Orcas in the Channel

Let's start this week's post with the "boring" stuff:

• Christopher is KILLING it in his classes. On top of working full-time he is taking 7 credits split between math and statistics, and he's being the smartest-mostattractivest-nerd in class. He took an exam in each class this week and scored 100% on both! I'm one proud wife.
• I'm loving my second job working for the Alaska Council of School Administrators. I go in four days a week in the morning before we head to the B&B for our regular job. The ladies who I work with in the office are super sweet, and it's definitely a great experience to build my resume. Plus, I have a lot of fun traveling downtown as I see between 3-6 bald eagles along the way every time.
• Our scheduling at the B&B has been a little confusing for us lately. There has been a lot of back-and-forth over how many days we will be working the rest of our time here. We have our solid five days a week, and every Tuesday it becomes anybody's guess of whether they will tell us we are going to finally have Wednesdays back on or if we are still going to have it off. Instead of getting frustrated by this situation we are taking it in stride, and Tuesday nights have become fun as we plan last minute adventures if we do have the day off.

Now time for the "good" stuff:

• In our Tuesday night scramble for a Wednesday adventure we were able to plan a double date with our friends Ben and Camille. Juneau has been in a constant state of rain lately (as in we legitimately had hurricane warnings this week.... it's SO wet!), so we chose some indoor activities - primarily rock climbing in a gym. Ben picked us up and on our way downtown we saw some orcas swimming in Gastineau Channel! Holy amazing! A lot of Juneauites driving down the highway stopped, and we joined them on the side of the road and watched the killer whales in a state of utter reverence (pardon the grainy phone pictures). Ben is a Juneau local and has worked on whale watching boats for years. He said judging by their movements and the large amount of seagulls flying around that the whales had just finished a hunt and were eating, probably a sea lion. After our free orca show we walked around some local shops, tired out our muscles climbing til our fingers were exhausted, and then went out for dinner.

Remember to pray and remember to play,

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew

The Cabin Fever Lives On

When Chris and I originally switched to five days of work a week instead of six back in June we agreed with management that it would be temporary so we could have extra time to adventure, and then would switch back to six days a week in October. However, all of management went to a conference in Hawaii for a week so they forgot to confirm this with the woman who had been working Wednesdays for us. We were planning on working Wednesday up until Tuesday night when we learned we would have the day off! Of course we didn't complain too much (yah you caught us, we didn't complain at all) and jumped on the opportunity to explore more of this beautiful land we are blessed to live in.

We had so much fun on our cabin outing last week that we decided we wanted to spend the night in yet another forest service cabin. This time we hiked out to Peterson Lake Cabin. The trail was pretty easy in comparison to what we're used to, so we had a lot of fun just hiking and laughing together. 

Boardwalk follows the old horse-tram track through the muskeg to the Peterson mill.

All the beautiful boardwalk trails in Juneau are aesthetically appealing, and seem like a blessing when you don't have to walk on the muskeg (that's the formal name for the bog-like meadows of water, decomposing vegetation, and moss--but I call it Sponge Ground. Every time you step you sink and your shoe fills with water!). However, when it rains these boardwalks are SLICK! Chris and I have both taken quite a few spills on our many hikes, the difference between us is when he slips I always ask if he's ok and offer him a hand up, and when I slip he laughs and makes sure to document it for all of you...

...Yah, that was a faceplant.

Anyways, the last half mile of the trail follows the edge of a pristine lake and we quickly got goosebumps of excitement as we knew we were nearing our destination. When we arrived at our cabin we were blown away with the stillness and peace of this perfect destination. 

We tossed our packs aside and headed straight to the dock where there was a metal rowboat we could play in. I was so happy to be rowing a boat again I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or cry. Chris was likewise affected by the exuberance of holding oars and feeling the pull of the water against them. We've missed the river SO MUCH - SOOOOO MUCH! Though we weren't spoiled with rapids and it wasn't a raft, we still loved the opportunity to row around the beautiful lake together. And let's be honest, we were on a secluded lake in one of the prettiest places on earth alone, it was super romantic. 

To top off our perfect evening, after we had dinner we noticed the northern lights were once again out. How I wish you could all see them! The Auroras dancing across the sky are the most awe-inspiring thing either of us have ever seen. Unfortunately we still don't have a picture for you at this time, so you'll just have to settle for a picture of Chris making a fire in the wood burning stove in our cabin. (P.S. there were no critters or zombies in this cabin - it really was a perfect night!)

