THE SUN WAS OUT

I guess we better post something so everyone doesn't think we're having sooo much fun we don't have time anymore!!! The sun had finally come out so we've been able to finish the deck upgrade project. Just a few adjustments and touch up painting and it'll be done. Maybe summer has finally come to Alaska!! It's been in the mid 70's for three days after a week of cold and rain then a couple rainy days then more sun. We are now able to complete a lot of the outside projects we've been putting off.
I've finally figured out how to post a slide show of our photos so now you'll be able to view our Alaska Photo Album since the start of our trip here back on April 15, 2009. It will take us a few days to get them all uploaded to the Web and captioned so check back often to see our progress. Judy has put out some bird feeders to attract some of the local birds and has been quite successful. We have one in a tree outside our side window and one on suction cups on the back window. So far we have what appears to be a whole army of "Pine Siskins" and chickadees fighting over space at the feeders. We also have a couple of what we think are Magpies, one of whom we've named "Crooked Beak" because he has a deformed beak that caused him problems eating. I'd post of picture of him but can't seem to upload pictures today. I've had lots of problems with the blog lately so I think either Firefox or Blogger has some kind of issue going.
We have also been following the Raven's who have built a nest in a tall spruce tree next to the trailer with some new chicks that appear to be about ready to try their wings. We are not sure how many chicks are in the nest because their just getting big enough to see but they sure are NOISY and have kept Mom busy feeding them.
Friday afternoon we didn't have anything to do so we decided to hike one of the trails close by here. Alaskan's are really "Outdoor Minded" and there are many, many trails maintained by the state for public use. The one we chose was "Carter Lake Trail" described in a trail listing as "Moderate difficulty", 3.3 miles long with a 900 ft elevation rise in the first 1.5 miles - very steep uphill climb. Well, by the time we got to the top of the rise, I felt like I'd been on the tread mill for my heart test ten times. Then we still had almost 2 miles of semi rough trail before we reached the lake. We met one other couple from NC who had flown to Anchorage and rented a Motorhome to tour Alaska. They sure wern't breathing as hard as I was!! It took us about 2 hours to get to Carter Lake - - Then we had to COME BACK DOWN!! It took about another 2 hours to get back down and by then my knees we're ready to give out. But I guess it was worth it. The scenery and the mountains were beautiful. I'll probably try another one somewhere again just hope it's a little flatter. Reg would be proud of us and he'd love hiking here.