For the last few weeks, we have been enjoying some fabulous visits from both sets of our parents. First my parents came in June, then Joshua's followed up in July. We had such a fun time! I wish they could have stayed all year. However, we savored the time we did have together, and explored a lot of Alaska. We generally went to the same sites with both families, which gave us a chance to check out some neat places in depth. Unfortunately, our camera has been broken (our big excuse for not updating our blog for so long), so most of the following pictures are borrowed from parents.
So here were some of our expeditions:
Camping at Denali State Park--beautiful lake, thousands of mosquitoes (I'm not exaggerating); it was our maiden camping trip with our awesome new 10 person tent, and went pretty well. Unfortunately we didn't get a good view of Denali because of cloud coverage directly over the mountain, but we did get to see some trumpeter swans and a moose on the drive back. More unfortunately, our car broke down mid-drive. Luckily a good Samaritan came to our aid and we got home the same evening.
Camping in Seward--great location for camping! Seward is south of Anchorage on Resurrection Bay and is a big fishing/tourist town. It was fun to explore the town, see huge fish, otters, and bald eagles.
Glaciers--we got to hike up to Exit Glacier, took a boat to Portage Glacier and saw others along our drives. They are pretty amazing, and I think their blue tint makes them look a little mysterious.
Around Anchorage--we hiked Flattop mountain (3500 ft), which was a great hike, and pretty challenging. There are three saddles, and the last is mostly scaling rocks to the top; on our second time up, Julia was able to make it all the way up with just a little help from Joshua coming back down. We went to the zoo and wildlife preserve, which both highlight mostly local species; the kids especially enjoying the petting zoo area. We went to various parks, including Potter's Marsh, Campbell Creek and the Coastal trail. In some of the rivers we saw groups of huge (3 ft.+) spawning salmon, which was super neat. We also went to Lake Hood and watched seaplanes take-off and land (supposedly it is the busiest lake for seaplanes in the world).
We had a great time with everyone! We look forward to their next visits and welcome any others willing to venture up here.
Finding a nano geocache
On top of Flattop
Dall sheep right off the road on the drive to Seward
The tunnel to Whitter -- it is about 2 miles straight through the mountain. They can only send cars through one way at a time and have to time it right with the trains.
An iceberg that has broken off Portage glacier
Fish cleaners in Seward. Imagine if that was your job!
A large Halibut
Mt. Denali (Mt. McKinley) is in the background somewhere
At the top of the second saddle on Flattop
Petting zoo
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