ALASKA...

For our last adventure of the summer we headed north to Alaska. We have to visit every other year to keep our residency status so we can continue to qualify for the annual dividend. On that note we are very grateful for Gov. Sarah Palin and the Alaska state government that approved an energy rebate for this year to be given out in addition to this years dividend! It is always a pleasure to visit up there to spend time with family and to enjoy the amazing beauty all around.

Downtown Anchorage from the air

Our first day there included the traditional hike up Flat Top Mountain. It was a pretty cloudy day so we didn't have the great views that you sometimes get from there but it was fun nonetheless. Whitney was a super hiker and hiked the entire way (3.5 miles and 1550 ft. elevation gain). She especially liked the rock scrambling on the upper section.

Jim loaded all those rocks into the kid pack while his sister was kindly carrying Maren for him

That night we attended the wedding open house for Jim's younger sister. The next day Jim set out to hike Ptarmigan peak with his older sister while I flew out to go salmon fishing with Jim's dad on Olsen creek off the Beluga river. Jim's dad caught a rainbow trout but that was as good as it got that day. On our trip out we also stopped to set up part of their camp for the duck hunt that Jim and his dad did the next two days. The next evening Jim and his dad flew out to the camp to meet the Dittmans and get ready for the start of duck hunting season the next morning. While they were gone the girls and I enjoyed spending time with the rest of the family. We picked raspberries with Grammy in the backyard and spent some time at the zoo and Alaska Wild Berry products. The girls enjoyed the chocolate waterfall and getting to pick out some salt water taffy for a treat.

I enjoyed getting out for some morning runs and enjoying the beautiful views of the mountains and ocean along with being able to run some hills! Our last day there we headed back out to Olsen Creek with Jim along this time for some morning fishing and had some great success. I think Jim caught about 12 fish and I had at least six. Once the salmon enter the fresh water they begin to slowly turn red before spawning and dying. Generally the less pink they are the better the meat so you get picky as to which ones you keep and which ones you release.

Whitney's favorite part of the whole trip was getting to go for a ride in the plane with Pops and Grammy. We headed out on the red eye that night and arrived home the next evening just in time to prepare for the tropical storm that hit the next morning.