Welcome the newest member of our family.

We’ve been a bit busy the past two weeks with this new bundle of absolute joy and energy. This is Nika (Neeka) who is named after the Teklanika River and campground in Denali National Park, our favorite place on earth.

After sadly losing our Giant Malamute, Xena at the end of August while at Denali, we originally weren’t even going to think about another dog for at least 6 months to a year, but the universe had other plans for us. The house felt so empty without our dog. On the same day, my wife and I both saw the posting for this female Malamute and we showed each other her picture. One phone call later and she was ours. We drove the 7 hours up to North Pole and picked her up two weeks ago Saturday. Since then she has been filling our hearts, chewing anything and everything, and making us long for the day when she will sleep through the night. Now if she can just figure out how stairs work ;)

We feel blessed—for the second time in a row.

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Oh, how I've missed seeing the Aurora.

Finally got to see some decent aurora for the first time in two years. Last years aurora season just plain sucked in Anchorage because of bad luck with clouds and low auroral activity. This year is supposed to be better. I checked at 2:30am this morning and she really built up quickly. By the time I got dressed and geared up the strongest display was already over. This display only lasted a half-hour or so, but I still managed to get a couple of decent shots above the coastal fog that has been blanketing Anchorage for the past week.