A day of mostly just driving

As we traveled from Chena Hot Springs towards Valdez we played the game of spot the pipe line...this is an up close view of the pipeline.  It goes under ground and pops up randomly.  It still is really cool to see

As we were driving along the geography changed dramatically.  I was just loving this huge glacier ahead of us.

These waterfalls were just up in the mountains randomly and the girls would yell out, waterfall!!

We got closer and closer to this glacier, I was trying so hard to get a good picture but with the bugs and rain I couldn't help but get little spots all over the pictures, so just ignore those and look at the big block of ice.

We managed to find a patch of snow/ice that was close enough for the girls to get out and play around.

Poor Anna Kate, she had to hang back with us because she wasn't really getting the hang of it.

Here she is looking just great enjoying the snow/ice and

Here she is falling like she is wearing roller skates on a slip and slide.

So that big ol glacier we saw, it is called the...

We got one good group photo before someone (white grandma) said he lets go hike up it (past the sign that says "stop, no don't go, it's not safe".  So off we went hiking up to the edge of the glacier.  Ok so it was really fun and I'm glad mom spoke up and said lets go!

Here is Lizzy and I at the edge of the glacier

And because Lizzy has very little time to pose for a family photo, here is Anna kate, Lew and myself.  In case you are wondering, Anna Kate was carried by a number of uncles all the way up and kept quite safe.

So after we finished the little hike on up to the glacier it was about 8pm and we still had to drive into Valdez, get to our bed and breakfast and settled and find some food to eat.  The sun will mess with your head!  But if you have views like this who has time to eat?  In a day that should have been mostly driving, we sure did find stuff to do.



Continuing on the road

Jumping right back into it...after we finished in Fairbanks we all loaded up and drove north to Chena Hot Springs.  The hot springs are exactly that, it was a camping resort that also just happened to be using their natural resources for sustainability.  We just happened to be there while the cottonwood trees were dropping all their cotton and it looked like it was snowing.

Elizabeth trying to catch the cotton

Red Grandma and Elizabeth

This is a big standout on our trip.  We took a ride on a dog sled, but I consider it a dog sleigh.  Those little guys are fast!!!

Us coming in after our trip around the property courtesy of the doggies.  It was awesome!

Those of use that did not dog sled went for a horse ride on the property.

Red Grandpa riding a horse...

Gillian

Candace

After dog sledding and horse riding we all went to the ice palace...um, it's really really cold in there.  It is a very large room filled with ice sculptures.  But its super super cold. 

Mollie holding Anna Kate cause she's tuck inside an adult coat.

Another highlight, having apple martinis in the Ice Palace in our ice glasses.  Terry and Mollie took 5 of them and ran as fast as they could back to the RV to put them in the freeze and only 3 made it.  Terry has got a winter time project planned.

Anna Kate by the Christmas tree.  Still bundled!

That night we took a dip in the hot springs and love it...as long as we could stand it which was about 20 minutes at a time.  No kids were allowed so we took turns keeping them in the inside pool, not as much fun as the springs, haha.

We had to get up and leave super early the next day.  Elizabeth and Anna Kate took a little extra work to get out of bed.

The next day was nothing but a lot of driving to Valdez...but we did pass by an Air Force base and I got this cool picture of planes that had come in and were lined up. 

There is much more to cover!!!



Alaska, part tres

We are now into the second day of being in Alaska.  I have issues with leaving out a picture or some event, as if everyone who reads this will be so impressed with our dinner at the Silver Gulch Brewery.

I need to speed this along a little bit, I think. We started the second day with a trip to the cultural museum.  We had so much fun outside playing, they had an amazing garden and I'm just loving these antlers (which are found everywhere)  I've just never seen them made into an awesome arch.

AK loving the bike rack

The garden that Lew was drooling over.  If we could only get 22 hours of daylight here we may just be able to accomplish this...

Inside the museum was all the info about the Alaskan Pipeline (spoiler: we went to Valdez and saw it for about 10 hours as we drove, I have pictures), traditional art and early explorers to Alaska.  It was...educational.

After we left the museum we made our way over to the Chena River in Fairbanks and took a paddle boat ride.  We left from this super cute little place apparently the company has been in business for I think over a hundred years.  They knew what they were doing and had it down to a science.

Grandma and Grandpa getting situated on the boat before we took off.

Along the way, we got to watch a bush pilot take off and land on the water right beside our boat and we also got to see a championship dog sled kennel.  These dogs are nutty to be sure.  As soon as they are harnessed up they are ready to run.

warning this is not a real moose, haha

Also, not a real moose riding Uncle Terry

We got off the boat and were able to walk around this island type place that let us get up and close with the things they just showed us.  One of those things was the crazy dogs, one of the dogs jumped and I am pretty sure was ready to eat Anna Kate.  If she could actually remember this moment I'm sure it would be a favorite.

There was traditional dog sleds and I think I have a couple of little mushers ready to go!

Along the way we saw peoples homes with their boats and planes parked side by side.  About this time of our trip I started noticing how young all the locals are in Alaska.  Lew says the average age in Alaska is around 26 or 27 years old, I totally believe it.

After the boat trip and ample shopping time we finally got our family photo in front of our little boat.

What a sweet little ride.

Alaska, Part two

So after we left the teeny tiny little town of Anderson, we headed back to Fairbanks.  We stopped by this little wildlife refuge for muskox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskox) if you're wondering.  They are big and really ugly.  Based on our pictures I'm just glad they don't have opposable thumbs.  We didn't get any pictures of the big hairy things resemebling buffalo.

Someone should call Jason.

After we left the large animals inside their very unsafe fence, we headed to the North Pole to see Santa Clause!  What a cute town, everything was Christmas themed.  The street lights were candy canes, the streets were all named elf this and elf that, santa clause lane, etc, even the daycare was named something like little elves.

Once inside we got to meet Santa!!! The girls were super excited.  He was a great Santa also, I can't tell you how many pictures we have in all different combinations of people.

Anna Kate was all about the elves especially since most things were her size.  I never considered her "elf size" right now.

The best moment ever was Elizabeth...dear Elizabeth starting having a temper tantrum because she wanted an ornament all of her own.  We had already bought an ornament for the family that said North Pole, blah blah blah, we didn't really think that we needed to have a second just because Elizabeth was having a tantrum about it.  As she stamped her foot and got all pouty, Santa Clause leaned over from his chair and said "I KNOW that a little girl is not have a temper tantrum in my house!"  So wonderful and such a memory.  She spent the remainder of the time with her head buried between Mollie and I so Santa wouldn't see her.  It was fabulous.

After we left Santa's house we left for the Silver Gulch Brewery.  There of course was a super long wait but when the sun never goes down it is real easy to wait for a table for an hour.  It was a very cool microbrew there in Fairbanks.  In fact one of the neatest parts of Alaska was the tremendous amount of microbreweries.

We eventually got seated outside which was amazing because a thunderstorm rolled in while were there.  I love the thunderstorms in Alaska because of the echo off the mountains, makes it really neat. 

Aunt Mollie and Elizabeth before dinner.

Uncle Terry surrounded by three of four nieces.  Gillian in the left back, Anna Kate in the left front and Lizzy on the right.  These girls love their Uncle Terry and so do we.

From our first few days in Alaska we decided this was the land of the strange things you find right off the road.  We are pretty sure this is someones house.  But to be driving down a quite mountain road and oh hello, there is a plane sitting there.  It was not small either.

This was our first spotting of really wild wildlife...that is a moose or a moose's rear end...haha, who knows.  But there was more moose to be found!