Where Did Fall 2015 Go?

I was surprised to come back here and find out I hadn't posted anything in all of November and now nearly all of December.  What happened?!  I remember Thanksgiving . . . vaguely - and doing this puzzle, feverishly, to be able to finish in the weekend - it was a tough one!

I know that we had one brief period of time that we skied!  Four glorious days in November with a good snowfall - then it rained, an unusual amount for here.  I just know that was supposed to be snow!  Now we have a tiny bit on the ground, but only enough to ski on for die-hards who have junk skis they don't mind scraping.  We're waiting!  Here's a picture, though, of us out skiing with Lance & Mary.

First Snow November 2015

In early December, we took our first trip to Costa Rica as a part of a conference for me - the Year End Vacation Course for Landmark Wisdom Course Area.  That was fabulous . . . and hot and humid . . . and a pretty intense week.  We came home with even bigger lives and promises for living a full and productive life and with visions of white-faced monkeys, howler monkeys, a sustainable ecosystem, and the beautiful and warm people of Costa Rica. Oh, and we also took a trail ride (on horses) one afternoon while we were there.  That was fun and a good way to see more of the terrain, which ranged from rolling hills and grassy fields to tropical dry forest to beaches.  There are a LOT of volcanoes in Costa Rica, and this was the northwest corner in the Guanacaste region - a beautiful beach that I didn't see much of, but I made it into the ocean one day for about 10 minutes! One of the things that I enjoyed most about the trip was coming away with a typical expression there - Pura Vida!  Used for hello, goodbye, responding to "How are you?," Pure Vida means literally "pure life." I came back with the vision that it doesn't matter what I'm doing as long as my life is an expression of THAT!  

Sunset at Dreams Las Mareas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica 

Our Afternoon Trail Ride 

 It also turns out that Anchorage, Alaska is a LONG, LONG way from Costa Rica!  Two days each way, overnighting in Atlanta.  3 1/2 hours to Seattle, 5 1/2 hours to Atlanta, then 4 to Liberia, Costa Rica.  And the same thing in reverse after an hour and 40 minute bus ride back and forth to the resort!  But it was worth it.

So there was nearly a week here to get back into being able to stay awake at night, and I'm still not back on my Alaska time schedule!  And now it's Christmas!  We just made plans to stay at the Hatcher's Pass Bed & Breakfast  (http://hatcherpassbb.com) in their "Sourdough Cabin" on Wednesday and Thursday, coming home on Christmas Day.  That is about an hour from here, and the only place right now with reliably great snow for cross-country skiing!  They were already booked starting Christmas night, so we'll get up on Christmas Day, check out, ski for a bit and head home for Christmas night - maybe a movie! More next week on the Christmas adventure.  For now, packages are sent east and south as of yesterday, Christmas cards mailed the day before, and our potted "Christmas tree" is now up on a table instead of the floor - that signifies it is now a Christmas tree!  We could use a few more decorations!  And maybe some Christmas cookies! That will be the next project.

Moving into Fall and a trip back East

October 10 was a big day in the Manley family - Scott got married!  We had a quick trip back east for the wedding, meaning we left Anchorage Tuesday night, got to my mother's in Sauquoit (Utica, NY) in time for dinner on Wednesday, traveled on Friday 2 1/2 hours to the wedding location by car, back to my mother's on Sunday afternoon, and flew back on Monday, arriving early morning on Tuesday in Anchorage and back to work.  Whew!

Brian and Scott at my mom's pre-wedding

Tarah with her Dad 

Scott and Tarah - the happy couple! 

The yummy end to a yummy meal! Both are cheesecake! 

The wedding was spectacular, a small gathering on Tarah's family's farm in upstate New York, where they raise beef cattle (Belted Galloways), goats, chickens, Manx cats, and there are horses too!  The wedding was outdoors, which is brave for October, but it was a beautiful day, the caterers and food were wonderful, and Scott and Tarah had very personal touches that made their wedding unique and memorable.  We stayed at a bed and breakfast with many of the other wedding guests, and we had a great time.  Best wishes for a long and lasting marriage for Scott and Tarah!

