Piece 12 and more adventures...

I actually had to soak for an hour in our jacuzzi tub after today's events. I was exhausted! Let me elaborate....

Last night after rafting, we went to bed at 8:00pm, and slept til 9:00am this morning. Woke up nice and chipper! We headed out with our heads held high, breathing in the fantastic smell of rain falling on dry ground. We chose our hike from a list of about eight different trails. So what if it said it was the hardest hike? So what if it was described as "strenuous"? We're tough right?

On the way up, we came across this...


Watch out for bears???? Just so happens that my bear mace is in Longview, Washington, and Dwight's is back in Anchorage. But the hikers coming back down the mountain said it was fine, so we pressed on.



As we scaled the side of the cliff with red faces and shaking legs (ok, so it wasn't a cliff, but they weren't lying when they said "strenuous") we were anticipating the view. And we weren't disappointed. It was absolutely gorgeous!


We left our Piece of Plumey at the top of the world!


Piece 12: Healy Point, Healy, Alaska

Memory #12:

One word: Movember.

Every November he would grow what he called a “mustache.” Unfortunately, it looked more like his eyebrows fell off his forehead and landed on his upper lip. December 1^st was always a great day for his wife.

I love this memory. Sometimes it seems like I took the most pictures when Justin had his nasty mustache.

He would have loved the hike, and he would have pounded his chest and screamed at the top of his lungs when he got to the top.

After placing Piece 12, we headed back down the mountain. Toward the bottom of the trail, THIS is what we encountered...

Okay, just so you know, we have heard nothing but horror stories about running into a moose, especially when there is a calf. Apparently people have been charged at, mauled, trampled, and the list goes on. So it was to be expected that when we saw it, we (me and Sara) turned and ran full-speed in the opposite direction. The boys watched as the moose calmly turned and walked away, and they continued down the trail. They found us walking down the bus tour road a few minutes later. We narrowly escaped with our lives!

Our adventures are never-ending! We are loving it up here! Tomorrow we head back to Anchorage for more fun!

Piece 11

First of all, although we have been having such a wonderful time here, our hearts are hurting for the Millo family and the tragedy they are facing. They are in our thoughts and prayers.

Yesterday we went whitewater rafting on the Nenana River, which is a glacier-fed river up here in Denali, and it is FREEZING! It's a good thing we had drysuits. We rafted 23 miles, and maneuvered several giant rapids!

It was my first time whitewater rafting without Justin. But our guide, whose nickname was Country, was excellent, so it was like Justin was there. He would have absolutely loved it! I can just see him screaming at us at the top of his lungs, "Paddle FASTER, you lily-hearted land lovers!!!!"

Coincidentally, this bottle's memory matches perfectly with our adventures for the day...

Piece 11: Denali Outdoor Center, Denali, Alaska

Memory #11:

He LOVED whitewater rafting. He was an excellent guide on the river, and you always felt safe with him. But once in a while he would want to ride in the front...chaos would ensue.

We left Piece 11 at the Denali Outdoor Center, where we set off for our rafting adventure. We think they will especially appreciate the memory inside.

Today we are going hiking. The weather is gorgeous, and we can't wait to see where the trails take us!

We are in the news!

Just wanted to let you all know that we are super excited because Pieces of Plumey is being featured in the Longview Daily News tomorrow! I will post a link to the story in the morning.

Piece 10

Today was a fantastic day! Our friend Dwight took us on a bus tour of the Denali National Park, where we went into the wilderness for six hours. We saw four grizzly bears! Pictured here are a mama and her cub.


We also saw a fox, tons of moose and caribou, Dall sheep, snowshoe hares, and lots more!

We felt it only appropriate to leave a Piece of Plumey at the park. So here we are, leaving it in the corner of the fireplace in the visitor's center, hoping a worn out tourist will sit for a quick rest and stumble upon it.


Piece 10: Denali National Park, Denali, Alaska

Memory #10:

When in New York, he was able to visit Central Park. The first thing he did when he saw it was to frolic at full speed to the grass, spin in circles, and shout at the top of his lungs. And he still thought he pulled off the not-looking-like-a-tourist thing pretty well. His traveling companions may or may not have agreed.

Tomorrow we are going whitewater rafting, and we will leave a Piece of Plumey somewhere along the way!

Pieces 8 and 9 and then some...

I am very sorry I haven't posted as much as I've wanted to, but alas! It isn't exactly easy to find WiFi in the wilderness.

So I have three things I want to cover in this post.

First, and most exciting....I have some EXCELLENT news! When I hopped online yesterday to check my email, I saw something in my inbox from someone I didn't recognize. I quickly opened it and was so excited to see that someone had found Piece 4, and it affected them in a positive way.

Isn't that exciting? Plumey is still affecting people's lives! That was one of the goals of this whole project, and I was so happy that we have met with success!

The second subject I want to address is that after 44 plus hours and 2,500 miles, WE HAVE ARRIVED IN ANCHORAGE!!!! We are so happy to not have to drive anymore. Except we are driving to Denali tomorrow, which is about six hours away, but that's okay. We will be going on a national park tour and also a whitewater rafting excursion.

On to the third order of business. Pieces 8 and 9 have been placed.

We placed Piece 8 at the SS Klondike steamboat in Whitehorse, because we knew Justin would have dedicated half a day to touring it and asking hundreds of questions about the engine room, the steam, the wood, the paint, and anything and everything else he could think of....


Piece 8: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Memory #8:

He was an excellent Karaoke-er (Well, he really liked it). Once, as a joke, his wife secretly gave the DJ a request with Justin’s name on it to sing “Any Man of Mine.” It didn’t phase him. He sang it better than Shania herself, complete with dance moves and all.

As for Piece 9, last night we stayed at the fantastic Historic Gakona Lodge in the Copper River Valley between Tok and Anchorage. It was wonderful! We had a great room, there was a fun little lounge, and a beautiful river behind the lodge. And Greg and Valerie were so sweet! So we left Piece 9 in our room as we headed out this morning.

Piece 9: Gakona Lodge, Copper River Valley, Alaska

Memory #9:

Airplanes were fascinating to him. He was able to fly a plane, as an anniversary gift from his wife. He was so excited, he requested to fly over his parent’s house and tip the wings. He made his wife call his parents to come out and watch him. Just like a little kid: “Mom, watch this!"

Now that we are back in civilization, my posts will hopefully be less sporadic....or maybe not.