This morning I took yet another series of standardized tests to prove I can teach, and for the two I received immediate scores for, I did well. To reward myself, I decided that Jack and I would take a drive up into the mountains, at Chugach State Park. It’s about a 15-20 minute drive from my house, and as I found out, it has spectacular views of Anchorage. I also found out it’s very important to stay on the trail.

Like most parks in Anchorage, your dog doesn’t have to be on a leash, but they do have to be controlled and you have to have a leash with you. I’m fortunate to have the perfect dog who minds and isn’t aggressive, so he gets to stay off leash for the most part. As we entered the park, I determined the snow pack (about four feet deep) was pretty solid so I let Jack off the leash. And he’s happy, playing in the snow, minding his own business.

After we went down the trail a bit, I noticed a couple with two dogs, and neither were on leash. I put Jack back on his leash, because it’s just good dog etiquette. Just then, we were rushed by an angry, snarling Newfoundland. He went straight for Jack. And I punched that Newfoundland square between the eyes as hard as I could, which held him at bay until his owner could come tackle him. Nobody hurts my Jack. The owner was angry with me for punching his dog, and I let him know in no uncertain terms that if he could control his dog, we wouldn’t even be having the discussion. But this was just the beginning of our little afternoon adventure,

Jack wasn’t hurt, so we took the snow packed trail up to the top of the hill, and we discovered that amazing view of Anchorage I was telling you about. Just incredible. I forgot all about that silly dog and just marvelled at the city below. I took some pictures, and then headed down the hill on the snow packed path. Or so I thought.

One thing about snow to the novice eye is that it all pretty much looks the same. Another novice problem with snow is that it’s very difficult to tell how deep it is. So it’s pretty easy for a novice to end up waist deep, stuck in snow. Literally, stuck in snow, waist deep. A few instinct things kicked in – unleash Jack, get the lens cover on the camera, stick my keys and phone down the front of my pants. But other than that, I had no clue how I was going to get out of the snow. Especially once I lost my boot. And I could see the path, maybe 10 yards away, but I was stuck. And Jack wasn’t faring too much better. At this point, I was pretty sure we were both going to become food for the awakening hungry bears.

While this is going on some ladies out cross-country skiing were at the top of the hill, no doubt getting a chuckle at my expense. Finally one of them yelled down and asked if I was having trouble. Trouble? Trouble? I’m stuck waist deep in snow trying to find my boot, no trouble at all. I told her I did need help so she skied over to us. I explained that I had just moved to Alaska from Tennesee and asked her to help my dog first, and Jack got over to a place where he could stand. But I outweigh Jack, so getting me out proved tougher. First, I retrieved my boot and got it back on my foot. I got my legs out of the snow, but couldn’t get off my butt without going back into the snow. And then my kind rescuer told me how I was going to have to get back to the path. Roll or crawl. I chose to crawl the 30 or so feet, and she stayed right beside me until I could stand again on the packed path.

We made it back to the path that leads out of the park, and darned if that dog didn’t want to leave. He was headed up another path, like we needed more adventure for the afternoon. No. It was 45 degrees outside, I was soaked to the bone, and it was time to go home.

So as I sit in dry clothes huddled under a blanket, with my dog sleeping in front of the fire, I hope you enjoy today’s pictures. We went through quite a bit today to share this little piece of Alaska. Just click on a thumbnail to start the slide show.