Grewingk Glacier and Lake

Just a small glimpse ....there is a float plane (tiny dot on right) that was struggling to take off from the Lake...it may look small but it's noisy I'm afraid.



Face of Glacier starts to come into view at around 21 secs and then you can see the face.
It's riddled with crevices. A sightseeing plane that was forced to land on the Glacier a few weeks after this was taken did well to remain unscathed (Well the plane flipped but everyone was rescued without serious injuries)see here

Assorted photos of Tutka...

Trees wrapped in moss




Fungus on a tree trunk







Another view of the falls at the head of the bay, they are 300 feet high and very pretty..

Tutka ..More pictures

Summer trip Tutka Bay

We had such a great time on our first sea Kayak trip to Kachemak Bay State Park that we had to try and fit in a second visit. Nate suggested we might enjoy Tutka Bay and he was right!

Tutka bay view towards the entrance...♥



We drove down from Anchorage to Homer spit (A 221 mile drive)and took a water taxi again we went with Homer Ocean Charters..they have a great landing craft that makes it easy to load Kayaks even if the water is a bit frisky,. We were dropped off at the mouth of the bay at the aptly named Kayak beach..there we set up our tent and had a rest (I think it was the getting up at 3am to drive down that ensured Sunday was a low activity day!) A day for enjoying sitting on the beach and drinking a lot of tea whilst the girls explored the tide pools.

Next day we set off and Kayaked down the bay to Grace Ridge trail head where we set up camp. The tide and the wind were not with us so it was a bit of effort to Kayak the 6 1/2 to 7 miles...about half way down the bay. My Kayak kept on trying to take me to closer beaches but we made it.

It was a rainy week so rather than camp and move we stayed put at that camp site ..which was pretty darn special and made forays by Kayak to explore the bay .

At the head of the bay is a beautiful 300 foot waterfall..well worth the paddle (again against the tide and wind so a bit of work but it was all made up for on the return to the campsite ..the tide and wind were with us so we broke our speed records that time)

Across from our campsite was a lagoon..a belted Kingfisher was fishing in the channel when we paddled across, we chose a morning when the sea was a limpid reflecting pool...beautiful. The children call this magic mountain water as everything reflects magically in it.
The Salmon were returning to the lagoon so it was home to a growing fleet of fishing boats or boats containing men fishing with rod and line (to be more accurate)
A young Bald eagle swooped down and caught a fish and managed to eat some before an older Eagle flew in and mugged him.

We saw an Otter or otters everyday this trip. Many Eagles and many diving birds.
There were Jelly fish drifting in the sea and Star fish and sunflower star fish on the rocks. Tiny fish, Hermit crabs, shellfish and anemones inhabited the rock pools and the barnacles covered rocks and logs alike. Salmon jumped on their way back to the lagoon/their river and Sea gulls supervised.






Map of Kayak beach



Setting off from Kayak Beach (A short water taxi ride from Homer spit)






Otter at Lunch...



Who can resist an Arch to Kayak through?

Rhubarb Muffins

I was experimenting and it worked..(this is not always the case...lol)

Rhubarb Muffins



Makes 12

dry
~~~~
1 and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour (I use a small teacup)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 a cup of sugar

wet
~~~~
1 egg
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
some milk (probably about 1/2 a teacupful...enough to make a stiffish not sloppy batter )

I slim stick of rhubarb chopped into thin slices (mine ended up like cm cubes)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mix the wet with the dry
Stir in the rhubarb
spoon into paper cases

top each with a teaspoon of soft brown sugar (how much you put is according to taste)

Bake in a 400 degrees f oven for 20 mins (or until cooked)

Super yummy

Tutorial Thanks

This house has been invaded by the feverish cold /flu'y cold bug...yuk
It's the season...back to school

So Many Many thanks to all the kind folks that write such lovely lovely tutorials that save our sanity!

this week each snuffly girls chose a tutorial and was off...

Oldest d (9) found Heidi Bears how to begin crochet tutorial all by herself and was off...

Many Thanks Heidi she is so proud of herself and is confident enough to work totally by herself (which is just as well as I can't crochet .....yet :0) )

First result was scarf for her doll Katie




Second a hat for her homemade doll Kirstin



Not forgetting Thanks to Cheryl here for the inspiration for Kirstin
(We managed to get the doll making book by interlibrary loan it travelled from the East coast to stay with us for a week and it was well worth it :0)Thanks!)

Younger d (7) prefers sewing and this Seahorse tutorial was right up her street ...We found this Tutorial here at Mothering with Rhythm & Rhyme
(and until I was composing this blog entry I hadn't realised that younger d has named her Seahorse after the Shannon who designed the original! (hope this is OK !!!)
Shannon the Seahorse was started and completed in a day off when the bug had reached the cough/snuffle stage. This project worked a treat. Again lovely clear instructions and a great end result....



So Many Many thanks for all the time and effort that goes into these tutorials and posts ..this household really appreciates them!!!