The Arrival of Autumn

Sunrise in Wasilla
Late August 2015

Chilly Greetings from your Alaskan Family!  Although temperatures try to sneak into the 60s some days now, we have resigned ourselves to the fact that longer sleeves, warmer socks, and readying the coat closet for snow are in our near future.  Fall is actually our favorite time of the year...well, except for Ethan. He likes winter snows the best! Truth be told, I think we are all a little anxious for that first snowfall just to see how Ahtna behaves in the cold "white stuff."  Until then, we prepare, trying our best to harvest all of the wonders of summer/fall before the temperatures curb our abilities (or our desires) to continue.

Ethan's First Salmon Catch!

This last week has seen more adventures at Fish Creek and ptarmigan hunting at Hatcher's Pass.  Ethan and I are in agreement that we could live here our entire lives and never hike all of the trails of Hatcher's Pass; but it sure is fun trying!  Early last Monday morning on August 17, 2015, Ethan caught his first salmon!  We had found a secret spot on Fish Creek (that really isn't so secret). Just before the tide comes in, the running salmon gather together in a small pool and eat just about anything thrown to them.  Two fellas were leaving and one had extra bait.  He let Ethan throw his line while they were cleaning up and within seconds, Ethan had a fish.  We, of course, didn't have bait that morning -- we were using spinners; however, the spinners worked well, too, as we left with 4 silvers.  We think with bait we would have had our limit of 12; but 4 was enough to process the remainder of the morning and to fill the freezer with 11 bags of frozen salmon. Thank the good Lord! He probably knew that as salmon rookies we would be sore and stiff with more than 4 of those monsters to process.  Of course that didn't stop us from trying to catch more of them in the following days.

Combat sport fisherman waiting for the tide to arrive
August 2015

Waiting for high tide
Ironically, this is the EXACT same spot we had to pull him out of a few weeks ago!

Eagles Wait for Salmon Bites at
Fish Creek

With the weather turning and the high tides arriving later, it's been hard to catch the good salmon runs of earlier in the season.  That doesn't stop droves of anglers from arriving to combat fish for the salmon that are there.  When school is finished, if the weather is nice, Ethan and I go and try our hand at it if the timing of the tides is just right.  He fishes a little, but enjoys playing in the water more than anything.  Give a 10-year-old boy a pair of waterproof hip waders and I guarantee you he will tempt the water to get as close to the top of those waders as possible! Regardless of our fishing prowess, the scenery around us is breathtaking.  And as the sign at my Daddy's house says, "A bad day fishing is better than a good day working."  To which Ethan responds, "Yeah, but if a man won't work, he won't eat!"  We have decided that if our family were dependent upon the two of us for fish as a main source of food, we would all be much leaner or we would be going very hungry!  As a result, Ethan decided to try his hand at ptarmigan, grouse, and hare hunting.

As the first member of the Martin family this go-round to be eligible for an early hunting season, the day did not get off to a good start.  Ethan was awake most of the night before with an upset stomach from gorging himself on The Millers chocolate ice cream dipped in hardening chocolate. So much chocolate!!!  The Millers are a Mom n Pop shop along the Parks highway that cause traffic to come to a standstill on more than one occasion because of the long lines of cars waiting in their drive-throughs (yes, they have a drive-through on each side of their building)!  We just happened to hit it right Sunday evening after church when they had NO LINE!  Needless to say, their soft serve ice cream and flavor bursts rival Dairy Queen blizzards, and Ethan went crazy with his chocoholic self! And we let him...bad parents!  After the ache subsided Monday morning, he was ready to go hunting since his Daddy had a day off from work and the weather was gorgeous!

Entering Archangel Valley at Hatcher's Pass

Beaver Dam in Archangel Valley

We woke up to temperatures cold enough to snow, but by midday it was close to 65 degrees.  In fact, we were outside long enough above the treeline to get sunburned a little.  We tried Archangel Valley at Hatcher's Pass, which is not an area we had scouted before.  However, the road was open (which rarely happens), and we have had several locals tell us that ptarmigan and grouse are plentiful there.

Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree

Ethan's Grazing "Rock Bear" -- 3rd Rock Down

They lie. Probably not on purpose, but we sure didn't scare any up, even having the dog with us!  We did spot Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree, though, and a "Rock Bear" that nearly caused Ethan to have a panic attack!  He was using the range finder to make sure we were 1/4 mile off the road when he spotted what he thought was a grazing bear.  He begged for his Daddy's binoculars and then nearly made himself sick in the aftershock when he realized it was only a grass covered rock and not a "real" bear.  The hunt wasn't a total loss, however, as we discovered an untouched blueberry/crow berry patch that extended for at least 1/4 mile in most directions!  We now have a "secret" berry spot.  It is taboo to ask locals where they berry pick, and having found such a treasure trove ourselves, we can understand now why.

