Spring 2011

Whew, what a crazy spring/summer this has been!  Obviously we've struggled to find time to blog but hopefully we'll get everyone caught up soon enough.  Since ample time has passed, our memories will likely not be as detailed as we'd like but the pictures speak for themselves!

Trent spent his junior-year spring break with us and had a fun week.  He spent some time shadowing me and some co-workers both in the office and out on the forest to explore his interest in a possible engineering future. 

With a co-worker's recent survival story following his personal aircraft accident fresh on my mind, I thought it would be fun to take Trent up in the mountains  to build a snow cave and camp out for the night.  Well, we accomplished the cave construction and it kept us warm enough I suppose.  Lets just say that building a snow cave was much more fun than sleeping in one, but it got the job done!

In May we got to travel back home for Lauri's graduation from WSU.  We were able to tie in a visit to the Seattle area to see some friends, a stop in Tonasket to see Ian's family, some time in Spokane to see more friends and family all in a week's time prior to heading to Pullman for graduation.  While there we stayed with Jacob & Ky and it was great to see them.  Finally, we wrapped the trip up with a couple days in Hunters with Cara's family prior to flying back home.

Later in May Ian had the opportunity to go on an overnight halibut fishing trip with other men from Cornerstone Church.  The seas were pretty rough and of course, he contributed to the fish chumming between catching his 4 halibut!  Lots of great fish in the freezer for the year.  It also happened to be a weekend that Ian's college buddy, Brian was in town for work and was able to join in on the halibut action.  The second day of the trip was much nicer weather and seas leading to a MUCH more enjoyable  time for Ian. 

Days are Getting Longer, Iditarod is in the Books!

Bout time we get around to sharing with everyone.  Winter is still hanging on with a few inches of snow dropped last week and more expected this week.  On the other hand, it has been BEAUTIFUL for the past 2-3 weeks with brilliant sunshine and days so clear we've been seeing Mt. McKinley from our living room over 250 miles away!

In early February, I got to spend a week in Portland for work.  While there I took in my first NBA game with a fraternity brother from WSU and spent a night with my buddy Luke and his wife Jen after Luke and I watched the Cougs get dominated by the Ducks in the new Matthew Knight Arena (very nice facility by the way).  Unfortunately, on the last day there I got the tragic news that my Uncle Fred passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in northern Idaho.  I was very thankful that Alaska Airlines allowed me to detour through Spokane on my way home.  It was nice to be able to spend a couple days with family during this difficult time.  We were all able to find peace in the comfort of knowing full and well that Uncle Fred knew the Lord.  On a more personal note, it dawned on me that he is the first close family member to get to see Mariah again.  I can just see her greeting him at the gates of heaven with a big hug!  Please join me in keeping Aunt Cherri and their kids/grand kids in your thoughts and prayers as they come to terms with this sudden tragedy.

Recently we've had a young bull moose hanging out in the front yard.  In fact, one morning Manny woke us up after he had discovered the intruder outside the living room window.  He was VERY interested in the moose and it is possibly the first one he has ever seen.  A few days later I was walking with him down the street and we saw the moose along side the road browsing.  We were about 20 feet away before Manny saw him but even after me deliberately pointing out the moose, he still wasn't concerned in the least.  Knowing that he has no interest in chasing moose makes me much more comfortable with taking him out on trails this summer.  Speaking of Manny, he has certainly won over this family and is often the life of the party when we get together with friends.  He is quite the crowd pleaser and has such a great personality.  Cara still seems to be his favorite though.

Following my second week of training in Portland, we had the opportunity to take in our first Fur Rondy festival here in Anchorage.  This event is touted as the largest festival in the state and consists of many fun and unique events that authentically Alaskan!  We watched a few rounds of the Yukigassen (Japanese for "Snow Battle")National Championships.  Granted, it was the first and ONLY tournament in America but the winner does get the opportunity to represent the USA in the world championship in Japan next winter!  While the circumstances were misleadingly "Big Time", it was a cool event, reminiscent of a paintball war with snowballs substituted as ammo.

