Ketah Adventures

OBX

2007-09-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

We left DC and drove down through Maryland and Delaware to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Some readers may remember that as the area where the Wright Brothers first flew.

At the visitors center there was a monument to the history of flight, from that first one up to the last few years.

It was about lunch time when we got there, so we went and ate lunch. We were not yet to our destination, but the ocean was right there next to the place we ate.

That was pretty much a preview of what we would do for the duration of our stay, play in the 80 degree water of the Atlantic Ocean.

But first, we made a stop at the place where the two brothers first flew.

These markers represent their first flights. What was really cool about going to this place was that we had seen the actual plane they flew at the National Air & Space museum 2 days before. I didn't add any photos of that visit because the camera battery died.

Let me tell you, there is nothing quite like the power of the ocean!

The section of the Outer Banks where we stayed was only about 400 yards wide. We were able to see sunrise and sunset out over the ocean.

We also visited America's tallest lighthouse at Cape Hatteras.

Body surfing can beat you up a bit!

Among the fun stuff at the ocean, Andrew got to do a little bit of 'Boogie Boarding'.

We will definitely go back!

DC part 5

2007-09-05T07:07:00.000-07:00

We went to the National Zoo. It was a really good zoo. The cool thing about Washington DC is that all of the museums and the zoo are FREE! Each of these attractions are also better than the ones you pay for anywhere else in the country.

The kids loved watching the otters! They seem so happy and carefree! There are several of them in the enclosure, and they seem to enjoy one another's company. Groups of people might learn something about interaction from watching otters.

This was the vicious, man-eating Panda.

I think this one actually would eat a person if given the opportunity.

Look daddy, a flutterby!

Andrew loved the reptiles and amphibians.

Abigail is going to make a suit of armor out of animal parts and use this pelvis as her mask!

That little kid looks tasty!

Andrew has become a fan of staged photos!

Anything Andrew does, Abigail must do!

When a Tiger looks at you, you know it would kill you. They just have a piercing stare that says, "you are lucky I can't get to you!"

When Andrew gets angry or frustrated, he skowls with his eyebrows, purses his lips, and folds his arms. When we saw this photo, we recognized it as a near ringer for 'angry Andrew'. Brenda came up with the name "An-grilla".

We thoroughly enjoyed DC, and will go back some time!

DC part 4

2007-09-04T17:01:00.000-07:00

My main goal in visiting Washington DC was to visit the National Museum of the American Indian. I really appreciated this opportunity, and it was a very personal experience. It affected my thinking on issues of race, religion, and heritage.

I know the guy who carved this totem, he lives and works in my hometown.

Funny.

Native creation mythology tells that Raven brought light to the world.

Both the sun and the moon.

My grandmother told me about this.

Where did the term "Indian Giver" come from? The one's who couldn't keep their word were many of the early presidents of the United States. Theft, exploitation, and genocide...plain and simple.

The first woman sculptor to have permanent work included in Washington DC. A Native American woman whose art will be outside the NMAI.

DC part 3

2007-09-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

We visited the Capitol building.

The dome of the Capitol Rotunda is truly impressive.

There are hundreds of sculptures of important American historical figures in the Capitol.

The old senate meeting room.

The corridors in the House of Representatives wing have these cool murals painted on the ceiling.

Many of the great events of US history are captured.
The back side.

The botanical garden is right next to the Capitol.

What beauty in that 'Mona Lisa' smile!

A preview of what is to come...
And a look back at where we have been!

DC part 2

2007-09-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

On Brenda's birthday, we did some more exploring.

We went to the Museum of Natural History.

The kids got a kick out of it right away because it reminded them of the movie, "Night At The Museum".

The kids are also really into dinosaurs, so they especially appreciated the significant exhibit on dinosaurs.

It is hard not to appreciate a 45+ carat diamond. The Hope Diamond was donated to the museum!

It was really difficult to pry Abigail away from the magnetic rock/paperclip interactive exhibit. By the way, they have a really cool wing covering geology and minerals.

Andrew snapped this photo as I was correcting his sister! He got a big kick out of capturing the moment.

The cleverly positioned the exhibit on Roman architecture so that one can see it reflected in the structures of DC.

