Basin Road & Mountain Trails

For the most part lately it has been sitting in the mid 50's and the skies have been overcast.  We've had some pretty good rainy days too.  Thankfully, these cool and overcast days are perfect for hiking. Some of my favorite days are the ones spent hiking on a drizzly day.

These pictures were snapped a couple of weekends ago.  Cody and I went to Basin Road, which is located in downtown Juneau.  Basin Road leads to a wide array of trail heads like Perseverance Trail, Mount Juneau, and Mount Roberts. These are all really great trails and vary in difficulty from easy to extremely difficult.  We wanted to hike Mount Roberts originally but realized that we had forgotten the dogs leash (no unleashed dogs at the top of the trail). So, we just hiked a mile or so of each trail.  Each trail is very diverse and this allowed us to see a ton of unique wildlife and scenery.  It ended up being a beautiful and relaxing day.

**Unfortunately, a hiker was lost on the Mount Roberts Trail not long after Cody and I hiked it.  It is unknown what happened to her but you can read about the story here and here.  Such a sobering reminder that nature is unpredictable, especially in the 49th state.  This incident has made me really buckle down on not hiking alone and always telling people where I am hiking.  I hope everyone makes sure to do this when they adventure outdoors!**

The End of School

Well, it's the end of another school year.  For those of us that teach, we are busy packing up classrooms, grading last minute reports, and scrambling to store all of our "school" things in our homes.    My classroom officially closed last Thursday but I ended up spending most of the day on Friday organizing and cleaning.  I'm proud to say that it is completely finished and I am now on autopilot for the summer.

Last day of school with some amazing ladies. 

I am still unsure of what next year will bring for me.  My school is competing against eight other schools for the grant money that would keep my classroom funded for next year.  I am hopeful…but not naive about the situation.  I know that things may not work out but I've got my fingers crossed.  I can teach in Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, and Michigan (legally-haha) so I am not without options if this job doesn't continue on for next year.

Until I find out the verdict for next year I plan on relaxing and enjoying life.  My in-laws will be in Alaska to visit Cody and I in less that a week.  That'll keep us plenty busy for about seven days and then three weeks after that my mom and her boyfriend will be in town to visit.  A month after that? My little brother will be swinging through the area.  It's going to be a busy summer but I am ready for it :)

Questions:
Are you taking any cool vacations this summer? 
Do you work during the summer?  Why or why not?

Cabin Camping In Alaska

Camping. I love sleeping in a tent, late night bonfires, the smoky taste of campfire food, warm coffee on a chilly morning.  I love all of it.

Beach views on the hike to the cabin. 

I've been nervous about camping in Alaska ever since we moved here.  As a midwesterner, I grew up without the threat of bears.  Bears are a very real threat in all of Alaska though and it is something I have felt fearful about since moving here. That being said, I was so happy to get the opportunity to do some rustic (no plumbing, no electricity) cabin camping a few weeks ago.  It spared me my fear of bears and still allowed me to do some camping!

Hiking about 1mile from our cabin location.

Great friends and a great weekend!

Renting a USFS cabin in Juneau costs a whopping $35/night.  These cabins go QUICK so you have to be speedy to snatch one up from the Forest Service before they sell out (think 6+ months in advance).  This has been the first time we've been able to score one of these cabins.  Sooooo worth the wait.

Breakfast and coffee on the cabin stove. 

Alaskan Gothic.  Can you spot the photobomb??

Cody, myself, and two other friends (and two crazy dogs) took a short hike to a cabin in the woods near Juneau and spent a glorious weekend hiking, camping, cooking, and exploring.  It was one of the best weekends I have spent since arriving in Juneau two years ago.

View from the hike back to the car on Sunday afternoon. 

If you ever get the chance to try out a USFS cabin in the Juneau-area I highly recommend it.  The cabins are beautiful and well-maintained. Some amazing memories were made in that cabin :)

Questions:
Do you like camping? Why or why not?
Have you ever camped in a bear-heavy area?
Where is your favorite camping location? 

An Alaskan In Hawaii

Aloha! I am one lucky girl. My dad and step-mom invited me to go along with them to visit our family that lives in Hawaii. So, The past eight days of my life have been spent lounging, tanning, beach-combing, and just generally living the island lifestyle.

My sister, Sara, lives in Hawaii with her three children and husband.  They were stationed there with the USMC two years ago and have been living the island lifestyle ever since.  They are incredibly lucky to live only a ten minute walk from two picturesque beaches.  We had incredible weather the entire time so we were essentially glued to the ocean.  When we weren't swimming we were checking out lava fields (on the beach), building sand castles, and looking for creatures in the tidal pools.

