Back in the U.S.

Visiting with Mary and Katie

We finally have a minute to give an update.  We finished up our time in Port Hardy with a second trip to Cattle Island.  This time we camped overnight since the kids decided they wanted to "build shelters and sleep outside, set up stores and gather their own food."  Jackson was successful in catching a spring Chinook which we cooked up over the fire, but the kids ended up sleeping in the tents with us.  Asa said in the morning "I'm glad the adults came along."  Scott and Dianne planned a beach potluck for us the last evening so we could see some more friends.

Chemainus murals
We then headed down Vancouver Island.  We stopped in Chemainus to see the murals before making it to Victoria that evening.  Conrad and Magdalene graciously let us stay at their place even though they had Anna and Christina and their children visiting also. It was so good to catch up and be a part of the family.  We caught a ferry from the island to Anacortes, Washington and made our way down to Kent.  And that's when the honeymoon ended….

We got to our motor home bright and early on Friday morning in an absolute downpour.  Rain like we haven't seen in years.  They began to attach the towing mechanism from the Jeep to the motor home and realized the tow kit on the Jeep was missing 2 brackets.  No one in the Seattle area had the missing pieces.  Jerry got the number for the original owner of the Jeep in Anchorage and sure enough he had all the pieces.  The second owner had not been interested in buying them and had neglected to let us know about them.  Anyway, our options were to wait until the special order could come in on Monday or drive down to Wilsonville (Portland), Oregon and pick them up.  Which is what we elected to do.  Jerry left for the 6 1/2 hour round trip while the boys and I stayed behind and loaded up the motor home from the camper van.  Jerry made it back by 4:30 pm (before closing time) so that they could install the towing and we could be on our way.  Because of the delay, we had to cancel our plans to see Craig in Kamloops which was disappointing but we'll catch he and Barb later for sure.  

Saying goodbye to the van!

The trouble continues
The following day started with a rush to switch over the California plates to Alaska plates before we hit the border of British Columbia.  Unfortunately, the plates were put on with a theft resistant screw.  Jerry got ingenious since stores did not carry a screwdriver to remove that kind of screws.  He bought a hack saw and got just enough of an indent to use a regular screwdriver!   We met Scott and the girls to transfer the camper van to them.  That process had it's own set of challenges, too many to mention; but, Scott kindly offered to take care of them and allowed us to carry on back to the U.S. We were a little downhearted and as we travelled, this song came on the radio.


It was such a good reminder that we are just "pilgrims passing through" and that this life is bumpy at best!  Here's the link to our theme song for the year.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1p-QfgkLow So, with the trouble we had getting started, I deemed yesterday our first official day on the road!  It was a better day.  We made it across the state of Washington and to Coeur d'Alene for the night.  We stopped at a neat state park called Ginkgo Petrified Forest and really enjoyed the Eastern Washington landscape of sagebrush and desert.  The boys decided that would be a great place to live and ride go carts!  People are always interested in seeing our Alaska plates.  The funniest comment so far was "you can drive all the way to Alaska?"  But in all fairness, maybe I wouldn't have known that 5 years ago either!!!

Fresh peaches and cherries!

Day one.  Thanks for the shirts Gail!

Across Washington

Officially on the road

Signpost Forest, Watson Lake

We are officially on the road!  We are so thankful to our friends and family (that one's for you, Cody and Sara) who helped us in the last homeless days before we left.  Our trip down the Alcan and Casiar Highways went well.   We even enjoyed another lunch at Buckshot Betty's in the Yukon with fond memories of our stop there a year ago with the Fritzels. We stayed in Tok, Teslin, Stewart and finally Prince Rupert to catch the 15 hour ferry to Port Hardy on July 12.  The ferry was built in 2009 and was more like a cruise ship.

Kitwanga, BC

The weather has been spectacular and we have enjoyed the non-stop views of mountain ranges and wildlife which included lots of bear (black and brown), moose, fox, grouse, whales and eagles. Our only mishap was needing to sleep in the pop-up van/Jeep for 2 nights, which we hadn't planned on.  But, that's to be expected in the summer with no reservations!  We were amazed at how well the boys adjusted to adversity "we love sleeping in the Jeep" even though they've never done so.

