Out of the Wilds of Alaska

Did you miss me? Probably not if you follow any of my social media feeds. If you don't, please feel free to do so. I've been posting a picture a day to show the highlights of what we've up to (when we're on the grid, that is.) The links should be at the top right side of your screen.

We're now an hour behind Seattle and safely settled in to our Alaskan home for the next few months.

It feels like we've been riding the rapids since we left. Just when I was able to catch my breath, we were off again! Needless to say, blog writing took a back seat to exploration, and rightfully so. We've seen things we never expected and have been places we've only dreamed about. "Awesome" is the only word to describe it. The drive through Yukon Territory was especially amazing. Here are a few pictures of some of the sights we saw just driving the Alcan (Alaska-Canada Highway)- all taken by me. Please forgive the bug guts in some of the shots. It just wouldn't be a road trip without them...

Here's the mile marker from Dawson Creek I was hoping to get. My husband was sweet enough to indulge me.

This was the sunrise in Fort Nelson, BC at 4:00am. It was so amazing to see these colors in the sky. I swear this picture is completely untouched. Oh, and the sun never sets during this time of year in Fairbanks. Totally true!

My oldest spotted this solar halo over Destruction Bay, Yukon. It can only form when conditions are right in the atmosphere. http://earthsky.org/space/what-makes-a-halo-around-the-moon

All over B.C. you'll see these native Inuksuit monuments, which are symbols for "in the likeness of a human", which means that someone has been here and you are on the right path, according to a native person we spoke to and this website: http://www.inukshukgallery.com/inukshuk.html

We loved seeing wild animals in their natural habitat instead of a zoo. Here are some we were able to get pictures of:

Black Bear

Dall Sheep

Buffalo

A momma grizzly with her two cubs

 This is a close up of momma. Don't worry, we followed every safety precaution. They just happened to be walking next to the road.

Elk

Moose

These foxes were just out playing with each other on the road.

Snowshoe Hares

We also saw a few porcupines (which are about the size of a bulldog), deer, eagles, hawks, ground squirrels, a coyote, Sandhill cranes, bighorn sheep, ravens, seagulls, swans, Canadian geese, and more!

The scenery has been awe-inspiring. There's just no way it can be captured with a camera. We took a million pictures, and still, they just don't do justice to the majesty of the landscapes we experienced. The flowers in the first picture are fireweed. We have it in Washington but it's EVERYWHERE up here in Yukon and Alaska.

We learned things we didn't expect, like the Dalton Highway is actually pretty well maintained. In fact, there were even adventurous people riding their motorcycles and bicycles on it. We had to wait for pilot cars a few times when we hit maintenance crews.

We followed the Alaska Pipeline all the way to Prudhoe Bay and then took a shuttle to the Arctic Ocean. The Pipeline has posts to keep the permafrost under it frozen and it's built to move both up and down and from side to side in the event of an earthquake.

This is the camp we stayed at in Deadhorse. I love their logo...

Some of the other buildings in town. When we were there, we were told to watch out for the grizzly that was wandering close by. We also had to be quiet in our room because of the day sleepers. It was a great experience having a glimpse at what life is like up there for the workers- very communal. 

Pipelines in Deadhorse

The Arctic Ocean

The narrow strip we were able to walk to get to the ocean access from the oil fields.

I was surprised to learn that Arctic tundra is squishy and spongy. Also, trees in the arctic circle are skinny and sad looking because of the soil and the amount of time the sun is out for photosynthesis. http://tundralpine.weebly.com/soil.html

Mosquitos are insanely abundant in the arctic circle and the weather gets really warm. It was in the 70's when "crossed the line" and we were in sweatshirts in Deadhorse. No, we didn't see any polar bears or seals. They follow the ice pack, which happens to be further north right now. 

We also visited Wiseman and Chena Hot Springs. The renewable energy tour was amazing, especially the hydroponics and thermal energy use. Those people have some fantastic ideas which are being used right this very minute! Check it out at: http://www.chenapower.com/ I'd never been to hot springs before and was surprised at just how hot they were. The staff was excellent and I love how the campus creates almost zero waste. Amazing!

This is a glimpse of the springs. We took this right before visiting the Aurorium (where you can go during the colder months when "the lights are out.")

 The tomatoes and lettuce were perfect! What they don't use, they sell. What they don't sell, they donate to local communities. Fantastic!

