Trying to Get Settled...

Date:  08/19/11

Weather:  60 Degrees & Rain

With our friends leaving last weekend, we have had the past week to ourselves.  We've spent almost all of that time trying to get our stuff moved over from the camper to the cabin.  Organization has been the big focus as it takes a little time and planning to get the items you once had in a 2200 sq ft home into you 900 sq ft cabin.  Luckily, with a little persistence and patience, we are starting to see a little light at the end of the tunnel.  If all goes well, maybe we will have everything moved over and in it's place in the next few days.

As weather would go, our time here has aloud us to experience some beautiful conditions with sunny skies and temps in the mid 60s.  Unfortunately, on Wednesday evening, the rain set in and it has been raining ever since.  The extended forecast doesn't look much better with showers possible each day for the next week.  We're hoping for a break in the clouds here and there so we can get back out to the river.

As I believe we had mentioned in the past, we plan to home school the boys this school year as we are unsure what the winter weather will hold and the fact that we may have to move due to job opportunities.   Today we met with Cameron and Colvin's academic advisors and both were very nice and very helpful.  The state of AK seems to be very supportive of home schooling as the state provides each child with a $1600 allotment to pay for their curriculum, books, materials, computers, supplies and even extra circular activities such as basketball, football, soccer and other PE related and Fine Arts related classes or events.  We decided on the curriculums today and ordered the needed materials which should be here in a week or two.  The boys even received new Dell Laptops today, compliments of the state of AK, to help with research and homework.  Both Robin and the boys are really excited to get things started!

After our meeting with the advisors, we stopped by the Rec. Center and signed Cole up for Basketball for this winter.  He may also take some gymnastics classes which will start in a couple of weeks.  As for Cam, he hasn't decided exactly what extra-curricular activities he wants to participate in yet, but he has lots of options.

Until next time... God Bless & Safe Travels!

The Moores

Another Trip to the Kenai River!

Date: 08/11/11

Day: 22

Weather: 70 degrees & Sunny

This morning we arose around 10:00am and had a late breakfast.  Once that was finished we sat around for a little while trying to wake-up and decide what all we were going to do.  We finally decided to run a few errands in town and then head back to the river to see if we could find a few more fish.  After a few stops at the tackle shops and a couple hours of shopping we finally arrived at the river around 1:30pm.   Once again we all put on our waders, collected our fishing gear and headed off down the trail.  Just a few yards down the trail we passed a lady who had been fishing and her do.  We talked for a minute and she warned us of a bear print she and some of the other fishermen had seen a little further down the path.  We continued walking a few minutes when I hear Robin scream, "There's a bear" as she continued to walk down the path very quickly.  I too continued walking and could see a dark something in the bushes several yards from us.  After further inspection, we saw that it was not a bear but a moose instead that was eating the grasses along the trail.

Once we made it to the river, Mr. Gilbert and I began re-rigging some of the fishing rods.  Once this was complete everyone began fishing,  The first hour was slow with Mr. Gilbert catching only a small trout.  In a few minutes though, we heard Ms. Gilbert shout, "Fish On" and the fight began!  She was using a fly rod so there was a little more finesse to landing this fish but within a couple of minutes the Red Salmon was on the bank and everyone was excited and laughing.  A few minutes went by when I picked up a rod and cast.. and just like that I was hooked up on another fish.  I faught it for a few minutes as I didn't want the fish to win again today but unfortunately as luck would have it, the fish did win as it broke me off right up close to the bank.  I quickly retied and 3 casts later I was hooked-up on another fish which I was able to land.  Unfortunately this time it was a 16" Rainbow Trout and not one of the monster salmon.  We continued fishing the rest of the evening and Ms. Gilbert was able to hook up on one more but it too won the battle as it came off within just a few feet of the bank.  We finally decided to call it day and walked back to the truck where we took off our fishing gear and loaded everything up.

Once again it was great day here in AK!  The sun was shinning, we were fishing and we caught a couple… all while watching large bald eagles flying around in front of us.  Below are the links to the pics of the day.  We hope you enjoy!

Pics:

http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g414/faithtothe49th/Kenai%20River%20August%2011%202011/

God Bless & Safe Travels!

The Moores

Our First Fishing Trip to the Kenai River….

