July 22nd
The drive to the Redwoods National Park from Seattle was uneventful. There were a couple places such as Grant's Pass and the Oregon Caves that we wished we had time to visit.
July 23rd
We all slept in today and then took a scenic drive through the Redwoods National Park. It was incredible to see the trees that were hundreds (in some cases, 2 thousand) years old. We felt dwarfed by the size of the redwoods. I love the smell of the forest and enjoyed the tranquility of the area. We did some hiking and photo taking in the forest. I know for a fact that we will be back here soon!!! At low tide (7:20PM) we were able to hike on the beach to a lighthouse that is only accessible when the tide is at it's lowest point. The beach is beautiful with all of the tide pools and large black rocks out in the water.
July 24th
Our last full day of the trip. :( Whaaa! Whaaaa!
Today is the day that I have been dreading! We spent it exploring more of the Redwood Forest and the surrounding beaches and rivers. We drove through the Klamath Tour-Thru Tree this afternoon. It is an alive, 700 year old redwood tree that has been carved out at the base. Tonight we had our last bon fire and snacked on some smores. We grilled out burgers and talked about our favorite parts of the trip. It was a great one that I feel lucky to have had as an experience in my life. It definitely is not a trip for everyone, but I sure loved every minute of it! All good things must come to an end....
Favorite Moments
1. Sea kayaking at the Columbia Glacier through enormous ice burgs
2. Canoeing to Portage Glacier through ice burgs
3. Watching a grizzly bear fish for salmon & play in a waterfall for about an hour
4. Standing on the ice burg at Portage Lake
5. Touring the ice museum/hotel
6. Listening to the ice cracking at Holgate Glacier (on the cruise) & then falling into the ocean
7. Hiking at Redwood National Park
8. Flightseeing over Prince William Sound
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The drive home has started...
July 18th
On this day we drove from North Pole, AK to Whitehorse, Canada. It was a long, uneventful day. The drive is always gorgeous, so it is not as painful as it could be.
July 19th
This day we drove from Whitehorse to 90 miles from Smithers, Canada. It was a drive that had us wishing that we could stop and throw our canoe into one of the beautiful lakes or rivers that we were driving past. It was hard to restrain ourselves!!!
July 20th
This was our last of the long drives... but it was also our longest drive day of the trip. We took different roads home than we took driving to Alaska. It has been great to see other towns and sights along the way. We crossed the Canada/USA border at 1:15 AM and then found a place to stay in Bellingham, Washington. We were relieved to have the bulk of the driving finished!!!!
July 21st
We had a quick 1.5 hr drive to Seattle this (late) morning and then spent the day in downtown Seattle. Steven and I were here 2.5 yrs ago with my parents after we took the Alaskan cruise. We love Seattle and had fun seeing Pike Place and the other sights downtown. Tomorrow we are headed to Crescent City, CA for a couple days. We will be visiting and hiking at Redwood National Park. I have yet to visit that park, so I am really excited! It will be 505 miles to get there.
On this day we drove from North Pole, AK to Whitehorse, Canada. It was a long, uneventful day. The drive is always gorgeous, so it is not as painful as it could be.
July 19th
This day we drove from Whitehorse to 90 miles from Smithers, Canada. It was a drive that had us wishing that we could stop and throw our canoe into one of the beautiful lakes or rivers that we were driving past. It was hard to restrain ourselves!!!
July 20th
This was our last of the long drives... but it was also our longest drive day of the trip. We took different roads home than we took driving to Alaska. It has been great to see other towns and sights along the way. We crossed the Canada/USA border at 1:15 AM and then found a place to stay in Bellingham, Washington. We were relieved to have the bulk of the driving finished!!!!