Apparently the history behind Fur Rondy (Rendezvous) is that years ago Alaskans would gather for a big festival to buy, sell and trade their goods.  The majority of the goods traded were furs, hides and antlers.  As seen in this photo, the fur auction is still thriving.  It was very tempting to bid on a $50 tanned fox hide but I just couldn't figure out what I'd do with it!  Cara didn't appreciate the fact that I was even considering buying a fur.  Beaver, wolf, coyote, badger, fox, mink, wolverine, muskrat, you bet, they're all here and can be bought if the price is right!  The people watching at these events was priceless as many bring out their best fur clothing and most ornate fur hats.  Full wolf and lynx heads adorning people's heads were definitely seen.  Oh, and I should mention that trapping is alive and well here in Alaska.  I'm hoping to connect with someone who runs a trap line close to Anchorage so I can join them for a run up their line and experience the life of a trapper!

The start of the Iditarod sled dog race is also a major component of the festival and all I can say is 'wow' when it comes to those dogs.  We spent the morning and afternoon in downtown Anchorage for the ceremonial start and really enjoyed it.  In fact, as I was walking around taking pictures in my Carhartt coat I was frequently mistaken for a race official and somehow found myself within the 'no public access' area without being questioned.  One official asked "so how many teams we got left?"  When I glanced down the street at the teams waiting to start, quickly counted for and turned to him with a "looks like four to me" response, he realized I wasn't supposed to be in there, oops!  He was really cool and let me stay in close to the teams and just asked that I don't get in the way of the teams.  I guess I looked like I belonged, much to Cara's embarrassment!

Due to inconsistent snowfall between Anchorage and Willow, the official race start was moved to Willow and occurs the day after the ceremonial start in Anchorage.  Since we enjoyed the day in Anchorage so much we decided to spend that Sunday afternoon watching again.  We were able to access the trail about a mile from the starting line and had awesome trail side spots we could watch and encourage each musher as they set off on their 1100 mile journey to Nome.  The day was a sunny, warm winter day and our BBQ picnic at the car completed a great afternoon.  Sled dog racing is something everyone needs to experience.  Seeing man and dog work in such unison is truly something to behold.  These dogs LIVE to run and race.  Their excitement in anticipation of the imminent race is contagious and seemed to fill the air.  These dogs were yipping and jumping around much like professional athletes prior to competing on their sports biggest stage.  

Fur Rondy and the Iditarod are such a unique part of Alaska that we would like to invite anyone interested to come and experience it with us next year.  While the fishing is out of season, winter in Alaska has so many great attributes that most people don't realize.  If you are like us, you probably think its a barren, cold, and miserable place in the winter.  Our experience has shown that there are so many cool winter opportunities, that we'd highly encourage you to consider bucking the trend of summer tourism and visit during this special time of year.

Well, I am in full-on planning mode for this year's hunting season (I know, its still 5+ months away but I'm a little anxious okay?!) and recently found out I was lucky enough to draw a permit to hunt Kodiak Brown Bear next fall.  I'm anticipating a caribou/moose hunt in Aug/Sept and then shifting my focus to this special opportunity on Kodiak in early Nov.  I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on the outcomes of these hunts, not to mention the many fishing outings that will occur in the meantime.

Cara is on vacation as I write this visiting our good friends Dan and Annie in Minnesota for their spring breaks.  Sounds like she is having a great time and is enjoying the mere 15 degree temperature differential.  Most all of our friends are going to or returning from Hawaii right about now but Cara chooses the 45 degree Minnesota!  Hopefully I can get her to post something about her trip when she returns this week.

We hope and pray that everyone is doing well.  We definitely miss all of you and would love to hear from you more often (I know, its a 2-way street, we'll try to be better about calling more!).  Spring is just around the corner with daily melt offs and warming temps.  We're excited for the upcoming summer and the adventure opportunities it will provide along with the many guests it will bring. 

