Letters

Ranger's letters home have been dropping off lately. He's been busier later these days. He says they've been doing alot of weapons training and urban combat training. Anyway, in his letter today he included a web address for pictures of his unit training. I couldn't pick him out in any of the photos. I guess his aversion to photographs has carried on into the military. Maybe you'll be able to pick him out.
Click Here for Training Photos

Weekly Update

Well, not much went on around here this week. Work, home, sleep, repeat. Sgt. Dad left for a training exercise in California. I guess that's the only news. He was scheduled to leave sometime next week but plans changed and he had to leave early. He said it was 104 degrees at 7 pm the day he arrived. Compared to the low 50s we've been experiencing here- that's quite a shocker! He said others who had arrived from AK earlier in the week had been passing out from the heat. I remember last summer, after we'd first arrived here in AK, we met a National Guard member from Nome. The temperature that day was around 70 degrees. I was almost cold- to the point of debating whether or not I wanted to put on a sweater. She, on the other hand, was complaining of the heat and was perspiring. It's amazing to me. Having just moved up here from NY, I felt the weather cool, yet she felt it HOT. Fast forward to this summer and I'm more acclimatized. I mean, it hasn't feel hot enough to me to make me want to wear shorts and I still at least carry a sweater every day but I'm not shivering. Ranger is about half way through his training. He seems to be doing well. He doesn't sound like he regrets his decision. He seems to enjoy firing his weapon. I guess all those hours playing Halo and Call of Duty have paid off a bit.
Tater is enjoying his freedom but having difficulty understanding curfew and the need for it. He's a good kid though and really doesn't give us much trouble.
Strummer is doing fine as well. We've been pestering him to spend more time practicing his guitar as his lessons aren't cheap and we want to see him progress. He does really enjoy it. It's hard for him because he wants to be able to play like a pro despite having only had lessons for a few months.
Did I mention that I moved my office location? I now have this great window and my plants are in love with it! They have grown so much since I've moved! I have one plant that I can't identify. I'll have to post a picture of it and ask for help. I'd like to know how to best care for it.
So, that's a the news that's new (I know that's so cliche!).
Bye for now!

Matanuska Glacier

Well, Sgt. Dad and I went to the Matanuska Glacier today. We wanted it to be a family trip but Tater had to work and Strummer begged off so he could clean up for his girlfriend's visit tomorrow afternoon.

So, we took off on our own. We hiked right up to and onto the Glacier. It was kind of warm today, 77. Probably the hottest day since we moved here. Neither of us had ever been to a glacier before. It felt really nice when the wind blew across the ice. We selected a couple of small souvenir rocks along the hike to the glacier. Sgt. Dad enjoyed feeling how cold the water was. I was fascinated with the natural clay. I was thinking it would have been cool if I could have brought some back to make something out of it. Somewhere along the glacier we found a hole in the glacier where a fair amount of melted ice was flowing down a crevasse. It must have gone down 100 ft or more. It sounded like a huge river flowing under there. I'm not sure if there was or not, it could have been echo from the ice. Farther away, we saw people climbing the ice but I had no desire to try that. Maybe some time Sgt. Dad might go back and do that. I was satisfied with taking photos from reasonably close to solid ground. Hopefully we'll be able to take one of those tourists cruises to some of the grander glaciers at some point. At any rate, this was really fun and I'm sorry my boys had to miss it.

This is the crevasse with the water flowing down. It's not easy to see but it goes VERY deep down. I was too afraid to lean further over for a better picture.

This is a tight shot of the higher part of the glacier. I missed photographing the brave person who was rappelling down the face of the glacier moments earlier.

Cottonwoods Attack!

Traffic Jam Leads to Rare Sight

So, I was pretty bummed that I was running late getting home because of an accident on the highway. For those of my readers who aren't from Anchorage, there is really only one way out of town and when there's an accident, it doesn't take long for it to back up and spill backwards onto the roads leading to the highway. Fortunately for me, I don't live out of town and can get off the highway and drive through Elmendorf Air Base to get home. Those who live out in the valley get to enjoy the highway parking lot until it clears and they are able to continue on home.

Anyway, on EAFB (Elmendorf Air Force Base) there is this long, wooded road that goes between the BX/PX and Fort Richardson. I frequently see moose along this stretch of road. So, when I spotted a truck pulled over and the driver staring hard into the woods, my now somewhat jaded to the moose sighting self thought, "Man, don't back up the road during rush hour for "just another moose"." Fortunately, I'm not that jaded and I looked into the woods to see what he saw. Am I ever glad I did! Here's what I saw:

A Black Bear Sow and Her Three Cubs!!!

I've heard this is a rarity. Apparently black bears don't usually have three cubs. If I didn't know better, I would have approached and tried to touch them. They look so gentle and playful. The cubs were crawling all over each other and their mother. I was sorry when they wandered off down the path because I didn't dare follow to photograph them further. I think I got a couple of good pictures though.

Enjoy!