We ate dinner at an upscale-ish brewpub, Gordon Biersch. It was amusing how the waitress made a big deal out of saying ... "and we brew all of our own beer here!" I suppose she is used to people marveling at such a concept. I guess that anywhere outside the Pacific NW, it is a novel thing!

On our way back to the Metro, we stopped by Ford's Theater. This was the place where Abraham Lincoln was shot. We also saw the house across the street where he died.

I wonder what would have happened if he would have been able to serve out his second term...

Day Eighteen

2007-08-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

It is really cool that this is something we can look back on months from now and remember our adventures. I hope others are enjoying the vicarious voyage!

We spent our first day in DC doing the 'memorial walk'.

We visited the Washington, World War II, Lincoln, Vietnam, Korea, Jefferson, and Franklin Roosevelt memorials.

The Washington Memorial is impressive, at the same time, it is an obelisk. Also, he was a slave owner. So, I'm not exactly falling over myself to pay homage to the "father of our country". What about the dudes who led for centuries before Washington was here?

The WWII memorial. This picture speaks volumes. Our country played a huge role in liberating people. We owe a debt of gratitude to the average American soldier who paid the price for this end. I love the America that comes to mind when these words are applicable: "to end tyranny... Americans..."

Respect and honor to the men who stormed the beaches of Europe during the war.

This portion of the WWII monument is compelling, each star represents 1,000 Americans who paid the ultimate sacrifice. The inscription says, "Here we mark the price of freedom".

Andrew walking toward the most significant staircase in our nation's history.

What a design consideration with this sculpture of 3 soldiers looking on toward the wall at the Vietnam Memorial.

The wall is inscribed with names of the more than 70,000 men who paid the ultimate price to fight communism on Vietnamese soil.

The Lincoln Memorial is less than 100 yards from the Vietnam Memorial.

The greatest ever?

The Korean War Memorial.

This wall at the Korean War Memorial reads, "Freedom is not free". I am sobered by what that means or has meant for our armed forces.

At the FDR Memorial, "This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny". It was true for the people of FDR's time, what about today? What are we about today?

I appreciate FDR for these words, "I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed...I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war." Is there anyone who wants to see war continue?

This wall says, "They who seek to establish systems of government based on the regimentation of all human beings by a handful of rulers...call this a new order. It is not new and it is not order." Word!

Thomas Jefferson.

The memorial building for him.

Andrew snapped a shot of his parents inside the top of the Washington Monument.

Oh yeah, we visited this place too! I hope they were making wise decisions in there!

Day Seventeen

2007-08-29T04:25:00.000-07:00

Arrival in Washington, D.C.

We arrived fairly early in the afternoon, and could not check in to our hotel, so we went on a little excursion to the Iwo Jima Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetary.

The Iwo Jima Memorial.
A great view of the Lincoln and Washington monuments.

The final resting place of president Kennedy.

Andrew standing next to JFK's famous "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country".

The president's brother and attorney general, Robert F. Kennedy.

His profound words following the MLK assassination.

Memorial for the Challenger crew.

Memorial for the special forces team who attempted to liberate the hostages in Iran.

Memorial for the Columbia crew.

The tomb of the unknown soldier. Here we also watched the changing of the guard ceremony.

We covered a lot of ground, and the kids were tired, so I carried both of them for a while.

Day Sixteen

2007-08-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

Philadelphia.

It was a quick, half-day visit, but we saw a lot.

The Liberty Bell.

The resting place of Benjamin Franklin.

Independance Hall.

A painting of the meeting discussing and signing the Declaration of Independence.

The actual room it took place in.

And after all of that fun and excitement for the kids, there was a rainstorm just after we checked into our hotel. The parking lot was pretty well flooded, and they cut loose.

Lots of history and lots of fun!

Day Fifteen

2007-08-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

On day thirteen, we drove from Chicago to Shelby, OH. Not much there, just a campground. This was an intermediate stop from point a to point b, and was only expected to be a place to stay the night. It was exactly that, and really not at all noteworthy except for what happened a few days after we left. They had record flooding as this article details. We are very thankful to have missed that!

On day fourteen, we drove from Shelby to Gettysburg, PA. We were planning to have a 'day off' there and not do anything special.