Welcome to the New Year!

After several of you have blatantly asked us when in the world our next post would be, we decided we had better sit down and make some time to blog.  Thank you for your patience and persistence, we are still trying to develop that habit of sitting down regularly and writing about what has been going on in our lives.  All we can ask is that you keep bugging us about writing...and hopefully we will be embarrassed enough to finally make it happen!



View from the cabin we enjoyed with the Turner clan, fun!



With all that said, our first trip home since we moved up here was for Christmas.  It was very bittersweet.  It was full of precious times with our family and friends.  We tried our hardest to cram everyone in, but still felt like we missed out on seeing a lot of people.  The trip started with two red-eye flights, both of which were delayed.  The first was because the airlines had misplaced a guy's dog.  The captain announced over the loud speaker that it was because there was a light on in the cargo area of the plane, but we knew better when a flight attendant started asking the guy behind us what his dog looked like, what the crate was like, and where he had last seen it... After 15 to 20 minutes, a yelping malamute was heard being loaded onto the plane.  Ironically, the "cargo light" was simultaneously fixed, and off we went.  In Seattle, we had boarded the plane when we learned that our captain started throwing up.  We were then taken off the plane and sat in the airport for an hour while a new captain made his way to our gate.  Finally we arrived in Spokane, with little more than two hours of sleep.  We spent the next 10 days celebrating Christmas with our families and were lucky enough to also spend some time with friends.  While the flights back home were pretty uneventful, the last 30 minutes were some of the worst turbulence either of us had ever experienced.  Needless to say, Cara's hands were sore from gripping the armrests and Ian was motion sick by the time we landed! 



View from the same spot as the previous progress photos.

Our first order of business after arriving home was to put the finishing touches on our basement apartment and to get renters moved in.  We were a little worried about what we would find after having our contractor call us saying the basement was flooded.  Turns our we had a little water on the lower sidewalk, but no water in the house.  Talk about a relief! After a semi-stressful few days of wondering if the contractor was actually going to get everything done, we moved in our first renters.  They are a young couple that are having a similar "Alaskan Adventure" as ours.  They have a couple of cute yellow labs, and have been not only great to work with as renters, but also fun to hang out with as well.  Over all, this has been a great experience thus far, and we are happy that our goal of being "landlords" has actually come to fruition.  It looks pretty different then it did 3 months ago, doesn't it!  Since then, Ian as been very busy with the new laundry room and master bathroom.  We have both been learning a lot about plumbing.  Currently we are in the process of hanging drywall with tiling just around the corner...wish us luck!

New bedroom tenants chose to make their TV room.

Winter is cruising by and the weather/darkness has not been a factor.  It has probably helped having projects at work and home to keep us busy.  Our goal is to wrap up these two rooms before the spring thaw hits then hang up the tool belt and enjoy the summer.  Since being back, the month of January has flown by.  It is amazing to think that 6 months of our 3 year commitment is already over.  While we are enjoying our time here, our Christmas trip back to Spokane reminded us why we love that area and hope to return someday.  We miss you all so much, and it is you that makes us home sick.  Thank you to everyone who hosted us or took time out of their busy schedule to spend some time with us, we loved every minute of it!  Until next time, keep warm and start planning your trip to Alaska!

Skiing with Manny!

Well, winter is in full swing although quite similar to a typical eastern Washington winter.  Cold temps that rarely drop below zero with the occasional snow fall (10" or so on the ground).  Biggest difference you ask?  That would be the near daily moose encounters here in town as they seem to rely on the urban vegetation for winter forage.  The other day 3 nice bulls were hanging out in the hotel parking lot across from my office!