Our other (non-beach affiliated) explorations took us to a true Hawaiian luau at Paradise Cove.  We danced, laughed, ate, drank, and experienced the beautiful Hawaiian culture.

 We also checked out North Shore Marketplace and all of its shopping glory, which was pretty exciting for an Alaskan girl who hasn't seen a mall in two years.  Another cool place we stopped was Waimea Falls and Botanical Gardens.  Definitely worth the hike if you are ever in Honolulu!

Towards the end of our trip we visited the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites.  We toured the museum, USS Missouri, and the USS Arizona Memorial.  It was such a sobering feeling to stand over the USS Arizona.  Not much can compare to this historical landmark.

This trip was one for the books! I am happy to be back in Alaska but I will certainly miss being with my family in paradise.  Perhaps we will have to make it a tradition? A girl can dream!

Questions:
Have you ever visited Hawaii?
If not, what was your favorite vacation?

Hiatus

Wow! It has been over a month since my last post.  I apologize to my readers about the lengthy absence I took from the blogging world.  Unfortunately, I have been up to my ears in work and being "plugged in" while at home hasn't really been high on my agenda.  I've been focusing my time and energy on my family and being outdoors.

One of the reasons for my absence is that the school year is quickly coming to a close. There are only four weeks of school left! Work is incredibly busy as we wind down.  I also accepted a job subbing for our year-round Montessori school (school district affiliated) to keep me busy over the summer.  This way I can work part-time and Cody and I can save some money for fun stuff (like vacations). Woo-hoo for saving money!

 Another big reason for my absence is that my job situation is pretty up in the air for next year.  Huge budget cuts have really taken their toll on our schools this year.  The school district has said that they will cut up to twenty jobs next year, which is better than the originally projected thirty jobs.  My position is grant-funded but the grant hasn't been renewed as of yet and hangs on the school districts decision.  I have thrown a bunch of job applications out into the world (all over the country) in hopes that if my classroom doesn't exist next year I will have other offers on the table. It's a crazy time to be a teacher!

I promise not to take so long of a hiatus from the blog again.  I have a few fun posts coming up in the next week or so.  We've been doing a lot of camping, hiking, etc. The weather has been pretty spectacular too so expect a picture overload.  Happy Friday!

Questions: 
Have you ever taken a blog hiatus?
What is your current job situation? 

Springtime Hiking in Alaska

The weather is changing! The changes are tiny…and maybe imagined on my part.  But, the sun seems to be carrying a little bit more heat and the wind isn't quite so bitter.  Yes, the temps are still in the 30's but they are steadily inching towards that beautiful springtime range.

We took advantage of this tiny change and took our first "big" hike of the warm season.  We did an (almost) six hour adventure out at the end of Thane Road in Juneau. The road ends in Juneau in many all places.  Thane is no exception.  It is basically just another place in our beautiful town where civilization ends and the true wilderness begins.  Such a contrast to downtown Juneau that lies only a few miles away!

Anyways, we took off on a trail head and made the 3(ish) mile hike down to an isolated beach area. We went with five people and three dogs…quite the crew! And, we all packed in firewood (it's been very rainy so we were concerned about wet wood). When we reached the beach we unpacked our wonderfully dry wood and set a fire on the beach.  The dogs played, seals teased us (and the pups) by swimming lazily by the shore, and the sun made my cheeks just a little bit pink.  Ahhhh…

We packed up our stuff and played around/ hiked up some giant boulders and then took off exploring some more.  We finally headed back in the direction of home after a little over five hours.  It was such a great way to kick off the warm weather seasons.

Back at home the three of us (Cody, me, and the doggy) promptly passed out and only woke up to eat a tiny dinner before drifting back off into a semi-delirious but oh-so-happy sleep.

Questions:
Any sign of warm weather in your part of the world?
What is your favorite warm weather activity?

Twenty-Four

I celebrated my twenty-fourth birthday this week.  The day of my birth happened to fall over Spring Break so I got to hang out, relax, and generally just do whatever my heart desired.  Coincidentally, Cody and Specks also celebrated their birthdays this week.  It has been quite the exciting break.

As with every birthday though, I start to question things.  I don't know why birthdays do this to me! A billion questions ran through my head though on that day.  Should we stay in Juneau? Should we move on to another adventure? Should we finally start planning our wedding? Should I find part-time work over the summer? Do we have enough money saved for Cody to go back to school?

Geesh! My head was hurting.  Sometimes I get a little overzealous when thinking about the future.  This time I just tried to breathe and remind myself that sometimes I don't need to make those decisions.  Sometimes I just need to throw my ideas to the wind and hope that the right idea will make its way back to me.  Today's post is just a reminder that we all need to take a step back and breathe sometimes.  Now, everybody do it with me….

Questions
How do you relax?
What big decision are you struggling with right now?