a few more pics for you.  One is in the Kenai Fjords, the other is the "Dr. Suess" trees which I now want for my christmas tree and the other is the sea otters.  The previous post has a picture of the view from our campsite, the sea lions and the obvious feeding of the horses.  Enjoy.  More to come tomorrow.

RV trip across Alaska part II

Time to continue our story;

Day 3:  We awoke in the morning to quite cold temps in our "house car" as we had forgotten to turn the furnace on.  After figuring that out and discovering our coffee pot was broken we joined Uncle C for a walk down the street to the horses while Aunt C cooked us some breakfast.  The kids and the horses were sooo excited to see each other.  They fed them wild flowers and grass until they couldn't eat any more.  We then headed back to joined Aunt C for a yummy breakfast of pancakes, eggs, toast, watermelon and bacon!  

Next we headed into the town of Soldotna for some Go-Kart racing.  We were surprised to discover that both kids were big enough to drive the go karts with an adult in the car with them.  Little A and Uncle C beat everyone but I think everyone had a blast.  Uncle C then took us to the Kenai airport where he works.  The kids climb into some airplanes on display then they were allowed to climb into just about every single BIG truck you could imagine one would need to keep an airport running during the Alaska winters.  It quite a fun day.  Mommy and Daddy even got to see a glimpse of Mt. Redoubt peaking through the clouds from the airport runway.  We ended Day 3 by saying goodbye to our dear Aunt and Uncle and heading down to Seward.  

The drive was again another beautiful drive with lots of "dr seuss trees", rivers, and fisherman.  We arrived in Seward in time for dinner in our RV, then explored the camp ground.  The kids found a very large puddle which they proceeded to jump in for 25 min ignoring the big playground right next to it.  Too funny my little Juneau kids.

Day 4:   On this day we ate a quick breakfast and headed into downtown Seward.  Seward reminded me somewhat of Juneau but on a smaller scale. We were very lucky to have amazing weather, like Juneau, Seward is often covered in clouds with rain.   At 11:30 we boarded a boat in the Small Boat Harbor for a marine tour of the Kenai Fjords.  We were headed out through Ressurection Bay through the Kenai Fjords and out into the Gulf of Alaska.  On the way out you could see several glaciers on the mountains.  We found some sea otters who were just hanging out cracking shells on their belly.  They let us watch them for quite some time, just hanging out doing their thing.  Then we came across some Dall Porpoise swimming along the front of the boat.  These porpoise are black and white and can be seen very well when they are just under the water.  All around us puffin were flying and floating.  We passed by Bear Glacier which apparently has created it's own barrier so we were not able to get too close.  It was at this point that we discovered our little girl gets sea sick.  She started crying wanting to go home and after a few minutes and questions I realized it was motion sickness.  She wasn't the only one.  As I took her outside to sit and watch the horizon I discovered on person "feeding the fish" and another alseep on a bench.  She definitely felt better outside and soon fell asleep in my lap.  She had no interest in viewing any of the wildlife after that, poor thing.  We stayed out in the Gulf for a long time looking for whales but never actually came across them.   We were ok with that since we had the opportunity to see them on the ferry ride into Juneau last summer.  We then started our trek back towards Seward.  On the way back we came across a bunch of sea lions sleeping on the cliffs.  Wow those things are huge and how in the heck did they get up on those cliffs?   We continued to see lots more puffins, sea birds, eagles and even some more sea otters.  Big A pretty much slept through all of it.  As we came back into the harbor and were getting off the boat G and I were surprised to hear her say she had a really good time.   Too funny. 

After the marine tour we went for some ice cream at a parlor in town.  MMMM yummy!  Then we decided to drive around and find a spot were we could enjoy the "beach" and the beautiful weather.  We originally had planned to go to the Sea Life Center but having just been to the Long Beach Aquarium and Sea World we decided to take advantage of the sun.  We found a gorgeous campsite right on the water with a fire pit and everything.  The best part, it was only $15/night.  So we parked and settled in for the evening.  The kids had a great time climbing on the rocks, making "cake" and other concoctions.  Big A even made herself a little see- saw with a piece of wood and a pointy rock. Daddy did some "snag" fishing with the kids without any luck but they enjoyed the experience just as much.

 We met a family who have been on the road in their RV since 2007, sold their house and started their travels.  They have a 10 yr old boy who is home schooled and the husband works "from home" for IBM.  Quite an interesting family to talk to and an amazing RV!  

