Just a short note tonight. Had a very good day but all of a sudden we are exhausted so this will be short. Kids, we already saw a polar bear and will send a picture later! Even saw a real Eskimo lady in the airport. no kidding. But mostly it's more like maybe Norway or even maybe Switzerland, or even the North Shore.

Plane went way north over Yukon Territory etc. It seemed remarkable that over Yukon it appeared to be hundreds of miles between tiny towns of only maybe 2 dozen homes. Wonder how they earn a living?

Went over many mountains and could identify the tree line over some. Also of note-very little snow anywhere.

Today Mt. Mc Kinlery was in the clouds - so that spectacle will wait.

People on the plane remarked that folks on Alaskan flights are friendlier and I think it might be so. No pretenses... just regular folks. The airport is "medium size" much bigger than Iceland but much smaller than Mpls. (BTW Alaska is almost as far away as Iceland... but a different direction of course.)

Roadways are interesting, usually two lanes and only one road to anywhere. Fall color and flowers still abound here... we were very surprised. They tell us that right in this Anchorage area it seldom gets to zero in the winter. Interesting. Mountains, water, misting rain, very pretty.

Tomorrow we do the day cruise.

Photos later.

Love,

Mom/Dad

Grandma/Grandpa

Another day of endless stupendous scenery. I think we are running out of adjectives and we don't see McKinley until Thursday!

The tour agency was not far from wrong when they told us that the state closes down after Sept.30. This is called the "shoulder season", between summer visitors, and winter skiers and dog mushers. Tons of tour boats and our little-but-adequate excursion boat was the only one leaving the marina. We had 16 persons on board (it was among the smallest of these boats with capacity or 75).

BTW our boat captain was a guy with no hands! but he is competent enough that he crossed the Pacific solo twice! Interesting character with quite the humor.

By now you must have imagined that we have had trouble getting connections for Email. We have found an Internet location here, so will try and get this out on Thursday morning.

To begin at the end of the day, we are in a little cabin in the woods which gives new meaning to the word! Foot print of the whole building is maybe 12 x 18 feet, kitchenette, bath, bedroom down and loft one up; table, futon, deck with a glorious view of the whole mountain range including McKinley!

Above a tiny town called Talkeetna (about the size of Frost) stands a smallish unpretentious but fairly new home with a tin roof, and then this cabin, only 2 years old... which is ours for 2 nights. A young mother is our hostess, with a 6 month old baby. She used to do mountain climbing guide expeditions. We saw her at the local airport but did not know at that time that she was our hostess.

To back up a little, we left our first hotel with good weather and scenery we did not see until this morning... even more grand than before. The drive was one hour to Anchorage then two more hours to here. The weather was so nice today and it can sock in so quickly, that we were encouraged to go up to McKinley today instead of tomorrow.

So we found our own personal bush pilot who looked and acted like the silly carpenter on the "Trading Spaces" show. TRIP WAS AWESOME, even tho we got a partial refund due to inclement weather on the far side of the mountain. The whole thing was something I never dreamed we would ever do. Been thinking of Maggie & Ron, and Dave, who I think would enjoy it too. But take your sinus aerosol medicine with you in the airplanes... was terribly glad I had mine. We got up to 11,000 feet today and the mountain is 20,000 feet. Surrounded by other mountains and glaciers.

This state has at least hundreds of bush pilots and I think there might be dozens on and off right here. They say they go up at least 300 days per year! This town is that staging area for the climbers & these pilots are the ones who take climbers to base camp. They showed us where that is... (but only April through June when the glacier is stable) and they are left for THREE weeks before they come back. Base camp is on the mountain - base of it... and it looks mighty forbidding to me. And majestic all at the same time.

They say they loose to death a few climbers most years... last year THREE brothers all at the same time... but they say it is less dangerous than the LA freeways... They usually have 1,200 climbers each season, and they come from all over the world.

