Tuesday July 24, 2012 at Chena Hot Springs

We went to Chena Hot Springs and the Chena Ice Museum where we took pictures with the thermal camera (aka, the flir). In the Ice Museum the pictures showed us all having cold noses and hair with the rest of our body's much warmer. We played the ice xylephone, posed in the igloo, and watched one of the ice artists make martini glasses; which we were too young to drink out of. We were also too young to go into the main hot pool at the hot springs so we had to stick to the indoor pool and jacuzzis. Using the flir we saw how the water from the hot creek and the cold creek blends and swirls together then scared the ducks and geese away. Afterward we made thermal footprints, handprints and body prints on the sidewalk and building.

Ryan

Monday July 23, 2012 - The Day We Left the Park

       Today was sadly our last day in Denali National Park and Preserve. We woke up way too early to be considered legal (6 AM) in order to break down camp. We then visited the Savage River and hiked around the trail which lined the river. While hiking, we came across a Doll Sheep nibbling away at vegetation under a rock face and watched it wander back up the hillside. The search for Pikas was futile, but we did hear them chirping in the distance! We even had the opportunity to pan for gold in the river to try and "strike it rich", but luck was not on our side this time. At 4 PM that day, we visited the sled dog kennels where we watched a demonstration on the daily lives of sled dogs. The puppies were so cute! After that, the park rangers who had accompanied us on our Denali adventures were dropped off back at their ranger station, and we drove out of the park. As it turns out, this was only the beginning of our adventure for the day...

       Starving, (we basically ran out of food and were surviving off Nutella and hot dog bun sandwiches, and Cup O' Noodles all day) we found the most delicious pizza place known to man. I think I ate 1/2 a pizza myself... The girls and I then ran around like tourists and hit all the local gift stores, coffee shops, and for myself, the rock shop.

       Buzzed up on coffee, sugar, and junk food, we hopped in the vans and headed to the Usibelli Coal Mine valley. Oh my gosh, let me just say that it is one of the coolest places I have ever been to. It has absolutely beautiful red sandstone walls with crazily angled coal deposits throughout the formation. Leaf, stick, bark, and even insect fossils can be found on almost every rock overturned! We found so many cool fossils, that we each brought pounds of rocks back to keep.

       The ride back to the University was epic to say the least. I was in the van with Jill, Jake, Amanda and Savanna and we head banged to metal music all the way back. We arrived at UAF sometime after midnight, and we unpacked the never-ending pile gear. Once finished, it was a race to the showers and laundry room (Hooray, hygiene!).
       Visiting Denali was seriously one of the coolest things I have ever done. I am so glad I was able to learn all that I could and hang out with such great friends!
-Emily

   

Sunday july 22, 2012 - Drive to WonderLake

Today we took the van to wonder lake and on the way saw some bears (one loner and a mom with two cubs), a caribou with one horn (which we lovingly named elliot) and some sheep. After stoping at the Eielson visitor center for lunch we finished the rest of the ride to the lake were we were eaten alive by mosquitoes. after looking around we put a marker in the gps, cataloged some bugs and hopped back into the van and went back to camp.

Jake

Saturday, July 21, 2012 : Tattler Creek Hike

We arrived at Teklanika Campground fairly late the previous night, so we slept in Saturday. After a good rest and a leisurely morning, we set out for the first event of our adventure; a hike up Tattler Creek. It was a short drive, only about 20 minutes. When we arrived at the trailhead the rangers accompanying us gave us their typical safety talk about bears and the like. Although this put a few of us on edge, we all started out on the hike looking forward to the day. A half-hour's hike found us at our first stop, a small spot along a stream where we could all work on our projects. Continuing on, we hiked up along a river. Several stops were made so that people could work on their experiments. After a couple hours we reached the end of the hike and saw the main attraction of the hike; a fossilized dinosaur footprint imprinted in the rock. We spent around half an hour wandering around the site, then headed back. Seeing as we had already made most of the stops along the trail, it only took us about an hour and a half or so to get back to the van. Along the road, a few of us saw a wolf running alongside the road. This was the first and only time we saw a wolf. That night, we got a campfire going and made s'mores and hot dogs. We tried to go to bed earlier than we did the previous night, because we were going to have an earlier start to the day tomorrow. We all went off to our tents happy with what we did that day, as well as looking forward to tomorrow.

