Beverly Lake   I love watching nature at the cabin. Our resident trumpator swans, nested, laid eggs, hatched and had the cutest sniglets. We were excited they came by to visit at two days old. We also had a family of ducks and loon. As always, we had an occasional bald eagle fly over and very often rainbow trout were jumping. The tulips sprang up first from the bulbs Michael had planted the year before. Sprouting more slowly were the peas, lettuce, cabbage and broccoli that Michael planted. My raspberries are now three years old. In August the eight foot bushes yielded delightfully yummy red and golden berries.

My children visit. Michael more than visited. He lived here for the summer, his third. He was working for Princess-Holland America cruise ships rail cars pulled by the Alaska Railroad. 

Scott visited for a few weeks and it was great to share times with him at the cabin, he was there for the summer solstice. Scott, Michael and I were roasting hot dogs and made S’Mores at midnight, in the sun. We also visited Whittier, a port in beautiful Prince William Sound and Hatcher Pass, an old gold mine. Scott helped “clean the forest”.  Michael bought a chainsaw so the three of us made firewood from the fallen trees.

Christina visited too and we enjoyed talks, picking peas, driving to Seward in Resurection Bay, seeing former schools and homes, waterskiing, tubing with Michael. We will never forget the hike/overnight trip Michael took us on! What a beautiful Fall day it was with the cool, crisp air and yellow, orange and red ground cover. (we were above the trees.) We were in the Talkeetna Mountians with very interesting terrain. The hike started out with a smooth path, but quickly changed. We started ascending faster, then climbed over a “rock garden” with boulders the size of Volkswagons where you have to decide each step. Easy for Michael, but Christina and I were wondering what is next? Where is Michael taking us? It was well worth it and I would love to go again. We camped beside Reed Lake. Michael took good care of us. He pitched a two man tent for the three of us, boiled water to add to the dehydrated dinner. It was chilly, but oh well. The stars were spectacular. I’d climb again twice as far just to see the stars again! We also enjoyed the wild blueberries, streams, waterfall and spending time together. Michael may have been frustrated with the laggers, but thanks Michael.
Scott and Christina hadn’t been “home” for over fifteen years. I enjoyed their visit very much. Maybe they will bring their families next year.

Working for Princess-Holland America was really a test for me with the long 16 hour days and new culture of working with mainly kids in their 20s. We would go north one day, spending the night in the interior of Alaska and turning around and doing it in the south direction the next day. It got easier and more enjoyable as I got used to the job and better at it. I was a Rail Guide. Each rail car had it’s own bartender and rail guide. The cars were gorgeous dome cars which made the spectacular beauty of Alaska easy to see all around. The railroad is 500 miles of wilderness mostly with rivers, mountians, glaciers, bridges, a canyon, historic spots and very few cities. The highlight for the guests are the wildlife. We see moose, swans, eagle, occasionally a bear, whales and mountian goats. Seeing Mt. McKinley is always the highlight and only happens 20% of the time in a good summer and maybe 2% this summer. When it is “out” it is so majestic and indescribably beautiful…wow!

The Fam  Having family in Alaska is wonderful. We got together many times. There are a lot of birthdays in the summer to celebrate. When Scott, Christina and Kendra each came we celebrated. And the usual holidays were a good reason to get together.

Each summer has a highlight and hands down it was seeing my kids enjoying each other!

Burned to Ground

Katalla Company Hospital at Camp 1

Fire which started in the house occupied by John Longacre, electrician for the Katalla Company at camp 1, on Wednesday morning, April 1909, about 1 o’clock, destroyed the building and then spread to the hospital which was also burned to the ground, with a portion of its furniture, fixtures and appliances.

Mr. Longacre’s escape from death was almost miraculous, and was probably due to the cries of the house cat, which roused him from sleep to find the house a mass of smoke and flame.

