Searching for Plane Wreck Survivors

A J3 Cub lost it's engine on the other side of the mountain behind Nondalton.  Pilots are taught to always stay with the airplane and the rescuers will come, but after two days the pilot and passenger gave up and decided to hike to Nondalton which they knew was only eleven rugged miles over the mountain.  They left a note for the rescuers (who did come) letting them know where they were heading.  It took the search helicopters another couple of days to find them even after they found the wreck and knew exactly where they were heading.  That's how rough the terrain back there is added to the fact they didn't know which route they were planning to take.

 There are trails that go from Nondalton over the mountain and about half way to the area where the plane crashed.  However, all the men of the village that know those trails well were either in Anchorage or had gone moose hunting up the lake.  Paul and Quentin had been back in that area hunting, but not near as far as the plane crash was.  After a couple of days of helicopters searching and the two men hadn't been found, the men who were up the lake moose hunting headed back so they could help search and Quentin and Josh A. decided to head up and behind the mountain on their 4-wheelers as far as they (and Paul) felt comfortable going.  Another fellow in town headed out walking in another direction in case they came around the mountain that way.
     Quentin and Josh went about a third of the way toward the plane before heading back.  They actually got to about the place where the helicopter finally found the men, but the helicopter had found the men about two hours before Josh A. and Quentin left Nondalton.  We didn't hear the news on the radio because the helicopter was so low and on the other side of the mountain.  Quentin and Josh A. left their 4-wheelers and climbed to the top of a ridge to check in with us on their hand-held radio.  We had heard of the rescue by that time and told them to come on back.  The man who had headed north around that side of the mountain also had a radio and heard the call and headed home as well.
     As Quentin and Josh A. turned to walk back down to their 4-wheelers, they were startled to see a mama bear and two cubs running towards them.  We are taught to never run when confronted with a brown bear, but these guys were already running towards them and their 4-wheelers were not very far away, so they took off running for them.  As they ran down the hill Josh A. hollered at Quentin to slow down because he looked like a moose heading down the hill.  He says he was afraid the bears would get excited about chasing a moose, I'm wondering if it didn't have more to do with the shirt Quentin was wearing that day :)  It's the shirt he and Dayton had just bought in Anchorage.

They made it to the 4-wheelers and took off before the bears reached them... Yikes!

The State Fair and Anchorage

 The time came for Dayton and Abigail to head back down to the lower 48.  Their good friends Jonathan and Brianna were getting married and they didn't want to miss it.  (Abigail says it was a really cool wedding).
David, Benjamin, Sarah and I had to say good-by at the Airfield in Nondalton.  Paul got to spend another day with them before he took them to the airport in Anchorage and brought the rest of the kids back to Nondalton.

Below Sarah is giving Abigail a good-by hug.

 Caleb on up got to go out with them to Anchorage.  They got to go to the State Fair, went and saw a movie, toured around Anchorage and had a great time.

Quentin got to sit in the copilot seat for the flight in :)

The first thing they did was take my list to Costco :)  Yea, I love not having to shop.  We don't shop very often (like every 3 months) so there is actually a fourth cart behind Josh A.!

The kids went to their favorite high fashion outlet "Value Village" (for those not familiar, it's a thrift store).
For some reason they had lots of costumes for sale ??? :(

Caleb and Anna are having fun with the hats :)

They cheered on the woodsmen having a contest at the State Fair.

Anna and Deborah

Elijah Lorentzen is in the window with Caleb next to him.  Paul and the kids got to spend the afternoon in Anchorage with Amanda and Elijah and their friend Michael.  The red hair happened at the State Fair.  There were only traces left by the time they got home :)

Quentin, Joshua and Elijah

One of their favorite stops was the Chocolate Factory :)

Josh A.

Dayton and Quentin bought matching shirts :)

Birthdays

Sarah turned 5.  She is still adorable and it's fun watching her grow up (it seems to be happening so fast).

 We watched a movie for Sarah's birthday.  We had watched it before and the kids knew that the family in the movie made hats out of aluminum foil to protect themselves from the alien invasion. So, they all made hats so they'd be ready :)

 Abigail turned 19 and ,although she's married, she's still Daddy's little girl :)

 Josh A. turned 16.  So, we threw him a party and his Mom, Nana and Cheda Mary came down to celebrate with us.
He too, is growing up fast and becoming a fine young man.  He and Quentin are continuously coming up with good ideas to start businesses.

I'm a Grandma

Abigail and Dayton are going to have a baby!!!  Praise Yahwh!!!

So, yes, Paul and I are now Grandpa and Grandma to a tiny little baby growing inside Abigail.  How cool is that!!!  Sarah wants everyone to know that she is Aunt Sarah :) 

Playing on the Tazimina River

We took advantage of a gorgeous afternoon to take the boat up the Tazimina River to play.  We put Regina's inflatable kayaks in our boat and took them with us across the lake and up the river.

 Below is a view looking out of the mouth of the Tazimina River at about a third of our village.  The rest of the village stretches out to the left and right.

David

 Deep red salmon were everywhere waiting to deposit their eggs.

 We found a huge bear track on the sandbar we were playing on.

 It took two boat loads to get everyone up the river, so Dayton was the bear guard while Quentin went back for the next load.

 Anna

 Deborah

Dayton

 Abigail needed some convincing that the water was much warmer up the river than it is in the lake by our house.  So, her loving husband, Dayton, helped her out :)

 Paul and Quentin brought the rest of us up in the second load. 

 Joshua and Quentin

 Benjamin and David

Lavonne got to come along too.

Dayton doing a flip off a big stump that had pooled a deep hole in front of it.  

 Joshua

 Deborah

Abigail, Dayton and I got to paddle the kayaks down the river for the trip home.

 It's a pretty tame river except for the many sweepers that you have to stay very far away from.

 While we paddled downstream, Paul took everyone else upriver until they bottomed out.  It was an easy matter to get out and pull the boat off the rocks.

 The kayaks made it to the mouth first.  In the picture above we are waiting for the boaters to come give us a ride across the lake.  The wind had come up so the waves on the lake would have been more work that I wanted to tackle.

 Susan (me) back on shore again.

 The lake is very, very cold.  In the picture above Paul and the kids went together as a group to bolster their courage as they faced the cold water.

Sarah in the midst of a bunch of fireweed.  The fireweed is our season indicator.  Throughout the summer the blossoms go to seed and the leaves turn red from the bottom first and climb up to the top.  When the top is red, summer is over.