Trapper Creek

This past week I enjoyed an amazing Thanksgiving Holiday with Mark. It was really fun to be able to show him all of the sights and take him out on the town. The downfall of taking in visitors is that the planes come and leave in the wee hours of the night. I picked him up at 12:15 a.m. on Tuesday morning and dropped him off at 12:15 a.m. this morning.

Getting up last Tuesday took quite a bit of effort, but the staff let me leave at 11:00 am, so I really can't complain. After I got off of work, we headed off to Moose's Tooth for a good hot meal. That night Mark got to experience the joys of Eddie's Sports Bar and the cutthroat game of trivia that we play every Tuesday night. Needless to say we did not win the $1,000, but neither did anyone else, so there is hope for us this week. Leslie and I beat the boys in a rousing game of darts and Mark got to meet the illustrious Jack, our older bar trivia buddy with a crazy sense of humor.

I took Wednesday off so we could drive around and see the city. We made it out to Earthquake Park just in time to see the mountains and the city before the snow set in. Somehow, even though he lives in the Midwest, Mark did not own snow-boots which brought us to the Army/Navy store and then on to Fred Meyer for some warm foot gear (I am really quite positive that there is anything that Freddie's does NOT sell). The day ended with a top-notch meal at Simon and Seafort's where he ordered the Kobe Meatloaf Sliders and the juiciest prime rib I have seen in a long time. I ate a pea salad (which was delectable despite the name) and the most delicious scallops and (gasp) quinoa EVER! It was just too bad that the snow had set in and blocked our view of the Cook Inlet.

The snow continued well into Thanksgiving day where we overslept for the 8:30 A.M. Packer game and were a bit suprised to see that the Lions had scored a touchdown in the first 2 minutes of the game. Slightly depressed, I got to cooking the meal and thankfully the Packers won. This year the stuffing turned out MUCH better than last year (I think the trick is to NOT bake my own bread and use rice loaf instead) and the pie crusts weren't half bad either. I will have to do a bit of poking around for better seasoning options for both the stuffing and the crusts. Other than that, the sweet potatoes were yummy and I didn't over cook the turkey!

Sleeping in on Friday morning was AWESOME, but the best part was getting packed to head up to Trapper Creek (right across from Talkeetna, about 2.5 hrs. north of Anchorage). Upon exiting the apartment, we were greeted with a good 6 inches of fresh snow on the ground and no evidence of its termination. The drive up was crazy, and it is a good thing I know how to maneuver when it is coming down...10 inches of snow makes for some interesting driving, I love my Subaru! We got in around dinnertime and relaxed as the snow tapered off in hopes for a clearer Saturday.

Saturday brought the chance for Mark and I to try our hands at ice fishing. Nate drove us out to a gorgeous remote spot near Cottonwood Creek. We then took a half mile hike out to a fishing spot, where only Leslie and I caught fish (the boys were a bit upset). I had the chance to try out my snowshoes and absolutely LOVE them! I know that they will be frequently used this winter and I really hope I get to go back up north again soon.

We ended our amazing vacation with a drive up to Denali State Park (about 100 miles south of the National Park) to see the views of the mountain ranges. Even though Denali and Mt. McKinley weren't visible, God is good and blessed us with a clear and sunshiny day! I am posting a few pictures on here but your best shot to see them is to check out my facebook page.