a WILD day!

First of all---when dropping Adam off at work, we saw 2 moose roaming the edge of the parking lot! Once Adam was on his way, I headed over to take pictures, but only saw one moose (I think a yearling)---mama was nowhere to be seen, but I'm sure she was watching me!!!

Then Mom and I decided to go on an adventure and hike near the waterfall on Seward highway (McNeu?!?) Mom said, "I have a good feeling about the moose today." I agreed and said, "I'd like to see a bear--at a safe distance." (we both had bear mace, just incase)

The first animal we saw on the trail were.....ptarmigans. Alaska's state bird--and similar to the pheasant/quail for bird hunting! There was a mother with about 4-5 chicks. The chicks scattered, but the mom could've cared less about us. We walked right past her and she clucked a little bit--but that was all!

The second animal we came across was a black bear and he was so close we could have thrown a rock and hit him! As we turned a corner, he was walking in the brush-we could just see the top of his head and back-mom said, "Oh my gosh, what is that?!?!" and she latched on to my arm!! It was pretty exciting once we figured out it was bear and it wasn't very interested in us. We made sure he knew we were there--but he just kept on his way.

About 30ft further down the path, we came around another bend.....and BAM there was a huge moose(female), just staring at us. The first thing I did was start backing up and said, "I hope she doesn't have a baby!" Then mom pulled be back further/quicker and pointed at her calf while saying, "UM, she DOES!" So we just froze, the mom starred us down and the baby kept eating leaves. We waited her out, she didn't show any signs of stress/anger (thank goodness!) But she was rather calm---looking around, eating, and keeping an eye on us. After about 10 minutes of waiting, the mama and baby walked away!

We went on a 3 hour hike (1way) up the mountain--going down went a lot faster! Eventually the path turned into...animal trails! We were headed towards the lake-supposedly we were on the Lake McNeu/Rabbit path---BUT WE NEVER FOUND THE LAKE!! We finally turned around once we hit the tree line.....we had to find our way back and we were satisfied with the views! Afterall we saw MORE wildlife....another ptarmigan family and 2 HUGE bull moose. The scenery was gorgeous and we had wild raspberries along the way.

Today's animal count...

6 moose

10-12 ptarmigan

1 black bear
...................who knows how many we walked past! Mom and I are worried about getting out of bed tomorrow---we are already sore from the hike/climb--what a great workout!

Adam is being overloaded with information at his residency-but he loves it!!! Mom and I have been a little worried the past 2 nights--it's like he is locked in a closet-no just kidding---he is just SO BUSY and learning so much that when he comes home--he gets EXTRA goofy/silly! It has been interesting!

I have my first school/principal interview on Tuesday morning! Potential Pre-K, K, and 2nd grade! PERFECT!

Mom has two days left---we have to pack them full!!! Plans are to shop for the grandchildren, go to the weekend market, grill some steak, skype with Brandon/Deanna's family, and maybe play some more raquetball. I think you should know that mom whooped me last night--literally--she nailed me in the stomach--I even had a welt! Next match, I'll put her against Adam and let them duke it out!