Home Sweet Home! (June 24, 2012)

Last Day in Kenai

Last View of Mount Redoubt

Haines Junction, Yukon Territory

We saw more than 15 black bears on our journey!

Camping on Dease Lake

More Black Bears

Mount Robson, British Columbia

Grizzly Bear: Jasper National Park, Alberta

Sunwapta Falls, Jasper National Park

Icefield Parkway

Columbia Glacier, Banff National Park, Alberta

Icefield Parkway waterfalls

Peyto Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta

Peyto Lake

We Made It! Hinckley, Minnesota

We are back in Minnesota! We were on the road for a total of 8 days and travelled 3,687 miles getting us back to Minnesota on Monday, June 25; earlier than we expected. After driving all night on the first day we arrived in Canada and finally took a much needed break in Haines Junction, Yukon. We booked it through the Yukon wanting to take in the beauty of the northern Rockies. We drove through Jasper and Banff National Parks, containing some of the prettiest places on earth. On our journey through Canada we saw one bull moose, more than 15 black bears, one grizzly bear, and a group of about eight elk. We originally planned to drive into the U.S. on the far west side of the Montana border to take in Glacier National Park, but decided our vehicle didn't need to take anymore mountain driving. Instead we entered Montana on the east side of Glacier, bringing us into the plains region. Once in North Dakota we finally started to feel at home. We stopped off at the Felchle Farm for a visit in Goodrich, North Dakota. Ken Felchle, a great friend and former co-worker of ours from Alaska, spends 6 weeks in the summer with his family in ND. It was great to see him again and we are already looking forward to seeing him next summer. We also stopped in at Jon's grandmas in Mayville, North Dakota. It was great seeing some friendly faces. The following day we made it to Hinckley, Minnesota. We had two flat tires on our trailer during our trip (British Columbia and Montana), otherwise it was a good time and very safe travels. We are glad to be back around our families but will miss and never forget our life in Alaska. What an experience it has been!

Homeward Bound (June 17, 2012)

Within the next hour we will be leaving our life in Alaska to live in beautiful northeastern Minnesota. Jon will be teaching 7th grade math at Cloquet Middle School next fall and will we be looking for a place to live in the surrounding area. We venture out with our Ford Escape pulling a 4x6 vehicle. We are stuffed full so please pray that we make it safety with our vehicle and belongings still with us. We are getting a late start on our drive with the plan of driving through most of the night. We will head north to Tok, AK where there is currently 24 hours of sunlight. From there we enter into Brittish Columbia and down the Cassiar Highway. Our goal is to be home in 9-12 days. Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers. God has blessed us with so many great opportunities. Looking forward to seeing and spending more time with our midwest family and friends!

Jon and Rochelle

Sea Kayaking (May 25, 2012)

Bridal Veil Falls

moss growing on a tree branch

Caines Head

On Friday we took in one last hoorah to nearly end our Alaskan adventure. Since first coming up to this incredibly large state, we have wanted to go sea kayaking, so we finally took advantage of the opportunity. We participated in a 7 hour kayak trip on Resurrection Bay in Seward. Our destination was Caines Head State Recreation Area, accessible by boat or hike (but only at low tide). Much of the trail is covered during high tide. Because we were such "strong paddlers" we were able to make a stop along the way at Bridal Veil Falls before reaching Caines Head. While at Caines Head we ate lunch and then took in a short hike. Normally we would have hiked all the way to the top of Caines Head, but with all the snow this year we only made it about a third of the way. At the top is Fort McGilvry, an old fort from WWII. Seward was the main port for supplies during WWII and the most accessible so they were on constant watch for any Japanese intruders. It would have been cool to see the remains of the old fort, but we had a great time anyway. Our paddling expedition got us up close and personal with Dall porpoises, sea lions, harbor seals, and sea otters. They were all very curious as to what we were. Some came within 20 yards or so to our kayaks, close enough to hear them release and take in oxygen, nibble on food, and submerge beneath the water.

