The rest of the story

Brett’s parents have come and gone already. We did a lot of playing while they were here and are so grateful they made the sacrifices to come up to Juneau to visit us. We were able to show them a lot of the area and I think they had a good time – we sure did! There was not a day of rain while they were here which also helped in allowing us to show them so much. Every single day was packed full of lots to see and do – I’m pretty sure they are going to need a little R&R to recover from their trip. As previously mentioned in the post below we saw lots of great stuff on the first two days they were here. However, we saw great stuff every single day they were here. So here’s a recap of how they spent their week in Alaska:
Wednesday and Thursday: shown in previous post
Friday: Craig and Suz were able to get on a helicopter ride. They were able to see the HUGE ice field that surrounds Juneau. Brett and I didn’t go with them so I don’t have a picture to add here from their trip up in the air but here is a picture that I have taken in the past: Friday evening we did a small hike/walk called the Treadwell Historic Trail. This trail takes you through the ruins of what was one point the largest mine in the world. The hike also goes along the beach so we enjoyed playing in the water and the sand. Dax especially enjoyed the feel of the sand between his toes. After we were done exploring we headed over to the Island Pub and had some amazing pizza. YUM! Here are some pictures of our explorations on the Treadwell Mine Hike: Saturday: I had to work in the morning so everyone came to visit at work and got some yummy breakfast. After they finished eating they headed up Gold Creek and checked out one of the mining museums there and saw were Brett likes to do his gold panning. Then they picked me up and we headed up the Mt Roberts Tram. We were able to have a great view overlooking the Gastineau Channel and Downtown Juneau. We really enjoyed the view and the sunny weather. Unfortunately, on the way down Craig was not looking where he was headed and tripped over a root sticking out of the ground. Suz and I saw it out of the corner of our eye and thought he was joking when he said he sprained his ankle. At this point me and Suz were cracking up and couldn’t stop laughing. Finally, we realized he wasn’t joking and felt bad for laughing so hard at his expense. Sorry Sparks…
Saturday night we drove out to Amalga Harbor to have a campfire and do some snag fishing. The fish were jumping like crazy but unfortunately there weren’t as many as there appeared to be and we didn’t catch very many fish. However, Craig did catch a few and Suz even got to real one in…. Let me say I am quite proud of her! Here’s proof: Sunday: Brett and I had to work so Craig and Suz went to church with Megan and Zach. After church, a nap, and dinner we headed out to the glacier to look for bears again and to walk out to Nugget Creek falls. We didn’t make it right next to the falls but we made it pretty dang close. Suz had to rock hop in a few places and I’m proud that she didn’t give up and go back to the car or anything. Way to go Suz – what a woman. We did spot a bear on our way back to the car. Suz was a little obsessed with seeing the bears but I do have to admit is quite the sight when you do see them and you can just sit and watch them fish and eat. They are quite the creatures. Monday: Brett had to work so it was just me, Craig and Suz hanging out. We went up to the Glacier to see if we could spot any bears but were unsuccessful. So we headed to the end of the road, the roads ends at a place called Echo cove. We got out of the car and checked out the area for a few minutes and then made the 30 minute drive back to the valley. We stopped by Skater’s cabin and Montana creek just to check things out and show them a little bit more of the area. There is a large fire in the Whitehorse, Canada area making the Juneau area very smoky. It was very hazy and we couldn’t even see the Chilkat mountain range just across the Gastineau channel or the glacier from Skater’s cabin (which you can always see both – even on the really cloudy/rainy days). It was kind of an eerie feeling and you could smell the smoke everywhere we went.
Craig got on a tour of the AJ Gastineau Mine and left time for the girls to do some shopping. Suz found a very cute ornament for her Christmas tree and two cute sweatshirts. Then we all met up and went to dinner at a favorite restaurant – The Twisted Fish. Good food, good fun, great company! After stuffing ourselves with yummy fish we headed to the glacier to see if we could bait in some bears one last time for Suz. We stood around for about an hour and decided to head back to the car when on our way back, Suz spotted a bear. We stopped to watch it for a minute and then headed back home for the rest of the evening to hang out and enjoy each other’s company and to let Suz and Sparks get packed for their trip back home.
We are SO glad they were able to make the trip up to see us. We’re so grateful to have such wonderful family on both sides, who are so supportive of us. We also grateful for Megan and Zach for allowing Brett’s parents to stay with us for a week – we are so blessed. Thanks Suz and Sparks for a full week of great memories!