Our Life in Alaska and Beyond

It was so fun to have Grandma and Grandpa Hadley here for Robyn's birthday! We were in Whittier on her actual birthday so we celebrated a couple days later at home with cake and presents. Robyn loves Ferrero Rocher chocolates so she requested a Ferrero Rocher cake. We made a yummy chocolate cake with chocolate hazelnut filling and frosting, with Ferrero Rochers on top. It was delicious! Happy Birthday Robyn! 🥳🎂

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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!

After spending some time at the AWCC, we went over to the BBVC. It's a really nice visitor center with some really cool displays and exhibits. Also, the girls had been working on their Jr. Ranger booklets and they were able to turn those in and get some really cool patches. Great job girls! Enjoy these pics from this beautiful Alaska summer day! 

Both of these patches are so cool! The BBVC Jr. Ranger patch, and the Chugach National Forest Jr. Ranger patch.

After going on the glacier cruise, we spent the night at an Air B&B in Girdwood, and then before coming home the next day we stopped at the AWCC. We've loved having a season pass here. It's always so fun to see all the cool animals, and it's in such a gorgeous location! Enjoy the pics!

Black bear!

The next day (which was also Robyn's 7th birthday! We celebrated with cake a few days later.) we drove with Mike and Kay to Whittier and went on a glacier cruise. It was fun driving through the tunnel, and then we had a gorgeous day on the water. We did the glacier quest cruise with Phillips Cruises & Tours and we saw so many beautiful glaciers and actually quite a bit of wildlife too! It was a fun time! Enjoy these pretty pics!

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The next day Scott took his dad on a salmon fishing charter on Knik River. They lucked out with beautiful weather, and they caught their limit! I was working and Kay watched the girls, but that evening we all made some delicious salmon tacos for dinner! We figured the fish made it from river to table in about two hours, haha! Can't get much fresher than that! Yum! 🐟

Living the dream! 😁

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! 🩵

This post is dedicated to the many pics I took of the beautiful, blooming fireweed while running outside in July, lol. Enjoy! 💗

I got Ruby to run with me a few times! (Love the daisies here too!) 🌼 7/15/24

Just a few extras from July 2024. Such a fun month!

Friday Fling in Palmer. This peony was huge and so pretty! 💗 7/12/24

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!

I've wanted to hike Matanuska Peak for a while, and I'm so glad Scott and I were finally able to do it! It's probably one of my most favorite hikes ever! It's so pretty, and quite challenging, but so worth it! Nothing Scott and I couldn't handle, lol! It took us a little over six hours to hike it, being just over 10 miles with nearly 6k' elevation gain. The trickiest part is the last mile, with over 2k' elevation gain! You're pretty much scrambling straight up! (Glad we brought gloves because you use your hands a lot going up that section, and then down, too, haha!) It ended up being the most perfect day to hike with beautiful conditions and clear skies and the views from the top were just unreal! Mountains upon mountains upon mountains! I'm hoping I'll be able to hike this one again some day. Enjoy these beautiful pics! ☀️🏔️💙

Ruby and I did a little mommy/daughter date and hiked the Butte as a bedtime hike. You'd never guess from these photos, but the time stamp on all of them is around 9 pm! Even after living here for so many years, that midnight sun never gets old! So fun to enjoy this late night sunshine with sweet Ruby! ☀️

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!

These are all the pics I took with my big camera at Lake Clark National Park. We saw several bears, with an experienced guide with us at all times. I never felt in danger at all, and absolutely loved the time we got to spend here. It was an amazing experience, and I hope I'll be able to visit again someday! 🐻❤️🐻

Crimp Ear

The main reason Chrissy came to visit us was so that we could visit Lake Clark National Park. This trip took several months of planning, and was so, so worth it! It was short (only 24 hours), but probably the best 24 hours of my life, no joke! It truly couldn't have been better and I loved every second. We took Ruby (part of her 12th birthday present) and Scott stayed home with Noelle and Robyn. It was very expensive, but in my opinion, definitely worth it, and definitely something I want to do again. 

We stayed at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, which I highly, highly recommend. We flew from Anchorage on the morning of July 4th on a little float plane, and landed on a lake near the lodge. We then got on a little boat, and then we were taken on a 4-wheeler to our cabin and the lodge. From there we started our bear viewing (with a very experienced guide), with breaks for lunch and dinner, and then out again after dinner for more bear viewing. We slept very well in our cabin that night, and the next morning we got to do more bear viewing, followed by breakfast, and then sadly it was already time to go home. The next time I visit I would love to stay longer. But I have no complaints about this trip and really feel that we just lucked out with beautiful weather, lots of bears (no cubs, but that's ok), an incredibly knowledgeable and kind guide, amazing food (I don't think I've ever eaten as well as I did on this trip), and super comfortable accommodations. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This first post will be all of my cell pics, and then I'll do a separate post with all the pics I took from my big camera. I also have some great videos on my IG! Enjoy the bears and the beauty of Lake Clark NP! 🐻🏔️

About to get on our float plane at the Lake Hood Floatplane Base in Anchorage. We learned this is the busiest and biggest seaplane base in the world!

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!

Thanks to AK's midnight sun, after dinner and getting the kids ready for bed, Scott, Chrissy, and I were able to do a late night hike up to BBK. It was a very pretty evening and we had a good time. 😊

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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! 🍕