I know I've given you an eye-full in this post but the adventure has just begun! Please send me your questions and I'll try to get them answered in a timely manner.

I hope you're all enjoying summer wherever you're reading this. Until next Friday!

- Jen

The Adventure Begins!

Today is the day we've been waiting for! At 5:30am this morning, we pulled out of our driveway, trailer in tow, kids and dogs secured, and headed for the Canadian border to embark on the great family adventure we've been preparing for.

We crossed the border without a hitch (Don't worry, we have a hitch. That was just a little trailer humor..) and traveled through rain, thunder, lightening, wind, and sun to get to our camp site. Now, at 6:40pm, we are safely tucked away and getting ready for dinner. The dogs and kids made it through in fine style.

We've been having fun spotting wildlife, including big horned sheep who were grazing at the side of the road, deer, a bald eagle, and many yellow signs warning us that a moose could cross the road at any given time. British Columbia is beautiful and I'm enjoying seeing merchandise in both English and French.

Tomorrow, we plan to continue our journey through B.C. toward Alaska. We will be driving through Yukon Territory and should arrive in Fairbanks on Tuesday. From there, we will leave the dogs and trailer to drive up the Dalton Highway (or the Ice Road, as parts of it become in winter) toward the Arctic Circle . Next week's post might be a little late because we will be in Deadhorse getting ready to travel through the oil fields to the Arctic Ocean.

Fun Fact: For security reasons, you need to submit your passport information ahead of time to buy a ticket to travel through the oil fields. Otherwise, the road ends in Dead Horse for civilians- no ocean access. We'll be sure to take a lots of pictures! Who knows? Maybe we'll see a polar bear...from a safe distance.

A big thank you to our wonderful friends and neighbors who sent us off with so much love and support. We look forward to seeing you again in 14 months! For now, on to Alaska!

- Jen

The Final Countdown

It's here! The final week before we leave for our big adventure! In all likelihood, the next post will just be a quick note to let you know we’re somewhere in Canada on the “Alaska Highway.” Did you know there’s an official marker for that in British Columbia? Me neither! You’d better believe I’m going to try to convince my husband that we need to take a detour to find it in Dawson's Creek!

We’ve been swamped with milestones and contractors this past week, which is why this post is a few days late. The school year ended. Our oldest graduated from eighth grade, which means he’s officially in high school now- Yikes! He also finished all the requirements to earn his Star rank in Boy Scouts. Our daughter performed beautifully at her choir concert and ended the year with a banquet. Our youngest moved up from Bear Cub to Webelos in Cub Scouts, and had his last fiddle and speech therapy sessions. We’ll miss our music and speech teachers. They're awesome! On that note, we also visited the WHO (Washington Homeschool Organization) convention. Our math curriculum for next year is ordered and will arrive when we're in Alaska. Did I mention I like checking things off my lists? ;-)

Other than that, the dogs are  now up to date on their shots and have their health certificates for the  Canadian border. Our wills are finalized. And last, but not least- our house is empty and ready for the renters to move in. I can't even begin to tell you how thankful I am for all the people who helped us with the final details in order for this trip to come together!

In spite of all the craziness, I actually finished something creative. This quilt is for a young man who is near and dear to our hearts. He graduated from high school a few weeks ago and is on his way to the Air Force. We are so proud of him! I hope he likes it.
 

It's backed with flannel, which won't do him much good during these hot summer months (He obviously doesn't live in Western Washington- our summer doesn't arrive until after July 5th- Really!) but it will be super cozy in the Fall when he's missing home. The picture below was taken before it was quilted by Vicki Stratton. She has been wonderful in helping me finish all these projects before our big launch!

Five days to go and we are SO REDAAAY!! 

- Jen

Tweaking the Trailer

Today we're busy moving our furniture to storage, which means we'll be sitting on the floor and sleeping on air mattresses for the next week or so. Meal planning has been interesting since our food stores are dwindling (on purpose). I just realized that next week will be our last blog post before we hit the road. Yikes!

Since we've had so much time to prepare, I've been having fun getting our trailer organized and comfortable for the trip. Pinterest has been a huge help in this area. Check out some of the hacks I've added:

This is a PVC fishing rod holder. I screwed it in next to the fire extinguisher. It makes a fantastic flashlight holder. I've also added glow-in-the-dark tape so it's easy to see in the dark. 

Glow-in-the-dark-tape is also on our outside step to keep everyone safe in case we need to go out at night.

