CJ & Autumn Miller

CJ flew me into town Friday during his training flight in the newly refurbished C-206. We had a leg first to Illiamna to drop off lumber & pick some children up for a wedding When we arrived at Merrill field in Anchorage CJ was the first pilot to use the new runway & all the construction men were cheering & taking pictures of us as he landed. We made sure to give them a thumbs up as we taxied by.

        My LeTourneau room mate, Jennifer was in Anchorage for the day after touring Alaska on a family vacation. I was able to spend the afternoon & evening with Jennifer, her husband Kyle & her sister Stephanie. I picked them up in the Subie & showed them all my favorite places so far in Anchorage. We had lunch & milkshakes at the Snow City Cafe downtown, walked along the ocean at Elderberry Park, visited Northern Lights Avionics for a GPS part, had a mystery trip to the Alaska Wild Berry chocolate factory where we saw the world's largest chocolate waterfall & pet reindeer, shopped at several outdoor & hippie stores & wrapped it up with dinner at Uncle Joe's Pizza. I loved catching up with Jennifer & Kyle. After moving to a new place it is so nice to spend time with people who know you well, despite the embarrassing stories that always surface!
         I was able to spend Friday night at Liz's house which was a blessing. I met her house mate & her parents visiting from Oregon. Liz works at LCA's anchorage office & I often talk to her on the phone while dispatching, but never really get a chance to ask how things are going, so it was fun to spend time with Liz as well. I drove Liz to the airport early Saturday morning (both of us with coffee in hand) & began my Fred Meyer & Costco shopping. I was able to get a good amount of groceries as well as a hair cut before catching the 4:00 Navajo flight back to Port Alsworth. The other passengers were tourists & captivated by the glaciers, waterfalls, mountains, volcanoes, rivers & lakes as we flew low through Lake Clark Pass. It reminded me to be thankful for my home & the beautiful plans the Lord has for us, always beyond my own imagination!

Cinematographers & producers from National Geographic flew into Port Alsworth today to film a new series called Alaska Bush Pilots that will air this winter. They are doing a piece on Lake Clark Air & we were asked to be involved. CJ & I borrowed waders & suited up this morning for a rainy day of fly fishing. We traveled in the float plane & landed on Lake Illiamna & Crosswind Lake. Glen Jr. & Jeff gave us fly fishing instructions & we spent the day refining our technique. The National Geographic camera man recorded our adventure as well as the bears we encountered along the way. 

          I walked to work today at 6:45am with coffee in hand. At our breakfast table CJ & I watched the fog creep down the mountain & into the lake valley. All morning flights were delayed & the traffic radio was quiet. Things got hectic in the dispatch room around noon & everything happened at once, but I survived with thoughts of an outing with the girls. Amanda & Jael went with me this afternoon to the best coffee shop in Port Alsworth, Bush Gi'ls Espresso Loft. So what if it is the ONLY coffee shop in PTA, it is still the best & a real treat.  Plus, the opportunities are endless... you can walk in, boat in, or fly in for your favorite cup of joe.
          This evening the drastic weather change made it seem like a new day; CJ & I went for a kayak around the bay island. Teco ran along shore & was successfully worn out. We had a small scare after arriving back home. CJ said he lost his wedding ring in the lake during the paddle & was a bit panicked. Luckily he thought to check first in his toolbox & it was still there from his maintenance shift earlier today. False alarm!

     After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
     As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.
     When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Mark 1: 14-19

Thursday night we went over to Allison & Jeremiah's place. The boys started the evening with a lot of racket & CJ had a chance to shoot our new .357 revolver. I shot it too & am fairly certain I could handle it in case of a bear emergency. That means if CJ is with me, I will let him handle it. We played Battle of the Sexes after the shooting exercises & filled our minds with useless Nascar trivia. Are we redneck much? Naw, shucks, we just aim for a good ole time.

While CJ was in Anchorage I stumbled upon my sewing box which had been MIA since the big move. I knew exactly where my sewing machine & material was, but that was no good without my thread, needles & pins. I sewed a navy curtain for my kitchen one afternoon while CJ was gone, but waited for his return with the hammer to hang it. Last weekend we manufactured a curtain holder for the side of my window from a large wooden button & a post. Kitchen curtain complete, now moving onward to the bathroom window covering.

CJ bought some strawberries while in town flying freight for Lake Clark Air. I didn't work Thursday, so I made homemade shortcakes with fresh whipped cream. Now that I am thinking about it, I bet CJ bought me the strawberries in an effort to smooth over the fact that he also bought a new gun while in town. Hmm. It worked!

     As I was inspecting the Starter/Generator on the Beech 99 yesterday at work, my coworker told me to grab a plastic bag and head out front because someone was handing out free salmon!  I quickly grabbed a garbage bag and went to the front of the hangar… but he had already left.  I was told that he hadn’t gone far, so I took off running and hollering!  Eventually the man heard me and stopped his four-wheeler.  As I caught my wind, I managed to ask ‘can I have a Salmon?’  He was more than happy to hand one over.  So I grabbed a smaller one for Autumn and me.

     Since I was already half way home, I continued on my way and burst through the doors to show Autumn my new catch!  She was ecstatic, but she promptly reminded me that I did not know how to fillet a salmon, nor did she know how to cook one.  I said ‘google it!’

     Lucky for me (and her), I ran into a friend on the way back to the hangar who invited us over to learn how to fillet salmon and how to cook them on the grill!  So after work, Autumn and I went to the Voran’s house to learn some basic Alaskan skills.  Fresh salmon on the grill with lemon pepper is something wonderful!  We enjoyed the salmon so much, that tonight Autumn decided to take a stab at cooking one herself.  This is the result…

CJ left Port Alsworth last Tuesday for a double engine change on the Navajo. This was to be accomplished at Merrill Field in Anchorage where CJ's tools have been kept since May for this very reason. CJ & Jeremiah worked long days on the Navajo trying to get the job done fast so they could return home. At night they went grocery shopping & sent the goods back to PTA via LCA aircraft. CJ spent most nights at Mark's house which was a God send considering LCA doesn't pay for hotel stay. Some nights CJ slept at the hangar, but didn't get to shower. He returned home for the night on Sunday (when we went fishing), but then left for Anchorage again on the next day. He hasn't had a day off in weeks. Yesterday (Thursday night) CJ finally returned home. He arrived flying the Navajo with the new engines & props - Mission accomplished! I am so glad to have CJ home. It gets mighty lonely living alone in Port Alsworth, especially being new in town. It was smart of me to not take this job & move here when I was single. I can't really go to the farmer's market, browse the library, TJMAxx, or hang out at Starbucks.