Despite the fact that we'll be in WA/ID over the holidays, we got the Christmas spirit going strong here in the Turner house.  Stockings are hung by the chimney with care and a warm fire burns here almost daily.  The crown jewel of our decorations is easily our 5' black spruce tree which was carefully selected off of our property right here on 97th Ave! 

We can hardly believe that its been nearly 6 months since we've seen any of our family and are excited to spend some time with everyone over the holidays.  Only thing left to do is for me to finish........errrr start my shopping!

Project update:  Laundry room is nearing completion.  Cara helped install the new pocket door and I've learned a lot about plumbing and electrical through this project.  Of course the perfectionist in me has caused this project to stretch out more than expected.  Simultaneously, the basement apartment is about a week away from being finished, stay tuned for final pics on that front.  The finishing touches are being added, tenants are being reviewed and a lease should be signed before Christmas with an early January move-in date!

Aside from staying busy with work, projects, church and weekend social outings with friends, the highlight of our December was learning to Nordic ski as we traversed to a Forest Service cabin up the Russian River.  The cabin is about 4 miles from the trail head and we decided to rent some skis from REI and teach ourselves how to gracefully fall on 'skinny skis'.  While the learning curve on the way in to the cabin was a bit steep, we got it figured out and had a blast on the way out the next day.  The winter trail actually took us across the Lower Russian Lake to our home for the evening, Barber Cabin.  Who would have thought Cara would get to water ski in Alaska after all?!  Finally, what posting would be complete without a picture of our newest member of the family?  Manny had a great time explore the

winter scape with his new buddy Riko, our friend Tony's dog.  They got along the entire trip aside from a vicious tussle they had over Cara's love.  Blood was shed, differences were sorted and everyone is fine after the fact but it could have been much worse!  Thankfully Cara was able to remove her ski and use it to forcefully separate the two scrappers.  Manny will hopefully think twice next time he attempts to express his dominance over a Doberman twice his size!  Anyway, here is a final picture of our little buddy taken from the middle of the lake on our way out from the cabin.


Thank you to everyone who sent Christmas cards, its great to hear how everyone is doing and be able to keep up with folks while we're away.  Merry Christmas to each of you, be sure to savor the time off with your family and sing praises to the One who's birth we celebrate!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, needless to say, we have SO much to be thankful for this year.  We have been blessed beyond comprehension and are amazed at how faithfully the Lord provides for our every need!  We hope each you have much to be thankful for this season.

Winter is here.  We had our first big snow around Nov. 1 and our vehicles decided to let us down for a couple days.  Actually it played out something like this:  Cara's 4WD was out and as it was in the shop we learn that the PS pump failed as well.  Before we could get the PS pump fixed my pickup went down with a plugged catalytic converter which essentially paralyzed it!  So, we were left to limp around with a manual steering SUV for a few days while the truck got fixed.  THEN the next day (after many people saying 'you know, bad things come in 3s!') our well pump goes out!  I think Murphy has overstayed his welcome at the Turner house and can stay away for awhile.  Anyway, we're back to 'all systems GO' and are thankful to have everything in working order!

The picture at left was taken at work, I know, rough day huh?!  This is Kenai Lake and is actually the site of one of our district compounds.  Roughly 30 people get to work right along the shoreline of the lake, very majestic location.  I was out helping them with their water system for a couple days.

Since the first big snow storm we've had some very atypical weather roll through.  This past week temperatures warmed enough to produce a half inch of freezing rain which coated most of the state in a sheet of ice.  Fortunately it continued to warm and the rain melted off a good amount of our snow.

The newest addition to our family, Manny, is doing great.  He is pretty quirky so obviously fits right in around here.  He cracks us up daily with some of his antics.  While Cara is BY FAR his favorite, he sure enjoys rough housing with me on a nightly basis.  He has enjoyed playing with some of our friends' dogs and they always provide cheap entertainment.  I can't wait for you guys to meet him though, he is a great dog that simply makes you smile!

