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.