There is actually a bit of coolness in the air this morning.

Day 22, "Every picture has a story"

In the summer of 2014 Terry and I embarked on our 15,000 mile camping trip to Alaska.  We headed west through Fargo and then angled NW towards highway 2 which runs across northern North Dakota and Montana.  We spent some time in Havre MT with my best friend Larry and then headed west again.  We entered Canada just east of Glacier National Park and headed north through Banff and Jasper parks.  From there we headed towards Dawson Creek BC which is mile 1 of the Alaskan Highway.  That took us to Delta Junction AK where the highway ends.  We spent 5 weeks visiting places in AK and taking in the 8 national parks there.  We flew from Fairbanks to Kotzebue which is where the visitor center for Kobuk Valley Nation Park is.  We asked about actually stepping in the park and found out that to do that one needed to hire a bush pilot and fly in as there are no road.  That would cost several thousand $$ and we did NOT do that.  We spent the day in Kotzebue and it turned out to be a fun day.  Some of the fun things to do or see were:

• As we walked around there were 100s of broken down snowmobiles just piled up.  We were told that when a snowmobile was trashed it cost to get it out as the only way was plane or ship.  So they just kept piling up.  
• We stopped for a bit to eat.  An elderly couple were there and he came over to us and told us we should have more to eat.  We said we were fine.  He then went and paid our bill.  He shared with us that he had been a welder on the Alaskan Pipe Line and after that was finished he became a fisherman.  He and his wife left the cafe on a small 4-wheeler!
• As we walked alone the Arctic ocean shore there were little kids swimming and having a great time!  Kotzebue is above the Artic Circle and the water was NOT warm!  
• When we left Kotzebue we flew into Nome and then back to Fairbanks.

We took the Alaskan Marine Highway out of Seward on our way back to the states.  After we arrived in Bellingham WA we drove down the west coast to Ventura CA where we took in Channel Island National Park and from there we headed home taking in several more parks.  Quite the trip for sure.

Yesterday was a good day with some things that were accomplished and then we took in a one person play of The Iliad.  The guy who did it was absolutely brilliant.  A friend of Terry's, Heidi, went with us and afterward I told her that I really enjoyed it.  I am so uncultured but I actually understood the play and liked it a lot!

Well today is Sunday and there are some Sundays that I just kind of sit back and remember.  Today is one of those days"

• I remember the pogo stick that I got for Christmas.  Before it broke I could hop from the house to the barn and then turn around and hop back.  I most likely looked like a goofball but it was a lot of fun.
• I remember the plastic guns that would shoot ping pong balls!
• I remember walking to and from Wood Lake School.  Don't know what we talked about but we became experts at kicking stones and hitting fence posts with stones as we pasted them.
• I remember walking south in the pasture to get the cows for evening milking.  I always waked past snake rock which was along the creek on the north bank.  More often than not there would be a snake sunning on the rock.
• I remember the little dam in the creek just below the outhouse.  For the first part of the summer we could often catch suckers in the rocks.
• I remember when the siblings would come home it was FUN.  Ronald and Glorine or Janet and John.  It meant that, for sure, Dad would be happy and maybe we would be able to water ski up at the lake.
• I remember Dave and I playing cops and robbers (maybe good guys and Indians too) and running all over the yard with our home made wooden guns.
• I remember playing ball with Dave and Ricky with the corn crib as a back stop.
• I remember biking up to the lake after a day in the field.  Dave on the big bike, I on the little bike and both of us would have a washcloth and soap as it was our bath!
• I remember the shower that Ronald made the summer he and Glorine lived with us.
• I remember the blackbirds that I would shoot with my 22 and then feed them to the cats.
• I remember shimming up the electrical pole by the barn and then lying on the west roof of the barn and dreaming of what life may be after I became an adult.
• I remember raking the barn yard south of the barn and then throwing the ball against the barn to pretend I was in the major leagues!  
• I remember taking the little calves out of the barn and making a pen for them.  I always felt that they should not have to be in the barn all the time!

So it goes.  Life seems to last for so long and then in the blink of an eye life seems so very fragile.  One year it seems as if Christmas will never come and then in a short time Christmas comes with a rush and you ask how did that happen?  Is it really a matter of age?  Life can seem so carefree and then in the blink of an eye it can seem so incredibly cruel.  BUT for sure one needs to keep focused on what is ahead, remember what WAS and live life to the fullest.

As seems to happen way too often, I was up too early, by 4:10 I think.  I have read about the World Series game last night, about the Minnesota Wild win and now am winding up my morning blog.  I have a tiny sip left of FP to enjoy as I make an omelet for breakfast and read the sports section of the paper.