Mr. Longacre was alone in the house. Mrs. Longacre having gone to Martin Point to join a party which was going on an outing next day to Softuk bar (to fish). He retired about 11 o’clock and was soon sleeping soundly. About two hours later he was partially aroused by a crackling sound, but not fully. Just then the load cries of the cat awakened him completely. He jumped out of bed and made his way to the outer room, which was filled with smoke, while flames were licking up ceiling and walls. He tried to reach a window but found himself again in the bedroom where even the bed was then on fire. Dropping to the floor to escape instant suffocation, he crawled toward the window and fortunately, this time he reached it, just as the wall separating the two outer rooms fell down. Nearly suffocated he fell against the single pane of the lower window, breaking it and then tumbled through the opening to fresh air and life. Getting to his feet he tried to shout but he had inhaled too much smoke and could not. Clad only in his night clothes, and sockless, he make his way to Red Christensen’s house and gave alarm. By the time that Mr. Nathan and others reached the place the hospital building was in the grip of the flames and attempts made to save it, and it was futile, was soon consumed.

It is believed that the fire caught from a terra cotta flue in the ceiling. After escaping from the house Mr. Longacre remembered that he had recently installed a gasoline stove in the kitchen at the rear of the house, and the fire not having reached it, he succeeded in rescuing it intact.

Mr. and Mrs. Longacre lost all their household effects, clothing and other belongings. A portion of the hospital equipment had been packed for shipment to Cordova, and taken to the dock, but a large amount was lost. The hospital was built by the of Katalla Company in 1907, and with equipment, which was an excellent one, probably cost $25,000. The entire plant of the company is covered by insurance.

Excerpt  from Wrangell St. Elias News  March & April 2009

Mary ended up with a ticket that she wasn’t going to use because she had no one to go with so I hastily volunteered.

Balboa Park was beautiful with exquist landscaping and well maintained buildings dating back to 1915. We rode an open air trolley around the park. The Tinkem Museum was an interesting collection of art donated from the Putnam sisters. We could have spent an entire day in the park, but opted to venture on across the “blue bridge” to Coronado Island. There we walked the shore watching the sail boats, ferry, people and pelicans fishing. We ate at a BBQ restaurant in the shopping village. Yummy! My favorite shop was the art studio and my favorite artist was Grant Pecoff for his whimsical and colorful scenes. Next we head off to find Hotel Del Coronado. It is as grand as ever. Did you know, ” Some Like It Hot”  with Marilyn Monroe was filmed  there? The hotel was built in 1888. We rode the steel cage elevator. The lobby was magnificent with it’s pure elegance. In the garden was a tour of  Dr Seuss statues. People of all ages and nationalities were enjoying them.

The Gaslight Quarter was a must see we didn’t need to see. I guess it is for a younger crowd then we are. It was a huge restored section of San Diego alive with the bar scene. We had a hot dog. We would have enjoyed it more in the daylight. The old buildings were beautiful. Of course the streets were lined with fancy street lights with big white bulbs.

We met Mary’s son in law, Patrick who is visiting the city for a doctors convention. We strolled the Seaport Village. We ate lunch at a restaurant that was extended over the water on pilings. We had the skyline of San Diego on one side and the harbor on the other. The sidewalk was lined with shops and people enjoying the park. There is a fun, gigantic sailor statue on the shoreline. We walked around the USS Midway. The USS Midway was the longest serving aircraft carrier that operated from 1945 to 1991. It looked longer than a city block.

Carlsbad has “to die for” strawberries! We ate breakfast at an Armenian Restaurant on the Pacific Coast Highway in Carlsbad.  We wanted to find the 50 acres of flower fields which we did, but we were a few weeks late. We shopped in the flower shop there and bought some strawberries. They were a real treat!

On to the Sicilian Fest 2009. It was in Little Italy, San Diego. Very fun. It was several blocks long, blocked off with four stages and vendors lining the street. We enjoyed the various entertainers, flowers, happy people and the music that filled the air. Then we walked a few blocks past the  fest into Little Italy and had pasta dinner in an Italian restaurant. We found an art show that was the shop of Grant Pecoff, whose work we had admired in the shop at Coronado Island.

We wanted to at least see the beach near where we were staying in Del Mar. It was very beautiful. There were surfers, dog walkers, joggers and the thing I enjoyed the most, purple flowers everywhere and of course, the azure surf.

While I was waiting for Mary to arrive in San Diego I walked a few blocks of Broadway on the brick sidewalk imagining what it would have been like in 1888 when my Grandma Edyth was born there. I explored the Horton Plaza that is built in the same place Horton began his dreams of a city of splendor and read other history accounts of the area. I also enjoyed the transit system with buses and trolleys. To see more photos go to my Photo album.

