Well, let's try to get caught up a little.

On Wednesday the 16th we went down to Soldotna and Kenai.  Left at 5:00 AM and drove 3 hours.  Went to a doctor's appointment with a sister missionary, nursed 4-5 sick elders (cold bug going around like wildfire)  drove back almost 4 hours due to the construction and a few minutes spent stopped at a place called Summit Lake.  We took a couple of pictures of the autumn colors on the mountainside and then spotted a solitary loon down on the lake.  We took a couple of long-distance pics and were able to identify it as a Common Loon, a new one for us.  As we started to drive off, Linda saw what she thought was a group of loons a little further down the lake.  We bailed out and took some more pictures and discovered several female Common Merganser ducks, another new one for us!  Whoopee!  Two for one and we weren't even looking for birds.  Most of the birds have packed up and left for the winter.  There are still a few around, but only a few.

So it was only a 12 hour day.  And Sister Taylor caught the cold and was down for a couple of days herself.

This last week we made our third trip to Fairbanks.  Our vehicle coordinator needed some winter tires swapped between Anchorage and Fairbanks, so we hauled sixteen up, brought fifteen back and Sister Taylor nursed a bunch of sickies while we were up there.  Yes, the bad cold that is going around hit the Fairbanks Zone with a vengeance.  Among other missionaries, there were three sisters there who were like death warmed over.  Bad, bad shape.  Now the cold has started in Anchorage and next week is transfer week!  It'll be all over the state by the end of the week.  They'd probably spread it into Canada as well, but I don't think any missionaries are being moved in or out of Whitehorse this time so maybe Canada will be lucky and miss out on this one.

We were quite fortunate this trip.  The sky was absolutely clear on both days and we got some good shots of Mt. McKinley aka Denali.  I think we've told you before that everyone up here calls it by its Native Alaskan name - Denali.  Now the President has made the change official but I don't know when it will be/has been change(d).  They say that the mountain is so big that it creates it own weather systems.  Consequently, it is generally shrouded in clouds to one degree or another.  The estimate is that less than 30 percent of the tourists actually get to see the mountain.  I guess we are now either part of the 30 percent or we're no longer tourists.

On our earlier trip it was quite overcast and we didn't know that the mountain tends to
peek out occasionally as you are driving north.  This looks close but is actually 40 miles away.

There are two official viewpoints along the highway.  This is a shot from the southern-most one.
Even though the day was clear as a bell, there was still a little haze between us and the mountain.

Seeing Denali was super, but there were mountains, mountains and more mountains all along the way.
We only took about a bucket-full of pictures.  Fantastic views, fantastic country.

 

While we were in Fairbanks, we ran across this little store front.  Only in Alaska!

What we didn't realize was that there are great views of Denali coming back from Fairbanks, as well.

And just for drill, we stopped in at the viewpoint on our way back and found that the air was even clearer than the day before.  Great view of the mountain.

And while we were at the viewpoint - yes, we spotted another new bird - a Gray Jay.
Another one for the list.

Yesterday we were privileged to attend the baptism of a young sister that had been taught by the Elders who live downstairs.  We hosted one of the lessons in our apartment when one of their other fellowshippers had to cancel and we were glad to have the opportunity to be there for her baptism.  As occasionally happens with those things, some of the folks on the program weren't able to be there.  When we arrived, at five minutes before the hour, Sister Taylor was asked to give the talk on the Holy Ghost.  She did a great job.  

Today we attended the Bush Branch, as usual.  The Branch President has asked for everyone to send in a picture and a short bio so that a book can be put together that will help the members of the branch know each other a little bit better.  Right now people only know each other by the sound of their voice.  It'll be nice to be able to put a face to the voice.  This is the picture we sent in.

They put some of the pictures up on the bulletin board outside the Branch President's office along with this map of members' locations around the state.  Each pin represents one or more families or individuals in that village.  Pretty big Branch, huh?  Covers an area the same size as one stretching from the Canadian border to the south end of Nevada and from the Pacific Ocean to the eastern borders of Wyoming/Colorado.  And that's not including the Aleutian Islands.  You can see that we have members out there, too.  Can you imagine home/visit teaching someone three states away from you?  And can you say, "I can see Russia from my house."?