Well, for those of you anxious to see how our basement is progressing, here is a little teaser progress photo!  This is taken from the same spot as the last updates so you can really see how it is taking shape.  That small wall in the background is the bar with the kitchen to be in the background behind it.  In the foreground is the living room.  I'm still hard at work on the laundry room to hopefully get both finished about the same time.  We have one more project that we want to finish before spring then we'll hang up the tool belt for the summer and fall so we can get outside and enjoy our new beautiful state!  I've been busy preparing and planning for next year's hunting seasons and am almost overwhelmed with the options and opportunities that are available to me.  Where do I start?!

Also, for all those who said they want to come visit, we're already taking visitor reservations for next summer so don't wait too long!  Our good friends Adam & Carly will be spending a week with us around the 4th of July, can't wait to host some company and share adventures.  Well, just one more month until Christmas when we'll get the chance to return home for a nice 10 day trip.  Looking forward to catching up with most of you while back home. 

Happy Thanksgiving from Ian, Cara & Manny!

Days are gettin' Shorter, weather's gettin' Colder

Happy Halloween!  Hope everyone had a fun weekend be it trick or treating with your kids or enjoying the kids who visited you.  We spent the afternoon with our church small group at a little party and didn't get any trick or treaters before or after.  I'm going to blame it on our long, dark driveway!

Well, since we last wrote, I (Ian) got baptized.  After attending our new church's introduction class, I felt like I was being called to take this step in my faith.  I've been thinking about it for a few years now, yet constantly told myself to 'wait for the right time'.  Well, I realized that this mythical 'right time' would likely never happen and I simply needed to be obedient to the God who has so freely granted me salvation!

Anyway, I also wanted to share the sermon that was delivered on that Sunday as I thought it was one of the most interesting gospel messages I've heard.  Our pastor is preaching out of Romans 3 right now and spent the sermon exploring the meaning of 'Redemption'.  I'll try to summarize it based on some notes I took.  First of all, the word 'Redemption' is actually composed of 3 Greek words: 'agorazo', 'exagorazo', and 'apolutro'.
- Agorazo: to purchase something at the open market.  Translation: Jesus made the ultimate purchase of sinners
- Exagorazo: to purchase something that will NEVER be put back on the open market.  Translation: He will NEVER allow us to return to the 'open market', we are His forever.
- Apolutro: purchase in which the item is specific and not returned, a term further specified to be for the purchase of slaves.  Translation: Christ purchased us from our slavery to sin, NEVER to return to our sinful, unrighteousness.
Bottomline: Christ was the ultimate payment for us sinful men and the payment was accepted!  We can each choose to 'drink our sinful wrath' or ask Christ to drink it for US and accept OUR redemption.

Recent work assignments have found me out on the Kenai Peninsula quite a bit.  We are in the middle of rebuilding a campground, I am working with field personnel to figure out what is wrong with our 3 wells in another campground, and have 2 projects that are in the preliminary stages out along the railroad.  The picture at left is near the new whistlestop we'll be building next summer.  It will provide unique public access to the backcountry of the Chugach National Forest.  At the head of the valley at left is one of the many glaciers accessible from the whistlestops!

The picture at right is overlooking Anchorage.  One day after work I drove up on the hill behind our house to capture the sunset.  The water body is the Cook Inlet with downtown Anchorage out on the point near the center of the picture.  Incredible beauty within this state, I just hope that I don't become numb to how blessed we are to live here!

Cara and I had plans to hike 7 miles into a cabin located on a high mountain lake out in the forest but the plans got scrapped when I had to work late and the weather was blustery.  We were able to reschedule and now look forward to a winter excursion to a different cabin we can access with our snowshoes.  Once that trip rolls around in December we'll be sure to post pictures and let you know how it goes.

Well, the contractor got started on our basement remodel a couple weeks ago and I'm making progress on the new laundry room.  Trip after trip to Home Depot really cuts into the progress but I'm having a good time with it.  Our goal is to get this first year's projects wrapped up before spring so we can enjoy the bountiful fish, game and adventures that await us in this vast frontier!

