My Turn

Although Carlon has the opportunity to see some amazing landscape throughout Alaska, rarely do I get the opportunity to go with him.  So, when I have that chance, it is worth documenting, because what may be "just another day at the 'office'" for Carlon, is actually a pretty spectacular day for the rest of us.  Today was one of those days.

 

 

 

This morning after I dropped off the kids (who were totally ecstatic to be playing at their friends' house), I met Carlon down at the beach to hop into the float plane and head into Twin Lakes.  The flight alone is worth it all!  Beautiful scenery and pretty good company, if I don't say so myself!  When we got there we were greeted by a gentlemen who gave us a tour of Dick Proenneke's cabin.  Dick Proenneke is a man who, at the age of 51, decided to survive in the wilderness on his own for about 30 years.  Amazing story!  I highly recommend looking him up online, reading his book or watching the PBS documentary on him.  The cabin has been kept up and preserved for tourists and visiters to see what his life was like.
 

 

 

It was a privilege to be able to see such a place and once again, enjoy seeing another part of this beautiful state, that is so close to where we live.  It was fun to see Carlon in his element, doing what he loves and to be a part of his everyday life. 

On our way back, we spotted two black bear from the plane.  Just icing on the cake!  I was in awe, once again, of what a blessing it is to be here and to enjoy all the great things that are only a hop skip and a plane ride away.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Last night, my children, along with the rest of their school (about 30 students in all, K-12) performed the musical, "The Wizard of Oz". It was a very well done performance, thanks to the entire school and basically the entire community.

The evening started out with a fine gourmet meal, cooked by a great chef, who happens to live right here in our small community. It was delicious! Then, the play was under way. The kids did a great job and it was a tremendous evening for all.

It was such an amazing thing to watch "the final product", after having been a small part in the costumes, props, make-up and other pre-show tasks. I was truly inspired and in awe of our community and seeing the many, many, MANY hands that helped make it happen. If we needed a barn, or a door built, someone outside of the school was on it. If we needed make-up or costumes, a mom or a friend could provide it, or sew it, or mend it. Numerous people worked around the clock to paint, built, paste, fix, hammer or whatever it took to make the play a success. Not to mention, the kids and all their hard work, memorizing lines, singing songs, going out of their comfort zone and standing in front of an audience, rehearsing over and over and over again. So much work went into the success of this play.

I am very grateful for all the special talents and abilities of our small community and how their talents were put to use to make this production fabulous and memorable. What a blessing it was to be involved in such a great thing!

Date night!

Yummy chicken and veggies!

Our little munchkins.

"As Mayor of Munchkin City..."

Dorthy and the gang.

Just another day

The other day Carlon asked if I would like to accompany him while he checked the trapline. I nervously said yes. This may sound like a trivial task, but "checking the traps" means, getting in a ski plane and flying to the area (only about 8 min. away) and landing on a remote lake.

We loaded into the plane, with my cross country skis at my side, because, let's be honest, just checking traps is not all that interesting to me, and off we went. It was my first time to ride in a plane with skis and I have to admit, it felt a little unnerving to think we could land on what used to be water, yet at the same time it felt pretty exciting to think I was landing on what used to be water!

We flew over the area to get an idea of where I would ski. Once on the ground, I clicked on my skis and off I went, nothing but beautiful snow ahead of me! It was an exhilarating experience. On top of all that, the sun decided to peek out just as I started off to ski. I met Carlon at the end of the lake just as he finished checking the last trap. So, we loaded up and headed home. Although, it was an unsuccessful trapping day, it was most successful in time well spent!

It really doesn't cease to amaze me at the many opportunities that await me here and that are right at my fingertips. What may seem like a crazy adventure, most often is just another day when living out here.

Enjoying the season of winter

As the months have passed, it has gotten nice and cold and winter has settled in. I'm taking in the sun as much as I can for as short of a time as it is out. However, along with winter come all the wonderful activities outside that are right out our back door.

Iceskating has become the popular activity for us this year. I'm amazed at how fast my children are all getting and how hard I have to work to keep up! It is such an awesome feeling to be out on the ice, that in less than 5 months will be a body of water. This year we have had the opportunity to skate on the lake, and out further than last year. As great of a feeling it is to be out on the ice, I can't help but wonder if I would find that one crack that just didn't freeze up all the way. But knowing that is foolishness, we tread on and head out into the vast open ice to enjoy the beauty and fun of skating.

The kids skating on the bay.

Skating on the lake, with a great sunset backdrop.

This was a time when I got to skate across the lake, a long trek.

Last spring Carlon bought the kids and I a pair of cross country skis, so we were very anxious to get snow this winter and break them in. We have had ample opportunity to use them this year and it has been so much fun. The other day, I was able to ski to pick the kids up from school, and ski home with them. It took us a lot longer, due to the tempting hills to play on and ski down, but was completely worth it.

Skiing home from school.

Having fun on skis.

As cold, dark and hard as winter can be, I feel so privileged to be in a place where so much awaits for me to do. All I have to do is take that first step out the door and I can have a variety of adventures. I feel truly blessed.