Glaciers--2 (or 26) If By Sea

We loved the Matanuska Glacier--however, it was a little grimy at the bottom. That was not the case for the Prince William Sound Glaciers we went to see. We went on a lunch cruise, and it was amazing. We had some rainy weather (not surprising--the get over 30 feet of snow in the winter--take that Cache Valley), but everything was misty and fabulous. The cruise took around 5 hours and we saw 26 glaciers during that time; we got within 1/4 mile of 3 glaciers.

DJ has always wanted to see a glacier chaffing (just teasing sweetheart! When we booked the cruise, he asked the phone attendant if we could see glaciers chaffing. She had a startled pause, and then responded--"Calving?") We definately saw, and heard, several. You'd hear a CRACK first of all, and then see snow and ice start to fall down the slope/into the ocean. I couldn't figure out Picasa well enough to get these in order, but we've got a 6-picture "this is how it happened" sequence. The amazing thing is that the icebergs are blue as well.

What's being out on the ocean without seeing wildlife. We were looking at a glacier, when the kids shouted out--"There's some seals!" Yes, harbor seal were laying on the ice. We also saw several sea otters floating along--I'd hate to be in that water!

Finally, here's a few other pictures from our tour--the kids all got to take a picture at the wheel of the ship (Josh even got to press the button to go 3 degrees starboard). We enjoyed the hot chocolate, and even had (virgin) margaritas made from glacier ice. What a great end to my trip! The next evening DJ dropped Reagan and I off at the airport --it was 54 degrees in Anchorage, and 118 degrees in Palm Springs. Sigh.....

Glaciers--1 If By Land

After our roadside adventures, we stopped at Matanuska Glacier (about 2 hours east of Anchorage). The thing is enormous--24 miles long and about 2 miles wide at its base. It takes about 250 years for the snow to move its way down, but when it does--wow! Talk about a ton of water being released. The Matanuska River is huge immediately below the glacier. We hiked it (obviously from the pictures), and at the beginning, I was picturing crevasses opening up and swallowing us whole--I had seen the original Transformers movie and did NOT want to meet up with Megatron. However, the owner of the property immediately below the glacier assured us that it was safe; because of the time of year and the density of the ice, he could drive his bulldozer on it. He then took us on a tour of the lower parts of the glacier--pointing out different formations and their causes (think lots of melting water). The bottom portion was covered in a very thin layer of silt and rock, but within 15 minutes of climbing we were standing on over 1000 feet of ice. One of my favorites is the glacial "erratics." That's any piece of debris/rock/etc., that the glacier picks up and move. There's a picture of Reagan on an erratic that moved several feet in the past week (the rock, not Reagan).

Of course the kids LOVED it. After we got pictures, DJ suggested that Josh lick the ice for a picture--that turned into a free-for all. I didn't participate--not too fond of the muddy ice concept, but the kids adored it. Every time I turned around someone was licking the ice. DJ even got a picture (which I've refused to post) that looks a little bit obscene (4 kids in a row licking ice? Yuck!) A little further in, there's a glacial-fed lake (on top of the glacier), that was absolutely stunning; I can't imagine how glorious it would be on a sunny day. And of course, the blue ice was to die for!

Alaska or BUST v 3.0 (3.1, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13, 3.14, 3.2)

It takes a hardy soul to live in Alaska. Or maybe, Alaskans know they should not go on 150 mile gravel roads in a minivan pulling a tent/trailer. WHATEVER. After Denali, we decided to go on the "Denali Highway", a 150 mile gravel road connecting the 2 sides of the state. After all, we could see more of Alaska that way. About 10 miles into it, we lost the tire on the van. Tre' had to help change that one, and he did a great job. We drove and drove and drove (at about 15-20 miles per hour). It truly was beautiful--you can see the pictures of the first true glaciers we could see in the distance--the things are huge! We stopped to camp for the night; I was convinced that a bear was going to eat us, so I made the girls, Josh, and I sleep in the van--and I didn't sleep. I kept peering around for bears. DJ popped up the trailer, and he and Tre' got a good nights sleep.

