12/31/2012

Fuel Up!

So the long, desperate hope of a speedy fuel pump in our future has finally arrived.

The early announcement of a 4-6 week wait was doubled, but no use being grumpy about that now since.... it's here! And working! And we are able to pump fuel at an incredible rate. Happy New Year!

12/23/2012

Raise Em Right

I wonder what "T" will be one day.  

We are currently developing and encouraging our dreams for him...


11/26/2012

Creative Customer Service

Sometimes the things you do to get things done look a little odd. And are difficult. And barely work.

11/09/2012

Extra Hands

Lots of people contribute to getting work done around here. Even people who have stopped by just to make a fuel delivery, but picked up a shovel to help with the newly fallen snow before they left.
Boy, do we appreciate those wonderful, wonderful people!
Like you Ken!

11/05/2012

Comfort while we work...

We make work fun, no matter what we're doing! In fact we almost make it 
look like we're not working at all! How do we even do that?!

11/01/2012

Zero

Unfortunately for the pilot, this Japanese Zero ran out of gas right at our pump.  
How fortunate for Brian!

10/29/2012

The Prettiest Little Snow Plow In Town

This is a 1973 950 Loader. We're in love!!
Thank you Bob's Services for the shiny paint job!!

10/24/2012

What LPA employees do for fun...

If your a bit squeamish at the site of blood you may want to stop reading now. . .

So there we were in search of the HUGE billy goats that live in the mountains. 
We departed out of Whittier by water taxi and two hours later we arrived on site and leaped from the boat dawned our hiking apparel and trudged on up the mountain into the fog.

Two hours later we emerged from the clouds and above tree line and right there on the cliff top ahead we spotted our first GOAT!! We thought it MUST be a HUGE Billy, all alone.
We stalked that beast and Nathan Robertson (Heidi's brother) put it in his cross hairs and there she be possibly the only goat we would see on our entire adventure so he decided to take the shot.

One shot one kill and the mighty rock hopper fell. We came up on the wild animal and with our first kill came our initiation into the goat club. To our surprise it was indeed a younger female but we were pleased none the less! 
Back down to camp on the ocean it was for us hauling our booty and a good nights rest.  
The next day we hauled a spike camp up the mountain to stay in the high places with our quarry. That same day we trudged along above the clouds searching for another HUGE BILLY. Not too long after setting out we were creeping along the mountain side and just down below we spotted a fine trophy but to our dismay it only had one horn. 

Heidi was next in line for shooting and she surveyed the situation. Deciding that it would be sweet to have a goat with one big horn rather than no goat at all she too squeezed off a round at the animal swiftly ending its life. During the fall after the shot the goat managed to break off its one remaining horn but after a care full search the missing horn was recovered!!
After a nights rest in our tent that is very comfortable for one person we extracted our bodies from our sleeping bags and wiggled out of the tent to find the best weather one could possibly hope for over the Sound. No wind to speak of, wispy clouds resting down in the lower reaches of the valleys and clear blue skies as far as the eye could see.

We set out early that day with an eye toward getting me, Lyle, a goat, preferably a HUGE BILLY.  
We rounded the corner past where Heidi had grounded her animal and there in the distance we spotted an honest to goodness HUGE BILLY GOAT!!! We Stalked that goat and circled around the back of the ridge and came up on the back of it and as we went along we peeked out below and there it was . . . only it had turned and right beside it was . . . another goat . . . it was a mystery.

So I set up on that lead goat and waited for some minutes, waiting for it to stand up so we could get a good look. That HUGE beast stood up and to my untrained eye it looked like a shooter and that's what I did. She went down easy and I was thrilled.

In my excitement I stood up and yelled and looked around and there off to my left the HUGE BILLY stood as well and stared in my direction taunting me. Sure enough I too had shot a nanny goat like Heidi and Nathan. I couldn't be happier though, that old girl sure does fill up the ol stomach, the horns don't taste that good any way!!
Next time we'll find those HUGE BILLIES!!! : )

10/11/2012

Breakfast Of Champions

No one, not even Brian, is sure how he keeps his manly figure.  
Especially since his breakfast is usually cake and Mountain Dew.

