FandA: June 2013

Honoring our Mom

We were so sad to receive the news that Fran's mom Millie Mooney passed away yesterday. We celebrate her life as a loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, wife and wonderful person. Her quick smile, sparkling & mischievous eyes will remain in our hearts forever as will all of the kind and warm things she did for us all. She will be tremendously missed by all but is in Heaven now with her beloved husband LeRoy and sisters and friends. Our love to all of our family and friends during this time of grief and sadness. Our special love to Fran's sister Cheryl!

May God's word still our hearts and give us peace:

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I have everything I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever". Psalm 23:1-6

North Pole, Alaska. . . . .What??

Yup, it's true. Just before you get into Fairbanks, AK you go right through the North Pole. Complete with all of the things you would imagine would be at the North Pole and Santa's home. The street light poles are shaped like candy canes and the roads are named appropriately to complete the atmosphere. We enjoyed a long conversation with the Reindeer caretaker who worked on the Reindeer project at the Universary of Alaska. Dasher, Blitzen, Donner & Cupid are currently being cared for in North Pole. They came right to her for their lunch. A hearty mixture high in protein that they eat right along with their hay. She also shared that they love plain, cheap, white bread and confessed that once in a while she gives them a small (very small piece) as a special treat. She even let us stand by the open gate to touch and talk to the reindeer. I'll be sending some of their fur to grandkiddos in the mail. Their fur is rubbery, hollow and heavy. It protects them from all of the weather's elements. They also have a tendon just above their hoofs that produces a clicking sound when they are walking. This helps the herd stay together on the plains when they are in bad weather.

Photos from the North Pole:

Up close compliments of one of the caretakers

Reindeer Enclosure

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He's making a list. . . . .

We met Santa Claus himself. He was jolly and so much fun. It's the first time I met the "real" Santa. We put in a good word for all of our family and friends.

Catching Up

6/3/13

We've been in Alaska since the 22nd and it's just magnificent. I'll need to backtrack and catch up on my blog so please bear with me. I wake up every morning praising God and thanking Him for the blessings of this adventure. Our Alaskan Adventure began in Dawson Creek at Mile Marker 0.

5/22/13 Wednesday

We crossed into Alaska at 1:00 this afternoon and are now on Alaskan Time. There is now a 4 hour time difference to home. The road today is by far the worst we’ve experienced – just like one of guide books indicated. Not only are there bumps, but there are heaves. Because the road was built on permafrost (permantely frozen soil) it isn’t stable. So, up, down, side to side with a slight roll and thumps. It’s easy to feel seasick and it’s certainly not easy on Fran.

We made it!

We can now see the Wrangell Mountains on our left. The tops have heavy snow cover and the lakes we’ve passes are still frozen while many of the streams and creeks are not. The only wildlife we’ve seen is swans, a very small, black beaver ambling across the road and a grouse. The beaver is the only one we could capture on film. The scenery is breathtaking. So is the wildlife that we continue to see along the way:

to here "boing" This cute creature was on the road on the way to Alaska. This was taken while still in Canada around one of the Lakes - Summit Lake

from here to

5/23/23 Thursday

Today we arrived in Delta Junction and completed our trip on the Alaskan-Canadian Highway. We’ve travelled 1422 miles from Dawson Creek to Delta. I’ll backtrack to our Canadian journey as I begin entering data now from Alaska. We’ve had very little or no Internet and phone service for two weeks.

At Delta Junction we took pictures of the road marker, a variety of vehicles used during the road construction, purchased fishing licenses and had a terrific lunch at a local old timey drive-in. Fran got the buffalo burger and I got the halibut so we could share a surf ’n turf meal. I don’t think we’ll get tired of these two meal types. I think this is my 3^rd halibut and I plan to eat much more.

Highway Equipment

And another

Fran & sulpture. Everything you've heard about Alaskan Mosquitoes is false. They're much worse :-). But, with proper replellant we're managing just fine.

We toured the old Sullivan Roadhouse and talked with Bob, a volunteer, all about the roadhouse and the area. He also provided us with additional tips about the area and was very informative. He even took our picture in authentic Indian clothing. Very heavy and very warm.

Dressed for winter.

Bob, our Volunteer Guide at Sullivan Road House.

Continuing the Richardson Highway we are now on our way to Quartz Lake. We caught our first moose, a cow and her two calves. At the Tanana River we got our first glimpse of the Pipeline. Lake Quartz is also frozen but we enjoyed a nice quiet evening and prepared to head out to Fairbanks. We also talked with another Ranger, Allen, who was originally from Winchester, VA. He asked if we’d be interested in coming back and serving as campground hosts for a couple of weeks at Clearwater Lake. We might do that. Clearwater has a site of 16 camping areas and would not require as much maintenance as the others.