Mean while back in Alaska

Well, what can I say...some issues a raised and I just have not had time or energy to get back to my beloved blog..maybe now that at least some of the issues are settling in in Ga. I can get back to it. I thought this was so beautiful..it was a very bright and clear day in AK just before we left and we were out at Otter Lake and Gwen Lake with the kids..this tree was so gold and sky so blue I just loved it..
Even through the shadows the gold was gleaming
You can see all the leaves on the ground..it was so pretty..more pics on this later..the kids were posing pretty good..and Pop maned the camera like a champ.

Alaskan Plants

Alaska has some very pretty plants.These are the beautiful berries on a Northern Ash tree. They say when the berries are rotting they ferment and when the birds eat them the get "drunk". Kinda like when the birds here eat china berries. I have a couple of seeds ...we'll see...it may be to hot here for it.
This is a flowering crab apple tree. I just love this..and have discovered it can be grown here.
This is the forest floor in Alaska. The edges of one of the plants is frilly and white. Some are red, and the roots and moss were neat.
I think this is like what my mom calls Queen Ann Lace. It was just about finished blooming while we were there, but I caught this one on the edge of Otter Lake.

Trip Check

Day 10

10/17/07

Everyone had a great visit with their friends in KY, and are once again on the road headed to GA. They should arrive tomorrow..YEA!!!! The biggest thrill and anticipation seems to that they will once again be able to eat with a fork!!

still at the ZOO

Jacob, a fox and the Zoo Keeper.

Back at Homer
Sweet baby girl

Trip Check
10/16/07
Day 9
They are in MO, headed to KY...to see some friends...the kids wanted to fly home today. LOL
Jacob got news that his football team won the state championship.
Should be in GA by Thursday.

Still at the Zoo

This little guy was so cute...and he loved popcorn.
This guy was huge..what would the Alaska Zoo be without a Polar Bear, the Alaska Zoo only takes animals that have been hurt, if they can be rehabilitated and released they are otherwise they remain at the Zoo.
We had the best time...
These monkeys must have escaped their cage!!

Trip Check day 8

10/15/07

They are still in SD, had a great day visited Deadwood and Sturgis (big Harley Davidson Place) The Boys went from "horses to hogs". Also saw Mt Rushmore. Pretty neat she said. They will hit the road hard tomorrow and are headed for KY, probably will not get there until Wednesday. They will more than likely hit GA by Thursday. The Lord has certainly been with them and Exodus 23:20 has really helped us as we have claimed it for the journey.

Praise God!

Her Day..

Yep..it was her day (can't you tell), her class had a field trip to the Alaska Zoo. She allowed us to come along.LOL..
This is the entrance gate to the Zoo, it was absolutely gorgeous.

The old rugged fence posts and the beautiful flowers, were such a wonderful contrast.

Yep, grab a stranger and get them to take your picture. We had a great day and I will post more pics later.

Trip Check Day 7

10/14/07

They left Bozeman, MT after a day of sightseeing...had a hard time getting the cowboys back in the car..LOL they were in Wyoming headed towards South Dakota last we talked to them about 9:00 pm EST Note: She posted..no picture but a message for everyone.

Cooper's Landing, AK

On the way home from Homer we pasted threw Cooper's Landing.

This is a shot of the Huge Lake there. Love the red, green and gold colors.
The foliage was just beautiful and there was a dusting of snow on the mountains. Pretty perfect. There was a steam running parallel with the road, Jamie saw some salmons jumping but we never got a picture.

Trip Check Day6 10/13/07 WooHoo!!! back in the good ole U S of A. As of about 2pm EST. They said they were singing "The Star Spangle Banner" as they crossed...LOL and the speed limit is 75. Not sure how far they will make it but I am sure she will be calling soon...11:pm est they are in Bozeman, MT..just crossed the Continental Divide, and tomorrowthey are going to the site of "The little Bighorn" and "Custer's Last stand" ..our cowboys are in heaven!!!

Ah, Homer

I know yuk! But I, for one, had never seen this before and just knew I did not care to see it again...It' s kelp. Most of the time it is under the water, the tiny tail part is actually the "root" and is in the sand..the "bulb", when the tide is in, floats and the kelp leaves look like hair to me...anyway. Looking from our balcony it looked Bad....




"Open it, open it, Pop.. what does it look like?" Well, I missed the face but I a sure you it was not the pearl she thought it to be!.

You can see how much the tide goes out here it looks like the water is higher than us...This cliff was magnificent.

Our last look at Homer, as we were driving on Skyline Drive... Bitter sweet...love to have the kids home and they love coming home..but we knew this was ,more than likely, our last trip to Alaska.

Trip Check Day 4 & 5

10/11 & 12/07

I did not get to blog until late today so, now that Jame is in "real time" and has phone service it will be a bit easier to keep up with her. They said Grande Pairie was a big city, Edmonton, the Capital of Alberta, was still larger (about like Atlanta) they were heading into Calgary about 5:00pm EST. Trying to make it to High River, but not sure the kids can hold out for that. (just heard from her...they made it). Had some "interesting" things happen...more from her on that. Lots of pairies with lots and lots of round bales of hay..they even bale the median of the four lane highway! She a sures me she, huh..Shane, is taking pictures..she said she cannot take her eyes off the road..They are confident they will be into USA tomorrow. WooYoo!!

Thank you for your continued Payers.

Note: Jacob had to save Emmy..she stepped off into the deep end of the pool...over her head...thank God Jacob "saved her life".

More in Homer....