Aboard the Northern Expedition

 Having lived in Port Hardy from 1994-1996, it has been very special connecting with friends and visiting some of our favorite places on northern Vancouver Island.  You can link to our Picasa web album on the right hand sidebar to view more pictures from our trip.

In the week to come we will be heading south and picking up the motorhome in Washington by next Friday.  So, this may be our only post until then due to the lack of internet and cell phone connection.

Paddling to Cattle Island

San Jo Bay, Vancouver Island, BC

This is a test of the phone message blogging function...it works!

It's been a while since we have blogged anything, but the next few months should be worthy. We are embarking on a 48 state Road trip.

Chitina & McCarthy

On Sunday June 28 we processed the 21 Copper River Red (sockeye) salmon that Jerry dipnetted for this weekend in Chitina!!! It was quite the trip. We left on Thursday after lunch and met one of Jerry’s friends from work over there. We decided to pop the top on the camper van right at the parking lot of O’Brien creek where Jerry would be leaving from at 5am. O’Brien Creek is just a mile from Chitina. I stayed with the boys there all day while they fished. A water taxi took them up the canyon a ways and dropped them off on a big schist rock. Around lunchtime I asked the guy who owned the taxi if he would consider letting us go along when he did his check up on everyone. He agreed and we really shocked Jerry. The boat guy actually dropped us off on the rock and left us there while he continued down the canyon and then picked us up on the way back. It was great! Jerry was out for 12 hours and they netted 42 reds. The limit for a household is 30, so they didn’t make the limit, but why be so greedy! They were exhausted!! They gutted the fish and got them on ice and then our friend headed back to Anchorage and took our fish with him. We were going on to McCarthy…we thought. It’s a pretty bad road. After only 3 miles, our awning on the van flew off! We decided to head back to Chitina and got a room there. In the morning at breakfast we were faced with going home or figuring out how to get to Kennecott that day. The thing that pushed us over the edge was the incredible weather we were having. So we made the decision which will have me working some extra days at the pharmacy this summer…we flew over!!! It’s 60 miles and is a 30 minute flight. They take you over a glacier and the scenery was incredible. The boys just loved it. We toured the Kennecott Mine, spent about 6 hours over there and then flew back and drove home to Anchorage. It was (and still is) like an amazing dream.

So we spent Sunday processing the fish. We smoked some, froze some and I actually canned 24 pints all by myself with mom's old canner. Can you believe it??!!! I could have used my mom but I read about 5 different sets of directions. I think they turned out. I’ll know tomorrow when we open one up!

Catching Up

So the last entry was in July...pretty despicable.

Amy and I have been enjoying our time here in Anchorage. Amy continues her work at Providence Alaska Medical Center, and I like the new challenges as I manage the Outpatient Pediatric Clinic at Alaska Native Medical Center. We are both working full time, but Amy continues to homeschool the boys, so she actually has two full time jobs. The city continues to feel like a wild place. Moose cruise through our neighborhood regularly, there were a few bear maulings on the east side of town last summer, there is a decent salmon run in the creeks that run through the city (one of which is one block from our house), and the trails through the city can take you anywhere. Anchorage is very culturally diverse and we have discovered lots of great ethnic food, but no Ethiopian restaurant, yet. One of our favorites, Yak and Yeti, serves Himalayan influenced food. The boys would say their favorite restaurant would be either Bear Tooth Theaterpub & Grill that serves you pizza while you watch your favorite flick or Chuckie Cheese's.

The summer flew by. After the Katmai trip in July, Amy's family arrived in August for a whirlwind tour. We had a great time hosting everyone. Our excursions to Denali, Palmer, Wasilla, Seward, Alyeska, and Portage Glacier were mostly cloudy and cool, but still beautiful and full of great memories. The fall was short, but nice. We did go blueberry picking on the hillside above town...no bears. The snow arrived in early October which made a nice backdrop for the moose we found on the Powerline trail in the Chugach.

It has not made it above zero over the past week. However, the cold has added to our fun this winter. We did get the boys up on skates several times and we went cross country skiing and snowboarding last week. We are glad the boys love the winter because we have four more months of it!

