David has lived in Alaska all his life and in Anchorage since 1961, so there were a lot of good byes that had to be said.
It started Tuesday, we had dinner with David’s brothers and their wives. It was a lot of fun. I love to listen to the brothers talking about growing up. Lot of hugs and promises to come see us we said bye.
On Saturday was his last concert with Anchorage Concert Chorus.
David has sung bass for the chorus 27 years. The last concert was the best one I have heard I believe. After some of us went out for a drink and food. We did not get home until 1. It was so nice to get to say good-bye to them.
In 1980 we moved to Sterling, Alaska with 3 children ages 5, 2 and 3 months. We had two more children after we moved there. Sterling is always going to be my home because I spent more time there than anywhere else in the world. Our children were raised there when it was really very small and rural. Life was good there.
I know I have been gone for quite awhile but it was due to surgery on my right hand. Do you know how hard it is to type with the pecking style? I was taught on an huge electric typewriter with no letters on the keys, so this causes problems for me when I can only type with a finger. This means I have to look at the keys because I am not sure where the letters are when I have to do it that way. Anyway I got my cast off and am supposed to start working my hand and wrist. What better way to do that than to blog!
Well if I haven’t said anything we are moving to York, Pennsylvania with my daughter, Heather, and her family. Heather got a great job down there and is taking us with them because we help with the twins or is it because they sold our house? Either way we get to go.
Once again it is that time of year that we get the best lamb dinner ever. We never miss the Greek Festival. We enjoy the food, music and dance. If you want to find out more about our day read on.
I had been wanting to try doing some photography with a lightbox. I got one back in at the end of February for my birthday. The last few days I keep telling myself to set it up. I finally did today.
Here are some photos I took with just things I found around the house.
The students studying Japanese at UAA, University of Alaska Anchorage, had an afternoon of Japanese food, green tea, Pikachu, Tai Chai and other activities to try or watch.
Being that my husband, David’s, Dad spent the first 11 years of his life in Japan because his parents were missionaries there., so David has always been interested in Japanese things. They even started a food co-op which the last we heard was still going.
When I moved to England I knew about WWII, that is what we are taught in school. Then I started to meet people over there. I met a lot of older people who were either children, fought or worked in the shipyards during the war. After listening to their stories of bombs falling, going to shelters and carrying and using their gas masks WWII came a lot closer to home.
I have been reading all kinds of books and watch different shows. Right now I am watching Wish Me Luck. It is about women who were spies during WWII in France. It is so surprising what they did do. It tells of love and love lost. How they try not to get to attached to people but that isn’t easy. They lose friends and family, yet make new ones.
I have already watched the first and second seasons of the series. My husband is even hooked on it. It is nice when we can watch something like this together and talk about it after.
Our last season to watch. Not sure if there will ever be any more or not.
This series is free on Amazon Prime Video. I highly recommend this series if you are into WWII shows. It tells you of the danger these British people went through to save the French from the horrors of the Nazis.
Let me know if you have watched it or plan to watch it. Then let me know what you think about it.
Ever since we have been trying to stay on Keto I have looked for a good pancake recipe. I found the Cream Cheese Pancakes which we liked a lot but they kind of were not the best to take camping. Then one day while in Costco I found something I thought we could try.
As you can see it is Paleo not Keto but I thought we would give it a try. It is high in Carbs but we don’t eat them often. You just add water which makes them great for camping.
I then decided to look on Amazon and see what I could find. I just can’t trust Costco because sometimes they carry something then you never see it again. Well look what I found on Amazon.
Or you can buy the regular and the chocolate chip mixes together and get a better deal
Ok back to the cooking. The pancakes have always risen to look like regular flour pancakes. I had always measured the mix and water out. On this day I didn’t. You need to mix the batter up then let it sit for 5 minutes or until it thickens. It should be pretty thick. Well I put to much water and this is what happens.
Well I had to keep adding mix until I got it just right.
Now you can see the difference once I added enough mix.
As you can see they look a lot better.
I just need to mention my griddle. I wanted a nice grill and found this one at a charity shop. I brought it home and tried it out. I fell in love with it. If you are looking for great griddle look no further.
Just one last thing to say about the pancakes. I made them for our great niece and nephew they loved them.
