After thirteen days without a shower (yes, there was the liberal use of baby wipes and the occasional bucket bath) it was so, so nice to have a long hot shower!!  (I know, I know,  …. TMI.)

A few days ago we were in Anchorage. While we were there, the Bear Paw festival was happening. First we went to the parade, and then to the carnival. At the carnival, I went on two rides. With Ma, I went on a spinning ride that made you feel like you are about to crash, and with Pa, I went on the ferris wheel. One day in Anchorage, we went on a short hike and saw a moose. Later that day, we saw a moose with two babies.

Later we went to a campground called Willy Wa, near Whittier. On one day we drove through a two mile tunnel to Whittier. While we were there, we went on two hikes. The first was almost straight uphill, but we were rewarded with amazing views of the Portage glacier. We saw the glacier calving. The next day we went on a hike to a snowfield. Jay loved and hated the snow. At first he ran up to it picked up some snow and started to run. Jay came back in a few seconds crying and saying, “snow is cold!” For the rest of the time the same pattern repeated itself. I had a small snowball fight with Pa, and did a little sledding with a bag. Later we saw the bore tide, which is a big wall of water coming down the arm. It was cool.

Yesterday we arrived in Seward. We took a small walk through town. This morning Ma and I went to a dog sled thing. We got to go on a two mile ride in a cart pulled by a team of sixteen dogs, who have raced in the Iditarod. Then we got to hold the puppies. Ma got a lick up her nose, and I was spitting out slobber at the end. After that I got to put on a super warm coat worn by a musher. When I took it off I was cold! It was fun.

Last night we camped in a campground overflow lot with amazing views of the Matanuska glacier. Ma, Little Kid and I went on a short hike with great views of the glacier. I found some signs with cool facts about glaciers . Did you know that glaciers  store about 75% of the worlds fresh water? Or that 10% of the earth’s land is covered by glaciers? Or even that in the US, glaciers cover almost 30,000 square miles? Cool facts! This morning we drove a couple of hours to Eagle Creek Campground where we are staying to do errands in Anchorage.

A few days ago we were in Skagway, Alaska. We were in an awesome campground with trees, a river, and some good trails (at least until we got evacuated). The campground was almost empty. On independence day there was a great parade. They had the same band that was in Whitehorse for Canada Day. There was a lot of candy being thrown. It was fun!  While in Skagway, we found an awesome park that looked like a forest. Jay and I had a lot of fun at it.

After a few days in Skagway we took a ferry to Haines. The ferry was fun but too short. On the way we saw many spectacular waterfalls, and towards the end a bald eagle.  Here in Haines we are in a great campground with great views. Yesterday we went on a hike to a pebble beach. On the way to the beach we walked through mud, with me barefoot. I found some giant skunk cabbage leaves that were as big as Jay! We had a picnic dinner. This morning, we saw a bald eagle on a tree right at the edge of a pullout. It was cool! After that we went to an awesome park with hidden passages. This afternoon we are chilling in the RV.

beautiful, beautiful Haines, Alaska …