High Winds and HOT!

So this morning we left the Iowa family farm and head to the nearest HD dealership. Time for an oil change and 1000 mile check on my bike "Mr. Fat Bob". So 90 minutes later and an oil change, a pair of new boots for Mike and a windshield bag....we were off and headed North-West to South Dakota.

Backroads were the chosen routes- Story City- stop for water and bananas, Lehigh to shed the leather coats and to use the public restroom in city hall, Dolliver Memorial Park for a tree lined ride through a curvy river hugging road, Fort Dodge for lunch at Zakees, gas at some little town (it becomes a blur), a pitstop somewhere else and finally a shower and hotel room in Sioux Falls.

This was my longest ride and probably the most challenging to date. The wind was from the East and like the wicked witch....it was awful to deal with. The bike and I were usually at about a 15 degree lean on any roads headed North. Thank goodness the East-West roads were easy and very good. We saw some great barns, wonderful farm houses and lots of field work being done. I know I had acquired a bit of of dirt from each county as we headed west....my headscarf and neck were black with windblown dirt. I suppose since farmland is so expensive- I should have saved it for later!!

There was not much traffic except near Sioux Falls and consequently the idiot driver factor doubled there. It is simply amazing how rude people are to each other.

Tomorrow- another trip to HD in Sioux Falls to obtain parts for KJ...we will deliver them so he can get his bike put together.

Motorcycle Adventure

So long time- no writing....seems life has gotten in the way of adventure so once again we are creating a new one. Tomorrow we start out on a motorcycle trip from Iowa , South Dakota, Seattle then back to the midwest. All over the next eight weeks we will experience the wind in our hair (mine anyway), bugs in our teeth and rain down our necks!! Wish us luck and follow our blog across the miles!!

Guns, Tomatoes and oh- right- Fires and Earthquakes

Not so hot this weekend; the clouds made it easier to go out and have shooting practice. Last weekend we had to take the beach umbrellas, chairs and plenty of water to get our shooting time in. Our neighbors stopped in Friday night- they could hear us shooting off the deck of the hours at the various targets that Mike had set up. I just get a kick out of those spinning targets. When you hit them- you get realtime feedback on what you are doing right. You might be asking why all this practice??? Just trying to get in shooting shape for next year's potential hunt. Getting rid of bad posture habits and bringing a steady hand.

Our tomatoes are coming along!!! This is real progress in this part of the world. Those ugly old tractor tires are doing their job heating up the soil. We will definitely have cherry tomatoes that smell and taste like the real thing. It's the small things that make us happy!

The Nenana Fire has increased to over 100,000 acres. We had to drive to Fairbanks for work and of course were on the edge of the fire zone. You could see the smoke from the road. Lots of trees are gone now. I guess that proves why we have a gravel yard- protects our house from potential fires. Since we have no fire service, this is our only protection out here in the boonies.

Not only do we get to deal with potential summer fires, we have had quite a few earthquakes this summer. The worst one was June 23rd and it shook forever. We could hear it coming through the woods and it sounded like a train. Once it hit the house- it just keep things moving for about 2 minutes. We found out later that it was about 30 miles deep, 70 miles away and a 5.4!!! We keep feeling them but not as bad as that one.

Spring and Summer Update

Lots of news since April, Mike and his brother drove "Outside" to visit their mother for a couple of weeks. The cross country trip was difficult with snow storms and cold weather. Their first morning in South Dakota was snowy with at least 1" of snow on the ground. The guys were very distraught that they had driven all those miles only to find the same snowy weather in South Dakota. They had both been looking forward to warmer weather- unfortunately that did not happen.

My trip started a week later and I flew to Iowa to assist with the wedding plans. Justine and Justin were getting married in May and I was to pull together the final details as "project manager". Again the weather was not cooperating- it was cold, rainy and windy. It actually felt like a winter in Seattle. Justine's plans were to get married outside at the Lincoln Valley Golf Course on May 16th at 5:30 pm. There was not a "Plan B" in the event the weather did not cooperate. Needless to say- she was a basketcase for the two weeks prior to the wedding. She kept a hourly watch on the weather to see what it was "supposed to be"!!! I kept telling her that this was IOWA and the weather changes hourly. She did not appreciate my insight but Plan B still did not happen. She is an optimistic person- while Mom is a planner for "what if".


Decorating took place the day before the wedding. A day of tying 250 pink chair sashes, laying out linen colored table clothes and stringing tulle around the ceiling. All the details came together very nicely. Justine's vision of how it would all look rang true and it was an elegant venue once all of the decorating was complete.

Luckily- the day of the wedding, the sun was out in full (after a week of rain). It looked like it would be a great day for a wedding but the wind was blowing about 50 mph. The chairs for the ceremony kept blowing over due to the wind even when pushed into the ground. At 4pm the wind began to die down and by 5:30 it was quiet and time for the ceremony to begin.