July 21st
We had a quick 1.5 hr drive to Seattle this (late) morning and then spent the day in downtown Seattle. Steven and I were here 2.5 yrs ago with my parents after we took the Alaskan cruise. We love Seattle and had fun seeing Pike Place and the other sights downtown. Tomorrow we are headed to Crescent City, CA for a couple days. We will be visiting and hiking at Redwood National Park. I have yet to visit that park, so I am really excited! It will be 505 miles to get there.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
North Pole, AK
July 16th
Yesterday we drove from Denali to North Pole, Alaska. The smoke from the fires was still faintly present during the drive. The highlight of the day was taking photos of Ava on Santa's lap. Santa and everything Christmas is all the rage here. We spent a lot of the day at Pioneer Park letting the kids run wild and then ate at a salmon bake for dinner.
July 17th
Today we went to the Chena Hot Springs and Ice Museum. The ice museum is also an ice hotel where people can stay in a 20 degree F room on a slab of ice. Even the toilet is a porta-potty style ice sculpture. There is a caribou pelt on the bed and tiny cut outs out pelt on each bar stool at the bar. We sipped a apple martini from an ice carved glass. They even have a wedding chapel there and other various ice carvings. The place was crazy! They decorated with different colored lights shining on the sculptures. We loved it there!
The hot springs were wonderful (as they always are)!!! There was a regular pool near the hot springs for kids to play in and Ava ended up staying in the water for 2 hours! She was as happy as ever!
Yesterday we drove from Denali to North Pole, Alaska. The smoke from the fires was still faintly present during the drive. The highlight of the day was taking photos of Ava on Santa's lap. Santa and everything Christmas is all the rage here. We spent a lot of the day at Pioneer Park letting the kids run wild and then ate at a salmon bake for dinner.
July 17th
Today we went to the Chena Hot Springs and Ice Museum. The ice museum is also an ice hotel where people can stay in a 20 degree F room on a slab of ice. Even the toilet is a porta-potty style ice sculpture. There is a caribou pelt on the bed and tiny cut outs out pelt on each bar stool at the bar. We sipped a apple martini from an ice carved glass. They even have a wedding chapel there and other various ice carvings. The place was crazy! They decorated with different colored lights shining on the sculptures. We loved it there!
The hot springs were wonderful (as they always are)!!! There was a regular pool near the hot springs for kids to play in and Ava ended up staying in the water for 2 hours! She was as happy as ever!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Day 29
Today we said our farewells to Reagan, Josh, and Athan at the railroad depot in Denali National Park. We stayed there for a little while after dropping them off to see the visitor center and a few other sites in the park. It rained off and on today, so that gave me a chance to catch up on laundry and clean up a little. We had dinner with the Bakers and then went out for ice cream... again. That has been a tradition for the past couple nights. Yum!
Tomorrow we drive to The North Pole, Alaska. I hear that Santa will be there. :) We have been telling the 2 middle Baker boys that if they behave they will get to see Santa. They are over the top excited.
As of today, we have logged SIX THOUSAND miles. We are not even half way done with the drive and our estimate of how many miles that we would have at the end of the trip was 7,000 total. What happened? We just laugh when we talk about that now. I guess we have a second oil change to do somewhere on the way back to Cali.
Tomorrow we drive to The North Pole, Alaska. I hear that Santa will be there. :) We have been telling the 2 middle Baker boys that if they behave they will get to see Santa. They are over the top excited.
As of today, we have logged SIX THOUSAND miles. We are not even half way done with the drive and our estimate of how many miles that we would have at the end of the trip was 7,000 total. What happened? We just laugh when we talk about that now. I guess we have a second oil change to do somewhere on the way back to Cali.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
I am happily caught up with the blog!
