Day 2 found Mike and me separating ourselves from the ladies to head south a couple of hours to try our hand at some trout fishing on the upper Kenai River and we couldn’t have asked for better weather.  The drive down is the same path that we would be taking on our trip to Homer later in the trip and I had heard of the beauty and I must say that we were definitely not disappointed.  Fortunately, thanks to my injury, Mike was driving so I had the entire trip to sit back, relax and enjoy the view and I’ve got to say that there wasn’t any place you could turn your head without being impressed with what you saw.

The company that we fished with was called Drifter’s Lodge and that was appropriate given that we basically got in the boat and aside from a biological break we drifted for 7 miles downriver with our lines in the water switching between plug and fly fishing and alternating between types of beer.  Yes, beer has now worked its way into yet another story but not quite to the level of the last one.  But what else are you supposed to do on a float trip?  After three early bites, that is pretty much what the trip turned into…a float trip.  Mike got the first bite, which resulted in an extremely delayed response in a meager attempt at setting the hook that of course failed miserably.  I believe that I got the next bite where I thought I had the hook set as I got the fish within a few feet of the boat, but he apparently was only messing with me as he jumped the hook before I could get him in.  The final bite was Mike’s and he set the hook and after a couple cranks of the reel the fish jumped high in the air and worked himself free as well.  All of this was while plug fishing and twenty minutes later when we switched to fly fishing we realized that Mike’s last fish actually got away with the hook as we realized that since Mike’s last attempt at landing a fish he had been fishing with a hookless lure.

That was pretty much it for the action from the fish and further proof why it is called catching and not fishing.  However that did not ruin our day in the slightest as it was quite the relaxing experience to get out on the river in some incredible weather, relax amongst the great scenery, drink some good beer, and watch our guide struggle with pushing the boat back into the water over many different rocks after our aforementioned break.  Apparently he had never stopped before or never stopped at that particular spot before or never with a man of my size before, I don’t remember for sure, but his feet did seem to be quite cold while working through the effort.

Based on the form-fitting life jacket, it might be a safe guess that they don’t get too many people of my size on these trips. 

Apparently the mid drift break wasn’t enough for Mike and so he had to use the facilities upon our return to the lodge before we hit the road, unfortunately for Mike the lodge wasn’t complete with building the walls to the facilities, but at least he had some reading material.

On the way back we did stop off for a pretty darn good dinner where I experienced reindeer sausage for the first time.  Side note, I sure wish reindeer sausage was available down here.  While dining Mike ran into his old foe from the night before…the damn solstice.

But after a few drinks all was forgiven between Mike and the damn solstice, especially given the view that was provided at dinner.

Some interesting sites on the drive home that I didn’t include in the montage video above are this set of carvings we got stuck behind for a length of time…

This shot of the Alaska Railway running by, which I hear is quite the trip for the views and the ability to sit back and relax…

And then finally this beauty that Mike and I got stuck behind while we were in Anchorage working our way back to our hotel…

Hard to see in the photo, but she is actually wearing a very nice high heel.

Our first excursion in Alaska was partially covered with the summit flight and glacier landing and given how big of an experience it was I left out the other half of our day that included a brief stop in Wasilla, a nice lunch in Talkeetna, post summit drinks in Talkeetna, and several discovers…

Discovery 1:  In our car we quickly found that one of our passengers is perhaps the biggest admirers of Sarah Palin and he was consistently lobbying throughout the trip for the title of Chief Palin Apologist.  Mike was as giddy as a school girl when he realized that we were going through Wasilla.  If you look at the photo close enough you can see that Mike was taking a photo of the first sighting of Wasilla on the navigation system.

Perhaps the biggest smile of the trip from Mike, even bigger than when his wife crossed the finish line, was in this photo in front of Mrs. Palin’s hometown sign.

Discovery 2:  It was also in Wasilla, in a mad dash to get the picture in front of the sign before Mike passed out, that Melanie proved how great of a driver she was ON BIKE PATHS.  Somehow she managed to mistake the bike path for a frontage road and quickly made a left and kept on driving until we got to the sign.  In all fairness, it could have been the shrieking coming from Mike in the back seat that had her disoriented, fortunately there were no police around.  There are no images available for legal reasons.