On Saturday we biked to the church building to help clean it. It's our ward's month to keep it clean, and we are grateful for the opportunity we have to serve. As we were cleaning a bathroom a sister from the ward popped her head in to tell us we sounded like we were having way too much fun spending our Saturday morning cleaning - I guess life is just as fun as you make it!

This week I also got an offer for a part time job, which I accepted. I will be working in an office downtown a few days a week while Chris is doing his schoolwork. This job came out of the blue, and happened really fast (I'm starting Monday!), but we both feel as if it's been an answer to prayers.

Well it's a long letter this week, props if you made it all the way to the end! Love you all!

Remember to pray and remember to play,

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew

Cabin Fever

The National Forest Service is really great here in Alaska. They have cabins located throughout the state that are very cheap to rent for a night, and free to use during the day. We've played at a few of these cabins during the day, but decided that it was time to hike out to one and spend the night. This was probably one of our greatest ideas, and we only wish we would have started taking advantage of these cabins sooner. We hiked a rocky and wet 5 1/2 miles out to Eagle Glacier Cabin on Wednesday and were greeted with the most spectacular view of the glacier, the glacier's river, and looming snow-capped mountains. The cabin's front porch overlooked this natural beauty, and the inside of the cabin was clean and cozy.

Fall hiking here is the best.

The BIGGEST mushroom we've ever seen.

 The cabin was equipped with a propane heater (fuel included), a wood-burning stove, table, cupboards, bunks, and our favorite part--a loft with a window overlooking the lake and glacier. The deck was spacious and there was a secluded outhouse not far from the cabin.

Our original intentions had been to keep hiking and exploring around once we got to the cabin, but we were so taken aback by the splendor of our new front yard that we opted for a lazy evening and hung our hammock up on the front porch. (For all those of you who wish we lived closer, the truth is we still aren't out of the mushy-gushy, loveyou-loveyoumore newlywed stage. As much as we love hiking, cuddling is sometimes better. You're welcome for moving away so we don't have to subject you to this).

Eagle Glacier and the lake in front of the cabin

Close-up of Eagle Glacier

After dinner we thought it would be fun to play some card games, as we found cards in a cupboard next to the logbook. We lit some candles for light and sat down to play. It didn't take long to realize neither of us could remember a how to play a card game with just two people! Maybe we should stop avoiding invites to "game-nights" as if they were the plague...

The warm cabin would have provided us with a perfect night's rest if it hadn't been for the loud scratching-clawing noise. We were sleeping in the loft and not long after we cuddled up we heard this loud scratching sound. Chris swore it was "just a mouse munching on insulation inside the walls" (cause that is comforting), but I wasn't half convinced it was as small as a tiny innocent mouse. It for sure was a large family of mice that were about to break through the wall and storm us, or a huge rat with rabies that was seconds away from eating through the wall and running into our sleeping bags, or perhaps it was a brain-eating zombie who had been trapped inside and was hungry and ready to get out. Whatever IT was, it was not just a mouse, and you can bet I did not sleep well that night, in between the noise and the nightmares of what was really scratching at the wall. 

However, the morning light was breathtaking, and our hike out was even better than the hike in. The trailhead was pretty far out the road, and without a car we weren't certain how we were going to get back to work in time. Luckily our thumbs and smiles were nice enough that our hitchhiking attempts worked, and a rad guy named Dylan picked us up. He was headed towards the local campus, so he wasn't able to get us all the way home but he got us far enough that we could walk home with plenty of time before work. When we walked past Auke Lake we were greeted with an amazing rainbow in the sky. All in all it was a 99% perfect trip (rabid rats and zombie not included).

Reflections.

On Friday night we saw the northern lights for the first time! The nights are finally getting dark, and it was clear enough for Lady Aurora to shine through. They were too faint to pick up without a fancy camera, so unfortunately we don't have any pictures for you. But we have a full winter ahead to continually search the skies for these majestic lights, and hopefully will one night have colors bright enough that even our amateur cameras can bring some pretty pictures your way.

We loved watching General Conference on Saturday and Sunday. Luckily with the time zone difference we were able to watch all of it live except for the last 15 minutes of Saturday afternoon due to work. We even upheld the Andrew family tradition of hoagie sandwiches, chips, and grapes for lunch! But more important than our full stomachs was being able to hear the testimonies of the three new apostles and have it confirmed through the Spirit that they are indeed called of God. Every General Conference weekend is full of the Spirit, but there was definitely something special this time. I don't think either of us can pick a favorite talk, as there were just too many to love. The speakers were very relevant with all that is going on in the world today, and we thank the Lord for the guidance he is giving us through these troubled times.

Remember to pray and remember to play,

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew