We had a fun day at Solid Rock’s tubing hill. This hill is so much fun! And with warmer weather and some freezing drizzle it was slllll-iiick.
These kids must have made twenty trips each down and up. Mercy.
The drive to work…
So much fun. We went out to Dad’s cabin last night. I got to share my Quiet Riot with my Seester.
Then on our way home we spent some time stopping to take pictures and explore. It was great fun.
We saw a sow black bear and her cub at Stormy Lake day use area. That was pretty cool.
We stopped at an old cabin that’s for sale on the highway near the bluff. I’ve wanted to stop there for years and just never have taken the time.
We stopped at Three Bears for a few groceries, and a bear trap.
It was a great day of experiences with my Seester. So thankful for this opportunity.
#thankful #grateful #blessed #seester
Today was busy. BOW hunter education course with Thing 1 & Mo. We’ve been studying and preparing for two weeks now. There’s a lot of info to take in.
Thankfully we all passed the written and field test. Woo hoo.
These classes aren’t offered down here on the Kenai very often, usually in Anchorage. So not having to travel in winter is great!
The classes are hosted at Snowshoe Gun Club. They have a very nice facility. We had great instructors too.
It was nice to get a good refresher course, it’s been a minute since I took a hunter safety course. This one was more in depth than I remember. Experiencing the course with my girl was nice too. She did quite well and is a pretty dang good shot. Don’t mess with her.
I’m thankful for the opportunity to take the class, thanks to Mo for suggesting it. And grateful for the shared experience. Happy that I remembered far more than I forgot from all those years ago. Hunting and firearm safety is a lot like riding a bicycle, but it’s good having a refresher!
(BOW stands for Becoming an Outdoor Woman, it’s not an archery course)
#outdoorAK #aklife #shootest #hunt #womanswork #grateful #thankful #blessed
Today I woke up to snow. Blowing snow. And cold. I’m thankful for my warm gear and good snow tires and four wheel drive trucks.
#thankful #blessed
It’s too warm to stick but it was really coming down this morning.
Spruce bark beetles are ravaging our trees, everywhere. At home we have dozens dead but at the cabin they are more noticeable. Three lovely big spruce by the cabin have died and either us or the wind have taken them down. Cutting these trees was certainly bittersweet. I love these big ole trees. But they were no longer safe and had to go. Definitely a down.
It opened up the yard tremendously and let in more sunlight. Also less privacy, win some, lose some I guess.
Jake came out with his mini excavator to help take down the trees closest to the cabin as well as pull some stumps for us. While there I had him dig a test hole in a consistently wet spot of the driveway. After about half an hour we had a pretty good seep of clear water so it looks like I’ll be developing a spring house for fresh water!! I’m so excited! Up for sure!
We still have several downed trees to turn into cord wood. And a deck to finish. And another coat of sealer to get on the cabin before snow flies. Our last two weeks of moose season will be filled with chores during the “not hunting” hours. Here’s to having a successful and productive moose camp! Hoping for a big ole up!!
#aklife #drycabin #beetlespruce #beetlespruce #bettlespruce
Yesterday’s field trip was amazing! I have a ton of pictures to sort through in order to make a blog post. But all fun times end and it’s back to work!
Today we finished standing trusses. Put the lookouts up. Cut truss tails, installed bird blocking. House wrapped the front gable and picked up a few more supplies for putting the metal roof on next week.
I think we made 8,000 trips up and down the ladders.
Like this week, next week will be a day short, this time for the holiday.
Riding the Alaska Railroad is a dream come true for many a tourist and resident alike. It stays a dream for countless others who only venture to Alaska with their mind’s eye. We get to live that dream on a daily basis. And some days are more dreamy than others.
This was just such a day.
Portage Train Depot is right on the highway, near the Placer river, at sea level. We loaded up onto car A, the double decker with full glass viewing panels. We had quite the vantage point. We also had a Chugach USFS ranger as our guide for the trip. He had interesting local lore, history and flora & fauna information for us.
Sitting on the train while they off-load rafts on the Placer River, watching my kids unaware. Talking to their friends, sharing snacks, playing games. There may or may not have been some musical chairs with these assigned seats. They are in their element. The simple pleasures of life.
…what thrills me about trains is not their size or their equipment but the fact that they are moving, that they embody a connection between unseen places.
Marianne Wiggins
We rode from Portage to Grandview past Spencer, Bartlet and Trail glaciers. From the train station we traveled through marsh and flat lands, into cottonwood forests and gained more elevation until we were in hemlock and spruce forests. It’s cloudy with a little rain every now and then. Once in a while the sun pokes it’s rays through the fog and illuminates a mountainside. Glorious.
Just a little past Grandview Whistle Stop we topped out at 1061′ elevation where we stopped to gaze at Trail glacier. We stopped to see Snow White falls, named for its seven drops, the source of the Placer River.
We had a short stop at Grandview so we could hike up to a couple if vantage points. One to see the train and another to see a waterfall. We enjoyed the remaining flowers and berries and mushrooms growing along the trail.
We rode through 5 tunnels and over one trestle 104′ above the raging river below.
We saw snow drops, rock slides and a lake full of ice floes.
We passed over sheer rock walls, roaring rapids and glacial erratic in kettle ponds.
We learned about T-Bone Clark and Alaska Nellie and back country road houses.
The kids were amazed that the telegraph and telephone poles were still standing with some insulators in place.
Trains tap into some deep American collective memory.
Dana Frank
Best of all we got to experience some of Alaska’s rugged beauty with our friends. Memories for a lifetime.
#akadventure #homeschool #experience #akrr #learningisfun
No rest for the weary. Finished one cabin yesterday and rolled into the new job site this morning. This is a 12′ x 24′ cabin, dry in only. (No interior or finish work!!)
We spent half a day gathering supplies. The rest of the day we set our paver/pier foundation & brackets.
Then we sized our rough sawn beams and set them into place. Leveled and squared them and cut our rim joist and laid out our joist placement.
Time flies when you’re having fun. Time to clean up and stow our tools. Monday we will knock out the floor joists and blocking. Hopefully getting some sheeting down for the floor too.
Alaska on my mind... 