Brian has continued to work on a "tiny home" in Big Lake, and our Chinook RV has ended up being more of a work vehicle, as he can travel up there for several days at a time and stay in the RV to work. He's enjoying both the RV and the Tiny Home construction!

We brought my favorite apples back from New York in my suitcase, Macouns, and I'm totally into apples this month.  I've made applesauce twice and enjoying trying different apples - though I'm sticking with Macouns as my favorite!  It's a great time of year for eating as we move into a different season, different vegetables, and almost a different palate preference - roasting vegetables, the carrots and potatoes emerge as colorful and wonderfully seasonal - I love the variety of potatoes here, and I don't even eat potatoes much - purple, pink, creamy, white - and the different colors of carrots.  

A Rainy September and early October

September made up for August in rain this year, but we still managed a few good "outings" - one in our "new" RV - a 1977 Chinook with just enough room for two people!  We took it out one weekend to Eklutna Lake and did a couple of hikes - one just a bit around the lake on a very fall-looking day with a truly golden carpet of birch leaves!  The second day hike was Twin Peaks with some great pictures up and down. (This was actually 10/3 when I looked up the date!)

Early in September we took Kakwik out overnight on Prince William Sound for our 19th wedding anniversary on a beautiful still weekend - a little overcast and drizzly at times but sunny in the end and great for kayaking and blueberry picking.

Brian had a busy September working - on two different tiny homes!  And I was busy back in the semester at school.

August in Anchorage

This has been the best weather in August in the 5 years that we lived here - I usually tell people not to come in August - it's cool and drizzly - but this month has been glorious for the most part. And we had good friends visit from upstate New York - Barb & Fred - as they prepared to go out on a cruise. Always good to see old friends, and I've known Barb & Fred for more than twenty years -- it made me miss them and all of my old friends!

We loved coming back to the hiking in Alaska - Baldy Mountain soon after our return and picking blueberries - Near Point and more blueberries.  Raspberries first at Lance and Mary's for eating off the bush, and then picking at Diane and Carl's - getting enough to put some in the freezer there too!

We tried for an overnight on Kakwick to go out on Prince William Sound, but a very bad accident blocked the Seward Highway, and we went hiking in Girdwood instead - a very hot one, as it turned out, up the "road" to the top of Alyeska.  

We did go out for a day on the boat the next day and got our last shrimp - and pulled the pots for the year.  I think we have enough in the freezer to last til next April, but boy, oh boy, those shrimp are good!

I bought reds for the freezer as Brian didn't go dip-netting again this year - and no silvers in the freezer yet either.  We were waiting for a confirmation on a halibut charter for this weekend that didn't come, so we hiked from Whittier up to Portage Pass and then down to the lake - lots of glacier ice chunks in the water and close to shore.

Portage Glacier & Portage Lake 

Brian with Glacier Ice 

Today was live music on the lawn of the museum and a couple of exhibits that I wanted to see inside - Arctic Ice especially before it leaves.  President Obama is coming to Anchorage tomorrow, and the whole city is gearing up!  Back to work tomorrow - it's been an intense few weeks as the semester gears up!

Sailing, Family & Friends in New York

A late post about our 4 weeks in New York -- we had a wonderful time and fit everything in - 9 days on our sailboat, Petrel, sailing to Kingston and Gannonaque, then to Cape Vincent and back to Henderson Harbor - and a couple of "anchor outs" in between.  It was fun to be in the marinas - live music and a wonderful farmer's market in Kingston and a great summer stock theatre in G.

What I loved the most about our vacation this year is that we got to spend individual time with each of our children - first Colleen and Ivana in Shapleigh, Maine, then Colin and April in Utica, Scott and Tarah in Geneva, and dinner with Alex and Sarah at Oneida Lake/Sylvan Beach.  It was the first time that I remember that we had time to catch up with each of them and their partners, and on the way back to Anchorage we went to Los Angeles and spent time with Jessica.