In the morning, the trailer tire was flat. OK--we could change a tire. DJ did that and we headed off. About 2 miles later, we heard a "KER-PLUNK. DRAGGG" We stopped immediately, and the tire had fallen off the trailer. We also lost the lug nuts and the cap for the axle on the trailer. Aargh--we tried to jimmy-rig it, but it just wasn't flying. Upon closer inspection, as the wheel fell off, it stripped the stems on the axle. A trucker stopped (yes, we do appreciate truckers), and suggested that we drop the trailer, and drive to find the parts that we needed. He also lent us a large steel mallet to drive out the posts, etc., and said we could leave it at a fishing lodge about 20 miles up the road. After that we looked at each other, dropped the trailer, and headed off to find our parts. 160 miles later (one way), we found the parts we thought we'd need--plus extra lug nuts! 160 miles back, and we looked at it. We had a variety of parts, and nothing worked just right. We looked at each other, said another prayer, and someone else stopped by 2 minutes later. He made a suggestion of combining the various parts to build a new ball/bearing part of the axle (gulp!), headed out, and we did it. We drove and drove and drove, and 10 feet from the end of the gravel road, we blew another tire (however, we knew that this spare had some sun damage, so it wasn't unexpected.) After we changed that one, we were done with the flats--hallelujah!

We got some fun wildlife pictures--I loved the ptarmigan family we saw--an adult poked his head up out of the grass on the side of the road, and then we saw the chicks. We've also included a picture of the porcupine that DJ chased trying to get a picture.

Denali

Isn't it gorgeous? Mt. McKinley didn't want to show itself completely, but we were able to piece together the entire thing from a bunch of smaller shots--it was looming. Made me feel like a hobbit going through the Misty Mountains to Smaug's lair. However, it sure wasn't Mt. Doom--way too cold!

We loved seeing everything--we took the 13 hour round trip shuttle bus ride through the park and back. Our driver was a mid-60s (young right, Mom and Dad?) who chatted and told stories about the park the entire time, while driving a VERY large school bus at relatively high speeds on narrow winding roads. She'd slam on the breaks if anyone saw wildlife--we thought she was awesome. We saw moose, caribou, and that wolf (which was hunting about 2 feet from the bus).

While in Denali, we saw their sled dogs--Madi loved that. As they harnessed up the dogs for their demonstration, the 2 lead dogs went wild with their desire to get on their way. Reminded me of a certain, oldest daughter of mine who ALWAYS loves to be at the front.
As parents, on a trip, we were morally obligated to take goofy pictures of our kids with museum exhibits. Tre' loved his "attack of the wolf", while Madi had to hug her bear. Reagan did the climbing up to the Dahl sheep, but Tre' peeked over the top just as we were taking the picture.

World Eskimo Olympics, North Pole, and FAMILY!!!

The nice thing about flying into Alaska in the summer from Palm Springs is the temperature drop--oh, was it fabulous. As we boarded the plane in Palm Springs, they gave the entire lecture of "do what you can to keep things cool in here." I landed in Fairbanks (after hitting San Francisco, then Seattle) to 72 degrees and beautiful. The Fairbankians (or whatever they call themselves) were complaining about the heat wave. I guess if your standard temperature for half the year is -40, you might complain about 72 degrees. My plane landed, I got off, got my luggage, and looked around. No family. I thought--maybe they're outside. No family. 15 minutes later, no family. Just then, Reagan left the building. Evidently, we missed each other by moments. We had dinner in the "northern most Denny's in the world" (pretty cool, eh?) and went to the World Eskimo Olympics.

My family knows me pretty well--I'm a rather anal-retentive sort of person; after all, I'm an accountant. Let's just say that the time schedule for the World Eskimo Olympics did not match my idea of "efficient" use of time. However, it was really cool. Thank goodness we missed the seal-skinning competition. I've included a picture of our favorite event--the one-leg Alaskan kick. It came from the days that the Eskimos would go whale hunting. When they needed extra people to help with the kill, they'd kick one foot high in the air to notify everyone to come out. Think the Karate Kid kick--the person has to kick off of one foot, with that same foot kick a ball approximately 9 feet in the air, and then land back on that foot. it was amazing. We also saw a dancing competition--the kids and DJ got into the free dance portion--it was very funny to see them doing the dances--Tre' loved it the most! DJ also helped in the toss--basically, 50 guys held a large stretched walrus skin "trampoline" and bounced someone in the air--like 20-30 feet in the air. He said the skin smelled.

