Great Place to Stay

 View from our next inn which turned out to be one of our favorites...

A fun highlight that we hadn't even planned on was when the owner of the hotel said we could take his kayaks out on the lake.  This was a brand new experience for the kids, but you wouldn't have guessed it. 

Adventurous Grandma took to the lake, as well!

Even Kate was kayaking on her own within the hour. 

The owner of the hotel was also a teacher and a Christian, so he and my parents had an instant connection.  He was so kind to take us out on his boat that afternoon, as well. 

We were thrilled to see a moose up close with her twin calves!  We watched them for quite awhile and were in awe at their size!

On the way to dinner, we spotted another moose with twin calves by the side of the road.  So cool! 

A Memorable Father's Day

The next day was Father's Day!  It was definitely a blessing to be spending this memorable Father's Day in Alaska with my amazing dad!  

We had our first bear spotting this day!

It was a special Father's Day for Jon, as well!:)

We took a scenic bus tour through Denali National Park where we spotted several caribou.  The kids got a kick out of our bus driver, Omar.  He was like a talking encyclopedia. 

Glacier Walk

Our afternoon was spent hiking on the Matanuska Glacier.  They fitted us with shoe spikes, helmets, and walking sticks and led us on quite a trek on the ice. 

Don't slip!

Beautiful!  Little did we know how much more beauty we would soon see...

Rafting!

The next day, we went white water rafting on the Matanuska River.  They provided us with gear and then gave us a talk about what to do if we would fall out of the raft.  This had me panicking a bit inside.  When we were about ready to get in, they recommended putting the most adventurous people in the front of the raft since it would experience more turbulance.  Hmmm- Jon, Scott....and my mom!  Whew!  I was thankful to be safely seated in the back of the raft with the girls & my dad.  

Our rafting guide, JJ, did a great job and kept us all safely in the raft.  We spotted a moose while going down the river, and it trotted along the bank with us for a little while which was so cool.  This was the kids first time ever to do anything like this, and we all had a fun ride! 

We stopped to look at some Dall sheep on the side of a cliff. 

Getting Started

To begin our exploration of Alaska, our tour guide (a retired teacher like my parents!) picked us up in a passenger van which we used for the week. 

That day, we had several stops and went on a Native Alaskan cultural tour.  Here we are below standing between the jawbones of a whale. 

We stayed a couple of nights in these cabins which we all enjoyed.  Jon went for an evening walk the first evening and encountered a moose!  Welcome to Alaska!

Alaska At Last!

Last year, my parents started to plan a trip to Alaska for their 50th wedding anniversary.  I was talking to my mom on the phone one day when she told me of their plans and casually said, "Want to join us?!"  I'm still not sure if she was joking then or not, but I said, "YES!" and from there the trip was born.  We had much anticipation leading up to the trip.  The kids hadn't ever flown, and we watched many YOUTUBE videos on what to expect and learned all about Alaska for months prior to our big trip.  

We woke up very early on the morning of our trip and took an early short flight to Chicago and then a longer flight to Anchorage.  TSA was intimidating to us non-flyers, but we finally made it through (with one little hiccup thanks to me- oops!).

 

 

 

Up, Up, and Away!

 

 

These kids are used to our West trips which involve several long days of travel to reach our destination.  Flying might have spoiled us a bit - woke up at home and by late afternoon, we were swimming in Alaska!  How cool!  

 

After an early morning and a three hour time change, we were all ready to sleep that first night.  The next day was when our tour around Alaska would begin.  

                                     

Golden Anniversary!

Today my parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary!  They are certainly best friends and a great example to us.   They are returning from a special trip out West. 

Just for fun, my mom pulled out her wedding dress, threw it in the washing machine for a quick wash (EEK!), and tried it on.  Still fits great! 

 We love you, Dad & Mom!  Congratulations!:)