The Alaska Adventure: Old Fashioned Entertainment

KITES. Such a symbol of childhood joy. Colorful fabric dancing across a bright blue sky. Luckily for Team Leslie, Granddad (aka Dixon Leslie) brought along a double stringer from New Hampshire and unfurled it along the beaches of Alaska for young and old to enjoy. Cousins Indigo and Owen, both four and three-quarters, enjoyed some shared flight duty. When it was my turn, gripping the handles and gently tugging left and right, I found that rare moment of zen where my mind was so focused on the task I could think of nothing else but "fly... fly..." If your therapist isn't doing it for you, might I suggest a good day out with a kite!

Granddad lets the kids take over.

And away they go...

(Interestingly, we watched a plane land on this beach twice so the pilot could check his set-net like you see in the ocean in the background - Alaskan fisher people are dedicated!)

FISHING. As you know, fishing has played quite a role for us this summer. From rod and reeling in local lakes to dip-netting the mouth of the Kenai, we have enjoyed the time, effort and of course the tasty eats. Indigo is constantly asking to go fishing and takes pride in her new found skill of casting. But most often, when we arrive at a body of water and get out the gear, she simply grabs a net and wades in with a vengeance. For Indigo and Owen, a coffee cup of minnows was the best catch of the day (and let's be honest - the only catch of the day!).

"I'll point and you scoop!"

Granddad does some "big kid" catch and release fly fishing along the Russian River.

CARDS. Several evenings this summer we found ourselves crowded around the table, cards out, spoons out, and grins out. If you don't remember, "spoons" is that multiple winner game where everyone passes around cards, hoping to collect four of a kind. The first successful player subtly reaches to the spoons in the center and snags one, continuing to pass cards all the while. Other observant players also reach for a spoon until one poor clueless soul is left without a spoon. Indigo and Owen formed a special cousins-only team so if one of them lost, the other could win by association. Smart cookies.

The strategy.

Sharks.

WHISTLE STOP TRAIN. A throwback to days of old, whistle stops or request-stops are rare in the United States. The idea refers to stations where trains only stop on an as-needed basis, slowing but not stopping unless a passenger needs to hop on or off. Apparently such stations along remote sections of the rail are more efficient by saving on fuel and employees. In Alaska, the railroad system is endeavoring to bring back the phenomenon, especially appealing to back country explorers wishing to hop off and hike about and then jump a ride back to civilization at a later time. So far, the Spencer Glacier whistle stop station is the only one up and running, and Team Leslie and visitors took full advantage. Indigo and Owen were beside themselves with excitement.

The station.

Our ride.

One mile hike in: Spencer Glacier.

Julie, Dixon, Dave, Owen, J, Indigo and Kim.

Enamored.

Dixon enjoys the view from a newly built pedestrian bridge.

EATING WHAT WE PICK. This simple pleasure (which of course used to be essential to each human's existence) has become pretty foreign to many of us. Until moving to Alaska, my experience with picking what I ate was confined to small tomato/basil plants in my back yard, u-pick orchards, and the occasional gleaning party at our CSA. (Mind you, I am a biology person but it's purely academic - my thumb is not green.) Now, thanks to Miss Indigo, I have been encouraged to explore the wild edibles that surround us. What started as last year's berry tutorial has blossomed into full blown gathering - leaves, flowers, seeds, tree tips - if we can identify it and declare it safe for consumption, we'll try it. And since Granddad had us hunting for four-leaf clovers, we decided to add clover to our list. Today's bounty and new recipes included clover flower fritters and fireweed/violet tea!