Alaska: Worthington Glacier and Valdez Camping

We continued on from Matanuska Glacier to Worthington Glacier.  After hiking around Matanuska, Worthington seemed a little anti-climatic, but we livened it up with a stone throwing contest, that if I remember right, I took the title.  Won't say which title, but THE title is sufficient.  We then continued our journey toward Valdez stopping at Bridal Veil Falls to admire the beauty and then on to our campground which included our own private waterfall, stream and flower garden.  Not something you get around these parts.  We arrived close to 11:00 pm which you can see from the picture is still looking like daytime to us Utahns.  It was wierd to go to sleep in the light and wake up in the light not ever knowing if you had slept in or woken up earlier.  The clock was your only real indication.

Alaska: Matanuska Glacier

Our next adventure was Matanuska Glacier.  It was huge and so cool.  Shades of blue radiated from the ice...honestly the pictures don't do it justice.  We hiked around on the ice and explored.  Every turn revealed a new "look at this" opportunity.  We only hiked on a portion of the glacier and it seemed to go on and on.  We went from snow covered glacier to beautiful meadows within a few minutes drive.  One beauty to the next.

Alaska: Hatcher's Pass

Our next adventure took us to Hatcher's Pass, a deserted mining town.  I love old things and trying to picture what it was like in the day.  Some of the town had been restored but the majority was decaying.  We explored the town and then hiked up to a lake.  It was so beautiful.  The water was clear and waterfalls were empting into the lake.  Great fun in an incredibly beautiful place.  We also took a walk in a path in Steph's neighborhood.  Again, so pretty!  She lives in the thick of the mountains...trees everywhere, green everywhere, nature sounds everywhere.  Too cool!

Alaska: Rafting the Eagle River

Mom and Dad took all the siblings and their spouses (all but Jess and Erik were there) on an Adventure to Alaska.  It was awesome!  The weather, the company, the sights, the food, the host....all of it fantastic!  We started off the first day, by rafting the Eagle River.  Steph and Eric borrowed the boy scouts rafts and took us out on the river - mind you they had not actually been on this particular adventure before.  It started out slow and smooth.  We got stuck in floating logs and each boat had its own paddling issues (too many cooks in the kitchen - may I say).  We saw moose swimming in the water, soaked in the beautiful surroundings, and had a water fight or two.  At the end however, the casualness changed.  Bart's words stick in my mind, "We have no business being here!"  Put it this way....fear for sure.  I got out and walked the last little part so that our children would at least have one parent returning.  In the end, we all were wet and a little cold, but living and laughing.  It was a fun adventure for sure.  We had a great time.  A great way to start a great week!

Megan and Kyle's Favorite Vacation Destination

Megan and Kyle wanted to go out to California and spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Karol, Kaitlyn, Logan.

Cousins with ATTITUDE!

Addi slept over last night and after a couple of hours at the skate park, the girls were a little dirty and required a deep cleaning. Bath time turned into an extreme make-over for our bathing beauties. They had a great time sculpting, creating and posing for a photo shoot!

What to do with bread that doesn't rise...

turn it into a football. Creative for sure, Megan!