It certainly has been a busy 4 months since we last posted at the end of March. And like all Alaskan summers, this one has gone way too fast! I needed to make a list of all the things we've done by looking through the photos, because I can't remember them all without something to jog my memory. That is the duel purpose of this blog, not just to fill in our friends and family, but to help us remember as we age and our memory fades :-)
First, the news that doesn't include photos: Nate's work at ABR started to slow down due to the falling oil prices and poor state of our state economy, but within a month he had a new job at HDR. He misses the flexibility, work environment, and people at his old job, but is certain that with time the new one will be just as good. He continues to do wildlife biology, just less field work, so he is home more, which makes both of us very happy!
Okay, on to the pictures. I am sure you are interested how Simi is doing. So we'll start with a series of photos showing Simi's growth and progression since March.
Trust me, we have a lot more photos of Simi where those came from. He still has a lot of energy that needs to be burnt off daily, or he keeps us up at night. He is super smart and learning a lot!
Now, let's back up to April. We had a couple fun weekend adventures that month, which was abnormally sunny and warm. Nate was able to find winter up in the Kenai Mountains backcountry skiing with some friends.
The very next day we both went biking at Eklutna Lake, where there was no snow and the temps were almost 'hot'.
One of Nate's goals this year was to put in a deck. After much help from our friend Kris, the deck designer/engineer, and our friend Justin, the guy with the truck, we have a nice 10'x10' Trex deck out our back door, a huge improvement over what it was. Here is the before and after.
Jennah turned the big three-zero this year, so we spent her birthday weekend at the Knik River Lodge near Palmer. It was another beautiful and warm weekend!
Hopefully you are noticing the trend-that this summer's weather has been superb! This has given Jennah plenty of time to get out on the paddleboard, and Simi has joined her. He is pretty good at riding the paddleboard and even falls asleep as they paddle around the lakes.
We've also been doing lots of biking this year. Jennah did and will do several road bike races, and we both have been doing the community mountain bike races. We've also done a few awesome, long rides on backcountry trails on the Kenai Peninsula. Here are pictures from our favorite trail, Lost Lake Trail, near Seward.
In late June we spent two really nice weeks out east on Nantucket and in Newport, Rhode Island. For the first few days we were on Nantucket with Jennah's parents and brother. Then we spent three days in Newport with the entirety of Jennah's mother's family, and celebrated Jennah's grandma's 80th! Then for the last three days of the trip, we were back on Nantucket with Jennah's dad's side of the family - her aunts and grandma (who celebrated her 88th!). All in all it was a great vacation with plenty of relaxation and lots of quality family time.
Click here for a small video Nate made of the Nantucket portion of the trip.
Here are just a few of the photos:
The same day we got back from Nantucket we repacked and headed down to Seward for the July 4th weekend. We did a couple short bike rides on Lost Lake (see above), and Jennah (and Simi) did some paddleboarding.
The main event in Seward (and Alaska) on July 4th is Mount Marathon. Its a 5k run up and down 3,022 ft Mt. Marathon that starts and ends in downtown Seward. This year a couple from Europe, Emelie Forsberg and Killian Jornet, won the men's and women's races. It was fun to watch, but we think we'll avoid Seward on future July 4th's due to the crowds.
The next weekend we drove up the Glenn Highway to about half way between Palmer and Glenallen, where Jennah did the Fireweed 50 mile road bike race. Another beautiful day!
While Jennah was biking, Nate was hiking with the dogs. It was a fun hike for all three of them.
The next weekend Nate and his friend Chad ran Crow Pass, which is a 24 mile trail from Girdwood to Eagle River. It is a beautiful run that includes a ford of the Eagle River just downstream of the glacier. The water is very cold and swift. Nate was very sore for about a week afterwards.
The next weekend we headed to Skilak Lake on the Kenai Peninsula where we met some friends with a boat. They took us to a part of the lake that is inaccessible by road. We spent the next couple days fishing (although Nate and Jennah didn't do any catching) and paddleboarding. Below are a few photos, but our friend Amber is an excellent photographer, and you can see her photos here.
Last weekend we joined a group of friends and did a 40 mile mountain bike ride up and over Resurrection Pass from Cooper Landing to Hope. On Friday night we camped on a beautiful (secret) beach on Kenai Lake.
The ride was great, the trail was not very technical, but fun and fast through some awesome wilderness!
Well, thanks for sticking with us this far! We have made it to this weekend. Yesterday we all got up very early and headed south. Nate and his friend Kyle got out in Girdwood, while Jennah and her friend Jess continued south. Nate and Kyle hiked over Crow Pass and pack rafted down the Eagle River to the Eagle River Nature Center. It was a 12 mile hike up and over, then a 10 mile float. Compared to running that last 10 miles, Nate says he prefers to float!
Jennah and Jess went to Ninilchik (almost to Homer on the Kenai Peninsula), where they did some beach fat biking and did a halibut fishing charter.
They had a great camp site overlooking Cook Inlet and the awesome weather resulted in an amazing sunset.
We think this might be the best summer ever! We've really enjoyed all of the adventures we've had and we've tried to live every day to the fullest. We especially appreciate the awesome friends and family that have made this summer so great. AND, its not over yet. our plans for August are evolving but should include some biking and a 'surprise' anniversary weekend trip. We also have plans for kayaking and two nights in a yurt in Kachemak Bay State Park across from Homer on Labor Day. There may also be some trips down to the (southern) Pacific northwest. So, stay tuned for more updates. And hopefully these pictures and stories encourage some of you who haven't, to come visit already! Or those that have, to come again!
