Angel Rocks

The themes of the week so far have been:

1. Have fun with friends
2. Select things that don't put too much strain on our pocketbook
3. Experience the beauty of Alaska, and
4. Get some exercise while doing it!!

Well, true to all four themes, we spent Thursday hiking at Angel Rocks, followed by a dip in the pool at Chena Hot Springs (about 2 hours from North Pole - see my 'Nome Creek' post for my theory on the 2-hour thing :)

Yeah, we hiked up to the top of that!

Sarah and Kurt have a baby backpack for hiking that they let us borrow for Samantha.  Thinking I would be too exhausted later, I volunteered to start off carrying her, while Ed carried our backpack loaded down with things we might need for her.  The first part of the hike - no problem!  A few ups and downs, right along the river, and a few mosquitoes to contend with - again, no problem, I'm feeling pretty good about this.  Little did I know, the "hike" hadn't yet started.  About halfway to our goal, the trail trended...up!  I enjoy hiking, but this was my first experience carrying an extra 30 pounds on my back.  Stubborn as I am, I did not give up (although I must admit, I was grateful for Kurt and Sarah's youngest two children who required a few breaks along the way...great excuse for me to take a break too! :)  Then there was Emma - I'm sure she could have run all the way to the top without stopping, except she had all the rest of us slowing her down ;)  Ah, to have that kind of energy...



Ok, I'm ready!



Mindee, Samantha and Emma

Anyway, we made our way to the top - it was breathtaking!  The mountains, the trees, the water, the clear view - absolutely beautiful!  We paused at the top to eat lunch before heading back down.  We opted for a different trail down.  Next time, we stick to the original trail.  The way back was somewhat steep, had lots of slippery pebbles, and at one point. swarms of mosquitoes.  Even Samantha was swatting off the mosquitoes.  We ended up trying to jog through one section that was close to a marsh and therefore infested with mosquitoes!  

One of the many lookout points on the way up



King of the mountain!



On our way down
(Dieter looks mighty comfortable!)

It was 3.5 miles of fun; I'd do it again!  Samantha enjoyed it too.  She even fell asleep in the carrier at one point on the way down - go figure!



Samantha snoozing on the trek back!

After Angel Rocks we drove out to Chena Hot Springs.  It's a naturally occurring hot springs nestled into beautiful tree and mountain surroundings.  They also had an indoor pool though, which is where we spent the majority of our time, since kids are not allowed in the hot springs.  This was Samantha's first time in a swimming pool.  That girl loves water!  She had a terrific time!  I think all of us enjoyed our time there and it was a great way to follow up a hike - soaking in a pool (the adults taking turns going out to the hot springs :)  The next day I expected to be a bit sore but no, I was just fine!

We headed home to our enchiladas just waiting to be warmed up for dinner...mmmm, enchiladas!  Ed made some Mexican rice (so good) and we ate dinner...at 9:30pm (oops!).  It was great!

Again, got the kids off to bed, this time Kurt too - he had to carry 2 kids down the mountain, I can understand why he was tired - and Sarah, Ed and I watched, 'The Adjustment Bureau.'  It was a good movie - not a theatre movie, but a good movie!!  Another fun ending to a fantastic day!