We enjoyed a great dinner of burgers and hot dogs, with yummy smores for dessert.  After putting the kids to bed Daddy and Mommy enjoyed some QT by the fire, watching the tide come in.  Mommy even got a special anniversary present by the campfire! Thanks Daddy you truly are the love of my life. (our anniversary was the next day, Aug 18).  This by far was one of my favorite days of the whole trip!!

RV trip across Alaska

We had very little internet service on this trip so I was unable to access my blog.  I will still share our stories but in small spurts.  The 1st 2 days I had no battery in my camera so no pics to share but don't worry, I have plenty from the rest of the trip.  Hope you enjoy reading about our travels as much as we enjoyed going on them.

Day 1: We flew into Anchorage early in the morning and arrived to a mildly wet day.  We rented a small car and started our exploration.  As we drove through Anchorage I was mesmerized by all the stores!  And stoplights!  We even got stuck in traffic.  With the kids itching to get out of the car and "do" something our first stop was at the immaginarium, a kids science museum.  The kids were in heaven!  Mom and Dad were a little hot given the inside temperature was at least 80 degrees but the exhibits were fun.  We made bubbles around ourselves, flew a glider, learned about aurora borealis and climbed a giant ant hill.  After about 1.5 hours it was mommy and daddy's turn for some fun.  We headed for Glacier Brewhouse for some beer tasting and food.  The food was yummy but I hate to admit I missed my Alaskan Amber.  

We then went in search of Elmendorf Air Force base, our home for the night.  After being told 2x our room was not ready we headed out to visit one of my old college buddies and her family.  So fun to catch up after 8 years!  We ordered very yummy pizza from Moose Tooth and got to see a real live moose on the side of the road while bringing it home.  

Day 2: We picked up our 24' RV!  The kids were totally excited.  They called it our "house car".  We loaded up with groceries and were on our way down Seward Hwy.  Turnagain Arm was very impressive.  It is known for its high tides and large mudflats which apparently have lots of quicksand.  You could see spots that were sinking as the tide rolled out.  About 40 min outside of Anchorage is a wildlife conservatory.  Here we saw moose, elk, reindeer, buffalo, porcupines, bison and bears up close.  The brown bears were the most impressive, with their HUGE heads.  There were 3, 2 of which were wrestling in the water, WOW powerful animals!  I would hate to cross their paths in the woods!  We then continued down Seward Hwy to Sterling Hwy where we turned towards Soldotna.  The drive was beautiful.  We crossed the Russian River, Kenai River and several others.  All with fishermen lined up on the banks.  Thanks to my book, "the Milepost" we were able to read all about each river, town, and many of the businesses we passed making it a very interesting ride.  Our evening ended at Uncle C's house in Soldotna.  Uncle C and Aunt C have a beautiful home all built by Uncle C.  It even has a fire pole which was a huge hit with all "3" of my kids...

Visit to the Wilderness lodge

Last night we joined some old family friends of the V's at a lodge they have rented for 2 weeks out the road.  They  have flown in their family from all over the states to enjoy some time in the wilderness.  Apparently they used to live here back in the 70's when there was only one grocery store downtown and they had a "party line" for phone service! Can you imagine!  I feel quite lucky.  This lodge is at mile 33, almost the end of the road, and sits on the water.  The views are spectacular!  There is a small creek that runs beside the house that was full of salmon, although because of the dry summer it was quite shallow and they weren't able to get very far. This creek is a great place to catch the bears catching their meals.  They have caught tons of salmon and halibut going out sometimes 2x a day to fish.  Apparently lost "the big one" when a gaffe broke while trying to bring him in.  The kids had a great time with all the cousins and fit right in.  One of the families lives right in Burke, Va and is friends with some of the same people we were! Totally a small world!  We had such a wonderful time hearing of their weeks adventures, hearing old stories about Grandpa V and watching the kids run wild.  Such a fun evening, we were sad to leave.

