Alaska State Fair

The Alaska State Fair is in full swing this week and we went on Friday night. It was a lot of fun. They had lots of rides, games, food and booths selling things. It was pretty cool checking out the livestock at the big barn. They had lots of regular animals, but we really loved the chicken with the crazy "do" and the lama. They also had the chopper on display that Orange County Choppers designed for the National Guard. It was very impressive. It had everything from grenades to a machine gun designed into the bike. Very cool!

Kenai Fjords Cruise

My favorite thing that we've done so far would probably be this cruise! We drove to Seward early one morning and headed out for a 6 hours cruise on the Tanaina. The weather was overcast and sprinkling, but that didn't spoil the fun. Right out of the harbor, we ran into a family of mountain goats climbing along the rocky bank. We had even more luck soon after. We discovered a pod of killer whales in cove and shut the engines down to watch them. They were very playful and swam all around and under the boat. One even brought a stick to the side of the boat, like a dog wanting to play a game of fetch. We watched them until they tired of us and went on to hunt for food. We headed on our way and checked out the Stellar Sea Lions. They weren't nearly as energetic as the killer whales. They just sunned themselves on the rocks and tolerated our presence. We saw so many animals that day that it was hard to keep track. We saw puffin, humpback whales, etc. It was definitely an amazing day!

A train ride to glorious Talkeetna.

We were lucky to win round trip tickets to Talkeetna on the Alaska Railroad this summer. We absolutely love the train. If you've never had a chance to take a train ride, I highly recommend it. We spent most of our time on the upper observation level of the train and the views were amazing. We saw several eagles and even a mother and baby moose. We also had a fantastic view of Denali (Mt. McKinley) as we approached Talkeetna. Talkeetna is a pretty little town with lots of local crafts for sale.

Summer Fun

We had a super time camping out at the Trail River Campground this summer. It is very nice campground where the Trail River flows into the Kenai Lake just north of Seward, AK. We had a blast exploring the shoreline of the lake and the neighboring woods. The sites were well spaced and were separated from the neighbors by trees and brush. We saw lots of signs of the local wildlife, but the only live creature we happened upon was a very well-fed porcupine. Who knew those things can climb trees so fast?