Rainbows, Hiking, and Trailers (normal stuff, you know!)

 It seems to be raining a lot lately.  I hadn't noticed as much, but our Pastor who moved here from central California noticed!  With all the rain come spectacular rainbows!  There have been many lately, and most don't last too long.  One morning I went for a walk with Rowdy in the drizzle and saw the most brilliant full rainbow with a half double, similar to the one above.  If it never rains, you never see all this beauty!

 On a much more clear day, Pat and I took a familiar hike up Skyline Trail.  It's a mile trek up to a saddle and another 1/3 up to the top of the peak.  The fall colors weren't in full change like they are now, but Skyline is always a beautiful place to be.  It was such a clear day, we could see Denali off in the distance!  (We are pretty sure)

 Rowdy had a fantastic time on the hike!  He gets a little arthritic, but with a bit of assistance in the pill form, you'd never know it!  It keeps him out and active, and now with Bella gone, it's nice to keep him with us!

Now to the summer project finale: Pat's 16' trailer.  It has been carefully crafted and meticulously made to do whatever we need it to do.  And it's pretty!

 Note the inset eye-bolts for sturdy strapping, yet not in the way of the load.

Backing up...

Back before Marc and Katy came to visit, Pat and I took a little trip to Hidden Lake.  We headed out a bit late, on a whim, but took our chances and our canoe out.  It was rather late when we arrived.  We had a fairly long trek to canoe, so we parked the car where we thought we could (later finding a note indicating where we were supposed to park), and began our paddling.  It was a lovely evening, so our rapid paddling took us relatively quickly to the island where we hoped to camp.  We took the first campsite we came upon.  It wasn't too bad really!

The next day, we decided to hike around and take in the views.  We camped near a cliff, which we climbed, much to my protestations since I despise steep descents.  The climb did have some spectacular views, and I found myself thankful for the "encouragement" of my husband to push me beyond my comfort zones.

Our camp from above:

 Looking back from where we came.  It was a really lovely lake with rock cliffs and smooth waters (that day).

 Upon our investigation of the island, we discovered multiple other camping sites as well as this fabulous swing!  Since we both get motion sick, we didn't go too high, and we didn't feel like testing one of the lifeless branches that held the top ropes!

As the summer wanes, my flowers are in full bloom!  I'm loving the color flush!

Goin' on a Bear Hunt...

Just before Pat left on his bear hunt, he took Marc out to shoot his .340 Weatherby.  For fun, they filled an old juice jug with colored water and Marc took it down.

So Dave and Pat made use of the rare 2' seas to take the skiff across the inlet and into their river of choice.  They found a nice sandbar on which to make camp, but it was a little way from where the boat landed!

 Unfortunately, the bears were not showing themselves in this particular place, so they changed locations and had much the same luck.

Instead they were forced to sleep in, relax, take naps, etc.  Boy, bear hunting is tough.

Marc and Katy's Trip - Wrapping it up

Well, this is all I took from our Homer day.  We walked the spit and had a wine tasting at Bear Creek Winery.   I didn't take any pictures on our way home when we stopped at the Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage.  Bummer.

You know how weird it is when your "little" sibling is really all grown up?  And you really like them?  That may be the weird part.  I hear it's not common, but I can't relate to not loving my siblings (and their families).  I didn't always love them, but now I do.  I feel so honored to have had Marc and Katy come and spend time with us!  It is a long way to travel and not exactly cheap, but they came, and we saw!  I had a great time getting to know them more one-on-one.  Family gatherings don't always facilitate this (you know how big families are with games and such!)!

Anyway, Thank you so much Marc and Katy for coming!  We Love You!

Marc and Katy's Trip - Part 2 - Fishing Day!

This post is all about our day of fishing!  We got up at the strangely dark hour of 4:00AM.  Actually, I got up at 3:45, but who's counting!  (I guess I am!)  We packed up snacks and lunches, and headed out!  It was a bit chilly down on the river, especially when our guide, Ed O'Connor of Advantage Angling sped down the Kenai River!  It didn't take too long for our activity to make us forget about our lack of bundling up!  We started on the Silver Salmon on the lower part of the river.  It was a blast!

 We stopped during one point to watch an Osprey dive down into the water after fish!  Then, the Bald Eagle came over to see what was going on!

 Suffice it to say, we had an amazing morning catching the Silvers!  Ed took us to this bank where the fireweed was in bloom for this very scenic photo!!  Too bad Pat had to miss this!

 Since the morning was only half gone, we headed up river and began our Rainbow Trout fishing!  I told Marc that this proved he was a real sport fisherman, since this was all catch and release!  We loved the joy these fish gave us in the catch and we were able to send them back to hopefully give someone else the same joy!

 I thought this was a big one!!  Just wait!

 Marc held the record for biggest fish for a long time!  Katy and I caught more, but his 25-incher was a fun time!

 This is what I'm talking about!  Did I mention this was one of my "bucket-list" items to do in Alaska?

 Katy did awesome!  Marc had a great time taking her picture with her monster trout!

This was the final gigantic 'bow that I had only dreamed of!  This was the best fishing trip I have ever been on!  The only flaw was that Pat missed out!  I would have loved to see his face while I fought this guy into Ed's net!  He was a brute!  The most beautiful brute!  I'm so thankful that Marc and Katy came to take me out to fish with them!!