This critter will probably be the most memorable photo subject from Gettysburg for the kids.

I had hoped to convince the family to do the 'auto tour' of Gettysburg on day fifteen, but the kids were not at all interested in seeing a battlefield when the alternative was a pool. So, Brenda encouraged me to go on my own and to take my time. There are many places in this country that could be listed among the most important. I think that Gettysburg ranks at least top five. That of course is my opinion, but I have not been so emotionally moved by a place since I visited Ellis Island years ago. If you are not up on your US or Civil War history, here is a primer for Gettysburg.

It is sobering to think about the ultimate sacrifice that approximately 51,000 men gave on this land.

I'm not sure what you all will think, but when I stood at the place where this cannon fired the first shot of the battle, and as I looked out over the surrounding fields, I teared up. What an amazing price all those men paid for human freedom and for our nation's union.

I wish I could believe that today's leaders intended to lead as Abraham Lincoln did.

I got to see a cannon fired in Civil War fashion. Loud!!!

Did angels come and herald each of the heroes sacrifice on those days?

What does our flag stand for today? Are we still willing to sacrifice for America so she can be what our forefathers intended her to be?

What a phenomenal feeling to stand on the ground where America's greatest president (my opinion, like it or leave it) spoke his most famous words. Take a minute and read the text of the Gettysburg Address.

The Soldiers' National Monument.

It was a deeply meaningful day, and I'm glad that I got to experience it in a way that lended to the introspective.

And I was glad to come back to the family.

Day Twelve

2007-08-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

What, no day eleven? Well, that could happen, but the truth is that we drove all day, and there was not really anything noteworthy. We drove from the Twin Cities area to the Chicago area.

So, day twelve. Chicago.

We went to the Planetarium, aquarium, Navy Pier, a sightseeing cruise, and to the top of the John Hancock building.

We got a little artistic here. The planetarium was the best of the 3 I have been to in my life.

The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is pretty cool. By far, the best I have ever been to. They even had a Komodo Dragon, which happens to be Andrew's favorite reptile.

Sweet dolphin show too! A little bit about entertainment, and a lot about education.

The 'cruise' was marginally worth while.

Quite possibly, the most redeeming quality of the 'cruise' was the tip we got to not waste our time with the Sears Tower, and go instead to the John Hancock Center. It was a very impressive view.

That said, Abigail was not impressed. She actually fell asleep on my shoulders as we walked to the Hancock.

After the Hancock, we walked back to Navy Pier, had dinner, snapped this photo (with the Hancock in the background), then went back to our hotel.

It was a very busy day in Chicago.

Day Ten

2007-08-23T15:32:00.001-07:00

We should have known that once the kids saw the amusement park in MOA, that they would be fixated on that and that alone. So, our day at the MOA centered around the amusement park.

You might be able to make out Brenda's hair higlighted by the sun in this one.

Some of the Lego creations in 'Lego Land' are truly impressive in both size and complexity.

The real highlight of the visit was Underwater Adventures. It was really cool to walk through these passageways UNDER the aquarium. There were a couple hundred feet of these glass (or lexan) tunnels.

I know Andrew loved it!

Beauty is sometimes found in the simplest of things.

What are you smiling about?

Abigail recognized this as Nemo.

The 'touch' pool was pretty cool! Both of the kids touched stingrays and sharks.

Andrew was not excited about going on the 'baby' rides with his sister, but he did a good job of riding with her.

Andrew liked the 'thrill' rides. So did daddy.

We ended our day at the MOA at 'Famous Dave's' barbeque. It was good!

And, of course, no day would be complete without a swim at the hotel pool!

By the way, both of the kids are getting to be really good swimmers!

Day Nine

2007-08-22T18:13:00.000-07:00

So, after you get east of the Badlands, there is not a whole lot in South Dakota. That is, until you get to Mitchell. We got into Mitchell a little late and set up our camp, swam in the campground pool, then went to bed. The next morning, we got up and went into town to experience The Corn Palace! Yeah, it was a 'corny' thing to do, but hey, you gotta lower yer standards sometimes!

On the other side of the interstate is a very large Cabelas sporting goods store. We needed some camping equipment/supplies, so we made the stop. They had an impressive collection of taxidermy, and Andrew began his budding photography career there. This first shot is of a bunch of record deer.

