Major Recap

So it's been over a year since I have posted.  Sorry about that.  My excuses are:
1) Laziness
2) Being busy: When it's summertime in Alaska the last thing I want to do is be inside on the computer.  Then we were on the road for 4 months.  Doesn't make it easy to find a moment to blog.
3) Lack of internet access:  We got rid of the internet last summer to keep saving money for our trip, and because we just felt like we didn't need it.  We still don't have internet at our house now, and we do OK with that.  If we really need it, we can go down to the library or the coffee shop and use it.  We just felt like we were spending too much time checking our email/internet shopping/"researching" etc on our laptops instead of talking to each other, spending time with people, getting outside, and doing other things.  So this winter I actually painted something, sang, read several books, learned to crochet, worked out, and listened to NPR a lot more than I'm sure we would have if we could have been on the internet.  Don't worry, we're not total freaks, I'm sure we'll get internet in our house again at some point.  We just don't really feel like we need it now.  One of the downsides of that is that blogging has fallen lower on the priority list.
4) The longer you put it off, the more of a big deal it seems to do it.

So excuses aside, I'm going to try and recap the past year and then I recommit to blogging a little more often.

*My best friend from college, Annie, and her husband, Brian, came up to see us in Alaska.  We went kayaking in the rain and got to show them around Alaska a bit.  We love hanging out with them and it was good to have friends visit us in Alaska.

*We moved out of our apartment in Anchorage and into an awesome summer rental house closer to kayaking for Drew.  The house was the most homey we've lived in and had lots of Alaskana touches (think Caribou mounted on the wall, moose antlers mounted by the front door, whale bones by the porch, a king crab and baleen on the wall, etc.)

*We spent a weekend  in Talkeetna camping.  We took the flagstop train to Hurricane Gulch and Drew took a flight lesson in a tiny two seater plane.

*I got into biking a lot during the summer.  We have good bike paths that are really scenic nearby.

*We watched the boretide on the biggest day of the year.  Lots of people and it was warm enough to actually feel like summer.  The actually boretide was pretty disappointing though.

*Lisa, my sister, came up to visit for a few days.  We took a cruise in Seward, went on some hikes, and checked out Forest Fair.  I think she was a little cold, a little scared of bears, a little tired of how far away everything is in Alaska, but generally thought it was beautiful.  It was really nice to have her come up, but Drew totally missed her as he was on a long kayaking trip.

*Drew did several extended kayak trips this summer, as well as all his usual day trips as a guide.  He really enjoyed getting to kayak to some new places and working his 3rd season as a guide.

*I went back to PA for three weeks and Drew joined us for one.  We were able to catch up with my side of the family and also spend a week at the Jersey Shore, my family's annual vacation.  We took everybody out kayaking one day in the bay.  Very fun.

*Back in Alaska, we did a Groupon date to the Musk Ox farm in Palmer, AK.  Learned a lot and got to see more cute baby Musk Ox.

*Took a day trip down to Seward and hiked Exit Glacier.

*Hiked in Whittier to see the salmon run and view Portage Glacier.

*Went on the 26 Glacier Cruise out of Whittier.

*Hiked the Kesugi Ridge Trail over 3 days with some of our new gear we bought for Hawaii.  Our first day was rainy but everything cleared up and we had some beautiful totally clear days with a view of Denali.  I probably love backpacking more than any other outdoor thing we do.

*Drew's parents came and visited us for 2.5 weeks in September.  We got to do the Denali Road lottery with them, camp on the Kenai peninsula, Drew took them kayaking several times, we went to the state fair, and did a lot of touristy things we hadn't had the chance to do before.  They also were a huge help to us as we left Alaska just 12 hours after we dropped them at the airport.  So they were there while I quit my job and we packed up and put all our stuff in storage.  Drew also cooked up all the food we possibly could for them every night we were there.

*We left Alaska on September 18th.  We spent the next two months in Hawaii.  This was the first time for both of us and the last of the 50 states I had left to visit.  We went to every inhabited island but Niihau.  We took only our carry on backpacks and spent almost every night camping.  We hitchhiked about half the time and had a rental car for the other half.  It was amazing. To summarize the whole thing quickly:

Top 5 experiences:
- Scuba Diving - we liked it so much we got certified.
- Hiking on Kauai- the Kalalau Trail, Koke'e State Park, and Waimea Canyon
- Drew learning to surf/Jennifer falling in love with snorkeling
- Church and meeting the members in Hawaii
- Poking lava with a stick on the Big Island

5 Least favorite moments:
- Camping in muddy/buggy Manoa
- Getting stuck in a puddle jumper airplane for 2 hours circling around Maui because of the threat of a   tsunami on the ground.  Oh, and having to pee for that whole time.
- Freaking out taking off my mask while getting scuba dive certified
- Drew's ears getting messed up after scuba diving and bothering him for a week.
- Drew hurting his foot jumping off a cliff and being totally non weight bearing for awhile.

Top 5 Beaches:
- Kalalau on Kauai
- Lapahoehoe on the Big Island
- Hamoa on Maui
- Hulopoe on Lanai
- Lanikai on Oahu

Favorite Island:  Kauai

Number one quote from our trip: "It's freakin' Molokai!"

