Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day from beautiful, sunny Alaska. You couldn't have asked for a more perfect day! We decided to drive down along the Seward Highway and check out the little town of Hope, Alaska, today. Russ had been there before, but the kids and I never have. Only in Alaska can you see such a wide variety of activities in one area. A pair of parasailers were enjoying the surf provided by the bore tide on Turnagain Arm just south of Anchorage. Wet suits are a must, because the water is extremely cold, but they were having a great time. Just past the Portage area, we came upon a group of snow machiners. They were enjoying the last of the winters snow before it all melted away. There were quite a few people grilling out, skiing, snowboarding, and riding snow machines. We stayed for a little while to watch them playing on the hillside. Just past the turnoff to Hope, we came upon this little beauty snacking on the new spring greenery on the side of the road. The tide was out when we reached Hope, and the mud flats were exposed. An eagle flew by us, looking for an afternoon snack.

It was a very productive drive. In the end, we saw three moose, five eagles, the bore tide going out and coming back in again, mud flats, downtown Hope, and countless other Alaskans enjoying this fantastic day. Not only that, but we went out to eat for dinner when we returned to Anchorage. A great ending to a great day. I hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day as much as I enjoyed mine.

Another Snowy Tuesday

One thing I love about Alaska is the unusual signage you find here. (Is signage a real word or did I just make that up? Sounds cool, though, so I think I'll keep it.) I kept telling Russ I would start taking pictures of them when I saw them, and I finally got around to taking a few today. Yes, it is snowing again.

This moose crossing sign is near the BX and commissary. I just happened to have my camera with me this morning, so here it is. Do you think the moose have to go to classes so that they know it is only safe to cross at the signs? Do they have to sit in desks? And if so, how big would those desks have to be? So many questions. OK, I didn't get much sleep last night, and I've drunk a tad more than my quota of coffee today. Please, forgive me. This one is one the road near our house. How many people do you know that can drive a snowmobile to work? How cool is that. I do think it's discrimination that there aren't any 4-wheeler crossing signs. 4-wheeler owners are only allowed to drive in certain areas on the back side of base. Demand your equal rights!This handsome fellow was waiting for me in the tree by my house when I picked up Brandon from school today. I didn't get a great shot, because he was hiding behind some branches, but here he is in all of his fuzzy glory. I will miss all of the wildlife when we leave here. It's crazy how you can get used to seeing bald eagles flying around the neighborhood, and moose grazing on your trees. Alaska has spoiled us.

Cold Winter Day

It's 8 degrees. It's a dry 8, not a humid one, but no matter how you label it, 8 is cold. Stay in the house, curl up with a blanket, drink hot coffee cold. Did I mention how cold it is? It's cold. The weather station has lots of gadgets to measure how deep the snowfall is. Here at our house, we have The Table. It's our summer table located on the back patio. How much did it snow last night? I don't know, let's go check The Table. The Table never lies or approximates, it just tells it like it is. You can trust The Table. We got a LOT of snow this weekend.

It warmed up into the low 30's over the weekend, too, and we ended up with some great icicles on the front porch. They won't last long. The neighborhood kids like to break them off and sword fight with them. Among other things. One neighborhood kid just likes to eat them. No, it is not my kid.

Russ' poor truck doesn't care much for winter. It ended up partially buried in a snow drift yesterday. We had to dig it out. Did I mention we got a LOT of snow? Did I also mention it's COLD? Anyway, here the truck sits and dreams of summer days in Florida, or California, or Arizona...

The trees always look so great after a heavy snowfall. It reminds me of icing on Christmas cookies. I took this picture on Saturday out at Hillburg. This handsome fellow was hanging out by the lake there and watching for a meal.