July 11th
This day was halibut fishing day number 2 for Steven. This morning while Reagan, Athan, Josh, Ava and I were getting ready my family (the 4 guys) took a rafting trip down the Kenai River. After they finished we all met at the campground for a hike to the Russian River Waterfall. It was a 4.6 mile round trip hike. We thought that it was going to be much shorter, but we were never so thankful that we did the hike. Once we reached the waterfall that had salmon swimming upstream we waited for about 5 minutes to see if a bear would make an appearance. A huge grizzly bear came out of the woods and put on a one hour show for us. We were standing on 2 wood deck platforms above the waterfall and had a perfect view of the bear. It swam in the water and then did a lot of fishing with 2 successful attempts. We enjoyed watching the bear eat his lunch and then swim some more. The show ended with him walking up the waterfall with ease and then disappearing into the forest. On our way off the trail to our cars I spotted a bald eagle in it's nest. We were able to get awesome photos of that, too. Just when I think that things can't get any better on this trip, the next incredible moment happens.
July 12th
This morning Susana, Josh, Reagan, Athan, Ava and I all went flightseeing over Prince William Sound. It was breathtaking to see the glaciers from above. At a couple points during the flight we had complete white surroundings for as far as you could see. The ice looks so different from above. I loved to see all of the ice with just a few mountain tops peaking through. It was a one hour flight on a float plane that landed and took off on a river in Moose Pass, Alaska. While we did that Steven and the guys went river fishing. We all met up afterward and had some halibut before the guys took off for the airport. We enjoyed the time that we spent with them and I think that they had a great time, too. After they left we all drove to Kenai Lake to go on a little canoe trip. It was great weather and a nice, relaxing time together.
July 13th
This was our drive to Denali National Park and Preserve day. We drove to Portage Lake first to see if Reagan could have the canoe to a glacier in iceburg filled water experience, but the winds were bad and the waves were high. Major bummer! The drive to Denali NP was uneventful and we were able to see the summit of Mount McKinley in a haze/fog. The view was not of a clear mountain, but most of the people who come to Denali NP don't even get that view. I guess we will take what we can get. Our campground was only 1 mile to the park entrance which was very convenient.
TODAY!!!! Yes, I am finally caught up!!!!!
July 14th
Today we got to Denali National Park and Preserve at 8:25 AM and had a shuttle scheduled to take us to the Eielson Visitor Center with a few stops in between. It was cool that the bus would stop at any time someone on the bus spotted an animal. We saw 3 grizzly bears (a sow and 2 cubs) munching on berries near the road. The highlight was "the chance of a lifetime experience," as the bus driver and every single park ranger said about the sighting that our bus was lucky enough to have!!!!!! Our bus pulled over because we were watching a caribou walking on the road that we were driving down. We stopped for photos when one of the 60 to 100 wolves at the park popped out of the woods and had a stand off with the caribou right in front of the bus. Everyone was amped up thinking that we were going to see a pack of wolves take the caribou down. The caribou was obviously scared and I have 2 photos of it peeing in the street. It escaped the would be attack, but we were happy to be able to see one of the wolves. We also saw a bald eagle, a couple moose and a few more caribou along the way. It was a cool trip minus the smoke in the air from some forest fires to the west and north.
This day was halibut fishing day number 2 for Steven. This morning while Reagan, Athan, Josh, Ava and I were getting ready my family (the 4 guys) took a rafting trip down the Kenai River. After they finished we all met at the campground for a hike to the Russian River Waterfall. It was a 4.6 mile round trip hike. We thought that it was going to be much shorter, but we were never so thankful that we did the hike. Once we reached the waterfall that had salmon swimming upstream we waited for about 5 minutes to see if a bear would make an appearance. A huge grizzly bear came out of the woods and put on a one hour show for us. We were standing on 2 wood deck platforms above the waterfall and had a perfect view of the bear. It swam in the water and then did a lot of fishing with 2 successful attempts. We enjoyed watching the bear eat his lunch and then swim some more. The show ended with him walking up the waterfall with ease and then disappearing into the forest. On our way off the trail to our cars I spotted a bald eagle in it's nest. We were able to get awesome photos of that, too. Just when I think that things can't get any better on this trip, the next incredible moment happens.
