Termination Dust...

We have just finished a lovely week of touring with my parents and our friends, Dave and Val, from England. Despite some pretty uncooperative weather, we had a wonderful week.

In addition to seeing some moose, and panning for gold, we walked further than any of us had in a long time and learned several new things about Alaska...


First we learned that Alaska is beautiful in the fall. For as long as I can remember Autumn has been my favorite season. I'm not sure why... I tried to convince Rachel that it was because as a child I was always so excited to get back to school... she didn't buy it, and my mom probably just choked... obviously not the reason! The real reason is probably because summer has never been my favorite season and even though summer never really arrived here this year, the change in the air was still noticeable and refreshing, and then of course, there are the beautiful colors!
It's been a long time since we've lived some place with four, distinct seasons and I am enjoying that! We made several outings this week, but the colors were probably the most stunning around Hatcher Pass and along the Matanuska River, just north of Anchorage.

Another thing I learned this week is that there really are Beluga Whales in the Cook Inlet! We saw a pod of at least 7 or 10 of them on Friday. It was a great site after we had spent the day hoping to see some bears on the Kenai Peninsula. (We did see our bears, but it was at the Wildlife Conservation Park, so not quite the same as spotting them along the road.)

The other thing I learned this week is that 'it's' called 'Termination Dust'.... yep, that white stuff that appeared on the tops of the Talkeetna Mountains early this week is 'Termination Dust.' The sign that summer is indeed on it's way out, and winter not far behind it I'm sure. Although I am dreading the months of darkness, and am not thrilled about the impending snow, I do have to say it's been an amazing summer! We had many visits from family and friends, we saw and did things we never dreamed of seeing or doing and have next summer to look forward to as we settle into a routine for the winter.

Just a note... As many of you know, I'm not above 'stealing' from people to create a nice blog, but I do pride myself in giving credit where credit it due... so, in case you've noticed that some of these pictures are much better than the ones I usually put on here, well, those would be my dad's. He is a great photographer, and I just couldn't help using his pictures instead of my own. One more thing... be sure to check the slide show at the bottom, with any luck there will be some new stuff there too!