NO TV here. Just quiet... one funny thing... there are mushing dogs here... and we heard them all barking down the hill apparently at eating time... they stopped just as quickly as they began... probably with food in their mouths.

This is the consummate "redneck" country... what you see is what you get... no pretenses... but every one is really friendly.

Found out that "snow machines" is the word for snowmobiles up here... and they have little one - room cabins all near the road for them... and by the way, there is mostly only one road to anywhere... so once you get your bearings, you can't hardly get lost.

Tomorrow we are going to get a halibut sandwich---the specialty of the town---and go through a unique gift shop, and take a couple of walks...

They still have fall color but it might be gone by the weekend. Temps are in the 40's.

Sorry these message are getting so long. Thinking of each of you. Bye for now.

Love,

Another lovely day. And to think that we wondered if there would be "enough" to do today. Actually we did very little but did fill the day.

Slept very well; I woke up as usual around 2:30 and woke up Roger to view Northern Lights... a common occurrence when it is clear... and they changed rapidly - streaking here and there. There is even a "borealis forecast" in the newspaper. I guess it depends on cloud cover - or, lack of it. Also another night phenomenon: even tho it was out here in the country, and it was indeed dark at this time of year, it did seem like a city type of darkness... I think that was the 'midnight sun' phenomenon approaching... the season is not here yet, though.

Speaking of weather, it is becoming increasingly overcast so it is good that we went flightseeing yesterday.

Even so the view of most of the mountains is still breathtaking by any measure except here... the tops are in the clouds today.

We went into town twice... wandered through shops, and drove up and down every street... junk everywhere... no one cares what their yard looks like... old cars, etc. Two airports, do you believe it!

Right now we have on the local radio: they advertise lost dogs, and everyone has a dog and they all run loose. Local color everywhere... one newspaper say "bohemian" - I say "redneck"... lots of flannel shirts and long beards; and true to what we have heard... lots of men of all ages, and fewer women. Roger heard one guy in the restaurant say his wife left him for the city life. Everybody is really friendly tho.

Just as an example of the local single radio station: The radio is now broadcasting:

"Steve meet Sue in the parking lot at 11:30".

To Ruth: "I love you. Please call"

Another one: "Tanya is at the hospital . She and the baby are fine."

And another : "To JP, call John about work".

We are going to pack up tonight so we can sleep in the morning and still get back to Anchorage by 11:00 to check in the car and to be met by barbershoppers. Then a "new" kind of fun begins.

We have rather primitive e-mail sending so Roger does not want to send photos. But will get that act together when we get home. We have taken hundreds in order to be sure to have a few dozen decent ones... and it all is so spectacular. Extremely beautiful even though we cannot imagine living here... maybe in Anchorage, but not out here.

Better sign off. We have gotten long winded again.

Love,

Better write this fast since the judging thing begins very soon and I think that it means that Roger will keep his computer at the contest site until late on Saturday night...so if you do not hear anything Saturday that is why. But we have all of Sunday to ourselves so will for sure write something then...maybe after our outing. Actually we don't even know yet if we have a connection here but we must, since it seems really advanced. We are on the 11th floor of a fairly posh place. I guess maybe it is the only place in town to house this many folks . ( Anchorage is half of the state's population but it is a pretty small city...will try and find those statistics soon.

Maybe like Duluth?)

Another day of stupendous views! We had three gorgeous days at "the" Mountain and they all tell us that some folks stay for 2 weeks and never see it. It is so clear that they also say it might be visible from Anchorage...so we are looking for it. This hotel is a "fur piece" from Talkeetna! No rednecks here! I never saw a hotel with so many exquisite shops...Alaskan art of every kind... rivals the scenery itself. The hotel is downtown, only 15 minutes from the airport and right on the ocean...or maybe some bay. Mountains almost everywhere except where there is water.