Family and Friends

We woke up this morning to an unexpected sunny Juneau day!  Such a pleasant surprise.  After working my ankle out at physical therapy we headed out "the road" to the Shrine of St. Theresa.  It was so pretty.  You could see the mountains with still a little snow and big puffy clouds drifting over the tops.  The kids loved the chapel which was quite surprising to me.  They both did not want to leave then wanted to go back.  It was a very simple chapel with wooden pews and a plain alter and tabernacle.   Around the outside of the chapel were stone monuments with the stations of the cross.  It was like a treasure hunt for the kids going from station to station.  Mommy got quite a workout on her foot as these stations were up and down some steep hills and over large tree roots.   After going all the way around we found ourselves in front of a prayer labyrinth.  We diligently walked it taking about 10 min to complete the 7 concentric circles in towards the cross.  It was quite fun and would be neat to do some day without 5 kids on your heels.  Once we had taken in the wonderful views we headed even further "out the road" to my favorite beach, Eagle Beach, where we just took in the sun and the views.

For dinner we meet our favorite Juneau family and some of their family from Mass out at Auke Village Recreation area for a picnic.  The rain did come make a brief appearance but no one seemed to mind.  The kids, as always, enjoyed exploring the woods, "road blocking" the stream, and throwing rocks into the bay.  And of course we made jiffy pop popcorn on the campfire and smores, mmmm good.   

It was quite a full day for us and now we are exhausted.  Tomorrow is the last day of P&G's visit.  We hope to hit the gold mine museum and the fish hatchery.  The kids are super excited because tomorrow is the first day the ice rink is open since May!  We will be headed there for the 1st open skate of the season!  I am hoping their skates still fit...

Bear poop

This morning we walked over 3 miles on the Mendenhall River trail.  This trail winds along the Mendenhall River through a forest of Sitka pines, white birch and mountain hemlock.  It was beautiful and green with moss and fungus growing all over the tree trunks.  Although we didn't see any bears we came across quite a few fresh piles of bear poop.  Amazingly Daisy ignored almost every single pile, not even a turn of her head to inspect it until just before our hike ended.  We crossed a very cool bridge that gave us a great view of the spawning salmon in the creek below.  It was a wonderful walk.  I was very happy that my foot held out and was only a little sore when we finished.

In the afternoon we hit the state museum and the Mt. Roberts Tram.  The kids did the 0.5 mile loop trail hike at the top of the tram with P&G.  It was too steep for mommy whose foot was already feeling the strain of a 3+ mile walk and wandering around the museum.  They did great and came running down at me as they finished.  I am told there is a great look out point that I hope to see one of these days.  

This afternoon we drove over to Douglas Island to show P&G (visiting for the week) our old house.  After seeing the "for sale" sign finally up and driving to the top of Blueberry hill we decided to head out to find the END of the road.  I had no idea that North Douglas Hgwy had the amazing views that it does.  It was a cloudy day but still the views were beautiful.  I can't wait to go back on a sunny day.  We found the Outer Loop trail which leads to a beach on the other side of Douglas but did not have time nor cooperating children to hike it.  I am hoping to go back and hike it one of these days.

After dinner we decided to head out to the Glacier to see if the bears were around.  Well we certainly got what we wanted.  There were 2 black bears wandering around in the woods and under the viewing platform.  At first we watched one sleep then found the other fishing.  As he disappeared down stream we noticed the second had also begun to fish.   He caught and dragged a fish onto shore which suprisingly managed to flop itself back into the water and escape the bear who pursued it only for a few feet.  After losing the battle the bear returned to munch on some already dead salmon on the ground.  We watch these 2 bears wandering back and forth under the platform for a good 25 min.  It was very cool.  Eventually the 2 bears discovered each other and began competing for fishing spots.  One bear slowly chased the other.  There was lots of commotion between the onlookers quietly trying to follow and the two bears moving through the woods.  It was very exciting.  However once the ranger said, "make sure you have your children close by".  I decided it was time to go.  No need to put ourselves in the middle of a bear fight!  But WOW what a totally cool experience!  I know P&G enjoyed it.

smoky day

Well they weren't kidding when they said the smoke would be rolling in.  I noticed last night smoke along the bottom of the mountain and got a little worried there was a local forest fire but found out that it is from forest fires in the Yukon and British Columbia.  It is pretty impressive.  We actually can only see shadows of the mountains that are 2-3 miles away.  It is all you can smell.  The smoke actually is bothering my eyes and I took my allergy medicine today to stop the itching.  I am hoping the wind shifts soon and blows this stuff out of here!

I am posting a picture of our shadow moutain that is about 3-4 miles away.  Look very closely and you can see the shadow.  I will look for a picture that has the same view so you can see the contrast but am sure it is on the old PC.  Also posting one of the kids hiking at the top of the Mt Roberts Tram last week.