I've also included pictures of the family that rescued the trekkers on the Dalton Highway. We went to church with them and then over to their house (which was built without plans, permits, etc.--true Alaskan spirits!) for dinner. We stayed in North Pole, AK, and so, of course, had to visit Santa's house. The girls pretended to be reindeer.

Alaska or BUST v 2.0

Hmm--it's strange how we're repeating titles. There truly is a reason for the "bust" part of the saying. DJ and kids made it up 494 miles along the gravel Dalton Highway, became honorary polar bears in the Arctic Ocean, and then 250 miles back. They fueled and then camped near Coldfoot, woke up in the morning, and the gas had leaked out. No problem, right? They're at the repair place along the road. HOWEVER..... The repairs that are done at Coldfoot are only tire repairs. Not fuel pumps, lines, or anything else. OK... We have AAA's 200 mile tow package. That should work, right? Not in this part of Alaska, it doesn't. After calling the towing place in Fairbanks, DJ found out that it would be $1700 and at least 3 days before the tow truck could make it there. I was flying into Fairbanks in 4 days. Not my idea of a fun time. DJ checked around, and all the trucks coming back from Prudhoe Bay had full loads. Wow--was this getting fun, or what? DJ and kids had a prayer, and he got the distinct impression, "Don't worry--someone's coming." OK--that's a good thing. However, as the hours passed, and passed, and passed, he was getting worried. The kids started wrestling in the car, Tre' cracked his head on the spare battery DJ was carrying, blood was running down his head, and then a truck pulled up and the trucker said, "Do you need some help?" Turns out, the trucker and his wife couldn't get a load, and came back; they loaded up the van, took the 2 oldest kids, and farmed DJ and the 2 younger ones out to another trucker they knew who was headed back. When the wife was talking to our kids, they talked about the school they want to go to (BYU), and the trucker & wife were Mormons. We went to church with them on the Sunday after I got to Alaska. Small world?

Here's some other pictures from the Prudhoe Bay adventure--I love that peak. It's so typical of the Alaskan mountains.

Have I Been Too Worried?

Both DJ and Tre' want me to tell you that I made it more scary than it sounds. However, to combat that impression, take a look at this (its not our picture, but I stole it off the wikipedia):

DJ was sleeping in the tent on the tundra right by the river outside of Prudhoe Bay. (Long nights driving, etc.). The kids were playing in front of the tent, and he kept hearing shouts of "Wolf!" However, in the tradition of the boy who cries wolf, he ignored it. Hmmm--in an area where polar bears, arctic grizzlies, and wolves roam, would you do that? When he came out, the 3 younger kids swore there was a pack of wolves watching them right across the river.

Would you say that it's time for me to get up there? Yeah--if I want to bring anyone home alive. I'm almost in the mood to leave DJ up there.

Canadian/Alaskan Wildlife

Oh no--it's not just moose and bears in Canada. You can also find shedding mountain goats, great horned owls, bison, and more shedding mountain goats. There's also the omnipresent bears. From my perspective, way, way, way too many bears. Especially when there's my husband and his camera around.

Here's a grizzly the family saw--you can see it rooting around in a rotting log--then you can see the dust fly as it digs in--and then you can see it looking around at DJ, who's not in car because he needs to take a picture. Fun, huh?

Reagan 's the next subject here--with a mama bear and cubs. I'll admit they are cute--but that mama is looking at Reagan with the look of "Stay away you idiot!"

In general everyone needs a picture by a bear to be complete, right? WRONG! Of course, I wasn't invited on this portion of the trip.



















