Onward & Upward

Our next destination was Wasilla, Alaska, where we were expecting to stay on a quiet lake for the better part of a week. John would work on a cabin recently purchased by a dear friend. The only other plan was to go into Anchorage for a couple of days for John to 1) have lunch with a Christian brother who goes WAY back and 2) to find where Sydney Lawrence Paintings are housed to view them. By the time we pulled out of our perch in Haines, we had already heard whispers of other plans for this portion of the journey.

Incidentally, from Haines Junction to Beaver Creek and beyond seemed to me the worst roads on the trip. The road signs that indicate three clumps of coal are a warning you are about to hit the ceiling, and everything in the camper is about to shift to spaces unknown.

As we neared our destination, the timing just seemed right to go straight into Anchorage, and since our friends could not be reached by phone, we decided to start at the Anchorage Museum to view Sydney Lawrence. At the end of our tour of this magnificent facility, we visited their gift shop. I was impressed with the book collection, and thought Jessie could do well there. But I was told the buyer does not work on weekends and he would expect to see a copy of the book first. I told her I could not spare a copy but did leave a postcard our son David had produced to help promote Jessie.

Well, "long story - short" (I know, I know. By the time one inserts this, it is too late!) We caught up with our dear friends in time for dinner only to find she was in the throes of preparing for church camp and he was shuffling a new job with a new business venture so we just stood aside and watched the activity. Anyway, the following day after morning worship, we found ourselves following him to a lake near Wasilla, but not his cabin lake. Instead, we set up our camper at a lake that came complete with campers! John held his title from "Faith Quest" as Camp Grandpa but picked up others such as Metalsmith, Fix-it man, and Sourdough Cook. Miss Betty helped where she could with the darling pre-schoolers. The campers and staff were a delightful God-send, and though it was not the week we had planned, the Master Planner (with a boost from our DEAR friends), certainly made it one for our memory bank.

During this week, I did find a spot to make a phone call to the Museum shop manager, and was surprised when he said he would like eight copies. After I took his information, I asked, "Why did you order without even seeing the book?" His answer, "Your references on the postcard are impeccable. I have never met Robert DeArmond personally, but I've been around a long time, and Stanton Patty is well-known. Did you know he has written a book?"

So...how does this get us to the potlatch? We are on our way. Leaving camp, we are headed toward Eagle and Eagle Village.

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