July 12th
This morning Susana, Josh, Reagan, Athan, Ava and I all went flightseeing over Prince William Sound. It was breathtaking to see the glaciers from above. At a couple points during the flight we had complete white surroundings for as far as you could see. The ice looks so different from above. I loved to see all of the ice with just a few mountain tops peaking through. It was a one hour flight on a float plane that landed and took off on a river in Moose Pass, Alaska. While we did that Steven and the guys went river fishing. We all met up afterward and had some halibut before the guys took off for the airport. We enjoyed the time that we spent with them and I think that they had a great time, too. After they left we all drove to Kenai Lake to go on a little canoe trip. It was great weather and a nice, relaxing time together.
July 13th
This was our drive to Denali National Park and Preserve day. We drove to Portage Lake first to see if Reagan could have the canoe to a glacier in iceburg filled water experience, but the winds were bad and the waves were high. Major bummer! The drive to Denali NP was uneventful and we were able to see the summit of Mount McKinley in a haze/fog. The view was not of a clear mountain, but most of the people who come to Denali NP don't even get that view. I guess we will take what we can get. Our campground was only 1 mile to the park entrance which was very convenient.
TODAY!!!! Yes, I am finally caught up!!!!!
July 14th
Today we got to Denali National Park and Preserve at 8:25 AM and had a shuttle scheduled to take us to the Eielson Visitor Center with a few stops in between. It was cool that the bus would stop at any time someone on the bus spotted an animal. We saw 3 grizzly bears (a sow and 2 cubs) munching on berries near the road. The highlight was "the chance of a lifetime experience," as the bus driver and every single park ranger said about the sighting that our bus was lucky enough to have!!!!!! Our bus pulled over because we were watching a caribou walking on the road that we were driving down. We stopped for photos when one of the 60 to 100 wolves at the park popped out of the woods and had a stand off with the caribou right in front of the bus. Everyone was amped up thinking that we were going to see a pack of wolves take the caribou down. The caribou was obviously scared and I have 2 photos of it peeing in the street. It escaped the would be attack, but we were happy to be able to see one of the wolves. We also saw a bald eagle, a couple moose and a few more caribou along the way. It was a cool trip minus the smoke in the air from some forest fires to the west and north.
more catching up
July 8th
This was the big arrival day for our friends and family. Steven left Portage to pick up Athan, Reagan and Josh Davis in the late morning and then all of us drove to Cooper Landing which was about 1 1/2 hrs away. This was our home for the next 5 nights.
At about 5 Pm my dad, brother, cousin and uncle arrived and drove down to Cooper Landing to their bed and breakfast. After checking in they met up with us at the campsite. It was a relaxing day and it was great that all of their flights were problem free. We all enjoyed a grill out together that evening.
July 9th
On this day we all (8 adults + Athan and Ava) drove to Seward, Alaska for an 8 hour cruise of Kenai Fjords National Park. Before going to the cruise we stopped to see Exit Glacier, but we did not have time to hike up to the ice. The cruise was a great time on calm waters. The food was delicious and the views were wonderful. We saw all kinds of animals including a humpback whale who even gave us a view of it's tail. The puffins, in particular, were neat to see in both the water and flying overhead. The highlight of the trip was getting to see Holgate Glacier calving into the sea. We were fortunate to be there to see large iceburgs fall into the ocean. The thunder of the ice cracking is impressive each and every time you hear it.
After the cruise Reagan, Josh, Athan, Ava and myself went back to Exit Glacier to hike to the ice. It was about a 2.7 mile trek that we took the kids on, and they both did really well. The glacier was great to see and the photos of the 2 kids in front of the ice are super funny. The best part of the trek was when out of nowhere a black bear crossed our path about 30 feet in front of us. It took a few steps towards us and then walked back into the woods. We snapped a few photos and shared a few laughs. It was an unexpected surprise.