Watch tall boys have the time of their life... in their stinky, will not take it off, lucky fishin' shirt.
Marvel at Gods handy work, again. The Katchemak Bay looking toward the Cooks Inlet.
See a loon, lookin for lunch
Stand out in front of the oldest establishment in Homer, They say you can tell the average height of the old seafarers, from by looking at the door. There is a light house attached to this building..but I had the honkin lens on ..so Jamie has the best Picture of it. Dang it!
Pick up really neat rocks..out of the kelp. And Shane better have put my really neat rocks in that trailer!! LOL

Trip Check day 3

10/10/07

Made it to Ft. Nelson, BC 12:09 m EST, Traveled 591 miles

will rest a bit today and then head towards Grande Prairie

Saw herds of Buffalo, elk, mule deer, wild horses (that they kids wanted to roundup), dull sheep right in the road...no bear yet.

Elevation 1396 ft.Temp was a "nice" 32 degrees

Jamie said she asked one lady how they knew about the wheather forcast, because she could not find the "local forcast" the lady said "we just look outside..and unless it gets 50 below we don't worry about it." Crossed Canyons..on bridges with on guard rails..awesome but made her legs hurt as she looked back and saw Mack's little face.

Have gone up and down steep rolling mountains so much Mack throws up her hands and says "Weeee" like she is on a roller coaster.

And one last thing...she said the territory is so expansive, the mountains so big..they feel like ants....just a tiny speck in God's great world. She is looking for her cord, knows it is somewhere in the trailer, so she can post..the motel had internet hookup!! Oh, she said it cost about $80. to fillup her car in AK, in BC it cost $90. for a half tank!!! that's more than DOUBLE!!!

More to do in Homer....

Wear flip flops on the beach...while your Nana swears you have got to be freezing.
Fish in the Rain..in waders...up to your ankles in water while your Nana swears you have got to be freezing.
Watch the sun rise but never go over your head..only travels the horizon
Watch bald eagle soar...right over your head
Marvel at the handy work of God.. This was an awesome bird..wish I could have gotten a closer shot, but the sun is very hard to work with in AK

Trip Check Day 2

10/9/07

Left Tok, AK 2:00 pm EST (had to wait on bank to open to exchange money)

Traveled 396 Miles to White Horse, Yukon, Canada

Arrived at 9:30 pm EST

Very bad road conditions, lots of huge potholes, slow going

Temp in White Horse 4 degrees (warming-up!) snow flurries

Crossed over into Pacific time Zone (3 hours behind us)

Traveling the Alcan Highway, hope to reach Ft. Nelson tonight 591 miles away

Jacob: "Saw HOO-G-A Caribou" Antlers as wide as the car is long.

Emily says "If we are in another state, it looks just like Alaska!"

Bible Verse to sustain us: Exodus 23:20

Things to do in Homer....a series

These next few day will be a glimpse into our two days at Homer. Checkin out the hunting and fishing stuff with your buddy...

and get an Ice Cream too!

Walk with your best friend on the beach for the first time, in a long time.
Check out the beach, for the first time in your life (Mack); laugh and spend time with your Pop again.
Enjoy the view, no matter what view you have .
Watch boats speed by. (Jacob took this picture.) The weather was rainy and dark but it gets better...If you enlarge these they look a little better.

Trip Check, Day one

10/8/07

Left Anchorage about 2:oo pm EST headed to Tok, AK. arrived about 11:00 pm EST

Traveled Approx. 300 miles.

The expected low temp last night in Tok 1 degree.

Will spend the night before heading out in the AM to Whitehorse in the Yukon, will cross boarder into Yukon and time zone.

Had to hug mountains on one side and avoid washouts on the outside of the road, about 3,400 ft. straight down. They are on the Glenn Allen Highway... Have seen snow bunnies, coyotes and have been higher than the USCG radio towers..seen one other car..

Thank you for your prayers, it is so good to have good friends, God Bless you all.

To be continued...

Our Trip Down to Homer, AK

First I will apologize, because you may get tired of AK pictures..

however this is sorta like scrap booking, I am usung it so I'll always have this record of our last trip to Alaska..It's called the "Ring of Fire", the five volcanoes that you can see from the Kenai Peninsula, AK. Due to weather conditions we could only see two of the northern most..Mount Redoubt last erupted 1989.
And Mount Iliamna, has been quite for a long time.
This is the "Spit", it is a sliver of land that juts out into Kachemak Bay, pronounced "Catch-a-mack". It's called a spit because it looks like someone ( I say God) just spit the land out there...pretty fitting name. We stayed at the rightly named "Lands End Resort". If you can make out the tallest row of houses at the farthest point that's it! Across the Bay are five Glaciers, more on that later.
Another view of "The Spit"from Skyline Dr., with three of the five glaciers in view across the Bay.
The reason we went!

All of the sights took my breath away...

I hope you'll see what I mean in the next few posts...

but this is was the best sight for these sore eyes...We only got to stay one night due to appointments Shane had to keep, but it was good for these guys to take a break..walk the "beach" ....skip stones and watch otters crack clams on their bellies..

Home..late..without our luggage

We made it home late yesterday afternoon..without our luggage. It arrived this afternoon. We had a really great extended trip.


As you can see we had help packing. Jamie and Shane were trying to clear housing, sparating what they shipped and what came with them in the trailer. We had suite cases lying on the floor for the stuff they would need right away...you can see what Mack says are "must haves".

Have lots of pictures to share the next few weeks.

Jamie, Shane and the kids pull out tomorrow, so say a prayer for them.