Update from Alaska

[Muddywoman]

Wow, I've been gone too long. Its gonna take me a while to look through all these threads!

We arrived safe and sound in AK and so far I love it! Slower pace and friendlier people. Its fantastic! And I love all the snow! Yes, I said 'love'.

We will be moving into our house on base on April 17th and will live there for a year and we are seriously considering buying a house here when that term is up. We will be here for 4 years.

My horse will be up here in June. I'm so excited. I can't wait to take my first horsebackride at midnight while the sun is still out and then my first snowfall ride in years!

We bought a third truck. 1989 Power Ram 250 Cummins (12-Valve Gen 1) w/ 3-Speed A/T. It is a regular cab lwb 4x4. We (mostly I) will be using as a mudding truck. This truck is in great condition and the engine sounds and run great! We're going to get rid of the nasty bug guard and topper and probably replace the front bumper (its a little rusty but through the metal). Aside from those things and a lift and tires, most of the money will be put into engine and tranny mods. We're finding so much already and I'm so excited to start working on this truck myself! No electrical crap and if we can those tires to squeal, I'll feel like a queen in mud!

The base here is huge compared to any other base I've been on (except maybe Lackland or Keesler). I'm working in GPC which is not exciting at all but I'll be working constantly which will be good. I can't stand being at work and not working like I was at Luke after my deplyoment because we literally had no money! That sucked.

That's about all I can think of at the moment. Let me know how you all are doing!

[duffy]

Kendra, I'm glad all is well, and that you're happy in your new environment.
Brrrrrrr........... The "Chrysler" sounds like a great truck. AND... when you get a chance, I'd like to hear some details of the move, such as, did you drive, train, air-lift, boat ?????.... Above all, it must have been quite an adventure... I enjoy hearing those kinds of stories. (hopefully everything went well, and they are all happy stories).
Thanks for keeping us informed...

[danny]

congrats on the successful move. you like the snow huh? is it really cold there? i guess the move from warm weather to the cold hasn't affected you yet-.

[carsandcycles]

Glad your move went well; get back to us after you've been through a whole winter, you may be changing your mind a little as far as the snow goes. (Maybe not)

[Daniel Wood]

I'm glad you and hubby are enjoying Alaska. So you have another truck!

“ Toy's ” what would we do without them?

[olddog]

I always wanted to go to Alaska. Never made it. Be careful on the horse. There a some big bears around up there, and in mating season a moose is powerful animal with an attitude.

[Muddywoman]

Originally Posted by duffy

AND... when you get a chance, I'd like to hear some details of the move, such as, did you drive, train, air-lift, boat ?????....

Well, let's see. Hubby drove the Duramax and I drove the F-150. We left Phoenix and drove to Pasadena, CA and visited my mother (she works for JPL, I'm really proud of her) and my husband's sister. We left there and went to Whidbey Island where my husband's parents have a nice cabin. After a few days, we met the ferry in Bellingham and took "the poor man's cruise" to Haines. We stayed that night in Haines and drove the ALCAN to Tok where we stayed the night and drove the next day to Anchorage. I don't really know how bad the roads were because I would say about 90-95% of the ALCAN we drove was completely covered in ice and/or snow. We were warned that many gas stations close at 5 pm (maybe it was 4 pm, I don't recall exactly) so we kept our days on the ALCAN very short. We didn't encounter any wildlife but did see two moose walking in a stream. It was a beautiful drive. I almose wish we would have driven one vehicle so we could take turns watching the scenery but I'm sure we'll see it all again! I think we drove the ALCAN at a good time. I can't imagine what it would have been like if we encountered a serious storm. We did hit some thick heavy snow a few times. They weren't quite white-out conditions and we definitely kept an eye out for semis because those guys drive crazy on that highway! All in all, it was pretty uneventful.

Originally Posted by danny

congrats on the successful move. you like the snow huh? is it really cold there? i guess the move from warm weather to the cold hasn't affected you yet-.

And...