Katmai National Park

Knowing that we would be in Alaska for Amy's 40th birthday had me thinking about the perfect gift. She loves travel, photography and the outdoors, and I have heard her say that taking a picture of a bear catching a salmon would be a fantastic experience. After looking at several options we settled on Brooks Falls when the reds (Sockeye) would be running and the bears would be fishing.

After a short flight to King Salmon we boarded the DeHavilland Otter for Brooks Falls. This vintage aircraft bumped through the gusty winds over the multitude of lakes and rolling mountains of Katmai until it cruised into Brooks lake and up to the beach where the lodge and campground are located. After a short session with the NP Rangers about etiquette in bear country we headed to the campground... enclosed by an electric fence! We set up our tent, ate a quick dinner at the Brooks Falls Lodge, and headed toward Upper Brooks Falls.

Almost immediately we started spotting the local brown bears. We learned that if you see a ranger walking down a trail talking to his/her radio while peering into the woods there was a bear nearby. The beach was like a bear highway. The first obstacle was to get across the lower bridge. Rangers are posted on each side and open and close the bridge as the bears move through the area. Our first hike up the trail was with a man from Poland, one of a host of nationalities visiting this remote but world-class destination. Being told to make noise while hiking we bargained with our new friend to sing his national anthem and we would sing ours.

The upper falls did not disappoint. No less than a dozen bears at a time were fishing at the falls. The platform offered up-close viewing of the bears as they competed for the best fishing spot. The fighting sounded a lot like roar of sea lions. Over the next two days we would make this hike four times seeking to get the photo Amy hoped for. After talking with a few of the seasoned photographers she got the technique down. On the second day it happened. She captured the image and with tears in her eyes she said "I got it" without even checking the photo. Sure enough. After reviewing the photo, she had.

After seeing the swarm of reds in the river at the lower bridge and watching the bears catching them with ease, I turned my thoughts to renting a rod and catching a red of my own. It was quite a game. Fish while looking in all directions... reel in and move away from the oncoming bears. The craziest, but most productive fishing was at what the gal in the Trading Post called the "Meat Hole" just below the bridge. The name held true. I knew it would be interesting after I helped a woman unhook a fish as a bear streamed toward us from across the river. After the bears cleared I hooked one and was playing it when it was announced that a bear was headed toward me again from across the river. I pointed the rod tip at the fish and walked away expecting the fish to break off. It didn't. It followed me up the bank. I quickly unhooked the fish, killed it and ran up onto the lower viewing platform. The bear was not too far behind and spent the next few minutes sniffing all around the platform for his lunch.

Needless to say this was an experience of a lifetime. A big thank you to Grandma and Papa for taking care of Jackson and Asa back at home.

Blackstone Bay

After hearing about kayaking in the inlets where the glaciers still reach the water (a fast disappearing phenomenon) we could not resist planning a trip of our own. Our good friends, the Fritzels, were up for the adventure, so we loaded up the camping gear and rented some double kayaks.

We all felt like the events of this trip were orchestrated well beyond our best planning efforts. God is good. We originally planned to go to Surprise Glacier which is about 40 miles (more than an hour) out of Whittier. Honey Charters, the water taxi company, thought I had said Surprise Cove about 15 miles out of Whittier. So after a little miscommunication and "sticker shock" we settled on Blackstone Bay just 30 minutes by water taxi out of Whittier. With the help of the very friendly crew we settled into the most picturesque camping area I have ever seen. It was right out of the REI catalog.

The beach at this camping area was full of skipping rocks which the boys occupied themselves with just about every waking hour we were in camp. The stream that emptied into the bay next to our site was full of Dolly Varden. They were feeding constantly on the endless supply of minnows flowing down stream. Troy proved they could be caught and I followed his lead. We had two nice trout in the cooler Friday night ready to be served with eggs for breakfast. Saturday morning the boys were up before 6:00 with the daylight and the sound of raindrops. As we prepared breakfast a crisp, blue sky began to approach over the mountains from the south. Much to our surprise there was hardly a cloud in the sky by 10:00 AM when we headed into the bay in our kayaks to explore the waters of Blackstone Bay.