Sorry the picture isn't clearer.  I was taking it with my cell phone through plexiglass.

This evening we'll be having the sister missionaries over who are also assigned to the branch.  We'll be attending a Branch Missionary meeting via Video Conferencing.  There will be branch missionaries from all over the state attending.  Don't you just love technology?  You can't even go to the Alaskan Bush to hide from your calling!

Not too much to report in the last couple of weeks.  The work continues, especially for Sister Taylor.  It seemed like this week she was on the phone with missionaries, doctors, Missionary Medical in Salt Lake and parents for about 16 hours a day. (Maybe a slight exaggeration.)  That's in addition to house calls and attending doctor's appointments with various missionaries.  On Wednesday, we made a house call at about 8:00 AM for an elder that messed himself up in morning sports;  attended the temple with some of the missionaries in the morning;  worked in the office in the afternoon;  made the hour drive to Wasilla for an appointment at 5:00 PM (finished at 7:00);  took the elders out to dinner afterward; drove home and found two more elders waiting in the driveway for us.  While they were there, a second pair of elders showed up.  Getting them all taken care of, we finally got to sit down and take off our shoes at about 9:30 PM.  Probably would've been later, but they have to be home at 9:30 PM.  And in the handbook it says that senior missionaries - us old people, you know - aren't required to maintain the same schedule as the young missionaries.  Right!  If they're up and about, we're up and about.  But we do love our young missionaries.  They're awesome!

There was just a skiff of snow on the highest elevations around us again this morning but I'm sure it's gone by now.  Last night it got down to about 37 degrees - fall is in the air and winter can't be far behind! Although it's been raining the last couple of days, today is brilliantly sunny and the temperature looks like it's going to peak out at about 56 degrees.

It changed from summer to fall very quickly here.  All of a sudden the air was cooler and the leaves all turned in about a week's time.

But there is always the bit of beautiful countryside to see and the occasional flock of Sandhill Cranes or Canada Geese gathering themselves together in preparation for traveling south.  And we still see the occasional Trumpeter Swan, looking regal as it glides among the reeds and other lesser
waterfowl.

The decision was made to close the mission office on Labor Day (so that the senior missionaries could 'rest from their labors') so we took the afternoon and went to last day of the Alaska State Fair in Palmer.  It was very nice with the usual displays of produce, livestock and crafts, along with a rodeo, heavy equipment contests, native dancing and a medieval Jousting Tournament.  Of course, there were the obligatory carnival rides, food vendors and myriad other opportunities to buy what you don't need and won't ever use.  Generally an enjoyable way to waste away an afternoon.  The weather was cooperative and we had a good time.  We forgot to take the good camera, so here are a few of the snapshots we took with our cellphones.

A "wall" of Sweet Peas around one of the garden areas just inside the main gate.

In the center hub of the various pathways through the fairgrounds they had this large round garden area.  It was built entirely of vegetables and herbs and represented three gardeners working in their garden.

Check out the "flannel shirt" on this guy.

The Mat-SuValley is the only real agricultural area in Alaska.  Athough their growing season is short, they grow some incredible produce.  This year there was a problem with the pumpkin contest and the only one they had there was this
 965 lb. behemoth.  We understand that most years they are more like 1200-1300 lbs.

It is said that you can sit in the cabbage fields and actually hear the cabbage grow.  You can hear the leaves squeak against each other as they grow.  See that one in the middle?  A closeup is below.

106 pounds!!!  This beastie weighs more than several of my grandkids!

This beet was grown by a 4H student.  Pretty good, huh?

In the crafts exhibit hall they had some nice woodwork,  These are for all the woodworkers in the family.

A quilted ceremonial robe.

And the usual amount of silliness - these are knitted hair/beards/etc., of the dwarves from The Hobbit.

We didn't take many photos of the chickens, rabbits, sheep, cows, llamas, etc., but I couldn't resist this monster tom turkey.  I don't think I ever seen one quite like him.  And check out all those ribbons.

