alaska journal

Orcas in Kachemak Bay

2008-08-18T13:23:00.004-07:00

Lauri writes:

"We have had unusually large numbers of Orcas gathering in Kachemak Bay this summer, and we got near one of the pods this rainy day. There were 20 or more, and the large fin is about six feet high, to give you an idea of its size. Next time there is a wildlife viewing, I vote for someone less emotional and shaky to hold the camera!"

Personally, I'd say she did a fabulous job. And we appreciate getting to see what crosses your path.

Fishing and crabbing and some really good eatin'

2008-07-20T18:48:00.008-07:00

Well, it's summer and that means lots of activity. Lauri and Greg have been out on their boat, sometimes just the two of them, and occasionally they have a bit of help.

Lauri writes:
"Enjoyed a great week with friends, and a successful fishing day. Greg caught a large cod, which was delicious in a Veracruz sauce. I got the biggest of lots of little halibut. Greg wanted me to send the photo right after I hauled it, and I was exhausted and my face all puckery. Fortunately for all of you, he doesn't do the editing."

And a couple weeks later:
"Tanner crab fishing has opened! We are thrilled to be working with Zach and his years of expertise. Yummmo. He also had us try a cedar planked salmon which turned out so delicious. Enjoy!"

I love that Lauri also sends along pictures of what she sees as she goes about her life.

Set net fishing

2008-06-25T15:48:00.003-07:00

Lauri writes:
"Doing our annual set net fishing on the beach has been slow, but good company.

First you get together and PULL the net in, then untangle the fish from the net!

Greg got the big one yesterday-- we do get a few kings each year.

The gulls get to do the cleaning up.

This morning at 6am we were the only families with nets out! Mt Redoubt is peeking in the background."

I'm pretty sure that at 6am I'm not going to be on the beach tugging on a net and untangling fish. I'm just saying. But count on me to show up if the grill gets lit. Heh heh.

Spring Tidepooling on the Island

2008-06-15T23:03:00.005-07:00

Lauri writes on June 10th:
"Greg and I just spent a peaceful 12 days on the island, and every day was a low tide for tidepooling and seeing wonderous sea stars. Our neighbor, Nancy, was with us this day and loved all the colors and the fun brittle stars that are only seen at very low tides. And then, the weird and unusual " helmet' crab."

I find these sights amazing. I cannot imagine strolling along the beach and coming across something so beautiful AND so alien. (If you want to get a good look at any of these seastars, click on the image -- it'll get bigger.)

The island gets a greenhouse

2008-05-01T17:06:00.003-07:00

Lauri and Greg continue to make the island home exactly what they want -- adding the new furniture that Greg made over the long winter and a greenhouse (I suspect for Lauri's 5 different kinds of tomatoes).

Lauri writes:
"All of Greg's winter wood projects, plus greenhouse pieces, bags of soil, a sofa, totes of pantry food, plus assorted odds and ends of Zachary's. The next day, we built the greenhouse! No wonder we sleep 9-10 hours at the island!"

Indeed!

The Kasilof beach

2008-04-07T19:13:00.002-07:00

Lauri writes:

"Walking on the Kasilof beach today, it was just my neighbor Sandy and I. I know, all you people in the land of spring flowers are wondering when spring comes to Alaska? Next week we should have migratory birds; but the main thing to remember is that we get to walk on the beach all alone. No other people most days, and some days just someone else we might know. Priceless."

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T12:04:00.003-07:00

Lauri's been busy! And so has Greg.

Would you please just look at those cupcakes? Mmmmmmmm. Wait, there's more. See the incredible wood pieces in the back? Check out that inlaid work. Whew!

Lauri made the tasty Easter treats for the children of a friend. Greg made the cutting boards as thank you gifts for folks who have helped them out. Are these two amazing, or what?

Annual ice sculpture contest, Fairbanks

2008-03-09T20:10:00.009-07:00

Laurie and Greg get to choose where to spend the winter months. Some years they head to California, some to Hawaii, but this year it was ROAD TRIIIIIP! They headed north to Denali and Fairbanks. For your amazement, here are photos from the 2008 World Ice Art Championships, held in Fairbanks February 26 - March 23. I'm blown away, how about you? (click on the images -- they get bigger)

Kayaking

2008-03-06T12:51:00.004-08:00

Have you met winter?

2008-02-09T09:53:00.000-08:00

Last October Lauri wrote:
“Greg and I hauled 3 trailer loads like this one from his place to Kasilof this week! ( Beetle killed trees.) I guess our 6 months of work on the island has us in good shape, as neither of us is sore or complaining! Yes, the full wood shed is a years' worth, and it feels soooo good. Let winter begin!”

