Day 1 of Rafting

Taking off from Tangle Lakes...

Thursday morning Wind Generator Install

 This is the helicopter that took us from the Inn, right up the mountain.  It was about a 3 minute flight up! At other times, this helicopter is used by the miners, who are looking for gold in the nearby mountains....funded by a Japanese company. 

 Jim installing his C9AM turbine.

 This is a pole I found up at the top of the peak

I had some sitting around time, but I really enjoyed the view! And it is fun to see what Jim does, and how fast he can make things come together =) I married an interesting guy!

Back in AK

Last Tuesday evening, Jim and I flew into Fairbanks AK for Jim's work.  On Wednesday we drove down to Tangle Lakes Inn, taking the beautiful Richardson highway south.  Thursday morning we flew up to a nearby mountain via helicopter where Jim spent the day putting in one of his turbines for Copper Telecom with Chris Mishmash.  I handed tools when needed and hiked a little more to the peak of the mountain.  It was a beautiful view- and I was really happy to see tundra again!  Friday we headed out around noon with the Mishmash family on a 2 day raft trip- starting at Tangle Lakes and going down the Delta river.  We wound through some beautiful mountains and enjoyed a sunny beautiful Friday afternoon.  We found a great campsite above where we would need to portage.  We woke up to rain the next morning, and spent quite a bit of time in our tents trying to wait it out.  Finally, we had a little break and managed to take down our tents before it started to rain again.  We then took off down the river again and soon made it to the portage site.  We portaged about 1/4 to 1/2 a mile (with a pond to cross in the middle).  It was a bit of work- especially getting the raft across- but we made it!  The next part of the river had more rapids- though nothing scary (to my relief) before we found a campsite under some trees, where we decided to try and dry out a bit.  We were all pretty soaked, and Jim didn't have muckboots, so his feet were pretty cold.  We quickly set up our tents and crawled in to warm up a bit.  We came out for a little while to dry our clothes a bit by a fire and eat supper, then soon crawled back inside to escape the rain.  The next morning there was a little bit of rain, but by the time we got going it had stopped, and we all had at least one dry layer of clothes on.....Jim wearing my fleece pants I had dried by the fire.  We still had a ways to go, and passed many beaver dams, eagles, ducks and birds.  When the glacial waters joined into the river we were hit by a colder air, but it was fun to see all the silt mixing into what had been pretty clear water.  It was harder to avoid the shallow spots with the water so unclear, so we hit a few snags, but otherwise had a pretty easy going trip.  The kids did really well- and did a lot less complaining than most would have!  By the time we got to the car, we were a little cold again, but the heaters worked great and we were soon feeling wonderful.  A big thanks to the Mishmash family for taking us on such a great trip!  I'm sure I never would have planned such a trip on my own- and I will remember it always.  Jim and I are now in Valdez, where he was supposed to fly out to Boswell Bay to check out another site today.  However, the weather isn't allowing for flying, so the trip is post poned, and we may be off to Anchorage shortly.  On my agenda: stopping to see the Worthington Glacier and the St. Elias/Wrangell National Park along the way! =) It is great to be back in AK for a bit!

Summer plans, and summer changes

Just about a month ago I joined Jim at the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair.  He had left a few days earlier to attend the Small Wind Conference, and then I joined him that Thursday.  I mentioned that I hadn't been feeling that well the previous few days-feeling sick to my stomach and tired.  We agreed I should probably take a pregnancy test, just to be sure, though I really didn't think I would be.  After all, I was taking contraceptives, and even if I had missed a couple, most people said it took awhile after going off them before you would get pregnant.  I probably just had a slight flu....that didn't get better or worse.  So, I took a test and it looked mostly negative....there was one slight other line, but it was faint.  Negative, right?  The next morning Jim suggested that I should take the other one that came in the pack anyway....apparently morning is a better time to take them.  Again, just a faint small other line.  Wait....that could mean.....what?  Now I was completely uncertain. Why can't these things just be clear? So, we took a little trip to the local clinic at Stevens Point.  Better to have someone just tell us, right?  So, we went in, saw a nurse practitioner, and she said it would take about 10-15 minutes to find out after I took the test.  So, I went in and took it, came back and talked to Jim for about 1 minute, and she popped back in and said it was positive.  Begin talk about vitamins, etc....

 
So, I am headed in tomorrow for my first real doctor's appointment. I am excited, and also a little nervous.  Of course, I just want them to tell me that everything looks fine and my baby is growing and  healthy. I think I have been doing a good job of eating healthy....I still eat pizza and other things occasionally, but I haven't had hardly any soda, no coffee, and I have definitely been getting a lot of calcium.  I take my vitamins, and have been eating fruits and vegetables very regularly. Thank you Kwik Trip for carrying peaches and pears now!  I am not really sure how far along I am....but I figure about 9 weeks.  This means (according to google) that my baby is now 1 inch long, has 4 chambers in his/her heart, has fully formed eyes (though they are still fused shut), all of the extremities are there, and even the sex organs (though you can't tell what it is yet). I can't wait to find out what it is going to be- though I will be equally excited either way.  I can't wait to be a mom =)  Well, I guess I CAN wait- I am not at all ready yet, but I AM looking forward to it!  We did just get our land use permit though, to put on a 16x16 foot addition onto our cabin....more than doubling our living space!  Now hopefully we can find somebody to frame it in for us cheap, then we can finish the inside and hopefully have it ready by winter.
   Other summer happenings?  I have gone to the Boundary Waters twice- and Arlo has slept for 3 days after each time.  And- Jim and I are going up to Alaska next week!  He is going to be putting up two of his small wind turbines, one at Tangle Lake (near Denali) up on a mountaintop, and one at Boswell Bay (near Cordova).  The telephone company is going to fly us in via helicopter to both sites.  I can't wait to be back in Alaska for a bit!  And, we are first flying into Fairbanks, so I should be able to see Nellie and her family! =)  I may be joining Jim for a week in Nevada in August, putting up a building for his wind turbine testing, and we are going to Pennsylvania for a wedding.....and then I will be back getting ready for another school year!  This summer is going to fly by! Now, I just hope I start feeling better.... morning sickness is the pits.  It has been lasting most of the day, and often in the night.  The worst part of my day is brushing my teeth.  I finally decided that sometimes listerine will have to do.  After all, what is the point if you brush, then that makes you throw up....so you brush again...which makes you throw up again....this could be a never ending cycle.  So sometimes I just have to change the routine.  Enough on that though.  It is worth it....or will be.  And I am so much better off than most pregnant women.  I am on summer vacation, so when I feel really awful, I can lay down.  And, I can take naps when I feel exhausted!  This baby may be a year ahead of schedule, but there is a definite plus side to his/her timing!
  

Kids having fun at the weddig

 At our wedding we had a lot of kids!  And I love kids....so I set up a little play area for them, with some big boxes, big bubble wands, and a table with crayons I made shaped like animals.  Some of the kids even went on the ropes course with us!  Unfortunately, I don't have a single picture from the ropes course yet.....sooooo....if anyone there has some, please send them my way! I didn't carry around my camera that day!

My cousin's daughter Hannah said as she was leaving, That was the best wedding EVER!  Nothing can ever beat it!"  That sure made me smile!  I wanted my wedding to be fun for the kids too....I sure remember going to a few when I was little where there was absolutely nothing for kids to do.  It was kind of torturous. I'm glad my wedding will be a good memory for everyone!