Back to this morning; the views were different in morning fog which kept changing the scenery. As quick as I could change positions and take 5 or 6 photos it was a new light source, and new highlights to see. So I think I shot 75 pictures this morning alone. There was fog and frost this morning but basically it burned off in time for more of those views we keep exclaiming about. Sad to say nothing captures what the eye sees. But we should have some keepers.

(Kids, you remember what we saw from our Seattle house...this was even "magnitudes" better.)

Another fact about Mc Kinley...actually two: US government named it McKinley. The native name, and still used interchangeably all the time, is Denali. We had thought that was only the name of the park near there, but not so. The other thing of note is this: although the Himalayas have higher peaks, really, they do not, since McKinley arises out of near sea level so it is really dramatic. Like someone said , the Himalayas are closer to the moon, but we get a more spectacular view here.

Like I said the other day, I long ago ran out of adjectives. Kathy asked if we were ready to move...that does still seem too drastic, but for a visit I highly recommend it! We both do. This easily is in our top 5 vacations. Maybe the top one. Alberta-Lake Louise, Calgary, Banff might be second. Lots of third place spots, I am thinking. We are so lucky. I just never dreamed this...and because of health circumstances, as I said at our big party, everything after that will be gravy...WHAT GRAVY!

Better close and "dolly up" as Sandy says. Will soon be meeting all of the big wigs at early dinner .

Apparently spring and fall are the times to come to Alaska; but late spring and early fall, they say are best.

So far my mouth has been in pretty good shape, as well as the arthritis. After this trip and the one to Portland, I am thinking that sea level plays a part in this good fortune. Will have to ask the docs.

Better close. More one more time.

LOVE,

Almost tried to write yesterday but it really was too busy. The judges (especially contest administrators) are expected to work really hard all the way through the convention meaning from Friday onto Sunday noon. it is officially over now but there are still are reports to be given to district officials; and then of course when he gets home, more debriefing to write. The most intense time is from Friday 5:00 PM to Saturday midnight. Pretty much 7 hours off to sleep, that is all. Working meal sessions, etc. (no pay, but they do pay his expenses. We only pay mine, (and his outside of convention time) so it does make for a cheap(er) vacation.

It was musically a pretty good contest; and as always we renewed acquaintances with judges and others whom we have known over the years.

Salem, Oregon won again,the right to go to Montreal from this district in July. although they were good, Roger's chorus is definitely better, not just by my say-so, either. Also they had about six out of 20 outstanding quartets, I thought.

Sunrise is at around 8:15 AM. It is overcast today so we do have a view over the bay and out to the airport but not a lot further. Temps are in the 40's.

Yesterday I watched out the window for an hour and saw a big plane take off about every 5 minutes. Then I read that over a dozen airlines come in here to this fairly small airport. Amazing. Since it is so far from everywhere I am thinking that they all take off in the morning, and arrivals are afternoon. Northwest comes from Detroit and Minneapolis, that is all. But the airport has flights from Frankfort, Zurich, Russia, Washington, Boston, and on and on.

We have seen a few folks who seem to be part Eskimo, (and one whom I took to be full blooded at the airport) a few Asians, a very few Blacks, but a large majority who we have encountered seem to be of Western/Northern European extraction. There is one pan-handling probably part Eskimo "lady" near the hotel, always says, "say, do you have a dollar?" I would think she is younger than 40. Maybe an alcoholic. But mostly we see working class folks. Saw a fire truck the first day;and one police car. Must be law abiding and safe folks.

I think I mentioned that Anchorage is about the size of Duluth-- the population, yes, but the downtown looks to be MUCH more prosperous and although a small city, apparently hundreds of more businesses. Also there is Elmendorf Air base, and I think National Guard here.

So come on up to Alaska and probably a little earlier. if you bring school kids, than maybe August; if not, I would suggest right after Labor Day. Or if you are set on landing on a glacier, then that must be April to June, when they are "stable".

Finally we are taking time (and think we have tools to do so) and will get out a photo or two. Eventually at home we will build the family web site and will include maybe a couple of dozen of the most representative shots.

