Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)
On our Alaska cruise we were able to visit Glacier Bay National Park. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! The day started out as rainy and cool, but it cleared up as we were getting closer to the glaciers. The overcast, misty, and foggy day gave it a really neat look. Thankful for the opportunity to visit this beautiful place. We LOVED hearing the glaciers snap, crackle, pop, and watching them slide into the water.
The water was a gorgeous blue color with lots of ice chunks floating around into it. The lines and colors in the glaciers were super pretty. You could really see a lot of the dirt, rocks, and items that the glaciers brought down through the mountains and valleys with it. It was a super fascinating experience! We took a lot off pictures, but even the pictures don’t do it justice. We even saw several animals while on the boat going through Glacier Bay…a bear near a camp site with campers in a tent, otters swimming in the water, and more!
We had the privilege of visiting Glacier Bay National Park on it’s 100 anniversary! While we were cruising through Glacier Bay National Forest Rangers were giving talks and sharing information about the area. It was a very educational and fun activity for the whole family!
Overcast, but beautiful in Glacier Bay National Forest
Our family on the deck of the ship with a glacier in the background!
Big glacier!
The water, mountains, and beaches were pretty at Glacier Bay
The fog made it have an even more distinct and beautiful look to it
A private boat in Glacier Bay
You can see from the striachens on the rock where the water ran down it into the turquoise water below
You can see the waterfalls coming down the mountains
You can see all the rocks, dirt, and items that a recent glacier moved down this mountain.. Fascinating that ice can move that many items along with it!
Huge glacier coming down between two mountains and into the water!
Love the beautiful colors and lines in the glacier
Water streaming down the mountain!
Iceberg floating in the water below us
Glacier coming around the corner of the mountain
My favorite people – thankful for my family!
Massive iceberg, part of a glacier!
A little cave like area of the glacier
On the middle-right side of the picture you can see something that looks like a cloud near the water? That is actually a part of the ice breaking off and falling into the water. It was loud and super cool to watch!
Freezing cold, but gorgeous to see so close!
Brina hanging out on the deck and trying not to get too cool
I knew the glaciers were a pretty turquoise just didn’t expect it to be so vivid and beautiful in person!
Mesmerizing watching the water splashing along beside us. Peaceful and pretty at the same time!
Travel & Vacation: Alpine Visitor’s Center & Trail Ridge Road (Colorado Rocky Mountains)
We just came up that road
It was the kids first time in the Rocky Mountains so we decided to take them up Trail Ridge Road. We stopped at the Alpine Visitor’s Center and the Trail Ridge Gift Store to explore and take in the views. The Alpine Visitor’s Center is on Fall River Pass at the junction of Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road. It is open daily, however, Trail Ridge Road is only open usually May to October due to the large amount of heavy snow it gets during the winter months.
At the Alpine Visitor Center you can see amazing views of the tundra. There are some educational items to look at in the visitor center as well as a bookstore, gift shop, and snack bar. The snack bar at the Alpine Visitor’s Center is the only restaurant in the park so if you need something to eat this is where you need to stop.
The Alpine Visitor Center is along Trail Ridge Road. Trail Ridge Road extends from Estates Park to Grand Lake. It climbs up over 11,000 feet and has 11 miles where the treeline ends. At the treeline you will often still see snow in the summer time, trees twisted from the winds and more. Along Trail Ridge Road you will see evergreen forests, tundra with no trees in sight, wildlife, wildflowers, and probably even some snow all from your car. As kids we used to go up past the tree line in the summer time and have a snowball fight in our shorts and tshirts. Which is fun for awhile then everyone is heading quickly back to the car to defrost.
Neat Activity for Kids: On the way up my Aunt and Uncle put a sealed bag of potato chips between the girls seats. We didn’t say anything to them other than we are sitting the chips here so they won’t get crunched before our picnic. As we made our way further up into the mountains the bag began to inflate. The girls noticed about halfway up that the chip bag seemed to be growing larger (like an expanding balloon). We didn’t make a big deal about it, but before we reached the top we heard a sudden “pop” in the car. The girls immediately insisted that the potato chip bag had burst open. Why do you think the chip bag expanded and popped open? When packaged the bag of chips are sealed air tight to help preserve the chips longer. When you go to higher altitudes the air is thinner which means there is less air pressure on the outside of your chip bag, however, the air inside the bag remains at the original higher air pressure. This causes the chip bag to expand until the pressure both on the inside and outside of the bag are the same again. Sometimes, like in our case, this will cause the bag of chips to actually explode or open when traveling to higher altitudes. It is a fun activity to do with the kids (especially if you don’t say anything to them before hand). They thought it was awesome!
