12 November 2012

Yesterland Farm's Pumpkin Patch

November 12, 2012 2

I wanted to take a break from my Alaska posts and get our pumpkin patch trip on here.
We met Nana in Canton, TX to go to Yesterland Farms.  They have a nice set up, but it really disappoints me how these pumpkin patches charge you to get into the farm and then charge you for over half of the rides and attractions.  Just not cool in my book!

However, the kids had fun even though they felt a little too big for some of the activities and rides.

We watched a pig race, walked through a petting zoo area and watched this calf chomp on the arm of our kids.


These water pumps were fun.  You put a rubby ducky on the shoot and pump the water to make it go down into a little pool.



I love this photo of Reegan!



The farm had this neat set up to launch a pumpkin into a pond.  The kids loved it!


Splash!

The kids got to pick one "ride" they wanted to pay for.  Brennan and Karis chose rock climbing.



Reegan chose the roller coaster.  You'll notice a little girl wedged between us.  She was riding alone and wanted to ride with us.


I can't believe how big these 3 are getting.





This was by far the best corn maze I've ever been in!


Waiting at the finish line for the others.  That face just cracks me up!



A pumpkin patch visit isn't complete without Kettle Korn!

Hopefully they got their fill.  Who knows when we'll see a pumpkin patch again!

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06 November 2012

Turnagain Arm - a marsh and other sites

November 06, 2012 1
Coming onto the "arm" from Anchorage is Potter Marsh.  This wildlife refuge is a great stop if you like to do some birdwatching.

I remember when there were only dirt pull offs to view the marsh.  Now, there is over 1500 feet of boardwalk that allows you to walk over a portion of the marsh.

This time of year isn't an ideal time for birdwatching, but the kids loved walking the boardwalk!




 My kids learned quickly that if they needed to use the restroom on our little road trips that they were going to have to use one of these.  Their first introduction to outhouse use!!  Ha!









Two stops that we frequently made on our summer halibut trips to Homer was usually Portage Glacier and sometimes Alyeska.

The Portage Glacier has shrunk quite a bit from what it once was.  I remember seeing lots of large chunks of glacier ice in Portage Lake.  I think that's one itty bitty one in the center of the picture.

 You can see a glacier in the center of the picture nestled in the mountain, but that's not Portage.  I'm not sure of it's name.  The Portage Glacier came down from the right and below the glacier in the center.  I remember when it was once visible.  Now it's necessary to take a boat to see it.

The Begich/Boggs visitor center gives a great overview of the glaciers in this area.  Of course, just about everything was closed except a little gift shop cafe.

Jerry had told me that I should pick out some Alaskan jewelry.  What girl wouldn't take up an offer to buy herself some jewelry?!  I hadn't found anything I liked until we stopped for some lunch at the gift shop/cafe at Portage.  I found some beautiful handmade jewelry made with ivory that was just my style.


I love it!!

If you are a down hill skiing enthusiast, Alyeska is the place to go in Alaska.


The sky was putting on a show for us while we were there.

There were a few things that I had mentally said to myself that I wanted to see while in Alaska.  One was fireweed, which is a plant with purplish/pink flowers.  However, it was already September and I really didn't think I'd see any blooms left this time of year.  But, I was ecstatic when I came across this.


 It's not Alaska's state flower, but it's just as popular and I was SO excited to find some with blooms on it.  Then I walked a bit further and actually found Alaska's state flower, the Forget-Me-Not also in bloom!  What a treat!
 

This resort town is such a pretty little place and is booming with business during ski season.


Girdwood, as stated on the fire truck below, is a neighboring town to Alyeska.


I highly recommend a trip along the Turnagain Arm.  So many beautiful things to see and do!!  Like the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.  I've heard it's a treat to see with Alaskan animals such as caribou, bison, coyote, moose and eagles.

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05 November 2012

Turnagain Arm - Mountains & Water

November 05, 2012 1
The Seward Highway follows along the Turnagain Arm taking you south towards the towns of Seward, Soldotna, Homer and various other towns in between.


This is a beautiful drive with mountains on one side and water on the other.  Depending on the tide you might see mud flats,


 surfers in the summer, or maybe even a whale or two.

Mudflats are formed from silt and mud deposited into the inlet.  As interesting as it may be it is a very dangerous area to walk in.  It acts like a quicksand and has claimed the lives people who've attempted to cross it.

If you look to the mountains you might see some mountain sheep.


They were WAY up there, but you can just see the white spots of sheep on the mountain top.

A popular stop along the way is Beluga Point.


And I could not refrain from taking a picture of this restaurant.  The Turnagain Arm Pit.  Awesome creative name for a BBQ place!  We didn't eat here, but Jerry took Karis to the bathroom and he said the place smelled amazing.









I saw whales on two different occasions.  Unfortunately, I was the only one in the car to see them and so no photos.  I wondered if everyone else in the car doubted my sightings.  Ha!




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Posted by at November 05, 2012 1 comment:
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