A pretty nice little Saturday

  Yesterday Gatsby and I had the pleasure of joining the Marzo and Clark family on a hike to Angel Rock, a trail that is about an hour outside of town.  The weather was perfect: 60 degrees, sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and I had a desire to get out and see Alaska now that most of it is thawed out.  There were a lot of other people that had the same idea so we did not have to worry about bears because of all of the activity and people making noise much louder than our little bear bells (we even saw a wedding party hiking because someone was getting married by the Angel Rocks, it doesn't get much more Alaskan than that!).  I'm glad that I had some company  for my inaugural Alaskan hike so I know that in the future this is definitely a hike I can do solo (with my bear bells and spray) because the trails are nicely groomed.  While I had an awesome time I don't think anybody had more fun than Gatsby, who had his favorite outdoor day in Alaska, complete with swimming!  Here are a few pics. of the day:

Gatsby leading the way, looking out for wildlife

Mitch being a tough guy and carrying both children, Lucy and Zoey

Gatsby and I taking our family picture at the top

The Marzo/Clark Clan

Goodbye arctic winter, hello arctic summer!  So glad that you arrived!

No longer frozen, the mighty Chena river is flowing.  The views don't get much better.

Gatsby loves mud and water.

Hiking back to the car, what a tough group!!

No Alaskan hike is complete without a moose sighting!  Hello Mr. Moose, when will your antlers grow back?

 After getting cleaned up from the hike I decided to join some co-workers out for their birthday celebration at the Blue Loon a local hole in the wall type bar that hosts concerts, comedians, and also plays movies during the week.  Last night there was a band called 'Sweating Honey' and it was like someone lifted up a rock and everyone came out to see this band play. All of these people that were stuck inside all winter long decided to come out and let loose and have some fun.   People from the age of 21-75 were there, many in sundresses and sandles dancing and enjoying the night.  This is my first time to be out in Fairbanks in the 'summer' and it is odd that at 10pm when the band started the doors to outside were open streaming in bright light so no lights had to be on.  Even driving home at 11:30 at night the sun was still  above the hills. This is a fun time in Fairbanks, there is an energy and excitement about all of the activities and things to do that is contagious.   I am hopefully this energy will continue through October and tire me out for another long winter.


Pete today I miss your Sunday morning breakfast burritos and reading the paper with you while we plan out our Sunday activities. Love you.