What a wonderful getaway I had with Mary!

As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!

Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure.  He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves.  Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!

It’s like that with people.  We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel.  It doesn’t look like much from the outside.  It isn’t always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it. We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy.  But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.

There is a treasure in each and every one of us .  Take the time to get to know that person, and, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth. May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. Look beyond yours and my clay vessel.

We  floated down the river on intertubes. We asked the tuk tuk driver to take us further up the river and were thankful later he hadn’t. The river was slow moving, clear so you could see the bottom and gorgeous. The float took about 4 hours. We saw women and a few men harvesting algae from the river, putting it in a basket on their back. I harvested some and one of the men smiled. I used a long bamboo pole to harvest with, which I was also using to push me along. We stopped to explore a cave. From the river bank we walked through a field, wondering if we were on a “wild goose chase”, then climbed the steep craggy lime mountain. When we finally reached the opening we looked in and I thought, “OK we see it let’s go.”  It looked like a very huge opening in the mountain. Michael wanted me to climb down in. I did so grumbling. The surprise was that when we got down into the cave we could see much more cave in front of us. It also was a nice break from the heat being that it was cool. We walked and walked. It was if the whole mountain was hollow. The cave was flat bottomed, about 50 feet wide and 30 feet high.  Many times it is good to listen to your kids.

Along the river were a few entrepreneurs with cold drinks and a rope you could swing over the river and jump in. The vistas were breathtaking with tall limestone mountains and green fields.

By the end of the float I had thoroughly enjoyed the river and warm sun, but my arms were tired from treading water. I remember seeing massage establishments near the take out and think it would be a great idea to have one.

After having a refreshment Michael and I talked to the lady about getting a massage. I was first and Michael would come back in an hour for his…well at the beginning of my massage in broken, very broken English I heard, “you like 2 hours, it would be very nice?” Well, I thought Michael won’t be back for an hour, then he will be another hour and it was only $4. an hour so why not. I want to go back for some more. Lao masseuse have a unique, indescribable technique!

We rented a motorcycle to explore and turned down a small dirt lane, all “roadsth” are dirt, to see people tending to their daily living, with cows, chickens and kids on the lane. They stared at us because we are such an oddity, but with smiles and greeting of SABADEE. (Good Day) I loved those happy, simple, beautiful people and there simple life and gorgeous country. We ate dinner in an openair  stall. The young girl waiting on us showed interest in new words, so Michael taught her how to greet someone and ask their name. She was precious and thankful. He checked with her the next day to see if she remembered. Michael is a great travel companion. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to travel and experience with him. That was a perfect day!

It was wonderful to see my kids;  Ken and wife, Heidi and Michael and girlfriend, Kim. The grandkids were a joy! We talked, walked and played games.

The first one is having children and doing my best to pass on love and good character. I am proud of Scott, Brent, Christina, Kenneth and Michael. They are now living the lives they believe in with love in their hearts.

We make a difference to strangers by offering small acts of kindness, encouraging words or even a smile to brighten their day.

To our community we make a difference by giving our talents. I like to help someone organize a space, room or house that is causing them frustration. I have enjoyed sharing my talents as a seamstress to make a wedding dress, recover furniture or help a grandchild make a pillow.

In the global arena it is easy to make a difference by donating to people with less to help a women in a third world country start a cottage business so she can provide for her family or help fund a water system to provide safe drinking water to the entire community. If you feel real adventuresome you can be on the work team.

To “fly” down my favorite run, Starfire. The rush is the ultimate. I stop at the top to look over the breathtaking view of the converging mountain ranges and Lake Dillion with awe, then tuck and go fast as I can, just under, “out of control”. I like to ski on all three peaks each day I ski and vary the terrain.

Apres skiing I like to soak in the open air hot tubs overlooking the slopes and then eat at one of the many great restaurants while waiting for the after ski traffic to  subside.

I don’t think I would take up skiing as an adult because I would be falling and enduring the cold, but I know how to dress warm and don’t fall. Thanks Dad for taking time to share skiing with me when I was young. I’m  so thankful to be doing something I truly love.