July 10th
This day was the big halibut fishing day for dad, Brian, Randy, Matt and Steven (and his dad, Steve). They drove to Ninilchek to spend the day fishing. They caught the maximum limit of fish possible and were able to have 150 lbs (also the max allowed) shipped home. There were 7 foot swells, so needless to say there were some green faces out there and one who threw up a couple times. Yuck!
Josh, Reagan, Athan, Ava and I drove to Homer which is where the road and land ends on the western part of the Kenai Peninsula. The drive included some cool moose sightings... 8 to be exact. Two of those moose were twin babies with their mother. The craziest thing happened this day, though, because we randomly stopped down a gravel road to look at a river to see the king salmon swimming up stream when all of a sudden I hear "Jod" being yelled at me numerous times. I look out into the street to see all of the guys riding in the back of a boat being towed by a truck. The guys had just finished fishing and were stopping about 2 blocks from the random place we had parked. It was cool to see their halibut and get some pictures of them in front of the fish. The largest was 92 lbs. Not to shabby for a bunch of first timers! :)
This was the big arrival day for our friends and family. Steven left Portage to pick up Athan, Reagan and Josh Davis in the late morning and then all of us drove to Cooper Landing which was about 1 1/2 hrs away. This was our home for the next 5 nights.
At about 5 Pm my dad, brother, cousin and uncle arrived and drove down to Cooper Landing to their bed and breakfast. After checking in they met up with us at the campsite. It was a relaxing day and it was great that all of their flights were problem free. We all enjoyed a grill out together that evening.
July 9th
On this day we all (8 adults + Athan and Ava) drove to Seward, Alaska for an 8 hour cruise of Kenai Fjords National Park. Before going to the cruise we stopped to see Exit Glacier, but we did not have time to hike up to the ice. The cruise was a great time on calm waters. The food was delicious and the views were wonderful. We saw all kinds of animals including a humpback whale who even gave us a view of it's tail. The puffins, in particular, were neat to see in both the water and flying overhead. The highlight of the trip was getting to see Holgate Glacier calving into the sea. We were fortunate to be there to see large iceburgs fall into the ocean. The thunder of the ice cracking is impressive each and every time you hear it.
After the cruise Reagan, Josh, Athan, Ava and myself went back to Exit Glacier to hike to the ice. It was about a 2.7 mile trek that we took the kids on, and they both did really well. The glacier was great to see and the photos of the 2 kids in front of the ice are super funny. The best part of the trek was when out of nowhere a black bear crossed our path about 30 feet in front of us. It took a few steps towards us and then walked back into the woods. We snapped a few photos and shared a few laughs. It was an unexpected surprise.
July 10th
This day was the big halibut fishing day for dad, Brian, Randy, Matt and Steven (and his dad, Steve). They drove to Ninilchek to spend the day fishing. They caught the maximum limit of fish possible and were able to have 150 lbs (also the max allowed) shipped home. There were 7 foot swells, so needless to say there were some green faces out there and one who threw up a couple times. Yuck!
Josh, Reagan, Athan, Ava and I drove to Homer which is where the road and land ends on the western part of the Kenai Peninsula. The drive included some cool moose sightings... 8 to be exact. Two of those moose were twin babies with their mother. The craziest thing happened this day, though, because we randomly stopped down a gravel road to look at a river to see the king salmon swimming up stream when all of a sudden I hear "Jod" being yelled at me numerous times. I look out into the street to see all of the guys riding in the back of a boat being towed by a truck. The guys had just finished fishing and were stopping about 2 blocks from the random place we had parked. It was cool to see their halibut and get some pictures of them in front of the fish. The largest was 92 lbs. Not to shabby for a bunch of first timers! :)
Monday, July 13, 2009
I have some serious catching up to do...
