Warning: Due to the weeks that have come and gone since our last blogging update, I would recommend grabbing a cup of coffee, a snack, and "hunkering" down if you plan to read this update in one sitting.
Summertime in Alaska brings a flurry of activity -- from dutiful, weekly yard maintenance (daily if you're a gardener) to the more enjoyable festivities like hiking, fishing, hunting, and harvesting fruits and veggies. It also beckons family and friends from the lower 48 to finally brave the AlCan or the "friendly" skies and trek our way for long-earned reunions!
I must say...I absolutely LOVE family and friends coming to see us -- even though I know they are really here to see Alaska! It is fun to play tour guide, and Ethan knows his way around so well now, that we often send him out with our guests to embellish and wax poetic about the landscape, terrain, and "wild" animals.
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| The Younger Beaver Clan at Beluga Point June 2016 |
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| Rat and Ruthie at Hatcher's Pass, 2016 |
Most recently, we've had the wonderful opportunity of hosting my "little" brother, Matthew (or as I have affectionately called him since birth, "Ratmu"), his wife Ruthie, and their son, Jackson. As families, and nicknames go, for that matter, we have been warring since Rat's birth about nomenclature. As most good uncles do, he has never referred to our children, his nephews, by their given names. I imagine it is payback for all the years I introduced him as my "pet Rat." Regardless, our children have had to learn that Uncle Mackie will never give up his God-given right to rename them! Alex has endured high school basketball games as "Sugar Puff"; Andrew (whose name was NEVER to be shortened to Andy) has ALWAYS been referred to as "Andy Squirrel;" and Ethan has always been called "Monster." Rat is still Rat, but now Jackson is up for grabs! I thought I would be clever and call him "Jack Jack" after that infant child in the Disney movie Incredibles -- I mean, he is incredible in his own right, and I'm sure he has super powers. He was here for 17 days and didn't sleep at all, wiping out an entire parent army, one auntie, one uncle, one cousin, a dog, and a partridge in a pear tree! Now that's some super power!
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| Finally! Sleep Success! |
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| The Beavers Take on Hatcher's Pass |
When he wasn't sleeping (which was always), he was eating and learning to walk! What fun it was to watch him toddle around or quick crawl after the dog. Ahtna has never been around an infant for any extended length of time, so she wasn't sure exactly what to make of him. We think she was convinced that Jack Jack was hers, because she was underfoot constantly, making sure whoever had him was being "careful with the baby." Although he won't remember it, Jack Jack's first Alaskan steps made quite an impression! Whether at Independence Mine, Eklutna Lake, the Butte, the Matanuska River, Willow Park, Lake Lucille, or Eagle River Nature Preserve, we so enjoyed showing off our precious family to this precious state, and vice versa. Denali played peek-a-boo with them one day, they saw snow and rains at Hatcher's Pass, they got their first real taste of Fireweed Jelly on toast, and very narrowly missed becoming an airborne canoe on Willow Lake as the sight-seeing planes ascended! Jack Jack got Ahtna hooked on Cheerios, only got run over twice playing fetch, and Ruthie conquered her fear of dogs! Now her fear of moose...well, that's another story!
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| Jack Jack's Trip to the Anchorage Zoo, 2016 |
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| Hiking to the Matanuska River |
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| Jack Jack and Uncle Mikey at Wonderland Park |
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| 20 mph or less, Boys! 20 mph or less! |
And then, just as quickly as they arrived, it was time for their departure. They are both teachers and have the summers "off;" however, given they just sold one house, bought another, and were traveling to the upper East Coast upon their return to the lower 48, they'll hardly be moved into their new house before school will be starting again. So much for "vacation!" I have decided that, for me, "fond" farewells are a farce. Living in this wondrous landscape that we call home now can never truly be expressed in words or pictures. Ratmu discovered that. But neither can giving your little brother, sister-in-law, and nephew farewell hugs and kisses - only to wonder when the next time you see them will be.
