Week 1 - Alaska

What a great trip!  We did so much and had such a fun time together.  It's hard to keep it brief.
Although chilly, the weather cooperated with us and we had no rain and no mosquitos.  Can't complain about that.

The only downside is we did manage to pass a cold around the family the first week.  No fun, but luckily it wasn't bad enough to keep us down.

First Up -Denali
Notice my blue cap?  I underestimated how cold it was going to be and ended up wearing this lovely hat and rotating between 3 long sleeve shirts and 2 jackets the entire 2 weeks.

The first morning, Scott, Taylor, Bennett and Chase took a hike around Horseshoe Lake.  Owen caught the cold that Scott had had a few days previously and only wanted to stay in bed.  They spotted our first wildlife sighting,  a moose with her calf.

That afternoon, Owen perked up a bit so we hiked the Savage Loop trail and took a drive.

Denali park only allows visitors to drive their cars about 15 miles into the park.  We were lucky enough to see Denali (formerly called Mt. McKinley) as it usually is covered in clouds.

We ended the day with a tour of the National Park Sled dogs.  Pretty cool to meet these dogs, learn about what they do in the park during the winter and see them in action.  These are probably the most socialized dogs in the world as around 50,000 visitors will come and see them each summer.

The following day we took an 8 hour bus ride into the park and traveled to the Eielson Visitor Center.  I was a little worried about how the boys would do sitting on a bus that long, but they all did just fine.  In fact, Owen leaned over to me and asked "Why am I having fun?"  He could quite reconcile that sitting on a bus looking at the scenery and wildlife was entertaining enough for him.

While on the bus ride we saw 4 bears, moose, caribou and Dall sheep.  The scenery was stunning and as you can see in the picture by my hair, it was very windy.  And cold! 

Polycrome Overlook - Denali

 The day ended with a hike on Riley Creek Trail

Matanuska Glacier

The following morning, we drove about 3 hours south to Matanuska glacier.  We put on crampons and a helmet, hired a guide and hiked all over the glacier.  It took me awhile to "trust" the crampons on my shoes and realize that I wasn't going to slip on the snow and ice.

It rained all the way down to the glacier and we were worried that we would be hiking in the rain.  However, luck was with us because it stopped right before we started.

Matanuska Glacer

The next morning on our way to Anchorage to hiked to Lion's Head - A view of the entire valley including Matanuska glacier.  You can see the length of the glacier behind the boys as it is around 30 miles long.  It was more of a self-guided hike, which pretty much meant we went straight up the side of the plateau.  All of the boys loved it, except for Bennett who was starting to get sick and didn't feel all that great. 

Seward

We spent 3 days in Seward before we got on our cruise ship.

Kenai Fjords and Wildlife Tour

 Along with the Kenai Fjords, we saw all kinds of wildlife including humbback whales, an orca, seals, eagles, puffins, and sea otters.  We also got to see the Holgate Glacier up close. 

Holgate Glacier

One of the many whales we saw

We spent a day in downtown Seward walking along Resurrections Bay, going to the SeaLife Center and hiking to Exit Glacier.

Resurrection Bay

Hike to Exit Glacier

Taken at 2:00 AM - Summer Solstice

Iditarod Sled Dogs

We also took a tour of a local family who rides the Idadride each year.  These dogs are bred to pull a sled over a 100 miles a day for over a week straight and they look it.  Pretty fun to see them and hold the pups.  These plastic barrels are their year round home.

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Since there is no snow right now, they keep these dogs active by having them pull tourists on carts.  They were so excited to pull, and the guide on the back of the cart had to keep the brakes on the entire time to keep them from going too fast.

These dogs aren't necessarily domesticated, but have been socialized since birth and have no objection to you petting them.