Creative and useful sons

I just wanted to show a couple of pictures of my sons who can do more than look good.

One is of Jared in his new "duds" working as a driver for UPS, the stocking he made for Madison-sewing ,gluing, cutting, etc. He can fix anything and just recently has built his own stone and mortar background thing (sorry, I don't know what it's called...) for his pellet stove;..and of Erik working on the brakes of his Pilot- Mr. I can cook or bake anything, clean, play several instruments with the kids had wield a great "Cop Face". I wish I had a picture of Timm and what he is doing lately- he makes cinnamon rolls for his friends, now, and is VERY handy when you need things fixed. He is my "go-to" guy when I have a technology question. See how talented they are!!!! Just because I am talking about the 'sons" doesn't mean Kelli is not as talented! She can do anything!!!!I am impressed with all her organizational talents and smooth and sophisticated way she can work with clothes, food and children. I am SO grateful that my kids are all good people and as Stu says, " useful members of society." I love them !

Steam punk...yeah , right....

Stuart and I had an interesting opportunity a couple of weeks ago. Some friends asked Stu to take tickets at a Steam Punk Ball.  I didn't even know what that was. I had to ask Angela, who knows more about that genre.
We were supposed to dress up for it...Well, you know us..we don't have alot of costumes or choices- this was the best we could come up with on short notice...It was a very strange experience....different than anything I have have ever attended before. The people had some very detailed costumes and they had a very well known (not to us) Steam Punk Band from Seattle.

 

Stu looks like he might fit in, as a bouncer or something. I just look, well, like I at least tried!

 

Hurray for new things!

 

This makes me happy

Sometimes I am asked , "What makes you happy? " I have thought about that, and I have several answers: 1. My children all like each other and like to be together as adults. 2. That they are productive and "nice" people. 3. That they are good parents. 4. That they like my baking.
Hmm...well that last one is a little different than the others, but I like the "mmmms" I get when they eat pie, or pizza or rolls or any other thing I made them as children and they still like.
I guess I think I have done an ok job as a mother if they still like my "stuff"!

Are we ever really adults?
Maybe I would like to be a child forever!!!

whew, it's hot out here!

It's a scorching 65 degrees out today. You may say,"That's not hot!" and maybe it isn't to you, but when you are shoveling compost/topsoil into a tarp, then mixing it back and forth, then dragging it over to the flower bed, then dumping it in and raking it..IT IS HOT OUT THERE!
Here is my finished "try". I hope the roses and Rhody's live through all the trauma. I wish my two grandfathers were still here to call and ask about their gardening skills. I am lucky to have my father to call and ask about these things. He is also a great gardener- must have either inherited it or learned as he grew up.
It's funny how I think about my Grandmother Binns most days. I wish I had talked to her more about her life and her health and her raising and supporting her family. I miss her! ( I am putting a picture of her and Grandaddy (the best tomato grower ever!!)  on this blog.)
Hopefully I will be a good grandmother, too. I want to be remembered as a fun grandma and not a crabby one! ( I am occasionally the crabby one  :(...oh well!)
We are happy this week because Stu sold a house he and Jared bought a while ago. We have paid off our vehicles, and had enough left over to go get a bunch of year supply items. Ended up spending 6 or 700 dollars worth of food, bathroom supplies, etc.... Makes me feel a lot more secure, considering the economy and who knows what will happen next year!

So, I hope you are all getting ready for the winter and you are all ants and not grasshoppers!!

so long

So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, goodbye...
We sold our old trailer today. we bought it in 1993 or 4 from a friend, and took it to our lake property for sleeping, and changing clothes.
We played many a card game and made many sandwiches at that table! (especially since it ALWAYS rained on Memorial Day and Labor Day, when we were at the lake!)
We drug it home from the lake last year, because it was hard to maintain it there- got mildewy, and mossy there-lots of mice, etc..
We don't use it anymore because Stu and I got a camper for our pickup.

So, we sold it to a couple who want to live in it. I wish them all the best. I am a little sad, but that is one less thing to maintain!!!

Pies

So, what is a good activity for Sunday after church is over? BAKE!!!
We were lucky enough to get some pie cherries from the Ketchums..delicious, beautiful cherries..not like the handful I harvested from my sad cherry tree in the backyard.
I picked twice at the Ketchums- each for an hour and got 24 cups each time.
I made a cherry pie today, (the one with the top crust) and a new recipe try: Rhubarb crunch.
Wish you were all here to try a piece of them!

Sundays are for snacking!

