What a wonderful week.

  I woke up this morning to the sound of Trumpeter Swans on the lake, calling to each other.  Beats the old rooster crowing hands down, in my humble opinion.
  We've been busy, as usual, getting the RV ready for winter.  We did take a few days off though to enjoy the visit of our best friend from Houston, TX.  Mike arrived at Ted Stevens International Airport at 1:00 am on Sunday 8/10.  There are zero flights from Houston that arrive at a decent hour.  Needless to say, we slept in late.
  He and John got busy on bringing the rest of our Alaskan belongings over from the storage unit.  The gun safe and contents, we loaded into Trooper.  The big, heavy, cumbersome snow plow went into the bed of Goliath, along with the spare tires for the Goblin.

  

  After moving all that, the guys decided to have some "fun" and move some of the old railroad ties on the property to a location where they would be of use.  One use is to have something to rest that heavy plow on.

It was also a chance to use Goblins wench for something other than self positioning on a trailer.

Mike decided to try "surfing" Alaskan style.

  The guys next project was to design and build the "dog house" as they called it.  A small access to the dump valves on the RV.  It will allow John to be out of the weather when he has to dump the tanks.  (Yes, I can do it too, but he say's it's his job)

  Not a bad job, and I think they had fun doing it.  I left them on their own and vowed not to keep track of the curses, splinters, and bashed thumbs.  One of the toughest jobs I ever had.  

  We didn't make Mike work all week though.  John took him to Anchorage to explore all the gun shops there, including the famous "Wild West Guns" gun shop.  

   This shop is featured on Animal Planet as a "reality" series.  The only thing real, is the prices of the guns.  Think $$$$. 

  The following day, we drove down to Portage Glacier road to the wildlife refuge.  It was a dreary, rainy day, but Mike was able to see a moose (up close and personal), wood bison, caribou, and elk.  He also found some great gifts for his Texan friends in the gift shop.

  We also took him to the Matanuska Glacier.  Matanuska Glacier is a valley glacier in the US state of Alaska. At 27 miles long by 4 miles wide, it is the largest glacier accessible by car in the United States. Its terminus feeds the Matanuska River. (courtesy of Wikipedia).  

  The glacier is about a 1 hour drive from us through the beautiful Chugach Mountains.  About 3 miles before you reach the turn-off, you can see the glacier from a turn out on the highway.  Breathtaking views, aren't they?

This is your first glimpse of the glacier.

  The only road access to the glacier is via privately owned land.  $20.00 per person to even get in, but I think Mike felt it was worth it.  With crampons on his shoes, he took off like a light, running down the trail to the glacier, and before John and I had even made it half-way, he was climbing on the ice and taking panoramic pics with his phone.  His reaction?  "That was the most awesome thing I've ever done."

  On his final day with us, we took him NW to Houston, AK.  Got his pic by the city welcome sign, then to the popular stop Miller's Market for breakfast and more souvenier shopping.  All too soon, his visit was over, and he had to go home (sad faces), BUT, he wants to come back in February to experience winter (his words, not ours), and to enjoy the festive annual tradition of Fur Rendezvous.   The worst part of his trip he claims is the 13 hour flight.  See you soon buddy.