Be sure to check out my links if you are interested in anything and if you decide to buy something that is even better. Thanks
I was looking at this calendar that my daughter had given me for Christmas this year. It was the year of the twins. It started out in January with a very pregnant daughter and in February the birth. Now 17 months later I can’t believe how they have grown. From being under 3 pounds at birth to over 20 pounds now.
Of course, we think they are the most adorable babies ever. Well I guess we have to call them toddlers now. They are such good little ones. I don’t remember my children being this good when they were little. Can’t say it was because they didn’t have anyone to play with because there was 5 of them. It could be that I am just older and more mellow.
Anyway thanks for taking time to look at our granddaughter’s, Beka and Kate.
If anyone knows me they know I love to shop the charity shops and garage sales looking for things I can upcycle. A while back I made myself a bird bath and my friend says we can sell these. See if you think we can.
As soon as we got service when we were leaving McCarthy our friends called and asked if we wanting to go camping in Homer. We figured we could kill two birds with one stone. We had promised our little friend, Silas, when we were in Ajo, AZ visiting them that we would walk along the beach in Homer with him while he was visiting his father. So we got home on Sunday and left again on Friday for Homer.
We decided to go to McCarthy for 4th of July. I took tons of photos and somehow managed to loose most of them. So there won’t be many on this blog.
We headed to McCarthy in our camper. I had not been there since 1980. David had never been there. Our kids and granddaughters were meeting us there.
Boy was I surprised when we got there. Where we had camped back in May of 1980 was now a campground. It was still just a big gravel area along the Kennicott River. We found a camping spot, you just park where you want. You can’t get the big RV’s down the road to McCarthy. The hand trolley that used to take you across the river has been replaced by a footbridge. The people of McCarthy no longer had to wait until spring to drive across the Kennicott River because they have a private bridge now.
We arrived a day early from the rest of our party, so we could find us a good campsite. We found one right on the river and parked so we could save a space for the rest of us. There is only one other camper on the other end of the area we were camping in. As we got out of our truck and were walking to the back I notice that the person at the other campsite is walking over. All of a sudden she says, “I knew it was you. I saw those legs getting out of the truck and I thought those look like Cindy’s legs. Then I saw that long grey hair and I knew it was you.” It was only David’s niece, Laura and her two kids, Mattie and Hannah. We had no idea that she was there. Now our family camping trip got even bigger.
We spent 4th of July in McCarthy. We went to the pancake breakfast and then to the parade. Our twin granddaughter’s were in the parade because Daddy made a cool stroller that goes easily across rough terrain. He put bushwheels, airplane tires, on the stroller. Everyone was taking photos of it.
It was a booming place when the Kennicott mine was going strong because alcoholic beverages and prostitution were forbidden in Kennecott.
It is also known for the murders of 1983 when a man shot 6 of the 22 residents while they waited for the mail plane to land. There is more about this on Discovery Channel’s Alaska’s Ice Cold Killer episode “Frozen Terror”.
There was also a TV series on Discovery Channel called “Edge of Alaska”
Then there was the story about the Pilgrims. Who were thought to be this big family who moved out to some land outside of McCarthy who were quaint and charming until the truth came out.
This poor little town has a lot of bad things happen to it but it just keeps on going.
The next day we went up to Kennicott mine. It was a ghost mine when I was here in 1980. When they closed the mine they just left everything there. The whole mine was deteriorating. In June of 1998, the National Park Service acquired many of the significant buildings and lands of the historic mining town of Kennicott. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and designated as a National Historic Landmark since 1986, Kennicott is considered the best remaining example of early 20th Century copper mining.
The other day a friend of ours invited us to go to Campbell Creek Estuary with her. My husband, David, had lived in Anchorage since he was 12 and had never been there. Of course, the park was not opened until 2013. It is the newest park in Anchorage. We decided it would be a fun way to spend a Saturday.
We met our friend, Renee, for breakfast and then we headed over to the Campbell Creek Estuary. Renee had told us that this 60 acre homestead was donated to the city because the sheep farmers that homesteaded it didn’t want some investor coming in and building high end condos. I think this is such a wonderful idea. By doing this they have saved some delicate wet lands besides making a wonderful place to visit and do some birdwatching.
