VACATION

Jeremy, Isa, and I are heading out on vacation. We will be taking the train from Anchorage to Denali and spending a few days there with Jeremy's sister and her son Gage. We will then head down to Homer and spend some days on the beach camping, sea kayaking, hiking, and fishing. I doubt I will be able to post anything for a while so enjoy your fourth of July and I will post when I get back!

Summer Solstice

Happy Solstice everyone. Today is the longest day of the year. Here in Unalakleet it will be 22 hours long with the sun setting about 2:00am and rising at about 4:00am. With 24 hours of visible light. That means that although the sun has set it is not dark. This IS the land of the midnight sun (and summer insomniacs.)

Although we do not have any specific celebration for this day we do try to get out and celebrate in the woods. I am sure we can find some fire to dance around or sing to the gods and goddesses in thankfulness.



And thankful we are! It is beautiful 60 degrees and sunny. Jeremy is already out in the boat fishing for king salmon, Isa is riding her bike with friends, and I went for a run. Tonight we plan on a bonfire on the beach.



I want to share with you all the feast we had for dinner last night. This King Salmon steak and King Crab legs were fresh caught right here in the bay. We grilled them both and discussed how that this place really has its perks. I think we might just have it again tonight.





So to all of you friends and family get out there and celebrate solstice. Find a fire to jump over, read a Midsummer's Night Dream, dance with fairies, or just have a feast. Whatever you do I hope you enjoy the day, how ever long it lasts!

KING SALMON

A friend here in town shared some of her first King Salmon catch of the year. The fish was almost as big as Isa form top to tail. She was a beauty 25 pounds or more!


The Alaska Natives are allowed to net for salmon in the ocean. King Salmon spawn in the spring after spending 5 years in the ocean. The kids loved seeing the fish and all wanted to stay for dinner. We had enough for dinner last night and ten more dinners besides (and lunch and breakfast)!


You can catch these fish on a pole too. Can you imagine? Anyone want to come visit? Jeremy's boat is all ready.....

Herring Eggs

Here is dinner tonight, raw herring eggs on kelp!

Camping!

We had a great weekend. Even though it was rainy and kinda cold we decided to brave the weather and head out camping. As you can see it was a windy ride out to the camping spot but when we got there everything was calm.


Nothing like a gin and tonic when you are sitting by the fire. It was beautiful and wild. We enjoyed seeing a muskrat, beaver, and lots of water fowl. No other big game yet, but we are still looking.



We did find a house floating in the river. Oops.





Isa had a lot of fun and we all really enjoyed our time together. I am so glad that she likes to camp. She keeps asking when we can go again! Yes!





Here are some pictures that Isa took of us while we were camping. I guess this is how every mom and dad looks to a six year old. I love how she caught the sun behind Jeremy.

Hugo Chavez is paying our heating costs.

I just love the irony.

Villages will get free Citgo heating fuel again

VENEZUELA: Self-styled U.S. foe Chavez pays for program to benefit poor communities.

By KYLE HOPKINS
khopkins@adn.com

Published: March 25th, 2009 09:52 PM
Last Modified: March 26th, 2009 07:50 AM

Millions of dollars in free heating fuel will flow through Alaska villages early next month courtesy of a controversial giveaway program paid for by the Venezuelan government.

To read the rest of the article go to http://www.adn.com/front/story/736627.html