Bears in Denali

Though I rafted the Nenana River a few years ago, I just had my first real visit to Denali National Park! This particular visit was a course entitled "Bears in Denali" with the instructor being Pat Owen. There were about 12 participants total, spending 3 days and 2 nights learning about grizzly bears and bear safety, in general. We were very lucky in that we saw 3 grizzly bears total... and, I spotted the one we saw out in the field! It was pretty darn neat! My dad absolutely loved bears and used to play this grizzly bear game with me and my sisters when we were at parks during our early years. I like to think he sent this one just for me :) There are a few pics here, but my camera died after the first day so I might upload more later. Thank you, Alaska, for a beautiful and special summer!

Murie Science and Learning Center (sponsor of the "Bears in Denali" course)

My welcome to DNP!.. No idea whose vehicle this is :)

Camp

Where we ate meals and had lectures

My bunk

Our transportation

This coyote had himself a little snack...

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous... God's beauty is BEYOND gorgeous...

Ready for our first hike

Fireweed tat... you are calling my name...!

Sheila!

Some of the other participants

Denali... yay!!!

Berry picking... they sure were plentiful!

Forget Me Not (Alaska state flower)

This picture doesn't do the view justice.

Staying dry :)

Craig, AK... a Visit with the Grandma

Wow. As I wrote in May, this summer was to be an Alaskan summer... and, I am happy to say, that it is has been! I have just returned from Southeast, Alaska... Prince of Wales Island, to be exact. What an incredibly beautiful place! I have been to Juneau (our state's capitol) twice, just in the past couple of years, but this was my first time to Prince of Wales (aka POW, which consists of Coffman Cove, Craig, Hollis, Hydaburg, Kasaan, Klawock, Naukati Bay, Point Baker, Port Protection, Port St. Nicholas, Thorne Bay, Waterfall, and Whale Pass).

Rosey and I on the ferry to Ketchikan from the airport!

Alaska's first city... Ketchikan! We got lucky and had nothing but sunshine there!

You can't see here, but we saw humpback whales on our ferry ride to Prince of Wales Island!

Great Grandpa Nelson (1/2 Haida, 1/2 Swedish) is the fifth guy from the left, second guy from the right. This photo was on a wall at Ruth Ann's bar.

The Hughes family! I used to work with them in Chevak and their daughter was in my first group there :)

One of Dorothy Nayamin's dolls from Chevak sitting next to a SE piece that my grandma is making me!

On the Totem Trail in Kasaan. Beautiful!

I had to have seen at least 4 or 5 deer over my stay on POW.

An untouched, traditional Longhouse!

They are much larger than today's replicas!

Kasaan with grandma

As I have written before, my dad was part Haida. He was born in Wrangell, but spent some of his years in Craig. My dad's mom is not Haida, but lived in Craig from the time she was 5 until she was 16, as her dad was a logger. I don't have all the exacts, as I am just learning more and more... but, basically, my dad had lived in Craig with my grandma at some point in his youth and really enjoyed it. After my dad passed away (2005), my grandma decided to move back to Craig (2008) where she has many friends and family and the beauty is beyond majestic.

In the Cup'ik community where I teach, we are always teaching the children to honor and respect their elders, to learn their cultural roots, etc. Grandma is now 71 and I had a strong desire to visit her in SE, AK this summer. It almost didn't happen, but I am sooo thankful it did. I was also blessed to be able to visit a family in Kasaan that I used to work with (and I was also their daughter's teacher) in Chevak my first year! To top all of that off, there was a girl on my flight-- the "milk run" (ANC-JUN-SIT-KET)-- whom I met in Chevak a couple of years ago! As awesome as fate is, Rosey was heading to Craig for work!

Just a skeleton one of the kiddos found me on the beach in Kasaan :)

Totem Pole

Great Grandpa Nelson's grave. Xuuts Digwiyaas. Jan. 6, 1912- Sept. 19, 1996

As one of the kiddos said, it's a bit like the Jurassic Park setting on this island :)

View near my grandma's apartment

Ketchikan... Creek Street area

Playing dress-up at Dolly's House! Fun, fun, fun!

Ah, the history!

Needless to say, I believe this trip was meant to be, had to be, and I am beyond thankful that it happened. On so many different levels, the stars were aligned. I now know way more about my Haida/Nelson heritage on my dad's side (even visited my great grandpa Nelson's grave), I got to see the beautiful little town that my grandma and dad love so much, I got to visit with former colleagues and a former student whom I adore, and I got to know a really cool gal. This trip will always be treasured dearly. Thank you, Southeast, for the hospitality! You'll never know just how much it meant <3

*Fun note, Holly Madison lived in Craig from ages 2-11 :) On one of the Girls Next Door episodes, her and the other two girls made a visit! Hope you have enjoyed my journey to SE!

