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! 

Welcome Home

Well, we have no other excuse for not posting sooner but for the fact that we've been getting settled into our new Anchorage home!  We're pretty excited about this new opportunity and the beautiful wooded location.  They say once we clear out some of these trees, or at least branches, we can see Mt. McKinley.  Definitely looking forward to that!

Within our first week in the new house we hosted our first official guests: friends Sarah and Troy Anderson who made the trek from Iowa.  We had a great time with them watching the Belugas only 50 yards away, showing them the plentiful moose in Anchorage's parks, viewing spawning salmon, exploring glaciers, and just enjoying the beautiful weather!  Troy took some great Beluga pics and once he sends them I'll be sure to post some.  Oh, and I should mention that Troy was my 'salmon guide guinea pig'. 



My lovely wife braving the wind at Exit Glacier, Seward.


The first person I've salmon fished with where I was the resident expert.  Fortunately the fishing gods shined upon us as he limited on Silvers in the first afternoon we were on the water.



It wasn't long after Troy and Sarah left that I dove into demolition mode on the basement.  We're working towards a day when we can share half of the basement with some tenants.  The new house is MUCH bigger than two simpletons like us need!  Actually, if even half of you who claim they will visit us do we may need that extra space........hmmmmm.  In addition to demo and consulting with contractors, we've also been seeking out bargains on appliances and materials through..............yup, you guessed it, Craigslist!  As if demo isn't fun enough, we really enjoy scoring some great deals on quality items.

Bear hunting in the mountains of "my office". Sheep were
all over the peak on the left.

Last weekend while Cara was working, I snuck out of Anchorage to help a friend with his bear hunt.  We backpacked up into the mountains of the Chugach NF, stalked 2 bears, saw dozens of Dall sheep, spent time in the beautiful backcountry sunshine but came home with nothing more than sore bodies and priceless 'Alaska Bush Lessons'.  Lesson 1: Objects on hill are further than they appear.  Lesson 2: Don't be deceived by broad, seemingly passable valleys; you will surely be disappointed and impeded by alder-choked terrain or broad gushing streams.  Lesson 3:  Try to stick to the established trail whenever possible!

As we work to get settled, we're also yearning to establish our new social network here.  Our work environments have not resulted in meeting folks close to our age so we're really praying to find a good church community we can plug in to.  The church hunt has been a bit frustrating, due in part to the high bar that was set by our Spokane church (thanks CTR!).  This weekend we'll try church #4 and are optimistic that it will fit our needs and be a place we can grow and fellowship.

A majestic alpine stream, just below treeline
and draining a large tundra valley.

Finally, thank you to those who have left comments.  Leaving comments lets me know that people are reading the posts and help encourage me to keep regular updates coming! 

Congrats to Blair and LaShawna on the birth of their son, Branson!  Great job at the fair Trent, glad to hear you did so well with your showing, judging and tractor driving, atta boy!  Congrats to all our newlywed friends and family: Scott & Calli, Luke and Jenn, Mark and Lindy.  We were sad to miss your big days but are excited to see your marriages blossom into loving, lasting relationships. 

Step into my Office

The Russian River, world reknowned for its annual run of
sockeye salmon. A flycaster's paradise!

Okay, so here are a couple of pictures from the Chugach National Forest. I must admit I'm a bit sheepish about posting them as very few are so lucky to experience such a beautiful place, let alone work in one! I spent a day out inspecting foot bridges and boardwalks at the Russian River campground so work was actually accomplished. :) 

On another note, things came through with the house! I owe Cara for all the time and effort she put forth to pull this off with all the road blocks that were thrown our way this week. I was gone for work 2 days while she got to handle the last minute requests from the lenders, "thanks babe!".

Russian Falls overlook.

Despite being in a much better position this round, the lending industry is MUCH more difficult to work with now than they were 2 years ago. The movers got all our things unloaded today and we enjoyed an evening hanging out with our college friend and my fraternity brother, Kyle Kendall, who is up here working as a tour director. Upon final inspection of the house, we found that the sellers were more than generous to us as they chose to leave great possessions for our enjoyment. Lets just say the items left included multiple pieces of good furniture, an air compressor, 2 bows, dozens of arrows, 1000s of ammunition rounds, a new Ruger 30-06 rifle (can you believe it? I still can't!) and a giant stuffed marlin! I kid you not, there is a huge marlin in our garage, pics will definitely follow. Anyway, we've had a lot of fun sifting through and appreciating the things they left us. After meeting the couple it was evident that they were in our shoes 40 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed their time in Alaska. Apparently they wanted to leave us a nice house warming gift as they moved to Boise to escape the winters. Tomorrow we plan to continue our 'church shopping' by visiting all 3 churches we're considering in a morning church marathon, hoping it will be made evident where we belong. It will be nice to finally plug in to a community here and meet other young couples with similar interests. Today was Calli (cousin) & Scott's wedding in Priest River, "Congrats you two!". We're having a hard time accepting the fact that we will inevitably miss special events like this but are hopeful that our time availability will improve as we progress further in our jobs here.

Temporarily Settled...

Cara and I had a great drive up from Washington at the end of July.  We were treated to the awesome wonder of creation as we traversed the mountains of the Canadian Rockies on our way to the splendor of Alaska!  We didn't waste any time and were fishing our first weekend here.  As you can see, Cara tamed the Reds on the Kenai River.  Shortly thereafter we both geared up to get back to working full-time.  This was a tough transition after having all of June and July off to explore Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons along with visiting good friends in the Mid-West.  I'm sure everyone feels sorry for us right?!  Here goes a BIG thank you to all our great friends far and wide who hosted us at some point during our homeless, vagabond tour.  What a great summer we've had, truly blessed!

Anyway, we're definitely staying busy as work starts up and we get ready to transition into our new home.  We owe Freddie's a big thanks for the furnished condo but enough is enough, we need our own space!   Cara is enjoying her new pharmacy and from what I've heard (my co-worker has a good friend who works with Cara) she "seems nice".  Since starting with the Forest Service I have been absolutely spoiled with incredible opportunities to be in the field.  Working next to Portage Glacier, inspecting construction of the Iditarod trail, taking the train into the backcountry for the day, AND flying to Cordova for the day are all tasks I've been given in just my first 3 weeks!  I must constantly pinch myself saying "self, this is your job now, quit acting like a giddy little school girl and get used to working in the shadow of glaciers on a regular basis".  Needless to say, I'm very excited about the cool things I've gotten to see through work.  I'll be sure to post pictures of my "office" on a later post.  Meanwhile, this week we should be closing on our new house, pray that all goes smoothly!