Wedding Bells

You gotta love roadtrips!! August 3rd, three of my friends and I headed west for the picturesque state of Nebraska for our friend Joel's wedding. A few highlights of the trip besides the wedding were the 'Worlds Largest Truckstop' in Iowa and the hayride we got to take after the wedding through the delightful town of Sutton (pulled by a John Deere tractor of course) and making rope at the reception.
The happy couple!!! Joel and Brandi VandeWerken.

Andrea, Curt, Kara, Sam and I staying cool in the shade. It was sooo hot....thank goodness there was a breeze. I'm not used to so much heat and humidity anymore!

Andrea, Kara and I mugging for the camara! Self portraits are a must!

Wildlife Cruise - Seward

After our halibut charter we headed to Seward for a wildlife/glacier tour and it was awesome. We got to see a humpback whale breach (didn't get a pic of that but you can see it's head poking out of the water), tons of orcas who came right up to the boat, some seals if you squinted, otters, bears on the beach, sea lions, puffins and a tidewater glacier calving small pieces (small means the size of a car). 6 hours was a little long for me but I highly recommend going on one if you get the chance.

Flatop

View from top, it's kinda steep!


Flatop is one of the most popular hikes around town and plus it gives you a phenominal view of town. Somehow I forgot to mention how steep it was in parts but Mom and Dad were good sports and Dad went up higher than I thought he would.

We couldn't have asked for a better day to enjoy God's creation.

Tooling around Anchorage

Elderberry Park
...I have nothing to say
Dad enjoying watching the planes take off and land on Lake Hood.

Just for the halibut...

With my parents up for a visit I decided it was a perfect time to go fishing for halibut. I love halibut and after many hours of hoping for that hunderd pounder we had to be content with some tasty "chicks" to take home. The little ones supposedly taste better but they don't make for an impressive photo op!

Not moldy

Hello my dear friends and family! I have some sad news indeed...after suffering from a mini monsoon season (11 days and counting) one would think the reappearence of the mountains and a smidge of blue sky would be cause for celebration but alas you would not believe what appeared on the mountains...TERMINATION DUST!!!!!! I was depressed the rest of my work shift and actually welcomed the rain and the clouds that blocked it from view. I'm so not ready for summer to be over :~(. (Termination dust is the first snow of the year and signaled to miners to close down their mines and get off the mountain).
My second summer up here has passed by quickly with Sarah up here for 2 months, my parents visiting in July and then heading to good ol'GR and Nebraska for a wedding. It was a riot having Sarah up here and reconnecting again, the girl cracks me up! Sister's are a true blessing from God. Mom and Dad had fun fishing, seeing wildlife and Dad grudgingly admitted the hikes were ok. While I had a great time in GR and Nebraska I had forgotten how increidibly hot and muggy it can get. I just about melted! Give me 70degrees any day!