9/23/2012

Happy 40th To Laura!

Here she is looking dazed and confused by her milestone.
Thank you to everyone who showed up to celebrate her - 
even though she was a NO SHOW to her own surprise party!

9/18/2012

New Staff!

LPA is happy to announce the arrival of our newest addition....  Meet Asha!
She made her debut at 10:00 on September 10th.
She has lots of blond hair and gorgeous eyes.
She laughs a lot and has the cutest dimples when she smiles.
You're really gonna love her!!

 And we really couldn't be more proud!

8/29/2012

My Ram's Bigger Than Your Ram

It was pretty much a perfect hunt. Heidi's brother Nathan flew in from Montana for a sheep hunt. His instructions, via text from Lyle: "3 day hunt. Be here tomorrow." And that's basically how it went down.

Nathan got his sheep on the first day of the hunt. 35 1/4" curl. Not too shabby.  And look how clean and beautiful it is. And how giant of a body it had!
Heidi got her sheep on the third day, and it was a little bit bigger.
It tumbled down the mountain for awhile breaking a couple chunks off of it's horns and splattering blood along the way. Saved them some packing distance, so it's all good.

 Who's looking forward to sheep sausage??


8/23/2012

Raincoat Maker

That Dave Wilder can pull off ANYTHING! Is it just us or do his eyes sparkle when he smiles?
It was raining pretty good here this morning, but that did not detour Dave from heading out to fuel his Caravan. Since there was no let-up in sight, and no umbrellas, Dave just threw on a LPA hat and used a wonky pair of scissors to make himself a rockin' raincoat.

Slick!

8/16/2012

Welcome Sign

Thanks for your cool promo - using rocks from under peoples feet on the picnic table where people eat.
Thanks a lot boys!!

8/15/2012

Happy Birthday Heidi!

It's Heidi's birthday tomorrow. But we threw her a party today!  
A cake. A sign. And a photo bomber. Perfect!
Happy 16th Heidi!!

8/01/2012

Gifts From Gory

Gory showed up at the office with presents!  
He brought roses for Laura and BethAnne! And some donuts, that got scarfed up by everyone else.
We feel so loved Gory! Thank you!

7/27/2012

Passenger Of The Day

This is Brandy. She spends part of her summer out on Lake Clark.  
            Today it really felt like summer here in Anchorage, so on the way to catch her flight with us she grabbed some yummy milkshakes to share with the LPA staff! SO GOOD!
Thanks for your thoughtfulness Brandy!

7/24/2012

Busy Busy

Sometimes we're surprised by the amount of activity that happens on, over and around Merrill Field.  

7/21/2012

Passenger Of The Day!

This is Patrick. He's from Virginia. He just got back from fishing in Lake Clark, and I'm pretty sure his favorite personal belonging was his new LPA hat.  (personally we really like that backpack too)
Now he just needs a hat for his head.

7/20/2012

T-6, Zero & A Medivac

A guy named Chuck keeps his cool airplane collection in a hangar right next to LPA's. Today he brought one of his T-6's (his other one is yellow) for some fuel. He was getting ready to do some practice moves for the air show next weekend. Laura snuck out to the pumps for a photo. 
This is a Zero - a Japanese bomber plane that was used against Pearl Harbor.  There are only three of them in the USA. The cockpit holds just one person.
This is another oldie, but goodie. At one time it was used for Medivac flights.
If you want to know more, google it.
We love working on an airfield! You never know what kind of amazing aircraft you'll see.

7/17/2012

Salmon BBQ

Yesterday Brian flew Norm and his son Ben to Iliamna so they could go salmon fishing in the Newhalen River. Today they brought in a couple of the super fresh filets to share with everyone.
During the BBQ someone noticed the cool clouds in the sky.
They looked like someone was shining a powerful flashlight on a frozen pond.

