We started our vacation by spending the night in Eagle River, then driving out to my aunt's cabin in Sterling the next morning. The drive was spectacular; I'm not used to mountains ! We stopped at a few roadside "scenic view" stops and got some great pictures.
My aunt and uncle built their cabin themselves with a "do-it-yourself" kit, and they did a wonderful job (although they had a lot of construction horror stories to tell). The back deck overlooks the Kenai River, and moose were frequent visitors (I never actually saw one, but they left "evidence" near the front door). It was here in Sterling that my uncle, cousin, sister, brother-in-law, husband and I went to Millie's to shoot some pool one evening. I'm terrible at pool, but I had a great time anyway. That's all I can say about it right now...*grin*
We loaded up the car and took the kids to a drive-through zoo. The setting was beautiful (that's where I took the picture of the elk at the top of this page). The only other picture I have scanned so far is the caribou .
Later in the week, we visited a wolf farm (quite interesting). We got to pet and feed some of them (not for the nervous...*LOL*). You can take a short virtual tour of the farm we visited at their website. Then on to the Iditarod Museum, which turned out to be everyone's favorite. The kids (and my sister and brother-in-law) got to go dogsledding (in a cart with wheels, of course; no snow in Alaska in July) and they also got to play with some Husky puppies.
One of my favorite evenings out was with my husband,
sister and brother-in-law, my cousin and his wife, and my other cousin.
We ate at the Flying Machine Restaurant, located in the Regal
Alaskan Hotel, which overlooks Lake Spenard.
They only had one vegetarian entree; fortunately, it was delicious (stir-fried
seasonal veggies). Then we headed out to the Fly-By-Night Club, home
of "Spam, booze, rhythm and blues." It's famous for it's Spam dishes
(yes, I'm serious...Spamadillas, coconut beer batter Spam, Spam bagels
and cream cheese...read
what the owner has to say). If you order a bottle of Dom Perignon,
you get a free Spam specialty (I passed).
