The Point of No Return

October 2013
Fall has arrived in Alaska.  Our fellow Workampers left for the lower 48 weeks ago.  The Big Horn is closed up and safely stored in a cozy, heated facility for the winter.  WE'RE DOING IT--WE'RE STAYING IN ALASKA FOR THE WINTER!  We're Mainiacs, we're tough, we know what winter is all about.  What an adventure we'll have.  We're ready!

Our winter home:  The Wendler Tower, far left, upstairs--complete with a turret.

The view of Mt. Spur from our kitchen window .

The leaves turned yellow overnight...  There is a chill in the air.

One more hike down to the Kenai River before it gets too cold...it starts to spit snow.  Toad broke a piece of ice from the pond when we passed through the barnyard.  

Oh gosh,  look, snow...already.  We need to order our puffy coats...and boots...and flannel sheets.  Wait! We're not ready!

Daytrip - Homer

 It is hard to keep your eyes on the road driving to Homer.  There is just so much beautiful scenery!

A curtain of fog is quickly coming down on Mt. Redoubt

The Homer Spit juts +/-3 miles out into the bay.  Shops, restaurants and fishing charter businesses line both sides of the narrow strip of land.  Cute, cute, cute.

A favorite watering hole.

At the very end of the Spit lies the Land's End Restaurant where we had lunch before heading home.

At Home at the Diamond M Ranch

Home sweet home...site 43 in the South Park at the Diamond M Ranch Resort.  This is one of the precious few days warm enough for t-shirts and shorts.  It is hard to know if it is 10 a.m. or 10 p.m....the day just goes on and on--roughly 20 hrs. of daylight.  It is a strange and marvelous gift of nature.  However,  some people need to put blackout shades in their windows to sleep.  Surprise, surprise, it doesn't bother me in the least!! :)

Dark or light, some things do not change!

Caribou roam the Kenai Peninsula during the summer months.

Arctic Lupine dots the landscape.

 Summer sunsets paint the sky!

Everywhere you look, the scenery is breathtaking.

Seldovia/Halibut Cove

Sept. 2012
John and Delores, Ronna's mom and dad, graciously offered us an opportunity to visit Seldovia and Halibut Cove for kayaking, hiking and blueberry picking.

Here's the group and our rides!

The Bed and Breakfast on Seldovia finally appears 1.5 hrs. after leaving the Port of Homer.  John is a great navigator on the open ocean.

We were assigned the "mountain goat" room.

A sea otter snoozing in the harbor.

A beautiful island!  Thank goodness we all brought food because it is Wednesday...the only grocery store and restaurant are CLOSED.

Hiking fun!

On to Halibut Cove via Gull Island...smelly.

Halibut Cove is picture postcard perfect complete with quaint shops, art galleries, coffee shops and lodging all located on the boardwalk that surrounds the cove.  As the season has come to an end, everything is deserted.  We had the whole place to ourselves.

It's time to go home!

The icing on the cake!!  Two young bulls browsing by the road on the drive back  to the Diamond M.  This is too much fun!!

Major Marine/Kenai Fjords Nat'l Park

On a foggy, rainy, Alaska morning we set out for The Kenai Fjords Nat'l Park with our fellow workampers on a Major Marine Cruise.  It mattered not that it was a miserable day; the waters are always calmer on overcast days!

The Port of Seward

                                                   Harding Ice Field











Orca (Killer whales!)













                                                  Steller Sea Lions.

Mountain goats through the fog.  Each one had a baby!

Holgate Glacier

A drink and photo with the crew.

Bubbles on Mt. Alyeska

 August 2012
Mt. Alyeska in Girdwood is not free of snow until mid-August.  That should have given us a clue about the winter to come.  Oh, maybe I forgot to note that by now we have made arrangements for storing the Big Horn in a heated facility in Soldotna and storing us in a heated tower suite at the Diamond M for the winter months.  Right now, mid-August it seems like a splendid plan!

In the tram headed skyward with our Workamper buddies:  Bert and Gwen from Missouri, Dan and Rosa from Michigan.