Making Alaskan Memories

In my last post I mentioned that I had a very special guest coming to visit Alaska. My best friend Brandi came up from Oregon to stay for a while! We had to keep her arrival a secret since she was surprising her Dad, that in itself was amazing and worth the whole trip but her adventure didn't end there. I had the immense pleasure of her company for almost 2 weeks but that time flew by, as I knew it would. I wanted to show her as much of Alaska as I could while she was here, selfishly hoping she'd fall in love with it like I did and just stay =)

(Brandi took this one!)

9 miles from my home in Eagle River there's an asphalt cul-de-sac and an ordinary dirt trail about a half a mile long. I'd only hear rumors about this place, I hadn't yet ventured out to see it for myself but I figured what better time than while Brandi was here to see it with me so we headed into the woods. They can be heard long before they're seen. We could even smell them before we could see them. We walked through the forest, crossed a footbridge over the creek....

and then Barbara Falls finally came into view. And what a view!!

If you've read much of my blog you're already familiar with my love for waterfalls so you can imagine that the time spent watching this one was simply heaven for me. Having Brandi there to experience it with me just made it that much better. I could already see her love for Alaska blooming, and that's a magical thing to see.

There is a trail down to the base of the falls but we weren't wearing the proper footwear, shocking I know, so we stayed up top. I will venture down soon in boots and take more photos I promise! Now that I know they're there, I won't be able to stay away from Barbara Falls!

The next day we were ready for more adventure so we took off on a road trip!

Currently, quite of bit of this beautiful state is engulfed in wild fire flames including a large part of the Kenai Peninsula south of me. I knew it would be smokey and driving conditions wouldn't be the best but Seward has been high on my Alaska bucket list so Brandi and I headed out.

Seward is awesome you guys!! It actually kind of reminded me of Newport, the town in Oregon where I grew up. Brandi also spent quite a bit of her life in Newport so for both us the feeling of familiarity was pretty special. We even saw the ocean!

Ok so the "waves" weren't much compared to what we'd grown up with on the coast of Oregon but it was ocean all the same. My Oregon girl couldn't resist dipping her fingers and toes in.

I shot this right before that little swell rushed in and soaked her from toes to tush! =) It was much colder than she was used to but it far from ruined her day. How could it have? She was in Alaska and Seward had much more to offer.

(She took this one of us too!)

This waterfall is along side the road that takes you out of town and to the beach. It's man made I believe but I didn't see any signage telling me what for. I didn't spend too much time investigating because man made or not it was still pretty beautiful.

And of course, what trip to a beachside town in Alaska would be complete without a seafood dinner? Bran was really in the mood for some Alaskan King Crab!

(Photo cred, Brandi, she just had to brag to her friends back home!)

Me, I'm not a crab fan so I stuck to Halibut fish and chips and wow was it yummmmmy!!

The food was incredible, the view was spectacular....

Side note, if you ever get to Seward go eat at Chinooks on the docks. They have wonderful food and well worth the stop!

Oh and we saw a man walking a cat!

To say the least, we had a blast in Seward! I can't wait to go back and I kinda hope she's here to go with me =)

I was afraid that our amazing trip south to Seward would be hard to top but I decided to drive her North the following day to a beautiful place called Hatcher Pass.

Hatcher Pass is in Palmer Alaska. North of Eagle River about 30 miles or so. I had just been told that in the Summer, there's a dirt road that follows the mountains up to the Pass summit and descends down into a town called Willow. Basically it's just a long loop that takes a good couple hours to drive but is so beyond worth the time and luckily the weather was perfect and the sky couldn't have been bluer.

We made several stops throughout our journey to take it all in and get some great photos!

She's the cutest!

We explored the river beds, took in every bit of Alaska that we could, and of course, strengthened our selfie skills!

Couldn't have had better backgrounds!

The first couple of stops would have been enough but we were just getting started, the pass had so much more to offer!

I have no idea what these little shacks are for but they way they're nestled in the brush caught my eye. I'd like to know more, there's quite a bit of history in Hatcher Pass so I'll be doing some research! And probably some further exploration!

Everywhere we looked we were surrounded by mountains and sky. It was breathtaking.

Alaska reaches to my soul every day, it soothes me and puts my heart at rest. I could tell that it was doing the same for Brandi, that made me happier than anything else that day.

We continued up to the summit, taking in the views

70 plus degrees down the mountain side quickly dropped to below 50 degrees at the summit. After spending months in the heat I was a little chilly! We didn't stay there too long before we started our drive down the mountain.

Just below, we came upon the appropriately named Summit Lake. One of the things that has always amazed me about Alaska is the colors of the water!

This lake was no let down. Look at that blue!! At this point I was wishing I had thought to pack a picnic and wine! Next time Brandi!!

As we continued down I was hoping to see some wildlife but they were hiding from the camera. We did see this pretty cool old bus though!

It's been there a while by the looks of it, no indication of why but for some reason it just seemed to fit in perfectly!

Everything about our visit to Hatcher Pass was completely stunning.

I probably won't get back out there before snowfall when the road is closed but I will for sure make this drive again. It was really the perfect way to see so many different sides of Alaska and my Oregonian visitor was in awe.

Our visit was short but all around incredible and very much needed. It took me 6 years to finally get her up here but it damn sure won't be that long before she visits again! Before I knew it I was taking her to the airport to fly home. I miss her so much already and I'm already in the process of planning her next trip. Sharing so many of my Alaska firsts with her made them that much more special. I love you Brandi, thanks for coming to make some memories with me!

Until next time...