We also spent some time Saturday at Beluga Point... were we saw no beluga whales but we are led to believe they can be seen there from time to time.
It was windy but a lot of fun to climb around the rocks and have our kids get up close to the ocean, some for the first time.
Yesterday we had our first day of family exploring since we've been in Alaska. Hubby and I had a chance to plan the day on our Friday night date, and so we had our plan, and then we were able to be a little spontaneous as the day progressed as well.
We visited the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where we saw a lot of native Alaskan animals that for one reason or another are not fit or able to survive in the wild, and so the conservation center has provided medical care and then created a healthy environment for each animal, similar to the wild, but where they are protected. We packed a picnic lunch, walked the trail to see all the animals, and had fun. I'm glad we went and know what's there, but it was more expensive then I expected so we will not need to go back. Now we can recognize Alaskan animals when we see them in the wild because we've seen them at this center.
We saw wolf, grizzly bear, black bear, moose, elk, reindeer, musk ox, porcupine, a bald eagle, wood bison, and black-tailed deer. Seeing musk ox for the first time (and pretty close) and watching the grizzly bear swim were two of the highlights.
There was more to the day but I will save that for another update:
We had a very exciting minute here at our home... two teeth came were lost within one minute of each other - and without tears or a collision involved. I do think some competition was involved.
Just a friendly Public Service Announcement from your Alaskan Mountain Millers...
Alaska's waters have leeches.
Note: All the children in the picture lived to tell the tale.
They road their bikes to our mailbox 1.5 miles away and they rode their bikes home again (several hills involved)... but the real hard work was checking to see if there was any mail.
Howard got his split removed earlier this week and we are thrilled! No boxing for the rest of the summer, but the bone is healing wonderfully and he does not require for it to be immobilized any longer.
After fishing every day in Michigan, that split was getting gnarly... we washed it repeatedly but the smell of fish was still there.
Having a seven-year-old boy is not for the faint of heart.
Here are some pictures from the morning of our second day on Mackinac Island at the Grand Hotel. So, our first breakfast...
