The summer flowers here in Anchorage continue to be stunning.  The roadside show is currently masses of purple, magenta, yellow and white.  Yard and wild flowers tend grow faster here because of long daylight hours and tend to last longer here because of the cool, humid summer weather. We visited the lovely Alaska Botanical Gardens last week.  Here are some elegant Himalayan Poppies which are popular for landscaping. 

Alaska is becoming a major supplier of cut peonies for florists. The Alaskan peonies come on later than in the lower 48, so there is little competition.  Because of its location Anchorage is a major international air shipping center, so flowers can be sent worldwide quickly and efficiently. Peonies are beautiful in the yards right now.  This is an unusual variety we found at the Alaska Botanical Garden.

Here we are hiking at McHugh Creek on the Turnagain Arm Trail just 20 minutes south of Anchorage.The forest undergrowth is dense and lush--waist high.

The pine and birch forest is spotted with groves of cottonwood.  Here you can see their generous seasonal show of fluffy seed pods--like thousands of little lamb's tails--scattered along the trail.

 On July 13, 14, and 15 about 200 Young Single Adults gathered from all over Alaska for a Regional YSA Conference held at "LaDaSa," the Church camp property near Willow, 80 miles north of Anchorage. The forested acreage borders a beautiful little lake. The girls stayed in small cabins; the boys camped in tents. (Elder Hawkins and I were wimpy and stayed overnight in a nearby bed and breakfast.)    

Saturday morning was devoted to five different local community service projects. One of the projects involved major landscape maintenance for a church of another faith.  It so happened our B&B host was a member of that congregation.  He was extremely grateful and  so eager to tell us how impressed he was with our hardworking youth, "Not a shirker among them!" 

Saturday afternoon many enjoyed hiking, boating, or swimming in the (frigid) lake.  These tough Alaskans didn't seem to mind sitting in the rain for the evening devotional.  Saturday night was a dance.  The highlight of the conference for me was the Sunday morning testimony meeting in the rustic Willow chapel nearby.  We feel so blessed to be called to work with these faithful, fun-loving Saints!  Their good lives inspire us!

To celebrate the Fourth of July we went to the Alaska Native Heritage Center with the Palmers, a senior missionary office couple.  Here we learned about Native Alaskan history and peoples, viewed crafts and arts demonstrations, watched traditional dancing, and toured six native dwellings representing the major cultural groups. Here we are standing by a beautiful totem pole carved by the Tlingit tribe of southeast Alaska.

 

 This dancer wears a "kuspuk," a traditional dress from western Alaska modeled after a parka.  She holds "dance fans" made of woven grass and caribou ruff which enhance her grace and beauty as she dances.  Her boots are made of seal, wolverine, and sea lion. Her symbolic headdress is made of wolf, beaver, seal and wolverine furs.  She is accompanied by a girl singing and beating on a caribou skin drum. These young people are dedicated to preserving their heritage and are excited to share it.  They do not want their traditions to die with them.

This dancer wears a traditional Tlingit robe.  The design on the back incorporates the symbols for the eagle and raven clans.  It is decorated with white buttons.  When the Christian missionaries first contacted these people, they taught them to be modest and had them sew button closures on their clothes.  The buttons were quickly adopted, soon multiplied, and eventually became part of the design and decoration of their clothing.

We are standing by two giant jaw bones from a whale which have been erected to mark the entrance to a Yup'ik village.  Their dwellings, constructed of dirt and driftwood, are dug deep in the permafrost and are so covered with sod and snow, they might otherwise be difficult to locate. 

These boys are demonstrating one of several Alaskan Native games which involve a suspended ball.  In this one they run, jump off of one foot, and leap towards the ball, attempting to kick it with the same foot and land back on the floor squarely and in control with that same foot.  We were so impressed with their strength and skill.  They practiced such games during the long, dark winters when they had to be confined to the indoors.

Saturday we took a premier Alaskan hike on the Winner's Creek Trail near the Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood, about 40 miles south of Anchorage.  The trail winds through a deep forest with ferns and wildflower undergrowth.   We crossed Glacier Creek several times.  The rushing water is a lovely blue color from the glacial runoff. 

Last week we attended a missionary training meeting along with many of the 140 or so darling young elders and sisters in the Anchorage Alaska Mission.  It is always invigorating and spiritually uplifting to be around them.  They are so dedicated and so full of enthusiasm to share the Gospel!  We received training on everything from bike safety to STAYING OUT of political discussions to refining our "desires."  Some districts in the mission  are too far distant or cannot be reached by roads, so those elders cannot attend in person but have to receive their training over the phone, via "polycom."