Discovery 3:  When a construction worker tells you the road will be shut down for 30 minutes, they really mean only about 15 minutes and when you wave for Andrea and Mike to come back up from exploring because the road is now open you apparently have to tell Mike that you are serious otherwise he will continue to walk at his slow pace.

Guilty construction worker who happens to be a female in below photo.  By the way, it would appear that all road crews had a female assigned to work the signs.  No sexist comments implied.

Here is Mike at his leisure as we are all hustling to pile back into the car.

Discovery 4:  Mike is pretty damn quick when he sees the five cars in front of us start to move.

Discovery 5:  Don’t believe the “Photo Stop” signs in Alaska.  This was our first day exploring the great state and with Melanie at the wheel she saw a sign that would lead you to believe there was a photo opportunity ahead and so she pulled over.  Here is what we saw:

But we decided to take pictures anyway because the sign said so.

Fortunately a plane passed by so it wasn’t all a waste…that is if you enjoy a good plane picture like I do.

Discovery 6:  The Gillum’s camera, while awesome, is intricate and time consuming when trying to set up the timer in order to take a self-portrait.  Fortunately, thanks to a sharp learning curve, they were able to cut the process down from 10 minutes to 2 minutes after only a few tries.

The results, despite Mike looking erect, his words not mine; I do believe was quite worth the ten minute wait.

Discovery 7:  The best pizza in Alaska is in Talkeetna…across the street from where we ate lunch…and ordered pizza.

Discovery 8:  The local beer is INCREDIBLE!  After the summit flight the girls were so fired up they completely forgot about my Achilles injury and crutches and decided it was time to go on a hike and so they dropped Mike and I off in town at the local brewery to sample the local fare and sample we did.  I can’t remember the exact number of varieties, but there were at least 15 different types of beer brewed in the building right in this tiny little town and Mike and I did our very best to sample each one of them.  To be fair, they had a paddle with smaller glasses where you could sample each kind so it’s not like we were drinking a pint of each kind, but then again we may have taken a few trips through the sample platters.  I will say that by the time the girls got back I no longer needed my crutches and Mike was in a battle with the Solstice.

Discovery 9:  The Solstice can play tricks and do battle with your mind.  It is “dark” for maybe two hours of the night and that is usually around 2am and even then it is more like dusk and not dark.  Needless to say if you are sitting around having a few malt beverages it is 10pm before you know it and you have forgotten that you should eat.  What Mike didn’t realize is that the solstice will still create shadows.  I still don’t know what he meant, but he was pissed as he exclaimed his displeasure “The damn solstice keeps casting shadows.”

Discovery 10:  The ride back to Anchorage is so much shorter if you have been sampling Talkeetna’s finest brews for several hours…they help serve as a sleep agent.

(Editor’s Note:  You cannot see Russia from Wasilla, but Palin never made this claim.  She only claimed that you can see Russia from Alaska which is true from one of the far reaching western islands.)

Many years ago while sitting around my favorite drinking hole a buddy and I decided we would climb a mountain and what better mountain to climb than the highest peak in North America, Mt. McKinley or Denali for the locals?  Two months later I moved to Africa and so we changed our goal to climbing the highest peak in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro with hopes of eventually working our way to Denali.  Long story cut short, after Kilimanjaro I discovered scuba and my hiking boots discovered the closet.  So when Melanie chose Anchorage for her marathon my vigor for seeing Denali was fully renewed, just this time from the comforts of a plane.  Fortunately there are tours that fly out of Talkeetna, a two-hour drive from Anchorage (more on the drive and Talkeetna in another post) that will fly up and around the peak as well as the two neighboring peaks and then land on the glacier on the south side of the peak.  Along the flight we were able to see tents set up at base camp as well as another camp set further up the mountain.  Aside from the mountain we were mesmerized by the length of the glacier, the depth of the valleys, the heights of the surrounding mountains, and just the overall beauty of the entirety of the flight.  Given that this was the first day of our trip and our first excursion of many to come we were concerned that we may have peaked way too early in our trip.

