Alyeska Hand Tram

Hello readers. Today we went to Alyeska and hiked to the hand tram over Winner Creek. Its a very family friendly hike and the tram is a blast. The kids loved it, and the dogs hated it. Its about 30 ft in the air with a see through floor. We also came across another bridge that the kids thought was very 'daring'. A fun day and on the list for our visitors from now on. See Ya, Storm

more pics

Here are the rest of the pics. They show the view from the top and what our house looks like through KM's new 500mm lense. Also a picture showing the old NIKE missle site in the background. The kids did great, the only one not exhausted by the end was Max and that's because he gets to ride on Dad's shoulders during the steep stuff. Even the dogs were wiped out!! In the last pic of KM if you look closely you can see the boys spread out up the ridge and the dogs are near the top. We gave the boys a lot free reign where it was safe to do so, which made it seem like even more of an adventure for them. About 6 miles round trip and boys cannot stop talking about it!! See Ya, Storm

May Hike

Hello Again. Yesterday was beautiful so we went on a hike. If you look at the picture taken off of our deck, our goal was the peak on the left called Mt Gordon Lyon. We were successful and had a great time. No wind and no one else up there. Plenty of snow for the kids and dogs to play in, lots of sunscreen and no bugs! What a day. I'm having some internet issues so I'll put the rest of the pics up later. Storm

More May Stuff

Hello again. Here are a few more pics from some recent activities. First, I went snowmobiling on May 19th in Whittier. It was awesome. I rode all day in a T-Shirt! Lots of sun and snow, and the views were incredible. Unfortunately pictures don't really do it justice, but I attached one anyhow. For Memorial Day Weekend Kerry and Max traveled to St Louis to visit everyone, while Nick, Alex and I stayed here and played hard. On Saturday we climbed on of the local peaks, of course I managed to forget the camera for that one. On Sunday we drove down to the Kenai peninsula to dig for clams. The clam beds are only exposed during negative low tides which occur for a total of around 20-30 days a year. Basically what you do is walk out on to the sand/mud during the really low tide and look for the little dimple that indicates a clam and start digging with a clam shovel, or use your 'clam gun' to extract them. Technically its an easy process, physically its a bit of a chore. The boys had a blast playing in the mud as did the dogs. We managed to get 60 clams in less than 2 hours. Tomorrow we can tell you how they taste! Being that I was covered in sand and mud and trying to keep track of 2 boys and 2 dogs I didn't have much time for pictures. So these will have to do. Of course when the Bald Eagle showed up and landed 20 feet away the camera was safely in the truck...figures. Kerry and Max had a blast and now we are all back together in Alaska. Talk to you soon. Storm

Not Gone

For those of you who thought that we must have fallen off the face of the earth. We haven't, just not too much going on worthy of blogging about. My work schedule has been a drag and we had a family bout with the flu and then some nasty cold virus but nothing serious. The weather in Anchorage has been fantastic for the last several weeks. Lots of sunny days with nice comfortable temps in the 50's and even up to 70 once. Last year we didn't hit 70 until JULY 2nd, so this has been a nice switch. This past weekend we did a family 2K and a great hike up behind the house. I also put in a few pictures of the the volcano when I flew by a few days ago, and a print I found in the snow while out hiking. I even threw in a photo of the Sean Meadows family in Germany when I got to see them for 48....it was awesome. Enjoy the photos. More to come soon. Storm

Quick Update

Hello Readers, so here's what has been going on. I went on a 10 day trip that turned into a 13 day trip due to Mt Redoubt erupting and putting ash in the air near Anchorage. 10 minutes after I finally got home, both Alex and Max puked on the carpet and were down with a stomach virus for 3 days...then I caught it...and finally KM caught it. Nick started the whole thing off while I was on my trip. So now that is all behind us and we're back to normal, so to speak. We celebrated Nick's birthday on April 1st, but his party will be in a week or two...delayed due to sickness in house! Yesterday we got out to Alyeska and had a fantastic day. 30+ degrees and not a cloud around. I took 2 quick videos that came out all right. Unfortunately Max falls on both of them, but rest assured he is unscathed and skis quite well most of the time. Spring seems to have arrived with lots of sun and melting snow. Plus longer days that are killing our bedtime routine, the sun is still up at 9PM already! Its been quite a fun winter for everyone and now we're looking forward to warmer weather and lots of fishing, hiking, camping etc... Come visit and see for yourself. Take Care, Storm

Iditarod 2009!!!

I am so excited for Lance Mackey!! Three in a row! :):):) We have a ball watching the start of the race and someday soon, I am going to be in Nome for that finish! I watched it live today on the t.v., did you guys catch it? Whattaya mean it wasn't being shown on your t.v.? The nerve! Anyhoo, here is just a minute sampling of the festivites. Picture #1 is our three time champ Lance Mackey!! We have had the plesure of meeting this guy twice and he is nothing short of darling; so down to earth and welcoming. He makes you feel like his best friend, very humble and uneffected, just adore him! Photo #2, Jeff King...was a big threat to Mackey last year, but not so much this year, he is still out on the trail. Photo #3, Martin Buser...never have seen this guy without a smile! He LOVES what he does and is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. Photo #4, My pal Jamie! She and her husband Steve have been our hosts up on Long Lake for the last three years. We enjoy the Iditarod with the comforts of their beautiful cabin and her huge pot of Wood Stove Chili...YUM!!! Photo #5,...I can't get my helmet off without scraping up my eyes with velcro...so I take it off only when completely necessary! :) Come up and join us some time, Storm's mom Pat did and she had a BALL! There are more photos I want to share, but I just spent an hour on the phone recruiting another FedEx pilot to AK! :) I should go do my homework...much love to you all, KM