Spending a lot of time in a car is not mine nor my children's idea of a great time and yet we did quite a bit of it in Alaska. However, I do think we kept it to a minimum considering all of the options we had, we stayed quite close to Palmer and Anchorage for the very reason mentioned above.
So the next morning we got up and got ready to drive to Anchorage. We were actually planning to go as far as Portage to see the Portage Glacier on a boat ride there but with kids not napping in the car and getting crabby we stopped in Alyeska. For a once in a lifetime deal you'd think you'd just power through crabby kids but I think it was pretty bad or I was feeling entirely too much weight regarding everyone's level of enjoyment. William had mentioned there was a tram ride to the mountain top at Alyeska Resort with views of several peaks and distant glaciers. It was a beautiful ride and again a beautiful day. We had a mini-snowball fight when we got off the tram and then wandered up the trail a bit to enjoy the air and the views.
Cade had a friend visiting from Utah who was came along with us too, I'm glad the teenage boys had each other since little kids take up a lot of your time ; )
from left to right: Cade's friend Jack, Cade, and Waylon and Caiden
from left to right: Cade's friend Jack, Cade, and Waylon and Caiden
After we rode the tram back down Tyler dropped Bailey and Waylon and I off at a local park while he picked up some pizza with the boys. It was surprisingly warm out and we found a picnic table in the shade to enjoy our food. By this time it was 3-4 pm I think and so we decided to head back to Palmer.
On the way I had noticed lots of little turnouts to view the ocean and thought we could play near the water a bit and see the ocean there. Turns out Alaska doesn't really have beaches, I thought they would just be rocky but in fact they are muddy. We stopped at Turnagain Arm and there was a sign warning of the nature of the mud, that in fact it was like quicksand in many places and that you shouldn't walk on it or that to do so would be to risk death, getting stuck and tide coming in. So we got out to look around and Cade suggested we make a pathway of rocks out to the water. Brilliant idea I thought! He and I both began right away, while the other teenage boys sort of thought we were crazy I think, I'm not sure. Pretty soon though I was slipping on these rocks anyway though so I did take a few steps on the mud, and I did pretty much get mud all over my pants from the splash of setting the rocks down. And it took longer than I thought and the longer it took I wondered if I was being crazy, but it was fun and it felt good out and it didn't matter. So I did get to stand in the Alaskan ocean water there at Turnagain Arm.
When we paved that way, I couldn't really tell if Cade was doing that for me or for him, but I remember thinking "he is like me"--he wanted to do it, it felt good, he likes this kind of work.
When we got back to the house I changed and went for a short run. I did just about 4 miles and it was the easiest 4 miles I'd ever ran and totally beautiful, just 2 miles out from the house and back is all but the views were great!
Here is a beautiful yard with a barn just at the end of Cade's street, Pioneer Peak behind it.
Tyler took Waylon out on a short 4-wheeler ride to the river not too far from the house and then we enjoyed a midnight-ish sunset again while teenager played some video games.
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