So for the 6 days the Harris's were here, we camped the whole time. We spend 2 1/2 days in Seward and then 2 more days in Kenai. If you wanna make a trip to Alaska you need to plan for at least a min of 7 days... 10-14 would be ideal :) There is so so so much to see and do... I know that by the time Jeff and I leave (which could be another 3-4 years) we still won't have seen half of what the land of Alaska has to offer.
SEWARD
After spending Sunday driving around rainy Anchorage and visiting Jeff's cousins, we took off Sunday morning for Seward. We set up an Iditarod sled dog tour for Jeff's family while Jeff and I went to camp and set up. I loved hearing that they loved this as much as we did when we went a year ago. Seeing these dogs and how much they love what they do is just amazing. My father in law just soaked it up!!! Unfortunately the down side of not joining them in this means I didn't get to take pics, so I'll be posting pics of what my mother in law took later. After their sled dog tour, we made tin foil dinners and walked around town and enjoyed camping along the beach. Just breath taking and relaxing.
Gary loved our dogs... he would even take them out in the mornings to run around so I could sleep in. He needs a good lap dog that will get excited every 5 min when they see you!!!
The next day we planned a 5 hour wildlife tour. We went with Major Marine tours and were so spoiled with the beautiful weather and all the wildlife. Ranger Chad, our "PHENOMINAL" tour guide, said this was the first time this season that a tour got to see Killer Whales AND humpback whales.
Hey look over there...
Gary really can nap anywhere... and it's become the family joke to take pics everywhere he naps
Jeff wishing he could get up on the bow of the boat... the weather was so beautiful and hot... We both got some sun all week
The Killer Whales were all around the boat. Probably over all we saw at least 10 different ones. This time of year is the best time to see Orca's in Alaska... they travel to Resurrection Bay to spawn and feed
It was so cool to watch the breach... they are just so beautiful in the wild... a complete different experience than at SeaWorld.
Right after seeing all the killer whales, Jeff said, "Well that was cool but this trip wouldn't be complete without a humpback." Well we were coming to realize this whole week was full or unexpected events. Not long after seeing the killer whales, A very playful Humpback whale was spotted blowing air from it's spout and breaching in the sunlight. I didn't take very many pics, unfortunately. I was too busy watching how amazing and entertaining they are.
Jeff got better pics with his mom's camera, but here is a different humpback slapping it's fins and spinning in the ocean.
Once again, Gary resting in the sun (but isn't that what vacations are about)... but this time Scotty and Wyatt decided to sneak up on him.
Oh how I love this man and his smile.
The next morning Scotty and Wyatt and Jeff went fishing in the bay... unfortunately we they caught the tail end of the morning hours and the fish stopped bitting, but not before Scotty and Wyatt snagged the first catch of the trip, 2 beautiful Silver Salmon.
On our way out of Seward, we stopped by Exit Glacier. I can't get enough of the beauty of all the glaciers in Alaska. With the crisp blue sky line and jagged mountains, the beauty is just incredible.
SOLDOTNA/KENAI
After enjoying the beauty in Seward, we drove to the other side of the peninsula to Kenai to catch more fish. The weekend before we got there, there was a red salmon run of 230,000 in one day, so needless to say we were so excited to hit the rivers and start snagging some big suckers. We first stopped to show the Harri's the dipnetting phenominom. Unfortunately we didn't get to join in cuz you have to be a ressident, and although Jeff and I are, I didn't wanna rub it in the faces of the Harri's sitting and watching while we caught 20-30 fish all in one net. So dipnetting is when you literally drop a 4 foot massive fishing net in the river and when you feel a bump you pull it out. Our cousins went the day the massive run came in and caught 36 salmon at once... so crazy. you really have to see it to see how cool it is, people lined up shoulder to shoulder with their nets.
