Sunday, August 21st

This morning Greg and I had to get up at 5:20 to go fishing in Prince William Sound with SBFs Mindy and Paul. We got to their home about 6:15 and made our way toward Whittier to go through the one-way tunnel at 7:30. The traffic only goes toward Whittier on the half hours and out of Whittier at the top of the hour. Auto traffic shares this tunnel with train traffic. After putting the boat in, we were quickly heading out across the beautiful waterway. The early morning fog lifted to reveal beautiful glaciers, picturesque islands, and snow-covered mountaintops. That alone was worth the effort of the trip. Soon enough, all of our lines were in the water and Paul quickly caught a halibut of about 50 pounds. Greg followed by catching the second halibut weighing about 20 pounds. I obviously need practice setting the hook but was able to finally get a halibut in the boat. It wasn't the 400 lb. one I had hoped for, but it was fun. In just a few hours time the four of us had limited out with 8 halibut. We decided to change locations and fish for silver salmon in a spot they had luck in a couple of weeks ago. Surprisingly enough, the silvers were still there and Mindy quickly hooked a nice one. Soon, Greg caught his very first silver salmon and was impressed with the fight in these fish. His weighed about 15 lbs. and was really a fun time getting this fish to the boat. In all we caught 8 halibut and 4 silver salmon, enough to top off Mindy's freezer and stock ours as well. We are very thankful to Mindy and Paul for letting us tag along on this unbelievably gorgeous August day.

Paul's favorite hat- R.I.P.

Denali with the Scarbrough gang

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I've been busy getting ready to head back to school but thought I should blog the final installment of the Scarbrough Alaskan Adventure.

We headed out early Wednesday morning, August 3rd, for Denali National Park. We arrived in plenty of time for our 2:00 Eilsen Visitor Center bus trip into the park. Early on in the bus ride we spotted the elusive lynx. We managed to get a couple of photos and it was a thrill for us all as none of us had ever seen a lynx in the wild before. Further up the rocky gravel road a lone caribou grazed on a mountainside. As the bus climbed up the steep mountains, we were lucky enough to ride right by a group of young Dall sheep resting on a ridge. Our luck continued as we saw golden eagles, grizzly bears, and even a wolf on the trip. The beauty of Denali never grows old and never ceases to amaze us. The Scarbroughs seemed to enjoy the eight hour bus ride. We finally returned to our hotel at 11 that night and even saw 2 moose calves grazing near our rooms. The next morning we headed toward home and stopped in Talkeetna for a bit. We checked out several shops on this rainy afternoon. On Friday, August 5th, we hit a few sites around Anchorage. After a delightful lunch at Hula Hands restaurant we made our way to Earthquake Park, the Alaska Public Lands Building, Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, and the Chester Creek Trail. About six that evening we all headed toward the airport and said our farewells. We all had a great week and Greg was especially delighted as he hadn't gotten to spend so much time with George since high school. Their visit has topped off a great summer for us and we were very happy that they came to visit us and see Alaska.

Tuesday, August 2nd

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Yesterday we headed south to Seward, Alaska. It was a dreary, foggy and rainy day so much of the beauty of the Kenai peninsula remained hidden. Upon arriving, we ate lunch protected from the rain under a pavilion beside Resurrection Bay. The Scarbroughs and Aubree enjoyed the Sea Life Center while Greg and I meandered along the beach. Later in the afternoon we made our way to Exit Glacier. We hiked up to the glacier and then down onto the outwash plain. We enjoyed the lovely but overcast afternoon. We left for home and as we neared Anchorage we spotted a black bear making its way down the mountains. We stopped to get a picture but it wandered behind some rocks before we could get a single photo. We woke up Tuesday morning to more rain and dark skies. The Scarbrough group visited the Anchorage Museum while Greg and I ran errands. After a quick stop at Sam's Club we headed toward Girdwood. We had a fun afternoon adventure of panning for gold at Crow Creek Mine. Unfortunately, we didn't find enough to quit our day jobs but it was still quite enjoyable. Tonight we ate at Phyllis's Cafe and Salmon Bake. The food was good and we then enjoyed brownies and ice cream at home before calling it a night. Gotta get our rest for out Denali trip tomorrow!