Loons and ...

The other day we walked around Fort Abercrombie and Lake Gertrude with the usual incredible vistas and lush green woods. 

Molly with her dog, Abby

We heard a loon call as we approached the lake...

A beautiful lake ....swimming in the summer and ice skating in the winter

I remember when the girls were little we would all go out on a lake or pond to ice skate.  We would put a big quilt down for the littlest ones to be on, including Kila.  They wouldn't crawl off the blanket because when they got to the ice it was two cold on their hands even with mittens. Deva and Anna and other 3 years year olds would skate on double bladed stakes and once they were up and going we would go and get the little ones and pull them around on the in their little plastic bathtubs with a sheepskin lining it.  We had so much fun.

These next two are for you M'Lin.  You started this gallery here in Kodiak and it is still going.  You sold it to Houng and she sold it to the lady who still owns it.

Here is Inland lake where their are planes docked next to their houses.  In the summer the small planes can take off from the lake or in the winter they put skis on the planes and land on the ice.  There is now Harborside Fly By coffee shop on the lake where we had coffee and watched the planes.

You can see a dirt runway there as well.

Last nights sunset from Marty's.

Hanging out in Kodiak

We walked down to the beach near where I used to live.  We waked down 

almost every day when we were pregnant with our babies.

I finally went up to our old cabin again.  It is padlocked and looks so sad.  On the front someone added a room.

The meadow where we were going to built a real house.

Out listening to some local music with Marty, Anna, and Molly

A walk out to Spruce Cape where the belly picture was taken.

Emmi, this one is for you.  It is your old house where you were born, but with additions.

At Marty's with Marmalade on my lap

Subset time, is hot tub time. (10:30 pm)

Dinner with old friends, Jon and Karen

View of the channel out of their back window

I am full of many feelings.....the beauty here is breath taking....the  old friends are heart warming...the memories are wonderful, but those memories are mixed with the sadness of leaving my friends and a home and an island I loved.

Kodiak!!!

I can not believe that I am back in Kodiak!  I felt like I was coming home as we flew in.

This is the Era prop plane that we flew in on.

Below is a view looking back toward town as we drove out the road system.

Early morning walk on Monaska  Bay near where I used to live.

Kodiak from Pillar Mt.

The Russian Orthodox Church in Kodiak

Sunrise on Wed. the 22nd on our way to take Milinda to the airport.

My friend Marty's house

Marty standing by Mark's whale vertebrae tree

And the house where I am staying

For the people that stayed in Kodiak, they built new houses on their properties and moved in and often tore down their old cabins.  

We had plans to build farther up on our hill, too, but now our cabin is stuck in time, forlorn and neglected.  Someone added another room (ugly) onto our cabin where our front porch was and so it is hard to see the cedar lapped board construction.  It s sad to see it, but I noticed a big house up behind it so that must be the replacement house.

Animals we have seen!

Moose

Caribou

Grizzly bears. (8)

A white wolf

Dall sheep

Porcupines

Orcas

1 humpback whale

Porpoises

Seals

Sea lions 

Sea otters

Lots of bald eagles

Trumpeter and/or signet swans

Arctic terns

Murres

Ptarmigan 

And today after wishing to see puffins.....we saw horned puffins

We feel we have been so lucky to see the wildlife that we have!

Denali National Park

Today we are headed into the park from the Denali Mountain Morning Hostel and Cabins.

These are the buses that take people. Into the park.  We are going 86 miles into Wonder Lake.

This land is so big that it can not be captured in a photograph.

Check this out!  It never did get completely dark when we were in Denali.

Here was a drizzly day and this what we were suppose to see, but no luck.

Look a BEAR!!  One of 8 that we saw.

We almost ran into this one!

The next day the mountain came out.  It was spectacular !!  Over 20,000 ft. high.  This was on our way back to Anchorage and is from almost 100 miles away.