In Search of Jade Mountain...

Some of my project partners and I went on a hike Sunday (our day off)...originally planning to hike a "mountain", across the lake from the camp, called Jade Mountain, we predictably got lost and never made it...

Tim'm'n'm lookin' sharp in his life jacket.
Yosh, Rachel and Myself working our way across Toolik Lake in "Slow Moe".

Some Particularly robust Parrya we discovered on the hike.

see...even science geeks catch a little air every now and then.

The reason for our hasty return...attack of the mosquitoes.

Tundra bugs are HUGE and quite aggresssive....but we lived to tell the tale...and now i must go sleep...we've got a long day tomorrow playing with flowers...buenos noches amigos.

Toolik, AK

My time up north has been nothing but an adventure. The place, the people and the work are everything i dreamed of...My partner Tim (from Santa Clara) and I are working on a project for two professors from UAA and Santa Clara focusing on pigment evolution in relation to temperature of a species of mustard called Parrya nudicaulis. It is probably the coolest project/experiment I've worked on yet, plus its 3 free upperdivision credits.
I'm lacking in words to really sum up experience thus far, so here is a somewhat long photo blog with minimal writing...enjoi the eye candy...

Welcome to Toolik...

Toolik Research Station & the north-side of the Brooks.

Second yellow tent on the left is where I currently reside.

This pretty little fellow is the reason for my existance for the next week

These men are violating the flowers

Nest in the Tundra; Ivishak
Solstice night sailing on Toolik Lake

Solstice Bon-Fire in Toolik

Solstice Midnight Sun

Solstice Night Bon-Fire....Geeks Party Hardy

Hasta

Transecting AK

I have safely reached Toolik Research Station after a fabulous two day ride (i did not drive)ending about a hundred miles short of deadhorse...It's like the summer camp i never went to... just above freezing, tundra for miles in all directions, and all the science i can handle. i fucking love this...heres a couple photos from the drive up, courtesy of my fellow aspiring scientist Keith.

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taking it up the butte...

Finally! I hiked the Butte, for the first time this year, a week or so ago with my cat KTB. It is such a fun little hike, I believe that The Butte is the biggest bang for your buck, as far as, local day hikes go. It's shape is strongly reminisent of a wart, in comparison to the numerous mountains that make up the ranges surrounding both it and the entire Matanuska Susitna Valley (Home of my Home). In every other sense the place is magical! It is forty minutes or less to the top, depending on your mph, its the tallest mound (i think its an igneous intrusion called a basolith, once a huge bubble of magma, which cooled as it approached the surface, a glacier then cruised over and scrapped away all the surrounding earth leaving a giant wart shaped butte behind) of earth, outside any of the surrounding mountain ranges, and there is a 360 degree view of all the Mat-Su Valley; inlet, glaciers, and everything in between from the top.
So that day(a week or so ago) was a distinctly beautiful day, owing to the warm temperature, sunshine, and the large impending and dark cumulous nimbus bearing down across the valley from the mountains behind Wasilla. We managed to make it to the top in time for a beer, a photo shoot, and a leisurely descent back to the car before the first rain drop even fell...you can thank KTB for that crafty title...and for the following photos...

Knik Glacier in all it's Glory

Now, lets add a touch of Class to the scenery.
KTB (lead singer of the little known band Uncunted) enjoying a refreshing and delightful Alaskan Brew in front of the majestic pioneer peak.
I don't know who this is....swear.
get your creep on.

aloha.