We didn’t see many birds or wildlife but the trails were nice and it still was a beautiful day for a walk. I call this a walk instead of a hike because the trails were well maintained and there were places to sit to enjoy nature.
Check this page out if you are a birdwatcher because I read that this is where the first and only sighting of a Lazuli Bunting was made.
 The Campbell Creek Estuary is one of few public access points to the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge. It is the most intact ecologically functional watershed in Anchorage, and attracts bald eagles, sandhill cranes, river otters and five species of salmon, among other wildlife. Campbell Creek winds through the mud and grasses on the flats. Sometimes belugas chase the salmon up the creek.  From the edge of the flats, you can see up and down the majestic coastline.
If you are ever in Anchorage, Alaska you should stop by and take this peaceful walk to enjoy some wildlife.
Every year the Arctic Air-Cooled VW club holds a reunion, which means if you have a Volkswagen you can bring it and show it off. This happens on the Saturday before Father’s Day. I got involved because my son in law, Dan Montgomery, is involved with the club. He has had a love for VW’s all his life. He even inherited his Dad’s 1967 Bug which he drove to Alaska when he moved here. Which if you saw the Bug you would wonder how he made it up the Alaska Highway. It has won the VW in the worst shape many times.
Anyway back to the Family Reunion. It is a lot of fun. They give out prizes every hour. Yes, they have something to do with Volkswagens. I do believe that the Diamond Center usually donates some kind of gift card for the big drawing.
The event is free but they do like everyone to vote on the VW’s. There were four divisions to vote on, The best Volkswagen, best Audi, best Porsche and the best beater.
Why you ask are Audi and Porsche at a Volkswagen Family Reunion? Well I asked too and this is what I found.
Volkswagen Group sells cars under the brand Volkswagen, Audi, and Porshe. So, all these brands are owned by the same parent company. Volkswagen started in 1937. They had a majority share in Audi by 1966, bringing Audi under the control of the Volkswagen group.
So I guess they are all Volkswagens.
I am sure you can find a vehicle that interests you enough to vote on it but I warn you it is hard to chose.
Even the young are having fun.
If you would like to know about the club you can check them out here:
If you are ever in Anchorage, Alaska the Saturday before Father’s Day you should stop by Diamond Center to take a look at all the interesting Volkswagens.
A slender pointed rod for holding meat over a fire.
To eject from the mouth
To rain or snow slightly
A small point of land usually of sand or gravel running into the water
Now can you figure out which one I mean by this title?
Read on to see if you are right.
David had to go to the Kenai Peninsula to work and I went with him, so I could visit my friend Stella. Stella and I decided to take a day trip to Homer.
We got up that morning and headed out for our 80 mile trip to Homer with a few stops for photo ops on the way down.
We stopped on top of the hill leading into Homer to take some nice scenic photos.
I also got some nice flower photos there.
We then drove on into Homer and out on the Spit. The forces of nature that built the Homer Spit might have washed it away years ago, if humans had not intervened. Winter storms roaring out of the northwest try to separate the 4.5-mile strip of sand and gravel from the mainland almost every year, but rock walls and perseverance keep it intact.
While on the Spit you can’t leave without taking a few shots of the marina. Guess who happened to be in the marina, Time Bandit. If you are fans of the Deadliest Catch you will know what I am talking about. I myself have never watched the show. I guess because I live here.
After leaving the Spit we stopped at Grace Ridge Brewing. It is not as well known as Homer Brewery but I think they have great beers. Check it out if you are in Homer sometime.
In June of every year we have a Renaissance Fair here in Anchorage. We enjoy going and spending time with the family there. It is a cheap day out with the tickets $8 for adults and $5 for children which can be bought at the gate or online. It is also educational for adults and children.
David and I did hang out with the pirates a lot due to the fact that they were in the beer garden, besides being fun. There is a lot of singing and storytelling which leads to tons of laughter.
You will receive tokens that you use to vote on which of the Barons you prefer Red, Blue or Green. There are many different shows that you can watch from sword fighting to ….
How about learning about knights? This is very interesting.
Then there is always the throwing of tomatoes at the actors which is always fun. Well maybe not for the actors. To think they wait all year for these 2 weeks to get tomatoes thrown at them. It is a good laugh.