The trailer originally came with a tiny shower head. I replaced it with this one. It distributes the water more evenly and aerates it so you don't use as much. That little switch in the center opens and closes the water flow so you can lather up and not have to keep turning the water on and off completely. The temperature stays constant and you don't waste water!

I'm feeling pretty proud of myself because the bathroom didn't have a toilet paper dispenser (I mean really, what were they thinking?!), so I installed one myself! It was so secure that I decided to put up a towel rack too. This one is actually a lightweight wine rack. The walls in trailers aren't very thick or sturdy, so we'll have to be careful when taking the towels out so we don't accidentally rip it out of the wall. So far, so good!

We're using a great idea from a friend (Hi, N!!) and doing something creative with both the towels and the dishes. They're color coded! Now each person has an assigned color (the same for both their dishes and their towel) so we know immediately who hasn't cleaned up. There will be no confusion or fighting about who used what item.

Things can move around in a trailer when you're traveling, so you want to keep everything as secure and compact as you can. This is especially true in the shower, so we bought this great mesh pocket holder for the shampoo, conditioner, and soap. It attaches to the rings that hold the shower curtain and dries quickly.

I'm loving Command Strips more and more these days. You really can't screw a lot of holes into the trailer and these little beauties keep everything in place with the option of removing them at any time. Brooms are a necessity in such a small space and these little Command Strip holders keep ours nice and secure, not to mention handy. Do you see that curtain my son added to his bunk for privacy? Comand Strip hooks are holding up the rod!

This Oh-Snap Pocket from Thirty-One Gifts is right next to our door and is a great place to keep our smaller first aid kit and hand sanitizer. The chalkboard panel is easy to see so we can write down the location information of our camp site. That way we'll know where we are in case of an emergency.

This little towel holder hooks over the cupboard door to keep the towel handy and out of the way.  The Command Strip Hook on the wall keeps our scrub brush from rolling everywhere. When you need space to prep your food, it's nice to have access to these items without them being in the way.

These tiny bead containers (the containers are almost the size of a Tic-Tac box) are going to hold various spices. A label maker will tell us what's what and we'll save space and weight but still be able to spice our food.

Hopefully in the next week or so we'll make it to Ikea and get some of their Pluggis containers to mount next to the kids bunks for books.

14 days to go!

- Jen

The Squeeze is On!

It's June! This means we head out in just three short weeks. Fortunately, we're still on track with preparations. Here what the next three Fridays look like for us:

Next week- The movers come to take all our furniture to storage.
Two weeks- The house will be scoured from top to bottom in preparation for the renters.
Three weeks- We hit the road!

In the midst of all that we have an eighth grade graduation, Cub Scout crossover ceremony, visit to the veterinarian to make sure the dogs have all their paperwork for international travel, orthodontist appointment, dentist appointment, DAR meeting, choir concert and banquet, renter walk-through, will signing, and a homeschool conference. Not to mention all the meetings at work for my husband and visiting with friends to say "See you later!"- Crazy, to be sure, but all good.

This week has been low-key here on the home front. Monday was Memorial Day so everyone had the day off. Our family spent part of the day packing and the other part at a local retirement community where our youngest and his Cub Scout Den performed the flag ceremony for their remembrance barbeque. It was such a joy to see the older generations interacting with our young guys. The boys made cards for the veterans and gave them out after the ceremony. If only you could have seen the faces of the veterans and how proud the boys were. So touching!

Also, as of this week we've officially made it through our first homeschooling year! Hooray! Testing was on Tuesday and I think it went pretty well. Our youngest was nervous when I dropped him off but was having a grand old time when I returned. Apparently he made a new friend and they finished early. We'll get the results in a few weeks.

It's amazing how many things we've done together this year. We put together a Shutterfly yearbook and were blown away after seeing it all in one place. He loves having his own book for his friends to sign- and this year he made A LOT of new friends! I'm thinking next years book may be slightly larger (to say the least!)....... I'm totally up for the challenge!

- Jen

The Sky is the Limit

As the school year winds down, the end of the year activities ramp up. Scouts bridge to the next level. Eighth graders become freshman. Campouts and parties reign supreme. In the midst of it all, we prepare for our departure. In just 28 days we will pull out of our driveway to head for Alaska and say "See you later!" to all our friends and family here in Washington. It's a bit surreal, to say the least. Especially when I find myself making reservations to visit the Arctic Circle. Awesome! Amazing! This opportunity is definitely something I'm not taking for granted.