But, as is always the case...time marches on. They made it safely to North Carolina, on to New York, then back to Carolina once again. In the meantime, we welcomed another group of "tourists" -- Grandma and Grandpa Beaver, and our friends, Nat and Sam.
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| Nat and Sam Atop the Bodenburg Butte< July 2016 |
The Beaver clan is quite familiar with Alaska, but Nat and Sam have never been here. The rains descended for most of their visit, as is typical this time of year; but we were all undaunted, doing our best to showcase the local features and experience several "firsts" as a group! Sam is a recent high school graduate, and Nat is 15 -- which made them just a little older and wilder than Ethan! I think between the three of them, they harbored 10-15 knives each time we went hiking, which would have done little to protect us against the critters and much to make them angry! Sam talked of high-jacking bears, climbing atop their backs in the event of an attack, and "sleeper-holding" them to the ground. We let him...because if a bear actually attacked and he tried that, we would all have time to escape -- haha!
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| Hiking to Gold Chord Lake, 2016 |
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| The Beaver Clan at Eklutna Lake, 2016 |
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| Nat and Sam at Eklutna Lake, 2016 |
They hiked to Gold Chord Lake and captured pictures "playing in the snow at Hatcher's Pass in July" for their family and friends that were sweltering in 100+ temperatures back home. After that, Nat, Grandpa, and I headed to Anchorage to buy fishing gear, "touch the Pacific," and watch the planes take off and land at the Anchorage International Airport. We hiked the Butte, the Eagle River Nature Preserve, and Eklutna; but it was our "Misadventure of Kenai" that was the highlight for me! Allow me to explain...
During this time of year, resident Alaskans are able to participate in the sport of dip netting -- literally dipping a H-U-G-E net into the ocean waters in the hopes of catching incoming salmon. Family size determines the quota of fish each family can keep, and our little family was eligible for 45 red salmon! Thanks to the advice from some long-time Alaskans (Brian), the borrowing of nets from others (thank you, Capt Rex), and the reading of the Kenai tide charts, we were ready to "begin" our adventure!
2 a.m. dawns early, but not quite as bright as in our earlier days of summer. We had all our gear and everyone fed and loaded by 3 to make the trip to Kenai. Our goal was to arrive by 7:30 and hit the beach about an hour or two before high tide. That way, we could fish through high tide, clean our limit, and make the long trek home before too late that night. Dad and Sam were armed with fishing licenses, too; they were hoping to hook something with the rods, while fishing from shore. We were super excited doing this new grand adventure together, and seeing caribou as we entered Kenai, helped our excitement swell!
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| Kenai 2016 Dip netting Scene |
The rains continued in earnest, but we were undaunted! As we paid our parking fee and pulled nearer to the shore, the tent city and hoards of vehicles already at seaside beckoned us to drive out onto the hard-pack and claim our "fishing spot." All went swimmingly for the first 50 yards...the weight of seven people and all their rain and fishing gear slowly combined with the weight of the vehicle. In that moment, all four front-wheel drive tires began to s-i-n-k in the sand. The idea that "everyone else" was able to drive out on the beach continued to spur our enthusiasm. So Grandpa jumped out, calling behind as his door closed, "I know how to fix it!" He began bouncing up and down on the back bumper to give Michael enough leverage to move the vehicle out of its sandy trap. Hooray! Success! Onward we went...for another 25 yards...
Seeing a pattern beginning to form here, but unable to really turn around and drive out (which would have given instant remedy to our situation), we likened ourselves to tourists - i.e. "everyone grab your buddy, and kindly exit the bus to your right..." We figured lightening the vehicle by several hundred pounds should be JUST what she needed to make it down the beach to a safer location or to a turn around spot. Digging out around the tires and tailpipe, and placing rocks and two towels under the tires for tread support, all those that were able-bodied, and perhaps less than willing, began pushing. By now, our party was the most fun on the beach! We had a fairly nice size crowd of on-lookers - some who were even willing to stop their dip-netting to see what these crazy newbies were going to try next! With a couple more pushes...we were no longer mired...until 25 more yards went by.
