Water Pipes, Sand Pits, and Blueberries

Another post so soon?! Well it's all part of my way of keeping busy out here. Here are some more spotlights on our time in Bethel.
In addition to having homes on stilts, all of the water and sewage is pumped above the ground. During the winter, each house has a water heater that the water circulates through and helps heat the entire utility system. The picture below is of the outdoor pipes that house foam insulation, water lines, and a sewer line.

Leo and I have discovered the sand pit a hundred yards away form our place. Rolling in the dirt, playing with trucks, and climbing "mountains" are ways we have been using this resource.

We also took the opportunity to work on our speling. :)

The far side of the sand pit opens out onto the tundra where we have discovered our favorite Bethel activity. Leo demonstrates in this picture. Recognize that fake smile?

Here are the fruits of about an hour of labor.

And then the final product: blueberry pancakes!

We are hoping for a double blueberry season. One in Bethel and one in Eagle River. We're keeping our fingers crossed anyway.

Oregon, Yurt, Bethel

Leo and I just got back from the Seattle and the Oregon coast, had a day at the yurt, and we are now in Bethel, Alaska visiting Nicki. Bethel is way out in Western Alaska, off the road system, and has a few thousand residents. We have been quite the traveling family and now all three of us are in the same place at the same time. Here are some photos of our travels.
Leo with a jellyfish he found while exploring tide pools.

Leo flying a kite by himself for the first time.

Leo all tuckered out on the train

We had a day back at the yurt before we went out to Bethel, so Leo took advantage of the garden while he could.

Alright, enough Leo cutesy stuff. We were delighted to see our wild flowers in bloom and many more veggies. I harvested as much as I could and then gave it away or packed it out to Bethel. Here is a photo of the garden.

In Bethel all of the building are up on stilts to keep them from breaking up as the ground shifts. We are in permafrost country so frost heaving is a big problem. Here is a picture of part of the elementary school.

Bethel is also the flattest place I've ever been in Alaska. You can look out on the tundra for miles. Here is a view from the road near the house we are staying in.

More tundra adventures to report later.

Smiles and Smoke

People visiting the yurt from outside Alaska is one of my favorite events. It gives people a window into our lives and a reference to the things that I blog about. Our friend Zeta is the latest to come out and stay awhile. She is on her way to Barrow where she will begin her sailing voyage through the northwest passage and ending in New York sometime in September. She is part of a program called Around the Americas. You can see what this adventure is all about by following this link http://www.aroundtheamericas.org/ And, once it is posted to, you can follow her blog at http://arcticzeta.blogspot.com/
Here we are standing on the deck of the yurt. (from left to right Zeta, Eve, Steve, Ben)

Notice that hazy appearance of the sky behind us? It isn't actually a cloudy day. It is smoke that is lingering in the valley originating from forest fires in the interior of Alaska and from down on the Kenai peninsula. Here are some photos of the yurt a few days ago and then today.



Although, we are a bit disappointed that Zeta can't see the mountains, the smoke is making for some cool photographic conditions. Here is the rising sun above Cumulus Mountain.

Guests, a New Perspective on the Yurt, Big Raddishes, and Time on the Water

As usual, we have had a very busy couple of weeks here at the yurt. Our good friend Todd (remember the tree house?) from Juneau, currently teaching in China, paid us a visit during his summer break. Here are the two bears protecting their den.

Todd and his sister Heidi came along on a hike to the top of Harp Mountain. I've wanted to get up this one for some time now and we finally made it. It is supposed to be a good back-country skiing spot and also offers a unique view of the yurt. Here we are looking at the mountain from the yurt. (Harp always seems to be beneath this huge black arrow!?)

And here is the yurt from the mountain. Click on the picture and you can see the yurt more clearly and directly in the center of the photo.

One month into planting we are pulling up some spectacular golf ball sized raddishes.

After the resident camp-out down on the Kenai peninsula we went floating down the Kenai river. We got to witness combat fisherman, see eagles, and enjoy a lot of sunshine.

We have been doing so much paddling that Leo is doing his own boating now. Here he is maneuvering his canoe on Eklutna Lake.

They grow up so fast, don't they?

Midnight Sun Mania

Steve and I just got back from a sunny, 11 mile hike up the valley to some waterfalls. I had my first run in with a bear this year and the first one ever on the trails. It's a good way to get your heart pumping. We saw it as we came around a bend in the trail and stopped about 30 feet short of it. It was a medium sized black bear and luckily it decided we were not something it wanted to mess with and moved quickly off the trail. Sorry no pictures. I got my bear spray out before my camera.
Since we are only a week away from solstice, it is daylight here for almost 24 hours. Here is a recent picture of the yurt at about 11:30 PM. The sun is still barely touching the mountain tops.

All this sun is creating some great growing conditions for our garden. Compare this picture to the one 2 posts ago that shows this same veggie box 10 days prior.

Nicki is currently out there right now thinning and harvesting our radishes.
Leo got to go on his first rafting trip a few days ago. We joined our friends Jenny and Eric on their inaugural trip of their "new to them" raft and floated down the Eagle River. The great thing about it? The put in is only a few miles from our house and we got to see a view of the Valley we had never seen before. Here is a picture of Nicki calmly rowing with the other occupants freaking out.

It has also been bird-palooza around the yurt. I was working inside when I heard 4 or 5 different angry bird calls going on at once. When I looked outside robins, magpies, and wood peckers were harassing this owl.

It had set up shop about 15 feet from the woodpecker's nest and the little birds were not happy.
I spent this past weekend at the Anchorage weekend market selling puzzles. Here is a picture of the tent I shared with my friend Sarah.

You can see my puzzles and the butterfly jewelry shat she sells. It is pretty cool stuff and is made out of real butterfly wings. Check it out at www.socialbutterflyjewelry.net. I sold 8 puzzles and only 2 of thse were to people I kow. I also did some trading with other venders and got Leo a new wooden trainset and Nicki some wooden jewelry boxes. Now that the market is over, I have begun my online selling. You can check it out at www.yurtmade.etsy.com.

Selling Puzzles

I'm going for it! This weekend I'll be huddled under a tent trying my best to sell puzzles to who ever might be interested. Let's hopes for lots of customers. This is s big experiment to see if this puzzle making is going to be viable or not. I'm hoping for it to be able to at least pay for itself but won't be too disappointed if I actually make some money. Here is a photo of a puzzle I did showing off the Eagle River Nature Center logo.

Anything I don't sell at the market is going to go on sale later this month on an online market place for handmade goods called Etsy.
Wish me luck!

Visitors, Hikes, and Veggies

Our good friends Steve and Eve have come up from Seattle to work at the nature center for the summer. We are super excited to have them around for so long and got them quickly integrated into yurt life by roasting marshmallows out back.

Leo once again over does it with the marshmallows. Everything in moderation buddy.

Eve, Ben, and Steve out on a hike. Hey! We lined up in spectrum order! (look at our shirts)

The family hiked up to the top of Mt Baldy (just outside Eagle River) after a recent snow. Yes! in May.

Two and a half weeks after planting our veggies, things are going strong. We have squash, radishes, onions, sugar peas, broccoli, lettuce, collard greens, and carrots all coming up already. Go 24 hours of light.

We are looking forward to a busy summer of visitors, traveling, and of course harvesting