Day: 21

Date: 08/10/11

Weather: 65 degrees & Sunny

After not being able to get to the water for the first couple of days, we finally headed out around 8:30am this morning.  Robin, Cameron, Cole and I arrived at the parking area and proceeded to get our waders and boots on and gather up our gear.  After we all got dressed, we headed on a 1 mile walk down to the river.  The boys had their "bear cans" which I had made the night before to help keep the bears away, which they shook to make noise as we all walked down the trail.  We arrived at the river and to our surprise, were the only ones there.  I rigged up our rods and got everyone ready to begin.  We hit the water and started fishing the current.  This was something new I had never done and so it took a while to figure it out.  We fished for an hour or so with no luck until I heard Cole scream, "I've got a fish!".  Sure enough, I looked back up the river and Cole had landed an 8" trout all by himself.  Unfortunately, he dropped it back in the water "so it could live" and it flopped off and back into the river before we could snap a picture.  We fished a while longer when our friends the Gilberts showed up to fish with us.  We fished together for a few minutes and then decided to walk back out to the truck to have lunch.  While we were there eating, a Park Ranger pulled up, said hello and headed toward the river.  In a couple of minutes we headed back to the river where we found Mr. Gilbert chatting with the ranger and Ms. Gilbert showing off the big Red Salmon she had just landed.  We began fishing once again and with a few minutes I hooked up on my first fish of the day.  As most fish tales go, this was a monster of a fish which I fought with for several minutes until finally my line snapped.  Needless to say I was a little disheartened, but thats why they call it fishing and not catching.  I re-rigged the rod and reel and went back to fishing for a few.  After that I gave the rod to Robin and she began fishing.  After several casts she commented that "I can't tell the difference between a rock and a fish" and then literally within 2 seconds she started screaming, "I've got a fish, I've got a fish"!  Sure enough, she she did have a big fish on and ended up landing a nice Silver Salmon, her first Alaskan fish.  Needless to say she was a little excited and of course many photos were taken.  We continued fishing for a while but unfortunately those were the only two fish landed for the day.  We hiked back to the truck and stopped out of our fishing gear before heading home.  Once we were there we cleaned up everything and put it away.  Once this was done, the ladies started preparing supper and Mr. Gilbert and myself filleted the fish from the day.  He filleted the first one and I attempted to filet the second one.  This was my first attempt at filleting an Alaskan Salmon and it turned out better than I expected.  After they were filleted, we cleaned up and then fired up the grill to cook the catches of the day.  Of course, supper was awesome… mashed potatoes, corn, fresh grilled salmon and rolls!  

We are so blessed… It was a great day to be in AK today!  My first trip to the Kenai River was a memorable one as I lost a very large fish and my wife was able to catch a very large fish.  It was good to see her and the boys get into it and I hope that excitement and enthusiasm continues. We took lots of pics and vides which you can see by clicking on the links below.

Pics:

http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g414/faithtothe49th/Kenai%20River%20August%2010%202011/

Videos:

God Bless & Safe Travels!

The Moores

Gearing Up!

Day: 20

Date: 08/09/11

Weather: 65 degrees & Sunny

This morning we got up around 8:00am an continued working on things around the house.  Once the sun got up, we decided we would go into town for a few things and then maybe try to do some fishing that evening.  We had waders for everyone but Cole, so we decided to stop and a locate fishing store in town.  While we were there I found a nice Fly rod and reel which I purchased along with with several other salmon lures.  Unfortunately, they did not have waders to fit Cole here so we continued on to Fred Myers (AK version of Kroger with clothing and electronics).  We were able to find a set of waders but were having a hard time finding a set of boots.  We stopped by there discount shoes to see if we can find a cheap pair of shoes he could use instead of boots.  While we were there we began talking to another lady who wanted to know what we were looking for.  Once we explained to here that we were trying to find a pair of shoes for waders, she asked what size we needed and then told us that she thought she had waders we would need for Cole.  We exchanged information, chatted a little longer and went on our way.  In an hour or so, she called Robin and let her know that she did have a pair of waders and that we could come over and take a look.  

