Grown-up's night out :)

A friend offered to watch the kiddos for the evening so Car, Nate and I could drive out to Teller, an Eskimo Villiage about 50 (?) miles outside of Nome. It was great. So special for us to have some uninhibited "adult time" together. Carlee and I laughed the entire time as only sisters can; convulsing until we cried over nothing in particular while Nathan stole us worried glances from the driver's seat. He's a trooper.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to drive the entire road to Teller. 3/4 of the way there, Nate felt prompted to check the (borrowed) truck's tires. The back tires were dry rotting and beginning to peel! We promptly turned around and returned gingerly the way we had come over harsh, stone and dirt roads. God was good to us, because just as Nome was coming into sight, we began to hear loud popping sounds. The rubber was peeling away from the outside layer of the tires! We made it back just in time.

My only disappointment is that we didn't see a bear.
I so want to see one.
What kind of Alaskan can I be I've never seen a bear!??

Bear aside, I feel particularly blessed with our "evening in the wilderness" because I know a lot of things will be changing soon. We'll be leaving early next week for Anchorage, where God's provided a place for all of us to stay for at least a couple weeks while Carlee has the baby and begins treatments. I don't know when we'll be back in Nome together or how Carlee's health will be then. How precious this time together has been, even though it's been so different from what we thought it would be! Every day I thank God fervently for the chance to be here in this untamed country I love with my family who I love so much!

(While I've been typing this at 1:45 am the whole house is quiet except for a possessed toy which has been alternately baaa-ing and moo-ing, for no apparent reason, from the playroom. Mental note to self: ban all electronic toys from my home some day.)

I didn't even ask her to pose like this. :)

My crazy brother waded in this icy water!
(I, sensibly, kept my waterproof boots firmly fastened to my feet.)

I'm looking for gold. *blush*

A dredge in the middle of nowhere, left from a bygone gold mining operation.

This arctic fox was God's gift to make our drive extraordinary. She was prancing on the tundra right off the road, hunting for mice. She caught one right before our eyes, and added it to her stash of at least 4! She spent quite a while just trying to fit them all in her mouth! She was so beautiful and graceful; she took my breath away. She had no learned fear of humans, so she allowed us to follow her closely in the truck. She even stopped several times and gazed at us curiously. Her coat, changing from it's wintry white to the Summer's red, was so lush. We sat and wondered at this dainty, playful little fox for the longest time!

On the way home, the sun was low behind the mountains and it glittered on the water in front of this herd of reindeer. Click on the picture and you get a glimpse of the "bigness" of this country.

This picture of one of the musk ox herds we saw looks a little strange because I took it through binoculars. :)