Originally Posted by carsandcycles

Glad your move went well; get back to us after you've been through a whole winter, you may be changing your mind a little as far as the snow goes. (Maybe not)

I was stationed at Malmstrom (Great Falls, MT) from '99-'02. There was wind above 10-15 miles every day there and we weren't sheltered by mountains there. Here the city is sheltered by mountains which helps as well as being so close to the ocean. There is sometimes a breeze but rarely winds like I experienced in MT and though it does very cold here, the winds in MT (and I'm sure other places in AK) made it feel like a desolate tundra.

Originally Posted by olddog

I always wanted to go to Alaska. Never made it. Be careful on the horse. There a some big bears around up there, and in mating season a moose is powerful animal with an attitude.

Bells. We have our own wildlife office on base. We don't have many bears on base and very few brown bears but for any wildlife we encountered, we're encouraged to put something on our clothing, etc that makes noise we walk (obviously you wouldn't if you're hunting though). So, I'll be putting bells on my horse. I wouldn't mess with a moose, mating season or not! Play dead with the bears and fight back if they attack but all you have to do with moose is run around a tree-they don't corner very well!

[duffy]

Kendra, Thanks... Sounds like you had a really nice trip... Maybe someday, I'll be able to take a ride up/down the Alcan... Today, that's just a dream.

[Porcupine]

Hi Kendra. Sounds like we'd have a tough time wipping that smile off your face.
3 mud trucks and a horse? what's not to like? Except you can have all the snow you want. Our snow is gone and the warms temps are sure to be around the corner. Sorry, Kendra, I'm not and nver have been a fan of winter.

Our daughter and new son-in-law went to Alaska for their honeymoon and they loved it too.

Glad you're having a great time. Always keep us posted

[Trader Ray]

It is good to have you posting again and the trip you describe sounds awsome. I would like to take a long drive in a personal vehicle like that.

[Racerock]

Great news, been wondering how you've been.

If I was single, would be buggin you to see if you have a twin sister...

[Muddywoman]

I can't stand cold weather to be honest but I can't stand big cities even more and places like this and Montana fit me so well. I think the best part of this move is I am able to breathe much easier than I used to. I still have trouble breathing when working out and stuff but its so much easier now. I can actually breathe deeply when I workout, I couldn't in Phoenix. That feels really good.

I've been in love with the idea of putting twin turbos on my F-150. In the May 2006 edition of Mustangs and Fast Fords, there is an entire section dedicated to turbo kits! I'm quickly approaching 70,000 miles on my truck and hubby won't let me continue to mod the F-150 until we get the Dodge done so looks like when its time to put some real power in my Effie, we'll be rebuilding and building up the engine and tranny as well as putting in dual turbos. Dang, that sounds so sweet. I need to get a drool rag or something. I'm going to start a thread in the Projects section about superchargers and turbochargers. I'd sure appreciate any help because I volunteered to put together a thread about chargers for F-150s on another site.

Anywho, so what's happenin' with y'all?

[Porcupine]

10/4 on the big city thing. Our city is 500,000 population and is way too big for me. I don't even like going to Toronto which is greater than 3,000,000 (yuk)
I'm a small town person, always have been, a country bumkin at heart. So kendra doesn't like the cold (me neither) and Kendra doesn't like the big city (me neither).

What to do?

[vmaxman]

Originally Posted by Porcupine

10/4 on the big city thing. Our city is 500,000 population and is way too big for me. I don't even like going to Toronto which is greater than 3,000,000 (yuk)
I'm a small town person, always have been, a country bumkin at heart. So kendra doesn't like the cold (me neither) and Kendra doesn't like the big city (me neither).

What to do?

First of all, Americans make waayy too much money (envy), or we pay waayy too much in taxes. 3 trucks, modded, lifts, turbos...no way I can do any of that stuff. I was happy to be able to afford the roll top on the truck. Just keep dreaming (and my wife would never consider any of that anyway - grow up already!) - which brings me to #2...where or why couldn't I find a girl like that!!
As for small towns, Porc, move here big guy, 7-800 people, most older (like yourself or even more so) and lots of oppurtunity to walk in complete silence after say, 7 pm. Heck, all bloody day.

[Muddywoman]

Porc,
We live in the country - even if its cold!

Vmaxman,
All I can say is thank goodness for the Air Force and hubby. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have much of anything.