Homemade Blueberry Swirled Cheesecake
Made with the Blueberries from our secret spot at Hatcher's Pass

So while our harvest has been minimal, the sting of that has been alleviated by the views that surround us.  On more than one occasion during the past week, Ethan has remarked that "I could never explain to someone how beautiful it is here. I'm not sure our English language has the words for it." And we agree.  We feel so blessed each time we are able to look out the window or be out in the beautiful creation that the Lord has given us.  It's a shame that so many people see it, but they don't see it.  May the Lord open all of our eyes to the beauty that He has created.  Blessings to You All!

Geographical Oddity...1/4 Mile from Everywhere!

First Ptarmigan Hunt
Youth Hunt at Hatcher's Pass Aug 2015

Fishin's the Mission

Jim Creek, Palmer AK
August 2015

Fish Creek, Wasilla AK
August 2015

Silver Salmon are running here in the Matsu Valley, and we have been trying our best to catch them! Thus far, Alexander is the only one fortunate enough to land one.  Thank goodness we have the food sealer, freezer, and stove to cook them on and he's willing to share.  It's been a busy few weeks here, and we are all scurrying at a frenzied pace!

The fireweed blossoms have topped the stalks, and many have begun to "whisker."  According to locals that equals approximately 6 weeks until winter.  The leaves are beginning to turn the lightest shades of yellow, and the rains began in earnest yesterday.  And incredibly, the darkness has descended upon us yet again when we weren't even looking!  We have about 3-4 solid hours of darkness in the wee hours of the morning now.  We had gotten so used to sleeping in the sunshine, that the darkness crept in on us.  Ironically, though, we are all resting better -- sleeping deeper.  And we need it, given our recent schedules...

First Day Salmon Fishing
August 2015

Since the last blog, we've had an opportunity to visit with most of the neighbors on Kaylynn for a birthday party for Marcus's and Karen's children (the family from South Africa), meet up with Rebekah Bunts (a familiar face from Rockwell, NC) for fro-yo (she was here for a friend's wedding), try to help Michael as he was on a special detail for VA Secretary McDonald's visit (51 hours of OT), and fish unabashedly whenever possible!  Ethan and I started school in earnest August 3; however, we have relaxed on a few subjects for berry picking, fishing, fair preparation, and hunting.  If anything, we are thankful we started early (so we could "take a break" that coincides with the salmon runs).  It has given us an opportunity to reflect on the early history of our country and appreciate how schools altered their calendars to assist farmers with planting and harvest seasons.  Since this is our first "official" salmon season, we have followed suit with an altered schedule.  Regrettably, we haven't been able to bring in "the big catch," but we've sure enjoyed watching the combat fishing and trying our hand at it.

After sliding in the sludge

Completely Stuck!

Trooper Brent investigates these two!

We have learned that Fish Creek, sixteen miles from the home, has an enormous run of silver (coho) salmon -- so much so that fishing has increased there to 7 days/week instead of just Saturdays and Sundays.  The weekend is w-a-y crowded, so the boys and I have been getting up uber early to get there by high tide.  High tide raises the water level just shy of 30 feet, and when the water empties back into the Knik arm, it empties in less than three hours, leaving most of Fish Creek dry and sludgy.  Ethan likened it to low water level in a toilet bowl.  Gross, but fairly accurate.  We hike about 1/4 mile into the main water inlet, all adorned in hip waders.  State Trooper Brent stopped us on day 1 of fishing to check our licenses.  Actually I think he stopped us because it looked like we had dragged Ethan through the river in an attempt to bait the salmon.  He quickly moved on...we were in compliance, and we hadn't caught a single fish!

We almost lost Ethan though in the sludge, and we have heard of lone clammers getting stuck and drowning at high tide.  The silty bottom is heavier than cement, and after pulling Ethan completely out of his waders and having to go back and dig those out, we can understand how getting stuck in the muck can be very scary!  I think I could have pulled him out on my own if Michael hadn't been with us, but his waders would have been a total loss!

Making Scary Memories at Fish Creek!
August 2015
(Look at Ethan's Silt Covered Hands...that stuff was cemented on there from him trying to dig himself out!)