7/13/2012

Lyle & Heidi...

...are doing great!  But they miss you all.  They'll be back from fish camp soon....
Happy Friday the 13th!!

7/09/2012

Missing Something?

Well 16-Eyes here may have that missing item of yours in her two-toned hot hands.  

Look closely because what you lost she has found, and she's waiting for your call saying you'll come retrieve it.  ***But she's only going to wait until August 31st.***
Then she'll be calling 1-800-GOT-JUNK. 

7/03/2012

Like-Zen

We're working on a small zen rock tower.
Peaceful, calm, centered, zen feelings......ARISE!! Right NOW!

6/29/2012

Super Sweet S.

Miss S is a frequent LPA office visitor, and if we're all being honest her favorite person is Dave.  
Her current skills & interests include expediting orders from Home Depot and Costco, as well as her electrical apprenticeship - both supervised by her Mom.

On occasion S has even helped the LPA staff file paperwork and water flowers.  Everything she does is done with the utmost sincerity. This girl has got a bright future!

6/26/2012

6/23/2012

PTA Summer Staff

Port Alsworth is rockin' some sweet summer staff!

We have: On-top-of-it-Anna, Aaron-of-all-trades, and 3-week-Nathan.  
Looks like it's going to be a great summer!

6/22/2012

Deck Transformation!

LPA's back deck was recently transformed from Drab to Down-Right-Divine.
It took 3 people, 3 days, and 3 coats of stain... but it's ever looked better!

Caleb hit every nook and cranny with the pressure washer...
Then he & Kai & BethAnne spent many painstaking hours brushing on the stain.  Boss Lady Laura never even thought to give them rollers. Ooooppps!
 Then it was time to relax with a bag of chips & soda, and survey all their hard work.

6/20/2012

Happy Birthday Grace!

Jacque threw a fun b-day party at her house for Grace! And a lot of the ladies came to celebrate.
Grace is a master quilter, and has accepted the task of sewing together quilt squares, made by the other ladies in Port Alsworth, into quilts for each Port Alsworth High School graduate - for precisely Umpteen years. It's been a labor of love to make them, and a treasure to the kids heading off to college. 

Happy Birthday Grace! Thank you for all you give! We love you!

6/19/2012

Pressure Washing

We've been having amazing weather so we've had lots of time to work on our outside projects at the LPA office - like pressure washing this old staircase and walk-way.
Kai got a lesson on how to use the pressure washer today and did a great job cleaning off the grime. Next up... a fresh coat of paint.

6/18/2012

"Growing Like A Weed"

That term has taken on a whole new meaning in the past 18 hours.
We pulled out all the flowers and buds from the LPA lawn at 5pm last night.
By 10am this morning all these had popped up!!!
We are shocked and appalled, and on our way to get some weed killer.

6/17/2012

3rd Sourdough Fly-In

IT WAS A FLYING SUCCESS!  

Planes from near and far came by with gobs of folks to eat, run, play games, watch the film festival, support Tanalian Bible Camp, and watch or participate in the flying competitions.

Dave & Jacque opened up their Port Alsworth hangar and ramp for the party.  Friends, and strangers came by to check out what all the hype was about. Time well spent.
Taylor, Paul & Johnny got in on the fun - just by showing up.
This could be you and your friends next year....
The Carhartt bros, Lyle and Josiah, going hand crazy. From all the BBQ-ing maybe?
Noah singing and playing with the band while people ate and danced.
Chuck also played in the band. Trish did the 5K. Paul won the handsome man-child award.
Not totally sure who these clowns are, but I'm pretty sure they made sure everyone had a grand ol' time - for 2 days straight. (thanks Heidi & Anna!)
Sure hope you can join us next year. Lyle & Heidi throw a mean party!

Mark your calendar now for Memorial Day Weekend 2013!