Where in the world is Lauri?

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.