We loaded up in the truck and headed that way.  When we arrived she showed us around there property which was right on the Kenai River.  Her family and 5 other families had gone in together and bought 18 acres there on the river where each family built a cabin.  After that she showed us the waders and a ton of other stuff she had found for us.  We looked at everything and decided we would take it. We ended up with 3 pairs of kids chest waders, an adult pair of hip waders, 5 kids jackets, 2 adult jackets, a kids rain suit, a kids life jacket and a whole bag full of fresh salmon from the Kenai river.  We continued to talk for a while as she was very nice and we enjoyed chatting with her.  She told us about a public access site there close to her home where we could take the boys fishing.  She also told us about a possible job opportunity and she suggested a church in town that we should check out.  After our visit we headed back to the cabin as by now it was too late to hit the water.  The kids were a little disappointed as they were looking forward to fishing but we promised them we would take them the next day.  On our way back we saw a young mail moose just of the road from the cabin.  We stopped and let the kids look and we took a few pictures.  When we got back to the cabin we began working on supper with the Gilberts.  We ended up with fresh grilled steaks on the grill, baked potatoes, macaroni & cheese and rolls which made for a great supper!

After supper Jimmy and I spent several hours preparing the fishing rods and getting things together and ready for the big fishing day the next day.  We finally finished up around 1:30.  So here I sit, waiting to get up in the morning and head out on the water in search of our very first Salmon on our very first fishing adventure in AK!  Hopefully it will be a good trip!  Below are a few pics of the moose.

Pics:

http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g414/faithtothe49th/Soldotna%20%20August%209%202011/

God Bless & Safe Travels!

The Moores

Getting Settled…

Date: 08/09/11
Day: 19
Weather: 65 and Cloudy

Well today we slept in to recover from our "Across AK" whirlwind tour.  We awoke around 11:30am and began working around the camper and the cabin.  We spent most of our time getting stuff out of the camper that we needed in the cabin and working on fixing little things on the camper.  We also got out and saw little bit of town and opened our PO Box here in town so we could begin receiving mail. While we were there we started speaking with an older lady that came in and found out that she had went to college at Maryville Collect, Played int he Knoxville Symphony and taught at Oak Ridge Hight School 10-15 years ago.  She moved up about 12 years ago and has lived here ever since.  She welcomed us to the AK and said she though we would love it there.  Outside of that, it we a slow day as we were just trying to recuperate.

God Bless & Safe Travels.

The Moores

Praise the Lord… We Have Finally Arrived!

Day #18

Date: 08/07/11

Traveled: Glennallen, AK - SOLDOTNA, AK

Interstates: 

Miles Driven: 300

Hours on Road: 6.5

Weather: Rain early changing to partly cloudy (60 degrees)

Well today we awoke at 6:15am tired but ready and willing to spend as much time as needed to make it our final destination, SOLDOTNA, AK!  An hour into our trip, we stopped at the Eureka Lodge & Restaurant to have breakfast.  Once again, this was a place that had a spectacular view of the snow covered mountains.  We enjoyed breakfast and then continued on our way, winding once again through large mountains where we saw a couple of different glaciers, numerous lakes, rivers and several other incredible sites.  

After a couple of hours of winding through the mountains along flowing rivers, we arrived in Palmer, where it was raining.  Within another hour we had made it to Anchorage, where we were able to drive along the bay for about 3-45 minutes, stopping to take pictures and shoot videos, before the road headed back into the mountains as we continued on toward Soldota.  

On our way we crossed several lakes and rivers, including the Russian and Kenai rivers and within 3 hours or so, we had arrived in Soldotna.  As we were coming through town, I received a text from our friends, the Gilberts, whose cabin we will be staying in for a while and whose camper we pulled and used on our trip.  It said, "slow down, you just passed us".  I pulled over at a gas station to fill-up and they caught up to us there.  There was a lot of emotion in the next few minutes as everything finally became very real for all of us… excited, tired, happy, blessed and truly unbelievable are a few thoughts, emotions and or feelings that could help describe how we felt, as we chatted in the parking lot.  From there we headed out for the cabin.  We worked for about 30-45 minutes until we were finally able to get the camper up the driveway and parked where it needed to be. 

And so, there we were, tired and exhausted but running off of pure adrenaline from the realization that we had finally made it!  A journey that had started out in our hearts and our heads almost 2 years prior… a journey that some thought was foolish or possibly even selfish… a journey, that in all honestly, at times we thought would never happen, had finally come to fruition after a 5000+ mile drive across 2 countries covering 13 states & provinces with our family, a truck, a camper and everything we owned.   