All these people work very hard to make these two weekends fun for everyone while learning something.
We also ran into a friend of ours playing her harp for tuppence.
Even our twin granddaughters had fun!
Now on the other hand our niece and great nephew seemed to have gotten into a little trouble.
After some bargaining we managed to get them released.
At the end of the day it is time to watch the parade of the 3 Barons.
If you would like to learn more about the fair check it out here:
Well this is our last leg of the trip. We will be home today. It is only 426 miles to home. It should take us around 9 hours or less since I am driving.
Our last stop in Canada was in Beaver Creek. This is what the local visitor center has to say about it.
The historic community of Beaver Creek is a small border town on the Alaska Highway, the most westerly community in Canada, and Yukon’s gateway to Alaska.  Beaver Creek is nestled in Yukon’s breathtaking, spruce-filled wilderness. The population of just over 100 is community-minded and friendly; people who value their quiet lifestyle, pristine landscape and surrounding wilderness.Â
We are getting closer to home and are now just wanting to get there. We want to try to make it to Beaver Creek, the last town before the border, today.
We left Dease Lake around 8:30 and you won’t believe what we saw to start our day off with a little wildlife.
We left our hotel around 8:30. We were getting excited to get home now but still planned to make a few stops on the way.
Our next stop was Tintagel Cairn which we hit at 11:00 at a rest area near the town of Tintagel, British Columbia, Canada. What exactly is the Tintagel Cairn you ask
We had decided to start packing the car at around 8. We were planning on visiting Hell’s Gate which was not very far down the road. We thought it would open by 9.
As I was loading some stuff in the car a woman in the apartment next to our room asked me ………..
Well it is time to start heading home. We decided to take the ferry from Port Townsend so the we could avoid Seattle. We kissed and hugged the family bye and off we went on our next adventure.
I was now going to be the driver because David couldn’t open his eye after the accident in Seattle. Now I guess I will not get to do as much looking around and more paying attention to the road. I guess it is David’s turn to enjoy the scenery and navigate.
We had a nice drive to Port Townsend where we were going to catch the ferry to Coupeville. I had made reservations on the ferry but we got there
David’s glasses had broken in the accident, one of the lenses shattered and the ear piece was broken beyond repair. Dan went by the house to get his other pair and Heather FedExed them to us at Sarah’s. We got to stay a few days longer and visit our granddaughters. I have always said that everything happens for a reason. If David’s accident happened because
I decided to take a daily photo of his eye, so everyone could see how it developed and now is almost gone after about a month. His eyebrow is still a little bit swollen. You can still see a little discoloration.
We were going to spend the day exploring downtown Seattle with John Lee before we headed to the Mariner’s game. That is the one thing that David was hoping to do while we were here.
As I had mentioned before John Lee finds the best hole in the wall places to eat. He didn’t let us down this time either. He took us out for some great
We were going to go visit our friend, Dawn, but we couldn’t see her until after she got off from work.
Nancy had a dental appointment which went a lot faster than she thought if was going too. She picked up our Mariner tickets for the next night and headed home from downtown Seattle. She was back in time to go to lunch with the rest of us.
David and I decided to go visit our friends, Nancy and John Lee, in Greenwood which is part of Seattle. John Lee had a few days off so we left the kids house in Gig Harbor to drive to their house.
We left our hotel in Brookings, Oregon at 8:20 and headed to Harris Beach.
Harris Beach was named after the Scottish pioneer George Harris who settled here in the late 1880s to raise sheep and cattle. The park boasts the largest island off the Oregon coast. Bird Island (also called Goat Island) is a National Wildlife Sanctuary and breeding site for such rare birds as the tufted puffin.
We left our hotel at 7:48. The day started out great until my bank called. They told me that someone had tried to cash a suspicious check. The check was a very old one I had that was my old address and old name. They had to open us a new checking account. At least, the debit cards were still working. Thank goodness for my bank.
It seems my youngest son let someone stay in our home while we were gone. He was supposed to take care of the house and my dog Alice. I filed a police report but I know nothing will ever come of it. I finally got hold of my son who told me Alice was with him and that he thought he knew who did it. I was not sure what else was stolen until I got home. I believe my son is back on drugs. He wasn’t even at the house while we were gone.