I gotta say I'm impressed with his composition here.

Nice staging/coaching of his 'model' here.

This day's destination was Bloomington, MN, home of the Mall of America, a truly impressive mall. It is also home of 'Legoland' and an indoor amusement park. We just stopped over there for dinner, and snapped these couple of shots.

More MOA fun tomorrow!

Day Eight

2007-08-22T04:30:00.000-07:00

Today, we head out of SW South Dakota. On our way out, we went back to the Crazy Horse Memorial and walked through the visitor's center and all of its exhibits. This is a phenomenal memorial, and I hope to see it when it is finished.

Next, we stopped at a place called "Bear Country", where they have a drive through animal park, and a walk through area that includes young animals. This is a baby cougar playing.

This little fella is begging for Cheerios that park workers were dispensing to guests to feed the cubs.

Fun times!

Next, we visited "Reptile Gardens". This place has a great collection of all types of reptiles, including an impressive group of crocodilians.

They had a few of these giant tortoises running around.

Continuing on, we drove through the beautiful Badlands.

It was a long day.

Day Seven

2007-08-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

We started off our first full day in SW South Dakota at the Mammoth Site. It was very interesting and fascinating to see the numerous specimens they have unearthed there.

Andrew even got in on the action carrying around a Columbia Mammoth mandible for all to see. Okay, it was a cast reproduction, but still heavy enough to be a challenge for him!

This is a real mammoth skull in an authentic dig!

One of the scary things they have unearthed there is the remains of the giant short faced bear. Imagining this creature is a truly frightening thing. Andrew dramatizes it well in this photo!

On our way to the next stop, we saw this cute little family.

That next stop was Wind Cave National Park. It was really cool (Literally! While the surface temperature was in the middle 90's, the caves were in the middle 60's) to go underground and see these geological formations.

This was Andrew's favorite formation: "Dog Tooth Spar".

Next, we went on a nice scenic drive on our way to Mount Rushmore. Did I mention that there were bikers in the area?

Mount Rushmore is very cool!

Did I mention that there were bikers in the area?

Day Six

2007-08-21T04:02:00.000-07:00

So, we left the barren wasteland of Sheridan, WY, and headed east toward Devil's Tower. I was really looking forward to this, I felt like it was going to be really impressive. Devil's Tower does not disappoint! It is the first national monument established in US history.

It was a beautiful place, and the kids had a great time scrambling on the boulders at the base. I'm amazed at how agile they are! Especially Abigail! She has little problem keeping up with her big brother!

At this point in the journey, we had seen hundreds of bison. At Devil's Mountain, we saw the first of several prarie dog 'towns' we would see over the next couple of days. It is kind of cool at first, and you pull over and take pictures. Then after seeing dozens of these 'towns', you realize it would be like taking a picture of a Canada goose in Oregon!

Devil's Mountain is also where we saw our first large collection of bikers! When I was planning this trip, I did not know that we would be in South Dakota during 'Sturgis Bike Week'.

Sturgis. What a place! We drove through town, then back through again to get back to the interstate.

It was the middle of the day, so there was no significant debauchery or nudity taking place. At the same time, there were a few 'colorful' people around!

This was probably the most wholesome picture that could have been taken in Sturgis that week!

We ended the day in Custer, SD. We would be there a couple of days to see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, along with other attractions. After setting up our camp, we went to the night lighting presentation at the Crazy Horse Memorial.

The lighting was pretty cool, what with lasers and a soundtrack that told the story of the memorial. The memorial is a private (NOT government funded) memorial, and its story is a great one about how the family of the sculptor continue work to this day. The whole presentation was pretty cool, right up until they finished off the soundtrack with Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American". I mean come on, Crazy Horse was killed by a US soldier who stabbed him in the BACK! Oh well, what can you do?

Day Five

2007-08-21T03:50:00.001-07:00

The two times we have been to TNP, we have felt that it was too soon to leave when that time came. This was no exception! It is just such a beautiful place! I appreciate it even more now as I sit writing this in a place that is not so naturally beautiful!

Goodbye Tetons and Jackson Lake!