Oh, so Jeff and I had reserved campsites for when the fam was in town. Well when we pulled into Cooper Landing and saw the gravel pit we reserved to stay in that is 40 min from the fishing grounds we scratched that awful place and headed into town. Well with the big fish run, EVERYONE was in Kenai and all campgrounds were full... but one!!! When I called Diamond Ranch, they said they were full but just opened up the pasture for camping. (they said they took the horses out so there wouldn't be a problem) Well at this point, we had no other option. When we pulled up we spotted a pasture with no horses... but there were LLAMAS!!!!! OH my gosh, we died laughing. So yes, for the next 2 nights we camped in a pasture with Llamas, but had a flippin blast. Luckily Wyatt owns Llamas so he knew how to speak Llaman to them to tell them not to bother us. It was funny cuz they always surrounded others campers but never came close to ours. The dogs loved the pasture the most cuz they ran and ran for hours. We seriously would came here again anyday, but they only open it when they are full so it may be a once in a life time chance :)
The rest of the campground really was nice, they made it into an old downtown and were doing tons of upgrading and expanding so it will be cool to see it when it is all done. they had nice showers, fish cleaning station and way cute cabins and bed and breakfast's. But again, we would prefer the Lama pasture :)
Wyatt loved our dogs, and they loved chasing him around
This is what happens when they play rough all day...
So after setting up camp, we hit the road to find where the hot spot on the river was for the fish. After asking around and following the crowds we ended up at a beautiful park in Soldotna... and let me tell ya, this park didn't let us down. In 6 days, we caught over 400 lbs of Red Salmon, all ranging from 8-12 lbs. What an experience. Definately puts Utah fishing to shame!!!
We all caught fish within the first 2 days... the boys were slaying them left and right, it was so fun to watch. I even hooked a couple, battled and reeled and finally landed me a 10 lb Salmon. It was my first Alaskan fish and it was so exciting. I was sure proud of myself. And once you catch one, you just wanna keep going. We were fishing for hours and never got bored.
Here is a view of the Kenai River at 1130 pm... yep still fishing and the fact that it's past bedtime is the least of our worries
Diana on the other hand hooked some, but never landed one. But she did land herself in the river.... TWICE!!!! I will never forget these moments of laughter! We were all dying, and if you knew my mother in-law, you know that this is so something that would happen to her. Diana we love you... thanks for providing some humor in our fishing trip!!
Here is Diana emptying all the water out of her waiters... she really is such a trooper. As she was coming back from changing into dry clothes, she passed a gentleman who also fell in the water and all she could say to him was, "You know the worst part about it is I don't have a dry bra to wear now" I know most guys wouldn't mind hearing that, but you don't say it to complete strangers. Oh Diana
On our way out of town we stopped off at Walmart and ate some free barbeque pulled pork... the boys had to show their support and wear the hats!!!
As we were leaving Soldotna, we stopped off at the Sawfest. Jeff and I saw a few of these carvings when they came to Anchorage and Jeff immediately thought of his mom and how much she would love these... and she sure did. She was in her own little heaven walking around. It also gets me excited to own a cabin someday and decorate it with some cool alaskan art.
It sure was fun to have Gary and Diana here for a week. It flew by but we will always remember the laughs and memories. We are so lucky to have Scotty and his buddy Wyatt here for another 7 days. It is so fun to have family around. It will be sad to see them all leave. But in August we have Jeff's grandparents and older brother and his wife coming and we are super stoked to see them.
A few phrases that will never be forgotten while camping with the Harris's...
Jeff: "Dad tonight we are having Hobo dinners" (tinfoil dinner)
Gary: "Homo Dinners? What are those!!!"
Jeff: "They are dinners full of meat and extra carrots."
Wyatt was fishing and all of a sudden his whole body arched back and he started yelling " Charlie horse in my leg"
Scotty started screaming "Tippppp, Tippppp, Tipppp"
We will always remember "Ranger Chad" on our wildlife cruise. He was full of wisdom, and we loved hearing about the "Silver Sentinels" and the "Orca's... or commonly called killer whales."
Scotty on the wildlife cruise: "I didn't know Einstein was still alive"
We crammed 6 people in our truck with only 5 seat belts. Me, Diana, Scotty and Wyatt kissed shoulders in the back seat
Jeff: " My legs hurt because I have so much space"
"Rambo!" Yelled for when a fish was on for less than 5 seconds. Scotty wouldn't let me yell "fish on" when I couldn't hook it for longer than 5 seconds.
Gary: "Hey lets go eat breakfast at the Holiday Inn"
Diana: "Gosh, everyone smells like fish"
Gary: "Everyone but Diana, she smells like rock rollers"
1 comment:
It looks like you guys had the best time. Im so glad that they were able to see you even though i hardly heard from you this past week i know you were having a blast your in laws sound so funny. Diana just cracks me up. and the fact that Gary falls asleep is priceless they seam like complete polar opposites that can laugh at eachother i love it. I now see where jeff gets his personality from and i love the fact that you guys made homo dinners:)
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