Mom in the Mtns

Hi everyone!  I had a seriously awesome weekend and didn’t want it to end.  Fall is my favorite time of the year, so as soon as the colors come out I just want to be outside 24/7.  So on Saturday, we went out to Hatcher Pass with our friends for some hiking adventures.  One of my favorite places in the pass is Independence Mine, an abandoned gold mine at the end of the paved road into the park.  I love historical places so I really love walking through abandoned buildings and checking out all the old equipment that was left behind.

It was a bit chilly and eventually started sleeting, but we really enjoyed being up in the tundra enjoying all of the fall colors. It was gorgeous up there!  I could seriously hike there every weekend.

After the hike we headed over to the Alaska State Fairgrounds in Palmer for Lanternfest!  Ever since I saw Tangled, I’ve wanted to see thousands of paper lanterns being released into the sky.  My friend and I were crazy excited for this event and couldn’t wait to cross this off our bucket list!  Our admission got us each one paper lantern, a sharpie to decorate it, and a box of s’mores supplies to use around the provided fire pits.  We showed up about 2 hours before sunset to relax and decorate our lanterns.  I used my favorite Thoreau quote, one that inspired me to follow my dreams and move to Alaska 2 years ago.

Once it started to get a tiny bit dark outside, people started lighting their lanterns and letting them go.  There were a few problems with this.  First of all, it meant that the amount of lanterns in the sky was pretty small at all times because it happened over such a long amount of time.  If we’d all lit them around the same time the sky would have been filled, but that didn’t really happen here.  The other problem was that it was crazy windy, which made it really hard to light the lanterns.  So many lanterns caught on fire and then blew away, landing on people and even some kids.  It was really scary to watch, and we had to move to a safer spot because I was so afraid of getting lit on fire.  None of our lanterns took off and we were so disappointed.  As soon as we started to feel like we were getting the hang of it, they announced that everyone needed to stop releasing our lanterns because they were landing near a fuel tank.  It was kind of a hot mess, but we still had fun (when we weren’t scared for our lives!).

On Sunday Ridley had his very first doggie class!  He’s signed up for 6 weeks of obedience training at the Petco where we bought him at a rescue event.  He tested out of the puppy class and was placed in Adult 1 class, so that meant he was the tiniest and most hyper dog there.  Today he learned how to look at me for a command, as well as the basic beginnings of “come”.  He’s super smart (which is both good and bad) and I’m so proud of how much progress he made today!

After class, I was dying to go kayaking with my friend.  I’m sick of renting one every time I want to paddle around, so I decided to check out Cabela’s to see if they had any sales.  20 minutes later, I was walking out with my very own kayak!  My husband and I are excited to share it for now, but I can already tell we’ll be fighting over it until we get a second one.  It was so relaxing just paddling around Jewel Lake in the sun, and I’m looking forward to doing this whenever I want – at least, until the lakes freeze!

Today I’m joining Misssippipiddlin and HoHo Runs for their Weekly Wrap link up!  I love hearing about everyone’s weekend adventures so I’m looking forward to joining for the first time in a while!

What did you do this weekend?  Have you ever lit a paper lantern?  What’s the best fitness gear you’ve purchased lately?