Exposing Real Alaska
We had some great family friends drive up from town today for dinner around the camp fire and pomegranate martinis. This is a long standing family tradition, and these are some of our favorite summer days. It was classic Alaskan weather today, meaning, it was cool (48 degrees), overcast, light breeze, and an occasional piece of precipitation would slap our face. It was a great day for a little girls first Super Cub ride, and a little cruising around on the family moped.
We flew out and hiked around on the glacier today. It took a couple of Cub loads to get us all out to the ice, but it was well worth it. If you have never stood on the edge of a crevasse and thrown a rock down into the abyss then you need to put it on your bucket list. People always think that it’s super dangerous to walk on glaciers. Truth is, it’s only dangerous if the ice is covered with snow and therefor possibly hiding crevasses. When we go out hiking on the glaciers we stay on the ice so that the crevasses are obvious holes that need to be avoided. We carried my 2 month old daughter all over the glacier today and we took no risks. It was a great walk but the hot dogs at the end were my favorite part. Then we cooked some of those HUGE marshmallows and made S’mores…. it was a good day. For More info go here.
Great day with the family and friends, we are truly blessed.
My best friend from college flew up to Alaska today with his wife and little girl so we loaded the 185 and headed for Halibut Cove. I don’t often take time off in the summer, but sometimes a chill pill is needed. This is our family cabin and my mom and dad are sharing the time with us which is awesome. We will be down here for a few days and then back to the normal routine with flying pictures.
I took Ali and Samantha with me on a little flight today. Ali is now 6 weeks old, and we decided we were well over-due on getting her out flying with Dad. She slept all they way to the landing zone and then woke up during Dad’s bouncy landing on the snow drifts. The team on the glacier got a good laugh when she crawled out of the back of the Cub with Mom and then immediately dropper her pacifier in the snow. When the cold glacial air hit her little cheeks and the sun shown on her face she got a huge smile on her face. That’s my girl … she’s a keeper :o)
Sent from my iPhone
My little burrito wrap.
Sent from my iPhone
A biologist and I spent the afternoon getting dropped off on various peaks with a helicopter. The objective was to catch the new born lambs. This little girl was only 2 days old and the terrain that she was in is unbelievably steep. This photo was taken just seconds after capture, before we put the radio collar on. We were able to capture 4 lambs today in just a couple of hours. The 5th lamb outran us as if we were standing still … she was only 4 days old. They are capture-able for the first two days, and then they are so doggone fast you might as well stay home. This study is taking place because there is a population problem with the Dall Sheep in the Chugach.
Sent from my iPhone
On April 15th I payed my taxes, on April 16th I pulled the engine off my Super Cub, on April 17th our first child was born, on April 18th my Mom’s appendix burst… it has been a busy couple of weeks. Since then I have overhauled and re-installed the new engine, spent many hours at the hospital with Mom, finished framing my house (with exception of roof), flown 30 hours in the cub, and spent as much time as possible holding my new daughter. Needless to say the blog was just one more thing that I was struggling to fit into a busy schedule and I missed a couple of photos.
We are very thankful that my Mother pulled through after 12 days in the hospital and is daily gaining her strength, baby Ali is healthy and growing strong, Samantha is recovering well after a difficult delivery, the new engine runs beautifully, and my house is standing tall just waiting for a roof. With out the help of my brother, who flew home to see baby Ali, the framing of the house would not have been possible. And without my father in-law Mike, my engine would still be on the parts cart. I am very thankful for my family and friends and all the help and support they offered.
I am looking forward to a great summer season of flying and posting many more pictures as time allows. There will be days where the blog will sit stagnant due to a lack of hours in the day, but I will do my best. Thank you to all my loyal viewers you are appreciated more than you know.
-Matt Keller
I landed back here at the house tonight at about 7PM and Samantha and Ali were out for a walk on the runway. Sam handed me Ali and then shot these pics before I could get out of the plane. She’s a natural … I can tell, but we may need some rudder pedal extensions before I can start adequate instruction.
God gave us a healthy baby girl Saturday night, April 17th, at 7:58 PM. She weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces, but she has a 14.5 inch head (I got blamed for that). I’ve always known that Samantha is tough, but I had no idea … it took a full 2.5 hours of HEAVY DUTY pushing before we saw the whites of her little eyes. The cord had gotten tangled around both ankles, the arm, and the neck. Thank God for the ladies at Mat-Su Midwifery who coached Samantha through to victory, it was rather intense, and I cannot thank them enough. We were so exhausted that we crashed in the birth room, and did not check out until a couple of hours ago. Samantha is doing wonderfully, and baby Keller is vibrant, alert, and full of life. We are totally blessed by all the prayers, encouragement, and excitement. What a trip … and it’s only begun. And, NO, we have not decided on a name yet.