We enjoyed watching a bit of the native dancing performance.  These ladies were really enjoying themselves and would make faces at the kids in the audience and break out laughing between numbers, etc.  It was fun to watch.

A happy note to end on for this week.  Love to all!

Elder & Sister Taylor

Snow!!  Okay, not a whole bunch, just a little dusting on the mountains around us.  We were down in Seward on Friday and Saturday, and when we got back there was snow on the mountains.  I know that I will regret this about two weeks in, but right now I'm hoping for a real Alaskan winter this year (last year was very mild).

We were in Seward, which is down on the south side of the Kenai Peninsula, at the invitation of one of the other senior missionary couples who are here as military liaison missionaries.  They took us and two other couples to a fishing resort that is reserved for military personnel and their guests.
We left the office at noon on Friday and carpooled down to Seward.  We arrived early enough to go to the Alaska Sealife Center and spend a couple of hours watching seals, sea lions, salmon and a variety of other fish and several species of sea birds.  There were also the usual "touch pools" where you could touch the sea anemone and starfish, etc.  We hung out together in the evening, swapping stories about growing up and listening to one of the elders recite cowboy poetry.

Sculpture out front of  the Sealife Center

A Horned Puffin.  Sister Taylor saw Tufted Puffins when we were out fishing but we were unable to get any pictures of them.

A Common Murre.  Sister Taylor saw some of these and some Marbled Murrelets out on the boat.

A couple of halibut and a couple of King Crab "in the wild" - so to speak.

Assorted ugly bottom fish.

.

Another ugly bottom fish.

Harbor Seals cavorting in their tank.

On Saturday, we got up at O-dark thirty, rode the shuttle down to the dock and took off for the open sea.  We sailed down Resurrection Bay and into the Gulf of Alaska for about 3 hours and then anchored and threw out the lines.  We were fishing in 250-280 feet of water.  There wasn't much action for a little bit and then things really picked up.  We fished for about three hours,  Sister Taylor and I caught two halibut each (the limit) and I also caught a Rock Fish, just about the ugliest fish ever.  Some of the others on the boat also caught a handful of silver salmon in addition to their halibut.

On the way back, the skipper took the time to show us some whales and porpoises.  Sister Taylor also had her binoculars out and saw several new birds, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Tufted Puffins, Murres and Marbled Murelettes.

Elder Taylor on the bow of the "Snowbird."

First fish - Rock Fish!

Ugly, huh?

Just so the grandkids don't forget what we look like.

 

Sister Taylor with her halibut.  Top side on your left, bottom on your right.

Elder Taylor with his big one.  26 lbs, about 35 inches, plus or minus.
The other one was about the size of Sister Taylor's.

That's it for this week!  See ya!

One thing bad about this blog is that once you post something, it's out there forever.  Generally not a problem, except when you're wrong!  The picture in the last post is not a Rock Ptarmigan, it is of a Spruce Grouse.  Just in case you were really concerned about accuracy in reporting, or just birds in general.

Good Sabbath to all!  We had a great day in the Bush Branch, me in the Branch President's Office and Sister Taylor at home on the phone with her leg up in the air.  More on that later.  

We started off this last week (actually starting the end of the week before) by making a trip to Fairbanks.  Sister Taylor had some medical things she wanted to take care of up there which required her presence. (You can only do so much over the phone.)  So, we made arrangements to drive up on Wednesday, spend Thursday with the missionaries, and drive back on Friday.  Fairbanks is 400 miles away, all by 2-lane road, so it takes 6-7 hours, depending on the traffic, which can be pretty clogged up with tour buses, motorhomes, fifth wheels and pickups pulling boats.  It is the tourist season and this is Alaska.  Of course, we also had to stop occasionally and take pictures, so it is basically a day-long trip.