 The day was rainy but the wind was calm. I will take rain over wind anytime I am on the ocean. Although wet, the lack of wind made for some smooth paddling. We also had some wildlife sightings on the way to and from Seward. On the way to Seward we saw our first baby moose of the season. It was so small it could stand right underneath its mom. We also saw an adult moose after leaving Seward walking through the water of a river. The days have been long and bright here and just continue to get longer and brighter.

Memorial Day:
dawn= 3:31 am
sunrise= 4:55 am
sunset= 11:09 pm
dusk= 12:33 am
day length= 18 hours, 15 minutes

Here a Moose, There a Moose, Everywhere a Moose Moose! (May 18-20, 2012)

On Saturday a much larger moose entered our yard. We observed this moose during the winter tearing limbs off of trees. She would go up on her hind legs to reach the branch and then tear it right from the trunk. She is a big girl. We have also seen a number of moose on our evening walks. We saw three on our Friday evening walk and two on our Saturday evening walk. They have been enjoying all the grasses after having such a long, hard winter. Last night we saw both moose cross the road at the same time and today they were eating together. We think the smaller one may be the larger ones calf from last year.

We Have Leaves...And More Moose Visits! (May 13-16, 2012)

Stopping in for Another Visit

Time to Eat!

Checking Us Out

Jon Watching the Moose

Moose in the Swamp

This week has brought multiple visits from the same moose. She is still working hard on getting that lawn trimmed down. We sat in the dining room with the door open, watching her munch away. She would occasionally look up to take a peek at us, but didn't appear to be concerned by our presence. We will miss her visits after we move. On Tuesday after school we were driving past a swampy area and pulled over to watch a moose belly deep in the water eating the water plants. It was the classic picture of what you envision when you think "Alaska and moose". Today it was very apparent that not only do when have buds on some trees, but small leaves are beginning to show on many of them. Things are finally starting to green up around here. We have also been having incredible weather this week. Today it reached 57 degrees. With the warmer temps and the warm sun, we were able to go for a walk today without jackets!

dawn= 4:13 am
sunrise= 5:20 am
sunset= 10:42 pm
dusk= 11:50 pm
day length= 17 hours, 22 minutes

Hungry Moose Lawn Service (May 12-13, 2012)

This little gal was on our neighbor's lawn as we were leaving their house yesterday. She is one hungry girl. They even move, walking on their front knees. Who needs to mow when you can have your very own moose!

The weekend was overcast bringing on and off showers and rice sized hail on both Saturday and Sunday. We kept to Kenai this weekend taking in the wildlife around our house.

dawn= 4:32 am
sunrise= 5:27 am
sunset= 10:35 pm
dusk= 11:39 pm
day length= 17 hours, 7 minutes

Last Visitors: Palmer Area (Saturday, May 5, 2012)

Dall Sheep

Matanuska Glacier

hair-like seaweed stuck to a rock on the beach of Captain Cook

After Glennallen, we headed for the next notable town, Palmer. On this stretch of the Glenn Highway, we spotted many Dall sheep and saw the Matanuska Glacier from a distance. The glacial valley is beautifully carved out by the recession of this glacier. Once through Palmer, we headed south to Anchorage and continued on until we reached Kenai. From Valdez to Kenai we traveled over 400 miles making little sightseeing stops along the way.

Our guests stayed for one week, also taking in Captain Cook State Park in Nikiski, where Sandy found crazy hair-like seaweed stuck to a rock; Homer, where we of course visited Bear Creek Winery, the best winery in the world (we taste tested everything); and Seward (Jon and I had to work this day, bummer). Ken, Sandy, Nate, and Danielle also stopped in for awhile during our 7th grade field trip on Ninilchik Beach where our students spent the day clamming. In addition to clams, the students also found sea anemone, sea stars, mussels, barnacles, sea sponges, and shrimp. It was a great tide for tide pooling!