Bears, Eagles, Moose

That's an eagle perched high in the sky on a spruce.
The Russian Orthodox Church in Kenai. The Russians arrived on the pennisula in the late 1700s. (The church has an active congregation today.)
The flowers are nearly as stunning as the mountains.
Six of the Soldatna Seven enjoying lunch in Kenai--just for the halibut.
Mrs. Moose meet Trilla. Trilla meet Mrs. Moose.

Bears! Eagles! Moose and more moose! Having great fun with the crew.  Yesterday there was a moose in Meri's front yard. We dashed out to say "hello," but from a distance. Don't mess with a mommy moose!  Today we're off to meet some bears by air and drop by a volcano on the way home. Plus, naturally, chowin' down three squares a day.

Super Soldatna

We're in Soldatna (I'll try to find an Alaska map to post) on the Kenai Peninsula. Wonderful for many reasons--family first, unbelievable setting, incredible food.  We stood on the deck watching the bald eagles soar (immature and grown-up), while the Kenai River rushed by. Dinner is family-caught red salmon prepared by master griller Oz.

Sublime!

After dinner we watched Mt. Redoubt reflect the light of the midnight sun and enjoyed the bright blue of Barb's delphiniums.

Reindeer or Caribou?

We've all always wondered--what is the difference in a caribou, like these cooling off on a chunk of ice in Denali National Park, and a reindeer. Here are reindeer enjoying life at our Wasilla home, the Agate Inn. (If you come to W. stay here. It's great.)

And the difference? Caribou are wild; reindeer are domesticated (kind of). So a caribou can turn into a reindeer.

We're here!

We're here! This is my first chance at hitting the computer. Here are 4 happy souls enjoying a drive from Denali to (you betcha!) Wasilla. In the background you can see Mt. McKinley. And a portrait of the magnificent McKinley.

Wonderful week

Where did it go? Our Houston week flew by--now we're heading out the door. Next stop--Anchorage. Stay with us!
















Cousins

And the hosts and with some of the crew

And here are our hosts--the folks we're going to be visiting-- plus one. The tall, guy on the back row is my cousin Don (Barb's brother), darn it, he won't be there, but he's following the blog from California. Oz has the super moustache and is standing on the left. He's married to my cousin Barb who is front and center. Her mother, Meri, is right in front of Bob on Barb's left Meri was married to my Uncle Jack. Got that all straight?

The other news is that the bearded man behind Meri is no longer bearded! I'm embarrassed--I didn't notice for a couple of days! I'm the other person (on Barb's right and by the dashing Oz). We're a great crew!

Meet more travelers

We've presented our first traveler, Taite, a few entries back. Now here is the rest of our travelin' crew. Katy's in Atlanta putting in her last day of work before our big adventure. She's made lots of the plans and probably has the best grasp of exactly what it is we're going to be doing. She put together our last summer adventure when we explored the Hill Country of Texas. Here she's about to explore that great Texas dish--the chicken-fried steak.

And here are the parents--on that Wimberly Hill Country ramble. Bob surveyed the heights from a really high hill--he's be at much greater heights next week in Denali. Along with Katy, he's made the plans. Don't know how he managed to find a flight that goes from Atlanta to Houston and then on to Anchorage. We'll all be together,And me, Trilla-the-hat-lover enjoying her birthday Stetson very, very much.

News of our hosts soon.

Houston happening

We’re all having Houston fun.

Yesterday we had a swim with the family, and then the traditional first-night-in-Houston dinner of Tex-Mex at Juanita’s. On the way home, we stopped to watch the bats emerge from the Waugh St. bridge on Allen Parkway. Downtown Houston shimmered in the evening light.

Today we visited Canino’s Market—more vegetables and fruits than you’ve ever seen! Bob and Taite had a lesson in tamarinds. We’re going to make tea. (One of these days!)

The big news--we broke 100 degrees about mid afternoon! We'll be ready for Alaska!

A week and a day and we are on our way! Meanwhile, meet the travelers. And one of them is traveling right this minute. Taite is in the air between Detroit and Houston. A week in Houston will give him a taste of big city life and a plateful of Houston heat—all the better to appreciate the cool Alaskan air.

Taite is a rising senior at Albemarle High in Charlottesville, Virginia. (He lives in nearby Earlysville.) He enjoys history best of all his subjects. He’ll get lots of family history this summer. It’s not all books and reading. Sometimes he flys when he’s not even in a plane!

Solstice

We arrive in Anchorage around 7 pm local time on June 21 with much to look forward to starting off with the long Alaska evening on this day of the summer solstice (as well as the Moose Tooth pizza). The sun will set at 11:42 pm. We'll watch it skim below the horizon. It will be back bright and early at 4:21 on June 22. We may miss that one.

Yes, Verizon does offer coverage in Alaska

So, like so many folks today, I was a little worried about being out of 'touch' while in Alaska. No worries. I checked out the Verizon map and we're covered in Anchorage, Soldatna and most of Denali ... probably not the glaciers. You can take a look here:

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/CoverageLocatorController

What's for dinner

That solstice pizza sounds perfect for dinner on June 21.
http://www.moosestooth.net/ Take a look at the menu. Worth flying all day for!

Once in-country we'll be hungry, since the airlines have given up feeding most passengers on most flights. We can go straight to the Moose's Tooth Pub & Pizzeria where one of the specialties is Solstice Pizza. Dessert choices include Death by Peanut Butter and Moose Pie made with coffee ice cream.

Omen for a great trip

We’re getting ready. The clothing list is mostly a line of neat checks. It’s hard to dig out the flannel shirts and sweaters in the Houston heat; hard to believe I can possibly be even chilly before sometime in October. But Cousin Barb says, “Don’t ask questions; bring the warm stuff.”

This is going to be such fun, of course we’ll want to share it by sending lots of postcards. I’ve got my postcard address list ready—that’s usually the first obstacle to sending cards—where’d I put those addresses? This time I’m really ready. I’ve made labels for the folks I want to send several cards to across the trip.

Peel, stick, and—oh wait! Who has a stamp? And what does it take to mail a postcard?

I took care of that today. Off to the post office to stand in the Friday afternoon line. Whatever was I thinking? I didn’t make chit-chat. I bought a couple of sheets of postcard stamps and was out of there. I didn’t even look at them until I got to the door.

Then I laughed out loud. Talk about an omen for a good, good trip! Here are my stamps!

To do list

Okay,

I've checked out the supply list and I think I'm covered for clothing. I do need a new lens cap and filter for the camera. I need to make sure my batteries are charged and the photo equipment is good to go. A little more research on Denali and Wasilla are in order. The countdown has begun and I'm very excited ... I've talked to several people who have been and they all say it is just breathtaking. Looking forward to seeing Barb, Oz and Meri!

Bob's aboard. It'll be 90 degrees in Houston for the next five days -- hotter in late June. C'mon Soldotna 60s!.

The countdown begins!

Beautiful Denali will be our first stop.


D-day minus 31!

Countdown Day. A month from today four Pandos, Katy, Taite, Bob, and Trilla, will buckle in a Continental flight in Houston and soar north heading for fun, family and adventure in Alaska.

During this countdown month, we’ll share some of our fun and frustrations in getting the show on the road—but the real fun starts June 21, 2010.

Isn’t the longest day a great day to head for the Land of the Midnight Sun?