To say the least- it was a nice day for all of us! We were in great company of friends, family and new acquaintances. Star and Casey flew from Seattle for a 48 hour weekend in Iowa. Brady and Jeanette could not make it due to her father's illness. Star and Casey were a big help during the interesting reception.....the caterer was a "story" in itself. Like always - we stepped in and did what needed to be done.

Mike and I as well as Jim and Linda (Justine's dad and step mom) worked together to decorate the venue and create a great wedding day for J2's (Justin and Justine). We had alot of fun changing the clubhouse environment to a wedding venue.

................................Linda Bell and Julie.............................

Mike, Justin, Justine and Julie

After all of the wedding celebrations, we drove to Seattle to meet up with Brady's family. While there we bought a trailer for our four wheelers. We took the kayaks off the boat, grabbed the dingy and found leather chairs at the Macy's clearance center!!!! Yippee!! Finally cheap furniture and we could haul it up to the new house.

The trip back home was long. Because we had so much "stuff" it was difficult to do any sight seeing. Mike was on mission to get home without any "incidents" i.e. theft of our stuff. Consequently- our butts were sore and the wheels were rolling hour after hour. I can attest that it would be great fun to do that same trip when we have some time to actually stop and do some museums, hikes and see the towns.

Immediately upon getting home, it was time to get our garden in. The neighbors convened with their tractors and proceeded to roto-till our garden. We spent the weekend planting vegetables and flowers. Mike is in charge of the garden this year- he likes his rows straight. I am in charge of all things colorful (flowers)!!

Our cat- Lily- has gone to the other side. She was very ill and was not going to get better. That was a very difficult decision to make. She is now planted under one of our cottonwood trees.

We spent a day hiking to a massive water fall. Beautiful but it is in bear country. Interesting...

Yes the bear does S__T in the woods!!! Right before we got there- now that is a bit scary.

Been fishing....I got skunked but had lots of casting practice in the rushing river and wind.

Terry caught a rainbow but let it go.

The weather has been so different from last summer. We have had 24 hours days of full sun, hot sun, wonderful sun for literally days on end!!! Last year, I was so disappointed with the weather. I hated the cold damp summer of 2008 with only 4 days of sun. I thought I would never have another flower garden that could compete with my Seattle garden.

Mike and I took to picking rocks to create a flower bed around the house. We found river rocks, stacked then side by side, piled in the dirt, planted flowers, dug up ferns and VOILA!!! I have found success this year- Lily's and Peonies as well as other annuals!!!!

STRAWBERRIES!! We have our own strawberries and raspberries growing successfully. We will probably have tomatoes too. Mike insisted on planting the "Needs hot weather" plants in some old tractor tires. I hated the thought that we had tractor tires in our yard but it is amazing that the heat of the day is making those tomatoes, peppers and herbs grow like crazy.

....Only 8 weeks until termination dust......figure that one out!!!..........

North Slope Oil Fields

So let's see....Mike has been to the "North Slope"!!! Most people never get a chance to see this part of Alaska as it is so remote. We had a job at a Conoco Phillips control room so off he went on a Conoco Phillips charter plane. We crossed our fingers- just hoping that all of the Wright Line parts were there. That's another story!!

Once he arrived- he got the nickel tour of the "Camp". These buildings are like a small city in a very cold place. It was still -16-20 below zero when he arrived. Quite a difference from our home where the temps have been 30-40 degrees. The "camp" building includes dormitory rooms, 24/7 chow hall, movie theatre, gyms and workout rooms and offices.



From here Mike had to take a 45 minute Conoco bus to the CPF2 (process control building). At this location they monitor and control the cleaning/cooling of the oil so it can be transferred into the pipeline. The control room was a mess and it took quite a few days to get it back into shape. But like always- patience and Mike prevailed and he got it done with smiles all around from the client.



Flat as the kitchen table......that's what the view was like at Kapuruk. If you got lost out there- good luck as there are not any visual clues on where you might be.

On the home front- We still have about a foot of snow on the ground but it is melting fast. We CANNOT wait for summer to get here and I HOPE that we have a real one this year. Mike drives everybody crazy around here with his truck washing. White truck on gravel roads equals muddy vehicle- but not at our house!!! Mike will wash that truck twice a day if he has to....just so it is nice and clean at coffee the next morning. It makes him the topic of conversation at coffee.

We have a guest at our house- "Flat: Braden White appeared in the US Mail a couple of weeks ago and now is having fun around Trapper Creek. He has been everywhere we go and is famous with all the neighbors. Braden will be sent back shortly with a tale of adventure. Kind of fun to have a flat kid that doesn't take up much space, says nothing and eats when you do.