So Lauri works on the milling equipment (mentioned in the island cabin building section) to cut up trees into fireplace/stove wood. And she and Greg proudly pose in front of the years' worth of wood. Of course, I'm looking at those pictures and thinking "Let winter begin? Isn't that snow I see? And aren't you pretty seriously bundled up there?" Well, what do I know? I live in Florida. Winter has many faces.

Like these. These look like genuine, sincere winter faces. The kind of winter that freezes your blood. The kind that turns your breath into frost on your beard. (Can that really happen? I've seen it in movies.) The first two pictures are along Kasilof Beach, where the constant moisture gathers and then freezes on the trees. The beautiful sunset is the view from Greg's parent's house and there actually is some ice there on the edge of the water (that's the Cook Inlet and Mount Iliamna on the other side).

Of the winter that Lauri is experiencing, she writes:
"Still colder than sh**. We cut up enough firewood for a reasonable winter, but we are going through 2 days worth in one day. Yikes. Every little crack or gap just spews cold and ice!"

Down here in Florida, we don't know anything about this kind of winter. I've lived in California, Arizona and now Florida for so many winters that I cannot remember the winters of my childhood that included snow. Of course, those winters of my childhood were about sledding and school being closed, not trying to keep a house warm, pipes from freezing, and your car able to start. Nope, I don't know those winters, never met them.

Visitors

2008-02-03T06:34:00.000-08:00

How would you like to find these cute critters lounging around your front yard? I think it would be just fine.

Lauri writes:
"These two were sleeping just below the house today, and Greg thought the calf looked odd. Close up revealed he had started to grow one nub of an antler above his eye!"

Not to worry, he's fine. He's just a bit odd. Aren't we all?

I remember the first trip I took to Kasilof. I stayed with friends of Lauri's and slept in their living room, which had a huge picture window looking out over the Kasilof River. One morning as I was stretching and wishing for a cup of strong coffee, a bear sauntered through the yard and down to the river. My mouth was hanging open and my brain was trying hard to comprehend what I'd seen. This was no zoo. That bear was not in some well-designed enclosure. That sucker was right outside. Since nobody else seemed too awfully concerned, I didn't make a big deal about it. Alaska's funny that way.

He's quick

2008-02-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

I no sooner posted "Greg's been busy" than I got a message from Lauri with this photo.

And in answer to the question "wonder what's next?" GuessWho (I think we know who you are) writes:
"Weeeellll, today he is putting the hand rubbed finish on the chairs.
Next, I will get him to clean the shop and take a break. Would like to drive to Fairbanks to watch some northern lights for a bit, as they are so much more spectacular there.
Then, he will gear up the shop for welding and build 2 small size wood stoves for the island cabins!"

Greg's been busy

2008-01-31T09:28:00.000-08:00

In case you thought Greg just lazes around the house in the winter, think again. This guy has been very busy. I think I mentioned back when I wrote about the island cabin being built, that Greg and Lauri ended up acquiring milling equipment at their place in Kasilof. In other words, they have a kick-ass shop. Well, it gets put to extremely good use.

His most recent project is a birch table for the Hesketh Island cabin and, of course, chairs. Lauri writes:
"Greg has been keeping busy in his workshop the past 2 months. He made a picnic table and benches for the guest cabin. Then, a new door for our cabin to replace the drafty one. Now he has started on a birchwood dining set for our cabin--- this is the prototype chair. Wowee!"

He's finished the table and has cut all the pieces for the chairs. He'll have them done in no time, I'm sure, and then he'll pick another project. Hmmm, wonder what's next?

Glorious sunset

2008-01-27T07:31:00.000-08:00

As if the rest of the world had caught fire.

The sewing room

2008-01-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

Lauri sent me this picture this morning and mentioned that the sewing room door is kept closed at night -- helps keep the heat in the rest of the house. The temperature in the sewing room this morning was -15 degrees. (Turns out it was -15 outside, 32 degrees in the sewing room.) She said she'd wait an hour or so before getting to "work." It's not work for her, it's fun.

A few weeks ago she was thinking about Valentine's gifts and had a bit of a romp in the sewing room making these. I actually received one the other day. It's beautiful.

Lauri writes:
"The birds of paradise wall hanging was a seriously difficult piece and I have it here in this room, so I get to look at it 100 times a day, and you will too, when you come and stay with us!"

