Aggies in Alaska

The last few days of Mom and Dad's trip were a but more sedate than the rest. We were all getting a bit tired of running around so much and wanted to make sure that we spent time together. So, Friday, June 15, we drive around Soldotna and Kenai to show them our area and all it has to offer. We took them to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, old Kenai, and the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center. We also took them by my school and showed them my room and where I work. They loved it. We did get to see a mama moose and her two babies though. We spent Saturday, June 16, checking out Homer. We got there in time for lunch, walked the Spit, picked up some beach rocks, went out to Land's End (literally the end of the road), to the world famous Salty Dawg Saloon, through old town Homer, and even stopped by the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. Sunday, June 17 - last day of my parents' trip to Alaska - we took them by the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lod

Thursday, June 14 was our earliest wake-up call for activities. We had to drive about an hour and a half to Seward to get on a boat and go out into Resurrection Bay for some whale watching. It was outstanding! It was a beautiful day, and we started seeing marine life within ten minutes! We saw humpback whales feeding... Orcas... A few otters... (they are so adorable, but don't let you get too close...) Some sea lions sunning and resting on a big rock... Plenty of gulls, eagles, and of course puffins... The scenery wasn't too bad either... The boat was really comfy, and our guide was excellent. We all had a blast! Barron stayed out back on the boat to take pictures, so he had to bundle up like the Unabomber. :) Back in the harbor... We grabbed a bite of lunch in town and went through some shops. We found this cool mural of puffins. The one on the left with the yellow curved feathers is a Tufted Puffin. The

Believe it or not, my dad was actually teaching an online class while he was on vacation here. So, he took some time on Wednesday, June 13 to get things settled with his class, and Barron and I took Mom on a Kenai river floating trip out of Cooper Landing. The skies were sunny, and the temps were warmer, but there was quite a breeze. So, we still had to wear a decent layer under our rain pants and jackets that the guide gave us. It was a fabulous trip! We saw plenty of gorgeous scenery along the float, but we also saw tons of eagles, fishermen already trying for salmon, and even a couple of goats up on one of the mountains. After we finished our float and had a quick lunch, we took Mom on the Russian River Falls hike. It's 4.6 lies roundtrip with a few inclines here and there. She did great! She's a real Alaskan hiker now. We even got to see some salmon jumping upstream when we were on the upper boardwalks at the falls! Barron and Mo

We finished off the big loop and made our way back to Anchorage on Tuesday, July 12. The views on the way back were spectacular. We had pizza for lunch at the Moose's Tooth, an Alaska tradition. We made several scenic stops along the way, like the Rabbit Creek Marsh and Bird Point. We also stopped by the Turnagain Arm Gallery, an awesome spot for artwork and wooden sculptures carved with chainsaws. But the most impressive stop was at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, just outside Girdwood. They take in injured, sick, or orphaned animals and give them a safe, healthy life. They have bears, caribou, deer, wolves, bison, moose, foxes, etc. It's a really wonderful operation! The rest of the day was spent driving back to our house in Kenai, hitting the grocery store, doing some laundry, and getting some rest after being on the road for so long.