After a two hour paddle past countless waterfalls we stopped for lunch and explored Willard island. The boys found an otter skeleton and a great bouldering rock. After lunch we headed toward Beloit Glacier. As we paddled it felt as though the Glacier just kept getting farther away. We had paddled about 7 miles and we were still about 2 miles away. Icebergs and "bergie bits" were strewn in the water. We could hear the thundering calving of the glaciers. At one point the entire face of Beloit let loose. With tired paddlers we decided it was time to turn back toward camp. The boys did great. They loved paddling and had a good attitude over the entire 7 hour journey. The sun was so intense that despite using sunscreen we all had sunburns at the end of the day. Back safely at camp we enjoyed the last of the sun and campfire conversation before tucking in for the night.

Sunday morning was cool and wet. The rain stopped about a half hour before the water taxi arrived which allowed a nice, dry window to get loaded up and head back to Whittier.
The most incredible part of this story is that everyone we talked to upon our return to Anchorage spoke of a cloudy, rainy Saturday! It didn't seem to matter where they had gone for the weekend - Homer, Anchorage, even Whittier itself - no one had blue skies and sunshine!

See more photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/jeramymarkus

Hawaii

Leaving behind a white, frozen landscape, we all were looking forward to the penetrating warmth of the Hawaiian sun. The islands did not disappoint. After a short stopover in Honolulu, we were on to Maui to meet up with our close friends, Scott and Diane, their daughters, Kaleigh and Mady, and Di's parents, Don and Marg (soon to celebrate 50 years of marriage). The consistent weather...low to mid 80's, calm mornings and breezy afternoons...made planning our week's activities fairly easy. The other factor that made this week even more relaxing was bringing along a good family friend, Lindsay, to watch the kids when the adults wanted to go play.

Most mornings were spent on the beach. Asa emulated our true feelings as he rolled in the sand and literally coated himself with little pieces of Hawaii. If only we all expressed our feelings so well! The boogie boarding was good, but the water was calling us in a little deeper. We started looking for snorkeling opportunities at the little reefs that bordered the beaches.

At three something in the morning on Tuesday the adults, taking full advantage of having Lindsay around to take care of the kids, headed for Haleakala. It is a 10,000+ foot volcano (dormant) that greets the morning sun in grand style. There was a spectacular display of light and color as the sun broke above the layer of clouds below the peak.

Thursday and Friday we rented snorkel gear and headed to Ahihi cove and the beach at the Maui Prince Hotel. Here is where a new world opened up for all of us. It was a bit crowded, but once in the water your attention quickly turned to the many varieties of fish darting in and out of the multicolored coral. And then we all enjoyed the bigger surprises in the water...green sea turtles, eels and a reef shark.

Friday night was date night in Lahaina. Don and Marg went to a great magic show, and Scott, Di, Amy and I went to a great fish house called Kimo's. Saturday, we decided to see what the hiking was like on the island. We explored the Iao Valley and then moved on to another valley with swinging bridges and creek crossings. We ended Saturday with an Easter egg hunt at sunset on the beach.

As much as we wanted to go to an Easter service on the beach, Sunday was the only day available for the snorkel excursion boat that we wanted to take to Molokini, a little cresent shaped atoll off the coast of Maui. It was Molokini that offered the clearest, albeit coldest, water. You could see 30 feet below with no problem. The boat moved closer to the beach for a better look at the green sea turtles. Our best look at the turtles was back at the Maui Prince Hotel where Amy took a few underwater pictures of the turtle action. The kids have not stopped talking about all of the sea life and the snorkeling experience. While the warmth, waves, sunshine, and relaxation was great, the snorkeling really made the whole week.

Fur Rondy

The city of Anchorage goes all out in February with winter celebrations. This past weekend we attended a few of the dozens of activities and events planned for the Fur Rondy Festival. The long name is the Fur Rendezvous which started back in the pioneer days when the trappers would come to town and auction off their pelts. We managed to take in the parade, dog sled race, carnival, fur auction, model train display, snow carving, and the running of the reindeer (think of the running of the bulls). This coming weekend the big dog sled race, the Iditarod, will have its ceremonial start in Anchorage on Saturday and the official start in Willow on Sunday.