Yes, Lauri is an extremely gifted quilter.

She writes: "I really do have more fun with sewing projects than anyone I know!! This was started last week, and now is in the 5 inch block stage. Now to put them all together, and some borders! Yippee. (Greg caught me, climbing on anything within reach.....)"

This is the very special Hearts quilt she made in memory of her father. She spent a year working on it, comforting herself and healing from the deep grief and loss.

Lauri writes:
"My favorite is Stars in my Eyes, the one that finally won me the Grand Champion ribbon at the state fair, after years and years and years of red and blue ribbons; not putting them down, mind you, just always strove for the purple one!"

Ahh, a good day's work. Time for a cup of tea and maybe a catnap.

Daybreak on Hesketh Island

2008-01-23T09:53:00.000-08:00

Many different days, always the morning.

Sandpipers on Kasilof beach

2008-01-18T18:29:00.001-08:00

You're not going to believe this

2008-01-18T18:06:00.000-08:00

How fun would it be to go exploring along this shore line? Wow, the things you could find. Seastars, shells, maybe a crab, beautiful rocks and bull kelp. Excuse me? Yup, you heard correctly, bull kelp. Bull kelp is found along protected and open coastlines of the Pacific from Alaska to California. Bull kelp forests offer protective shelter for young fishes and many invertebrates, such as sea urchins, sea stars, snails and crabs. Sea otters thrive in kelp forests too. They can find their favorite foods on the forest floor, then take an after-lunch nap in the forest’s golden canopy—often wrapped in a flexible stem or two to keep from drifting away.

And when the bull kelp washes ashore, the locals go about picking it up and...and...hmmm, looks like they're...no, they couldn't be...could they? Are they tooting them like horns?

Looks like Greg's got the hang of it. I can just hear the deep, melodic rumble of the Alaskan bull kelp tenor pipe, can't you?

Lauri writes:
"I wish you would come to the island this summer and HEAR the kelp horns for yourself! Better yet, see if you can make music with one! I will send you a photo of what I do with kelp tomorrow. Other than play it, we also make all of our pickles with it, and last year made a gigantic vat of salsa with it, that I canned ( jarred ) and we have 2 cases of it. Yummo."

This is the promised photo -- long strands of bull kelp hung up to dry. I'm sure I don't have the complete picture here, there must be so much more to this. I'll just have to go to Hesketh Island and see. I'm partial to an alto horn myself.

Get 'er done

2008-01-17T17:41:00.000-08:00

Greg is sitting on the joists that will hold the roof boards. You realize I'm just making this up as I go along. I got these pictures and a slight, brief description of what was going on, but not anything real in-depth. I suppose I could just show you the pictures and let you imagine what's going on. How about it? You up for that? Here we go:

Looks like the inside is getting done. It's so beautiful, isn't it? Really inviting. I can't wait to spend my first night in this guest house.

These two worked so hard. I have no idea how they do it, they just keep on keeping on. But Alaska's like that: you work hard to live there.

And when you wake up in the morning, get your coffee and go out on the porch. Make yourself comfortable in the rocker and this is what's waiting for you.

Wow.

The guest house grows

2008-01-15T05:14:00.001-08:00

We left off last time with the pilings in the ground and the first joists being attached. Now the floor is nailed down and then walls can happen.

Like this. They make it look so simple, don't they? Maybe it is, after you've built 3 or 4 of them. And the whole reason for this one is so you and I will be comfortable when we go for a visit.

Greg and his dad work hard together, getting the house closer to being done. Here they're bolting the pieces of wood together. Imagine doing all of this with non-power tools. Speaking of which, where do you suppose those extension cords go? Hmmm.

So now we're at the roof stage. I'll be back with more tomorrow.

Until then, I leave you with this:

The Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all...

One is Evil. It is anger, fear, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

The guest house on Hesketh Island

2008-01-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

When you arrive at Hesketh Island as Lauri and Greg's guest, you will see this beautiful cabin on the cliff above their house. The story of this guest house is pretty unbelievable and entirely amazing.

I don't know diddly about building a house from scratch. I've torn apart an existing structure and renovated it. So that means I know a little about dry wall and paint, but absolutely nothing about cutting down trees and making lumber from them. When Greg and Lauri decided they needed a place for company to stay, they invited family and friends to join in the fun, much like the Quakers (for us city dwellers, think Witness, the movie with Harrison Ford). Obviously, an area had to be cleared.