Update from Snowglobe Alaska

Today is the first day since November 11th that I have had a chance to just sit and think....we have been so busy with work that my writing has had to take a seat in the back of the bus. Mike has gone off to a gunshow with friends. It is surreal watching it snow- over 12" this morning and it is still coming down. I look outside and it looks like a snowglobe that has been shaken up- thick beautiful snowflakes coming down. I picture myself inside one of those houses in the snowglobe and it keeps getting shaken. It is only 29' outside; warm weather brings on the snow. I don't know which is worse- tons of snow or negative temperatures.

The snow is now higher than my office windows. I cannot look out and see anything unless I stand up. The decks are covered after just being shoveled yesterday. Mike and I think the snow is much deeper this year and different... it is fluffy. He had to dig a trench (5' deep) to the oil barrel with a friend's loader. Otherwise the oil could not be delivered- the snow was just too deep to wade through. The shed roof has at least 36" of snow on the roof and will have to be shoveled soon. We have not gone snow shoeing this year...too busy with work.

Since November we have made a trip to Japan, Korea and Seattle. It was nice to see our friends in Okinawa, wonderful to leave Korea and fun to spend Christmas with family and friends in the Seattle area. Work has been very busy, we have had the best year ever which means we are both extremely busy with project management, installations and new projects. We cannot believe the amount of business up here in Alaska. It is pretty amazing when you think about it....fewer roads, fewer people and not much technology to drive the economy......AND still we had the best year ever!!! Thank you Alaska!!!

The summer (that never arrived) is over.....

.............. Cooler temperatures and no sun....now the challenge is on.

.............. The four wheeler has been an extremely handy tool for getting "out there" in the woods to fish and track the bears. Mike and friend- Steve have been riding along the river in hopes of finding the big one. So far all they have had is a close encounter at the fishing hole with one bear that was not happy that someone else was fishing in his river. No guns were fired and the bear and guys survived without a scratch. But as you can see in the picture below- there are tracks along the river that could really scare you. Bear Track- bigger than two men's size 12 boots put together and indented into sand that is so hard packed that a 250lb man does not imprint it. That is one big bear! Of course we know he is watching us and we cannot see him. All the more reason for a 2009 addition to our home- a dog is in our future.

.......... Silver Salmon fishing on the river has been great! 15-17 lb salmon that really put up a fight are fun to catch. They are bright silver and just arrivedfrom the ocean in late August. The only problem is figuring out how to spend the rest of your time on the river because you limit out so fast. Regardless of what you decide to do- it will put a smile on your face.

We had a little visitor at our house. A very small bear wandered in the yard and had a snack of cranberry bushes in our driveway. Rumor has it that someone made a bear rug out of him later (our neighbors' visiting relatives shot him). Sad as he was not big, not a problem and fun to watch.

......... Finally a sunny day arrived! Terry and Arlene invited us for a drive through Hatcher Pass. What beautiful colors...it is hard to believe that soon this will all be covered in snow.What a nice way to spend the day- good weather and bright fall colors! Terry and I did a bit of rock hopping. Got all the way there and missed the mark- I stepped right into the river

........... OK- so now for some serious stuff-

MY GARDEN or lack there of....now I have to admit.....I just threw the seeds in the ground and hoped for the best. Needless to say- there are some things that grew very well and others are non existent. My cauliflower went crazy- these two heads weighed over 20 lbs together. They are headed for pickling. Our cabbage is still in the ground growing like crazy as are the potatoes and turnips. Our successful lettuce bed is still growing as the frost has not hit yet.

.......... Sadly- my green beans did not make much crop. Here you can see my peas (only pods and no peas) and the few green beans that I was lucky to get . Next year we will do something different to get more out of the garden.

On September 3rd, Mike's mom arrived from South Dakota to visit all of us. Right away- the boys (Mike and Terry) decided to take their mom to see grandson- Tyler in Fairbanks. Perfect timing as I had been planning a surprise BIRTHDAY party for Mike since I knew his Mom was coming up. I was busy getting all of that organized while they headed to Fairbanks. When they got back on Saturday evening....we had over 25 guests for the Surprise party in our garage. Finally I got to get one on Mike- he always surprises me and this time he had no clue.

First and foremost- I had to get a cake ready. It's not like I can just go to the store and buy a cake....too far. So I put my limited skills to work making a birthday cake that said Mike all over it. Between the box cake (easy) and the hundreds of rolled out sugar cookies (not so easy)....I was very busy. Of course he calls me at 9:30 pm and asks what I'm doing...making cookies- he thinks that's wierd but then again....it's Julie.

............. Here you see the baked cookies lining the table for easy frosting and the cake with a big hole in it (future lake).

........ The end result of many cookies attached to the cake, a few toys for the birthday boy and a reminder of how old he is.....

.......... Waiting for Mike, Terry and their Mom to arrive.

Happy Birthday!!!

............... Friends and family helped in the big surprise! Since Mike always likes to be early to everything...it was only appropriate that his birthday party be early as well. On October 2nd we will have another reason to celebrate!