Kids and Kijik

This Monday (7/23) was quite a busy day for me.  We had our first kids program for the little guys, as Yvette likes to call them.  What a bundle of energy they were!  The age group was preschool thru first grade (so ranging ages from 3 to 6/7).  Oh. My. Goodness.  They were a handful!  But super cute at times.  Our theme for the day was trees and seasons.  So we had them make tree cookies (like we did with the older kids) and did the same activity; which we both determined they were too young for...it requires a lot of paying attention, and well, they just haven't reached the age yet where that is important to them).  We did the mystery box again as well, and that worked out alright, although they were more interested in getting the prettiest leaf out of the box and finding its exact match.  Again, a little too old for them. 

But the winner activity was the seasons game!  I had made 4 posters, each representing a season (fall, spring, summer, winter) and posted them around the visitor center.  I also cut out a bunch of examples of what could be found during those seasons.  Snowflakes for winter, flowers for spring, suns for summer and leaves for fall.  I put a little tape on the back of each, and handed a couple out to each kid.  Then Yvette and I let them loose!  "Go paste your picture onto the season it goes with!"  They ran off in a flurry and pretty soon all the posters were full of the little icons.  Then, to wear them out, we had them stand in the middle of the room, and wait until Yvette said a season, and then they had to all run to the corresponding season.  It was great to see them so excited.  Note to self, when in doubt, make 'em run!  They'll love it, and their parents will love it too (can we say naptime?).  After all was said and done, Yvette and I had to sit down.  Those kids wore us out, and we weren't even running!  We were able to iron out details afterwards about how we want these programs to go, so that we're even better prepared for next week.  We're a great team!

After lunch I got to head out with Ranger Chris and John, our historian, to Kijik River.  Apparently one of our historians (or something, I still don't quite understand his title) is working on restoring some of the furniture in Dick Proenneke's cabin on Twin Lakes, so we had to go on a mission to find the right size log for the job.  There was a tree that came down at Kijik, so we had to boat over, and do some bush whacking.  You couldn't have asked for a better day to be on the boat.  The water was like glass, perfect and serene.  The only waves came from our boat.

 This is the view pulling out of Port Alsworth on the Park side of town.   

 And the rest of Port Alsworth.  This is what is on the other side of the second runway owned by the Alsworth family. 

 And then heading towards Kijik.  Is this not the most beautiful view in the world?  Sorry, but I couldn't just pick one picture to add, so you'll be looking at a whole montage.  I've just never seen the water look as it did that day. 

After a short trip there by boat, we unloaded and headed out into the forest.  Luckily I had my bug-hat.  The mosquitoes have emerged in Alaska with quite the ferocious behavior!  We were surrounded on all sides by them.  But with the right amount of bug spray and a net that tucked into my shirt, I was safe.  The walk itself was pretty tough.  Not something I'd do on my own.  We were walking on a path, but not a very clearly defined one.  I think we all stumbled a bit over the roots.  But when we reached our destination, the job only took a half hour.  And then we were out of there!  Getting back into the boat, and peeling away the layers of protective clothing was the best feeling in the world.  And then to get to see all the sights we saw on the way in, on the way out?  Paradise.  I think I'm really starting to like boats.  Plus, I'm getting to see more and more of Lake Clark.  I wonder where they'll take me next....