Our Life in Alaska and Beyond

On our way home from Seward we stopped at the AWCC to break up the drive. I still had the rented telephoto lens so it was fun to get super close to all the animals. We got rained on a little bit, but it was still a beautiful Alaskan summer day! Enjoy these pics! 

Cracks me up, haha! 😂

After spending some time at Potter Marsh we continued our drive down to the AWCC. It had been almost a month since we were there last time and pretty much all the snow had melted! Everything was pretty brown, but I'm sure by the time we go next month (hahah, we'll definitely get our money's worth on our pass) everything will be green! It takes a long time for summer to get here, but once it does there's nothing better. We love Alaskan summers! For now, enjoy these "springtime" pics at the AWCC.

It was fun to see this black bear out and about!

Brown bear taking a dip!

Notice the bear in the water over on the left side.

Wild bald eagle

Musk Ox

Lynx! They had moved it over to this little enclosure by the moose, and it was so active! Super hard to get a decent pic (the glass was so dirty, and the lighting was pretty bad too), but it was so fun to watch!

This was Robyn's favorite animal of the day. She kept calling it a "link" because she thought that lynx was plural, haha.

Cute girls with the bison

Porcupine

Picked her own outfit out, haha.

Wood bison

Ruby spotted this wild bald eagle in the tree just before we left. Such a fun day!

These past few weeks have been pretty crazy, but we're loving all the extra family time. Scott has been working from home a bit, and will start doing more from home. The girls won't be going back to school this school year, and I'm not sure when I'll be back to work. The girls are missing their friends and teachers, but we're dong good and making the most of all this time we have together.

A couple weeks ago we decided to take a drive down Turnagain Arm to go to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. They are still open at this time. (It's big enough you can pretty much just drive from animal to animal, and if you do get out, just practice social distancing with the few others there.) It was so nice to get out and enjoy the beautiful outdoors and see all the amazing animals. I don't think we've ever been here in the winter before so it was fun to see all the animals in the snow. The drive was also beautiful and we saw a few dall sheep along Turnagain Arm. I didn't get any pics because we couldn't really stop where we saw them, but it was still cool to see. We love Alaska!

This pic cracks me up, haha. I love the musk ox!

We decided we had to do something fun on Labor Day since we didn't have any work or school. We decided to drive down towards Portage and go to the AWCC (we love having the yearly pass, haha) and we also wanted to check out the spawning salmon at the campground near by. It kind of rained off and on the whole day, but it ended up being a really fun day. Fall in Alaska is so beautiful!

This brown bear and the fall colors with the glacier in the background was so cool!

After breakfast we stopped at the AWCC. Last year we got the yearly pass and definitely got our money's worth, so we decided to get it again this year. We love going here and seeing all the different animals. Enjoy!

The fireweed has been so gorgeous this year!

To break up the drive on the way home from Homer we stopped at the AWCC again. (We had an annual pass that was about to expire so we were trying to make the most of it, haha.) We were there in the afternoon, which was kind of fun because usually we're there in the morning. They did a little wolf program where the wolves howled for a bit, which was kind of cool. And then I got a better look at the baby musk ox too, so that was fun. Enjoy these pics. 🐻🐺

I have gotten so far behind on my blogging! A lot has happened this beautiful month of June and I'll do my best the next few days to try and get all caught up. Grandma and Grandpa Burton got to come visit, we celebrated Ruby's 7th birthday,  we went on lots of adventures, and now we're getting ready for our next visitor, Grandma Hadley, to come up next week. We've already done so many fun things this summer, and we still have several more weeks left! Yay for summer!

First up, Grandma and Grandpa came up for the first part of June. We were able to stay with them at a hotel in Anchorage, and then we spent a night in Homer. On our way to and from Homer we stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. These pics are from on our way down. There are so many cool animals. We loved it! Also, all along the drive we saw moose (including a mama and baby), dall sheep along Turnagain Arm, and many, many bald eagles. We love Alaska!

The first weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Hadley we went to Homer! It was such a fun weekend filled with fishing, beach combing, and playing at the cabin, and I'll post pics soon! First though, on our way down to Homer we stopped at the AWCC. It was definitely cooler than when we were there about a week before, but still so beautiful! I love all the mountains surrounding the animals, and it's so fun to see the animals and learn more about them each time we go. :)

I love the musk ox, and I was so happy to get some good pics of them this time!

We just had the most fun-filled week with Grandma and Grandpa Burton! They kind of decided last minute to come up over the 4th of July, and we were so glad! It was so much fun to celebrate with them, and we ended up having the best weather, too! We had multiple days of high 70s (which is very, very hot for us!)

Grandma and Grandpa flew up Monday, July 2, and we all stayed at a hotel in Anchorage that night. We had a delicious dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and then we had a blast swimming at the hotel. The next morning we got up early and drove down to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Along Turnagain Arm we saw some dall sheep, which was so cool! At the AWCC it was pretty hot, but we still had fun seeing all the animals. Enjoy these pics!

Always love lupine :)

Monday morning we got up early and headed to Seward for a little overnighter. We stopped at the AWCC on our way and it was so fun! We ended up getting a season pass, so we're hoping to go here several more times this year. The brown bears were so close and so active while we were there, so they were definitely a favorite for most of us that day. The funniest thing for Ruby though was a raven "walking like a human!" Haha, she thought it was so funny to see the raven walk and it was cracking us up! I should've got a picture! Enjoy these pics though!

A few days before Mike and Kay left we decided to go on a little overnighter to Girdwood! We went to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, then we drove out to Whittier, then we spent the night at Alyeska before heading home the next day. So fun! I took a ton of pics so I'll do each event as a separate blog post.

First of all, the AWCC: It was amazing! It's always so fun to see the animals, and the scenery is just beautiful, almost unreal. The girls loved it and we had perfect weather! No mosquitoes and no wind (problems we've had there in the past.) Ruby came home with a little stuffed brown bear, and Noelle picked a baby fawn. So cute! :)

From the drive down, along Turnagain Arm

At the AWCC

Last Saturday I had the day off (for Memorial Day weekend) so we made the most of it and had a full weekend of fun activities. For the most part we had great weather with temps in the 60's and a few light rain showers. Saturday we went to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, but I didn't get any pics because it was pretty windy and slightly chilly down in Girdwood. Scott and I took turns staying in the car with Noelle and then getting out with Ruby to see the animals. Ruby loved the moose and kept calling one of the huge bull moose there a, "cute, tiny, baby moose." Haha. :) She came home with a cute stuffed animal moose.