Pics:

http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g414/faithtothe49th/Traveling%20from%20Glennallen%20AK%20to%20SOLDOTNA%20AK/

Videos:

God Bless & Safe Travels!

The Moores

The Day that Would Never End…

Day #17

Date: 08/06/11

Traveled: Whitehorse, YT - Glennallen, AK

Interstates: 

Miles Driven: 600

Hours on Road: 16

Weather: Rain early with clearing skies later in the evening (65 degrees)

This morning we awoke early to leave Whitehorse and to try and make it across the border to Tok, AK.  We knew it was going to be a long day but the scenery more than made up for it.  Again, more and more spectacular mountain views.  Once we reached Destruction Bay, we saw quiet possibly the most beautiful lake that any of us have ever seen.  This lake was called Klaune Lake, which was over 121 nautical miles long and set at the base of 2 mountain ranges, one on each side.  With the rain clearing, the raining clouds sat low on the mountain tops making for some wonderful views and photo opportunities.  We stopped in at a lodge/restaurant there in Destruction Bay to have lunch and to was able to enjoy a nice view of the lake while we ate.  Once we finished lunch, we headed out on the last 150 miles or so of the remaining section of Alaskan Highway in Canada.  This particular section of road was extremely rough… so rough that we literally had to drive 25-40 mph the entire way.  After a couple of hours bouncing all over the highway, we finally made it to the  Beaver Creek, the last town in Canada before crossing the border.  We stopped here to fuel up and the let everyone get their 10th stamp in our Yukon Gold Rush books and submit our entries to win 2 ounces of gold.  

Once this was finished, we headed out for the border, which we reached in about 20 minutes.  Prior to the border was the "Welcome to Alaska" sign and the Yukon / Alaska border marker.  As you would imagine, we stopped here to take pictures as we were all extremely excited to finally be in the state we had longed to be in for the past 2 years.  There was a ton of joy and excitement as we had finally arrived.  We took numerous pictures and took a few moments to reflect and enjoy the blessing.  I was also able to stand with one foot in Canada and the other in the USA and take a picture of the marker showing the line that divided the two.  This was a pretty neat feeling.  After our stop at the sign we proceeded on a few hundred feet to the border patrol.  We approached the same as we did before and supplied the officer with our info.  He asked several questions of me and a few to the kids.  After a few minutes, we were on our way.

After crossing the border (big sigh of relief) we continued on a much nicer paved road to the top of another mountain, where we stopped at the Tetlin Visitor Center.  This was a nice large log building with a grass roof.  No kidding, the roof was made of growing grass which was mowed as needed.  From the back of the center, was an amazing view of the bogs below and the large mountain range across the way.  After a few pictures we continued on, again with more wonderful views.  Within another hour and a half to two hours we finally arrived at Tok, AK where we stopped to fill up with gas and get a bite of supper.  During supper we discussed what we should do and decided we would just continue on toward Glennallen until it got too dark or I became too tired.   Along the way we saw several moose along the sides of the road and again had some incredible mountain views.  Snow covered peaks, with low lying clouds and lakes that lined the forrest floors below them.  I continued on the Glenn Highway past dark and came to a road construction sign that indicated road work ahead for the next 25 miles.  Once again, I was reduced driving 25-35 mph for the next hour as the bumps, dips, cracks & ruts were absolutely terrible!   I continued on until finally around midnight, we made it to Glennallen, AK.  I stopped at the Alaskan Hub, a gas station / mini-mart at the intersection which lead on to Anchoargae and Soldotna.  I fueled up with the intentions of continuing on but after talking to the cashier and another customer who had just came from the direction we were heading, I decided it might be time to rest.  I asked the cashier if we could park for a while in their parking lot and he agreed.  I dropped the legs not he camper,  extended the slides and everyone made their way inside where we have all crashed after spending 16 hours on the road and covering just over 600 miles.  Tomorrow we hope to rise early once again and make it to our final destination, Soldotna, AK!  Below are the links to our pictures and videos, we hope you enjoy!

Pics:

http://s1100.photobucket.com/albums/g414/faithtothe49th/Traveling%20from%20Whitehorse%20YU%20to%20Glennallen%20AK%20USA/

Videos:

God Bless and Safe Travels!

The Moores