Sprinkler fun

Sprinklers are great, aren't they?!  Have a day over 70 degrees, several kids under the age of 10. a sprinkler, a yard, and a lot of towels and clothes changes!
I was watching Erik and Angela's kids, and Madison yesterday. It was Angela's birthday and Erik took her to Silverdale to shop.
The kids had a good time in the water...were a little cold afterwards and we had to dry everyone's clothes..BUT, it kept them busy for a good hour and a half!

Yay for sprinklers! the above kids are: Carson,7; Madison 4, and Ewan 4.

The last week of our "adventure" was on the Cruise Ship- "Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas". I like cruises because you have someone clean up after you, and there is food available all the time. The thing I don't like is feeling like you are holding up your stateroom "cleaner" by not going out of your room by a certain time, or coming back to find them in there, cleaning.
We had a good cruise. Very calm seas, except one day where Stu stayed "low" until it got calmer. We met some nice people- we shared a dinner table with 3 other couples- Lyn and Bill; Nancy and Gary; Carla and Gene; and a single lady, Dorothy.

We hung around the last day or so with Carla and Gene. Very nice people.  here are some pictures of the people, and our ship.

Last days in an RV May 31st - June 1st

Thurs. was a take it easy, pack, and get ready day.

At noon we went on a 13 mile bike ride.  A block and 1/2 from our RV park, we tied onto a trail which connected to the Chester Creek Trail which took us all the way to the ocean.   We did not have to cross a single road.

Anchorage Parks has several major park corridors and, attached to the corridors, are many playgrounds, ball fields, schools, lakes, etc.   Some areas were packed with kids.   We wonder if it was the end of the year picnic for some schools.   Very nice ride.

Evening we contacted people we earlier had made contact with via Craigslist.   We sold both bikes and all the stuff from the RV. 

Today (June 1st)  we are doing laundry, cleaning up the RV for check in at 11am and taking the afternoon bus to Seward AK to board the cruise ship.  Don't know what kind of WiFi we will have, so this may or may not be the last contact before we get home.

Life is good !

Wed May 30th

In the morning, we decided to drive to Whittier to see if the weather was different on the other side of the mountain.   Slightly improved but not much.

4 miles up valley from the campground is the tunnel.   Interesting story.

WW2 the army need to get supplies to Alaska for defense while the ALCAN was being constructed.  They authorized construction of a railroad from Whittier to Anchorage and Fairbanks.   To get from Whittier, a train tunnel was dug through the mountain.  (Here in AK, the coastal mountain range is very rugged and often the mountain starts right from the sea)   Since it began as a military camp, even today 98% of the occupants live in just 2 big buildings.

After the war, people desired a way to drive to Whittier.   So what they do now is share the tunnel.   Once an hour, the tunnel opens for west bound traffic and on the half hour, east bound traffic.  But trains have priority so some delays are to be had.   The tunnel is just wide enough for a big tour bus, so our RV was no problem.   Interesting experience, driving on railroad tracks.

Then we drove back to Anchorage, spent some time downtown (just another big city) and found an RV park on our own, no help from GPS

Tues May 29th

Today's activity consisted of a bus ride.

In Denali National Park, no personal vehicles are allowed past the first 15 miles of road.  (there are a few exceptions)   You have to take a park bus.   Either a tour bus or a shuttle bus, we took the shuttle.    It's less expensive and it allows one to get on and off with any shuttle.  They run about every half hour.  You don't get a tour guide lecture, but our driver did much the same anyway.

We were given instructions on proper behavior when animals are sighted  (like whispers only,  keep everything inside the bus, etc.)  And off we went.  This early in the year, the road is not open all the way, but we still could go about 60 miles into the park.   Took us 7 hours.

With so many eyes, we saw a good number of animals.   Moose, Caribou, Grizzly, Dall Sheep, Porcupine, and various small animals.  Other world scenery.

Bus would not go into gear after a stop to watch Sheep.   Of course on a very narrow mountainous section.   So emergency triangles were set up to warn the next bus that we were around the corner.   Then the sheep got curious what this green box was and came over to check us out.   For about 15 minutes a couple of them wandered around the bus.   Good photo op !

Back to the RV and drive to Anchorage.   Our GPS has not proven itself to be super accurate.   It could not find a campground or RV park in Anchorage.  We headed south , looking for a place to stay.  We ended up in Portage valley, on the way to Whittier, AK.   WIND & RAIN.   All evening, all night and in the morning.  Pouring rain (we found a leak in the RV) and very gusting winds rocked the RV all night.

Back to civilization - May 28th, 2012

Woke up late this morning (long day yesterday)   Morning walk by the Chena River.  Decided the thick brown RV needed a wash to become white again.  Found a local coin-op car wash with an RV bay.   Spent $20 to mostly clean up our rig!