In an effort to get the most out of the trip, we combined the medical stuff with several other errands.  We drove one vehicle up to Fairbanks, traded with some missionaries there and drove a different one back.  We delivered  a whole bunch of proselyting supplies - Books of Mormon, pamphlets, planners, etc., and housekeeping supplies - dishes, silverware, blankets, cleaning supplies, etc., etc., etc.  We delivered two new mattresses to a couple of elders who needed new beds.  We checked out a potential apartment (actually a small house) for the Zone Leaders to move into.  And... we delivered smiles, handshakes, hugs and goodies to all we could.  We were able to personally contact all but one companionships out of the 12 that are up there and we were able to talk with them on the phone.

Thursday was one busy day, but we still found some time to sight-see a little in the evening and on the way up and back.  On the way up, we took State Highway 3 that goes by the Denali State Park and Mt. McKinley (known to Alaskans simply as "Denali.")  We stopped at both the viewpoints and saw some some impressive mountains, but Sister Taylor and I disagree over whether or not we saw any of Denali itself so you can see that the viewing wasn't the greatest that day.  Lots of clouds around the mountain that is known for creating its own weather systems.  They say that only about 30 percent of tourists see Denali so I guess we fit right in.  Thursday evening we went to the Creamer's Field bird refuge on the edge of Fairbanks and did a little birding.  We saw lots of Sandhill Cranes, a Cackling Goose-Aleutian and a Greater White-Fronted Goose, two new ones for us.  

Friday we drove back to Anchorage on a different route.  We drove south on Highway 2 to Delta Junction, south to Glennallen on Highway 4 and then west on Highway 1 to Anchorage.  We would heartily recommend taking that route.  Very, very picturesque!

As you can see, the mountain in the middle of this display board is Denali.
You can also see how many clouds were obscuring the mountains that day.

Denali should actually be to the right of these mountains.  Pretty impressive by themselves, eh?

This is looking toward Ruth Glacier.  Denali is somewhere behind the clouds.

Just a continuation of the river valley in the foreground of the above picture and some more
of the mountains surrounding Denali.

This is a telephoto shot of what we believe to be the flank of Denali.  Too many clouds!!!

 

Sandhill Cranes at Creamer's Field.  Large flocks of cranes breed and nest there.
They had a Sandhill Crane Festival there just a couple of days after we left.

Cranes, cranes and more cranes.  Feeding, resting, flying.  All getting ready to migrate south.
Creamer's Field (part of a dairy farm) also has large flocks of small migratory birds that are there earlier in the summer.

 

Just a couple of the many magnificent mountains we saw on the way home.

 

The famous Alaska Oil Pipeline.  We traveled alongside it much of the way home.

The Matanuska Glacier.  It starts way up in those mountains and flows clear down to the highway.

This week was focused on transfers.  We had twelve new missionaries come out and only five go home.  As usual, transfer meeting was a spiritual feast.  As usual, our week was chock full trying to get all the busy work done that surrounds the coming and going of the missionaries.

Friday evening we were able to go out to dinner with, and spend some time getting to know, a senior missionary couple who are just finishing up their mission in the Juneau area, digitizing all manner of records for the genealogical archives.  Because Alaska didn't become a state until 1959, all the earlier records were just lumped together and this couple had the interesting job of going through everything from government records to village records to criminal records, including in some cases, criminal evidence.  They have many interesting and moving stories to tell.

Saturday evening, after our usual P-day activities of laundry, grocery shopping and apartment cleaning, we participated in a pot luck and hike with the other senior couples and two of the mission presidency and their wives.  We hiked about three and a half miles of the McHugh Creek Trail and then had a picnic dinner at the park area of the trailhead.  The most momentous thing that happened on the hike was Sister Taylor taking a fall on a steep downgrade and banging up her left knee.  As soon as everyone was sure that she was okay then the comments started about all the young missionaries with knee injuries she's been dealing with.  She is okay, but she's pretty stiff and sore, hobbling around the apartment today.  Hence the comment at the beginning of the post about her attending church via phone this morning.

This trail reminded Sister Taylor and I off home.  You could really smell the chlorophyll!

A Rock Ptarmigan - new one for us!

Sister Taylor can't be out in nature without taking a shot or two of the pretty wildflowers.

Yep.  That's us.  And this is after Sister Taylor fell so you can see that she will probably live.

Everyone have a great week!  We'll be back!