Hello!
Let us introduce ourselves. Our names are Jim & Debbie Lorence, and we have resided in the Copper River Valley since 1997.
Debbie is currently a teacher at Glennallen High School (she teaches history, art, health, and home ec) and Jim works as a mental health counselor at the Copper River Native Association.
Our Story
Debbie was raised in Salcha, Alaska, a small town just south of Fairbanks. Jim grew up in Glencoe, Minnesota, and traveled north for adventure shortly after graduating from college. We met at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and traveled to Japan together in 1991 to teach English as a second language.
We were married in Japan on May 4, returned to the Salcha area the following year, and began our Alaskan adventure in a small log cabin that we built by hand.
We love sharing our piece of the world with others! In addition to a quiet, clean, comfortable guest cabin to base your adventures out of, we are happy to provide local insight to guide your trip in the Last Frontier. Please reach out with any questions!
In 1995 we relocated to the Copper River Valley as Jim began his 20 year career as the guidance counselor at Glennallen High School. Debbie joined the teaching staff at GHS in 2009.
Photo: Jim hiking Pioneer Peak near Palmer, AK.
We have three children, Josh, Kelti & Anna. Josh now lives on the Kenai Peninsula and works on the North Slope at the oil fields in Prudhoe Bay. Kelti works in marketing and is based in Minnesota, but returns to Alaska in the summers. Anna is finishing her geology degree in Utah, and frequently returns home to discover new hiking trails.
Photo: Anna with Mt. Denali in the background, hiking the Kesugi Ridge Trail
Over the years we have grown deeply involved in the community. We are a family of basketball, quilting, and the great outdoors. We greatly enjoy our subsistence lifestyle and the incredible landscape we are blessed to live in.
Photo: Kelti, Anna, Debbie & Athena on our annual blueberry picking trip at Tangle Lakes
“To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.”
John Muir
Gulkana Guest Cabin 