Tag Archives: Alaska

Nate’s Notes: “Bear” Feet

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I am feeling better this week, so I thought I’d tell you all about another Alaska story from this summer. Thanks to Momma for covering for me last week.

Huge mountain- not many people get to see it like this because it likes to hide behind clouds!! Lucky us!!

Huge mountain- not many people get to see it like this because it likes to hide behind clouds!! Lucky us!!

We took the chugga chugga train to a big big park. I was expecting slides, swings, climbing thingies…but it wasn’t THAT kind of park. People really need to be clear. I saw BIG, HUGE mountains, trees and animals, but nothing to play on. It’s some kind of natural or national park or something. Anyway, this park place with no swings or slides is where the tallest mountain around us lives.

After a fast breakfast, we rushed onto …wait for it…a stinkin’ bus!!! A bus!!! AAAaaack. For the whole day, once again, I had to be strapped into a seat. A toddler. Strapped. All day. So NOT built for that. At least my big people took turns sitting next to me, reading to me, and, of course showing me things out the windows. Well…at least the big people who didn’t have cameras stuck to their faces. Ehem. No names mentioned, but the names rhyme with “Bomma”, “Waddy”, and “Funckle Pim”…just to name a few.

Denali National Park_0010 Denali National Park_0020 Denali National Park_0025 Denali National Park_0029 Denali National Park_0032 Denali National Park_0041 Denali National Park_0050Anyway, I have to say that it was super cool to see all the outside stuff. I mean, we saw sheep way way way up on top of a mountain. I don’t even know how they stayed there without falling down!! One little girl called them goats. Lyla called them “moos”. Pfff…some kids *eye roll and mumble*.

Then we saw big deer that looked like reindeer or something like that. They came right up to the bus!! There was snow too. One time, right before we stopped to stretch, we saw a red fox in the snow. Sneaky foxes. And then…the coolest EVER…we saw bear! Not just one bear. Nope. We saw a Momma bear, her babies, a HUGE bear in the water and another bear walking on the side of the mountain. Picture a big smile here people. BIG SMILE. The Momma bear was close enough I could see her bear feet.   Wow. And the baby bears were so cuuuute! Even their bear feat were really big!

The day actually went pretty fast, even for being stuck on a bus. It was fun to see all those animals that we don’t get to see at home.

Later, when we were getting ready for bed, Momma took off my socks and said I had bare feet! I looked from her to Daddy really fast- a little confused, “Whaat? I have bear feet?!!! That’s silly!! Bear feet?!!”

Nate’s Notes: And The BIG-ness Keeps Coming!!!

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Today we saw huge ice cubes! Our BIG boat floated right up next to them in Alaska. Momma said there would be giant ice cubes, and we might see seals, whales and puffins. You know what? She was right! Well, I don’t know about the puffins. Some people on the boat said they saw them, but I didn’t see the puffins…so they probably weren’t there.

These giant ice cubes were sooooo cool! Get it…cool…ice…cool?! I feel like sometimes I have to slow things down and spell them out for you big people because you get too busy. It’s exhausting really. So yea, these ice cubes were sticking up way way way out of the water. There were even big pieces floating in the water that we HIT and ran over with the boat! Toddler Boy Brain = Exploding.

Giant Ice Cubes

Giant Ice Cubes

Kaboom!!!

Kaboom!!!

We hit ice with the big boat!

We hit ice with the big boat!

It was super cool. Yea, and cold. Like….brrrrr. We bundled up with hats and sweatshirts and jackets. I’ve never been in a place that cold! No really, I haven’t…I’m from California. Of course…EVERYBODY had a camera, not just Papa, Daddy, Momma and Uncle Tim. It seemed like everywhere we looked on the boat, people had their cameras attached to their faces. Jeez big people. Ever think about just looking and enjoying? Momma says we can take pictures with our minds. What’s wrong with trying that?

And THEN…BOOM!!! CRASH!!! BANG!!! Lyla jumped and “ran” for Momma’s leg. Why is she always hugging Momma? Doesn’t she know she’s already taken?? Stop already. Anyway… I froze (more ice humor people). It sounded like the ice cubes were yelling or growling…or something like that! They were breaking and crashing into the water. That actually scared me a little (okay, a lot), but I’d never tell anyone that. I know I’m still little, but when the ice cubes boomed and crashed, it made me feel even more little. I may have even quietly grabbed Momma’s other leg, but pretended it was to make sure she was okay. I looked at Daddy though, and his smile made me feel safe. I knew I didn’t have to be scared. With Momma and Daddy as my steady, I was okay.

I went back to looking at the huge ice cubes and listening to their giant noises. And took a picture with my mind. This…this I would never forget. KABOOM!!! 

Nate’s Notes: Alaska…FINALLY!!!

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*Yawn*. I decided I can’t go to bed and wake up when the sun does here on the ship or in Alaska.   For some reason, the sun doesn’t sleep very much here. Today I feel sleepy. *Yawn*. BUT…I’m sleepy in ALASKA!!! Finally!!!! The water seems bigger. The mountains are definitely bigger and right next to the boat! The sky seems bigger and the days are definitely bigger. *Yawn*. Definitely big adventures every day!

The boat has been spectacular (Yes, I use that word, pfff… I’m not a baby!).   Did I mention the halls are so long you can run and run and run? And there is even a level or deck or …yea, ship deck…that is JUST FOR RUNNING!! No really. They actually put little flat people on the ground to show us what to do. Momma goes there to run, and I do too. It’s fun to go as fast as I can. Because Lyla is learning basic life rules, like listening, it is even more fun. Hee hee. See, what you big people don’t understand is this: “Come here” really means “Run the other way”…and most of the time “No” means “Yes- do it more”. At least that is what I taught Lyla. You’re welcome.  

Flat person on floor

Flat person on floor

Flat person on floor

Flat person on floor.

*Yawn*. Scuze me. Man, that sun really kept me up!!! Well, when we aren’t running or playing, we get to watch the big water, big mountains, and big sky.   We even saw a whale tail earlier!! Hey- that rhymes!! And dolphins swimming by the boat!!! Tomorrow we get to get off the boat and walk around in Alasak! Will there be bears? Will there be snow? Papa told me we get to see big wood sticks that people painted and carved. Like, really big ones. Why do people paint big sticks? Hmmm…have to think about that. Look a bird!!! Look, big water!!! Look a tree!!! Look a mountain!!! Look, there goes Lyla running away!!!