A Hike in the Pass Adventure #6

After several days of clouds and rain, Friday surprised us with all of its sun, and so we grabbed the kids and a van and headed out for another hike!  We drove a little further this time all the way to the pass, so it was a 75 minute drive instead of 30, but the views were worth it.  We actually took a trail that the Wilderness camp had taken the week before.  The trail doesn't have a name,,,,or at least not one that I saw, so we will call it trail A :)  We ate our lunch in the parking lot and then headed up the moutain.  The grass was tall, so tall that even Katie and Emma had a hard time peeking over to see the view!  Mason was really over the stuff hitting him in the face and all the mud that was on the trail from the rain.  This mud caused much difficulty getting up and down the trail, and none of us escaped getting mud all over! Crystal, Catherine and I all thought the hike was so beautiful and would really like to hike it again (without kids) so we can make it up into the soft tundra and out of the weeds and bushes.



This little fungus that grows is cool to me because it is growing straight up or out!



These are the leaves that belong to the watermelon berry plant. 

Examining his watermelon berry :)  He liked to hold them in his hands, and not really eat them.



You can barely see Emma and Katie, but they are in the tall fireweed!



My feet....and they got a lot more muddy :)

Homer

Two days ago I took my friends from Oregon, Fred and Marti Butcher, to Homer.  Along the way we stopped at Anchor Point to see the most westerly point, by continuous highway.  We went down to the beach and played around a little, but it was so windy there that Mason was soon cold and ready to go back to the car!  We headed on to Homer, and stopped to overlook the city and surrounding area, and then went to the Wednesday Farmers Market.  I have been wanting to get down here all year, because there are some ladies that make the best jams and jellies, and I was ready to stock up! :)  We also walked around the spit looked at some shops and had dinner before we headed home again. 

Emma was away at horse camp all of last week.  For one of their activities they each pick a skill to work on throughout the week, whether it be driving our draft horses, showmanship, or manuvering around obstacles (called trail class, not to be confused with trail rides! ).  Well Emma chose to participate in the trail class, and then she competed in it at the end of the week Roundup.  I took the kids over to watch her ride, and of course Mason had to go potty, so I took him for fear of him dropping his pants in front of all the other parents and kids there and peeing....:) When we got out from the outhouse, Emma was just finishing her ride....So I missed all of it :(  She did really well, and I think she would have gotten a ribbon, but she missed one obstacle, partly, and had a DQ, so maybe next year!  I got a few pictures of her sitting on the horse waiting!

Emma waiting for her turn to ride.

Emma just finishing her ride.

Mason finding the tractor and insiting on sitting on said tractor!

Found a frog in the back yard, so I caught it and took a few pitures and then returned it to his wild grassy spot.  The kids are mad because I did not bring the frog to them....but I was thinking more of the frog and the fact that he would have been held and poked, and let him go instead. :)

Anchorage 7-28-11

On Thursday we headed to Anchorage to pick friends up from the airport.  They will be working at camp and visiting with us for the next 12 days!  We had the most beautiful day for the drive, and I am so glad, because now it has turned  cloudy and rainy.  Anyway back to the day....We picked them up from the airport and then had lunch at the Artic Roadrunner.  The kids played in the stream outside while we waited for the food and then sat and had a picnic by the stream! After lunch we took them to the Wild Berry Products store, and saw the reindeer and big stuffed bears!  On the way out of town we stopped for a much needed cup of coffee from Kaladi's and then headed for Portage Glacier.  It was a great trip except for the horrid drivers that seem to crawl out of the woodworks during the summer....we had some very close calls, because everyone is in a hurry and stop paying attention.