And obviously, the trees were then turned into lumber. With a chain saw? Yup. Greg spent 2 years, cutting trees and milling them to get enough lumber to build the guest house.

Lauri tells me this is one year's worth of chain saw milling. Eventually they got themselves some milling equipment at their place in Kasilof for cutting up firewood and that helped.

The pilings go in the ground and the floor is started. I remember this part from my short stint as a helper when Lauri's house was being built -- her house in Kasilof, which was a cute cabin to begin with, before all the rooms got added. You must understand that you do not build any ol' time you please in Alaska. You have a few months in the summer and you get your tushy in gear. Of course, you have 20 hours of daylight, so that helps.

This is the first installment of the story of the island guest house. I will be back to tell you more tomorrow.

I leave you with this:

Take, and welcome joy within you:
Showers, flowers, powers,
Hatfulls, capfulls, lapfulls,
Treasures, measures, pleasures,
All be yours to enjoy!
~ Caitlin Matthews

Beautiful, silvery trees

2008-01-13T08:50:00.001-08:00

Tidepooling around the island

2008-01-10T14:59:00.000-08:00

Lauri's lovin' it!

The brittle sea stars

A beautiful and rare blood sea star

The island

2008-01-09T13:03:00.001-08:00

In Hunting trip Part 3, Lauri mentioned needing to go close up the island. This is the most amazing thing to me -- she and Greg bought a parcel in 2002 on Hesketh Island. It's the little box on the map (the map gets bigger if you click on it).

Hesketh, in the local language, means island with the driftwood on it. I see what you mean. Set right on the beach is their cabin and the sauna (the little one) is next to it.

Their slice of this island faces Tutka Bay.

In the fall, the early morning is misty and cloudy, getting ready for the cold to come. They are situated between Seldovia Point and Tutka Bay, so the views are spectacular.

I'll be bringing you more stories and photos and letters from Lauri. There's lots to tell about Hesketh Island. 'Til next time.

Winter wonderland

2008-01-08T07:52:00.001-08:00

This is Lauri's playground. And this is how it looks now. She is likely going out in her snowshoes or skis, maybe to visit Kathy or just because she loves to be outside. I reckon Greg will go with her.
She writes: "Snowing a bit here and we have been extremely lucky not to have any winds since before Christmas. Normally a big wind comes along and blows the snow out of the trees, but instead today we have a thick layer of it. I like the trees " decorated" like this, I think they were made for snow cover."

Lauri and Greg

2008-01-06T19:42:00.000-08:00

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. Here's three thousand words.

Hunting trip, Part 3

2008-01-06T18:58:00.000-08:00

On October 1st, Lauri wrote:
"This is Greg in his camo, walking the riverside trail that we checked every day--- and no, humans did not make the trail; moose, bear and wolves did.
Another morning at camp. Then the fabled Brooks Mountain range in the distance about an hour or so away. And sunset on the range we are in, the Jack White range.
Lastly, Blueberry bushes everywhere, leaves have fallen, but berries still tasty and sweet.

The lodge of beavers on the pond where we camped. I told you that they were the big entertainment there, right???
The last area we hunted, isn't it a gorgeous pond ????
Me at the Arctic Circle campground! And hills just north of Fairbanks in autumn's glow.

I DO have more spectacular photos of our trip south, (read Mt. Denali in sunlight!!!). But will have to wait for another day, as I am weary from picking and cleaning gallons of lingon berries today , and must get ready to head to the island tomorrow to close things there.
Hope this is enjoyable for all of you.
Hugs, Lauri"

Hunting trip, Part 2

2008-01-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

On September 29th, Lauri wrote:
"We set up camp beside a beaver pond, and they entertained me the whole 10 days! The pond was a pretty thing too. Camp is a 10x14 wall tent, but obscured by the tarps covering it, and tarps out in front to store our gear.

Simply exquisite country and no amount of photos will give you the thrill of being there, but this is the next best thing, yes? The last one is morning from the camp, as it was when I sat outside with my cup of coffee and made a little campfire to keep warm!"

Hunting trip, Part 1

2008-01-04T11:38:00.000-08:00

On September 28th, Lauri wrote:
"We are just home from our hunting adventure in the arctic wilderness, and I have to say it was the most fantastic trip of my life! Happily it coincided with Greg's and my 17th anniversary as well.
The country we were in was incredibly beautiful, the wildlife amazing, and the Northern lights spectacular. It was 15 hours driving to our camping spot and nearly 900 miles straight north of home. Being on your own in the wilderness with no one to call for assistance was a feeling of freedom, better than Thoreau, so close to neighbors, could have imagined. Just fantastic.

