Seattle - August 30

Melanie and I went to the market in Seattle. It was their 75th (I think) anniversary. They had been celebrating all summer. The theme was pigs. There were various types of pigs all around the market area.






This is the cafe along the shore where Melanie & I had lunch. As we ate we saw sailboats and ferries go by. We also saw a parasailor land in the water. It was a beautiful day and the food was great. I had halibut tacos. They were made with halibut and coleslaw.






Some other sights from the market----

Bellingham - September 2

Bruce was kind enough to be our tour guide in Bellingham. He took us on some easy hikes before our flight to Anchorage. The first stop was a fairly new walkway along the water. We saw lots of boats of all sizes and shapes. There are a lot of condos along the water and the bike/walking path we took is very heavily used.

Our next stop was a hike in the "forest." We saw so many interesting shapes, trees, moss and fungi. The one picture is of Bruce and Melanie taking a break by an old electric streetcar trestle. Bruce said it was a streetcar just like you would see in San Francisco and it went up and down the side of the hill.






















Bruce called this a woodpecker tree. It was an old, rotted tree where they could feast on insects. It looked like a totem pole.

Lummi Island – September 1

Since we were not taking the ferry to Alaska, we found other sights and events near Bellingham. I found this description of the island posted by the Willows Inn:

Lummi Island near Bellingham, Washington
San Juan Islands' Pearl of Rosario Strait
If you are looking for tourist or travel information about the San Juan Islands you are fortunate to have discovered Lummi Island - an oft overlooked gem. It is the home of sustainable fisheries, historic inns, organic farms, excellent restaurants and cafes, and many artists and artisans. It is a quiet place to listen for birds as well as spotting them, and hearing Orcas splash by as they pursue their salmon meals; a place to walk the country roads for hours, engrossed in the marine views at every turn.


That pretty much sums it up. We took a 6 minute ferry ride to the island.





We attended the farmers market, the artists’ studio tour around the island and, while we were waiting for our return ferry, I went into the library book sale and bought some books. They are now waiting for me in the suburban for when I actually do get to make my long ferry trip to Alaska. At the island grocery store we bought some delicious sticky cinnamon rolls, just like Grandma Carter used to make!!!

We stopped to eat and got an outside table that faced Mount Baker.









These are some of the scenes as drove around the island.












These are the crab pots on the dock.

Hatcher Pass & Bodenburg Butte – Sept 4

After we rested up from our flight from Seattle to Anchorage, Melanie and I decided to see some of the sights in the Mat-Su (Matanuska-Susitna) Valley. It was (another) gorgeous Alaskan day, so we went to Hatcher Pass to pick blueberries. I had heard all summer that there were zillions of them in the pass and anyone could pick them. We searched in several different places for about 40 minutes and finally came across a seasoned berry picker. She told us that the season was all but ended and that is why we couldn’t find any berries. At least I will be ready for berry picking at the end of August next year. I won’t wait for September!




That afternoon we hiked up Bodenburg Butte. If you have read my blog before, you will understand when I tell you that I learned my lesson and we came down the SAME trail as we went up. Melanie was able to see those awesome views of the mountains, rivers, the glacier, and the valley.
I learned something new on that hike. Did you know that the ear warmers that you can buy have reflective things on the sides of the ear warmers? I found that out when I looked at the picture I took of Melanie at the top of the butte. Look closely----Those white spots around her ears are the ear warmers reflectors!!





After we descended the butte, we went in search of Melanie Lane. Melanie had seen it on the map and it showed that it was nearby. We followed the map carefully and did not find it. Again, the map showed a road that went through, but it actually didn’t. We did find Melanie Lane the next day when we approached from the other direction. Anyway, what we did stumble across a moose cow and her calf. So that must have been the reason we were on that road!!

SAND HILL CRANES – September 5

The sandhill cranes were near our apartment for several weeks. By the time I got to Alaska, only 40-80 cranes were regular visitors. But Doug said at the peak time, there were hundreds in the field right outside our windows. Even 50 of them sounded like hundreds. Melanie and I were able to walk very close to them to get pictures.

ANCHORAGE TRIP WITH MELANIE – September 6

Melanie’s Last Day

We had quite a few adventures on Melanie’s last day here. Doug was able to get off work at noon and we went to the Noisy Goose in Palmer to eat. It has great food!! This picture was taken on the porch of the café. This is a sample of how the flowers grow here in Alaska.




After lunch we went to the Iditarod Race headquarters in Wasilla. There was a musher there with his team and a couple of puppies. His name is Raymie Redington. His father, Joe Redington, is the “Father of the Iditarod”. His two sons have been mushers in several Iditarod races. Most sled dogs are not the Alaskan huskies that we picture or have seen in Disney movies. They are leggy, athletic dogs. Musher Martin Buser told us that they are just like human distance runners.







After we left Wasilla, we drove to Anchorage. We passed through the city and went south on the Seward Highway. Our specific goal was to spot some Beluga whales. And we were successful!!!! We saw two whales cruising up and down the coast. Unfortunately, it is not like the whales you see breeching on TV. They swim more like dolphins, popping out only long enough to get air and submerge again. You can see just a little bit of their back and the spray of water as they “blow”. Since it happens so quickly and you don’t know where they are going to pop up next (and, since a digital camera has a slight delay in snapping a picture), we weren’t able to get very good pictures. But we DID see them.



We them turned our eyes from the inlet side of the highway to the other side, the rocky side. We were now in search of Dall sheep in the rocks. Again, we were successful! We saw a mom and her kid WAY up high. It is amazing how they are so nimble in the rocks.





We turned back toward Anchorage, we could see the rain moving in. This is a shot of what we saw.



On our way back into Anchorage, we made a detour and went to Flat Top Mountain. You can see from the picture where it gets its name. There were still a few blueberry pickers there. The rain hadn't caught up with us, so we still had a good view of the city of Anchorage and the surrounding land. As we left Flat Top trail head and started down the mountain, we saw a moose grazing near the road. He apparently was used to a lot of traffic.

Audrey Update

A blog wouldn’t be complete without pictures of grandchildren. Audrey had her first birthday on August 15.
She is walking and keeping mom and dad (Dan & Mary) on the run.
She loves the water. She gets to swim at her Grandma and Grandpa’s house every day. Dan sent me a picture of her in her Husker cheerleading outfit (which Grandma Carter bought for her) so I can have it on my phone for a screensaver.
Audrey gets a piano lesson from Grandma Rosemary every day. She is pretty good at playing the keys with one finger at a time and knows that each end of the keyboard makes a different sound.




These are pictures of Audrey in her "moose antler" hat and her Alaska t-shirt. I am sorry - I rotated the pictures before I inserted them, but the rotation doesn't stick. I still haven't figured that one out!






This is a picture of Audrey "helping" dad. Dad was fixing the doorknob on Audrey's closet and she was helping by pulling out all the clothes in her bottom drawer. How is this helping, you ask? It kept her busy so dad could work! In case you can't tell, she DOES know what to do when the camera swings her way!