North to Alaska

This month has been full of adventures for me. We went with some friends to Gustavus, Alaska, stayed in a beautiful rustic lodge and were served amazing meals everyday. I must admit I was spoiled. No cooking and no cleaning for a week was great, but the best part by far was the wildlife. It made me appreciate even more the miracle of God's creations and feel so grateful that I could share the planet with such amazing animals surrounded by indescribable beauty. Gustavus is a tiny little town that has very few residents that live there year round. It actually has an 'airport' that was formerly a landing strip for the military which we flew in on. It has one flight daily in and out, but it has the most thorough security screeners I've ever seen! Just a heads up for any terrorists that might be reading my blog.
The Sunday we were there we attended church in a newly built chapel for the local branch members there. It's a 'phone in' branch. I had never heard of such a thing before, but once the meeting was started members from outlying areas called in via phone or Internet and from the podium the presiding leader did a roll call of those online. Calling each by name and asking if they were present. At the conclusion of the meeting, one of the phone-in members was asked to give the closing prayer. A very interesting experience.
We fished most of the days we were there and caught a lot of Halibut which now fills our freezer along with a little Salmon. The fishing was fun and I surely love the spoils of our efforts, but having whales breaching all around our small fishing boat was so amazing! Seeing the sea otters floating on their backs looking like little vacationers taking it easy and watching sea lions fight for a spot on a buoy or lounging around on the rocks made me feel like I was in a Planet Earth documentary. One day we ventured out on a large tour boat that took us right up to the base of some glaciers that were about 200 feet tall and we were able to watch them 'calve' the proper term for what glaciers do when they shed big chunks of ice. On that same trip we were able to watch a HUGE brown bear do a little fishing of his own. I learned that brown bears are actually the same as a grizzly except the browns live along the coast and the grizzlies tend to stay more inland. Due to this the brown bear's diet consists of more protein which causes them to grow larger than the grizzlies. We neglected to take the best camera equipment along with us on this trip, which we more than once regretted, so the pictures of the bear I've posted don't do it justice. I was watching him through binoculars which enabled me to have a better view and he was at least 10 feet tall. We also saw porpoises, seals and many majestic bald eagles. I've posted a few of our pictures... hope you enjoy the slideshow.
It was just such an amazing experience. If you ever get the opportunity to go... DO IT!