July 5th
This day we drove from Valdez to Anchorage. The mountains near Valdez have so many waterfalls that it reminded us a lot of Kauai, Hawaii. We enjoyed a hike to a glacier on the way. The oldest child of the Baker's ended up getting stuck in quicksand up to the waist because he was playing in the mud. Steven and Tim ended up pulling him out. It was way funny after it was over!! We were going to spend the next 3 days in Anchorage, but after driving around that one day we all had had enough!!!! What a crappy city. Every sign is shot to pieces... even in the city parks. We hated it there! Luckily there was a place that I had looked up that was 45 minutes south of there that looked interesting.
July 6th
After restocking our groceries at Costco we headed to Earthquake Park in Anchorage before driving to Portage. The park shows a landslide that took place with the 9.2 quake that shook there in 1964. Seven houses slid into a opening in the earth's crust that was created at that location.
We found a great campsite in Portage and did some sightseeing, as well as driving to Whittier (a town at Prince William Sound). The tunnel to Whittier is the 2nd longest tunnel in the world, just shy of 3 miles. The tunnel is a one-way road that is also a train track. They man the openings to the tunnel so that no accidents occur. We had to buy tickets and then wait about 20 minutes to get through.
There is a lake in Portage that has a glacier touching the water with several large iceburgs floating in the water. We did a little canoe ride at the shoreline to a large, flat iceburg and took turns getting off the canoe and standing on the iceburg. The photos are spectacular!! It probably is not the safest thing a person could do, but it was a thrill! The water was cold, but none of the 3 of us who did it fell in the water. Thankfully!
July 7th
Today was one of my favorite days of the trip. Steven and I got up early and Mikey came to watch Ava for us. We canoed to the glacier at the lake. It was 6 miles round trip and the water was like glass. The photos turned out great! It took us 2 hours from leaving the campsite to returning to the campsite and Ava was still sleeping when we got back. We weaved through the iceburgs and were able to see the large glacier. It was awesome. We heard the thunder of the ice cracking. I loved it. Right near the boat launch was a really nice museum and we went there with Ava after she woke up.
This day we drove from Valdez to Anchorage. The mountains near Valdez have so many waterfalls that it reminded us a lot of Kauai, Hawaii. We enjoyed a hike to a glacier on the way. The oldest child of the Baker's ended up getting stuck in quicksand up to the waist because he was playing in the mud. Steven and Tim ended up pulling him out. It was way funny after it was over!! We were going to spend the next 3 days in Anchorage, but after driving around that one day we all had had enough!!!! What a crappy city. Every sign is shot to pieces... even in the city parks. We hated it there! Luckily there was a place that I had looked up that was 45 minutes south of there that looked interesting.
July 6th
After restocking our groceries at Costco we headed to Earthquake Park in Anchorage before driving to Portage. The park shows a landslide that took place with the 9.2 quake that shook there in 1964. Seven houses slid into a opening in the earth's crust that was created at that location.
We found a great campsite in Portage and did some sightseeing, as well as driving to Whittier (a town at Prince William Sound). The tunnel to Whittier is the 2nd longest tunnel in the world, just shy of 3 miles. The tunnel is a one-way road that is also a train track. They man the openings to the tunnel so that no accidents occur. We had to buy tickets and then wait about 20 minutes to get through.
There is a lake in Portage that has a glacier touching the water with several large iceburgs floating in the water. We did a little canoe ride at the shoreline to a large, flat iceburg and took turns getting off the canoe and standing on the iceburg. The photos are spectacular!! It probably is not the safest thing a person could do, but it was a thrill! The water was cold, but none of the 3 of us who did it fell in the water. Thankfully!
July 7th
Today was one of my favorite days of the trip. Steven and I got up early and Mikey came to watch Ava for us. We canoed to the glacier at the lake. It was 6 miles round trip and the water was like glass. The photos turned out great! It took us 2 hours from leaving the campsite to returning to the campsite and Ava was still sleeping when we got back. We weaved through the iceburgs and were able to see the large glacier. It was awesome. We heard the thunder of the ice cracking. I loved it. Right near the boat launch was a really nice museum and we went there with Ava after she woke up.
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