This, That and Another Thing

The last ten days have been busy, very busy.  My grandmother was here for a visit.  We took the time to see the sites of Alaska.  She celebrated her 70th birthday by watching the Iditarod.  We also took a trip to Seward.  We made it there through the snow storm. There was heavy blowing snow in the mountain passes. You couldn’t tell the difference between the sky, road and snow bank. With 10-15 foot high snow walls on both sides of the road through Turnagain Pass things were a little nerve wracking. We just barely missed the avalanches along the Seward highway.  We spent time at the Sea Life Center and had a relaxing time.  The road  reopened in time for us to leave however we did have a small delay while waiting for the crews to finish the avalanche cleanup.   We made it home in plenty of time to get her to the airport yesterday morning.

Iditarod fever is still running strong.  I am following the race and as of this morning the top contenders have reached the Yukon River just a little past the halfway point.  There has been some excitement along the trail this year already. Going to the ceremonial start in Anchorage was fun but being out on Willow Lake at the official re-start was the best. I am so totally hooked on the Iditarod! Last year at the Iditarod hubby left the camera battery (which had been charging) in the car. No problem, there was always next year – right? This year he left the camera at home. No problem, we had just bought my Gma a camera for her birthday and decided we would use her’s! Except the batteries died as soon as we got there. Hey, I guess there is always next year!?! I may just have to swipe some photos from friends who where there.

I am still dealing with having this cast on my hand and am sooooo ready to get it off!  Ten more days until I go back to the orthopedic doctor for another evaluation.

The bathroom remodel has been resumed and we are still waiting to get my son’s room repaired from the water damage.  This is a priority in the coming days.

Sadly, we are down to about 2 1/2 weeks until my hubby leaves.  It has been great these last couple of weeks with the distractions but now we are beginning to really prepare for his departure and the long separation.  I think the younger children are beginning to pick up on it too.  The younger ones, especially the baby, have been extra clingy when it comes to their daddy.  We  may have a very unpleasant struggle adjusting to daddy being gone but will continue to pray that the Lord will allow a smoother transition.

I am hoping to be back to more regular blogging soon but it may still be sporadic for the next few weeks.

So, if you stuck with my ramblings thus far, let me ask you, what has been happening in your life the last couple of weeks?

Operation Denali

Saturday night my hubby and I attended the annual banquet for the Society of American Military Engineers.  It was a good evening out.  Hubby and I were all dressed up and had an evening out together.  The key note speaker at the banquet was the best speaker we have ever heard at one of these events.  I want to share a bit with you.

The speaker was Marc Hoffmeister. Marc is an US Army officer and 1992 West Point graduate currently stationed at Elmendorf AFB, AK.  Marc was wounded by a roadside bomb while serving on a Military Transition Team as an embedded trainer with the Iraqi Army.   He shared with us a bit about trying to deal with the devastation of his injuries and how his wife Gayle challenged him to overcome.  He told us that she announced one day that she was going to climb Denali!  Realizing that she was determined and he could not let her go alone, he determined to take up the challenge and Operation Denali was born.

Operation Denali Mission Statement:

Enable four Warriors wounded in the Global War on Terrorism to overcome devastating combat injuries and successfully summit 20,320 ft Denali, the highest mountain in North America, symbolizing the strength of our Nation and those who defend it.

He shared with us a very inspiring story. He spoke of not only the challenges of the climb in which only 40-60% of those who attempt actually summit. Denali is a dangerous mountain in which people loose their lives each year attempting to summit.  Imagining the challenges of attempting such a big climb is intimidating but image doing so without all of your limbs.  Yes, these wounded warriors climbed and summitted the mountain with prosthetic limbs.  He told stories of how they even passed other teams on the mountain.  That was rather encouraging for them, not so much so for the other fully bodied teams.  Why even try to attempt such a feat?  Reaching the summit was the goal but more importantly than actually reaching the summit were the following objectives.  Even for the few who did not actually summit, their objectives were reached.

