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!!

Marc and Katy's Trip - Part 1!

My brother, Marc and his beautiful wife, Katy came to visit this last week.  We did not have a dull moment from the moment I picked them up!  We stopped often on the drive home to enjoy one of the most scenic drives on earth.  I'm now wishing I had taken a couple pictures of these moments at Lake Hood with the float planes, Hope Junction on the bridge, and the beach at the mouth of the Kenai River going into Cook Inlet.  I'm sure Katy has many!

For me, I began my photo documentary with our hike to Russian River Falls.  It was a perfect day for a hike - cool, cloudy, no rain!  Oh, and Rowdy came along to help Marc have fun!

The next day we headed out to Seward to the Glacier tours aboard Major Marine Tours. The clouds began to clear as we headed out and gave us a beautiful day!

 Just proving that I really was there, but realizing that I am not nearly as cute as my sister-in-law!

 We totally fell for the "tourist trap" of a Glacier Ice Margarita!  It was tasty, and the ice was exceptional!   

 We were thrilled that the humpback whales made several appearances!  

 You bet we had fun at Exit Glacier!  They just had to take a taste, even though it was a bit gritty!

To be continued...!