--Tyler

Friday July 20, 2012 - Driving to Denali

Hi Everyone. Today, after scarfing down a quick breakfast, we lugged our many bags of clothes, tents, and food to the ASRA vans and headed off to Denali National Park. The girls took one van and the guys took the other. To keep in touch through the areas without cell phone service, each van had a walkie talkie, with which there started a competition between the genders of who could be the most annoying. We arrived at the Denali Visitors Center by lunchtime and ate outside, enjoying the rare nice weather, before going inside. It was there that we met the two park rangers, Rachel and Michelle, who would be accompanying us on our four days in Denali. On our way to the park entrance, we had our first animal sighting- a caribou! The exciting moment was somewhat diminished when we realized that we didn't have our camping permit, and so Jill headed back to get it while Peter and the rest of us campers stayed at Savage River (where the park entrance is located) and started working on our projects. Savage River was a great place to be stuck at, because it had something that related to everyone's project. (rocks, flowers, bugs, etc). We also had a great time climbing up the huge rock formation situated right at the center of the mountain. When Jill got back, we headed to the Teklanika campground. We set up our tents (all the girls in one, and each boy having his own- all by popular vote), started a fire, and cooked hamburgers and potatoes over the fire. We didn't exactly stick to our schedule, but I think everyone agrees that it was a great first day in Denali!

~ Amanda

Thursday July 19, 2012 - aka the day we saw The Joker

Today we spent the morning completing our tent check. After making sure we weren't missing any crucial parts to our tents we headed to Fred Meyer. After spending hours picking out our gourmet food for our camping trip we had a surprise encounter with The Joker. Best ending to a day yet! 

Wednesday July 18, 2012 - shop till you drop and embrace your inner child

There are only a couple days left till we leave for our very exciting journey into Denali National Park, and while designing our individual experiments we realized we may need a few supplies to complete these projects. The ladies hit the town stopping at shops varying from building supply stores to Walmart. As you can see from the pictures, it was a very successful trip. Although the guys stayed back at home base, they did not miss out on having fun. They spent the afternoon practicing flying the newest UAV toy of theirs and putting final touches on their project ideas.

Tuesday July 17, 2012 - Poker Flats/ Pipeline

On our excursion away from campus the team went to check out the Poker Flats Research Center. This center is known for its atmospheric science through the use of UAV aircrafts. They will launch a rocket that is equipped with a camera as well as other instruments that take readings of the Aurora Borealis and the atmosphere. As a team we were able to go behind the scenes on a private tour and see where the magic is captured. 

We also dropped by the pipeline to see the mindful engineering that took place when designing the incredible structure.

Monday July 17, 2012 - Introducing the ASRA 2012 Denali Geographic Students!

Hi we are the students of The Alaska Summer Research Academy module, Denali Geography! We have all traveled from different parts of the country to attend this incredible summer program. We will be traveling into Denali National Park and Preserve this Friday and camping near the Teklenika River, where we will be hiking, exploring, and researching many different natural and geographical aspects of the park.

Our module is lead by instructors Jill Shipman and Peter Webley, who both work at the Alaska Volcano Observatory at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. There are 8 students who are in this module, and we all have many different scientific interests and backgrounds.

Jacob Malone is a junior from Haines, Alaska. "I am interested in going to Denali and visiting the rivers so that I can make the model of a river."

Kyle Jones is a freshman from Bethel, Alaska. "I'm interested in seeing the wildlife in the park."

Tyler Eagle is a Junior from Wrangell, Alaska. "I'm interested in going outside and seeing Denali and the wildlife within the park."

Savanna Burke is a senior from Palmer, Alaska. "I'm interested in basically everything. Especially the wildlife within the park and the geography."

Emily Chebul is a senior from Castaic, California. "I am interested in the geology of Denali and the many different rock forms within the park. And I think it is one of the coolest things ever to find a fossil, even if it is just a leaf. "

Amanda Dempsey is a senior from Land o' Lakes, Florida. "I'm interested in the different types of trees and plants. I'm looking forward to seeing the wildlife."

Haylee Hastings is a sophomore from Kelowna, British Columbia. "I'm interested in Pikas and Polar Bears. I love science and I'm a math nerd."

Ryan Terry is a freshman from Anchorage, Alaska. "I like bugs."

Denali will be an incredible experience and we cannot wait for the adventures we will have within the park!

ASRA - Day 1

We all met up and found our homes on Google Earth