Wonder what animal lives in this cave….
Looking out over the mountains from the Alpine Visitor Center. As you can see from this picture there are no trees on the mountains because it’s above the tree line. You will also see there is still snow even though this picture was taken in July.
This area gets a lot of snow. Even in the summer there is still snow sitting on this mountain.
Rocky Mountains and it’s amazing natural rock displays
A stop at the Alpine Visitor Center
Beautiful green valley below the bare mountain tops
It was colder up higher and still had areas with quite a bit of snow on the mountains around us.
As we were looking around at the Alpine Visitor Center it got dark and cloudy outside. Only a few minutes later we were getting hit with a rain storm. It rained part of the way back down Trail Ridge Road, but after awhile it was bright and sunny again.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Finding a Warm Spot!
Our little feather friend found a warm spot between our storm door and back door! She was surprised to see us heading out to play in the snow! Recently we had a good 6 plus inches of snow in South Carolina which is pretty rare. The whole family was out for a little bits throughout the day. Brina and I lasted the longest the first round of snow playing. I ended up carrying her up the hill to the house after sledding. We got inside had hot chocolate, read books, ate lunch, had Snow Ball Ice Cream, did some laundry and relaxed before heading back out.
The next time when the girls were all bundled up ready to head outside Jake opened the back door to let them out and we were startled to find a “friend” that must have tried to follow Brina and I inside to find some warmth! We weren’t too excited about having a small bird flying around our house so we sent the girls out the garage then Brina came around to the back of the house to free the bird who was caught between the storm door and the back door of our house. I think the bird was happy to find such a warm spot until she encountered us. I am sure she was very glad find another warm spot away from the house! Even the birds are looking for warmth on the snowy days. I am thankful for a warm home especially during these cold days.
Recipe: Cheesy Broccoli Soup
It is winter and we are having a snow day here in South Carolina so I have been thinking about warm weather meals such as soup. I have been debating which one to make for our family but thought I could share them with you. If you like veggies and cheese you’ll enjoy this soup. You can add in other vegetables that you have on hand in your fridge. The girls like Cheesy Broccoli Soup just as much as we do. Glad both girls love eating veggies!Cheesy Broccoli Soup
- 1 (16 ounce) package of Broccoli
- 1 can Chicken Broth
- 3 medium Potatoes (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
- 1/2 onion (chopped)
- 1/2 tablespoon Butter
- 1/2 package Velveta Cheese
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1/2 teaspoon Chives
- Pinch of Salt & Pepper
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese (optional)
Put butter and diced onions in the crock pot on high for about 30 minutes. While that is cooking prepare the remaining ingredients. Turn down the crock pot to low then add the cut potatoes, broth and broccoli to the crock pot. Stir in the cut up pieces of the Velveta cheese, milk, and chives. Cook on low for 6 hours, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese to the top before serving!
Recipe: Snow Ball Ice Cream
Vanilla Snow Ball Ice Cream! The girls woke us up at 6:30 this morning and announced that it had snowed outside. We knew they would not be going to school because we received the phone call the night before letting us know that the school was closed. It is bright and beautiful outside today. I dug up another great Snow Ice Cream recipe that I enjoy. This recipe uses milk instead of sweeten condensed milk like our Snow Ice Cream recipe. We do not get a lot of snow in South Carolina so when it happens we have extra special treats. We had over 6 inches already today and we have been having a blast playing in the snow. I am not sure if the kids or the dog are more excited by the snow adventures!
Snow Ball Ice Cream
- 12 to 14 cups of Clean Snow
- 1 package instant pudding (we usually do Vanilla or Chocolate depending on what’s in the pantry)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla
- 2 cups cold Milk
- 1 cup Sugar
Mix the pudding, sugar, and vanilla together. Add the 12 to 14 cups of snow. Stir until evenly mixed. Top with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, or whatever your family enjoys.
Today we did vanilla pudding because it is what we had in the pantry. A couple added chocolate to their ice cream and of course everyone had to have sprinkles!
*The picture above is prior to us adding sprinkles to the ice cream!
