More Naylors Head North

Hey there! We just wrapped up a great week with Andy's parents and his brother, Peter*.  Because we like to be gracious hosts, we ordered up more of the fantastic weather that we had for Nick and Miranda (we're so nice like that).  Since the visitors are all true Alaskans, we let them pick the activities.  I got some great tips for when mom and dad come up - be ready for the full Naylor tour!  

First stop Sunday morning was Flattop:

The view is always great both far and near.  The wildflowers are back!!

Alpine Azalea

Mountain Avens

Bodin's Milk-Vetch(?)

Buttercup (one of the 6 kinds in my book)

Mountain Avens in a bed of Moss Campion

The hike was great - not too hot, not too many people, and a whole lotta elevation gain over a short distance.  Feel the burn! 

Most of the hard part is stairs.  So. Many. Stairs.  Here's a view looking back down:

Even Ripley got a little tired toward the top.  Poor guy.

But that's the thing about hiking...the payoff is usually pretty damn fantastic.  Would you like to see a panoramic view of the entire Anchorage bowl?  I've got one right here.

Full disclosure - we did not summit the peak.  The last few hundred yards is straight up and you have to use your hands.  Not safe for Ripley, and not something that sounded too appealing.  Andy and I did it once a couple years ago and I think we're good for the time being.  From where we stopped, this was how much left we had to climb: 

Ripley decided that it might be fun to run away from us once we got to the stopping point.  He also thought that going right off the cliff might be nicer than going back down those stairs.

Don't worry - he didn't go over the edge.  But he tried really hard. 

At the top we even got a picture all together courtesy of a fellow climber.  Sadly, it took awhile to get organized (I blame Ripley): 

I think this perfectly captures our abilities to organize quickly. 

Good one!

Eventually we were ready to head back down.  Sadly it required that we go back along a VERY narrow portion of the trail that was still covered with ice and a wee bit treacherous.  In the time that Andy's parents were here, two people had to be rescued via helicopter from this portion of the trail (which we didn't know at the time we did the hike).  Not us though, Naylors have climbing ability second only to mountain goats.  While I'm not officially a Naylor, I have an incredibly low center of gravity, not unlike a weeble, so we were fine.  

After we finished the hike we stopped for an amazing lunch at Midnight Sun Brewery.  I was starving and was too busy stuffing my face with grilled cheese and beer to take any pictures, but I promise it was delicious.  

Next stop: Potter's Marsh!

We took a loop around the boardwalk and saw more sandhill cranes.  Andy got a good picture of one taking off.  I love these birds. 

 While we were walking back near the parking lot, I saw a throng of tourists with giant cameras.  Of course I had to investigate.

While there I got buzzed by an eagle who didn't appreciate the bird enthusiasts ignoring him.  

I finally saw what they were looking at:

It was a great horned owl!  I've never seen an owl in the wild, so I thought it was pretty great.  After Potter's Marsh we drove around a little and then headed home to relax and let Andy show off his incredible grilling skills.  A pretty perfect day! 

*Peter didn't show up until Monday in case you wondered where he was...