Hiking

We decided to go hiking on Sunday. It was nice out and I've been wanting to get out take some pictures of the fall colors. The leaves are rapidly dropping, so I knew I didn't have long to get pics. We went to Thunderbird Falls, just north of Eagle River. It was described as an easy one mile hike to a viewing platform. Boo walked and Bit rode in our hiking pack that we got when Boo was an infant. Boo did really good for his first hike in which he had to walk and only got slightly whiny the last 1/2 mile when we had to go up hill. Later in the day, he said his favorite thing was going hiking and that when we go back there, we can hike again.

It was a beautiful fall day and I'm so glad we went. Don't get me wrong, bears were on my mind. But, B-man had us covered (if you catch my drift) and really there were lots of people on the trail, so I was fairly confident that we all would scare any bears away. Nonetheless, we kept a look out and kept Boo close by. Here are some of our photos. Consider yourself lucky, we took 200!

This bark is 'deeply furrowed' per our resident forestry expert!
It was pretty cool to see how hearty this bark was.

I spy with my eye, a little Magpie!



Papa Smurf's house?




Smurfette's?

After hiking, we took a little drive on the Eklutna Lake road and this is what we found...

Ptarmigan!
The Alaska state bird.
It will turn completely white for winter.
B-man spotted this one on the side of the road.

Fall with winter looming in the distance.

B-man spotted these sheep way up on the mountain. In this shot, our camera was at it's max zoom. Do you see them? At the top of the reddish ridge. Two groups of about three each.

It was another great afternoon and the weather was beautiful. And it was the perfect distance for Boo. Check him out here when he went on his first hike in Arkansas. Now, B-man really wants to go camping. I'm not so sure! ha! No, I'm up for it, I think.

Oh, we didn't see any bears!

Fishing

B-man had a great time fishing on Saturday. It drizzled on them a little, but the rain held off and it wasn't too cold. Yay! The guide said that the river was higher than he's ever seen it because of all the rain we've had lately. That effected their fishing some, but they all caught a lot of fish and had lots of fun. I ordered this trip for B-man on Groupon and the company is called Kenai Experience. The guide, Alec is originally from TN. They fished down on the Kenai river, in a boat and along the shore. Turns out that there are still a lot of reds in the rivers, but they're not good to eat at this point in their life cycle. Grotesque is the term used to describe them now. I think he missed the peak silver run, but they did see some silvers- they just weren't biting Saturday. They also caught some trout. The only ones that you can keep right now are the silver salmon, so although B-man caught about 10 fish and the largest trout of the day, he didn't get to bring any home for supper. Lol.



Alec, the guide.



See the reds? I enhanced the red color in this picture, so that you could see them better.

There were four folks fishing plus the guide.



More reds.




Out of the boat.




The boat. :)



The big one!
His rainbow was the biggest trout of the day!
Probably about 16 inches.

They fished from about 7:15-3:15. He said he really had a great time and is excited to get back out there again. They didn't see any bears. But the guide said he saw two the day before. Fishing season is just about over here. I think they stop at the end of September.



Before B-man's second deployment to Iraq, we took a little trip up to Estes Park in Colorado and went fishing on the Big Thompson River. Here are a couple of pics from that trip, back in 2005? I think that's when it was.  



It was COLD that day!




This was our big catch that day! Lol!
I think it was a brown trout and we were super excited over it.

I'm so glad that he got to fishing before the deployment. It's too bad that we weren't able to get him out there during the peak runs, but we'll try again next time around. Maybe Boo can go too! Heck, I'd like to give it a go as well.

Photo Review

We've been trying to get back into a routine (read: start a routine) this week. Boo is back at preschool two days/week and Bit is back to napping two times/day. She even slept through the night last night! The night before, she was up from 10:30-1:30 and was none too happy that I wasn't feeding her when she awoke. I just felt like it was time...past time, really. She's not hungry, she's just used to being nursed in the middle of the night. My guilt was HIGH as she wailed from her bed. B-man and I went in to soothe her by other means, but that really just ticked her off in the end. So, we just let her work it out for herself. It was so hard. I was in tears. But, she finally went to sleep and woke up happy at 6:00 a.m. And last night, she slept the whole night through (7 p.m.-6 a.m.). Here are some pics of what we've been up to. I have some videos to share also, but I'll save those for later.

Umm, excuse me Lil Bit! Where do you think you're going?
(video to come)

Cool photography moment.

I hope she loves books as much as Boo does.

Her first ride in the hotrod.
She loved it, of course.
Her onesie says, "Mommy is my BFF!"
Ain't that the truth?

We joined the Mom's Club for a house of bounce playgroup.
Bit is no longer content to chill in my lap. She wants to go.
She uses her finger as her little antennae to explore.

It's much more fun to go under the chairs.

I haven't neglected Boo in his photo ops. He just doesn't sit still long enough for me to take them anymore!

Soaking up some Vitamin D!

Piggies!

Another drive.

There he is!

We were playing hide and seek and this is Boo and his tractor hiding.

This is Boo's self portrait. Look at that mouth!

I found him!!

We're really trying to enjoy the sunny days while we still have them. They are getting fewer and fewer, so we're sure to drop everything and get outside when the sun is shining.

B-man is on a guided fishing trip today. He missed the red salmon run earlier this summer because of our move and his leaving for JRTC, but I think the silvers are running (I hope) and I think it's peak season for trout. I hope he's having a great time and catching lots of fish. And, I hope it's not raining.

Alaska State Fair

It's the end of summer and tourist season here in Alaska and to the locals here that means one thing...THE ALASKA STATE FAIR is in town!

We bundled up and drove up to Palmer for the 75th Alaska fair.

We checked out the 4-H barn and saw some big, beautifully manicured animals.



We were allowed to touch the turkey's neck. It was sooooo warm! I don't know why that kind of struck me as interesting, but it did.



Boo said that his favorite thing was driving the trucks.

Tot Pirate Ship

Bit rode the merry go round (perhaps the world's slowest...ha!)

Daddy and daughter.

There's even a special Fair Train that will take you from Anchorage to the fair and back. It's quite spendy though.
"Spendy" is what the folks up in Denali National Park would say when referring to something as being expensive.

Had to get his pic!
Don't worry, the train was stopped at the depot.
We were just crossing the tracks in front of it.

We had a nice time at the fair and enjoyed our 4 day weekend together! Now, it's back to getting into a routine.
Hope you have a great week!