Here we are on top of this hill next to a beautiful lake in Hatcher's Pass.

Bernie took this gorgeous shot with the stream, mountain reflection, fireweed, and unsurpassed AK scenery. We had great weather.

Hatcher's Pass to Willow Motorcyle Ride

Annual Summer German Picnic July 2009

I think Frau Traudl had 38 people this year. We all had a great time. Tom did most of the set up and take down and Chrissy, Barbara, and I helped to serve. Mom is the chief director and looked so happy the entire day but was exhausted at the day's end. The weather was gorgeous as well as her back yard with flowers in complete bloom.

Here are 4 of the Batten children with their wonderful mother. Three of us are in costume and also Carsten had his lederhosen on for awhile but got too hot.

Chrissy and I with Mom. She was the cutest one there...Mom that is. Chrissy made a delicious German chocolate cake and I made apfel strudel (first time for me) and it was a hit!

This is the iron works stamp dated from 1890 to 1903.
This is the tiny town of McCarthy which sits 1 mile down the road from
Kennicott which was a closed controlled mining work operation. It
remained a dry town and only had 6 female employees of which were
the nurses and also one teacher for the children of Kennicott.
This is the Millhouse in which all the copper minerals were taken out of the stone through a crushing process. It has 14 stories and remains the largest (or highest) wooden structure in the US today. It is owned by the Park Service as of 1993 and is in the process of repair. An estimated 40,000 visitors visit this National Park in the Wrangell St. Elias Mtns.
This building has survived the massive '64 earthquake and many
more.

Kennicott Mine and Glacier Trip

Here is the wooden trestle bridge built around 1905. It had the same
building engineer as the White Pass Railroad built in Skagway, AK.
This is a pretty high bridge for this chicken chick (me) to cross in a car
or on a motorcycle. Somehow Bernie forgot to tell me we had to cross
this bridge when he explained to me the route.
Gorgeous scenery when looking back on this photo.
This bridge is still intact today although not used. It's pretty amazing
considering the terrain. There were approximately 6,000 men who
worked on it for 4 yrs.It began in the port of Cordova and ran 196 miles to Kennicott where the copper was shipped out to Seattle to the smelting plant. Part of it went as far north
as Chitna and some sections of it were washed out yearly we were told.

Meme Tag from Bridgette

Eight Things I'm Looking Forward To;
1. Hot summer days
2. Flowers to bloom in my new garden area.
3. Grass to grow on the topsoil (Which will be seeded tomorrow).
4. Riding my motorcycle with more confidence and agility.
5. Going to McCarthy and Kendicott Lodge in 2 weeks.
6. Trip to visit Natalie, Adam, Greta and Will in fall and see their new home
7. German picnic in July
8. Vacation with entire family in AK at Christmas and summer of 2010!

Eight Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Read Bible
2. Work (Cooked bkfst and Lunch for 280) at Camp Gorsuch.
3. Worked on garden.
4. Played with Finn and Elli
5. Folded laundry.
6. Made bean, cheese, and veggie quesidillas for dinner.
7. Watched the movie "Falling Down" with Michael Douglas
8. Took my vitamins.

Eight Places I've Lived

Trenton, New Jersey
Ft. Richardson, AK
Eagle River, AK
Chugiak, AK
Vienna, Austria (4 mos)
Oklahoma City, OK
Alexandria, Virginia 3 mos

Eight Places To Visit

Israel
Turkey
England/Scotland/Wales
Africa
Greece
Italy
Austrailia
New Zealand
Thailand

Eight Fruits I Love

Apples, Granny Smith
Nectarines
Berries, all kinds
Kiwi
Pears
Mango
Apricots
Plums

Eight Things I Wish I could Do

Play piano magnificently
Bend my knee all the way
Tell a joke decently without laughing or messing it up
Keep my mouth shut
Memorize scripture better
Think kind thoughts all the time
Sing with my daughters again
Read stories and play with all our grandkids every weekend and any other time

Climb Every Mountain...

These pictures are from our hike up Bear Mountain last Wednesday after VBS. My friends Joy and Adella tagged along with the youth group from our church. The hike was phenonmenal. What a view! It took us from 1:30 and I didn't get back to my car until 7 pm. I will say that I was challenged on this hike, I had to cool off and rest when I got home for at least 20 minutes. I loved every minute of it. This was a completely different route up and back from what I had taken before. Up on top of the mountain Pastor Brad gave a short message and then we booked it down the steep slope. I love to see all the beautiful wildflowers growing out of rocks. They were gorgeous and so colorful. The picture of the beautiful dark haired beauty is our friend Christy from Idaho on our hike up to Thunderbird Falls. She was excited to be in AK and will be coming to visit us more often since we are now in her work region. We had fun talking and hiking too but mostly talking...imagine that.

Oh How I Love Summer

Flowers in June Bloom

We went for a motorcycle ride Monday evening up to the Visitor Center in Eagle River. After that, we just mosyed around up to Prudhoe Bay Road and went exploring. The lupins, bluebells, and Alaska wild roses were all in full bloom and we didn't have our camera. This afternoon, I went back armed complete with camera. I had a lovely time enjoying the quietness and also the sound of that rushing creek which was full speed. I don't even know the name of it, but will investigate.

Throughout the afternoon I had the words of a song on my mind about the splendor of the king clothed in majesty, let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice. How Great is Our God!!

Finn and Phil went swimming in Chena Lake which the locals say the ice just barely went out last week. Bernie got at least 15 mosquito bites on his back one morning catching some rays with his shirt off. I don't think he sprayed down before removing his shirt.