This fall we were lucky enough to have Jari's brother Eric come spend a few days with us. We are not party animals so I am not sue how much he enjoyed his time but I was able to take a day off and spend some time showing him around our beautiful state right before the weather turned cold.
One of our friends in our ward, Erynne Nord, met up with us one morning while the kids were in school to take us out on Chena Lake. She had this awesome foldable Kayak that she let us use which was a lot of fun.
Eric barrowed a Kayak from a neighbor which was a tad leaky and slow but he kept up alright
Just when Hazel was about done (and Erynne's daughter as well) we were lucky though to spy this beauty along a river-like extension of the lake.
What I thought was really cool was how the stump it was sitting on was actually free floating in the air minus a branch or two that had caught this small log and kept it there in the tree.
The next day Eric and I went out on a hike that I had my eye on prior to his coming by about 8-10 months called the Granite Tors
We did not get as early of a start as I wanted but the starting point along the river was beautiful.
It was surprisingly chilly and this prompted us to hike a fast pace. The boardwalk was a bit slick though so we had to hike carefully.
The climb soon started and we both had to peel layers to keep from overheating.
Soaking in the views. Eric now lives in Texas and misses the mountains and quiet open space.
After a long rolling climb we finally reached an alpine meadow where these large granite structures tower above the ground and jut out almost like chess pieces on a large open plain.
Eric was a bit more brave than I and climbed more than I did. I was also hoping a gluteal injury I had would not flare and cause me any problems so I was taking it easy.
The mid section of the trail is not really a trail. There are some stakes out there which we presumed was the trail and off in the distance there was a small hut that I had read about so I assumed we were on the right track. It was a bit breezy and I felt like was constantly between feeling good and too cold.
The shack was indeed part of the trail so we were able to push back home
Here I am eating lunch realizing I received 2-butt ends of the bread loaf.
I think the best part of the hike was the timing. Yes it was chilly but the changing of the tree colors was spectacular and I hope to bring Jari on the hike with me next year.
Here is the Garmin Link to our little adventure. Due to my lack of fitness the preceding months (hip injury) I was surprisingly tired after the 15 miles.
After the hike we decided to try to enjoy the neighborhood fire pit where a moose came to visit. Don't let the flames fool you, it was cold and miserable. The wind was blowing and I got almost no heat but plenty of smoke. Blah.
Our last activity as a family was a family (minus Camille) bike ride in Chena Lake Recreation Area.
It turned out to be a 10 mile ride! The kids were super awesome even with cheap Walmart bikes on some questionable terrain.
It was fun to see Eric again and we hope he enjoyed his time here during the best month of the year.
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