The Road To Denali Starts In LA

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Roger Castillo!

Saturday, June 25, my dear friend Laurie got married in Beverly Hills California.  In true Hollywood fashion, Laurie was glamorous...If you can imagine a cross between Princess Kate Middleton, Amanda Peet, and Jillian Michaels you would have Laurie, she was absolutely beautiful.

Beverly Hills was quite different from rural Aniak, and yes, there were some celebrities at her wedding. One minute I am riding a 4 wheeler collecting dust in my hair, and another I am sitting in a salon on Rodeo Dr getting that very dust washed out.  From one extreme to another, both have their advantages.  Even though I was only there for a total of 30 hours, I had a wonderful time being with my lovely friend, and was honored to be asked to share in her memory. Thanks, Laurie, love ya!

Sunday I flew back to Anchorage and met up with Ian. He is now officially an Alaskan, at least according to his new drivers license. I have yet to change mine over, I figure Alaska isn't quite prepared for my style of driving yet.  Jason, I can see you nodding your head right now.........

The following day, Ian's parents, Jon and Dianne, flew in from Michigan and we started our journey to Denali National Park. We took The Alaska Rail, a large dome-windowed train, up to the park. The train ride took about 5 hours to get from Anchorage to Denali.

The Front of Our Train to Denali

I think I was trying a "thin" pose? 

The wilderness like passage was absolutely gorgeous and turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. Much of the ride went though untouched territory: mountain ranges, deep valleys, winding rivers, and thick forests. Alaska is just so beautiful!

Niecko Family

Mama Dianne Taking in the Scenes

Jon and Ian 

Dianne and Sarah

In Denali we stayed in a log cabin chalet with a cozy view of the national park.  Later that night we went white water rafting on the Nenana, a glacier fed river. Even though it was freezing, I think we still had a good time....at least for 6 out of 12 miles.

You might have to ask Ian and Jon about the other 6 miles....They were sitting on the outside of the raft and as a result, got a first hand feel of the chilling glacier water. Thankfully, being true and noble men, they insisted on protecting their wives from the elements!

The following day we took the Denali adventure tour bus through 92 miles of the park.  During our tour we were able to see moose, grizzlies, fox, caribou, wolf, and dall mountain sheep in their natural habitats. Thankfully we didn't have any unwanted run-ins with animals, but sometimes you did wish that they were a little closer.

Caribou

We Found A Caribou

Alaska Grizzly

Denali National Park

The bus takes you to the very end of the Denali road, to the Kantishna gold mines.

Once in Kantishna, Dianne tried her hand at securing the Niecko family fortune by panning for gold. Unfortunately she was unsuccessful, but not without a great effort. Below you can watch her hard work by pressing the play button:

Of note, Ian had a little accident on the tour bus........

Ok, he actually fell asleep with his tea resting on his lap. You can probably figure out what happened, but I just thought this was hilarious....sorry honey!

After our long bus ride back to Anchorage we decided to get a little exercise and take a bike ride along the coast. Unfortunately we only made it about 2 miles and we had another accident. In a valiant effort to save her hat, Ian's mom fell off her bike and broke her left hip. The following day she had a partial hip replacement and is currently recovering at Providence Hospital in Anchorage. Thankfully it was only a hip and nothing more serious, but I know it was still very painful and she has a long rode of recovery ahead of her.

Our family would really appreciate prayers for her healing, strength, and safety back to Michigan. Unfortunately because of the accident they were unable to go to Aniak as planned. I flew in earlier today, but Ian is staying in Anchorage with his parents. Hopefully they will be able to head home to Michigan sometime next week if everything goes well with physical therapy.

Even though our Denali adventure was very fun and we thoroughly enjoyed our Starbucks Americonos (and the occasional Barnes and Nobles trip), Ian and I are both happy to be headed back home to Aniak.

The only draw back is coming here without Jon and Dianne.

Before

After

Ian continues to thrive in his new job and held a very successful community event a few weeks ago.  Along with the tribal council, he helped to organize several events focusing on suicide awareness and prevention. We even had a few courageous individuals speak of how suicide had affected their lives and their families. Even though emotionally charged, the community support was evident.  Several elders presented native crafts: net mending, wood carving, beading, and kuspuk making to name a few.



Speaking of Kuspuks....before I left for Denali I finished my first one! It has a few hidden flaws, but I am very proud of my creation. These shirts are traditional attire here for the Eskimo culture, and most women have several in their closets. Soon Ian will have one in his, too!

My First Kuspuk!

I also made my first quilt block with the woman's sewing group. Several ladies each made individual blocks that will be pieced together as a gift for a woman in our village. As you can see, the final product is going to very nice.

My Quilt Block

The Quilt

I would also like to wish a happy birthday to Melissa and my mom on June 28! Love you guys!

- Sarah