And finally, you have my all time-favorite sequence (at least from a story telling perspective--this is a least favorite from the mother side of me.) Tre' was out being photographed by a bear when the bear decided to come over to the van. DJ yelled at Tre' to get in, which he did, but as the bear got closer, and closer, you can see Tre' peering out the window. This bear came right up to the side of the van looking for handouts. Thank goodness Tre' has a bit of my self-preservation instinct!

Canada--It's A Rather Pretty Place, Eh?

Yes, they made it --- You can see all the provinces they traveled through on the Alaska Highway--ending with the State of Alaska. DJ ran into a little problem. We had the passports for everyone, but since I wasn't with them, both times he crossed the border, he had to answer questions about why he didn't have an approval letter. I'll bring one up to him!

One of the preparations we made was for Watson Lake. Some time ago, someone put up a sign saying their name and how far it was to their home town. Of course the Risk's made a sign--they made two!!! When I was looking at these pictures, I called DJ up and asked him if I was a part of the family--he pointed out that I was on the bottom sign. It says "Mommy stayed home." While there, DJ looked up, and say a sign from the Greiners, neighbors of his from Iowa. Of course we had to include that.

Of course because this trip's theme is "Arctic or Bust," we have to include the first bust. DJ started having electrical problems after driving through the waterfall (Imagine that!). He was coming on the 4th of July, so he took off for Canada, since it wasn't a holiday there. Didn't make it all the way, so we love AAA! Obviously, he made it back on the road.

"I Love Technology"

Do you remember the song "I love technology" from the movie Napolean Dynamite? Well, I do love technology. Imagine--I was sitting there, working, and also watching DJ drive through the last major town in Canada on his way to Alaska.

Oh, the beauties of technology. Here's a real-time picture of DJ, trailer, stuff, etc. almost hitting a guy walking across the road in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. We found the webcam yesterday, and coordinated capturing the picture with DJ during his daily call-in. Dad took it, and made it so we could import to here.

Yes, we love technology.

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park--doesn't just the name sound cold? As a prelim to their initiation into the Polar Bear Club, our rugrats got to swim through a glacial river--look at that lovely blue-green color--yep, it's not touched up!

The other major adventure through in the Park was the spring-runoff waterfall. Note that there was PLENTY of area to drive around. However, that's not the Risk way. Instead, DJ had Reagan get out to take a picture and drove THROUGH the waterfall. All of a sudden, he heard a voice pop up from the back-- "Uh, Dad, there's some water coming into the van!" Evidently, the fine automakers of Dodge created window seals that are good enough for rain, but not waterfalls. Imagine that! DJ swears that the fact that the alternator went out 1 day later has nothing to do with this latest adventure.

Alaska or Bust

23 Bears later, DJ has made it to at least Watson Lake, Yukon Territory. They've seen bears, mountain goats, swam in a glacier river, camped next to one of the 23 bears, spent time in Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, crossed through 3 Canadian Provinces, and had a generally fabulous time. He's downloaded pictures through Glacier National Park. Here's some pictoral summaries:

Here's our first stops in Utah--there was still snow in some of the areas we collected water. The big underhang is where my great-great grandpa used to stay when he would go up to quarry rock for the Logan Temple. We had the obligatory ice skating adventures as well.

After Utah, the true adventure began--Here's some Yellowstone shots:

Mexico Border: Madi and Reagan

Madi's Science experiment is to moniter Malibu's water consumption.

Reagan recording her data

Reagan measuring the sun's output on the Mexican Border.

Mexican Border

Mexican Border. Josh is recording his data

Tre' and Heidi on the Mexican border.

Library on the Mexican Border

My kids are grateful for their school library now. They always complain about how small their school library is. After seeing this city library they have a new attitude.

Mexican Border

Having Ice Cream on the Mexican Border. We wanted to be able to say we went from Mexico to the Arctic. The border is in the back ground. The border security stopped us from taking pictures at the boarder. Something about national security and my kids looking like terrorists. They are of Lebanese decent. (Heidi here: Even Boo!)

The sign points to Mexico.

Salton Sea: Reagan / Boo

Malibu (Boo) Needs a bath after running away.

Reagan testing the power output of the sun at the Salton Sea. Underneath is a protractor that records the angle when the sun has its highest energy output. The degree should increase as we travel North.