Alaska July 2009

We arrived in Alaska to be greeted by Elaina's happy cousins. This was rewarding after our difficult 3 connections plane flight.

We went to the Alaska temple. It was fun to see the murals on the walls of Alaska scenery.

Next we went on a hike. It was beautiful, except for the mosquitos. Here my sister Liz and I are walking with Elaina. Liz is 8 months pregnant and I am 5 months pregnant. Physically there is a big difference between the two.

This is a picture at the end of the hike of the Astle family.

Icebergs from the Portage glacier at the end of the Turnagain Arm. It was named by the explorer Captain Cook who was looking for a Northwest passage. He got to the end only to turn again.

Liz and I are on a girls' day out at the top of the Alieska gondola. We are the 2 pregnant ladies.

Neil and Lee took the kids to a petting zoo and on a train ride for the day while we were out.

Here is two year old Marcus in front of a moose.

We decided to drive to Denali National park. While we were in the visitor's center, Elaina showed that she was learning how to walk quite proficiently. She also discovered the stuffed animal section of the gift shop.

A view of Denali National Park. Mount McKinnley eluded us that day. The natives choose to call it Denali mountain instead.

We got to see summer ptarmagans. These birds blend in so well with the scenery. In the winter they are all white.

Here we are after finishing our 2 mile hike at the end of the paved road in Denali.

Next we drove to Fairbanks, Alaska and went on the river boat trip on the Chena and Tanana Rivers. Elaina got a close up look at sled dogs. It was odd to have boats pass by at 11:00pm because it was still light out.

We drove back to Denali and met Liz and Lee and family, who came up on the train.

We went to an animal rescue shelter, more like an outdoor zoo, which even had musk oxen. Bryce and Dana loved posing with the bear.

We all stayed in a condo near Seward with a killer view of a lake and mountains, and an awesome jacuzzi.

Neil and Lee got to go deep sea fishing near Seward while the girls and kids went on a boat ride to a glacier. Neil caught a few fish, but he wasn't really converted to the sport of fishing.

We also got to see the Mountain Marathon on July 4 while we were in Seward. It's not really a marathon, but it is a steep climb up a 3000 foot mountain, and everyone gets bloody and bruised on the slippery trails.

We also got to hike to the Exit Glacier. It's pretty impressive to see a glacier up close.

Dana and I had a fun "snowball" fight with cotton balls from nearby cottonwood trees.

Sadly, it was finally time to go home. Lainie learned to walk on this trip, thanks to encouragement from her cousins. Mom had to hold her hand to make sure she didn't run off in the airport.