This year, my sister and great travel buddy came to both see Alaska in the winter and spend Christmas with me. This was quite a treat since we both enjoy so many of the same things and I generally don't get to spend Christmas or other such holidays with family.
I think we both agreed that we had a great balance of getting out to do fun things and relaxing at home. We caught up on the summer Olympics (I successfully saved hours and hours of Olympic events since August on my DVR), worked on our respective crafts, baked cookies, enjoyed a fire in the fireplace, and spent some quality time with the kitties. We also got to go snowshoeing a couple times, walked along the Coastal Trail, went to a hockey game, learned to make pottery (we each made a bowl and painted it too), and got to see STOMP for the second time together! And how could I forget our adventure at the Dolly Varden Lake public use cabin?! Let's just jump right in, shall we?
First up... a little snowshoe from Glen Alps toward Flat Top.
Some snowshoe hare prints... they're so light on the powdery snow!
The Alaska Range (including Denali) was lit up so nicely by the setting sun!
What a view!
Our panoramic view from along the trail
One of our other great adventures was to stay at a rustic public use cabin on the Kenai Peninsula. This is the same cabin I went to on Dolly Varden Lake with friends last year. This year's weather was pretty similar actually... warm and windy. We even had rain for our hike back across the lake as we were leaving. One of us may not have been entirely comfortable walking on the lake, especially with the warm temperatures, but I assure you it was multiple feet thick by this time. :) It helped a lot to know where the cabin was, so it was a nice, uneventful lake crossing.
We made it!
It's all toasty inside with that fire going!
Our view from the front porch.
It's a great cabin! It's got everything we need. It would be neat to stay at this place in the summer, although there are lots of stories of fun with mosquitoes. Maybe we'll just stick to the winter.
Our bathroom facilities
It was a fun trip, although the walk back across the lake and the drive home were rainy. Not exactly winter weather, but we were glad to get home and resume our cuddling with kitties and other fun activities!
The last outing to include here is a walk along the Coastal Trail. I love to see the sea ice in Cook Inlet and enjoy all the great views from the trail. This sure was a beautiful day!
This is Westchester Lagoon. They clear an area for hockey and an oval to skate around, and even zamboni it with a pickup truck, a water tank, and a mop that is dragged behind the truck. Pretty neat to watch. There are always people using this space... just one of the many "free" outdoor activities a person can do around here!
Ah, the sea ice is scattered around (thanks to the large tides in Cook Inlet)
I love the sky in this one!
That pretty well sums up the adventurous part of our visit. As always, it was awesome having my sister come to visit. Many more memories were made!
'Til next time...
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