Alaska!

Here are a couple of Alaska pictures, in roughly the opposite order of which the events actually occurred. I still have a couple more to get up but these will do for now.

FISHING- Whittier Sound

Bob and Cherie were kind enough to let me reel in our fish (it was a group effort). Of course, they also let me kill it which isn't my favorite part. Can you see the blood all over my shirt?!! (But it's now gone thanks to Cherie's superhuman skills with the laundry. The blood stains have now been replaced by chocolate stains up by the collar).

The silver Salmon (who was later converted into a fabulous blackened salmon dinner)

Chris and su papa.

Fishing is really hard work. It requires lots of sun bathing, chatting, and birdwatching. Not much fishing actually occurred.

GLACIER CRUISE - PORTAGE GLACIER

It used to be that Portage Glacier extended all the way out into the lake. At the visitor's center, you sat down in a movie theater and watched a film about Alaska and the glacier. At the end of the movie, they'd roll up the screen and draw back the curtains and there would be the glacier basking in all it's glory in a sparkling lake. That was a while ago, though. Now when they draw back the curtains, all you see is the lake. The glacier has retreated several thousand feet around the corner and up the mountain. You have to take a boat to go see it. So we did. It's far more massive than can be conveyed in these pictures. I was impressed at how close the boat will get to the glacier, especially after watching video of house-sized chunks calving into the water.

BIKE OUTING-'Bird to Gird'

We did the "Bird to Gird" bike loop along Turnagain Arm. It's rated as one of the world's most scenic highways. I've yet to see any beluga whales at Beluga Point but there were plenty of other sights, including some fabulous views of the water and mountains (more info. here). The picture (above), was taken near Girdwood in an area that experienced dramatic earth subsidence during the 1964 earthquake. Saltwater intrusion from nearby Turnagain arm caused the trees to die and they are slowing falling down throughout the area (information courtesy of R.J.).

Chris took a spill on our first day in Anchorage. We had headed over to Hilltop and Chris tore down a hill and skidded on a patch of mud. In all fairness, his front brakes had been removed, but he was probably going too fast, nonetheless. It didn't actually start bleeding until we got in the car but with lots of applications of aloe vera, vitamin E, and neosporin, I think we're finally on the road to recovery.

WEEKEND AT THE CABIN

The lake was susprisingly warm. Cherie probably stayed in the water for a good hour.

The kids.

Alex relaxing.

Dogwood.

I happen to like this ant picture but I had it up on my work computer today and all of my coworkers were totally unimpressed. One of my very nice and gentle co-workers stated that she killed ants at every opportunity. I was shocked, shocked I tell you. Personally, I think it's a neat picture. Also, they were the non-biting variety so I was quite content to stay put and take pictures. Had they been the nipping kind, well, I probably wouldn't have stuck around.

Early morning on the lake. I got up to listen to the loons since they have such a distinctive call. As it turned out, the loons were quiet for the first half hour so I had to content myself with ant pictures. I did hear them though as I was walking back up the path to the cabin.