This past week we ended the official year for the homeschool group we meet with once a week. I wasn't sure what to expect when my youngest and I began this journey in September, but it has turned out to be a wonderful (most of the time), enriching, bonding experience for both of us.  This particular group played a big part in that and we will truly miss them all. The weekly play/explore days were something we looked forward to. We've gotten to know some amazing people with a passion to promote curiosity and exploration. Imperfect people who complimented each other perfectly. I now feel better equipped to take on homeschooling all three next year.

We've also had several field trips over the past few weeks. One such event was Alaska Airlines Aviation Day at SeaTac Airport. https://blog.alaskaair.com/alaska-airlines/alaskacares/aviation-day-2016/  My oldest son and I attended this with some people from his Boy Scout Troop. We saw Boy Scout Troops, Girl Scout Troops, Civil Air Patrol, and a few other organizations represented. I just can't rave enough about how wonderful this event was! My son has been interested in aviation for a while now, and this event gave him an opportunity to learn more about the different aspects of working in the industry.

We were given passports with stations to visit. If he finished the first nine stations, then he would earn both his Aviation and his Engineering Merit Badges. And so, we boarded the shuttle for the terminal and the first station- the Boy Scout Aviation Merit Badge Class. I'm glad we went there first because it was a full house!


After that we visited the hangar, where planes were on display. There the kids could learn about building engines, tour actual planes, sit in the cockpits, learn about the science that goes into each plane, and see examples of how to run an airplane and airline effectively.

This is what it looked like when we first walked into the hangar.

 

There were stations for just about every aspect of aeronautics to explore. Experts and professionals volunteered their time to teach the kids about their field.

 At this station kids were assigned a number. Each number represented an aircraft they would learn about. The pilots gave them the opportunity to work different parts of the plane/helicopter. Then, they sat in the pilot's seat to see how it would feel for that particular aircraft.

 

My son was assigned to the helicopter. The pilot had been in Vietnam and shared pictures and personal experience with the kids who came through his station.

There were clubs and organizations with booths, as well. This high school robotics club brought their robot and explained how it worked. It throws a ball and will catch it when you throw it back. They also brought a t-shirt cannon, which the boys loved.

This is the robot that throws and catches.

Alaska Air and Boeing really went all out and provided lunch for everyone. It was half a sandwich, chips, water and Ivar's clam chowder. The volunteers were really friendly.

The boys visited stations where they learned about recycling programs for Alaska Airlines, wildlife conservation efforts that work alongside the aviation industry, programs for kids to learn how to build and fly planes, and much more! It was amazing!

We went through the larger airplanes where they let us work the intercom and lights, sit in first class, and sit in the cockpit where the pilots gave us our wings pins. 

It's not that often that an opportunity comes along to explore a plane that closely.

After the hangar, we took the shuttle to the training facility. One of the stations our boys were especially excited about was the flight simulator. They are the actual simulators that pilots train in. All I can say is it's a good thing I won't be flying any planes anytime soon! Trust me. ;-)

 My son was a natural, though. This experience really lit a fire in his eyes.

Next were the classes where kids chose what occupation they wanted to learn more about- Mechanic, Flight Attendant, or Pilot. Our boys chose to learn more about becoming a Pilot.

I love that this class was given by both a man and a woman. They had different backgrounds and different areas of expertise. The woman was an engineer who began with a childhood passion of wanting to be an astronaut. She currently tests planes and flies all over the world. She also designed several parts of the planes you fly in today.  

The man knew he wanted to be a pilot from a very young age and worked his whole life to earn good grades, keep himself healthy, and avoid activities that would tarnish his record so that he could earn that privilege. His message was very positive and refreshing in a culture where celebrity and "doing what feels right" are what's popular.  

Both were outstanding role models and had positive, relevant messages.  I can't say enough good things about our experience.

Our final class was about aeronautics and the science of how flight works.

Finally, we headed back to the hangar where a team of pilots and flight professionals held merit badge conferences. They really paid attention to each boy to make sure they had a firm understanding of what they had just experienced and learned. It was clear the counselors enjoyed mentoring the kids. My son was proud to have earned both merit badges that day.

If you ever get the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it!

Wishing you all a wonderful three-day weekend. Thank you to all our veterans and their families. This family won't forget your sacrifice!

- Jen