I know this is supposed to be about TRAVEL and such, but a certain part of this Alaskan Adventure has involved hunting down local quilt shops (and while Lara was with us, yarn shops as well). Alaska’s Quilt shops are REALLY BIG on Alaska fabric. Lots and lots of moose, bears, puffins, Alaskan Indian motifs, sled dogs, wild flowers and more moose. And along with wonderful selections of Alaskan-themed fabrics, many of the shops are participating in the 2009 Great Alaska Shop Hop, which of course is just a marketing ploy to get quilters into their shops. Back home a Shop Hop usually ran for a day or a weekend, and you would try to get to as many shops as you could in the allocated time. Often each shop would offer a block kit which when made would work into a larger wall hanging or quilt (depending on how many blocks you were able to collect). The 2009 Great Alaska Shop Hop goes from May 1 through October 31st! (Gives you an idea of how much territory you’d have to cover to get to them all. Not to mention that some of them are inaccessible by road, and we brought neither a plane or boat!) Naomi and I have been doing our part to support the local quilt shop economy by picking up blocks where ever we can. I’m not sure if I’ll be putting them together into one quilt or just making individual wall hangings. Each block has a pieced square and then an appliqué of some Alaskan highlight – bears, fireweed, mountains, trees, glaciers, etc. Here is one I have finished so you can get an idea of what these blocks are all about –

My one other sewing project has been an assortment of Alaska themed pillowcases. Shhhhhh – these are gifts for my little granddaughters. Hope they aren’t checking!

This one is for me –

I really do love those lupine and fireweed!
Aside from all the fabric fun I’ve been having (especially while Gary has been busy doing plumbing things), I have also just completed my first knit hat. Daughter Lara is an exceptional knitter (and that’s not just her mother talkin’ here. Check out the picture of the three of us at the end of this post – she knit the sweater I’m wearing. Really, she’s amazing!). Anyway, even though I couldn’t figure out how to finish off a dishcloth that I had started a year ago, she thought I was ready to move on to making a hat. And then she left before I got to the hard part – trying to figure out what “ sl1, k2tog, psso” could possibly mean! Thanks to the internet, a little common sense and a forgiving pattern –
ta da – ze hat!

And look – it even fits!

Who know what I’ll be knitting next!
Thanks for hangin’ in through my little show and tell. Sometimes I just need to get that off my chest!
And as a thank-you for sticking with all the gobbley-gook about hopping shops, here are a couple of Moose Creek area photos that are a little more back on track –
These were taken around Upper Trail Lake-

That’s it for today. We’ll be heading on to Soldotna tomorrow but I think we’re planning on stopping for a fish hatchery tour and a gold mine tour on the way. That’s one of the great things about Alaska – there’s always something “on the way”.

Inquiring minds want to know.
First – our traveling companions. Since there are two weeks between our June Project (Camp Li-Wa in Fairbanks) and our July project (Solid Rock Bible Camp in Soldotna) and some of us had family coming up for part of that “down” time, we decided to each “do our own thing” during those two weeks. We’ve all been milling around the same area – seeing Denali, checking out Anchorage, doing wildlife cruises and the like, but we’ve all been on our own time tables. We’ve even occasionally bumped into each other! Last I heard Jay and Naomi were getting ready to do a tram ride in Girdwood, and John and Rosie and Pete and Ellen were recovering from a hike that turned out to be a little more challenging than anticipated! We’ll be regrouping at the end of this week at Solid Rock. (Actually we’ll probably be meeting up at the Fred Meyer’s Parking lot!) All is well – no trial separation here, just a little “alone” time!
Whacha doin’ in Moose Pass? is a little more complicated! It has to do with a Facebook connection that almost didn’t happen, a friend of Lara’s (whom she hadn’t seen since college graduation but lives not only in Alaska but her driveway is on the Sterling Highway!), expensive campgrounds in Homer, and the need for a plumber. Got that? Let’s just say it’s one of those “God Things” that surprised all parties involved!
So here we are – Gary is busy working on digging out holes in concrete and installing drain lines,

and I’m enjoying sewing and visiting and catching up on chores.
The Milligan family (our hosts) consist of Wendy and Mark and three of the cutest kids I’ve seen since Ohio! (And about the same ages as those Ohio grandgirls!).
This is Andrew

He’s a boy’s boy - with much too much important stuff to do than worry about a little lunch left on his face!
This is Jacob -

He’s kinda shy and doesn’t like to look at the camera (or take off his hat!). But we’re getting to be friends!
This is Anna -

She’s just about edible, don’t you think?
They have a little farm thing going on here and everyone helps out -

There are two goats, Butterscotch and Sally

who love to explore under our rig when they’re out.
No eggs from the chickens YET - but give it another month or two, and I think they’ll be sitting pretty!

Plus they have a big ol’ puppy, Sophie - part St. Benard, Great Pyrenees, and something else huge.
Pet me, Pet me!
A couple more shots-




Welcome to Moose Pass (with the addition of a cousin!)

So there you have it! Gary should be wrapping up all the drainline goodness tomorrow sometime, and then we’ll pack up and head to Soldotna. Just in time for a lovely reunion with our wandering friends!

PS - if you’re trying to figure out just where all these places are, I’ve posted a couple of maps on my “Where are we now” page. Hopefully they will make some sense!

I must tell you that Alaska really knows how to “do” wildflowers. Right now it is “doing” Arctic Lupine like there’s no tomorrow! While they often line the roads up here, sometimes it’s a little tricky to just stop and take pictures. But this little pull-off absolutely called to me with its abundance of the purple beauties. And I cannot resist sharing all of these pictures. I just can’t pick a favorite!

