October in Alaska

Each morning, the air steadily increases the "bite," a crisp edge that promises snow, just around the corner.  Everyone in Alaska is "winterizing," gathering up hoses, putting up bicycles and motercycles, making sure vehicles have tires that can handle ice, etc.  Most of the time, there's a good foot of snow on the ground by the end of the month, and because of that, we don't find it odd that trick-or-treaters go from door to door with costumes underneath warm winter coats or snowsuits! 

The frost each morning is a beautiful sight, as are the glowing stars in the wide expanse of the sky.  Losing our long summer daylight, each evening the sun sets earlier and earlier and comes up later each morning.  The migratory birds are all gone, off to the next stage in their yearly traveling adventures.  Moose are busy fattening up on the open grasses, soon to be covered up with snow, six of them out in the harvested hay field the other day, thoroughly enjoying themselves. 

Winter is coming, as it does every year, weaving the changes so naturally in the beautiful tapestry that makes up life on our planet. 

So Much To Do on the Kenai Peninsula! (Work Camper Adventures at the Diamond M Ranch Resort)

Helping to run the Diamond M Ranch Resort campground is not a job for the faint of heart. Somewhat similar to juggling plates, a good work camper has to be able to multi-task. Here at the Diamond M Ranch, that means the ability to go on dog sled rides with Ididaride Sled Dog Tours...

 

Raft glacier-fed rivers with the Alaska Rivers Company...

Haul in a big catch with Chihuly Charters...

Or go flying with High Adventure Air (awesome!), and even enjoy a glacier cruise with Major Marine Tours, and so much more!

A big thank you to all of the above companies, for offering our work campers these opportunities to experience Alaska. As they say, the best advertisement is a happy customer, and our work campers certainly had a ball with all of you!

We have the most amazing Work Campers, year after year, and words can't express how much we appreciate them. Each one always has a unique skill, whether it's in answering phones, organizing office areas, helping with new construction, landscaping and gardening, building fences, working security, helping with ranch animals, having a friendly smile to greet guests, hosting fish fry socials---and even making beautiful signs* placed all around the resort, named after each one of our family members!

Summer at the Diamond M Ranch Resort flies by quickly, always so much going on---so many things to see and do, as well as so many wonderful guests to help have a wonderful stay. We appreciate our Work Campers so much. Their energy, smiles, and helping hands truly enable us take our business to the next level!

*Thank you, Jim Diggs, for the beautiful signs and for the great pictures above that you shared with us!

Mount Redoubt: Musings on Alaskan Mountains

Depending on the clouds and whatever other mysterious things are involved in making mountains appear and disappear, sometimes Mount Redoubt looms over us here at the Ranch, and yet, every once in a while, you'd never know there was a mountain  here at all. 

Our guests, Ellen and Bill McEwen, snapped this shot of the mountain from our viewing deck here at the Ranch.  Obviously, it was one of those moments where Redoubt was standing, strong and tall, in plain sight for all to see.  Breath-taking. 

Mountains, much like a sky full of stars at night, are good for reflection.  All the little soap operas in our lives, things that often take up so much of our energy, seem to be put in their place when we step back and take in the vastness of nature.  Like falling leaves, the wind of awareness comes in and blows away the petty issues that we were allowing to rob us of our vitality and precious time, allowing us to concentrate on the things that are worth it. 

The towering mountain reminds us of the temporary nature of our days, and as we breathe that in, we remember that very few things really matter.  People matter.  How we spend our time matters.  Who we spend our time with matters.  Learning, growing, developing into who we truly are---that matters.  Most of the other stuff, loud and pesky stuff that can often occupy so much of our energies, doesn't really matter at all... 

Mount Redoubt is good for that, calling us to go inward and reflect on the priorities we have and changes that, perhaps, it's time for us to make.  Seasonally covered in snow or verdant greenery, the mountain stands firm, mysterious, and alive, a treasured part of this Alaskan landscape. 

New Website for Diamond M Ranch Resort!

Party!  Celebration!  Fireworks! 

Nate Estaban of HyperSolutions has given our business website a complete overhaul, and the results are just delightful!  Great job, Nate!  We think this will help us serve our customers even better than before, and we couldn't be more thrilled! 

The Biggest Little Fair in Alaska: Kenai Peninsula State Fair in Ninilchik

The Fair is this coming weekend! 

Stay tuned for some pictures and commentary, but in the meantime, go here for more information, schedules, and more:  Official Fair Website

Alaskan Beaches: Razor Clam Digging and Sand Castle Design

We take all interested guests on a razor clam dig, once a week---always a much lauded experience---but it's fair to say that the play-dough-like consistancy of Alaskan beach mud calls out loudly for tactile engagement of other kinds.  Here, Kaillee Skjold and Josiah Martin take a brief moment off from clam digging to construct a sand castle---with a moat and the decorative value of snail shells thrown in for good measure.

Last year, my kids and I found three baby sharks caught in a tide pool, waiting for the cold waters of Cook Inlet to come back and give them a chance at life.  My children stood guard as the sea gulls circled hopefully above, the salty sweet smell of kelp filling the air around us.  

There is no such thing as a "casual" walk on the beach, here by the waters of Cook Inlet, no matter which beach you visit.  It is a richly meditative experience, each and every time, and certainly one not to be missed.          

RVing in Alaska: Slow Down and Smell the Spruce Trees!

Roger and Ruthanne Jansen, Work Campers at the Diamond M Ranch this summer,
exemplify the fine art of making the most of every moment!

Not everyone has the time to take a leisurely trip through Alaska, but it's important to remember that a vacation is only a vacation in so much as it is a vacation!  If you maintain a fast pace and a tight schedule, hustling from one stop to the next, concentrating on the map and the milage and the next stop, you may be in Alaska but you're missing almost everything Alaska has to offer. 

Don't let the cities and the roadways fool you.  There's nothing tame about Alaska.  It's still a land of rugged wildness---a place where you can breathe deeply, stretch out stiff limbs and remember what it is like to be alive again.  Many RVer's understand this, so instead of scheduling a whirlwind tour of the state (going a mile wide and an inch deep), they pick one specific part of the state to really "get to know," to richly experience and enjoy.  Make no bones about it---the quality of their Alaskan vacation time is unparalleled.

So if there is one piece of advice we could give you, as you plan for your Alaskan vacation, it is this: make it a priority to fully enjoy the piece of Alaska that you find yourself in.  Walk on the spongy tundra.  Breathe in the salty freshness of the river mouth.  Stay up late for a one-of-a-kind "midnight sun" sunset.  It doesn't have to cost money, because it's not about money.  It's simply about engaging with your surroundings and drinking deeply of the richness all around you. 

As the saying goes, a good motto both for RVer's and for the rest of us,

"Wherever you are, be all there."

Alaskan Homestead Cabin