Alaska: Week Two - May 22 through May 28

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Alaskans – God’s Frozen Chosen People – (and we believe it - at least the frozen part!)

Here it is the end of our second week in Alaska.  This week we saw SUNSHINE almost every day throughout week – and what a blessing that is.  The battery meter in the camper even made it up to 13.0 for the first time since we arrived.

Last night we stayed awake long enough to see the sunset – on purpose, thank you very much.  It was gorgeous.  At 11:30 PM (the time the sun sets up here) we were walking along the berm above the Inlet, but mostly we stood in one spot and admired!!!  And Mount Redoubt was fully silhouetted in the glow – complete with the smoke that emits from the top of (which until now has blended with the clouds most days and not been visible.)  Once more that overworked word – “BEAUTIFUL!”  Ruthine had been up once before, accidentally, for sunset at 11:30, and that same night, from 12:30 to 1:00 for part of dusk taking pictures – dusk was still glowing when she went to bed that night:  it lasts a loooong time in this area.

We didn’t get to Seward after all Tuesday, because we decided we were too tired to drive more this week.  Staying in the campground and working was the lesser of the two evils…  However, we joined the Ninilchik community (for the summer) in a couple of ways.

Sunday we had gone to Mass at St. Peter’s here.  It’s a lovely little mission-looking church.  The building holds only a few people – maybe less than 100 (and it is a mission, with different priests coming each week to say Mass).  At the end of Mass when the announcements were read, there was discussion back and forth between people in the congregation and the person making the announcements about what would be going on during the week.  That was a first indication of just how small this community is.

Then, Tuesday, instead of traveling to Seward, we went to the library.  Ruthine got a library card, and we charged our computer batteries.  The librarian, Phylis, welcomed us to the community and suggested we might want to join the Senior Center for the summer, too.  She was knitting at her desk.  She told Ruthine that a group of ladies get together there at the Senior Center every Friday from 1:00 to 4:00 to knit together, and she invited Ruthine to join them.

So, Wednesday we went to the Senior Center and signed up for the summer.  (We can use their wi-fi, too.  We are hoping that will be a boon to our uploading pictures to  the blog, since it is so expensive to upload using the Verizon mi-fi that we have.)  Then, Friday we went back for lunch (enchiladas!)

Ruthine and Bob joined two fellows at their big round table.  Before the meal began, though, a lady from the next table over (there were a half dozen ladies sitting there) came and tapped Ruthine on the shoulder and invited her to come join them at their table so she wouldn’t have to “put up with the men’s fishing stories.”  Ruthine looked at Bob, said “see you later,” and joined them.  What a group of characters!

The ladies at that table were the wives of the men at the first table.  Apparently this group of couples sit at adjacent tables and zing one another, in a playful manner, about the men’s fishing or the women’s – what?  gardening or knitting or whatever.  These ladies were also the core of the knitting group.  So Ruthine was initiated.  (Bob was, too, but since he doesn’t fish… Oh, well.)

The long and short of the 1^st day of knitting group is:  Ruthine made herself a hat (all but an I-cord to draw up the top), found a lady who watercolors and may get together with her a time or two this summer to paint, and promised to buy yarn (along with the group) to make a scarf for the Special Olympics participants this summer.

The long and short of the men’s lunch group is:  Bob finished his lunch and took the camper to plug it in at the Ranger Station to charge (along with our communication radio) and had a nice nap.

Today we awakened to rain again.  Although the sun is brightening up the world up here right now, it is not yet shining through the cloud cover.  And, once more, it is quite cold and damp.  As daughter, Anne, and brother, Jerry, say. “After all you are in Alaska.