Alex at Fish Creek

Alex's Monster Salmon

Alex was quick to learn from our stories after his first visit to Fish Creek and immediately found a pair of hip waders that did the trick for him.  We have stayed completely away from where Ethan got stuck, opting instead to fish on the opposite bank.  That's where Alex landed his salmon!  He actually caught three, but the first two got away.  I know, I know...sounds like the "typical" fish tale, but it's true!  The first fish jumped so hard it snapped his line; the second fish was hooked in the tail, and therefore, illegal; so we put him back.  The third time was the charm!  And yours truly even cleaned the fish -- there is a first time for everything! Thanks, You Tube...couldn't have gotten through the grossness without you!  But even in the grossness, there is food on the other side, and we are so thankful for the 2-3 meals that Alex's salmon will provide!  Now if we could only fill the freezer with those, ptarmigan, and moose, we would be as ready to hibernate as the bears!

27-inch Coho Salmon
Aug 2015

Cleaning my first fish!

We lost everything in our little garden, except for the zucchini - which is really a blessing because zucchini is my favorite!  We are taking Ethan ptarmigan and grouse hunting tomorrow and Tuesday at Hatcher's Pass for the youth hunt, and when we are not there we will back at Fish Creek again -- weather permitting.  Michael, Ethan, and Tom are preparing for the upcoming hunts today by testing our new "tool" and Ethan's new shotgun.

Our new hunting "tool"

Other than that, we are gearing up for the State Fair again, excited that Ethan has three art entries this year -- 1 acrylic, 1 pencil sketch, and 1 watercolor -- and that he is entering the cookie contest.  We'll keep you posted as our adventures continue!  Much love to you all!

Beary Berry Blog

Yellow Raspberries at Crow Creek

It's berry season in the 49th state!  With the fireweed blossoms nearing the tops of the stalks, rumor has it that winter is only 6-9 weeks away.  It's so hard to believe that, given we just celebrated our 1-year anniversary in this amazing place.  Usually I try to update you on a week's worth of happenings, but our latest "adventure" warrants a blog all its own.

Heading up Crow Creek Pass

The days this week have been much warmer than usual, rising to 82 degrees on some days.  With no rain and minimal wind (and no air conditioning), the temperatures in our house have almost reached the same digits.  Thank goodness we can open the windows!  Window box and ceiling fans do help, and when the temperatures plummet to 40-50 degrees in the night, the house cools down quickly. With such great weather, we get out whenever we can!  This past Saturday, we headed to Girdwood, Alaska, for berry picking.  Ironically, their Blueberry Festival is actually this coming weekend; but when the raspberries (yellow and red) and blueberries are ready, you alter your plans to fit their harvest schedule!

Crow Pass, Girdwood, Alaska

Girdwood, Alaska is like most of the outer communities -- it's an eclectic little town, bustling in the summer with tourists and bustling in the winters with locals.  It is home to Alyeska Ski Resort where the "haves" from Anchorage and the Valley ski in the winter.  We walked through the hotel before a hike, and felt like we should pay someone just for stepping into the lobby. It was that nice... Interestingly, people pay LOTS of money to ski there when they could go to Hatcher Pass with their own equipment and ski for FREE.  We're very glad we live closer to the freebie.

Beluga at Sunrise

At any rate, we began our journey early, hoping to get some good berry picking in before the temperatures soared.  The tide was in as we passed Beluga Point and the sunrise made the waters in the bay just sparkle.  As the Seward Highway winds out of Anchorage toward the Kenai Peninsula, we could just make out three of the four glaciers for which Girdwood is known: from left to right, Crow Glacier, Goat Glacier, and Eagle Glacier.

Crow Glacier, Goat Glacier, and Eagle Glacier

Our initial trek took us down Crow Creek Road. We debated about stopping at the Gold Mine for "berry directions," but opted instead to continue until Crow Creek Road dead-ended at the foot of the glacier on Crow Pass Trail.  We could see a few berries on the side of the gravel road, but decided to finally stop at the trailhead parking lot.  As we climbed the gravel road and crossed two one-lane bridges, it felt like we were the only ones on Earth. And then...we pulled into the trailhead parking lot...hikers, bikers, campers, dogs, and berry pickers were everywhere!  Michael's deductive police skills told us "this must be the place"...too bad his skills (and our previous experiences) didn't tell us, "maybe you should bring the gun."  Crow Pass Trail winds its way through thick mountain foliage to the base of Crow Glacier.

Crow Glacier

Unfortunately we didn't make it all the way to the glacier because we really wanted to harvest the wild raspberries and blueberries -- and that was slow going!
Ethan is not a very good harvester of berries; well, actually, let me rephrase that. He's a great harvester, but a poor saver.  He announced at the beginning of our trek that he intended to eat every berry he found! At least he is true to his word.

Eating all the profits!

Climbing trees at Crow Pass

Michael Dives in Head First!

