Trek to Oregon and Alaska

Our vacation started off this year with a trip to see Grandma Hari in West Linn, Oregon where we were able to help her unload some items from her garage. Chris and his sledge hammer made easy work of some sheds which needed to be torn down and we sold items on craigslist, made some money, then spent the money on gas for the truck to haul items away! We enjoyed visits to see cousins at Tryon park (Darilyn could you send a picture?!), old friends down in Albany and went hiking at Multnomah Falls on our last day. We sure did have a great week there and loved the good cooking from Grandma Johns and Hari!

We then made our way to Fairbanks! We realized we probably should have done a day by day blog as it was difficult to decide on pictures to post and with no internet connection in most places, it was tricky. On one of our first days in Alaska we drove out to Chena Hotsprings where the water is nice and warm. We saw 6 moose that day, one of which would not turn around for us to get a good picture. He just seemed to be telling us, "Well if you want a picture, this is what you get" and enjoyed showing us his better side. Once at the hotsprings went into the ice museum where they keep the temperature below freezing and everything is made of, you guessed it, ice! Sadie and Mason loved the igloo and the bed made of ice with carribou pelts on top. There was even an ice toilet! You can rent the room for an exorbitant rate if you wish. Not my idea of a romantic getaway.

We spent an evening at the lake cabin and enjoyed the cool weather. Here is Derek looking contemplative on the deck.

We went hiking at Inspiration Point (a hike at a Boy Scout camp Chris used to go to) and were eaten by mosquitoes and enjoyed the view of the Tanana River and the Alaska Range.

This mother moose and her calves decided to give me a great pictures. By this time we had seen 22 moose on our trip. On our drive to Anchorage to visit my sister Lizzie and her husband Alan we saw a mother moose with her baby running across a meadow followed by two bull moose. The bull moose were chasing the mother and baby for whatever reason.

Chris and I took a trip to the town of Ninilchik on the Kenai peninsula to go halibut fishing. Thanks to Lizzie and Alan watching the children this overnight getaway was fantastic. Our boat launch into the ocean was quite an experience. The boat is hooked up to a large tractor and then pulled down into the water. The tractor keeps backing up until it is deep enough to make a quick stop which allows the boat to slide off of the trailer and into the open water. Near the shore there were tons of salmon jumping out of the water. After five hours of fishing we went back to shore 6 halibut richer, non of which weighed 100+ lbs. Chris was a little disappointed with that, but hey, at least we caught fish, right? On our way back we woke up a sea otter who swam around and was cute. Taking a picture from a moving boat of a moving object is not recommended by me. It was very challenging, thus no pictures of the sea otter.

On our drive back to Anchorage from Ninilchik we stopped to take some pictures of the scenery. Driving through the Kenai peninsula is kind of like driving through the Alps!

Chris took the kids and hiked Flattop Mountain in Anchorage. The kids had a blast as they were able to play in snow and Chris really enjoyed the view from the top.

As far as weather is concerned for this trip, we timed it just perfectly. It rained on our drive down to Anchorage, but on our way back, boy was it beautiful. The mountains including Mt. McKinley were out and breathtaking. We had a gentleman from Holland take our picture. He and his wife have been biking for 2 years! 2 years! How crazy is that? I can't even imagine the kind of ..ahem.. calouses you would develop sitting on a bike seat for 2 years!

The Alaska range was so beautiful, we were able to get a great panoramic shot.

McKinley around 12 am on our drive home from Anchorage.

We spent the July 4th weekend at the lake where Sadie became very tan after hours of playing in the sun and water. Uncle Jeff invited us over to ride his wave runners which Sadie absolutely loved! She really liked going full speed. Thanks Uncle Jeff! We enjoyed fresh halibut for dinner and fun with relatives. Chris flew back to North Carolina on Saturday and we already miss him! The kids and I are enjoying our last week in Alaska with Grandma and Gramdpa before returning to the heat.