Now wait...did someone say, "The tide's coming in?" Well, yes, look at that! The tide IS coming in! There was also another vehicle making it's way down the beach trying to get around us. No go, fella! You see, we are newbies, and don't have a CLUE what we're doing! I firmly believe the Lord sent that fella down the beach at that exact moment. Most other fishermen had claimed their spots and been set to fish. This fella stopped his vehicle (more out of necessity than desire) to help us assess our continuing dilemma. Yours truly pulled out the cell phone and began to call AAA, to which he kindly responded, "No wreckers come out on the beach here." Well, of course - duh! What was I thinking? If we were too heavy in our vehicle, why in the world did I think a big wrecker could get out on this stuff and save us?
Finally seeing that our crew was doomed without support, other fishermen ran to their trucks for chains and tow straps, just as the water inched toward our tires. Secured to the bumper of another vehicle, Michael steered backwards in the "pull of shame" off the Kenai shore. Once securely back on "land," we all kissed the wet ground and donned rain and fishing gear. Dad, Nat, and Sam grabbed their fishing rods and tried their best to secure a spot -- any spot -- among the hoards of dip netters. Michael, Ethan, and I grabbed a cooler and the dip nets. Only I lost control of my equipment and broke Michael's nose! Well, we don't think it actually broke, but I'm sure it felt like it! Dip nets can be anywhere from 6-8 feet long when fully extended on their metal poles, and a metal pole to the nose just doesn't make for a fun time. No worries, though. We weren't letting these little hiccups stop our fishing frenzy!
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| Undaunted by a morning of "rough spots!" Kenai Dip net Trip 2016 |
Now, truth be told, the numbers of fish in the runs this year have not been stellar. Watching all the fishermen was amazing, particularly when we realized that some of these families had been camping for days in the hopes of catching their limits to feed their families this winter.
We fished for close to four hours, netting two salmon (but one got away!) and a flounder too little for one sandwich. The 14-year-old girl next to us was catching like gang-busters, and she finally had to quit because her arms got sore. After no more fish for an hour, we called it a day, headed in for lunch, and made the long trek home -- cold, wet, and exhausted. We cooked that salmon that night for dinner, and boy did he taste good!
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| A Well-Earned Dinner! |
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| Shipp Creek - Daddy and Me |
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| The Sound of Freedom |
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| JBER Air Show 2016 |
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| JBER Air Show 2016 |
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| Future Chopper Pilot? |
After perusing as many static displays as possible, and reminiscing with Michael about the "good ole days" of throwing up with over half his squadron on a C-130 that was doing in-flight maneuvers, we donned our hearing protection to make our way to the grandstand for the Blue Angels' performance. Resting in the jump seats of a C-5 Galaxy, Michael tried to explain its capacity to us in "laymen's" terms.
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| C-5 Galaxy |
He yelled above the noise, "See those notches in the floor? They're used to strap down tanks and jeeps. You can fit at least two tanks and ....[insert something garbled here]."
"What?!" I yelled in return. "Why would a "little Italian man" want to ride in here?" As he burst into laughter and turned fifty shades of red, he said, "Honey...check your hearing protection! I said, 'Two tanks and an entire battalion can - NOT two tanks and a little Italian man can!'" Yikes!
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| Waiting for the Tanks and the "Little Italian Man" |
Once we regained our composure, we found places in the crowd and the Blue Angels took to the air. Talk about a phenomenon to watch! As they glide, seemingly effortlessly through the sky, their wings are only about 18 inches apart. 18 inches! During one of their maneuvers, there are four planes flying in perfect formation, and a fifth plane sneaks up from behind the crowd and scares the heeby-jeebies out of everyone! It was at that point that Ethan turned to us and said, "I'm so glad they're on our side!" To which the Master of Ceremonies responded via the sound system, "Ladies and Gentlemen, The Navy Blue Angels - you don't know they're here until they are already on their way out!"
