Juneau, Alaska

Another really busy day in Alaska!  1. Dog-sledding with a real Idirod racing team. 2. Aerial Tramway 3. Helicopter ride to Mendenhall Glacier. Getting ready to ride!  We were all a little surprised at how small and mangy the dogs were.  We were all thinking of a malamute-big, fluffy, white...So, during the summer they train the dogs by pulling 800 lbs carts.

The guy in the front of this picture is Ray Reddington. Last year was his rookie year and he placed the highest as a rookie than anyone ever before.  You could tell how much he loves his dogs.

 The hardest thing for the dogs is actually the heat. They perform best at 10 below zero, so 60 was really hot for them.  They have to have a break half way so they do not overheat.  Man, they could move fast.

  After the ride, the kids got to play with the dogs!

 My little dog lover was in heaven.

 A little break to explore the camp and then,

 A little class learning all about the race and gear.

 And finally, a chance to hold the puppies (4 months old).

 And the new born babies.

 They were so cute (4 days old)!!!

 Back to Juneau and up to the top of the tram.  A couple of pictures from the top.

 Back down into the city for our helicopter ride!

 So amazing at the blue color.

 The wind was unforgiving.

 The chance to drink some glacial water.

 Our helicopter coming to get us!  What a fantastic day.

Icy Straight Point, Alaska

Today we went on a marine wildlife and whale watching cruise (exceptional!) and then took a small detour into town and added a little nature tram at the end of the day! Brennen enjoys some "wildlife" before we head out on our whale watching cruise.

 There was just so much beauty all around.  If you love the beauty of nature, Alaska must be on your list of places to go. 

 Caught two fish playing around!

 First whale sighting.

 We were really lucky on our day and we probably saw 15 whales come up and we also saw a whale breech (jump up and splash back down on their back), which is pretty rare.  Of course, I missed that picture!

 This is what you are on the lookout for.  When you see the air spray, a whale will come up right after.

 We took the bus into the small Indian village, but that was pretty disappointing.  We we got to the drop off spot, we actually didn't get off the bus because there was a huge group of people waiting to go back and we thought we might never get back.  So we played on the beach for a while and then we decided to go on a nature tram later in the evening.

 Finding cool nature things...

 Our cruise ship from our little beach stop.

 The kids found little baby crabs on the beach.

 Tired kids after a long day!

Ketchikan, Alaska

Day one of the cruise is spent crusing.  Good thing for me, because I am in the middle of training for my Ironman and I needed to do a 5 hour bike ride:( I figure if I can do that on a stationary bike, I can do anything!  Day 2 was in Ketchikan, Alaska where we went on a wilderness exploration and crab feast. Here we are off to catch some crab.

 

 

We didn't get to eat the crab that we caught, but we did get to hold them.

 

 

Maya did NOT want to hold one, but she was forced into it and forced to smile.  I love this fake enjoyment:)

 
Enjoying the crab!!  It was so good.

We're on our way to Alaska!

Day one of our Alaskan adventure begins with flying into Vancouver, Canada.  On the morning before boarding the cruise ship, we went to the suspension bridge park to burn off some energy.  It was a really neat place where you spent your time walking across bridges through the tree tops. The kids really enjoyed it.

 A rare shot of these two being happy to be brothers!

 A little rest stop, while Brennen checks the map (he was a little obsessed!).

 I could not believe the clarity of the reflection.

 Main suspension bridge in the background.

A great start to our adventure!