We left our hotel at 8 but we had to gas up first. The gas is definitely more expensive in California than any where else we have been including Alaska. We also found out that it is cheaper if you pay cash, with a card it was $4.29
David had never been to Lake Havasu City, so I figured we were this close he needed to see the London Bridge.
We left Ajo 10:46 and headed into the heat. We drove through Vicksburg which looked like there was a lot of ranch land. There were tons of feed lots all around. I didn’t expect to go through ranch land.
After leaving Mt Kitt we headed to Ajo, Arizona. I had never been there but our friend, Kat and her son Silas, live there and I always wanted to visit. We had already decided to stop to visit them on our way home.
Growing up in South Texas and Catholic I have always loved the old missions. As I said we were looking for places to stop on our Road Atlas. I had noticed that San Xavier del Bac was just outside of Tucson.
After leaving the Gila Cliff Dwellings we headed to Arizona. I decided that we were so close we should stop at Tombstone. Gas is starting to go up it was $3.35 in Wilcox, AZ
We got up the next morning thinking it won’t take long to run up to the cliff dwellings. It was only 38 miles. People were telling us it would take us 2 hours to get there. We are thinking it can’t be any worse than some of our roads. Even my girlfriend, google maps, said it would take us 2 hours. We just thought yea right and took off.
Well people were right. We left Silver City at 8:30am and arrived at the dwelling at 10:15. Yes it was a very windy road but well worth the trip. We saw some deer along the way and crossed the Continental Divide twice today. Once we were 7080 feet and the other one was at 6375 feet both of which were posted so you know when you cross. We also had our ole hippies with us.
It wasn’t too bad of a walk up to the dwellings. I was a little slow because at spots if was a little steep. I wasn’t the only one taking it slow.
This is what Wikipedia has to say about the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.
Considered by archaeologists to be on the northernmost portion of the Mogollon People’s sphere of influence, the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is home to two prominent ruins sites among a collection of smaller sites located within the Gila Wilderness inside the Gila National Forest. The Monument landscape ranges in elevation from around 5,700 to 7,300 feet above sea level and follows the branches of the Gila River. The terrain around the ruins is rugged and arid, and contains steep-sided canyons cut by shallow spring rivers and mesas and bluffs forested with Ponderosa pine, Gambel’s oak, Douglas fir, New Mexico juniper, pinon pine, and alligator juniper (among others). The area geologic history stems from the Oligocene epoch and volcanic activity that subsequently covered the area with ash. The Monument’s hot springs are remnants of this volcanic history.
The Monument consists of 553 acres (2.24 km2) and contains the remains of a Mimbres Culture community in various locations, two of which are most prominent. The namesake ruins’ developers made use of natural caves to build interlinked dwellings within five cliff alcoves above Cliff Dweller Canyon.[4] The TJ Ruins[5] are located on a bluff overlooking the Gila River.[6] The Mogollon Peoples are believed to have inhabited the region from between 1275 and into the early 14th century, during the Pueblo III Era.
Archaeologists have identified 46 rooms in the five caves on Cliff Dweller Canyon, and believed they were occupied by 10 to 15 families. The “Heart-Bar Site” or the TJ Ruins (named for the former ranch which the mesa takes its name from) located on TJ Mesa are largely un-excavated.[7] It is not known why the community was abandoned.
Hopi oral tradition refers to migrations occurred based cycles calendars, and in response to changing environmental conditions. Other ruins include Javalina House, about 1/3 mile above the main ruin, West Fork Ruin, currently under Highway 15 across from Woody Corral, Three Mile Ruin along the west fork of the Gila River, and middle fork of the Gila River at the 11 room Cosgrove Ruin. Dendrochronology (tree ring dating) determined that the wood used in the dwellings were cut between 1276 and 1287. The region provided for growing, gathering and hunting food.
To visit the namesake dwellings, requires visitors to hike a well-traveled mile (1.6Â km) long trail loop with several foot bridges over a stream. The entire walk takes about an hour. The hike begins at an elevation of 5695 Feet (1736 Meters) and ends at 5875 Feet (1790 Meters).