We hadn't seen our friends John and Donna O'Hara and Jack Reale with Judy for quite some time, so it was fun to meet them somewhere in the middle of the 3 places we were traveling from . . . in Oswego for dinner!

Dinner and home-brew with Scott and Tarah! 

In Utica, we stayed with my mom for several days when we first got there, and then she had her house booked up!  I got to see all of my brothers and sisters, and I researched senior housing when we first got there.  My mother thinks she may be ready to sell her home, and the six of us kids went to dinner with her at the place that she's thinking of moving to - an elegant, really wonderful setting that I hope she decides on!  We spent time with friends and stayed several nights with Colin and April, which we thoroughly enjoyed - and one weekend at our friends Cindy and Peter who had just been to Anchorage.

Santa Monica was a very comfortable temperature and lovely days on the beach, farmers market, and an overnight trip to Ojai -- very fun.  And a highlight was the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl - complete with fireworks at the end!

And then back to Anchorage with a few days off before the start of work again.  Picking blueberries, hiking, and trekking around the city to our favorite spots.  We are always glad to go off and see everyone and then also very happy to return!

Forest Fire and Back Home!

We got as far as Denali View South and stopped for the night, hearing that there was a forest fire, and the Parks Highway was closed!  We had intended to pass through early the next morning, so that was disconcerting and sad for those experiencing the displacement and loss of property and all of the items that tend to make our lives what we count on - scary. There were more great pictures of Denali and the Alaska Range right from where we were, and we had breakfast in the RV and compared notes and news about the fire with the other campers there.

We tucked in and planned a hike while we waited for more news about the fire and the highway opening.

The Upper Troublesome Creek Trailhead was just up the road, and we didn't see anyone the entire time on the trail, which ran up and down roughly along Troublesome Creek.  We hiked out about an hour and a half, then turned around.  The milepost book says there is a 15 mile hike to Byers Lake, but a sign at the campground says the trail is impassable beyond a point - which we evidently did not reach before we turned around!

A quick stop for "lunch" before starting back to the trailhead

Brian on our lunch/rest stop 

Back in the RV, we timed it just right to follow the pilot car (road construction) down towards Willow and the fire region - we had checked, and it seemed the road was open - when we got closer to the area that had been closed, a pilot car picked up our line and led us toward the smoky area.  As we moved up, we saw flames shoot up on the right hand side of the road, back a bit from the road but getting larger and closer as the RV moved forward.  The wind seemed to have reversed direction and was now moving rapidly toward the road - what do you do in an RV that doesn't easily turn around and reverse direction?  It seemed the same as avalanche danger - keep moving, do not slow down!  We hoped the cars in front of us kept moving, but we could feel the heat of the flames as we moved past, even in the air-conditioned vehicle.  The power and magnitude of fire was right there in our faces!

And we just heard on the news that a lightning storm now started a fire at Montana Creek, where we stayed on Friday night, with an evacuation in the works.  Our best wishes and prayers for all of the families and animals impacted by this series of fires with so much devastation.

Travel into Denali National Park

Leaving Byers Lake, we drove another 2 hours to the national park.  We had never been there, so it was an exploratory for us - as much as I tried to read about it, we hadn't really planned to do anything major there - no reservations for a bus trip, and we weren't able to get reservations for the campground since we decided to go very late in the week.  The views, of course, driving up are extraordinary, and we had the mountain out for viewing 3 days in a row!

We drove into Savage River campground after a stop at the Visitor's Center, a quick preparation of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a hike on the Savage Alpine Trail, and missing the shuttle bus to Savage River by exactly 30 seconds!  No matter - we drove the RV up, and there was plenty of parking open.  The trail indicated 1500 feet elevation gain, and it was mostly gradual headed through alpine flowered meadows up to bare rock - a beautiful variety of wildflowers!

Post-hike - apples waiting for Peter & Cindy

We were sorry to leave and head back south, but Peter and Cindy were near the end of their trip, and Judy had to go back to work.