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| Seeing the Blue Angels for the First Time, 2016 |
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| Blue Angels 2016 |
With less than a week to tidy the house and get everything in order for continued summer fun, we welcomed our final visitors for the season -- Grandma and Grandpa Bradley -- all the way from Missouri. This was their first visit to Alaska, and although the rainy season was upon us (meaning torrential rains everyday!), we tried to make the most of their visit -- hitting up all of our "local" sightseeing places - and adding a new adventure for good measure!
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| The Bradleys Take on Alaska |
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| Hatcher Pass, August 2016 |
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| Independence Mine, 2016 |
While we enjoy every moment of every visit that occurs, if you haven't been able to tell, we also like to pick out our "favorite" moments of each visit. I think, by far, my favorite Bradley memory was our visit out of Whittier - in the Prince William Sound. Now...you will remember the torrential rain part. Add to that Michael's reassurance, "Oh, Brian won't take the boat out if the waves are cresting more than two feet." Can I just say..."The waves were definitely cresting HIGHER than two feet!!!" If you are on a boat, and the captain calmly says, "I went with an aluminum boat because even if we're completely under the water, we'll float," beware! Be very aware! In the world I live in, if a boat is completely under the water, we call that "sinking."
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| Heading Out on the Prince William Sound Yes...it's foggy...and what you're viewing is one of the largest cruise ships We opted for a small aluminum boat on waters that reach 1400 foot depths... |
But truth be told, Brian (and Ethan) are very good boat captains. When I started getting queasy in the fog and choppy waters, they took the boat closer to shore so I could see land again. Did you know that actually works to alleviate nausea? Well neither did I; but I do now! And to answer your next question...no one wretched this boat ride. Surprisingly, we were able to find a cove that was quite calm -- even calm enough to troll for salmon. Grandma and Grandpa Bradley are avid boaters, and they fish quite regularly on the Missouri lakes; but this was their first time ocean fishing. So imagine our surprise and delight when Grandpa and I pulled in the first two salmon! Then Grandma and Ethan pulled in two! Boat captain Brian pulled in an ugly rock fish, and only poor Michael didn't catch anything. He wasn't too upset, though, since he caught all the fish in Kenai (haha...all two, er three, of them).
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| First Catches of the Day |
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| Grandma Gets a Salmon |
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| Ethan's Turn! |
After exhausting our fishing time, we rode an hour out to Blackstone Glacier. Oh my goodness! Touching the glacial ice was incredible, but our feeling of isolation was almost overwhelming -- you know, that "good" kind of scary?! The weather cleared momentarily, and the sun even tried to come out and say hello. Then, just like that, it was time to head back to shore.
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| Blackstone Glacier, August 2016 |
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| Blackstone Glacier |
Now the ride back was c-r-a-z-y! Grandpa Bradley and I sat across from each other, and Grandma tried to film the ride. As the second set of waves crested over the bow, and our aluminum boat "floated" underwater, Grandpa's eyes met mine, and they were as big as saucers! We were all laughing that nervous laughter...you know the one! I grabbed Ethan and said, "Now I can understand why the disciples woke Jesus up screaming, 'Lord, save us! We perish!'" In my heart, I was screaming the same thing!
I was never so thankful to see land! But, what a blessing the scary, awesome, adventure had been! With only a few days more to visit together, we hit up the Little Susitna, but were driven away by the rains. We fared better at Shipp Creek in downtown Anchorage, seeing salmon on a clear day, but not catching any. We did watch two beavers working hard, and it reminded us that often we work hard (gardening, fishing, hunting, etc.) and there may be times that we have little to show for our efforts -- but that doesn't mean we stop trying.
Bidding adieu to our family and friends has been bittersweet. Sweet because we had visitors -- family and friends that love and care for us, and want to visit us -- even though the journey is long (and sometimes uncomfortable; thank you, 9-hour plane rides); and bitter -- oh, so bitter -- because for many of our visitors, we are uncertain when our paths will cross again. So I have decided that although farewells are sometimes necessary, I'm not a big fan of finding the "fond" in them -- except that, perhaps, the sooner we say "farewell," the sooner we will be saying "hello" again.
Until our next "hello," you are in our thoughts and prayers - and we love you!
"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you..."
Philippians 1:3