Pop & Marlys if that is too hard for you, we can send you a few. And yes, your EMail DID come all the way to Alaska. Thanks.

Today we are going to scout out a local Visitor Center and see some sights in Downtown Anchorage; then come back and pack, get an early sleep since we must get up at 5:00 AM to get to the airport.

Although this has been a wonderful vacation, it will be good to get home. And we hope that President Bush has a good message for us all upon our arrival...apparently he will "address the nation"... we heard that this is not the "real" speech quite yet, tho. May the world be safe!

LOVE,

Will try and be brief tonight. Roger is packing and he says that this morning's Email was really for Saturday. So here goes.

We went out for two long walks around downtown today. Saw a ton of souvenir shops of all kinds... could have spent $4,000 on one work of art, or $25,000 on a taxidermied grizzly bear. But we settle for a few things not made in China, but pretty "cheap" comparatively.

Every kind of art and craft is a big deal up here. Glass blowing, stained glass, beautiful pottery of every type, photography, stone work, ceramics, jewelry of every type, antler carving, stonecarving, you name it. We saw fun, silly, serious, etc. Enjoyed it all. They even have a mall and we went there for noon lunch. Might be about as big as Ridgedale. Nordstroms, Penneys, a bunch of souvenir shops, and everything else. And they have skyways like Mpls.

We went down by the railroad and took a ton of pictures... including the engineer who gave his permission and thumbs-up when we said our son and wife are huge rail fans.

Was cool (42 ?) but not very windy. So we walked a mile or so the first time and more than that the second time. We are watching the sun set over the water outside our hotel... quite the view.

Our hosts at the convention gave us via the bellman, a cooler full of Alaskan beer which would be nice but of course we do not drink it. So the maid is going to get a nice"tip". (Cannot think of how to get it home.)

Got to finish things so we can get to bed. Who ever meets us at the airport, please check ahead to make sure that we are on time. And give serous consideration to coming into the baggage area to wait. We will have our cell phone.

We are counting on as good a trip as we had coming here. Love you all and will see you soon.

Love,

Mom & Dad ("R&T")

We are home and Roger wanted me to write one last report.

This morning we were driven to the airport by our barbershop host. He had (like many up there) a huge pick-up with a back seat and a covered cargo area. Actually the guy was from Washington state, barbershopper down there, and the father of the general chairman of the convention.

The chairman is in his 30's and is an air traffic controller. Works for the FAA and has command over (believe it!) 5 airports in that little town: 2 general aviation ones; the air force base, the National Guard and the International commercial one. Three judges and I were in that little truck along with the driver..good thing it only took about 12 minutes.

Forgot to tell you that everyone talks about moose - and to some extent - bear - who are always right in town! This is a true fact. Actually we saw none, but were told that there were actual sighting while we were there.

Also I stand corrected on the size of Anchorage. At 300,000, it is bigger than Duluth. Fairbanks is second at 60,000. Nephew Ben lives there but is currently in Arizona.

Our seat mate was a man who says his home is in Anchorage but he lives in the middle east... another true fact. He is an engineer. And a vegetarian. And he found it hilarious when his breakfast came first, due to special vegetarian order and the only difference was that our bagel was warm, and he got skim milk for his Cheerios and we got 2%. Anyhow his whole trip takes about 24 hours. Half way around the globe... he can go either way.

Other interesting folks on the airplane included a mom with a 2 WEEK old baby. all the way to Baltimore. UGH.,

We got out the GPS and tried to identify Battle Lake, Long Prairie, etc. But it was overcast... but we knew when we went over. Left oven an hour late but arrived basically on time due to very strong tail winds. Basically the 6 hours went very well... did not seem too long... guess we were conditioned by last year's trip.

For the rest of the week we will be busy getting organized, and tending to appointments, etc. hopefully we can get through the photos and get them on the web site in several days.

Now on to Fargo the weekend before Halloween, then to Branson.

LOVE,