On June 17th, Sussie's mom came up to Alaska for her first visit. We decided it would be fun for us to take her on the same tour that the site committee took while they were here in Alaska. Sussie and her mom started out by going to the Conervation Wildlife Refuge Center. This is a center where animals go that are either injured and stay until they are strong enough to return to the wild, or can be sent to a zoo somewhere in the lower 48. Some of the residents have grown so used to humans, that they are happier to remain in the reserve, so they live their days out here is Alaska. This is strickly a Non-profit facility. Mom had so much fun meeting several animals for the first time. She met Cariboos, Musk-ox, Moose, Plains Buffalo, Brown Bear, (the black bear were hidding) Sitka deer, Reindeer and we saw about 10 Eagles through-out the day. It was a beautiful day over all. After the Wildlife refuge center we went to Portage Glacier and Mom got to see her first floating iceberg!
On the weekend we took Mom south to Seward for our second crusie with Renoun Tours. What a fantastic trip we had! Oh my gosh! We had the best time ever! We saw the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. I know, I live here, but really what a splendid state we live in! Mom of course wanted pictures of every thing, so we took as many pictures of everything, including Terry eating lunch! Smoked salmon of course!
The cruise was a six hour cruise, and we saw humpback whales so close you could actually hear them calling to each other. It was amazing. We got to see the glaciers calving, and I have never before seen that. It was so incredible. The noise that comes from the glacier is so hard to describe, I hope the video that Terry took has the sounds on it, because I can not describe the noise from the glaciers. I truely thought the captain started the boat engines again. He did not, it was in fact the glacier! It is truely a once in a life time expierence. So those of you who come to Alaska for the conference, you must take this cruise, you will be so glad that you did! I will attach some of the photos we took for your enjoyment!
Monday I was able to take the majority of the day off and take Mom to the Native Heritage Center, I think it is by far one of the best places to see in all of Anchorage. It is a bit pricey, but 90% of the proceeds go towards education in the villages, so it is worth it. Anyway, we spent 4 hours at the center, taking our time going through all the exhibits. When the site committee was here, the center wasn't open yet, so they weren't able to see very much at all. There are exhibits, artists displaying their crafts. My favorite artist is Jerry. He makes drums and paints them by hand. He tells the story of the design he paints.
Around the lake there are copies of how each one of the different tribes/villages homes would be. Inside there is an amphi-theather where you can watch demonstrations of Native Games and Native dances, there is also a theater where you can hear some of the old traditional stories that have been passed on from generation to generation. This is a picture of the Heritage Center Dancers
Next weekend we are headed off to the north country. We are going to pop in on my dear friend and 4 time Iditarod Champion, Martin Buser. Mom has never seen a dog sled, so she is in for a treat! I thought I would bring a long one of our citizen's academy shirts for him so when he comes to the National Conference he fits in...
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