Click on an image to see a full-sized view... Waiting for our plane to take us to Anchorage for a week with Aunt Linda, Uncle Bruce, Jack, Sabrina, Ellie and Evan! John and Evan shortly after arriving in Alaska. Jack and his Wii. Evan and his gun. Ellie and her blanket. John and his camera. Ellie and her cousin. Playing the role of Bruce in today's performance of "Cameraman" is John Wesley. An expression only a little brother can elicit. Preparing for a walk through the Eagle River Nature Preserve, just northeast of Anchorage. High noon in Alaska in March. A boy and his stick. Replacing the understudy, Bruce returns to the title role in "Cameraman". Linda leaves the visitor's center on the way to the trail. Two boys and two sticks. Everyone don't look at the camera! That means you, too, John! Beaver pond impounding the upper stretches of the Eagle River, strangely enough in Eagle River, a suburb of Anchorage. John arrives at the viewing platform. Evan arrives at the viewing platform. Cousins check out the view. Cousins! John and Kathleen walk along an icy path. I wonder what a glacially carved valley would look like? I ride my daddy! We got our fruit snacks, we got our popcorn - now we're ready to see the Anchorage Zoo! Linda, Sabrina, Ellie and Evan enter the zoo. Arctic Fox asleep. Arctic Fox awake. Red Fox. Great Horned Owls. Yak. Bald Eagle Wolves - who howled for us - it was surreal! All the wolves at the zoo are littermates rescued as pups after their mother was killed by hunters. Snow Leopard doing what most cats do in the sun. Mt. Leopardmore. Sleeping Alaskan Brown Bear. Not sleeping Alaskan Brown Bear. Dromedary Camel keeping a low profile in Alaska. The low sun casts long shadows even at mid-day. Lynx! Here kitty kitty kitty! One of the zoo's two Polar Bears works on a fishcicle. Ellie and John display the results of eating lollipops. Four inches of fresh snow overnight means it's time to go sledding at Ocean View Park! On the blue course it's Jack, and on the red sled it's John. And John's off down the hill! Comin' back up the hill is the hard part. Luckily there seems to be a "chair lift" type arrangement for all of my downhill winter sports! Now it's John vs. Jack vs. Sabrina in the starting house... Looks like the far sled is having technical difficulties... Uh oh. It looks like spectators have slipped through security and onto the course. Hood down... Hood up... hood down... Off course... Bogey at six o'clock and closing in fast! Bogey dead ahead! Take evasive action! People wearing snowsuits really fly down slides. Just ask Jack. Uh oh. I think she's frozen to the swing. We'd better send in a superhero to the rescue! Here he comes to the rescue! His clownish antics can cheer up even the grumpiest sourpuss! John playin' blocks and marbles with Evan and Ellie. Sabrina joins the creative fun. Jack escalates the fun for all with the marble run building sets. Cross-eyed Cousin #1. Cross-eyed Cousin #2. Cross-eyed Cousin #3. This is what happens when everyone shops at Costco. Aircraft museum on Elmendorf Air Force Base. F-4 Phantom II F-15C Image on the side of the F-15C F-15C C-130 Hercules C-130 Hercules F-4 Phantom II Model of the new F-22 Raptor, which has been deployed to Elmendorf but we did not see any while we were on base. A friend of Linda and Bruce has a cabin on Rocker Lake, about 20 miles west of Wasila. It's about an hour and a half drive from south Anchorage. Linda helps Ellie with her ice skates. The area on the left is an ice rink. The rest of the lake is a snowmachine track! Sabrina and Seamus make snow angels in the middle of the frozen lake. Kathleen and John enjoy the perfect day. Bruce rides by on the snowmachine. Evan enjoys a ride around the lake with dad. Jack takes dad for a spin. Now it's John's turn. Now it's dad's turn to try it out. Now dad takes his little boy for a spin around the lake. Birch trees. More snowmaching! Sabrina, Snow Princess of the North. Jack flies solo! Another turn for John. Now it's Linda's turn. Now it's Juneau's turn! Periodically C-17s from Elmendorf would circle above our little lake. It was as if they were putting on a show just for us.