OK – there are actually a couple more here (plus a couple mountains shots), but I think you get my drift about how stunning these flowers are!
And, coming soon to a roadside nearby – the Fireweed!

Can’t wait!

Last week –
Mt. McKinley, Glaciers, Majestic Mountains, Hikes, Moose, Bears, Whales, Puffins, Daughter
Today –
Laundry.
Sorry to be so behind in all of our activities, but between the busy-ness of being a tourist and some very slow internet connections, I just couldn’t seem to get regular posts posted.
In an effort to bring you up-to-date without boring you with details……
Denali National Park –

Magnificent! We were there for two days – not enough for any true outdoorsman or hiker, but plenty for us. On day one we drove as far as a private car can go (about 15 miles) and then took a beautiful hike along Savage Creek.

We were able to see Mt. McKinley (aka Denali) on our drive with just a little bit of cloud cover and the other views were spectacular. Our second day we took a park bus trip (about 8 hours) further into the park, about 66 miles. On that trip we saw 5 Grizzly bears (including a mama with two young cubs), mountain sheep, moose and more beautiful vistas that you can imagine. And since I remembered my camera and extra batteries, but left my memory card back at the computer, all of those sights will just have to remain in my memory!
They say that The High One is only visible about 20% of the time, so we were pleased to get the mostly clear views that we did. Ironically, the only crystal clear view we had was as we drove south from Fairbanks – around 3:30 in the morning!

The mountain is over 100 miles away here!
Seward and the Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise

Our other big event was an overnight in Seward (camped right on the water)

and a beautiful cruise down Resurrection Bay. Like our cruise out of Skagway, this was excellent! We saw lots of whales, sea otters, puffins, dall porpoise, seals and sea lions, many other birds, and several glaciers.





Anchorage
Our final day together was spent driving to Anchorage for her late night flight back to Texas. It turned out to be quite the wildlife drive!
From this bull moose first thing-

to this Mama and calf outside of Hope (who crossed the road right in front of us)

to the two bears along the highway along the Turnagain Arm -

to even more moose (this time with twins!)
and finally we even spotted a couple of mountain sheep up on the cliffs on our way back to the rig -

So our hectic fun week with Lara has come to a close. After 14 hours either in the air or sitting in airports, she is home in Waco, and yes, our laundry is caught up! It was a wonderful visit - and we miss her already!

You know there are more pictures…….
Denali National Park
Seward and the Kenai National Park Cruise
Driving to Seward
Anchorage Day

This has truly been an exceptional project for us.
1.The folks we worked with.
We were working with the team we drove to Alaska with along with those new team members Pete and Ellen.

After all that time on the road we are STILL good friends, and thoroughly enjoyed sharing devotions each morning, working together and then playing together. Such a blessing!
2.The folks who work at Camp Li-Wa
Li-Wa has been a camp in Fairbanks since 1959. Like Alaska, it is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary. I can’t speak for all of the counselors and summer staff, but I know that the full-time year around staff are all there as missionaries. There are no big salaries or corporate perks with these jobs, everyone raises their own support and feels called to serve the Lord at the camp. They are a remarkable group of servants, and we were honored to serve along with them.
3.The work we did.
a. The men took on a huge job, and (as usual) handled it with great skill. The camp had been given a small construction trailer and needed to make it into the boys’ bathhouse.

When they started the shower stalls were in, the plumbing was there for the toilets and sink and that was all. No water, no electric, no sewer, not even steps into the building. By the beginning of the third week it was fully functional with a new peaked roof along with stairs and a landing into the building.

While Gary finished up the electric and water service to the boys’ bathhouse, the rest of the guys moved over to the girls’ bathhouse where they put a peaked roof over the existing flat one. Towards the end of our work time the guys worked together on getting the sewer line installed in the bathhouse and then while Gary worked on water lines in one of the new cabins,

the rest of the men built a solar box for the hot water heater!
These four men accomplished amazing things!
b. We ladies started out with a big cleaning job – getting the camp kitchen ready for the “season”.

It hadn’t been used all winter so it took us a couple of days to not only clean the appliances, shelves and floor, but also wash and sanitize all the dishes and silverware. After we got the cleaning done, Ellen and I worked on painting the floor.

With the kitchen cleaning done we moved to making curtains!!! Naomi, Rosie and I are Sewing Sowers, so we were pretty happy with that assignment. Ellen kept busy watering the gardens and flowers boxes that decorate the camp (and get enormous with all the sunlight!).
After we made curtains for one of the new cabins, we made new curtains for the camp dining hall and then for all three of the boys’ cabins.


(Check our our anti-mosquito garb!)
We were done with a couple of days to spare so we tackled some pillows and a wall hanging that they had had for a while and just hadn’t had time to get to. So for the last two days I was machine quilting!!!! What a delight for me!


4.The fact that we are in ALASKA! We have had a great time this month during our “tourist” moments – Chena Hot Springs, the Dalton Highway and the Arctic Circle, Discovery Riverboat, local farmer’s market, museums and parks, and the lovely Camp Li-Wa itself. As a special bonus, today as we were heading into Fairbanks we actually (for the first time) caught sight of Mt. McKinley on the horizon. It’s almost 200 miles away, so the conditions have to be just right for it to be visible. It was a great way to end our time in Fairbanks. (Sorry, but I didn’t have my trusty camera with me!)

Right now we’re parked in the Fred Myer’s parking lot waiting for a call from Lara that her plane has landed. While the Fairbanks Airport may have a “cell phone waiting lot”, we’re pretty sure it doesn’t have an RV waiting lot! It’s been a good month - and we’re looking forward for more goodness in the weeks and months ahead.

PS - if you’d like to see more of these hard working folks workin’ - Here you go!