Two of Nate's friends came to visit from our home town with their dad's.  They got to go  hiking.

At this point they don't know there is a bear.... just over there behind them. 

Right there.... a grizzly.  They were in a group of five so they should be ok.

Uh, dad... this isn't the zoo.  That bear is not behind a cage.

Are you crazy??? He's getting closer!!!

The bear followed behind them on the trail.  After this hike, Ken bought bear spray.  The rule of thumb is a group  of 6 or more will not be attacked by a bear.  Since bears can't count, I'm guessing this applies to a group of 5 as well.  Everyone made it home safely.

The men went fishing on a remote waters Lake Creek, Yetna River.  You can only get there by flying in a small aircraft. They  landed and took off on the water.   I hope that makes the trip worth it even if they didn't catch their limit.  Eric owes you one!

Dwayne got the priviledge of riding in the right seat.

Ken caught a Silver in the Yetna River.

Eric caught a King also in the Yetna but couldn't keep it because it was out of season.

 Eric said the plane ride was a long 35 minutes.  They did spot a black bear and saw some beautiful scenery. 

We took the kids to go fishing in Hope.  If  you hit the Pink run right the kids can snag a fish every cast.  This is what combat fishing in AK looks like.  Can you just see the snaggled fishing lines?  One guy from Colorado  fishing next to us with a pole that was too small snagged a lot of fish.  It looked like he caught mostly Pinks.  The fish would get snagged and then run.  You could look down river and see everyone getting caught on the line and having to duck under it.  Most of his fish jumped off the line.  We didn't hit the run right.  The Pinks were coming but not to the point you could get one every cast.  Here are the fathers showing their sons how to fish.

Eric and Nate

 

 

Here's a Pink (Humpy).   Way to go guys!

Next stop Seward to see the beach.  It's cold outside but the kids didn't mind.  They took their buckets and collected rocks, shells (bits), sand, and seaweed. 

The boys actually got in the water and just played.  They were soaking wet by the time we left the beach. 

  Um, that's my husband.... I hope he's just getting a fishing tip. 

While leaving Seward we spotted a mother bear and her two cubs.  We weren't able to get a picture but it is something we will never forget. 

The guys also went fishing on the Kenai.  Although they didn't catch their limit there, they did have a lot of laughs.  Or actually they probably did catch their limit  but without a net to bring them in the fish just got away.  The boys went to see a movie which Nate just loved, since it's something we almost never do.  The boys just played and played.  We did stay up too late playing cards, and yes, I'm still convinced I should get something for shooting the moon in Sevens.  It was good to catch up with old friends.