Alaskan cabin adventure. . .

We arrived in Alaska in the middle of the night on July 1. It was strange to leave a pitch black Seattle and see the light increase as we flew north. Although I grew up with the midnight sun, it’s always surreal being outside at 2 a.m. with the sun out.

The plane ride was uneventful and Liam slept the whole way in his carseat (thank goodness!). We were only in town one day before we packed up the truck and headed to my parent’s cabin for a long weekend of fun. We had big plans to go salmon fishing on Montana Creek, but that salmon fishing was called off by Fish and Game because the salmon run is all wacky.

My parent’s bought the cabins this past winter and they have done so much work on them! When we first visited in December, they were filled with junk, uninsulated and unloved. We hardly recognized the place this time. There are three cabins on 20 acres, and it used to be a kid’s camp, so it has all kinds of quirky character.

There is no running water, so you have to use an outhouse and can’t shower, but that’s the worst of it. Although there is no electricity, they have a generator that powers the cabin just as if you were in town.

This is the “medium” cabin, which is the cabin my parent’s have done most of the work on. In the past few months they’ve insulated it, installed a wood stove (and hearth), put in laminate flooring, new screens, added electricity outlets (which hook up to the generator), installed cabinets, rebuilt the deck and a whole myriad of other projects.

The small cabin just down the hill. This one is also set up for staying, although it doesn’t have all the accomodations that the medium cabin does.

The big cabin and the “bath house.” These are projects for later years. . .so much to do!

The cabins aren’t too far from the pipeline and Shaw Creek. We took the four-wheelers down to Shaw Creek for some fishing!

Here I pretend to catch a big fish, but it was really just a snag. Bummer.

Jeremy knows what he’s doing – he caught a Grayling.

An owl overlooks us as we fish.

My sister Stacy and dad “Papa Scott” sitting on the four-wheeler near Shaw Creek. The pipeline is in the background.

This is the road along the pipeline that we take for a while on our way back to the cabin.

Check out this HUGE bird’s nest. It’s up on a power line and it was enormous! We think it is a peregrine falcon nest.

Liam LOVED the four-wheelers. We would go around in circles at 3 miles per hour. He was so happy!

We couldn’t play all day. . .lots of work to do. Here Sharif (my sister’s boyfriend), Jeremy and Liam clear brush. Liam loved putting leaves on the tarp to help out.

My dad clears trees that were too close to the cabin.

Stacy, Liam and Sharif taking a quick break from hauling logs.

My mom and Jeremy haul tarps full of brush down to the burn pile in the field.

Liam wears “Papa Scott’s” work hat and gloves – he wants to help “work.”

Liam at his finest. He is mad because the ice is too cold to hold, but he doesn’t want to put it in a cup. It’s a predicament that really ticked him off.

We worked up an appetite. Liam enjoys his corn on the cob in the cabin.

On the four-wheeler with mom. Bailey follows closely by our side. Liam and Bailey are best buds.

After a couple days of playing and working outside, we needed baths! Here Liam takes a bath in a basin in the cabin. He did pretty well considering he’s never taken a bath like this.

Liam washes under his chin!

He’ll probably be too big for this “tub” the next time we visit. . .

On the way back to town we stopped by the Knotty Shop (built from knotty pine) for an ice cream cone! Time for another bath. . .

We loved it out at the cabins – it was quiet, beautiful, relaxing and fun. We had lots of quality family time together and we look forward to many more trips out there. We’ll spend the rest of the week in town . . more later. . .