Then on a bike ride.   Fairbanks has a very nice bike trail network all over town.   We went from Pioneer Park east.  Ended up at Fort Wainwright where we got challenged by an MP at the base.  Visitor Center told us we could ride all the way onto the base.  This information was not correct.  We were nicely instructed to turn our bikes around, which we did.

Then my eye glasses fell off.  Lost a screw and the temple piece fell off.   We rode north then west.   Low and behold, we see a WalMart.  Their optical department is open, even on Memorial Day, and they fixed my glasses for free.  We are having much better luck this week than last.

Ate lunch at Sam's Klondike.   Pretty good food, we'd eat there again.  (but we kept thinking "Yosemite Sam")

Then south to Denali National Park.  Short driving day.

They would not let us camp where we wanted to.  "Sorry, we can't give you that campground"   Next day we find out that in that campground, a grizzly had taken down a moose calf and momma moose was making havoc in the campground.

We camped in a campground 15 miles into the park.   Good that we did.   About 2 miles before the campground we come over a hill and there was the great one, Denali.  20,000+ feet.   No clouds around.   We find out that only 30% of visitors  to Denali get to see the mountain.   Lucky again!

Long day May 27th

Up early for our assault on the great north.  We headed up (north) the glacial valley.  Windy and rainy.  Tops of the mountains were not visible but it still was wonderful to look upon.   Then, as we climbed the Brooks Range, rain turned to snow.  Dirt road, very steep grades.

Did I mention that our RV has special tires ?  They are really just small semi tires.  Good highway tread but, for sure, not for snow and ice.  Closer to slicks.

As the snow piled up, the road became more snow packed than dirt.   Huge, and spectacular, scenery.   The last climbs to Atigun Pass are really steep grades that really took all my driving skills.  This road was not made for RV's.  Across the top of the pass and then down.  Even steeper grades !   Down off the pass, everything was a whiteout.  Blizzard conditions.   If they did not have sticks on the side of the road for snow plow operators, I would not have been able to tell where the road was supposed to be.

It is now another 100 miles to the end of the road at Deadhorse AK.   Can't see any tundra, can't see anything.  Stuart puts aside the desire to drive to the end   of the world.   So we (very carefully) turned around and headed up the pass from the great white north and headed south.  I cannot remember being is a situation before where I was so careful and concerned while driving.  Yes, even I was worried.

But we made it up and down over the pass without incident.   When we finally reached the glacier valley, I was relieved and Shar uncovered her head.  Then the LONG drive south.   We went all the way to Fairbanks.  You need to remember that, this far north, it never gets dark this time of day.   Where we were, the sun never sets.  But, because of the winter storm, we could not actually see the sun.  So we grabbed a spot in Fairbanks at the Chena River Campground right in town.  Actually a very nice campground.

Sat May 26th

Up in the morning and short drive into Fairbanks.   Refuel, resupply, new maps from the visitor center  and NORTH.

After the first 87 miles, the paved road ends and the Dalton Highway ( " haul road " ) begins.   It was built to help build the Alaskan pipeline and support / supply the north sea oil at Prudhoe Bay.   A few years back, the road was open to civilians.   So you know me !   Not long on the road and it started to rain.   Road became slick and we proceeded slowly.  We added about 3/8 inch of mud to the back and lower parts of the RV.   Rear view window was completely covered and blacked out.   Late in the day the forest gave way, mountains of the Brooks Range came into view.   At Coldfoot we refueled and checked out the visitor center.  Very nice visitor center.  We spent the night at Marion Creek Campgrounds between Coldfoot AK (population 12) and Wiseman (pop 16)

Another cold night and light rain.  We can tell we are not in Kansas.  This far north, it looks and feels like another world.

May 24, 25 2012

Very nice to have an RV with a thermostat and a heater !  It was COLD this morning, but we were warm.

Passed through Watson Lake, Yukon.  refueled.  Stopped in at the signpost forest.

Today we drove to Whitehorse, Yukon.   More amazing scenery.  Incredibly rugged mountains.  Overnight in Whitehorse, along the Yukon river.  Lots of history about the Klondike gold rush.   Really fun bike/walking trail on both sides of the river.  We rode it twice.

Visited Miles Canyon.  Basalt canyon.   Before the river was damned, the whole Yukon river rushed through her.  Wiped out many a gold miner.

In the morning, fueled up and headed north toward the border.

  Around the Kluane National Park, the road became a big challenge.   "frost heaves" put huge bumps and dips in the road.  Several times I thought we were airborne.   But WOW what scenery.  Across the US border and money changes.   Stayed at a "camp spot" that is a large highway turnout.   Between Tok and Delta Junction.