A lot of people have questioned what type of plane we flew in.  First of all, it really wasn’t all that small as it sits (not necessarily comfortably) 8 including the pilot.  It does have skis on it, naturally in order to land on the ice of the glacier that are raised and lowered using a manual hydraulic pump.  Funny story, in my mind, about the pump is that during the flight to the glacier I noticed the pilot constantly working a handle in between the pilot and copilot seat.  Not being very bright, I could not figure out what it was and started thinking that perhaps it was for pumping fuel from one tank to another or maybe breaking ice on the wings, or who knew.  Sad to say it took me until the return flight to figure it out.  Anyway, below are a few pictures of our plane on the glacier as well as a few of the other planes from the tiny airport.

The flight out to Denali and the glacier was maybe 45 minutes and we learned all types of interesting fun things from the pilot, of which I can remember very little as I was in awe of the scenery and taking pictures.  I do remember that Denali is over 20,000 feet and was first climbed in 1903.  It is surrounded by about 6 other mountain peaks, of which I could tell you only Moose’s Tooth just because I liked the name.  The rest you can check out on Wikipedia or you can be like me and sit in awe of the beauty of the photos below.

Ok, so these photos aren’t so beautiful, just us “summiteers” resting comfortably before takeoff.  Notice Melanie resting comfortably in first class, otherwise known the back of the plane where they put the tiny ones with the survival gear “in case of an accident”.

Here is what I thought was my first view of Denali, only to find out it was just the beginning of a series of a few peaks leading up to Denali.

And here is my real first view of Denali.

The rest is just a series of photos where I fell in love with zooming in and out on mountain sides, glaciers, and snow…

After flying around and over several peaks for a bit we dropped down into a deep and beautiful valley hovering over a glacial flow that was recently measured at close to 4000 feet and then suddenly we turned the corner and “softly” put the skis down on the ice for a fairly smooth landing where my friends were more than happy to leave the recently crippled author hobbling close to the plane.  When we landed there was one other plane there, but before we left there must have been seven planes on the tarmac made from glacier.  It was fascinating how one yellow sled stuck in the middle of the glacier marked the “runway”.

Notice the yellow sled on the left hand side of the photo below.

My friends quickly left me behind…

And enjoyed watching me struggle with my injury in the ice…

I finally caught up with them, but I broke a sweat doing it and had to shed the fleece.

But in the end I didn’t harbor any ill feelings…

To give some perspective as to what is like to be on this glacier in the shadows of the tallest peak in North America, Mike and I were standing there just admiring the view and we heard a buzzing sound and started looking around and could not figure out what was causing the noise.  We looked around for at least a minute until all of a sudden it was like a plane had come out of nowhere.  The thing is that the plane had been in plain sight the entire time; it is just that the enormity of the space around us made it nearly impossible to spot it until it was directly upon us.  Can you spot it?

Before we knew it, our time was up and it was back on the plane and heading back to the land of the unfrozen.  Along the way I also fell in love with taking photos of the glacial pools that form along the flow as well as the textures that form on the flows.  I just wish the photos could capture how blue the water looked.

After the landing it was time to celebrate our successful “summit”, at least for the boys, and so it was time to head back into town for a few beers.  But that story will have to wait until the next post and perhaps until I purchase more space after using it up with all of these photos.

EDITORS NOTE: In an effort to save space I have tried to combine photos into “movies”.  Feel free to let me know your thoughts on how well this did or did not work.

As you all know, Melanie and I recently took an action packed trip to Alaska that was filled with many mini excursions throughout the ten days that we were there.  In an effort to share the photos and joy that we experienced I am starting a mini series of posts broken down by excursion.  Before I dive in, I want to go ahead and introduce the participants in these stories.

