Glacier's and Halibut

On June 11th we went on a four-hour tour around Whittier, Alaska. We saw many glaciers, with runoff from them to the water below. It was beautiful to look around the inlet and see streams of water running down every crevice in the mountains, even where there was no glacier. It was quite cold - remember, we ARE in Alaska (but it's June)!


When we were near one of the glaciers, we heard a large piece break away and fall into the water. This is called 'calving'. We saw several bald eagles soaring in the area - what majestic birds they are.

Whittier is about 60 miles southeast of Anchorage and the only way to access it by land is to go through the train tunnel. There is a rotating schedule for cars entering Whittier, releasing cars (exiting Whittier) and trains. The cost is $12 to enter Whittier, but they let you out free. You really have to plan your trip, otherwise you could be stranded for quite some time. We took this picture as we were waiting to leave. The tunnel is 2 1/2 miles long.

On the 12th of June Garth scheduled a halibut charter leaving from Anchor Point. The charter he was on lost his reservation, but he was able to find one leaving at 1:00 p.m. He returned around 7:00 and had a wonderful time, but only had 17 lbs. of halibut. They clean and package the fish for you. Well, it's a start on filling up the new freezer we bought. We ate some fresh halibut when we got home Saturday and it was delicious!

We spent the night Thursday at Ninilchik Point Overnighter. This is the view from our cabin window. That is a volcano across the water and there are several along that range of mountains.

The cabins are advertised as "homegrown" log cabins. It was VERY clean but VERY rustic. The people in the cabin next to ours brought their catch of the day and cleaned it themselves right outside the cabin. I watched a young eagle (not 'bald' yet) flying around them hoping someone would share with him. He was really big and I watched him for a long time as he was watching them. We saw quite a few bald eagles in the area of Anchor Point and Ninilchik - must be good fishing for them, too.

Friday morning we got up really early to go back to Anchorage (180 miles) so we could attend the two morning sessions at the Temple. What a perfect way to end our latest Alaska experience.

The Month of May

We had the most wonderful month in May. We started out visiting Michael & Melissa in Urbana, Illinois. As you can see, marriage, work, school and church agrees with them very well. We had so much fun sightseeing and just being with Michael and Melissa and seeing where they go during their daily lives. Melissa love's her work and schooling at the University of Illinois/Champaign. It was fascinating for us to have her give us a tour of the very large, very old library on campus. We also toured other libraries on campus and in town. She has writen more about our visit on her blog. We should have taken more pictures, but didn't. Michael's job at the Freestar Bank, campus branch in Champaign is also going well. They are doing so many things in Illinois to make this a wonderful experience for them.

Of course we had to have a reason to go "outside" and our reason was Robert's graduation from the University of New Mexico on May 17, 2008. We were not able to attend Emily's graduation in December, so it was great to have them both in cap and gown for pictures. We are so proud of Emily and Robert for their hard work the past four years!

Grandma and Grandpa Brough came from St. George for graduation. It was so fun to celebrate this wonderful occasion with them.

The rose garden on the UNM campus is one of Emily's favorite spots.

One more picture - the graduates and proud parents. We spent five days in Albuquerque and loved being there with family and friends. The Monday after graduation, Robert started a new job with First Federal Bank.

Garth returned to Fairbanks after graduation and Nick and I continued our vacation. We flew to Phoenix so we could see my nephew, Jordan, return from his mission and visit with Don, Nancy & the nephew's in Gilbert. The only family member I didn't see on this trip was Zach, who is in Brazil on his mission. We drove with Grandma & Grandpa to St. George and spent a few days there. We ate dinner at Brian & Kim's new home and saw all the cute nephew's and niece there.

We went to the St. George visitor's center to see a very moving exhibit by Angela Johnson.

Memorial Day as we were growing up was a fun time to get together with aunts, uncles & cousins that we didn't see very often. We always had new summer clothes to wear and mom always worried about us climbing on headstones or walking on graves. This Memorial Day was different - it was a time to share with my son, Nick, some family history and remember those ancestors so long gone. My brother, Mark, Mom, Dad & I, along with Nick, visited the Garland, Utah cemetary and the Fielding, Utah cemetary.

Nick and I spent several days in Avon with Mark, June & the four great nephew's there. We were able to see Mike and Melissa two more times before we left; they were in Cache Valley for Melissa's brother, Nick's, graduation. On our way to catch the plane for Fairbanks, we were able to visit Joye, Kim, Kylie, Janalyne, Cameron & Makayla (Jesse was at work).

Our family time in May ended with a visit from Rosie & Craig Parker, Garth's sister and brother-in-law. Garth spent some time with Rosie & Craig before Nick and I returned from our trip. We had such an enjoyable time with them. The Parker's took a trip through Denali Park and visited friends in Anchorage (President & Sister Owen's of the Anchorage Temple Presidency who are their neighbors in Boutiful Utah). Our families are wonderful!