Alaska Part 3 - 06.22 to 06.24

On Tuesday 06.22 we drove from Valdez to Wasilla. Along the way we drove up Hatcher Pass near Palmer and saw an old Gold Mine and the town that was once there. It was actually pretty neat to see and read about how the town operated. We were high up on some mountain and the clouds were low, which was really neat!

The town

Behind us is the place where they mined the gold out of the side of the mountain.


After seeing the gold mine, we continued our drive to Wasilla. We checked into our Hotel, the Agate Inn and realized we were all very hungry! We had an early pizza dinner so that we could help with the 6:00 feeding of the reindeer on the property of our Inn. At least this time the reindeer were more lively!

They love dandilions!

They were very soft and gentle, but I was a little scared to touch them!

Rae and Neen feeding the reindeer.

Gregg taking a turn.

The antlers are SO soft and velvet-like. For now anyway. They will rub the velvet off soon.

We all just stood around and chatted as the reindeer ate their dinner!

After a while, I felt better about petting them!

Wednesday, 06.23, before we headed back to Anchorage, we stopped at the Iditarod Trail Headquarters in Wasilla. We were able to tour around and see a little 20 minute movie about the race. We also got to see some future dog sled racers, as well as the building where EVERY dog that participates in the race is exaimed before the race.

We all really enjoyed the headquarters.

Some puppies!

The dogs.....they have a sled ride you can go on, but you don't ride on a real sled and it's on gravel, not snow, so we didn't think it was worth the $10.

We decided to get our pictures by a real sled instead!

We had a GREAT time in Alaska! We left VERY early on Thursday 06.24 from Anchorage. We had a long day of travel to get back to STL. We enjoyed the trip, but sure missed our little ones! Many thanks to Rae for the wonderful trip! And also to my Mom who watched our kids while we were gone. I think she was a little tired.....taking care of the 2 of them by yourself is tiring!! The kids loved cousin camp in Ohio and also staying at the hotel in Stone Mountain, GA where we picked them up. (My cousin Mackenzie got married on Saturday June 26.) Those picture will be posted soon!

Alaska Part 2 - 06.20 to 06.21

On Sunday 06.20 we left Anchorage for the 5+ hour drive to Valdez, AK. It was a georgous drive and we had a great day for it. We made a few stops to check out the views and also to hike on a real glacier! (Neen stayed behind for the glacier hike.) By the time we got to Valdez, we were hungry! We checked into our hotel and went for dinner at Mike's Palace.

One of the many rivers we saw on our trip....we never did see any bears or moose, much to G's disappointment!

Gregg & Rae

The drive was beautiful! No billboards, just pretty views!

Us

The Matanuska Glacier that we hiked to and on.

Rae and G on our way to the glacier.

The ice was SO blue!

On Matanuska Glacier

We were glad we all brought our hiking boots!

Bridal Veil waterfall just outside Valdez. We saw lots of waterfalls on our drive. It was so neat to see them in the middle of a huge green mountain!

At the Valdez Harbor....yes that is Gregg who climbed down the ladder. It said to climb at your own risk. I told him if he did it, I was going to take a picture, then laugh and take more pictures of he fell into the water. He didn't fall.

Valdez is a neat little town...right on the water with mountains on the other side!

Monday 06.21, we walked around the docks and toured around the little town before we left on our day cruise. It was a sunny, beautiful day! The locals said it was the best day they have had in a while. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for our cruise. We saw so much wildlife! Humpback whales, Orcas (killer whales), proposies, a salmon shark, sea lions, sea otters, puffins, bald eagles, jellyfish.

We drove to try to see the termial for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in Valdez, but since 9.11 you can't get very close. We found another waterfall on our way!

Ready to set sail!!

A baby humpback whale we saw playing just after we got onto the ship.

The sky was SO blue and the water was too!

The mountains start right at the water's edge.

Some parts reminded me of Canada.

On our way to Columbia Glacier. There were HUGE chunks of ice floating all around!

Sea Lions enjoying the nice sunshine.

More ice in the water.

As we got closer to the glacier, we could feel the temperature drop.

It really was amazing to see the glacier

Neen sat inside for most of the ride, but she seemed to enjoy herself.

Sea Lions resting on the channel marker.

A bald eagle hanging out on top of a tree.

See the face?!? Pretty neat!

As close as we could get to the Pipeline Termial. There were 2 tankers loading up. Since 9.11 there is Coast Guard presence in Valdez and more security.

Our ship! We had a fun time....thanks Rae for our Mothers Day/Fathers Day gift! We loved it!

Alaska Part 1 - 06.17 to 06.19

The pictures are out of order....so start at the bottom of this post and read up! This is a picture story of our first three days in Anchorage, AK.
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Very glad the half is over! And Gregg is glad the full is over!

Celebrating~dinner at the Peanut Farm

All 11 of us! We always found each other because of the sashes!

Neen holding her sign and very proud of her daughter.

Gregg and his mom....50 state Rae!

Here they come! Rae and Gregg.....they finished in 4 hours 20 minutes.

We finished! John got first in his age group!

I am VERY ready for the race to be over!! Almost there...the last .1 mile was on the track.

Kara and John before the start of the half.

Rae, Gregg, Kara

Rae and Char....we dropped Rae and G off at the marathon start, then went to the start of the half for me which was also where both races ended.

Saturday 06.19, RACE DAY! Didn't have to wake up early since the full started at 8 and the half at 9!

G and Me at dinner

Rae, John, and Judy with the sashes.

Char and John with the sashes we had made for everyone to wear at the race. Rae was surprised!

Friday night pre-race dinner with our group of 11.

A seaplane docked at Lake Hood.

Pretty flowers EVERYWHERE!

Downtown Anchorage

Friday 06.18 we toured around Anchorage, seeing Earthquake Park (with lots of mosquitos), the Railroad Depot, the Ulu Factory, and taking an hour long trolley tour of the city which took us to Lake Hood where seaplanes land and take off as well as other famous places in Anchorage.

After dinner our first night, Thursday 06.17, at Sourdough Mining Company. We walked across the street to see reindeer that didn't move and came across this silly picture spot.