SeaPlanes and Reeindeer dogs

We had a pretty strong typhoon last night and there was damage on base, so Bob got to stay home from work today meaning I have more time to post on the blog about our Alaska trip.  We were up all night from the loud winds and house moving, but we didn't suffer any damage.

So we spent some time checking out Downtown Anchorage.  The kids asked if we could do a geocache.  I didn't have any planned and we didn't have internet so I wasn't sure if it was going to be possible.  Then I remembered where one was that I found years ago.  We went to see if it was still around.  Not only was it still there, but we were able to find exactly where I signed it in 2015!  It was pretty cool.

Next we ate reindeer hot dogs for lunch.  Not my favorite but kind of felt like something we should eat while in Alaska.

 Tucker got to pet a real sled dog.

 We walked around downtown and checked out souvenir shops.

 Next we headed over to watch seaplanes land and take off.  This lake is famous for the most seaplane landings in the world.  They were really landing every couple minutes.

Ok, so this part was actually the next morning, but I want to put it on the same post anyway.  We got up early and went on a bear hunt

 We were unsuccessful in our search, but did enjoy a nice nature walk.

Next we went to an airplane museum.  It wasn't my favorite, but Bob was into it so we wanted to support him.

Flying is huge in Alaska.  I learned that most of Alaska is not accessible by cars, and that people in Alaska have more pilot licenses then any other state per capita.  Bob wants to get his, but I would rather he didn't.

Flattop Hike

Ok, so I really like hiking!  On our second day in Alaska I dragged everyone on yet another hike.  This was my first time hiking flattop, but I really wanted to do it because I think it is one of the most popular hikes in Anchorage.

 Honestly, it was more of a challenge than I anticipated.  I thought because it is so popular that it wasn't going to be a serious hike.  But The last bit, was a challenge.

I'm pretty sure we didn't go on the actual trail.  We couldn't really find it and kept getting off of it and just ended up climbing up the rocks.  I heard lots of people talking about how there used to be one clear path, but now because it gets so much use there are lots of small paths up and it is hard to see the original way.  I'd have to agree.

 The harder the hike the more rewarding it is when you get to the top. 

We stopped and ate lunch at the top.  There was a guy getting ready to hang glide off the top.  We ended up heading back down before he took off, but we saw him later when we were about half way down and he was flying. 

Oh and it was our 13th wedding anniversary!  I love that we got to spend the whole day together!  We didn't do anything alone, but for me it was better because bob didn't have to go to work or anything.

The way back down was a little scary, but we managed ok.

 There was just some climbing down, which can be tricky. 

I'm glad I wasn't carrying Calista, because she leans a lot and that can make balancing hard.  In this picture she wanted down, she wasn't scared at all, just bored of being carried.

It was a great hike and I'm glad we got to do it.

Winner Creek Trail

The Winner Creek Trail was another must-do things on our Alaska trip.  It was something I did years ago and showed the kids pictures of so they have wanted to go here for a very long time.  There is a cool hand tram at the end that is what they really wanted to do.  Unfortunately the tram was closed, they had a sign at the start of the trail.  We were disappointed, but it was still a good fun hike and we made the most of it.

There were blueberries all along the trail.  The kids loved picking and eating them all, but they were getting a little bit slow.  We turned it into a game by saying that if Bob or I touched them then they had to give us some of the berries they had picked.  

In this next picture you can see the kids blue smiles.  I guess Calista watched me take this and insisted of doing her own.  I just thought she really wanted out of the carrier, but once she got out she promptly sat in the same exact pose and smiled.

This hike has a really pretty river toward the end.

It was after seven when we got back to the start of the hike.  It actually started behind a hotel, so we went in near the gift shop and used the rest room.  We were exhausted after our two hikes in one day and all legs were getting sore.

It was about 11pm by the time we had dinner, which was the second night in a row we had pizza.

Papa Murphy's stuffed pizza is something we have been missing since we moved to Japan.  We made sure we got some on the trip.  It was delicious!

And off to bed.