Our Life in Alaska and Beyond

Mike and Kay came to visit us at the end of July/early August and we had so much fun with them! The day after they arrived we decided to go to Eklutna Lake. It was so beautiful and we had the most perfect weather! We first had a yummy campfire lunch with quickie pies and s'mores, and then we walked down to the water and played on the shore for a bit. Another family offered to let the girls use their kayaks and they loved it! So nice of them! Enjoy these pics of beautiful Eklutna Lake! 🩵

The next day we decided to go to Eklutna Lake, again, lol. It truly is one of our very favorite places. Scott and Chrissy went on a big bike ride all along the lakeside trail, and I stayed back with the girls at the lakeshore. They loved playing in the mud and enjoying the sunshine. After Scott and Chrissy got back we made a campfire and had hotdogs and s'mores. Such a fun day!

Scott had Juneteenth off work so we decided to spend the day at Eklutna Lake. It was the most beautiful summer day, and it ended up being one of our favorite days ever! We first spotted a black bear off the side of the road on our drive up, then we all went on a pretty 7 mile bike ride along the lakeside trail (even Robyn on her princess bike!), then we went back to our campsite and had quickie pies and s'mores. While we were right in the middle of eating, a black bear started to come towards our campsite! Scott quickly helped the girls get in the car, and I tried my best to gather up all our food. (I had read that's what you're supposed to do if a bear approaches you while eating.) The bear kind of started getting close to our campsite and Scott honked at it. Luckily the bear moved on with no incident, and I'm so glad we were all safe. We're just doing our best recreating in bear country, haha. But this definitely made for a very fun and exciting day at Eklutna Lake. We finished up the day by going down to the lake and and playing in the water. Scott even got all the way in, lol. Enjoy the pics! 🐻

After the wildlife cruise we headed back to our airbnb in Lowell Point and had a yummy campfire dinner with s'mores for dessert. The girls had fun playing around the cabin, and it was a nice relaxing evening. This was our second night at the cabin and it worked out perfect for us. Little family getaways like this are always so fun. 😊

The cutest little cabin! Just before leaving 5/25/24

Our family had plans to go to Fish Lake at the beginning of August and we decided to go a day early and spend some time at Capitol Reef NP! We did a similar trip the year before, and it was so fun! We did a few little hikes, admired some ancient petroglyphs, saw lots of deer, and camped in the Fruita campground for a night. It was also Robyn's 6th birthday so we sang to her and celebrated with s'mores around the campfire. So much fun!

It was a little windy and overcast when we first got there, but overall we had great weather! These first few photos are from exploring near Panorama Point and Sunset Point trail.

The next few days we spent at Fish Lake. This was our girls' first time here and they loved it! I grew up coming here almost every summer. The family cabin, The Old Timer, has been in the family since my great grandparents' days! (It has been moved and updated several times, but still the same cabin!) We loved spending time with family, fishing (Ruby caught her first fish), going for walks to watermelon springs, having the traditional hot dog roast at the lake, eating lots of yummy food, playing games, and watching movies in the cabin. It was the perfect end to our summer as school started the day after we left. Enjoy these many photos from a great time at Fish Lake! 

We made Robyn's big birthday cake a couple weeks after her real birthday, when we could celebrate with the Burton side! Robyn requested a s'mores cake (I have the cutest video of her explaining how to make a s'more, but videos don't work the best on blogger so I'll share on my IG.)  I made this Ultimate S'mores Cake, but with a marshmallow frosting on the outside, and decorated it slightly different. It tasted amazing!

We celebrated at Jake and Karalee's house because we were also celebrating Noah's birthday! It was such a fun party! It's always so fun to get together with family! Happy Birthday Robyn and Noah!

After playing in the water at Lake McDonald we drove to our campsite for the next two nights. We camped at the Fish Creek campground which is right on Lake McDonald near Apgar. It is the prettiest campground, and I feel like we were pretty lucky being able to book it last winter. On our first night there we arrived in the late afternoon. Right after setting up our tent, we made a campfire and had an early dinner of hotdogs and s'mores. Yum!

After dinner we hiked Rocky Point, with the trailhead being right in our campground! It was just a short hike (almost 2 miles RT) that leads to a pretty view of Lake McDonald. It was a beautiful evening and a perfect end to our day!

These first pics are all from Rocky Point Trail

The next night we camped just outside of Valdez at Blueberry Lake State Recreation Site. It was just a little lake and campground, but it had beautiful views. We went on several little walks just exploring the campsite and Ruby tried fishing, but unfortunately didn't catch anything. With our campfire dinner that night we had some delicious s'mores! Yum!  

So good! 😋