Out and About in Nome

We spent as much time as we could exploring Nome....you never know. We had a lot of fun even though it was over cast most of the time. When the sun did come out, it was amazing. The one thing I didn't get to see and really wanted to, was watching the suns path throughout the day. We saw it at different times, but I would have loved to have seen it rise, and set. Although, they say, it doesn't really do either there, it dips but is never fully out of sight. 

As we took a drive to the south, we followed the Bering Sea. We found all this drift wood. There is not a tree in sight, Nome is on the tundra. It was amazing to see how much drift wood washes ashore. This is what most people use to help heat their homes in the winter.

We found places that there was still a lot of ice floating close to shore. We got out to look around and play and Nathan decided to go out onto the ice. Being very pregnant and not having good balance right now, I decided to stay on shore.

After stepping on the first ice berg, Everest agreed with me. Leaf didn't have a choice, but didn't seem to mind.

On our adventure we stopped at the Train to No Where (This was our set destination, but we kept stopping along the way, so a 30 minute drive turned into an hour and a half. We didn't think we would make it back in time to pick up Doug, but thankfully just as we were about to turn around, there it was.) This was probably Everest's favorite thing about the entire trip. To say he loved this train is an understatement.

The train was brought here over a hundred years ago. I didn't get a chance to read the history, I assume it was to haul gold to Nome. They laid the track and had the train ready, and then a big storm blew in, ripped up all the tracks and the train was never used. A few of the tracks are around the train, all twisted and bent, and some sticking up in the air.

This train was such a highlight for Everest, that when Grami arrived on Friday night, he wanted to take her to the train. We compromised on Saturday morning. Doug, Nathan, Grami, Everest and Leaf all went back to the train to no where. They spent a good hour playing on the train. Nathan said Everest was so focused on playing, he couldn't get many good pictures of him. I got to sleep in and then go to a few Native stores downtown with Doug's girlfriend Dar.

Doug walking Leaf around the walkway for the train. As you can see, Everest had no interest in the walk way, he went straight to the real thing.

I am sure Doug is pointing out birds to Leaf. He loves birds, almost as much as balls. He really started talking in Nome. Every time he saw a bird, he would say bird and then more.

The photographs do not do Alaska justice. It was amazing how beautiful it was. I didn't think I would like the wide open space of the tundra, but the view of the sky it offers it breathtaking. They say Montana is "Big Sky" country and it is (that is one of the things we love about it), but Alaska has even bigger sky's. This is Doug and Leaf on a ridge with the tundra, clouds and mountains in the background.