Our Life in Alaska and Beyond

On Sunday we went with Mike and Kay up Hatcher Pass to Summit Lake. It was a beautiful day and we had fun skipping rocks into the lake and Scott even got all the way in the water! (He has a goal to get in the water of every lake he visits, haha.) Enjoy these fun pics!

Our friends, the Miners, were visiting AK and they wanted to meet up and go on a hike together. We decided to hike Gold Cord Lake, and it was so fun! We had beautiful weather, and after hiking we had them over to our house for dinner. It was so good to catch up (they used to live in AK, but have since moved to South Dakota) and spend some time together!

Ruby and I had another mommy/daughter hiking date, and this time we did Reed Lakes! We had great weather, but unfortunately, the lower lake was almost completely clouded over, so we really couldn't see it that well. We still hiked to the waterfall, and it was so pretty, despite the low clouds. Such a fun hike (and pretty big, over 8 miles!) with my sweet Rubes! She's the best hiking buddy!

The nice summer weather continued this week, and as a family we hiked April Bowl in Hatcher Pass. Ruby and I went a little further up to Hatch Peak, and then we all took a little break and put at least our legs in one of the little lakes of April Bowl (Scott got all the way in, haha!), and then we hiked around Summit Lake too. It was just a perfect Alaskan summer day! Hatcher Pass is one of our very favorite places to go, and so, so beautiful!

These views are very similar to what Scott and I saw the day before hiking Mat Peak (see here), but this hike is way easier, lol!

Trying to make the most of summer and the midnight sun, Scott and I decided to hike Reed Lakes for a bedtime hike, haha. We started around 8:30 pm, and then finished right at midnight! (We went to the waterfall and back.) We got rained on coming down, and it was a bit more muddy than expected, but still so fun! Enjoy these pretty pics!

The next day Scott was working, but Chrissy and I took the girls up Hatcher Pass and we hiked April Bowl. It was a little chilly, but still so beautiful. I love AK summers! When we were back at home that evening we made pizzas in the Ooni. So yummy! 🍕

On Saturday we met up with the Heaslet's and went up to Hatcher Pass. We hiked to Gold Cord Lake, and then we also walked around Independence Mine a bit. It was a beautiful, warm sunny day and we had a great time!

Cutest kids 🥰

We were able spend Mother's Day at the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer. They had a few baby musk ox that were just born a few weeks prior and they were so cute! The girls and Scott also treated me so well, and I had a wonderful day! I absolutely love being Mom to our three sweet girls! 💗💗💗

We loved having Steph and Alex stay with us! After getting off work on Saturday I finally met up with everyone at our house, haha, and we all had a yummy dinner of salmon tacos! Later that night after putting the girls to bed, all the adults stayed up and we played some games. It was so fun!

On Sunday morning we had a big yummy breakfast of bacon and eggs and then we drove up Hatcher Pass. We were planning on doing a longer hike, but it was pretty foggy and overcast, so we decided to just explore around Independence Mine. We hadn't done that for a few years, so it was fun to check out again! It's very similar to Kennecott Mine, where we were a few weeks ago, not quite as big though. Afterwards we also drove over to Summit Lake and explored around there too. The views weren't quite as impressive with all the clouds moving in, but it was still so pretty! Enjoy these beautiful foggy fall pics!

The fireweed this fall was so pretty! 🔥

One of the last things we did before school started was pick blueberries up Hatcher Pass! I think we were a bit early, but we still found quite a few and had a fun time. I forgot my big camera, but I still wanted to post some cell phone pics on here. Hatcher Pass is so beautiful!

One day when Scott was working I decided to take all the girls up Hatcher Pass. I'd never taken all the girls up Hatcher Pass on my own before, but it was such a beautiful day I couldn't pass it up. We first hiked April Bowl and explored around all three little lakes there, and then we went on over to Summit Lake and took the trail all the way around. It was so fun and so nice to enjoy the sunshine!

The best I could get of all three girls, haha 😜

I probably spent way too much time on my last post (Katmai - researching and trying to figure out which bears were which), but it was fun and now I'm back to posting about our fun summer! The day after Scott and I went to Katmai (Grandma and Grandpa got to stay with us a little over two weeks!) we went up Hatcher Pass and hiked Gold Cord Lake. It was so pretty and we loved hiking this with Grandma and Grandpa! While we were up at the top we could see some fog start to move in and it came fast! Going down usually we have really pretty views, but they were completely blocked by the fog! We made it back safe though and still had a great day!

My parents arrived in Alaska on Saturday afternoon on the 4th of July. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day, and it was so nice to be together! We had a yummy BBQ with burgers on the grill, and then late that evening Scott and I decided to go on an 8 mile hike, haha! We got the girls all ready for bed and then let them fall asleep watching a show with my parents. (We hardly ever get babysitters so when Grandma and Grandpa come we get to go on lots of dates, haha!) 

Scott and I got to the trailhead by about 7:30 pm and then finished just before 11 pm. We love the midnight sun! (It's kind of sad because now, about a month later, as I'm writing this, it's pretty dark by 11 pm. We're still definitely enjoying our summer though!) We hiked Reed Lakes up Hatcher Pass and it's one of our very favorites! The snow was a little slower to melt this year, so the lower lake was still mostly frozen and we were just able to make it to the waterfall. Upper Reed Lake is about 1/2 mile farther, but the whole hike was still so pretty! We love Hatcher Pass! Enjoy these pics!