Home
We are home and we are tired! Over 10,000 miles of driving... again.
We got home from our trip Monday the 2nd just before midnight, and boy we were tired. It felt great to be home though. We enjoyed our entire trip despite the frequent rain, and got a lot accomplished in Tok at our little getaway. We got a pad built on our property and cleared a spot for future construction, and spent time with our friends, which is what is most important.
Our spot on our property in Tok.
We spent a lot of time on the property just getting a feel for it and enjoying our little piece of Alaska. The North really feels like home to both of us in our hearts, and not just Alaska. Once we get up in Northern British Columbia and into the Yukon, it just feels like that is where we are suppose to be. It's a comforting feeling. But of course when we return here, it also feels good to be back to our farm, back to the quiet and seclusion.
This is one my favorite pictures of the entire trip, from Delta Junction, Alaska:
and Kevin with the flag!
We were lucky enough to still be there when Bud & Pam came back from fishing, and we were able to bring some halibut and silver salmon home with us, and boy is it nice, great big, huge chunks! I cannot wait to cook some of it up.
We were leaving the day after they brought the fish home so when we loaded it into our small camper freezer, it couldn't freeze all that fish. We started to get panicked on our second day out when we realized it wasn't going to freeze... so we stopped near Watson Lake, in the Yukon, to try and find a freezer. We lucked out because the guy running the campground at the Nugget campground happened to have one hooked up under his fifth wheel. He let us load all our fish into his freezer for the night, which saved our entire load of fish. The next morning we re loaded the fish in the freezer, completely frozen. We gave him a piece to thank him for his help and then he landed my bunny tracks ice cream which I was trying to get home, since I cannot find it around here... but there was no room and I couldn't eat an entire tub of ice cream in one sitting, no matter how much I wanted to try it.
In Ignace, Ontario, we stopped at the Davy Lake campground which is run by a great family... we had stopped there before in 2006, and in 2007. We had fun visiting and even got to go out and pick wild blueberries, which was a highlight for me. I LOVE blueberries, especially wild ones, and of course, if you get to pick them they are even better.
Blue hands!
There was a lot of leavings of happy bears around too....
When we got home, I did the best thing I could do with some of those berries... I made PIE!
On the way home, we saw some Caribou and lots of Stone Sheep along the Alcan highway, one black bear at Kluane Lake in the Yukon. We saw a cow moose again but she ran quickly across the road and we got a blurred picture. In Ontario we got great pictures of a bull moose, so that made up for our bad luck earlier in the trip!
This is one my favorite pictures of the entire trip, from Delta Junction, Alaska:
and Kevin with the flag!
We were lucky enough to still be there when Bud & Pam came back from fishing, and we were able to bring some halibut and silver salmon home with us, and boy is it nice, great big, huge chunks! I cannot wait to cook some of it up.
We were leaving the day after they brought the fish home so when we loaded it into our small camper freezer, it couldn't freeze all that fish. We started to get panicked on our second day out when we realized it wasn't going to freeze... so we stopped near Watson Lake, in the Yukon, to try and find a freezer. We lucked out because the guy running the campground at the Nugget campground happened to have one hooked up under his fifth wheel. He let us load all our fish into his freezer for the night, which saved our entire load of fish. The next morning we re loaded the fish in the freezer, completely frozen. We gave him a piece to thank him for his help and then he landed my bunny tracks ice cream which I was trying to get home, since I cannot find it around here... but there was no room and I couldn't eat an entire tub of ice cream in one sitting, no matter how much I wanted to try it.
In Ignace, Ontario, we stopped at the Davy Lake campground which is run by a great family... we had stopped there before in 2006, and in 2007. We had fun visiting and even got to go out and pick wild blueberries, which was a highlight for me. I LOVE blueberries, especially wild ones, and of course, if you get to pick them they are even better.
Blue hands!
There was a lot of leavings of happy bears around too....
When we got home, I did the best thing I could do with some of those berries... I made PIE!
On the way home, we saw some Caribou and lots of Stone Sheep along the Alcan highway, one black bear at Kluane Lake in the Yukon. We saw a cow moose again but she ran quickly across the road and we got a blurred picture. In Ontario we got great pictures of a bull moose, so that made up for our bad luck earlier in the trip!
Black bear at Kluane Lake, Yukon
Buffalo on the Alcan in British Columbia
Caribou at Muncho Lake, B.C.
Stone Sheep at Stone Mountain, B.C. one of the best places on earth!
Moose in Ignace, Ontario
Moose in Ignace, Ontario
All the animals are doing well but there has been a ton of work to do cleaning. We are not even close to being caught up because everything just got so behind while we were away. But we are making progress and that's what counts. The goats are all doing fantastic, a little too fat, and needing to go on a bit of a goatie diet - they need to slim down just a bit.
It's been hot here and very humid, and the adjusting back to it has been difficult on both of us, and the dogs since they were gone so long. But tonight it was cool outside, cool enough to warrant a sweater and it was perfect for sitting outside and enjoying a cup of tea, which was heaven. Reminds me how many cool fall evenings I have to look forward to. I am not rushing August, because it's one of my favorite months too, but I love the fall, everything about it and look forward to it every year.I need to start working at canning as soon as I can get out and get a few more supplies.
Tomorrow Izzie the calf is getting dehorned, so neither of us are really looking forward to that. It will be a new experience for me. I had a Vet dehorn a full grown bull once and that was a nightmare. It's very important to take horns when the animals are young and the horns are small, if possible. I don't dehorn my goats, there really isn't a reason, but with Izzie, one day she will be a very big cow and she's already using her horns to boss everyone around. Even if she doesn't mean to hurt the goats, or me, she easily could.
It's been strange being home since both Chip and Buddy dog passed away just as we left. Because we left right after we didn't have to get used to them not being around until now. I still go to let him out in the morning and often think I've forgotten to feed him.
Because the grass didn't get cut all summer (long story) Kevin had to mow it yesterday and it was pretty high, so there is a ton of grass piled up in the yard. Kevin put it in rows for me so I can rake it and take it away, otherwise we won't have a yard all summer. I was up in the barn getting my rake and little Sammy came over to me, so I stopped in the barnyard and sat down. He climbed into my lap, brought up a cud and started to chew, just like he's done since he was a little week old sick baby. My heart just sang. No matter how much hard work we put into this place, and the animals, it's moments like that, that remind me why I consider this place my sanctuary in many ways. The world is a difficult place and it's full of trouble, and we are not without our stressors and worries, but when that little goat climbs into my lap and contently starts chewing while I hold him, it always grounds me and reminds what is really important in life, and what is really important is moments just like that.
After supper last night, we had a light rain, and two rainbows appeared over our pond. It was a nice ending to a busy day.
