Finally, a nice day...

One of my main goals while in Oregon is to ride my bike as much as possible. It has been a little difficult though due to the rainy NW weather. I think there have been two or three "nice" days since I've been home. And when I say nice, I mean not raining. It was a good ride although my hands got a little cold.

A Frozen Lake

It was so cold when Sarah came to visit that Mendenhall Lake froze over the ice was strong enough we could walk on it. My friend Brian took us ice skating although we ended up using our shoes the majority of the time on the ice. Here Sarah and I are standing on a piece of the glacier that had been floating in the lake prior to it freezing. I guess it is still floating? Just in ice.

It took about 25 minutes to walk from the shore all the way to the glacier, but it was so beautiful and awesome to be close to it once again, but at a different angle, ON the lake!

Just another peice of the glacier.

Yes, I admit to being a little nervous while walking on the lake. Brian had to reassure me a few times that it was safe. :) All I could think of was those 911 calls you hear about or see on TV about a dog or person who has broken through the ice. But we were perfectly safe!

A beautiful ending to the day.

A trip to Whitehorse

While Sarah was here, we took a little trip to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. A four hour ferry ride to Skagway, Alaska and then a few hour drive to Whitehorse. The temperature was in the negatives while we were there, Sarah's soda was too warm in the car, so this was an easy solution. Out the window, the cold air froze it very quickly.

Here is downtown Whitehorse. Smaller than Juneau, although I felt much more free, being able to drive anywhere!!

After spending the night in a hostel for $25/night we headed back to Juneau via the Haines Highway. We had great weather the whole drive and saw some beautiful mountains.

Sarah's trip to Juneau

Sarah arrived on an amazing day in Juneau. Blue skies and sun! It was a little cold though. And after three nights below freezing there was quite a bit of frost on everything. Especially because the sun doesn't hit everything AND it isn't warming up above freezing! Sure makes for some beautiful ice crystals though.



Sarah and I had to hike to the glacier because that has been a highlight of my time here. And the day was perfect for it. Here we are, in front of Mendenhall Glacier.



Sarah, about to go into an ice cave!



Ahh, the blue always amazes me. Although I think it is more blue when the sky is cloudy...oh well.



Just one more picture of the glacier...I promise. Now we're in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory and it is even colder, more pictures to come...

The search for a tree...

Almost being Christmas time, it was definitely time to get a tree. And since I'm leaving for my home away from home in another week and a half, I went to pick out a tree for my friends, Erin and Rachel's house. Here is the tree we liked best, with Erin and Tim (one of Erin's co-workers).



We went out to "the end of the road" to get our tree. Many of the people I've gotten to know out here work/volunteer or go to Echo Ranch Bible Camp in the summers. This is where we headed to get the tree. It was a beautiful day in the Juneau area, we couldn't have asked for better. The mountain in the background is called Lion's Head.



Erin, Tim and I looking directly into the sun. Always makes for a squinty picture.