Scenery, Archery & Gage

An iceberg in the Wrangell Narrows in July!

Devil's Thumb over the mouth of the Narrows on a clear day.   Yes, those small white spots out in the water are a buoy and more icebergs.

Looking North from Nordic Drive up Fredrick Sound in Petersburg.

A view of Devil's Thumb from the Petersburg Airport with muskeg (spongey marsh) in the foreground.

A view of Devil's Thumb from the Petersburg Airport.

A tender named South American heading South in the Wrangell Narrows on a sunny day.

A warm sunny day at Crescent Beach...

What my boys do at the beach; walk, play in the sand & ride.  Yes, Rob rode over the log that is just above Gage.  At high tide that log was totally in the water.

Creek at the local archery range.  Yes it was as tranquil and relaxing as it looks.

Gage in his boots & Rob in the background getting ready...

Gage with his first bow...

"No dad, I got this."  (an uncomfortable necklace) We will try again when he is older.

Rob competing in an archery tournament. (We didn't finish, the course was too long for us to cary Gage the whole way, but it was fun while it lasted!)

Gage enjoys playing with sun glasses.

Gage is getting SO big!

No, this is not a park, it is one of our neighbors yards.  

Life doesn't get any better than this!

First, I taught Gage what a vacuum was, then I taught him how to suck up the dirt on the stairs.  It was a slow process but it was fun.  Now the house is ready for Peggy to visit on Wednesday!

Another week of pictures...

Spectacular sunset!

Salmon for dinner!!!  Gage taking careful notes on how to do it.

What happens when Rob dresses Gage...

Playing with dads legs...

I just can't get over how cute Gage is!

Gage exploring the beach.

Gage learned how to smell flowers.

Gage is getting pretty good at it.

Truly Happy!  Gage is now 21 months old.

Riding a "big" bike with Rob's help.

Gage playing in the rain on his bike.

Gage loves playing on his petal-less bike called a Strider.  He is already making trials sections that he will ride over & over with his little bike.  Here he is popping a wheelie to go over a "log".

Sunset with smoke haze.  The Yukon is burning & the wind shifted so we had haze for a few days.

The worst day of smoke was so thick the sun turned red.

Trees in the fog.

The moon seems so close!

Gage took several self portraits while playing with different fun features on his iPad.  This is the light tunnel effect.  I love how the freckles on his nose stand out.

A Gage self portrait with the light tunnel effect.

A Gage self portrait with the mirror effect.

Gage self portrait with the kaleidoscope effect.  I think with his eyes closed and the speck of light like a star, this picture is dreamy.

A Gage & April self portrait with the infrared effect.

A tour of Mitkof Island...

Petersburg is the only town (ok, technically they are a borough) on Mitkof Island.  The island itself is 23 miles at its longest point and about 16.5 miles at its widest point.  It covers 211 square miles and has oceanfront and pine forests but is mostly muskeg (swampy bogs with pete moss, marsh-like vegetation and small trees).  Its highest peak is Crystal Mountain which is 3,317 feet above sea level.  Speaking of sea level the tides can vary as much as 23 feet in a single day.

Average annual rainfall is 109 inches.  The weather is typically overcast with or without a light misty rain (this is why is so exciting that we have had so many sunny days.)  June 21st was the longest day of the year and we had 17 hours and 15 minutes of daylight.  The sun set just before 11pm and rose around 4:30am but it was only dark from midnight until 3:30ish.  It's fun until you realize the 4th of July fireworks won't be going off until its dark (11pm).  

As of 2011, the population of Petersburg was 2,967.  There are 435 students enrolled in grades K-12.  And my favorite statistic is there are 1,455 pickup trucks, 1,442 boats and 1,708 cars/jeeps registered in the borough.  This means almost every household has a boat (and a truck to haul the boat to and from the water) as well as a second vehicle for driving around town.  The harbor parallels the main street and is quite large.

Recently we went on two different day trips to see some of what the island had to offer...

Greens Camp has 32 campsites and is on the ocean.  The plan was to get there in the afternoon and start a campfire that would burn down to coals to cook on for dinner.  Out of the eight of us, everybody including Rob and Gage went for a bike ride so I started the fire.  Just then it started drizzling and it didn't let up until after dinner.

Blind Slough is famous for its salmon hatchery but is popular for its  day-use picnic area and swimming hole.  A fun past time is to jump off the bridge that goes to the hatchery into the slue below.  The bridge isn't more than 15 feet over the water and in the middle, the water is at least 12 feet deep.  It's not dangerous but it is scary and takes quite a bit of courage.

Driving out to Greens Camp.

Some of the bike riders... Nance, Dan, Gage & Rob.

The view from our campsite at Greens Camp (while its raining).

Telling stories around the fire with Rob, Judy, Jo, Sandy and Nance.  Yes those are my & Gage's legs on the left.

I'm cooking dinner & Gage is playing in the background also Sandy, Nance & Judy are eating.

After dinner we broke out some Fireworks.  Jo shares a sparkler with Gage.

The rain didn't slow Gage down at all.  He rode his bike thru camp often.

Greens Camp before the rain, (high tide).

Greens Camp after the rain, (low tide).

The last rays of sunlight.  View from our rental house.  

The picture didn't do the moment justice.  Warm morning sun, a bald eagle calling (spec near mountain) and a light breeze bringing in salt air from the ocean.  Relaxing, happy & peaceful.

This is Blind Slough, a fun place to have a picnic.

Blind Slough, you can also walk across the small bridge (to the left but just out of the picture) to the salmon hatchery.

Gage admiring the view from the Blind Slough bridge.

Girls contemplating jumping into Blind Slough.



That's the end of the tour of the island.  The rest of the pictures are the other things we have done for the past week...

Gage has added cooking to his resumé (don't worry the stove is cold and he is actually playing with the dirty dishes like he does when he helps at the sink).

Gage playing in our yard.  Yes, that is sunshine!

There is always time to stop and smell flowers.

Gage getting a haircut.  I feed him crasins, one of his favorite foods, to keep him sitting while I cut his hair.  Cutting is ok with him until he gets hair in his mouth (the problem with using food as the distraction). Maybe next time I will give him my phone to play with instead :)

After the haircut...  My family in their pj's.