July 21, 2025 Alaska Day 5

 

Alaska Day 5

Today was an “at sea” day. We sailed the whole day, but we did get to see the Hubbard Glacier.

 

We slept in. Had a lazy morning. Then around noon we went to the helipad to view the Hubbard glacier.

When looking at the glacier it is amazing that everything is so white and snowy, but if you turn just a tiny bit, all of the mountains are green and lush (like the ones in the photo of the circle window).

Grace then decided to take part in the rock wall climbing 

and as I was watching her I noticed that we kept getting closer and closer to the glacier. They said that the weather was so good, that this was the closest that they have been able to get to the glacier in a long time.

We got back to the room and got dressed for dinner because it was “dress your best.” We had a fabulous meal and went to the musical that is on the ship.

 

July 20, 2025 Alaska Day 4

 

Alaska Day 4

Today we set off on our 4+ hour trek from Telkeetna to Seward. Even though the lodge said there was moose on the property, I still did not get to see any….that is till we turned onto the main road to leave and there was a momma moose and her two babies crossing the road and walking along side. I saw my moose!!!!

 

We then stopped at Anchorage for lunch. 

 

We went to a place called Humpys and got there in plenty of time to meet the bus, until….Grace realized that she had forgotten her water bottle at the restaurant. (This is her second water bottle. She already lost her first one on the flight to Huston, so we bought her one in Denali. We really did not want her to lose this one too.). So she and Matt sprinted four blocks to get the water bottle, then four blocks back, but they made it!

Next we stopped at the animal conservation center. We got to see many animals who need rehabilitation and extra care. We got to see a bear there. He sat right in front of us as if he was posing.

Finally we made it to Seward and got on our ship!

 

July 20, 2025 Alaska Day 3

 

Alaska Day 3

Another early morning to start the adventure of the day. While waiting for our guide we found a puzzle, but did not get very far with it before the tour guide and her school bus arrived to take us on a wilderness and history tour of Denali national park.

 

 So many wonderful views. We were told that we were of the lucky 30% who were able to see all of Mt. McKinley (Denali) without any fog coverage at all!

 While at the park we learned about the park (and its history), antlers, horns, and so much more. 

 

 

 

 

While on the tour the kids did their junior ranger packets and a ranger came into our bus to swear them in.

 

Then we stopped for lunch. We found a place called Tako. It is an Alaskan-Mex taco station. Who ever heard of reindeer in a taco?!? Not what I would have expected to find, but it was a delicious experience.

 

 

Finally after we got back to our lodge and headed into a cute, quirky little town called Talkeetna. 

First thing we did was go find and meet the mayor of the town. The mayor is a beautiful long haired Siamese cat.

 Her name is Aurora. She is in political trouble though because all of the local pets are running against her for the next mayoral election. You can go to different shops to vote for the different pets. Aurora got our vote, and many scritches too! (This might sound like a joke, but it is absolutely true!)

After returning to our lodge we found another family, played some card games then we headed for bed after a very long day.

July 18, 2025 Alaska Day 2

 

Alaska Day 2

We woke up early with no troubles because the sun was high and bright. But it was a good thing because we were ready for our first adventure!

After a breakfast at the hotel we got onto a shuttle bus that drove us first to a grocery store to get snacks, then to our glass domed train. 

 We had a 4 hour train ride that took us into Denali National Park. While on the ride we saw amazing scenery, played cards, ate at the cafe, and spent a lot of time on the outdoor viewing platform.

 

 

 

 

 

Once at our cabin we found our rooms then headed off for our first hike in the park. 

 The Oxbow trail followed the river that our cabin was located next to. 

It was a nice relaxing introduction to the park. As you can tell from the pictures the hike also helped the kids get a lot of their silliness out! Back to the cabin for food and once again collapsing in bed. 

July 18, 2025 Alaska Day 1

 

Alaska day 1

Packing was interesting since the furry girls in the house thought they were going with us. Once we convinced the cats that the suitcases were not for them, we packed and started the long travel to Alaska at 3 am. 

 

 We flew from Dulles to Houston to Anchorage. We had been traveling for 21 hours by the time the shuttle picture was taken of the kids. We were all exhausted and hungry. It was 9 pm local time and the sun made it feel like 2 in the afternoon!

 We got to our room to unload our luggage, zombied ourselves to the hotel restaurant for some much needed food, then slept the most glorious sleep.

Side note: I really want to see a moose. The one in the picture greeted us at the airport, I still say it does not count.

 

June 20, 2025 Driving

 Grace was finally able to get to the DMV to take the test to get her learners permit.  She had been studying for weeks and felt good about taking the test.  She passed!

On the way home I had her call her dad and say that we would be delayed a little bit.  She asked why.  So I told her that we were not going home yet, we were going to our church.  She asked why were we going to go to church, I said it was because I needed to pray (since she was now driving).  However, the real reason that I eventually told her was that I wanted to let her have her very first experience driving.

She had multiple parking lots, and lanes to go in and out of around our church.  The only danger were trees, poles, and one parked car.  She was still very nervous and cautious but soon became comfortable and very proud of herself.

June 15, 2025 Camping and Baptism

We went camping on this wet and wonderful weekend. Lots of good food, reading time, and fellowship with family and friends.

This was our church camp out weekend.  It usually does not work for us to attend, but this time we were able to attend AND Glen got baptized!

Glen got baptized during our church camp out. It was so special! He got to choose which pastor was with him, and also which parent was with him. He chose Pastor Jake and his dad (just like Grace did a few years earlier).

Our church makes these amazing towels for those who got baptized.  It has the person's name on it and also the date of the baptism.  It is good as a memory, but nice to have when you are wet and cold!

Now to dry out all the things from the multiple rain storms that we experienced during this fabulous weekend.