Soundtrack for the trip: Bob Marley's Redemption Song

Click on the pictures to view albums of more Hawaii pictures:

Oahu 1

Kauai

The Big Island

Maui/Lanai/Molokai

Oahu 2

*In November we flew to Utah where we spent about a week catching up with family and friends.  We then drove Drew's grandma's car that she was giving to Drew's mom across the country via I-40.  We saw friends and family in New Mexico, Texas, and Alabama.  We also visited San Antonio, New Orleans, and Atlanta.  We made it to Drew's parents in North Carolina on Thanksgiving day.   We spent a few days with them and then headed south and saw Drew's PopPop in South Carolina and visited Georgia as well.  Then we drove north and saw my family for a few days in PA before heading farther north and doing a big circle road trip around New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, New Hampshire again, Vermont, New York, and back into Pennsylvania.  We spent Christmas with my family there and then drove back down to North Carolina for one more week in the beginning of January before we flew back to Alaska.  All in all, we were unemployed and traveling for 4 months.  It was an epic trip and we are so happy we got to do it.  We had so many cool experiences and got to see so many friends and family that we have missed being up in Alaska. You can click on all these pictures for more pictures as well.

Utah to North Carolina

PA

The Northeast

*Back in Alaska we found a house to rent (we signed a year lease!) and got settled back in.  I went back to my old job and Drew now has 3 part time jobs, two in psychology and one kayaking.  Drew did a lot of backcountry skiing and I did a lot of cross country skiing.  I went downhill skiing once this year and it was the first time I actually enjoyed myself.

*In February we flew home for my sister's wedding.  It was a very short trip but we managed to do her wedding and my future sister-in-laws bridal shower, as well as spend some time with my Aunt Kathy and my Grandma Avis.

*In March we did an overnight cross country ski trip to Barber Cabin by Lower Russian Lake with our friends Jennifer and Aaron.  It was a ton of fun and when we returned we did dinner out to celebrate Jennifer's birthday.

*In April we had two lost huskies at our house on two separate occasions.  It really made us want to get a dog, but our lease doesn't allow it.  So we're stuck for at least a year.

*Went to slush cup together this year.

*Bought packrafts, cross country skis for Jennifer and another set of downhill skis for Drew. Looking forward to getting to use the packrafts a lot this summer.

*That brings us to now, which I think I'll go ahead and do in a separate post or two.  We packed our bags, left our car and house in the care of friends and are gone to the East coast for a few weeks.  Drew planted his seeds before we left, but we've heard that it's snowed since we've been gone, so I don't know how they'll be doing.

Overall we've had a great year and are so grateful for all our blessings- our family, friends, and the beautiful world we live in.  I love catching up on everyone else's lives through blogs, so I'll try and return the favor.  More to come!

Denali for the Day

Drew and I thought it would be fun to take an overnight camping trip up to Denali earlier this month.  We packed up all our camping gear, put the cross country skis on the car, threw the snowshoes in too, and headed up to Denali National Park.  Man did we choose a beautiful clear day to visit!

Denali from the south viewpoint in Denali State Park

Though it was pretty warm with the sun on us, there is still a lot of melting to go.
We would have practically had to  lay on our stomachs to look out those scopes.

 We drove four hours to the park and got there in mid afternoon.  Although some of the park road had been cleared, we could only venture up the first 13 miles or something.  The ranger at the visitor center talked us out of camping.  When we arrived the visitor center was filled with backpacks and camping gear.  In a few minutes about 40 or 50 eighth graders came bounding out of the adjoining room.  She explained it was "camp with the rangers night."  All the rangers looked really thrilled.  We decided we didn't want to join the fun, so she filled us in on the good things to do in the park that afternoon.  Drew was questioning and teasing her about wolf sightings, skijoring to Wonder Lake, and possible injuries he might incur while in the park.  Generally just being Drew.  At one point she looked at me and said, "You must be a very patient woman, ma'am."  That's my baby.  Inspiring other women to wonder just how I do it... :)

Anyways, she pointed us to this hike, which really we didn't need snowshoes for.  Just a pair of icebreakers would have done the job:

The hike was along a river that was breaking up.
Drew loved the icicles hanging off the ice into the river.

Oh Denali National Park...how I would love to see you not in snow.

 So in the end we drove four hours to Denali and four hours back, and we spent probably less than 3 hours at the park.  I was just saying on the drive up how the drive is half the fun.  We really didn't mind at all.  Drew and I love a good road trip.  There's always interesting conversation as we drive, and beautiful scenery along the way.   We had to pull over on the way home for a few more shots of Denali.  It just looked like a backdrop in a play or something.  So perfect:

We saw so many other beautiful landscapes along our drive.  Every time we cross over this one bridge it seems that the sun is always setting over the river there, and the sunset is always spectacular.  We both agreed that really we know of no other place that manages to be this ridiculously beautiful constantly.  Granted break up is probably the least beautiful of the seasons, but if you look up to the mountains or out to the water you don't notice the dead grass and trash poking through the dirty snow at all.  We have lived here for almost a year now and we still haven't managed to get over it.  It is just so majestic.  So mighty.  We love being surrounded by so much grandness.

