Saturday we got up leisurely and went to Thunderbird Falls. Eklutna river and lake run through the area. The hike to the viewing platform was close to a mile. I have been amazed by water falls since mother and daddy took us on a trip and we saw Ruby Falls in Chattanooga,TN.
There are tress like the one below that have white bark and then will have a strip of this dark bark. Very interesting. I need to find out what kind of trees these are.
Along the trail Sarah would take pictures of flowers and plant life. She is a great photographer.
A view of Eklutna River. It was a long way down.
When we turned the corner and saw the falls, I gasped! It was amazing.
This is the bridge to the viewing platform. The excitement was about to begin.
We decided to venture down to the river and get a better view of the falls. I can't stress enough how exciting this was. It was in the top 3 most exciting things I have ever done. Pictured below are 2 guys that went a little further than we were willing to go. One of the guys ended up being a rescuer for a guy that had a toddler in a backpack (WITH A TRIPOD) and was sliding down the slick mountain. Sarah and I stood there a foot or two from "idiot guy" with toddler in backpack and were able to do nothing but watch. They made it down to our amazement. Had they fallen, I am sure it would have killed the toddler. This brings up another "child abuse" case. There was a military guy in camo in the parking lot of the trail that was packin a gun and dropping "f" bombs in the parking log with his young girls (5 years old or so) in tow. Sarah said that people are armed all over Alaska. Hmmmmm
We are perched on a rock and this is our close-up view of the falls. It was loud and you could feel the spray of the falls.
At this point we were trying to clean ourselves up. We had scooted up the mountain and we were a bit dirty. The water was chillllllyyyyyy.
Can you tell how we went up the mountain?
Sarah taking pictures of a red and yellow mushroom. I thought she was going to be a human sacrifice to the mushroom gods in a picture just after this. There was quite a drop inches passed her foot.
Eklutna Lake - we will go back when Meme and Byrom get here to get a better look. There were campers there, canoeing and all sorts of stuff. Just before we got to the lake, we passed an ice cream store. So funny.
SUNDAY - Breakfast with David and Deneva at Snow City Cafe. Sarah and I split crab omlet, toast, hash browns and a latte. Yummy. The wait is crazy at Snow City Cafe. We put out names on list around 8:30 and got in about 10:00. It was worth the wait.
Dark picture, but that is David and Deneva. David is in the Coast Guard with Lucas and Deneva is a special friend of Sarah's.
On to the Open Air Market. What a treat. I was expecting a typical Texas Flea Market. Wow, was I ever underestimating the experience.
Sarah and Lucas with coffee in hand.
K - this guy was hilarious. The whole stand had funny things about Alaska being bigger, "hey there little buddy", etc. It was great and this guy had a really good laugh with us about being from Texas. He said most of his sales are to Texans.
Only in Alaska would you have a Halibut stand at the market!
All over downtown there are the same hanging baskets. The yellow flower on top and vibrant (you can't tell by this picture) tiny purple flowers. They are beautiful.
I interrupted a great bear story to take this picture. I still need to hear that bear story.
Sarah pointed out a quilt store downtown, The Quilted Raven. I had to see it for myself. It was amazing. There are wonderful quilt stores in Alaska. I have seen 2 of them. I am thinking I need to see more. Sarah bought the patter to make this quilt. Can you believe it!!!! Lucas slept while we shopped. It was not a short shopping trip.
Some interesting facts about Alaska. When I got here there was cotton like fiber floating everywhere. It is like the cotton that cottonwood trees shed. I found a tree across the street from Lucas and Sarah's to show an example.
This is a plant that is everywhere. It is like Texas stinging nettle. It is a big plant and prevalent in Anchorage. We saw a lot of it in Eagle River. Sarah the photographer said that the flowers sting you and not the leaves. The leaves are larger than a big pie plate and the flowers are even bigger. I am on a quest to get the names of the trees and the stinger plant. Cow Parsnip or Devils Club!
OK, I never thought in a million years I would see this happen, but Sarah and Deneva decided they wanted to learn to sew and Sarah specifically wanted to make a quilt. There is no time like the present, so we got started. Deneva will be here today for her sewing lesson. By 10:30 we had a table runner. Sarah did such a good job. Her corners are perfect. If you are a quilter, you know how hard that is. My corners did not look like this for years. She did everything herself. Her Meme George would be so proud of her.
Forgot to mention this before. SARAH AND LUCAS HAVE A SAUNA in their house. Is that a hoot or what! I can't wait for Byrom to get here. We are going to test that baby out!
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