Somewhere between TNP and Yellowstone, we began seeing Bison, hundreds of them! We even got to witness a fight between two huge bulls! What a sight to see, these guys are immense and muscular!

We continued through YNP toward the NE entrance, and on the way made a stop at Tower Falls.

Maybe at some point in your driving life, you may have in frustration asked, "does this guy think he owns the road?" Trust me, if one of these guys is in the road, the answer to that question is an emphatic "yes"!

The photos for the day end with a few shots of Wyoming's Big Horn mountains, because after you get out of them, it gets a little desolate and plain.

Day Four

2007-08-20T04:20:00.001-07:00

We camped at the Colter Bay campground in TNP. Our campsite was just about 100 yards from Jackson Lake. We got there late in the day, so the tent sites were all full. We got into a space in the RV area, and that worked just fine, we stayed there for two nights. During our full day at Jackson Lake, we went for a hike, and hung out at the beach. Along with those, we did all the things you do camping (which will be implied from here forward). Things like building fires, roasting marshmallows, making s'mores, burning stuff, sitting around the campfire, swatting at bugs, watching dvds, you know, all that stuff!

It was really stinkin' hot this day! We set out on a hike, and the kids didn't take long to begin complaining about the heat. What they really wanted to do was go swimming. We made the most of our opportunity to hike, but only got about 1.5 miles in. Either way, it was really cool that we got to see a doe and two fawns. These actually passed in front of Brenda and the kids on the trail just feet away.

We didn't take any swimming pictures. I guess this happened because we all went swimming! Suffice it to say that the lake was really nice with a water temperature somewhere in the 60's.

Day Three

2007-08-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, we could do a much better job of updating this here deal, and we will attempt to do so.

When we left Boise, we headed east on I-84, and made a stop at Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls, ID.

There have been a few things we wondered about in anticipation of this trip. Things like, how will the kids handle the thousands of miles of driving? Will they get along? Will they miss their friends? Will they be poorly affected by the change of lifestyle? Will we grow as a family?

Well, the kids are handling the 6-8 hour driving days quite well. They are getting along about the same as any other 6 and 3 year old siblings. Which, at times makes us wonder if WE will be able to handle the whole trip! They definitely miss their friends! Sometimes when A & A have a conflict, Abigail talks of how a similar (or not at all similar) situation plays out between her and Blythe. Andrew gets very frustrated with this and says, "that has nothing to do with... !" It is loads of fun! I think the kids have been affected by the loss of structure in their lives. Traveling every day, a different schedule every day, a different bed of sleeping place every day, and so on have affected them. We have worked on adding some kinds of structure to our days, but that is nearly impossible with our itinerary!

So, we continued on from Shoshone Falls all the way to Teton National Park, arriving at about dusk. The kids were ready to stretch their legs and were excited to see Jackson Lake.

This was our first National Park, and its beauty was well worth the drive!

The kids were definitely ready to explore the park the next day! Actually, Andrew was just concerned about building a fire. This is precisely what he was commenting on when this picture was snapped.

Day Two

2007-08-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

As planned, we are not driving today. I planned this trip to only drive around 6 hours on the days we drive, and to have a day off after a driving day.

So, we are in the Boise, ID area. Brenda and I felt the need to satisfy some nostalgic hunger, so we drove around and passed by our first apartment as a married couple (along with all the subsequent housing we had), and the first house we bought.

As we have hoped to do on this trip, we balanced the 'adult' interest activities with a 'kid' activity by going to a water park. This was the first time that either of the kids have been to a water park, and they had a lot of fun.

After being there for about 3 hours, a really violent storm blew in, and the park was closed. They were giving out passes to everyone to return on another day free of charge. I explained to the customer service person that we would not be able to return as we are 'out of towners'. So, we got a full refund! Cool! We rode nearly every slide in the park for free!

The kids really loved the wave pool!

Abigail thoroughly enjoyed the 'kiddie area'.

Tomorrow, we drive to Teton National Park.

Road Trip!

2007-08-18T18:19:00.001-07:00

I know it has been a long time since we have posted anything, but we are on VACATION! Brenda and I are sitting here with Andrew watching "Planet Earth" episode 2, in Gettysburg, PA. It has been a lot of fun, and we are almost to the east coast of the USA! Today, we had a 'day off', sort of. The family hung out and relaxed at the campground while I went and toured the Civil War's most deadly battle ground. But that will have to wait...

