Updating and remodeling our house

The past several weeks we have been working hard trying to do some long-overdue remodeling, namely, replacing all our windows and doors and adding a deck to our north patio, plus scraping chipped paint, getting ready to repaint the house. Anyway the worst of it is over, just some cleaning up to do around the house, trying to figure out what to do with stored treasures that came from our greenhouse, which is no more! We hired Jonathan Cheney to to the carpentry work and he did an awesome job, taking out the old and making the new fit.

This shows the new windows for the garage and sewing room
Here, Jonathan Cheney is using a sledge hammer to tear out the old steps from our house to the back patio. He is a great carpenter! He's hoping Lance isn't mad at him for tearing them out. He remembers how upset Kristal and Kandra were at him for tearing down the fort Lance built across the road on property before Cheney's bought it.
The new windows for the front of the house.
Now the painters, Boyd Austin and crew from Snowflake, are done with the painting and I have been able to start putting out flowers and furniture on the south patio.
View of the front of the house with the new paint, etc. Like the blue trim?
New railing on the back deck. Still need to paint and replace the benches. Looking better though.

Prince Rupert, BC

Well, it's been a while since I've posted so will finish up showing the last stop of our Alaska trip.

When we arrived in the port at Prince Rupert, we saw bald eagles everywhere, perched on posts, in trees, on roofs. A local said just look for golf balls in trees and that's the eagles. They are huge and really beautiful.


Downtown area of Prince Rupert.
We are out and about in the pretty city of Prince Rupert. They say it has the best salmon fishing, better than Alaska, and closer.
We went on a boat tour and were taken further out in the harbor where the bald eagles gather for food. The guide would throw chunks of bacon fat into the water and the eagles would circle and then one would swoop down for a tasty snack. It was fun to watch.

Snowy day in Skagway

This train engine with snowblower in front is used for clearing the tracks to keep the railway open to the summit of White Pass during tourist season. We saw where it had been used recently to clear huge drifts from the tracks. The summit is at an elevation of about 3200 feet.
When we arrived in Skagway we boarded the White Pass and Yukon Railway for a ride to the top of the summit, traveling where the miners of the Klondike Gold Rush era went to the gold fields in the late 1890's. Unfortunately, by the time the railroad was finished, the gold rush was about over. The miners were required by the Canadian government to take a full year's supply of everything to enter the Klondike in Canada so they either carried them on their backs, one load at a time for 40 or so trips up the treacherous trail to the summit or purchased pack animals to do the same. We traveled in comfort enjoying beautiful scenery and as we got higher a snowstorm blew in. We felt right at home.

Beautiful view of Skagway and the harbor from the train.
After we got back we went on a streetcar tour of the small but bustling town of Skagway. Our guides looked like Mary Poppins and gave a fun and colorful history of the lore and legends of the early years of the area. We passed an LDS chapel as we zigzagged through town.

We heard our tour guide said, "I've been doing this 14 years and its never snowed in Skagway this time of year before!" Though we were wet and cold when we got back to the ship, we had had a good day. Last stop, Prince Rupert. . .