Winter finally turned to Spring a few weeks back. It feels good. The sun is back in the sky longer than we can stay awake. Buds are coming out on the Aspen and Birch trees trying to turn the forest from brown to green. Migratory birds are slowly showing up for their summer mating rituals and filling the air with songs.
One of the grandest
benefits of spring is the opening up of once frozen rivers. In the Fairbanks area most of the rivers are just now becoming ice free. Some rivers, such as the Delta
Clearwater, open and are free of ice sooner than others. Because of this the Delta
Clearwater tends to be the traditional first trip of the season for many boaters.
Becky and I normally float the river as a day trip but this year we decided to join a group of friends and turn it into an over night trip. It turned out to be one of the nicest weekends we've seen in a long time. There was not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures got as high as the mid-70s.
Becky solo paddling an Ally canoe.
First flowers of the season.
My lovely bride keeping me out of trouble.
One of the grandest benefits of spring is the opening up of once frozen rivers. In the Fairbanks area most of the rivers are just now becoming ice free. Some rivers, such as the Delta Clearwater, open and are free of ice sooner than others. Because of this the Delta Clearwater tends to be the traditional first trip of the season for many boaters. 
Becky and I normally float the river as a day trip but this year we decided to join a group of friends and turn it into an over night trip. It turned out to be one of the nicest weekends we've seen in a long time. There was not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures got as high as the mid-70s.
Becky solo paddling an Ally canoe.
First flowers of the season.