Day One.

We drove from Portland to the Boise, ID area. That was not really anything new to any of us. Case in point:

But it is a family vacation, and that makes everything better!

So, it was a long day driving (potty breaks and the like), but we put some miles behind us.

Just as we were arriving at our stop, we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset, the kind you only find in the west...

We have a lot of miles before us, and so far the family is holding up well. If today is any indication of how well the kids will travel, we are going to have a good trip!

Miss It Already!

2007-08-06T06:37:00.000-07:00

These photos are going to be all out of order, but it is the best I can do with the connection I have where I am today.

We went to a beach (Alaska has as much coastline as most of the rest of the US combined, and much of that is in SE.) and played on our next to last day there. It was a good time as you'll see in some photos below.

This is the second family photo we have since arriving in AK. Brenda was marveling over that because she could not remember the last time we had taken a family photo.

Kids love the ocean!
Especially Abigail!

On a different day, we went over to a friend's house on another island and had a good old fashioned bonfire and roasted marshmallows. What you can't see in this photo is how wet I am. It had just rained about as hard as rain can be. I was never in the boy scouts, but I can start a fire in the rain.
Intoxicated with the goodness of mallow!

Brenda snapped this one when I decided it was time to empty the rainwater out of the boat. What you do is you get going, then pull the drain plug, and all of the water drains out. Not advised if you are not in motion!

We went to Saxman (a village 2 miles out of Ketchikan) and watched the Cape Fox Dancers in the Beaver clan house.

Do your best to never make an eagle angry!

I don't take enough pictures of Brenda.

Saxman.

The Beaver clan house.

The best marshmallow sticks are made from Alder branches!

It has been a whirlwind so far, and I have been having a difficult time getting posts on this blog. Either I have a bad connection, or no desire to stop the adventure to post on a blog. I hope to get more posted in the weeks to come!

Up next, Boise, Teton, Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, and BIKERS!!!

Hiking & Fishing

2007-07-31T09:00:00.001-07:00

Two of the things I have always loved to do, and there is nowhere else that compares to SE Alaska!

We hiked in to a lake that my dad named after my niece Ashley to do some trout fishing. My dad had told me that this lake is usually so full of Cutthroat trout that they become cannibalistic due to the competition for food. Well, I think the one Andrew caught was one of the 'winners'. It was the only one we caught! This lake had little sign of anything swimming thing in it. Even the beaver who made the lake was no where to be found!

This lake is one that is within a mile of the home I lived in when I was around Andrew's age. My sister and I used to walk to it regularly to catch newts. Once, when we were little we caught a bucket full of them, then went door to door attempting to sell them as pets!

Wildlife viewing is such a phenomenal part of the Alaska experience! After being away for so long, Brenda and I now both realize how much we took it for granted when we lived here.

This is one of my favorite eagle pictures. This dude is carrying a salmon that probably weighs around 5-7 pounds. We didn't see him catch it, but he probably launched down out of a tree, swooped down to the water, snatched it, and flew back to the beach, all in a seamless and fluid fashion. We saw this happen a few times, and it never ceases to impress! This guy was on a rocky beach snacking on this fish as we rode by in our boat. When we stopped, the eagle flew away, then flew back toward us, and 'click', I captured the memory!

The day we leave Alaska, August 1, deer hunting season opens. Lucky for this little lady's kind that I won't be here! :)

Captain Andrew!

Captain Abigail!

Andrew and Abigail with one of the many mud sharks that we caught in our fishing adventures! Unfortunately for us, we did not catch much else to brag about.

Rain Gauge

2007-07-31T08:42:00.001-07:00

It rains a bit in Ketchikan! I uploaded this one at a higher resolution, so you can see it in a readable size if you click on it. Having discovered that blogger automatically formats embedded pics, I think I'll do this more often.

One Week

2007-07-24T10:46:00.001-07:00

Here is a view of the harbor where my family kept their boats. My grandpa was a commercial fisherman. Working with him was the first job I had. I went to work with him when I was 11 for 2 weeks, then at 12 and 13, I worked all summer. He retired after that, but probably could have gone for a while longer. A normal work day lasted up to 16 hours!

