~~Arrived in Nome, AK~~

Traveling to Nome was NOT easy, so I was happy to get off the third packed (and overweight) plane and see the person picking me up.

I get to the house and meeting the gold explorers.  We make a motley crew for certain.  We have one man that is a gold explorer; another man that is a diver; and a third man that is a re-known geologist. Oh...and me.

Nome is one odd little town. Only 3,000 people call it home year round. Nome is 21 square miles, with 12 of those being land and the rest being water.

The Port of Nome from the top of Anvil Mountain

The World's Largest Gold Pan

There are RULES of getting around in Nome. Everyone...no matter the age...can drive a quad. However, no quads are allowed on the main road, Front Street.  So, you will see little kids, women, and everyone else, spinning around on side-by-sides or quads.

My Ride, Side-by-Side

Upon arriving and after meeting everyone, I wanted to take a walk around the block.  After quite a while I got a text message from the lead explorer.

Him:  Where are you?

Me:    I went for a walk.

Him:  Okay.  Don't get lost.

Me:    I am lost.

~~As hard as it was, I would do it again...~~

People think I am nuts.  And that is okay because everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I am entitled to be nuts.  I secretly believe that those people secretly want to be just a little more like me. That is my belief. So there.

An opportunity to go to Nome, Alaska presented itself.  Since I rarely say, "no" to adventures, I enthusiastically said, "yes!"

The goal was to follow three gold explorers to their secret spot and capture their adventure in photographs. I was thrilled to get this opportunity!  Who gets to do this as a photographer?

Getting to Nome from Phoenix takes a lot of time and work!  I had to get up and o'dark hundred and travel to Seattle...layover.  From there, on to Anchorage...layover.  Then had to climb up into the back of a 30-seat plane to fly to Nome.

By the way, they were dumping people off the plane because the plane got too heavy.  This foretold the way the entire adventure was about to roll out.

More to come.....

Port of Nome from the top of Anvil Mountain. It was raining...of course.

~~San Diego Safari Park~~

Balloon Safari

Cheetah

Cheetah with a heart-shaped nose

Sleeping with his tongue sticking out

Wrestling Adolescents

Baby flamingos are grey and fuzzy

Their tongues can be 18" long

Macaw

~~Arizona in Spring...AMAZING!~~

Just thawed out from my Alaska adventure....and yes, I would do it again....and got home to Arizona to wildflowers popping in full color!

Manage your expectations and always be ready for a surprise!  I ran into a miner prospecting for Peridot, an ancient gemstone.

...and you cannot beat seeing and getting to photograph wild horses to round out your wildflower adventure!

~~Bundles of Joy~~

Getting ready to go play outside in Anchorage in February takes about a half an hour. Two sets of socks, two pairs of leggings, two shirts, two hats, hand warmers and gloves topped with a ski coat and vest,  I got too hot to stay in... I welcomed the chill of the outdoors.

I made my way to the costume footrace.... There was so much excitement, music and street noise.  It was fun to watch all these "bundles of joy."