I will be sending pictures in sections. I still can only see the excitement I felt when I was there taking them, so you will all have to bear the bad ones.
Tonight is a grand mosaic autumn hillside on the way north from Fairbanks, and the mighty Yukon river--- Wow. Greg has good male genes and so most of these were taken from a speeding truck at 60mph -- only so many rest stops allowed per day! The last, is the ubiquitous Transalaskan Oil Pipeline, which is why the road was built in the late 70s.

Hope you enjoy sharing my adventure!"

Greg

2008-01-03T15:08:00.001-08:00

Lauri's been in Alaska for about 30 years. The first time I went to see her I had just graduated from Arizona State University and my graduation gift was a plane ticket to Anchorage. Woohoo ! I spent two months up there -- hitch-hiking around, driving a forklift on the boat dock, helping Lauri build her cabin, taking loads of photographs (slide film back then, whew! that cost a small fortune). Lauri's neighbor wasn't using her cabin and said I could stay there, so I had this cute little A-frame to myself. It didn't have plumbing, but once I learned how to keep the mosquitoes off my butt, going outside was no problem.

The second time I visited it was because Lauri was getting married. I was her wedding photographer. Unfortunately I didn't experience the wedding -- you can't really enjoy or participate when you're busy recording it all for posterity.

The third time I went to Lauri's, it was because I was having a personal crisis and needed to hang out someplace far away from my home in San Diego. Lauri took good care of me and let me spend entire days driving around in her car with her wonderful dog Scupper. He's the only dog I've ever liked.

Lauri divorced that first guy and has been with Greg now 17 years. He is amazing. He is the man who knows how to do everything and does it all well. One time, when my husband and I went to Napa (where Lauri's parents lived) to see Lauri and Greg, he was working on a quilt. It was beautiful. And he builds things and makes sausage and flies a plane. He's quite special.

I need to get up there again soon. It's been a really long time since I've seen my lovely friend and her little corner of paradise.

Where in the world is Lauri?

2008-01-02T09:02:00.000-08:00

I just realized you might not have any idea at all where Lauri is. Of course not, how could you? I haven't shown you where she lives. Let's rectify that right now:

This is a map of the Kenai Peninsula and the Cook Inlet (click the map, it gets bigger). Lauri lives in Kasilof, Alaska. See the little black box? That's Kasilof. At the top of this map is Anchorage. Lots of people have heard of Anchorage, not many have heard of Kasilof. Perhaps you've heard of Homer, Alaska? It's below Kasilof.

So, that's where Lauri built her house. It started as a one room cabin and over the years became a three bedroom house, with an attached greenhouse (naturally -- how else would she be able to grow 4 kinds of tomatoes for her sauces and salads?) and garage. There used to be a gigantic workshop in the yard. I slept there when I visited in the summer of 1991, my third trip to Alaska.

This is the view from Lauri's living room and from her bedroom. Wouldn't you love to watch the sun set behind Mt. Redoubt every evening? Of course it doesn't look quite like this in the winter months. That mountain is across the Cook Inlet from Kasilof. It's a very, very, very long way away.

These pictures remind me of how connected to nature I felt while I was there -- and how disconnected from nature I feel in my life now. I'm sure there are beautiful, natural settings and critters I could see if I went far enough from my house. But in Alaska you have to go a long way to NOT see beautiful, natural settings.

Yum!

2008-01-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

Lauri can bake. Well, bake and cook and make pasta and smoke salmon and put up the summer harvest. It's in her DNA. She can make your mouth water from 3 miles away. Her upbringing was very much about food and its correct arrangement. What she doesn't know, isn't worth knowing. I've eaten the best meals ever in her kitchen. The first year she lived in Alaska, I went up for the summer to help build her house. She was living in a trailer the size of my laundry room next to the building site on her 5 acres. The pilings were already done when I got there and the floor joists were hung. The trees that made the walls of the cabin came from Lauri's land and some she bought. I sat for days scraping the bark off the logs. It was incredible to watch this construction. In Alaska, construction can only be done for about 3 months -- after the summer, forget about it, it's simply not going to happen. Needless to say, her cabin site was a flurry of activity. But there was always, always, always a fabulous dinner. It didn't hurt that there was so much fresh salmon and halibut around. And she didn't have this great kitchen, the evening meal was done on a barbecue or in her wok. I remember one time she stir fried some pork that had been marinading in beer and then, at the very end, she added fresh peaches. Yum!