A Lengthy (or not) Update

          There are many activities that, after a long winters nap, are available to those of us living in the far North, once the snow has melted.  Blogging is evidently, not one of them.  Not that summer came knocking the door down last Spring.  It was quite long and drawn out, actually.  And after waiting (painfully at times) through a long mud season, we were ready for a summers worth of adventure.Let's back up a bit and let some pictures do the talking.

Spring hike along the Eagle River, north of Anchorage.  Wanting more access to the mountains - realizing it was months away.

Our neighborhood lake, stocked with trout, was a fun diversion.

Memorial Day camping trip on the Kenai Peninsula.  It was freezing cold and the campground we wanted to stay in was still under feet of snow!  We did find some clear weather though and spent a good 4 days out of Anchorage.

The newest addition to our family - Fern.  We got her in May.  She promptly broke her toe - 6 weeks in a cast at 3 mos. old.

June saw us on Kauai celebrating Jess's 40th birthday with great friends from our Bozeman days.

My German brother Christian and his family visited in mid July, followed by some school friends of Jess's from Florida.

Next up was Dougie and Nan-Nan - Jess's parents, on their first trip to Alaska.  We spent some great time out of Anchorage.

Bears feeding in the Russian River falls.  This was such a treat for Jess's parents to see - all of us really!

We took the kids on their first true backpacking trip in August.  Lots of rain and the first "termination dust" of the season up high in the mountains.

First day of school.  Summer season?  What was that?

Fall chill and colors in the Back 40 behind our house.

I finished my 3rd 100! - the Wasatch 100 with my brother pacing me the last 25 miles.  What a beast!

       A short synopsis of our summer.  There was more that we remember and more that we don't.  But in my mind, that brings us up to 2013 - January 13 to be exact, and it's 40 degrees and raining.  We are still waiting for winter up here, and for the return of the light.  These are the toughest days of the year at this latitude while we struggle through dark days and low energy.  The light will return, and with it, some degree of that "get out there" attitude.  Till then, we have coffee - and beer!