Joanne comes to Alaska

I'm a bit behind on blogging! I can't lie its just pure laziness on my part. July has been flying by. On July 3-7 Joanne came to visit! We stopped at earthquake park before we picked her up and we were rewarded with seeing a momma moose and 2 babies. We took Joanne there after and they were gone! No pics sorry! Having Joanne visit was awesome! We all felt blessed to be seeing all the sights in Alaska.

On the morning of the 4th of July we drove up toward Wasilla and went on a pretty good hike to a Waterfall. Thunderbird Falls. Then we went to see where Sarah Palin lives, saw loons on the lake. After a while we found the dog sledding demonstration and ride! And what a ride it was! it was only about 3-5 minutes but very fast. There were 16 dogs harnessed to a rolling sled as there is no snow. Joanne and I were up front and Dave behind us. He was really hanging on to us so we would not fall out. About halfway through the ride i decided to be a "musher " and started saying mush mush. Dave leaned over and reminded me there was a guy standing in the back giving directions. I had forgotten that and the whole ride I cackled and laughed like a kid! Joanne and I got dirt and bugs in our mouths but it was sooooooooo worth it! We then go to pet the baby sled dogs and of course go shopping! It was a great day.

We stopped at Reflection Lake on the way back and took another walk. All in all we had a great holiday. Returned to RV and had some of the halibut that Dave caught. Not a traditional 4th of July but we loved it. Fireworks were banned due to fires and besides you would have to wait til about 1 AM to see them! #nevergetsdark

The next morning we dropped Sophie at a Kennel and headed toward Seward. We stopped many places on the way including Potter Marsh where we saw 2 arctic terns! Turnigan pass was awesome again and I know Joanne enjoyed it. We saw Dall Sheep on the mountain across from Beluga lookout!

We continued into Seward and had late lunch at Chinooks on the docks. We walked the docks checked out where we needed to be the next day and checked in to the hotel! We drove out to exit glacier and took another hike out to see the glacier which was awesome! Went to bed pretty early as we had an early date with a boat!

July 6th. Rain fog oh no! We went to check in at Kenai Cruise and we hear that they are offering full refunds due to a weather alert. High seas and foggy conditions. We were deciding what to do and they lifted the warning! So off we went! Joanne had at least 6 layers on and I had a few too. It was pretty raw out on the deck but fairly comfortable inside. We went out of Resurrection Bay and it appeared to clear some. We got to see a whale, some porpoises otters, sea lions and seals. The best part was seeing Aialik Glacier! It was so blue! Our crew indicated it is more blue on cloudy days. The sight was awesome and we all felt like we had experienced something much greater than us. God created all of this beauty! The ride back was good but we were all sleepy after lunch but the captain had to blow the fog horn every 2 minutes so really we never slept!

We had to go back to Anchorage as Joanne was flying out the next day! A dinner at Olive Garden (thanks Joanne)! early to bed then off to the Airport! Until September Joanne.

Our next couple days were spent picking up Sophie, getting mail making calls etc.
More next time about Willow, Talkeetna and Fairbanks!
 Here are some pics of Joannes visit!
 I will try again tomorrow for the pics, Slow internet