There's No Time Like the Present

Hello to all,

Fireweed at Alyeska Resort.

Farrell writing this week, while Kitty adds in the pictures. I was going to say, "time marches on" but a more accurate statement would be, "time fades away never to be regained." That's not intended to be a negative statement but more of a statement of gratitude and our condition in this life to make use of the gift of time we have been given. I have said before, probably in these blogs, that I wish I had the ability to remember all the people I have come across in life. What a myriad of unique souls that recollection would be. The wonder of people, like the stars in the sky, is truly an amazing salute to our Great Creator and Father of us all. It is a treasure. What got me thinking in this vein was coming across the obituary of my cousin who passed away July 9. We have learned that there are few if any coincidences in the realm of people. We meet people all the time that we have some kind of connection with.

Geese & goslings at Alyeska 
Resort Pond.

It is feeling a little more like Utah here this week -- very dry. We are just not used to it and expect the rains to come as August/September arrive. We will see. It is so cool, that I neglect to water outside plants and will find them wilted. They still dry out with 55-60F temperatures. The peonies are just wrapping up their bloom. Kitty has made the most of them with cut flowers and fragrance in the house. We both love that. It reminds her of her grandmother, Alice. Lilacs are also just finishing in cooler areas. You can still walk down the street and have their beautiful smell float in on the breeze. So timing is a little different in this north latitude 61d06'06"N.

Laurel, Dan & boys at Hatcher Pass.

More celebration of our upcoming 50th wedding anniversary next year with a visit from Laurel, a middle daughter, with her husband Dan and family of four sons, 10 and under. They are a lively bunch. Except for the youngest, they hiked the north face of Alyeska the other day. That's known as a difficult hike because of an elevation gain of 2,200 feet. Some of the trail has steps but some are big lifts. Benson, who is six, danced around them without any problem. Kitty and I enjoyed the youngest, Calvin, down at the bottom and then road the tram up to greet the already arrived hikers. It took them about 1 hour and 25 minutes. Kitty also went with them to pan for gold at Hatcher Pass, take a short cruise on Portage Lake, and hike to Byron Glacier while I manned the Visitors' Center. I personally love to get to know the grandkids personalities better. There is nothing like living with someone for a week to understand them better. All four of them will get out on the back lawn and have a major all out wrestling match. Usually it ends with everyone exhausted and happy. 

Wildflowers and grandsons and Byron Glacier.

We had a special visit from a young lady at the Visitors' Center with her boyfriend and others. They were from Denver. He was a member of our church but said he was "non-practicing" but she was not. She is in architecture school so was intently interested in the temple construction. She made it clear that that's what she was interested in and not the church. As we were wrapping up, I shared my testimony of the Savior, which is what I usually do. Her eyes betrayed the deep feeling she was experiencing. Her whole demeaner changed. Such a sweet presence of the Spirit. She left with a challenge to visit some temple open houses where she could learn and feel more of that Spirit. 

Glacier at Portage Lake.

I have been enjoying the temple fence construction of all things. Keeping up and/or taking pictures of the mechanical work inside is a bit overwhelming. You can't point the camera in one direction and get anything other than a mass of steel, wires, ducts, sheetrock, etc. I have to single something out, zero in on that one item, and then describe it in text format in our weekly report. You can do it with a 360 degree camera which we use occasionally. But the fence is another story. The one on the north perimeter along the back yards of neighbors is cedar. They picked that to blend in with the neighborhood. The posts are 8x8" x about 12'. Eight feet is left above the ground. They are set in cement (4000psi) with rebar cages. Two men can barely muscle in one 275 lb. post. They are eight feet apart. Not necessarily intended, but this is a moose proof structure. The fence along the front road has a full concrete stepped foundation with concrete columns. It all gets covered with a granite façade. Iron work goes between the columns. it's so fun to watch. 

Waterfalls at Portage Lake.

Little Susitna River. 

They are also in the process of bringing in 3 phase power. That is done with horizontal directional boring equipment. I think the power company is making use of the opportunity by running five pieces of conduit to serve the whole neighborhood. The largest two are about six inch diameter. They all go in one hole with no open trench. I want to be the one to flip the switch on when it is all run -- not likely. Some big trees had to come down on the east side because they were right on the fence property line. What more could you want than a beautiful new fence, new big trees plus additional professional landscaping thrown in for good measure. Lots of granite going up on the temple walls. It is a methodical process -- like putting a jigsaw puzzle together.

We just upped our cookie needs to 14 dozen a week -- all to thank the workers and
let the members make a connection with their new temple under construction. That is a lot of cookies. We wonder how long we can keep this up. Wednesday is a big day here -- everyone smiles.

Have a great week and enjoy summer. We love you all. #Think Celestial.

Sincerely, Elder & Sister Badger