Another End to Another Great Summer

This summer has been nonstop for us. In the past several weeks, we've celebrated Calvin's second birthday and Chloe's sixth, hosted our good friend Kevin from California, hit up the Alaska State Fair, went canoeing (twice), camped in a public use cabin for a night, sailed through Kenai Fjords National Park, stopped by the Alaska Zoo and the new Imaginarium, saw the Walking with Dinosaurs show, picked wild blueberries on the slopes of Hatcher Pass (enough for pancakes the next morning, along with raspberries from the front yard for syrup), plus a host of other activities we simply can't recall.

The cabin was a real treat. You rent them from the state for a pittance, though landing a reservation can be tough. Ours had the most beautiful view, overlooking Byers Lake, with nary a neighbor in sight. We'd drag the canoe up onto the bank in front of the cabin when we were finished paddling around. No electricity or plumbing, and we kept ourselves warm with the wood stove inside. A journal there was filled with entries by previous guests, some from other countries. We're big fans of canoeing, and Alaska has so many lakes (over three million), that there's never a shortage of finding a good place to get in the water. On our way back, we stopped in Talkeetna, which is always fun.

Kevin's an old friend from our days back in Chico, and it was awesome to see him. He'd never traveled so far before, and we did our best to show him as much of Alaska as our few days together would allow. We expect to host him as often as he can make it back up here; there's still so much more to show him.

We were really treated when we were able to sign up for a cruise of Kenai Fjords National Park, as part of a fundraiser for the Great Alaska Council. The price was half its usual cost, so we decided to drive down to Seward and see a part of Alaska we'd never had the opportunity to before. It was an amazing experience, and well worth the cost.

For once, we feel like we've done just about everything we set out to this summer. Today is brilliantly sunny and warm, and we've just been playing and working outside. Even the mosquitoes didn't accost us as bad as usual this year. The firewood is nearly all put away, and the lawn and property are neat and ready for six months of winter. If we get another couple weekends of mild weather, we'll be thankful. But it's been a good summer regardless, and we're not complaining. :)

♥, Calvin, Chloe, Malcolm, Stephanie & Brandon