Lake Clark

So it has been a while, and for that I apologize. After this trip, the gaps will probably get much longer! We had our test on Thursday, then headed to Lake Clark on Friday morning. Well, we went to Anchorage to catch the flight to Lake Clark. Before going to Lake Clark, Dan Swenson, a letu alum, bought us Subway for lunch. Obviously he is doing well enough, if he is willing to buy 8 of us lunch. We headed to Merrill field, checked in to our flight and got on our way. It was an hour and a half flight in the 207. The Walshes were there to greet us when we arrived. They have run the Tenalian Bible Camp for the past 18 years, located there on Tenalian point. I ran across the runway to see Miranda, a really good friend from home. She and her brother have spent a few summers up there, so I was excited to see them. We settled in, and decided to head for the falls. The mosquitoes were EVERYWHERE! I acquired over 30 bites over the weekend. Luckily, I don’t react to them as bad as the ones in Texas. The falls were gorgeous. The water was crystal clear, and tasted amazing. I didn’t take any pictures, because everyone else was taking plenty of pictures. We headed up to the lake, where the source was. Overall, the hike was about 6 miles long, up and down a few hills, not too bad. After dinner, a few of us helped with dishes. I haven’t used one of those commercial dish washers since high school, working at Papas… It definitely brought back some memories. After dinner, I hopped in the plane Daniel (the oldest Walsh) was flying. We flew over the falls we hiked to earlier, and saw some wildlife. This included a bald eagle nest (2 of them in it) and two black bears. It was really cool to see them from a safe distance. When I headed toward bed, I discovered the house I was staying in was full of high school girls. They were having a party in the living room, so I joined them for a while. I met a girl named Angel, who immediately made me feel like her best friend. I really enjoyed connecting with her. I went to bed around 12:30, which was early compared to the rest of them.

After breakfast the next day, Mark, a Letu alum, and I helped put a new stainless drawer in the kitchen. Because I am the structures lab assistant, it apparently makes me a sheet metal guru. I discovered that stainless is a little tougher than aluminum, but it turned out really well. The guys decided to head up the mountain after lunch, and I thought it would be best to let them have time being boys. So I stayed back with Mr. and Mrs. Scroggins. It turned out a good idea to stay behind, but I will let you ask Owen about that…

The Scroggins and I headed for the obstacle course. Mr. Scroggins gave an incredible demonstration of the rope swing, complete with monkey noises. If you don’t know him, they are very common from him, especially if he gets to put a hole in your lab project.

That night, I sat out on the dock with a friend and we talked for a couple hours. It was a good chance to reflect. And I hung my feet in the freezing cold water, which reminded me of sitting at the beach at home!

The weekend wrapped up after church, and we headed back to anchorage. I said goodbye to Miranda and Micah, as well as Angel. The trip home wasn’t entirely eventful. After catching up on emails for the weekend, I called a friend. As I was walking and talking to her, I looked up and saw a moose. My heart stopped for a second as I wondered where her baby was. I saw him up on the hill on the other side, so I was safe. She walked away from me, but I backed up the trail just to be safe. That’s the events for the weekend!