4th of July weekend

Well lets just say our weekend started off really slow.  We have been planning for this trip a month in advance with our friends, the Sipes' family, to go to Denali National Park & Chena Lake.  The camping group consisted of Brandon, Brittany(Brandon's wife), Anthony(9), Kaden(7), Cory and I.  We invited other friends, but this was the group that made it out.  Either way, Cory and I were going.  We did this trip 2 years ago and this time it will mark our 3 years of being together, yay!

On July 1st, Cory and I were so excited and had everything packed up.  After getting last minute stuff at Wal Mart, we drove up to Palmer where the Sipes family lives.  On our way to Palmer, we get a text from Brittany telling us that something is wrong with their transmission on their truck.  They need to bring that truck because it hauls their trailer.  We decided to just go to their house and check it out.  When we got there, Brandon was on the phone and computer searching for a transmission for his Ford.  He said that he would do the labor himself if he can find a tranny, but no matter what, they were still going.  Brittany kept telling us we should just go and they would just meet us there once Brandon fixed the truck.  So we agreed.  Cory and I left to Subway for lunch and while we were sitting down, Cory said "Do you think I should help Brandon?" and I said he should because we were all in the trip together.  There was no way Brandon can install a new transmission by himself.  So Cory texted Brandon and told him he would help.  Brandon was in relief!  We drove back to their house and the men had to pick up the new transmission in Anchorage and they worked on it all day at the auto shop on base.

Because the men didn't finish fixing the transmission, Cory and I slept in their spare bedroom that night because we really didn't want to drive all the way back to Anchorage.  Brittany told everyone she would wash all our clothes that way we can all wear it again the next day, like a reset, haha.  I told Cory to get his clothes in the wash when he stepped out of the shower.  Being super tired and forgetful, he dropped his phone in the wash.  He didn't realize it until I asked him where his phone was before bed.  We looked in the washer and there it was soaked.  It was doomed.  Bye Bye Iphone.  It was time for us to upgrade anyways.  We have had the Iphone first generation for the last 3 years.

On Saturday, I dropped Brandon and Cory off at the auto body shop on base then I had to get Cory and I new Iphones.  We upgraded to the 49 dollar Iphone 3GS.  I will take it!  It works and it is so much faster than our old ones.  It was exciting to get a text from Brandon saying the truck will be ready in 15 mins.  I zoomed back to base to check it out.  With the new transmission and $2300 of Branon's money, the truck worked and we were off to Denali State Part Saturday at about 3pm.

We got to Riley Creek Campgrounds, which we reserved for two nights.  Our camping in Denali was cut short down to one night because we missed a night due to truck problems.  We weren't able to add another day because it was so packed!  So when we got to camp, we unloaded and made a fire.  Had hotdogs for late dinner and chilled out with the pouring rain.  We were bummed it had to rain on us on top of everything, but we had to keep on trucking.  While Cory and I were trying to get our sleeping mattress into our tent, one of the poles broke.  It was time for us to get a new tent anyways.  We tied it up to keep it sturdy, but we knew we would buy a new one the next day.

Camp Site 1 at Riley Creek Campgrounds in Denali

Sipes Family 

The Larsons

The cute grizzly we saw!

After dinner, Brittany and I made lunch bags for our 8 hour round trip shuttle bus ride the next day.  We packed everyone a sandwich, chips, fruit snacks, pickles, and whatever else we can find.  Plus tons of water.

The next morning we got on one of the shuttle buses at 9:30AM.  We chose the 8 hour shuttle bus that would take us into the Eilson Center and back.  Public vehicles aren't aloud to get into the park, unless you win the lottery to do that.  Otherwise, you can only go 13 miles into the park with a public vehicle.  It kept sprinkling rain through out the bus ride and poor Anthony got motion sickness.  We didn't see as much wildlife as we had hoped.  They probably weren't out because of the rain.  We did see a bull moose, mama moose, caribou herd, dal sheep, ground squirrels, and best of all a great view of a grizzly bear!  After that long ride, I knew I wouldn't do that again.  Plus it was too cloudy to see Denali in the park, which was a major bummer.

Our trip ended at about 6PM and we decided that we head out to Chena Lake.  We were only 2.5 hours away plus we needed a campsite ASAP.  Cory and I headed out first to race to the WalMart in Fairbanks for a new tent, one that would fit our mattress through the door and one that we can actually stand in.  Our last text was short but big enough for the two of us.  The Sipes headed to Chena to get us a camp spot.  Luckily there were a ton available.  It seems that no one wants to be camping when its wet so getting a camp spot was easy.  Two years ago when Cory & I went to Chena Lake, it was packed because of the sun and hotness.  We weren't able to get a spot then, but this year was totally different and eerie from no one being there.  We camped here for the remaining days.  We decided to shift our camping by one day because we lost our first day.

Chena Lake was fun.  We rode our bikes around, took the raft out on the lake on the hot day, hung out at the "beach" they had, tried to go fishing in the stocked Chena Lake and checked out Santa Claus House in North Pole.  It got way sunny towards the end of our camping, which we were grateful for.  Made for a nice drive home too.

Camp site 2 in Chena Lake Campgrounds

Cool Rainbow

Sitting in Santa's Chair in the Santa Claus House (North Pole, AK)

It is so good to be back home after all of that we have been through.  Blown up transmission, killed the Iphone in water, rain, Anthony got motion sickness, tent pole broke, etc etc.  Our poor list of negatives.  On top of it all, I have now developed a cough, sore throat, and runny nose after the trip.  I blame it on the rain!  It was still a good time all in all and I am so glad we got to get out of Anchorage for a bit :)  We are thinking of going out to Kenai Lake next, but don't know exactly when.