Finally, we have big news!  No Cara, isn't pregnant but we did adopt a new dog!  Meet Manny, our new 3 year old boxer.  He is a big softy who thinks he's a lap dog.  He has really warmed up to Cara but is still a bit hesitant about me.  I'm sure that doesn't surprise many of you.  I mean, I'm SO intimidating and all.  He follows Cara around the house and when I'm home alone with him he stares out the window anticipating Cara's return.  He has been very well behaved and is a lot of fun to be around.

Thank you to everyone for their kind birthday wishes today.  I can definitely feel the 'ageometer' rolling over to 27 though!  Oh, by the way, anyone who is looking for some last-minute spontaneous Thanksgiving plans should let us know, we would love to host company for an extra long weekend!

Who's ready for Fall?

Hey, this is Cara...finally figuring out how to contribute to the blog, after much prodding from Ian : ).  It has now abruptly turned to Fall, and despite the chilly temperatures it is beautiful here.  Something that I didn't realize is that the majority of trees surrounding Anchorage are deciduous, and the golden yellow leaves against the snow-capped mountains are spectacular!  Everywhere we look are majestic mountains.  It's strange to know that we are somehow surrounded by both water and mountains at the same time.  We are starting to settle into our new jobs, home, and community.  We recently found a church that has both the community environment as well as the preaching that we prefer, and have jumped in with two feet.  We have already met some great people, and I'm sure you will hear more and more about them as we get to know them more.  Last weekend we participated in a "new member" class and felt that we were being led to join Cornerstone.  Ian has also decided to get baptized next Sunday.  After waiting all these years for the "right time" he decided that time is now! 

Speaking of jumping in with both feet, Ian has completely demolished our entire basement, as well as the old "master bathroom".  Here are some pictures of our soon to be mother-in-law suite/apartment (top picture) and powder room/laundry room (bottom).  Ian seems to enjoy ripping down walls and drywall...now we'll see how much he likes to build them back up!  We've been having fun finding deals on materials and attempting to design rooms.  We have a contractor coming in to help out with the basement and hope to have it completed before we head home for Christmas.  We will post pictures showing our progress. 

Here are some other "Firsts" we have experienced so far: 1) Our first major earthquake, which we heard was around a 6...whatever that means.  Either way, it was NOT normal.  We were both at work, and our co-workers got a kick out of the fact that we were freaked out.  Since then, I have woken up twice either imagining, or possibly actually feeling earthquakes.   2 ) Our first experience with Anchorage fog.  This is strange stuff.  It'll be beautiful and sunny at our house, and while driving to town you will hit a defined wall of fog, making it dreary and wet downtown.  This fog is THICK and settles down on the town and doesn't burn off.  In fact, when it was here, it was here for a few days. 

3) Our first experience with bugs called "white sox".  These little buggers are worse then mosquitos, if you can imagine that.  They fly all around your head and face, then land on you and crawl all over, and if they bite, you certainly know it.  You get this quarter sized red mark that lingers for days.  I thought Ian had lyme disease before it was explained to me that we don't have ticks up here.  That fact doesn't make up for the sox.

4) Our first true neighboorhood moose sighting.  We have seen a ton of moose on our way to work, but this was the first time we had seen a moose in one of our immediate neighbor's yards.  This cow and calf pair let us get incredibly close.  We hear that they really come out in force around Halloween to gorge on pumpkins.  You better believe that we'll be carving some up and trying to lure them into our yard.  Keep posted, hopefully we'll have some good close ups later!

Although we are getting used to Anchorage and Alaska in general, we miss everyone very much.  If there has been one thing that I have learned so far, it is to truly appreciate being close to friends and family.  I have certainly felt the distance, and it makes me realize how much you all mean to me.  Please keep in touch and leave feedback on our blog.  It'll encourage me to contribute to it more!