The first player needs no introduction, but for the sake of taking up space and utilizing this photo I want to introduce my beautiful wife and the initial reason for the trip, Melanie.  The genesis for the trip was initially Melanie’s decision to run a marathon and raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with Team in Training.  When she chose Alaska the adventurer inside of me was instantly awoken from a very long sleep and the mind was sent working on the many different things we could do.

On the morning of Melanie’s first information meeting with Team in Training I happened to be driving past our neighbor’s, and friend, house when I saw our next key player working in the yard and mentioned what Melanie was doing.  It took maybe five minutes and all of a sudden Andrea was sold on the idea of at least attending the information meeting.  Not sure if I mentioned to her that my initial motivation was that Melanie would get $50 just for bringing someone with her, but before you know it she was committed and signed up for the marathon and raising the goal of $3900 as well.

Once Andrea was in, that fortunately meant that I would now have a drinking partner that would consume more than two Coors Light and stay up later than 9pm, coming along in Mike, Andrea’s ball and chain.  Mike’s lack of opinion and extremely laid back approach to things proved to be very valuable when it came to planning and executing the trip.

The next player in our trip was probably the biggest decision maker for all decisions made and was definitely the one we didn’t want to irritate.  Very similar to Jacob in Lost, The Box was the protector of our wallets.  The Box was the Northern Lights coupon book that Andrea was smart enough to get us to purchase and was consulted regularly.  All decisions were run regularly through The Box.  Obviously no pictures were allowed of the box, so you will just have to trust me that you DO NOT UPSET THE BOX.

And finally, there is me, Aaron.  And yes, in this photo I am in a wheelchair with crutches.  Unfortunately the night before we flew out I injured my Achilles while coaching Mason’s baseball team; fortunately Melanie was swift enough to steal a wheelchair while we are on a layover in the Seattle airport.

That’s it for the main players, in no way listed in any order of importance.  I say this especially for the The Box…don’t want to upset The Box.

Over the next couple of weeks I hope to work through our many trips that should include:

• Summit Flight – Glacier Landing
• Talkeetna Drinks – Battle of the Solstice
• Trout Fishing – Why It’s Not Called Catching
• Anchorage Zoo – Those Bears Don’t Count
• DDay – The Marathon
• Kenai – Sausage with Reindeer
• Homer Spit – The Second Best Seafood In Alaska
• Halibut Fishing – How Mike Almost Lost Andrea
• The Bear Trip – How Melanie Almost Lost Aaron
• Kayak & Hike – A New World Record
• Dinner Cruise – Mike Meets Jack & Ginger
• The Final Cruise – WOW

If we are lucky, I might be able to work in a few guest authors, perhaps even a few words from THE BOX.

I completed the Mayor’s Marathon (26.2 miles) in Anchorage on June 18!! I won’t lie, it was difficult. Mainly because they had uncharacteristically warm weather. My friend Andrea and I started out together with approximately 4400 other runners.

She quickly pulled ahead and finished over an hour before me – way to go Andrea!

I took my time and admired the BEAUTIFUL scenery around me. For those of you who question if there is a God, trust me, only God can make one state so incredibly amazing. The race was a combination of paved roads and sidewalks, as well as tank trails. Here is a picture about 2 miles from the finish.

There were so many people cheering us on throughout the entire race – those words of encouragement helped me get through some tough miles. Luckily I had my biggest supporter, Aaron, there along the way! He would drive to a mile marker and cheer me on, ask if I needed anything, and basically remind me that I could do this!! My biggest inspiration was Cutler. Here is a picture of the back of my running shirt.

So many runners would run by and say, “Go Cutler”!! He was quite the TNT Celebrity.

My goal when I signed up to train for a marathon through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training was to cross the finish line. Done. My stretch goal was to cross the finish line with at least one person behind me 🙂 Done.

Here I am crossing the finish line, and you can also see the BLING Andrea and I received as finishers of the full marathon.

Would I do it all over again? Yes, because I was able to raise funds to help find a cure for blood cancers. Nationally, TNT raised $2.3 Million Dollars through this event! For those of you who donated, THANK YOU!