Buried in Raspberry Bushes

We found an amazing tree to climb and could see the mountains for hundreds of miles.  Ethan even said that Crow Pass was almost more of a favorite to him than Hatcher.  Because of our recent harvesting of fireweed and our experiences with "pick your own fruit" farms, we definitely had a different vision for berry harvesting.  As we hiked, we would each catch glimpses of red and gold raspberries which would cause a frenzied scramble into the brush.  After grabbing a few berries and getting scratched by the thorns, Michael donned his work gloves and dove into the bushes head first -- literally.  Ironically it wasn't until after I looked at all of our pictures that I realized how very dangerous it was for us to have left the gun in the car.  We were making plenty of noise, but the brush was sooo thick there could have been any number of wild animals munching berries and we would have never known it!

The Crow Trail with Mountain
Waterfall in the Background

Throughout the trail we encountered numerous hikers and only a few other berry pickers.  We never did determine if they were having the same difficulty harvesting that we were.  After a couple of hours of disappointing returns, we decided to head back to the trailhead and walk across one of the bridges to another spot that we had eyed earlier. As we walked through the parking lot, Michael grabbed his gun "just in case" while Ethan and I cooled off down at Crow Creek.  The creek itself was flowing like a river, and because Ethan is all boy we cannot walk past any water body here without getting close to it, touching it, walking in it, or throwing a rock or stick in it and watching what the falls will do to our objects.  Only this time, as we raced to the creek, Ethan surprised some sort of animal that tore off through the bank-side brush causing quite a stir.  Ethan has been faster than I have for a long time; but as he reached creek-side, and I caught sight of big, squatty, furry hindquarters tearing through the bushes, he froze!  FIGHT or FLIGHT?! FIGHT or FLIGHT?!

Ethan's Bear Scare at Crow Creek

Well, neither for us, actually.  Michael arrived, with gun in tow, and couldn't figure out why in the world we were frozen at the creek's edge, and not skipping rocks into the water.  I sounded like a broken record..."I think we just saw a bear. I'm pretty sure we just saw a bear. I really think we just saw a bear. Do you think we might have seen a bear?"  Since what we saw ran away on all fours and was much smaller in stature than a moose, and since almost any dog runs toward humans instead of away from them, Michael was pretty convinced that we did, in fact, see a bear.  Thank goodness it was running that quickly in the opposite direction!  We have no idea if it was a grizzly or a black bear that had brown fur (yes, those are real things), but that part really doesn't matter.  What does matter is that we think we saw a bear...did I mention we saw a bear?  And that it was Ethan's running toward the water that surprised it back into the brush?  So what did we do? We threw rocks into the water, revised the creek's nomenclature as "Ethan's Bear Scare" (interpreted a variety of ways!), and took pictures.  Then we continued across the bridge to our next berry patch.  Ethan and I picked along the roadside while Michael scaled the side of a hill and buried himself, yet again, in the berry bushes.

Giant leaves in the Rainforest

The Northernmost Rainforest

From there, we traveled back down the mountain, stopping at the Northernmost Rain Forest (another real thing) and along the roadside to gather a plethora of blueberries!  The blueberries really made the difference in what might have otherwise been an unsuccessful harvest.  With 1/4 of a bucket of berries, we decided to take a break and head to Alyeska for one more hike.

Plethora of Blueberries! Ethan can't show a "real" smile because his mouth is full of blueberries!

We hoped to hike the Winner Trail to the hand tram across the Gorge, but that hike was longer than the time we had available for the remainder of the day.  We had opted to leave Ahtna at home with Alex, but with his work schedule, we knew we couldn't complete the hike and be home in a reasonable time for our responsibilities to her.  We did get about halfway to the Gorge before turning back and heading for home.  Alyeska was running its own tram to the top of its highest ski lift for the tourists, and Michael was just itching to do it.  Ethan and I both looked at him and told him he could go for it!  We would pray for him and wait at the bottom.  Bahaha!

Alyeska Tram

Two Trams Crossing Paths at Midday

No trip to Girdwood is complete without a stop at the Tesoro Ice Cream Shop. With death by chocolate ice cream and fireweed ice cream inside waffle cones, our day in Girdwood came to a very pleasant end!  Ethan and I slept almost the whole way home.  Michael may have, too; but I hope not, since he was driving!  And what did we have to show for our adventure (besides some amazing pictures and memories)? 4 cups of berries that translated nicely into a pint and a half of tri-berry quick jam.

Alaskan Wild Berries

Tri-Berry Jam

And as we recall our beary, berry adventure, we will praise the Lord for His creation and for His protection!  Wishing you all a very blessed week!

"Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble;
thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance." Psalm 32:7