YTJ's Travels: Anchorage to Girdwood (Day 1)

Saturday June 1

After our arrival in Anchorage, we went to sleep (hey, late flight!). In the morning we awoke to the sounds of our niece Katla, who we had not met yet! Lucas, Chris, and I all woke up at the same time ready to go meet the little one and say hello to our nephew Hatcher! We were able to hang with Hatcher, but Katla was already asleep again by the time we got out the door!
We spent most of the morning with the sound of the cousins' joyous reunion and coffee in hand while we made a plans. One of the shocks on the van was broken and in need of some welding and new parts. Chris and Chad went to see a friend, Erik, for help and tools while Gretchen and I took the kids to the Anchorage Zoo. At the zoo we saw some amazing animals, but my favorite was the pack of six wolves who sang to us--a rare treat!

The shop that could weld the van part was closed for the weekend, so we spent the rest of Saturday hanging out with the family.

Sunday June 2

Sunday we went to brunch in town with everyone before a mountain bike ride with Erik, his wife Amber, Chad, Chris and I. At bunch I had a DELICIOUS ghost chili pepper bloody Mary. Yum!We borrowed Fat Bikes from Amber and Erik--those things we FUN on the trail! And we even found a small patch of snow to ride in :) After proving how out of shape I was, we decided to round out the ride with a round of beers (or two or three...) back at the ranch.

Monday June 3

We spent most of the day running errands, got the van fixed up, and had an evening celebration and send off with the families.

Tuesday June 4

After three days of chillaxing with awesome people in Anchorage, we were itching to get on the road! We packed up our gear and decided to hang on to our nephew Hatcher for the day so he could show us a few of his favorite paces to visit, and Chad would come out in their Westy to meet up for our first night camping in YT. As we jumped in the van, Lucas informed us that YT's last name would be "Jay" after some blue ninja puma I've never heard of, so we rolled out of Anchorage in WTJ.

After driving down the Seward Highway where we stopped for some scenic pictures, and visiting the wildlife preserve, we finally (after the boys had asked a thousand times where it was) got to the 2.5 mile tunnel that connects Wittier and Portage Bay. We went through one way, saw Whittier, then turned around to go back up the highway to camp in Girdwood at the Crow Creek Mine. It was a lovely spot! We had dinner with the boys by the fire and put Hatcher to bed. Chad showed up a little later and Lucas was thrilled to get his first sleep in YTJ!