Drive to Anchorage

Our last day in Alaska ended with this sunset on our drive north from Seward to Anchorage. The scene is looking through the Turnagain Arm on the coastal highway.

Aliyak Glacier

At this spot we are about 1 mile from the Aliyak glacier. You can't really tell, because there is nothing to provide a sense of scale, but the glacier is about a mile and a half wide and more than 900 feet tall. There was a continuous booming and popping noise that was quite eerie to hear. In the 20 minutes we watched it, three gigantic pieces broke off, a process known as calving. One was so big that the waves rocked the boat from 1/2 a mile away.

Kenai Fjords Tour

Our flight back to the lower 48 was a red-eye leaving at 10pm, but we left Soldotna early in the morning to drive to Seward and take a Kenai Fjords ocean cruise out of Resurrection Bay. The day was absolutely gorgeous; no clouds or wind, perfectly sunny and about 60 degrees. The tour lasted six hours and included a lunch of delicious fried halibut.

As we left Seward harbor for the Aliyak glacier, the first animal we saw was a sea otter dozing in the water. Then we encountered several porpoises and watched them swim through the boat's bow wave. They were very playful and so sleek and graceful. Later we saw sea lions, star fish, jellyfish (oddly enough, called a _smack_ or _senate_ of jellyfish), two bald eagles, lots of puffins, and finally, just as the trip was ending, a couple of killer whales.

Joss and Ed's Wedding

Josselyn and Ed had a beautiful ceremony on the banks of the Kenai river. The electric blue/green water made for a stunning backdrop. About an hour into the reception the skies opened up, rain started to fall, but the party didn't even slow down.

We ate in the rain, danced in the rain, and of course drank in the rain. It was chilly, but booze do warm you up though, oh and so does dancing, oh and the bonfire they had. It was a long fun reception. I think it started around 3 and finally broke up around 10:30 when it became fully dark outside.


These are the people that stayed after the pouring rain. I've never been to a wedding where there wasn't a contingency if it rained.



Eli and Cullen, shopping from the sales rack at REI stores in two different states, ended up with the exact same jacket.

Horse Back Riding

After the exertion of our hike, we decided to take a family tail ride, and had a lovely time riding through Alaska's countryside on horseback. I was a bit nervous as this was only my second time on a horse (and the first time was 12 years earlier).



Over the course of about two hours we rode through a forest, along a grass covered airplane runway, up a steep hillside, and then reversed direction and went back. Right near the end the skies opened up and we rode in the pouring rain. It got slippery and muddy, but the horses didn't care and it was pretty exciting.

Russian River Falls Hiking Trip

Josselyn (the bride) was our guide for this hike along the Russian River. I think she is pointing to the nearest restroom (i.e. behind a tree). :)


These are spawned Red (Sockeye) salmon. You can tell by their deep red bodies and green heads.


Since Avery and Zachary didn't come on the trip we had to take pictures of the token baby on the trip, little Lila. I asked Julie if I could ride on her back too, but no such luck. I had to trek the 4-5 miles on my own two feet.

Fishing on the Kasilof

In the summertime, Ed O'Conner is a fishing guide on the rivers of the Kenai Peninsula. For the wedding, Joss and Ed arranged for a bunch of their friends (also guides) to take wedding guests out salmon fishing. I think somewhere between 30 and 40 people went, in groups of four.

On our boat, Eli had the first catch of the day; a Pink salmon. We were fishing for Silvers (Coho), and the limit was two per person per day. The pinks had a different limit, but according to our guide the meat is very mushy and mostly just suitable for canning, so we let it go. You can tell this is a female because it does not have the silly looking hump just behind the head that gives them the nickname humpies.



The next fish into the boat was this Silver I caught at about 10am. We had been sitting on the river for about three hours in misty rain and 50 degree temps. Everyone as freezing cold and I was thinking of calling it a day when I caught this beauty. My mood soared and I went on to catch several more (sadly, the rest were undesirable pinks, but still fun to pull in).



At the end of the day Eli and I each had one Silver. The other couple in our boat didn't manage to catch any. Some boats caught the limit; one or two didn't catch any Silvers at all. The scenery and experience were both amazing, and taking home and eating a fish I caught was awesome! But the next time I go fishing, I will make sure the weather is warmer! ;-)

Joss and Ed's Alaskan Wedding

Eli's cousin Josslyn Burke lives in Alaska, about 100 miles outside Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula. When she announced her wedding, it quickly turned into a huge destination wedding for the extended Burke family.

Because of all the events that were planned for the week of the wedding, we decided not to take Avery and Zachary with us. They stayed with Sara's folks for almost 5 full days; a gift for which we will always be grateful.

We were lucky to be able to use saved frequent flyer miles to get free first class tickets for the trip. After three years of being parents it was truly wonderful to have an extended vacation to an exotic destination and flying first class was icing on the cake.

These two photos are of giant glaciers, taken out the airplane window on our flights to and from Anchorage. In the first, you can see the peak of Canada's highest mountain, Mt. Logan. The second one we saw about 15 minutes after departure. If you look closely you can see a cruise ship in the water off the face of the glacier. In the picture looks like they are only 1/2 an inch apart, but the mouth of the glacier is more than a mile wide!