My people are really artistically talented. I guess I shouldn't assume that anyone knows what that means. My dad is an Alaskan Native of the Tlingit tribe, feel free to become educated here, here, and here.

An interesting fact that I have not had opportunity to share with many is the origin of my name, Ketah. The name is an anglicized (the white man just could not leave it alone!) version of the Tlingit word for killer whale, 'Keet'.

We have had a great time so far. I can't believe that we have already been here a week! Brenda and the kids have had lots of fun, as have I. We have visited nearly everybody we have intended to. It has been great to catch up with old friends and family. We are going to go fishing later this week, and today we will either go out on a boat ride, or to the 'Totem Heritage Center'.

I made some reservations yesterday for places we will be on our road trip. I found out that we will be in South Dakota during the big biker rally in Sturgis. It looks like there will be over a half-million bikers in the area at that time!

Unplug!

2007-07-23T13:28:00.000-07:00

I just spent a whole lot more time than I should have reading and writing online on something that is not sabbatical-ish, so I'm not going to be able to put much time into a post here today.

We had a nice family picnic at this manmade salt lagoon.

Then we went to a place where we watched these guys:

And the day ended in unparalleled natural beauty.

First Full Day

2007-07-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

Alaska is awesome! Literally. Our first full day here was phenomenal. The weather was great with barely a cloud in the sky. The ocean air was crisp, and the winds were only a slight breeze. It is kind of strange, but we have not taken a family photo in quite some time. It is appropriate that we would take one at 'home'.

There is a state park near where we are staying called "Totem Bight". We walked around there and looked at all of the totems. This is the type of structure that my ancestors held special celebrations in. There is a significant depth to the customs of my people, you can read a little about these celebrations here and here.

There are eagles everywhere in southeast Alaska! When our plane landed, we even had to wait a moment on the runway before we could taxi to the terminal because there were two eagles that wouldn't move.

Andrew and Abigail are loving the beach adventures! Andrew has been overturning rocks looking for little 'crabbies' to catch.

Abigail didn't wait long before she went swimming in the ocean.

This place is so beautiful, I may live in other places, but my heart will always belong to southeast Alaska.

An Early Morning

2007-07-19T13:38:00.001-07:00

We started out on Tuesday morning at 4 am! Our friend Sarah (who we stayed with overnight in Redmond), gave us a ride to the Sea-Tac airport, and drove our van back to park while we are gone.

We had plenty of time, so we hung out in the food court/observation area until it was time to go to our gate.

We had a great flight, and the kids enjoyed their first time flying. In Abigail's true form, she said the funniest thing as we were about to taxi, "We are going to blast off now!"

More to come...

Ketchikan

2007-07-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

In a little over 48 hours, we will be in our hometown of Ketchikan, Alaska. I have missed it. Brenda and I have not been there in 15 years. I'm looking forward to it a lot! One thing I'm not looking forward to is the rain! This came from the Wikipedia entry on Ketchikan:

The town was certified in 2005 as the fourth wettest spot on earth, with nearly 200 inches (5100 mm) of rain (the general range is 130-170 inches/3300-4300 mm)

It rains all the time there. If you are from the Portland area, you can try to imagine it by quadrupling the rainfall in the Portland area!

New Blog!

2007-07-14T17:53:00.001-07:00

I should have started this one a long time ago!

I and my family go on a fair amount of adventures, and they really ought to be chronicled somewhere. Why not a blog?

Well, alrighty then, we will do that!

We are about to embark on an epic adventure (at least in the realm of family vacations). In approximately 2 hours, I will be off of work for 74 days! Yes, my sabbatical has come! I have 10 weeks off of work! Woohoo!

We will be traveling to Alaska to our hometown of Ketchikan over the next two weeks. After that, we will come back to PDX for 3 days, then leaving on a tour O' America that will cover nearly 8000 miles on the road!

I'm hoping to do a good job of capturing the stuff we do! I have a laptop, and a sweet digital SLR camera, an awesome team (Brenda, Andrew, and Abigail), and no hesitance on spending whatever is necessary to do it right!

Check it regulary, I'm going to try to have something up as often as possible!