This and That

Well, the summer is over in Anchorage...and it has been for a couple of weeks. The nice weather (the couple of days that were left) were surrounded by cold and rain. So, we haven't really taken any trips recently but we have done a few things around town.

A couple of weeks ago we FINALLY decided to climb Flattop (#35 on the list). The weather was nice and warm and we had the day free. The trail slowly eases uphill for the first part past Blueberry Hill (where you can pick berries) and then turns up some flights of wooden stairs built into the mountain. After about a mile you reach some benches which are the resting point before the final ascent. A lot of people turn back here, because this final part is more difficult. It is much steeper and quite rocky (some scrambling around boulders necessary), but we saw kids as young as 5 making the climb.

(view of Anchorage from part of the way up the trail)

By the time we got up to the top, some clouds had closed in on the side of the mountain destroying our view but it was still a nice hike that we will definitely do again.

From the top you can typically see down into Anchorage on one side, down into Potter's Marsh and part of Turnagain arm on another, and back into Chugach State Park from the other 2 sides which leads to some really cool views in all directions.

(you can see people scrapping up the beginning of the final ascent)

On another weekend we drove up to Eagle River and took the 10 mile trip back into Chugach State Park to the Eagle River Nature Center (#22).

There is a nice information center here with trail maps and information on animals, the park, and the history of the area in general. One of the main hikes is closed this time of year (it goes past the river which leads to bear-human problems) but we took a stroll down one of the short loop trails.

On this trail is a salmon viewing deck where you can look down into the pools of the river and see some Red and Chum Salmon.

They weren't huge fish, but some looked to be at least a few pounds.

The Nature Center is also a point on the Historic Iditarod Trail, which we already saw started down in Seward. It ran up from Seward through Girdwood and Chugach State Park, through the Nature Center and up from there. There is a hike from Girdwood to the Nature Center that goes along that path, but it is 24 miles long one-way.

Afterwards we drove the rest of the way up to the Alaska State Fair in Palmer (#63). Since it was a nice day we apparently weren't the only ones who had this idea as we waited in about an hour of traffic to get to the parking lot. The fair was like any other state fair with high prices, lots of food, and lots of country folks. Rebekah ordered a giant block of fried potato chips, which she only managed to eat about a third of.

We spent a few hours walking around and looking at the award winning vegetables, farm animals, and arts and crafts before we headed home. On the way back we stopped by the bluffs past Earthquake Park in Anchorage to get some pictures of the city from across the water.

The airport is right across the street, and as you can see a few planes flew right over our head while we were there.

Winter is almost here and soon we will be writing about skiing instead of hiking!


Steven

Anchorage Pictures Finally!

We are so sorry for the delay in posting pictures of our new city and apartment...we have had such a busy week! It started out with Steven buying a car and also finding an apartment! We live in South Anchorage (which is the nice part of the city). We have a washer and a dryer AND a fireplace! Living big, huh?

Yesterday, we took a scenic drive down Rt. 1 towards Girdwood, Alaska. Girdwood has a very nice ski resort called Alyeska. We will have to check it out next winter. This picture is of some mountains across the water on part of the Kenai Peninsula. If you look really carefully, you can see the huge chunks of ice floating on the water. We just drove a few miles down the road because Girdwood is about 40 miles away.



We haven't gotten the chance to do too many things outside yet because we have been busy making our apartment nice and homely-like. Here is a picture of our kitchen "nook" as Steven likes to call it. There is the microwave that we picked out- thanks Mom and Dad! Also thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Connors for the vacuum cleaner. It does great cleaning up all of the gravel and sand that they put on the roads here. I picked out some nice little place mats and the bar stools we got from some nice people who are moving to Cordova (a little island in the Aleutians) to live on a sailboat! I think that I am going to paint those too...the same color as the coffee table.


Here is another picture of the kitchen. Look at our nice stove and hardwood floors!

Finally, here is our living room. As you can see, we do have a TV, but no cable or satellite yet. I haven't been missing it, but Steven doesn't know what he will do when playoff Cavaliers basketball games are on. You know how he loves his Lebron James :) . Anyway, we got the furniture from the same family who is moving to the boat. Notice the coffee table in the middle of the room. It started out looking kind of rough, but with some sand-papering, priming and painting, I think that I have really given it a brand-new life. All that's left to do to it is to put some polyurethane on top and then spray paint the old drawer pulls or buy some new ones. We haven't decided yet. There are also these little cubbies on each side on the table. There are doors that go on there, but I think I might leave the door off of one side and put some baskets in there for some cute, decorative storage.

Also in the living room, please notice the fireplace! Maybe out first visitors will be the lucky recipients of a blazing fire in the wilderness of Alaska!!!

Note to mom: can't wait for my sewing machine, so I can make some nice pillows for the sofa...looks a little manly don't ya think?

We both have busy weeks this week. Steven has work and I have some job interviews. I am confident that something will come through for me this week! I am also going to begin working on refinishing the two dressers as well. I am sure that with a little chocolate brown paint, they will be looking sharp!

Finally, I want to leave you with a picture of the view from our back porch. There is a door to the porch from our living room and our bedroom. Can you see the mountains? It is hard to photograph the mountains because they are white and the clouds are white! Click on the picture and make it bigger, then you will be able to see the beautiful mountains of Chugach State Park. Try not to be so jealous of us! We miss everyone! Email us and we will send you our address here!



Rebekah