Alaska

Hello again, We actually are in California but since I’m so far behind, we’re heading back to Alaska....I took sooooo many pictures up there. I’m afraid my narrative will be short...but most of you just look at the pictures anyway!! We got crab! We got lots of crab! Joyce and I are cracking it before breakfast...probably so we could have crab omelets! The scenery at McFarland’s Flotel is amazing. The deer walk by and the de keeps changing (up to 25 feet!)..the views so serene. Loved it! Jeannie makes baskets and the one shown in the photo is the one she made while we were there which I bought and gave to my mother for her birthday. Jeannie is renowned for her baskets and has wri en books and gives a basket making seminar at the Flotel every spring. Google Jeannie McFarland and her pine needle raffia basketry! We were always going by boat to look for treasures like crab, clams, and the infamous sea cucumbers! Many of the photos included in this email are from a beautiful calm morning that Jeannie took us out to some of her favorite hunting grounds. We saw ger rocks on the beach, a baby eagle, a cruise ship and much more. The day was stellar, and we really felt blessed as southeast Alaska is known for it’ rain! We came back with lot of clams that beautiful morning. It was the next day or two, in the rain, that we found the mother lode of sea cucumbers! We had five buckets to clean.....that’s a lot of work. I know they’re ugly and slimy but, believe me, the five muscles that you strip out of the center of the gross “things” are delicious. Worth the trouble. You net about a pint of meat from each five gallon bucket of creatures. We have about a pint’s worth frozen in the camper right now.....maybe YOU will be the one we chose the share them with down the road....if you’re lucky! I’ve got more Alaska photos to share and one day soon I’ll be caught up! Another email is one the way....enjoy.