Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

Hello all! As you know, we have visitors! Kayla and Colt arrived a little late, very early Thursday morning (nearly 1am). They were exhausted from their long flight from NC, and I can definitely sympathize. I detest flying to the east coast myself, as it’s such a long flight.

On the way to the airport, Steve and I hardly spoke. We were both deep in thought about what was about to happen. It’s hard to believe that 18 years had passed since Steve last saw Kayla. A few days before her arrival, we looked at the photographs that he has of her - as a baby - that he’s kept with him all these years.  It was quite emotional.

Kayla and Colt were just about the last ones down from the gate. They took the elevator, as Kayla had Colt in a stroller. The door opened, and I saw them standing there. Steve moved toward them, and I began taking photos. It was such a wonderful moment, to see them hug each other after so long. Colt seemed a little confused as to who we were, but he warmed up to us. Both Kayla and Steve had tears in their eyes, and after they finally let go of each other, I gave Kayla a big hug too. (I’m posting all photos at full size - sorry if they load slow!)

When we got home, everyone seemed to have their second wind. Colt was running around as if he had slept all night, wanting to explore the house, touching everything, reminding me of the days when I had toddlers still living at home. Boy, are they fast! *grin*

We put Colt in his pajamas, and sat in the living room chatting until he fell asleep. I went to bed a little before 2am, and Steve and Kayla stayed up a little longer talking. Here’s a photo of beautiful Colt taken after we got back to our house:

The time change really wreaked havoc on both Colt’s and Kayla’s schedule. They were up very early the next morning, and Colt wasn’t the happiest baby. We did our best to entertain him, allowing him time to get used to the two strangers who are his grandparents. (It feels good to write the word grandparents!) Actually Steve is referred to as Paw Paw and I am Na Na, although Colt calls me Nee Nee. That’s good enough for me!

After having breakfast of bacon and eggs, we dressed Colt in the winter gear that I was generously given by a wonderful lady named Katie on the online Fairbanks Freecycle group. (If you have a local Freecycle group, take advantage of it rather than putting useful items in the landfill. Katie was a lifesaver!) We pulled on the snowsuit, and chose a typical Alaska style hat. Kayla had a few giggles over it, but we assured her that Colt fit right in with the other children of Alaska in his get-up.

We drove downtown to see if we could catch any of the mushers coming over the finish line for the Yukon Quest. This year, the race started in Whitehorse Canada, and finished here in Fairbanks. We waited on the frozen river for about 30 minutes, but no one crossed the finish line. We later found out that a musher came by about 30 minutes after we left.  Colt did get to meet some sled dogs, waiting in a dog truck in the parking lot though.

After we left the downtown area, we drove over to Pioneer Park to see the old log cabins. I took a photo of the three of them posing with the musher cutout and sled:

I love the way Colt is looking up at Steve in this photo:

Colt was a little taken aback by the snow at first. When he touched it for the first time, he pulled his hand back quickly. But after a little while, he didn’t have a problem playing with it. We tried to keep his mittens on, but in typical kid fashion, they kept falling off (or were they pulled off?! *grin*). Here’s Paw Paw putting him on top of a big pile of snow. He wanted to climb up on it. He’s never seen so much snow before!

It snowed on us all day long, which I think is just beautiful. It was a winter wonderland for sure. A big change from North Carolina!

Yesterday morning - for breakfast - Kayla made cream chipped beef on toast (from scratch), which was delicious. We enjoyed several cups of coffee and relaxed for a long while, as Colt had gotten Kayla up very early. After his noon nap, we all went out to run a few brief errands, and then we drove by the reindeer up at UAF.

Colt calls every big animal with four legs a bull, as that is what he’s grown up around. He cracked us up when we showed him the reindeer. “A Bull!” he yelled! Later, while driving down a back road, we saw a cow moose in the woods. Again, from the back seat, “A BULL!!!!” It was so adorable!

We decided to drive up to the top of Ester Dome to get a view of Fairbanks and the surrounding hills. The wind up there was really blowing, which made it feel really cold. Even I dislike wind, so we made picture taking a QUICK affair. Colt had a hood, but it kept blowing off - another reason for running to the overlook, taking quick photos, and running back to the car. (It was above zero, even though it looks much colder)

On the way back down Ester Dome Rd, we came upon a woman pulled off the road, whose dog was running loose in the street. We had passed her on the way up and thought that she was just exercising her dogs. Seeing her in the same spot on the way down, made me think something was wrong, so we stopped.

Apparently she had been trying to catch her dog for two hours! She was nearly in tears, and freezing, and Heidi (her dog) was spooked and wouldn’t come back to the truck with her dog sister.  Steve pulled over, and Kayla and I tried to coax Heidi to the truck. She wanted no parts of any of us. Finally, after about 30 minutes, she trotted over to the truck and hopped up in the back.

The woman thanked us profusely, but we really didn’t do anything. Heidi just wasn’t ready to go home, I guess. Still, she was thankful that we stopped to assist. I felt terrible for her - standing out there for so long trying to get the dog. I could see her shivering as we tried to help. I can bet Heidi won’t be let off her leash again!

When we got home, we put on lounging clothes - happy to be back in a warm house. I made enchiladas for dinner, and Kayla, Colt and Steve watched a movie while I was cooking. I glanced over at Steve and saw Colt sitting with his Paw Paw, so I had to grab my camera and steal a few photos:

I love this photo! Hahaha!

Last night, after Colt fell asleep, we adults played a couple hands of cards before calling it a night. I think we were all in bed by 10pm. Having a little one around is exhausting! No wonder we have babies when we’re young, because the stamina sure isn’t there when you’re older! *grin*

It’s been very enjoyable having Colt and Kayla visiting. We have enjoyed getting to know Kayla better, and hearing little feet running, and baby giggles.  I do hope that they can come again in the summertime, so we can show them more of Alaska.

This morning, I am up early (4am) because I had a nightmare. I couldn’t fall back to sleep, so I decided to make good use of the quiet morning hours. I’ve already had my coffee, and decided to update here.

The plans for today include attending the North Pole Championship Races at Chena Lakes Rec Area, so Colt and Kayla can see the dogs and sleds run. After the races, we’re going to have lunch at Pagoda, and visit the Santa Claus House. I don’t know if Santa is there today, but the reindeer are.

We’ll be taking them to the Ice Park on Monday, so Colt can play on the ice slides. I plan to do a formal photo shoot with them at some point.  I probably won’t update again until after they’re gone, but I wanted to share these photos with you all and let you know how things are going.

Kayla is such a sweet and loving young woman, and I am so thankful that she found us and wanted to see us. I know Steve is beyond happy to have her and Colt here with us this week. It’s been quite the experience for all of us.

Although Steve did not get to share in her life over the last 18 years, this is a new beginning for all of us. We are grateful that we have this chance.