas. Mr. X did a research project and presentation on this topic when he was working on his wildlife degree, and I remember discussing the concept with him at the time.

At the lecture Karsten summarized their adventures: Y2Y, Being Caribou, and Finding Farley. In Finding Farley, they took their 2 year old son and traveled from their home in Rockies of Canada to the Maritime provences where they met Farley Mowat, the author of dozens of classics including Never Cry Wolf. The family was able to find the den of arctic wolves just by following the description from the book! It was a real treat to see their slides from this trip, since I'd not seen the film yet.

In 2014, the family plans to take another of what they call a necessary journey. I can't wait to hear what they have planned next.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Our ward announced a Christmas Pageant this year...with just a week (i.e. 15 minutes of practice) before the ward party.

Friday night was the "Play" and to be honest it so reminded me of the book, The Best Christmas Pagent Ever. Everyone tripped over their fathers' bathrobes. The donkey wore a clip on tie for his tail. One angel had wings that kept poking people. And the shepherds pounded their crooks as if they were hockey sticks.

All in all it was a successful event*, but I just had to check out the printed version on Saturday. Mr. X and I thoroughly enjoyed reading that classic Christmas tale together.

*Of course we had to hightail it out of the church when Mr. X looked at me and said, "ugh, you okay? Your eye looks really pink."

Books to Keep you Cool

The hit movie, "Bucket List" inspired many people to make lists of what they'd like to do before they die. I guarantee you this is really just curriculum for Auburn High School's 10th grade health class. One item from my list of goals written in 1998 is: "go dog sledding in Alaska". The next three books are about dog sledding.



No End in Sight: My Life as a Blind Iditarod Racer - Rachael Scdoris and Rick Steber


Rachael lost her sight as a small child and recounts her experiences growing up wishing her dad would teach her to mush. Eventually, he allows her to run the dogs and she pushes to be allowed to race. Rachael meets the requirements to race the Iditarod and fights the Iditarod beauracracy to have a sight guide to keep her out of trouble out on trail. Great story about perseverance and the love of dogs.






Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod - Gary Paulsen


From the auther of The Hatchet, this laugh-out-loud funny book tells of one man's incredible journey from Midwesterner to Arctic adventurer. He spends summer months literally in the dog house after being sprayed by skunks. He experiences exhaustion induced hallucinations. He rigs up his classic VW beetle as a dog sled and has quite the adventure.







Yukon Alone: The World's Toughest Adventure Race - John Balzar

John Balzar volunteers along the Yukon Quest dog sled race. Learn about the different village checkpoints, the kindness of strangers and the crazy stories from out on the world's toughest dog sled race.

Favorites: Nine books to keep you cool

In the winter, when it's dark and cold, I like to read books about deserts and hot, spicy places. If you need a book too cool off this summer try some of these - my Alaska favorites.

These first three are adventure books with a green undertone. They explore Alaska from the Tongass Rainforest to ANWR to the Bering Sea.

1. Being Caribou - Karsten Heuer and his wife spend five months following the migration of the porcupine caribou herd. They discuss the beauty of the region, effects of drilling in the area, encounters with bears. A story of an incredible journey that will leave you wanting more (try finding the video they made of their trek and their other books/films: Y2Y - the formation of the Yellowstone to Yukon grizzly corridor and Finding Farley - a Cross-Canada canoe trip, their 2-year-old son tagged along).

2. A Long Trek Home: 4000 Miles by Boot, Raft and Ski - Erin McKittrick and her husband decide to hike and paddle from Seattle to the Aleutian chain. They tell the story of the forests of SE Alaska, British Columbia fish farms and the ice of the Lost Coast. An inspiring adventure that has Mr. X eying Alpacka rafts.

3. Shopping for Porcupine: A life in Arctic Alaska - Seth Kantner is a white man who was born and raised in a North Western Alaska grass igloo. His parents taught him the ways of the land and he reflects at how much things have changed in the last forty years. He vividly describes the challenges and rewards of the Old Way. Fantastic writing. Fantastic photography.