Our 26th Anniversary in Alaska

Little did we know until about three weeks ago that we would be spending our 26th anniversary flying to Alaska on a mission trip!

But with God answering prayer about receiving the required negative Covid test results within 3 days of flying, we were freed to go!

And this is what we saw on our way from the airport to our cabin the first night in Alaska!

I couldn't help thinking of the many rainbows the Lord has blessed Jonathan and me with,

from the one that shone in the east as Jonathan packed up to move to New Jersey to help his brother build a house (he was still single then and felt God was saying to him that He had something for Jonathan in the east--which turned out to be me!)

to the rainbow shining in a clear blue sky in Ukraine when we felt we had to leave Ukraine, but were uncertain;

to the rainbows all through the years that we've enjoyed out here on the prairie, reminding us of God's promises.

And then  there was one in Alaska--the evening we arrived!

Here is the Alaskan flag flying at the airport--the Big Dipper and North Star on a dark background.

I thought this heart-shaped garden of some kind, coming into Fairbanks from the airport,

was quite special for our anniversary.

The crew that was coming to help build the missionaries a house would not be flying until Friday, but we got our tickets two days early so that we could spend a day at Denali Park for our anniversary.

And Jonathan, while trying to book a night's stay at the cheapest motel he could find,

accidentally had an ad for this Air BnB pop up, on a sale for cheaper than the hotel room!

So he booked one night, and this is the entrance to the place, just seven miles from Denali Park.

The sign on top of this says, "Husky Homestead."

We found out later that this Air BnB and properties around it were owned by a champion sled dog racer named Jeff King, and his properties were dubbed Jeff's Kingdom!

   

This is the cabin where we stayed.

Another view from the back where we parked.

Pansies even in Alaska!

Here is the book written by Jeff King. I glanced through it, and found that he works with his sled dogs every single day of the year.

Here were more books by other authors on the same subject. Wish we'd had time to read them!

Jonathan looking out the big window of the dining corner of the little cabin, watching Danny (whom we'd brought with us since most of the others have gotten to travel overseas with us or have had other privileges, and it's his turn) who is exploring out by the pond.

And me in the kitchen, of course!

In the basket of goodies placed for guests, there were even two avodados--perfectly ripe!

I cut part of one to eat with our sausages for breakfast, and the rest I sliced for on Jonathan's and my sandwiches the next morning,

which we took for our day trip to Denali Park.

Upstairs in the loft was most delightful, with these lovely banisters showing a moose to the left and a man with sled dogs to the right.

Morning sunrise from one of the many big, bright windows.

The next morning we hurried off to catch our bus to Denali Park.

At Denali Park there was this fire hydrant with a long stick up to show trucks where it was if the snow was deep. 

At Denali Park, we aren't allowed to take our own vehicle, but there is a tour bus we can ride about 30 miles into the park to see Mt. Denali, (used to be called Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in North America).

There were beautiful views everywhere!

"You're lucky," we were told. There had been rain for weeks, they said, with this day being the first sunny day in a long time. 

Jonathan and I looked at each other, with a silent understanding. 

We didn't feel lucky. We felt blessed. We had put God's kingdom first, and He was blessing us with the first sunny day in weeks!

Still, depending on the clouds, we might not see Mt. Denali. 

And we might not see any wildlife, either. 

You just never know, the driver said.

I hoped and prayed for Danny's sake, whom we'd brought with us, that we'd see a bear at least. 

Hopefully.

If not, there were plenty of beautiful mountain scenes!

BUT, this was one of those good days!

We were so thrilled to get to see grizzly bears both on the way up and the way back.

And a moose.

And Mt. Denali behind the American flag!

And us in front of Mt. Denali, the tallest mountain in America.

And oh, by the way, we also, on the way to Seattle and then Alaska, got to see Mt. St. Helens.

Danny had JUST read a book about it blowing up. We saw the side that blew out.

We also saw Mt. Ranier and other mountains.

And caribou.

You gotta be careful when hunting caribou. Both male and female have antlers.

And we heard about one man who accidentally shot what he thought was a bull caribou

only to discover it was a cow. He had to pay a $325 fine and hand the meat over to the game warden at the check point.

So yeah, even in Alaska there are game wardens and fines if you make a mistake.

Lots of rivers from melting glaciers, with lots of silt.

There is Mt. Denali, the white-capped mountain in the distance.

This grass is called cotton grass, we think. Correct me if that's wrong.

  

At the end of the road, we found lots of blueberries ripening on these dwarf blueberry bushes.

This is what the bears eat, and I guess this is how they pick them,

on all fours!

Some very happy moments!

 Some even happier ones when we ate them!
Some were tart, but some were luscious!

 This is where apparently a bear had dug, trying to reach a ground squirrel.

This sign shows that the sun would not set until 9:29 that day! We had long days in Alaska!

A moose along the road on the way back in the bus. We had to wear a mask the whole time on the bus. Thankfully, the driver said that when you were off the bus, there was "plenty of fresh air for all," and we could take off our masks while out in the fresh air.

Jonathan's sister Barbara lived in Alaska for about seven years before she got married.

This is the church at North Pole, AK, where she attended and also taught school. 

It was great to see it in person. 

This is also where a Paul Finch attends, who worked with my brother Elon and family at the orphanage in Mongolia.

We wished we could have attended evening service, but we had a long drive ahead of us to reach our destination that evening to work on a missionary home

which needed to be under roof before winter.

Winter, they say in Alaska, starts on September 1st.

So we didn't have much time!