Hiking "The Butte"

Bodenburg Butte, just south of Palmer, is one of those places that all the locals know, and have hiked several times. Except of course me. From the distance it is a cute little bump of a hill, sitting at the feet of some pretty awesome mountains.

Clara wanted to go hiking up the Eklutna Lake trail. It's a pretty easy hike. The trail is accessible to hikers, bikers and ATV's, so it is pretty well traveled. I really didn't want to drive that far though, so I suggested "the Butte". I figured, because of it's cuteness, that it would be a pretty easy hike around to the top. We'd have a nice view of the valley, and head on home.

My first, and biggest mistake really was not knowing exactly where the trailhead was. I figured that if I just drove around "the Butte" it would present itself to me eventually. Well, I found a trailhead, but not the trailhead.

Clara and I started up this really steep trail. I kept thinking, "This should level out soon, and we should be seeing some switchbacks." Needless to say this never happened.

I kept my spirits up. After all, it was a very nice day. A little breezy, maybe kinda dusty, but very nice.

Clara seemed to be pretty dang happy. The steep trail didn't phase her in the least.

I had resigned myself to gutting it out, and just making it to the top. Until we hit the REALLY steep place. To make matters worse, it was rocky and a little gravely. On top of that, once we cleared the trees, that nice breeze turned out to be pretty dang gusty. Needless to say, my fear of heights kicked in a little.

It's not a paralyzing fear of heights that I have. It is just enough to make me whimper to myself, "This is foolish, this is foolish. Why am I here?". I had to really gulp, take a breather, and try to calm down a little. I think that if I hadn't of stopped, I wouldn't have gotten a little stuck. How embarrassing! I had to make a confession to Clara that I needed her to hold my hand for moral support. She was great! I got unstuck and we found a slightly easier way up the rock face.

Up on top we were able to trade photography skills with another couple. That is Pioneer Peak behind us. The view really is a great reward. Of course it would have been nice if it wasn't gusting 40miles an hour! We may have stayed up longer.

Way in the distance you can see Knik Glacier. The dust being kicked up is from the drag races. I'd hate to live around there in the summer! It was pretty loud even from where we were standing.

We walked around the top a little, and lo and behold, found the maintained trail for the real trail! We laughed and laughed at ourselves! Then promptly started down the easy way!

It was still a pretty steep trail in places, but nothing like the way we came up. We laughed and laughed! Ha ha ha! Hm...where is this trail going? Yes that's right! The real trail was taking us nowhere near the fake trailhead! So, about 1 mile down, and .5 miles to go to the end we decided just to see where it went. Who knows how long it was on the way up?! I just know that I would have found the quickest way if we had gone down the way we got up. You know tumbled down, and broken both knees and dislocated a shoulder.

So, we made it to the bottom. Turns out we were on the opposite side of this little hill from where the car was parked. We had about a 2 mile walk ahead of us. But, it was a beautiful day, and we were still laughing.

Mary's 3rd Birthday

March 15, 2010
What can you do with a 3 year old in March in Alaska? Why take her sledding of course! It was a great day for sledding. Not too cold and the sun was out. We loaded up and headed to Crevasse Moraine. They have a huge "extreme" hill for the older kids. Mary went down a couple times, but you could hardly hold the sled to sit in it because it was so steep. So we took a little walk down the trail and found a better hill on the cross country ski trail. Shhh...don't tell the skiers it was us!

This is one of Mary's favorite things to do. Unfortunately, as soon as she found out there was cake, ice cream and presents at the end of our outing, she got very anxious to head home. Walking back up the hill one more time (again) was just too much effort if she wasn't going to get her cake and presents too!

Ice Fishing

This February we took a little ice fishing trip to Keppler lake. It wasn't too far away, and it was pretty accessible. We packed up the kids and a couple sleds and headed out.

We needed the sleds to pack the new ice hut, some camp chairs, our snacks and Mary. We knew it was about a mile in, and didn't know if Mary would be able to hike herself in. Needless to say she wouldn't have been able to. The trail was packed pretty good, but it wasn't hard, and we sunk a little with every step. The "1 mile" hike was probably closer to 2, and it was very hilly. Luckily it was a beautiful day, and we were ready to catch some fish.

Once we found the lake, and a place that was likely to have lots of fish, we realized it was a little windy. Lucky for us to have shelter to put up. Otherwise I think I would have lobbied for a quick trip back home, or at least to the coffee shop!

Once the hole was drilled and our hooks were baited, we settled in to enjoy our day. The water was pretty clear, and we could see quite a ways down the hole. Lots of little fish nibbled on the bait, and every once in a while a larger fish cruised by. Clara supplied the excitement by screaming like a little girl when she hooked a good sized trout. All in all it was a pretty nice trip.

Mary was so pooped out at the end of the trip, she took a little nap in the sled. Of course I was the one who had to pull the sled the 1 mile over snowy hills back to the car!

Clara was pretty excited to catch a fish! When she hooked it she yelled, "It's too big! It's too big!"

Beautiful fishy!

This is the hut we got Bill for Christmas. It was nice to have, because it was pretty breezy on the lake.

Mary was pretty content to watch the action... as long as we kept feeding her.

Snowboarding

I have always thought snowboarding would be fun. I was right... Well kind of. As it turns out is is also a lot of hard work. The snowboarding itself is pretty fun. Once you are up and on your way. It is the standing up from a sitting position that reminds you just how long it has been since you have really tried to do a sit-up. And please don't catch the edge of the board once you are up, because you'll just be down again regretting the lack of ab-work lately.

I was on this trip with Clara and our friends the Wallis', Suki and Shelby. It was a mother/daughter day. Sometimes I worry that Clara's fear of the unknown will keep her back. She just doesn't like to try new things. It can be a little frustrating. So, I was trying to set an example. And I was hoping to create a fond memory for her. That someday, in the future, she would say to her daughter, "Your Grandma took me snowboarding once. We had a good time." And then she would tell the story of our adventure together.

As it ended up, we weren't on the mountain for long. We took our lesson, and then spent some time practicing. Clara did the best of all of us. After about the 3rd time I fell and hit the back of my head, I decided I was done. Next time I will definitely wear a helmet. MAN! A helmet on the bunny slope?! I'm getting old! But, I guess it is better than scrambled brains.

Figuring out the bindings.

It was so warm we took off hats and mittens.

Up and feeling good about it!

Snowboarders getting ready to SHRED!

At the top of the bunny slope.

New Year's Eve

I really enjoy New Year's at my house. We used to not do anything. We would tell ourselves that watching all the neighborhood fireworks from the porch was good enough for us. And we didn't have to spend any money or clean up any messes. The past few years, since we cleared the new patio area, we have had friends over and done our own fireworks. It is a blast! Yes there is clean-up and the expense of the fireworks, but frankly it is a lot more fun than sitting on the porch wishing.

Bill had a huge fire going. It was nice to be outside eventhough it was cold. The fire made it bearable.

Mary in her party hat from Halloween. I think she's going to wear it until High School.

Doling out the fireworks.

Me and Suki. I'm not sure what the bright light is, but I can assure you I am not trying to light her shoulder on fire!

Clara double-fisting the sparklers.