We have had a busy few days. The boys are in school, started August 20th and Heidi had her last few days before she had to leave. The weather is still a mix of sun and rain; something I am told we will have to get used to dealing with.

We made numerous trips up the Turnagain Arm trying to catch the Beluga Whales but had no luck. We did take the opportunity to take Heidi to a couple of local "must see" areas before she left. One such place is called "Flat Top." It is a local hiking trail that leads to the top of a hill that looks like someone cut the top off; hence the name. The view from the trail-head is beautiful as you can see from the following photos.

In addition to our trip to Flat Top, we took Heidi and the boys to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. It is a wonderful trip about 40 minutes south of Anchorage. The folks started AWCC to help care for wildlife in a more natural setting. They have a number of beautiful examples of Alaska's wildlife. We saw Black & Brown Bears, Moose, Caribou, Elk, Buffalo, Musk Ox, Eagles, Foxes and more. You get an up close, personal view of the animals with the safety of a secure fence. Hope you enjoy some of the photos below.

We do have one sad thing to add to this post; Maggie lost her battle with the illness that had plagued her since Calgary. She put up a hard fight and most days you would never know that she was in severe pain. This past Wednesday, however, her body had more than it could handle and we took her to the Emergency Room for the last time. The folks at Pet ER were wonderful and tried everything they could think of. She is going to be missed as she had become a big part of the family. Good-bye Mag-pies.

We have had several family visitors this past week. Nancy's Mother and Grandmother are here and we took the opportunity to show them something other than Anchorage. We took a 3 day trip to Seward. Seward was nice; however, the weather could have been better. It rained pretty much the whole time we were there. It didn't slow us down much.

We located a little cabin on Lowell Point and it turned out to be perfect for the family. Our cabin was fairly new. The outside wasn't totally done; however, the inside was fantastic. Will have to keep this in mind for future travels.

While in Seward, we went on a cruise, visited a glacier and saw some wonderful examples of Alaska's wildlife. While on the cruise Connor got a photo of a Humpback Whale just as its tail broke water. He is getting pretty good with the camera. Spencer earned another Jr. Ranger Badge. He thinks he needs them all before he is done; looks like more trips to Alaska's National Parks are in order.

This past week we took a trip to the Katmai National Park. We stayed at Brooks Lodge www.bear-viewing.com and spent 3 days watching Grizzly Bears catch Red Salmon.

We flew on a PenAir flight from Anchorage to King Salmon. At King Salmon, we were taken to the Katmai Air dock for our float plane ride to Naknek Lake. Brooks Lodge is located at the entrance of Brooks River; a 1.5 mile river that claims to have the highest concentration of Grizzly Bears per square mile of any national park.

Were were briefed on proper bear etiquette by the Local Parks Service and then we were on our own to view the bears. They were huge and walking around through the lodge, on the paths and up/down the river. It is a little unnerving when you hear someone yell bear just as you turn a corner only to find a grizzly standing in the middle of your path. They didn't seem to mind our watching them as they were busy catching fish and fighting for a prime spot at the falls.

Hope you enjoy the photos.

We took a quick trip to Talkeetna this weekend in hopes of showing Mamie Mt. McKinley. The trip up was very nice and we stayed at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. They say that only about 1 in 3 people who go to see Mt. McKinley actually get a chance to see it. Normally it is covered with clouds.

At the lodge you can put in a wake-up request if the mountain clears. We were lucky enough to receive a call about 5am that next morning and had a beautiful view of Mt. McKinley.

We spent the next morning 4-wheeling in the mud. Afterwards we cleaned up and took a walk through Talkeetna. As you can see from the photos, mamie seemed to enjoy herself. Talkeetna has 2 main streets each about 3 blocks long. Talk about blink and you miss it.

Our last morning at the lodge, we watched the clouds clear again to give us a 2nd beautiful view of Mt. McKinley and the Denali Mountain Range.

Mamie has finally had a chance to get out and about. She and Spencer decided to see how they compared to a Grizzle Bear (Hope they don't see one in the wild). Mamie found the statue of the wanderer. This pole represents the "Air" crossroads of the world. It gives milage to major cities around the world (Frankfurt is 4370 Air Miles) from Anchorage.

On the way to the Musk Ox farm, we stopped at a scenic overlook. We had a beautiful view of the Knik Valley all the way to the Glacier.

I few pictures from our visit to the Musk Ox Farm today. We finally had a sunny day and took advantage of it to get out. Mamie and everyone enjoyed the visit with the Musk Ox. They look like something from prehistoric days.

Mamie arrived today, from Germany, to spend a month with us. I have attached a few photos showing her arrival. She said the flight was good and she had an open seat next to her so she could stretch out and rest. Enjoy the photos.