The question is not what you look at, but what you see

Henry David Thoreau

Summertime in Alaska is always greatly anticipated. Warmth, green, life abounding. It is a treat to watch the season progression. Seems whenever someone asks me what is my favorite season, somehow it always seems to be the season we are currently in. I love the changes and advancement, although I might take an exception to springtime. It drags on and is often muddy and dirty, as the snow melts and the misled garbage and dirt from the winter makes its appearance. This past year was weird as we had very little snow, and when it melted the leaves and green were yet weeks away. We got an extra month of brown. But now we are in full summer. Someone once told me Alaska in the summertime is just various shades of green everywhere.

Years ago I had worked In Barrow, now Utqiagvik, at 71 degrees north. I returned to Fairbanks the first of June and had been in snow, ice, since October. I remember flying in and my eyeballs hurt from suddenly seeing green, and the smell. Oh the smell was incredible.

But now summer is in full swing, and there is an extra energy about. Hence the boat tour in Southeast Alaska, and trails opening up. And people begin coming out more. I am surprised every year by how much more activity there is in the summer. More people, more cars on the road, and of course what would Alaska be without visitors.

Jeanne’s family has not been here to visit in 25 years and it was time. This past week we have been hosting their visit. Jeanne’s sister, brother-in-law, niece, husband, 5 year old son, nephew, and Jeanne and I. Of course we want to show off our home, and I think we have been doing a fair job of doing that. Glen Alps hiking, Eklutna Lake viewing, the Amoosement Park in Palmer, Thunderbird Falls hike, Musk Ox farm, glacier and wildlife boat tour out of Whittier, Kincaid Park, and now in Seward.

Yesterday Jeanne and I dropped the family at the Anchorage train station at 6 am where they proceeded on the 5 hour trip via Grandview to Seward. Jeanne and I drove in the absolutely pouring rain arriving a few hours after they did. (We had some business to do, delaying our departure). A visit to the Sealife Center, where the aquarium is I feel a great experience for viewing wildlife, not exactly in the wild but one can see the puffins, guillemots, and murres swimming underwater, and the harbor seals, and sealions. I confess my favorite was the aquarium of seemingly empty sea water, but when you put a magnifying lens to it, the zooplankton were swimming about. Plus the intertidal touch ponds, and lots of information. Not like the real thing but certainly easier than reality to access.

Today we will walk the beach a bit, depending on rain, then we will go to Exit glacier, for annual check of how far back the glacier has receded. Amazing to think of the glacier face on the river plain and one could touch it (safely). Now it has melted back miles and lost hundreds of feet of depth. Amazing to see. We always tell people if you want to see glaciers do it now, because they won’t be here in the not so distant future. Absolutely amazing phenomenon, although I find most things in nature phenomenal.

It is a treat to show off our home. It falls into the category of it may not be perfect, but for me, this is a pretty amazing place to live.