Back in the USA: Alaska & Idaho

70 hours from the “front door” of Terikah in Savusavu, Fiji to the front door of our home in Petersburg, Alaska. Looking down at the Pacific Ocean, it’s hard to believe that same stretch of water took us 8 months sailing from the Mexico coast to New Zealand.

Petersburg, from the heartwarming welcome of friends at our small-town airport to our departure two weeks later, was a true Alaskan summer vacation – burning the candle at both ends, staying up too late in the land of the midnight sun, and trying to squeeze in just one more campfire with friends.

It felt so good and so easy to slide right back in, which was reassuring to us. Our house hadn’t rebelled too much against us, just a small leak in the shower and a rotten step to tend to; other bigger projects can wait until we return to land full-time.

This trip was all about reconnecting with friends in our island rainforest landscape. We fished, biked, camped, hiked, laughed, connected, and breathed in the fresh Alaskan air while eating king crab, salmon, shrimp, and halibut along the way. It is still home. Here are some photo highlights:

The next portion on our USA tour was family time at the Hyer family cabin in Kilroy Bay on Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho. Calder’s middle name is Kilroy, which may give a bit of a hint on the importance of this remote Idaho location to our family.

As always, Kilroy Bay was a time of play mixed with work. The work portion was building a cement and rock wall to hold back the hill behind the cabin, as well as clearing brush that felt timely as we watched a large wildfire spread along the shore of the lake across from us.

One day, when the wind shifted unfavorably, we found large warm chunks of singed lichen and pine needles all over the bay and in dry grass, the community of Kilroy started our sprinkler systems and filled the tanks of our firetrucks, the lake an endless supply. It was captivating and eerie to watch the fire flare and tear through the treetops, light up the night as lava-looking bands burned up and down the hills.

Planes and helicopters scooped up seemingly endless loads of water, and hot shot crews worked by headlights at night; all visible from our cabin’s front porch. Fire: destructive and necessary, enemy to homes, but part of the natural ecosystem.

There was also time for fun. We celebrated Calder’s 16^th birthday with kokanee fishing (a landlocked freshwater salmon) and Gpa driving lessons.

We water-skied, swam, tubed, knee-boarded, hiked, and played with family and friends. Here are some photo highlights:

It was a well-timed trip, as we were starting to feel a bit, well, too much “togetherness”. However, we’ve come to realize that togetherness is not really a problem for our family. It’s not enough otherness. In a larger community (including friends, work, and family) there are dozens of people who meet the social, emotional, and intellectual needs of our everyday lives. Out here cruising, we need to be active about seeking those others, as well as finding it within. When you spend all your time with the exact same people experiencing the same things, it can lag in the conversation department; you just don’t have many independent, novel, unshared experiences to report back on!

I am writing this enroute back to Terikah, our floating home in Fiji, with anticipation of the adventures ahead, as well our boat life daily rhythms as we start the new school year. We feel refreshed, rejuvenated, re-grounded, and ready to sail on.