Stuck in Anchorage

 My five days in Anchorage ended up being 8 days in Anchorage. Winter weather is here, and I am hoping it does not mess up our Christmas travel. I don't care if we can't get back to the island when we're supposed to, but I do care if we don't get out when we're supposed to. 

Let me also clear up some Alaska myths. All of Alaska is not a frigid winter wonderland. I know I mentioned in my last blog post that Anchorage was much colder than the island, but I feel I should elaborate. Anchorage's weather was the majority of the problem in not being able to get back. When I look at the weather in Parowan it is almost always colder than the island at this time of year. I live on the Southern most tip of the state. Those cold coastal winds aren't typically too terrible. Anchorage on the other hand was FRIGID!!! I don't like walking outside and feeling my nose hairs start to freeze. YUCK! It is also much lighter for longer on the island. Our dark hours aren't that different from lower 48. We don't get light until 9:30ish at the moment, but we stay light until 6:00ish. It's really not that bad. Just want to let everyone know. Yes, many places in Alaska are frigid, dark, and downright dreary. I don't live in one of those places.

While I was gone Brady and Spencer saw a Snow Owl. My students had seen it as well. I have not been lucky enough to see it yet, but I am hopeful.

One of Spencer's fears is getting out to throw the trash in the bin at the dump and having a bear jump out at him. I always tell him that isn't going to happen. I cannot say that anymore. When he and his dad pulled up to throw the trash, a bear jumped out of the bin. Thank goodness they weren't out of the car yet. Now we pull up, honk, and wait a minute. It watched us unload our trash the other day too. It was obviously hoping we would be leaving its last food source soon. We were safe. Brady was packing and stood watch while we quickly unloaded. Such adventures!

Welcome to Lake Clark Air in Anchorage. This was why getting out was so difficult.

This is the road view from the parking lot of Lake Clark. Can you see the road?

My Uber driver was less than skilled at driving in the snow.

This is where they pile the snow at Lake Clark as they try to keep the runway plowed.

Lake Clark's parking lot. 

Just for a little comparison this is the island on the same day I was stuck at Lake Clark Air.

Brady took some pretty good pictures. I am quite proud of him.

Round Top is beautiful!

My flight back was awesome! The sun was coming up as we left Anchorage at 9:30 a.m.

This random tiny island was beautiful from the air.

The picture out the plane window doesn't do it justice.

On one side of the plane the sun was coming up. 

On the other side of the plane the moon was shining brightly in the sky.

It was stormy for a minute and then it cleared.

The island has come into view. I think it's breathtaking!

The descent to the runway.

Good morning! This is the view from the school's porch.

It's good to be back!

June, the Nurse Practitioner, loves to do projects with the students.

She brought a tree and we painted ornaments.

We also performed our Christmas play for her, because she won't be here for our Christmas program.

All the kids memorized their parts.

They all made snow globes too.

We are excited for our school Christmas program on the 17th.

Saturday morning was perfect for running. I love crisp, cold, sunny runs.

However, I also love cool, misty, mysterious foggy runs.

Saturday was the latter. It was invigorating. These two were my protectors.

Socks and Connor. (left to right)

The view doesn't look like much, but I love it like this.

Kumaran's are abundant here and this little otter was enjoying the weather too.

Brady and I spotted a seal when we went driving later in the day.

Sunday morning was the total opposite of Saturday.

It was a little colder, windy, and super sunny.

Sometimes we aren't very good at taking selfies, 

but we loved our first Sunday walk with Brady now that he's back and the weather cooperated.

The most humble tree we have probably ever had, and I love it!

I am getting super excited for Christmas. I love this time of year. We found a tree that wasn't being used on the island. I found some ribbon to tie on it and used a scarf for the skirt. I think it looks rather lovely. I just like the lights. Sitting in the dark living room, listening to Christmas music, and looking at the tree is my favorite!

This is a picture of Coastal Transport through our living room window.

It was 7:07 p.m. and our new couch and dresser were on the boat.

Thank you APIA. Brady now has somewhere to put his clothes, and our couch is comfy.

News from the Lower 48 Family

Bradyn took another 4 seconds off his breaststroke and had all A's until

stupid standard based grading took his Chemistry grade to a B.

Regardless, I am super proud of him. He is doing great!

Lexi was served and is supposed to appear in court for her accident.

Lots of questions. My sister (retired paralegal) is working with the DA's office

to help us navigate this. Lexi is less than thrilled. We are hoping they settle before the trial.

She is also having a lot of back pain. The physical therapy, chiropractic appointments, and massage therapy are all helping take the edge off for a minute, but most the time she is miserable. The Xray came back showing that her discs are squished and they have scheduled an MRI.

This is starting to be a much longer road of recovery than we thought it would be. 

We initially thought it would just be her mouth/teeth. 

I really hope she won't have to live with back pain for the rest of her life.  

If you're going to make stupid choices, make sure they aren't going to cause someone else to be a victim of your choices.

Wyatt is still being awesome! 

Adult sons don't text/call their mothers near as much as adult daughters. Just sayin. 

However, he seems very happy and loving college when we FaceTime on Sundays.