1.  To raise awareness for the needs of severely injured service men and women
2.  To  work together to overcome our physical limitations and achieve a common goal made to seem insurmountable by the impact of our injuries on our lives.
3.  To demonstrate by performance and example that no obstacle is so great that the human spirit cannot overcome it

Let me give you a little bit of perspective on this challenge.  A little lesson on Denali.  Denali meaning the High One or the Great One is the Native word for the mountain that outsiders refer to as Mount McKinley. Denali, being North America’s highest peak, rises to an elevation of 20,320 feet amidst a sea of glaciers and other peaks that compose the Alaska Range.  Here is a photo I took from Anchorage, several hundred miles away.

For a closer look and updated photos check out the webcam from Denali National Park & Preserve. Their view is from Wonder Lake.

Please make sure to do your part in supporting our veterans.  They give up so much for the freedoms we all enjoy!  I ask that you share this story and encourage others!

To read more on this inspiring story visit Operation Denali! You can also see a slide show of the expedition. You can read their expedition journal too!

Take some time to learn more about Operation Denali and be sure to leave me a comment too!

Is it a Vacation or a Field Trip?

I would say both a vacation and a field trip!  After all the best vacations are ones in which you see something new and learn something new.  This past week we went to the Kenai Peninsula.  We visited the port town of Seward.  We had not been camping in five long years and it was time!  We camped out in a few yurts at the Seward Military Resort.

On the way we stopped at the Crow Creek Gold Mine.  It is still a functioning and active gold mine and we went down to the river to pan for gold.  Three of us actually found gold in the fast moving creek that flows from the mine!

In Seward we walked along the pier,

watched sea lions and otters play in the ocean while we wandered the beach,

took in the beauty of a waterfall,

and hiked a bit in the rain forest.

We also visited the Sea Life Center

and stopped at Mile Zero on the Iditarod Trail.

We watched men weigh and fillet their catches (one caught a 115 pound halibut)!  I hope my hubby catches a huge barn door halibut next week-end when he goes deep sea fishing!

We also visited Exit Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park. It was a great hiking trail and there is nothing like the refreshing cool breeze coming from a glacier after a good hike, especially when you just carried the baby in the backpack up the mountain! It was beautiful!

We would finish our nights with dinner cooked over an open fire, except for one evening when we ate on the pier. We would finish our evening with either a visit to the creamery or s’mores.

On our way home we stopped in Hope, Alaska. There is really nothing in Hope. The population numbers 147. It is a GREAT place though if you want to take some photos. If you like old school houses and log homes with a great view in the background, Hope is the place to go!

After getting home, we visited Thunderbird Falls. It was a very well maintained path, we could have even taken the stroller. I kind of wish we had! It is nice having waterfalls only minutes from the house! We had a great hike but did the mosquito dance the whole way! We forgot the repellent! NEVER again will that happen. I have mosquito bites on my mosquito bites!

We ended the week with a midnight BBQ! That is just something you need to do if you live in Alaska! It was a lot of fun and many of us were beginning to feel our age! LOL Only it was overcast and drizzly so it was actually kind of dark! Oh well, maybe next time we will have better weather. It was still a lot of fun!

T13: Great Things About Alaska

1. mountains
2. all of the amazing colors on the mountains as fall erupts
3. glaciers
4. icebergs in the lake
5. ocean view
6. watching salmon swim upstream to spawn
7. eating fresh salmon
8. the wildlife: moose, bear, bald eagles, foxes, and caribou
9. cooler weather
10. parks, parks, and more parks
11. let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
12. great gift shops
13. Governor Sarah Palin

Our Alaskan Arrival

Our first potty stop in Alaska. What can I say, when the youngins have to go they have to go!

We drove along part of the Alcan Highway. What a trip that was! The highway is not even all paved and the part that was paved was extremely bumpy. We even had a little one get car sick!

Pipe Cleaner Trees

When driving through Canada and Alaska we began to notice a change in the evergreen trees. The harsher winters are evidenced in the trees. They are thinner.