Bird Ridge and Airplanes

Isabelle flew in on Friday and on Saturday we got to hiking, heading up Bird Ridge with our frined MT. 

It was a solid uphill hike...

but there was plenty of good scenery and...

it was worth, specially with your arms in the air. Izzy on the summit.

We stopped by Point Woronzof on the way to the airport with the Spuhler's. 

Jes and her mom with Anchorage in the background.

The planes get pretty close on take-off.

Cheers, 

Mushin' dogs

On Saturday stopped by Mitch Seavey's sled dog camp in Seward. We took a ride through the forest on a wheeled sled, got to pet the dogs, and learned a good deal about the Iditarod, the training required for it, and how awesome these dogs are.

Yes!

Very well behaved right up until the dog sees a sled, then they go absolutely nuts.

Summer homes for the dogs. What is not captured in this image is the cacophony made up of dogs barking, whining, yelping, and fighting. Lots of dog noise. 

Cheers, 

Seward with the Spuhlers

We took a new cruise around Kenai Fjords and the weather cooperated fantastically.

Puffins are our new favorite bird, they swim underwater just like they fly in the air. 

Humpback whale breaching.

Sea lions do lazy very well. 

Really neat reflection in the still water.

Jaci and Bob enjoyed the cruise.

Downtime on Fox Island.

Rocks on Fox Island.

We spent the remainder of the weekend in Seward. The Mt. Marathon race had made quite an impression, so I set out early Sunday to 'run' the mountain. The way up was a spirited hike at best as the trail was mostly scree. The way down however was fantastic, steep downhill and lots of loose rocks. 

Summit picture, it was a bit rainy out. 

And finally, we leave you with a common but often forgotten reminder...

Please, do not feed the animals.

Cheers.

Seward Cruisin' with the Spuhlers

Jaci and Bob came up to visit and after a hectic first couple of hours rushing between the airport and the train station we were on our way down to Seward. The train ride was fantastic, the weather cleared just in time...

Great views all around...

Jes and her mom's...

this girl did not drop her phone...

Jes and her da'...

this bird did not fall into the ocean...

say yes to railroads.

After our railroad jaunt we boated over to Fox Island in Resurrection Bay outside of Seward, the weather held and we got to check out the fjords.

boat ridin'...

dock at Fox Island and the boat we came in on.

More pictures to come, cheers.

Alaska Salmon!

Our friend Kyle and his family spent this past weekend dip-netting in Kasilof. The limit for salmon was higher than what they could eat, so he invited us over to help cleaning and cutting up the salmon. In exchange, we'd get a couple filets. After a delicious meal of fresh salmon, we got to work. 

First, a cooler of fish. Jes was sad they didn't have their heads on.

Kyle cleaning them out.

Jim filleted the fish, I cleaned up the carcasses, and Kyle and Jes packaged and sealed the fish.

Towards the end, Jim broke out the wasabi and soy sauce and we enjoyed bits of raw salmon, quite tasty.

Quite a bounty. 

Baums, if you're reading, soon we'll be catching our own.

Cheers,

Golfin' and runnin'

This past weekend was composed of an incredible day on Saturday and a rainy, windy, and somewhat cold day on Sunday. We took advantage of the weather on both days.
Our friend Sharon is an avid golfer so we joined her for a round on Saturday. We played a course out in Palmer. It had been a while since we had taken up the clubs and gone a round and it showed although Jes got her game together by the end of play.

Sharon enjoying the links. 

They call this pasture golfing.

On Sunday I decided to 'run' Flattop. I was inspired by the Mt. Marathon race and by Ryan and I's run over Crow Pass. It was rainy and cold but I made it there and back. 

Summit picture, woohoo!

Cheers. 

Lake Hood

We live on the west end of Anchorage and everyday at all hours, float planes fly over our house. The planes are heading to or from Lake Hood, a giant lake that houses a good chunk of Anchorage's float planes. Jes had run the trail around the lake several times but I hadn't seen it. So we headed out on a great day for some dinner at the hotel on the edge of the lake...

After dinner we rode bikes around the lake and checked out the planes.

We also found an owl watching over Anchorage who was kind enough to pose for a picture with Jes.

Cheers.