Summer 2011 Photo Shoot

Recently I was able to reconnect with a friend and photographer, Melissa Shelby. We took a little hike near Flat Top and some fun was had! Check out the fabulous photos on her website and, hopefully, I will get some on here in the near future ;) Thanks, Melissa!

Melissa Shelby Photography: Nelson Shoot June 2011

Recommendations

Summer offers many fun R&R activities and I have come across a book and a movie that I would recommend to my friends for some inspiration and positive juju.

I shall admit... I am a Real Housewives fan :) If you have watched the New York show, Bethenny Getting Married?, or Bethenny Ever After... then you are quite familiar with Bethenny Frankel. Her New York Bestseller A Place of Yes is a fantastic read. It is full of so much of what I believe and her personality shines right through the whole book. Bethenny offers 10 tips for success and good living, in general. Pick it up at a store near you ;)

The movie that I am so thankful I watched is Soul Surfer. I don't know that I would have had any desire to see it except that it was taking place in Hawaii and I have been missing the sun and my typical foreign summer travels so that is how I decided on it. Well, I watched the trailer first and knew right away that this would be a movie of inspiration. That it was.

Take time to do good in this world. Set the world on fire.

"Take my dreams, come and give them wings. Lord, with you... there is nothing I cannot do."

Set The World On Fire - Britt Nicole

Summer Solstice... Truly A Long Day! :D

Love these girls... the sun even came out for us!

Best friends since the 5th grade!

Thankful I got to spend it with my bestie and her lil' sis!

Here's a special shout out to my blog readers in Iran, Ukraine, Malaysia, Canada, Costa Rica, Russia, Brazil, Honduras, Australia, and the U S of A, of course... thank you and pura vida!

Deep Creek Clam Digging

Mt. Redoubt... the peninsula is SOOO picturesque!

We saw the sun go down, the moon come up, and the sun rise again :)

Part of the crew... fun company leads to fun times!

That would be a really tall man exiting a tent via a really small doggy door!

The train begins

Camp

The home of Rapunzel :) I sure love lighthouses!

Woohoo! Another camping trip was had! This time we went to Deep Creek, another spot on the Peninsula. Though the drive can seem long, it is full of SUCH beauty. If you are lucky you will see some wildlife along the way... if you are not so lucky, you might hit some construction. Regardless, it is a beautiful drive and if you love nature... this is the place to be at least once over your Alaskan summer! I am at my absolute happiest when in nature. My greatest recommendation-- be with people you enjoy. A friend of mine posted a quote today, "Surround yourself with love and support." Amen! That has been a philosophy that I have been embracing in recent times. Be around people who are willing to walk the walk with you-- who are willing to see you through your journey. People who make you laugh, sometimes make you cry healing tears, and most importantly, love you despite your imperfections. When we do things we enjoy with people we enjoy, the heart is filled with happiness. Thanks for a pretty awesome camping trip, friends! PS I didn't catch a single clam! :P

After camping, one of the girls wrote a note entitled "What I Learned While Camping This Weekend" ... here are a few that I really enjoyed:

In no particular order, other than which the come to mind, these are a few things I learned while camping this weekend:
1. You can go more than five years without seeing a good friend & then when you do, all it takes is an excited hug to catch up for those years!
4. It is perfectly normal for women to sit around a campfire and cry about moments they've had, shared or lived through & within 10 minutes be making each other laugh so hard you choke, pee your pants or shoot a beverage out your nose. (this is how we bond)
5. Some things burn way more than others when they come out of your nose.
7. No matter what girls can gross out the boys. We just save it for the right time.
8. Campfire is the best smell ever, even when you have to use  A LOT of lighter fluid and a whole box of matches to get it going!
11. You ladies all owe me a trip to Lowes paint department, we have some paint mixing to do....."soft pink, spring coral or melon mauve?"
12. A lot of people can fit on a three wheeler!
13. Meeting new people is so much more fun when you haven't showered and are covered in mud!!!
14. If there is a friend that has made a difference in your life, tell her, let her know she inspires you.
15. Drop it like it's hot!
16. You can get sunburned in the rain.
17. Tents turn into tumble weeds when not staked down!