New Adventures

This summer we got a boat.  It has been so wonderful.  We have taken three trips so far, and the girls love it!  I love being able to get out and enjoy this beautiful state even more and I love exposing the girls to wonderful opportunities in nature.

We usually head out of Whittier and try to camp for one to two nights.  We have tried something new each time from bottom fishing, to trolling, to shrimping.  It is all such an adventure and new to us.  The girls have been learning to fish as well.  This last trip we gave them each a hook and V even caught one!  A pink salmon on her little "Frozen" fishing pole.  It was great.  

The hook and fight.

Reeling it in!

 We paddle to shore to stretch our legs and of course give Tisuk a break. 

 V "caught" a dead jelly fish.

 Beautiful sunsets.

 Lots of treasures to find on the beaches.

 We call this "Jellyfish Town."  Moon Jellies usually surface and we have had to raft over them. 

 One cove had berries galore so we spent our time picking.

The girls holding their first shrimp. (And our last, we didn't catch any the next time.)

More adventures await us.  For now we are lucky to have this opportunity to get out and enjoy our Alaska Life.

Fish On!

We finally made it to Kodiak.  We not only had excellent weather, we had one of the best fishing trips to date.

We decided to take a two day trip with Ten Bears.  I highly recommend them.  If you are looking for something different than the same old trip….. Ten Bears offers that.  We arrived at 7:30 am Monday and headed for the boat.  We came back to harbor by 7:30 pm Tuesday.  In between we fished….

 We caught halibut, ling cod (pictured), rockfish and silver salmon.  

 We enjoyed amazing meals. What better way to start your day of fishing than with stuffed strawberry french toast and a breathtaking view. 

I caught the big one!  70 lb halibut.  

We saw lots of wildlife too.  Puffins, whales, fish of course, and sea lions.  The sea lions were very noisy!

We had a wonderful time. 

Cabin Company

We recently traveled to Nome, then out 70 miles to the Northeast to my sister and brother in law's cabin for a four day adventure.  It was an impromptu trip, we decided to follow my parents.  It was a great time and I think my parents enjoyed having all of their grandchildren in the same zip code.

 The girls loved taking rides….

 And even tried fishing…..

 Of course after the first cast I took off the pixies and tied sticks to the ends, much safer!

 We were blessed with beautiful weather….

And even some wildlife sightings on the way home.  

A memorable trip.

No Rushin' on the Russian...

We had our first fishing adventure on Wednesday.  I am used to Nome, where you can fish and maybe see 1 or 2 other people while you are out there......often times when we take the plane, no one is around for miles.  This is not the case here!  The Russian River, known for its red salmon, is also known for its combat fishing.  Well, we braved it with baby.

Daddy carried the important cargo, I carried gear.  We even brought Auntie Marilou along for the adventure. 

The water was high and fast, but we found a place where baby would be safe and no stray hooks would find her.  Daddy moved slow and steady with his backpack, don't worry!  Other parts of the river were shoulder to shoulder.  

We got "skunked" on the fishing so to speak, but it was a successful day, because our baby was safe and sound.  She was able to take naps when needed at the car and I think she had fun. 

We even saw some great scenery along the way.....5 Dahl sheep, including a full curl ram near the highway and a black bear that visited us close to the bank (too fast for the camera though).  What an exciting day on the road system.