Chena Hot Springs

Warning: Picture overload ahead!  I tried to cut down how many I put out there but we started with a lot, so forgive me for making them small and including so many.  These past few days we arranged our work schedule so that we could go north for a few days.  We spent the first day driving to Chena Hot Springs, where we stayed over for 2 nights before driving home.  It was a little icy sometimes, but overall not bad.  We saw some beautiful scenery.  There are so many trees it reminds me of the "earth" series DVDs where they talk about how so much of the world's oxygen is produced by the trees in the Arctic circle.  I just wanted to breathe it all in!  We stopped in Talkeetna for lunch and did some Christmas shopping there, then got back on the road for dinner in Fairbanks.

At the resort they had all these old rusted things on the property.  This dragon apparently actually breathes fire.

A snowmobile from the 1950s.

We learned a lot about dog mushing when we went to the kennel.  I had no idea how intense some of the races are.  These dogs are all race dogs now and super skinny and fast.  The don't really use big huskies anymore because they don't pull a lot of freight anymore.  

Riding the dog sled.

This one is retired now and up for adoption.  

They have a year round ice museum there so we got to check it out.  This sculpture was huge.  The pictures don't do all the detail justice.  They have ice hotel rooms that you can stay in if you pay some outrageous amount of money.  The lady told us that no couple has ever made it the whole night in one.  Someone writing a book or doing a documentary will stay the whole night, but people who pay to do it just for fun give up cause unless you are in bed it's cold, there's no bathroom, it's boring.  I can't believe people are still willing to do pay to do it!

The ice from the river next to the resort is supposed to be the clearest ice in the world.

They carve designs into 2 halves of a sphere and then melt them together to create these orbs.

Same with this rose.  Carved from the inside and then painted.

Chillin by the ice fireplace.  They also had a xylophone made of ice that played in tune.  I can't imagine how long it took to carve that.

After dog sledding and the ice museum and learning about how the whole resort runs off of geothermal energy supplied by the hot springs we went on our own little adventure cross country skiing.  We finally found a good deal on some skis for me just in time for our trip.  Neither of us really knows if we are doing it right, but we have a lot of fun doing it and it's a great workout.  Unfortunately this far north and this close to the solstice, we had to do it in the dark.  It was only 4 in the afternoon!  Though the resort isn't far enough north to be in the arctic circle, it is in the mountains so the sun doesn't ever rise far enough at this time of year to directly shine down on the valley.  It just kind of gets lighter for a few hours in the middle of the day without any actual sun, and then before you know it it's dark again.  Luckily while we were there there was a full moon so that gave us plenty of light to go cross country ski through the woods.  

As an added bonus to our trip we got to spend time with our friend Ashley, who is working at the resort this winter.  She was a kayak guide with Drew this past summer and she works in their greenhouses now.  She is a lot of fun and we had a good time getting to see her again.  We had a good dinner together first at our room (she made us curry!) and then we headed to the restaurant for round two!  

One of Ashley's hobbies is hula-hooping, and she is great at it.  At forest fair this past July she got her picture in the paper hula-hooping at the concerts there.  She ordered a special hula-hoop online this winter...one she can light on fire!  it was really cool to see her do it.  She couldn't do any tricks where she held the outside of the hula-hoop, and once she kind of messed up and we had to make sure she wasn't on fire, but other than that she did great!

The next morning we all met up again and soaked in the rock pool hot spring together.  Drew and I spent a lot of time in the hot tubs and the rock pool.  It was so crazy because you would just be so hot even though it was 15 degrees and snowing.  Your hair would be totally frozen and you didn't even notice.  We were lucky to be there when the cold snap had finished.  The week before it had been 50 below.  Walking inside after soaking wasn't really a big deal either cause your body was so hot after being in the rock pool so long.  We were hoping to see the northern lights while we were out soaking, but we weren't lucky enough to catch them on our two night trip this far north.  Oh well, just means we'll have to come back before it starts getting to light up here!  Before we left that morning Ashley showed us around the greenhouse and sent us home with a bunch of fresh basil, sage, and vine ripened tomatoes.  She also gave us a geranium.  I bet it is the northern most geranium in the world at this point in the winter!  

After leaving the resort we stopped by North Pole, AK and checked out their Christmas shop and the ice carving festival that was going on there.  The whole town has street names like Santa Claus Lane and the street lamps are all striped like candy canes.  

The ice carvings there were pretty cool.  They were all Christmas themed and they were all over the town.  We saw the artists working on some of them in the yard too.  It's pretty cool they can just make ice sculptures and leave them around the town without any worry they will melt.

This was a pullout on the road home.  This is about as far up in the sky as the sun ever got.  Very pretty. 

We stopped in at Denali National Park for just a few minutes and chatted with the rangers.  They showed us around the visitor's center and told us about what things we could do at the park during the winter.  It was already getting dark when we got there, so we didn't snowshoe like we had been planning to do.  But we will definitely go back and do it.  Hopefully on that trip we'll be able to catch the northern lights!