Mountain Mom and Tots

Outdoor Retailers 2014 Summer Show, Salt Lake City, Utah

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Twice a year outdoor gear companies the world over converge on Salt Lake City for the Outdoor Retailers conference. This year’s four day summer show (plus a demo day on Tuesday) was just last week at the Salt Palace Convention Center downtown. It included booths from the largest companies in the gear industry – Arc’teryx, Big Agnes, Black Diamond Equipment, North Face, Columbia, Goal Zero, Camelback.

Every kind of outdoor product was represented at the show – climbing equipment, tents, stoves, camping supplies, trailers, kayaks, stand up paddle boards, clothing, shoes, food. This was my first time to Outdoor Retailers and the sheer volume of things to see was overwhelming. I spent my time in one small section of the Salt Palace Ballroom and only scratched the surface of what possibilities there were.

While checking out the new items coming to market in the spring I was able to meet some great people at Lodge, Pakems, Avex, AGS Brands and Klean Kanteen who generously donated gear for future product reviews. With the tots in tow I was only able to spend a short time at the show, but I look forward to more opportunities in the future.

The best part of the show was an outdoor family bloggers meetup that was coordinated by Kathy from GoAdventureMom.com. It was great to meet the bloggers behind talesofamountainmama.com, kidproject.org, garagegrowngear.com, BackcountryParenting.com and some of their cute kiddos. I’m a big fan of supporting families to get outdoors and bring the kids along. All in all there’s a lot to look forward to in the outdoor industry coming up.

Aialik Glacier, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

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Kenai Fjords National Park has the unique position of being one of the few national parks where the majority of its land is covered by ice. Because of its location, the easiest way to explore this national park is actually by boat, which is the reason Mountain Dad and I took a cruise through Resurrection Bay with Kenai Fjords Tours.

Aialik Glacier

The weather was wet, cloudy and cold, and I was very glad that I had purchased a rain jacket just the day before. Because of the stormy weather, the water was really rough as we crossed into the open ocean outside of Resurrection Bay. The four to six foot swells and ten to twenty knot winds were enough to make Mountain Dad quite queasy. To me it felt a lot like a roller coaster, not a sickness inducing traumatic event, only because I took motion sickness medicine beforehand.

Along the way out of Resurrection Bay we were lucky to find a pod of Orcas, or Killer Whales swimming out to sea. I’m impressed by their matriarchal society, with grandmothers being the ones to call the shots. Through out the day long cruise we saw a lot of wildlife including Oystercatchers, Comerants, Tufted Puffins, Puffins, Orcas, Dalls Porpoise, Sea Stars, Mountain Goats, Seagulls, and even a Humpback Whale. Zoom in close to the rocks near the water to see some harbor seals.

The highlight of the Kenai Fjords National Park cruise for me was watching the Aialik Glacier do its thing. This tidewater glacier morphs daily as huge chunks of ice break off and plunged into the water below. It was a spectacular view of nature’s forces at work, and one of the main things we wanted to see in Alaska.

The beautiful scenery, wildlife sightings and glacier experience were pretty amazing, but what topped off the trip was a stop on fox island for a prime rib and salmon buffet and a park ranger chat. It was a great end to a wet day on the water. Although pricey, the boat trip to see such an incredible part of the world was worth it.

Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise, Kenai Fjords Tours

Price: $172 Adults / $86.00 Children (2–11), plus tax and fees

Time: 8-9 hours, includes lunch and dinner

Tips: Shorter and cheaper cruises are available as well as day cruises with different companies. Kenai Fjords Tours did not sponsor this post in anyway.

Primrose Campground, Chugach National Forest, Alaska

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On our first full night in Alaska, Mountain Dad and I decided to set up camp at Primrose Campground in the Chugach National Forest, on the shores of Kenai Lake. Now, I know people warned me about the land of the midnight sun, but I really didn’t expect constant daylight to throw me off so much.

In the summer Alaska can get up to 22 hours of daylight in the summer (Fairbanks, summer solstice), so it’s relatively bright outside ALL THE TIME. That’d be great if I wasn’t so accostomed to sleeping in the dark. Sleeping in a tent without blackout curtains made bedtime feel like naptime, even with an eyemask. It made me focus more on how tired I felt, not on the external cues of darkness I hadn’t realized I needed. This must be how my kids feel at bedtime in the summer.

Primrose Campground is located the shores of Primrose Creek and Kenai Lake – a great base for a fishing adventure. People flock to the Kenai Peninsula to fish every year, for good reason. The annual salmon run attracts thousands of fish to their nursery waters, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Wildlife is a great resource for those looking for a good catch.

In addition to easy fishing access, Primrose Campground is the trailhead to Primrose Trail, a 15 mile backpacking hike that connects to Lost Lake Trail and a pristine mountain lake. The campground has 8 sites, no hookups and is within a short drive of Seward. It was a beautiful spot, and I would camp there again in a heartbeat, even if it doesn’t accept reservations.

Primrose Campground, Chugach National Forest
Getting There: Turn northwest at Mile 17 on the Seward Highway. Follow the shoreline of Kenai Lake 1.5 miles to the campground.
Amenities: Pit Toilets, Parking, Picnic Tables, Water, Boat Launch, Easy access to Primrose Trail, Primrose Creek and Kenai Lake
Tips: Bring a rain coat and mosquito repellant – even in the rain, the mosquitos were tenacious.

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

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For our 10th anniversary Mountain Dad and I took a week long trip to the Frontier State – Alaska! It’s been on my list of places to visit for a long time now, and it was great to go without the tots in tow, just to enjoy time together. My next several posts will be about all the wild places we went to see – enjoy!

Driving south from Anchorage along the Scenic Seward Byway was one of the highlights of my Alaska adventure. Steep mountain slopes, circling Turnagain Arm Bay is the quintessential Alaska image. The Scenic Seward Byway is a beautiful drive that can also be experienced by rail. By car or by rail, the Kenai Peninsula should not be missed.

At Mile Marker 47 on the Seward Highwayis nestled the 18 acre Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, where we saw Wood Bison, Elk, Lynx, Great Horned Owl, Porcupine, Moose and Elk. One of the most interesting animals was the one winged Bald Eagle, Adonis, whose was brought to the center almost ten years ago with a bullet wound in its left wing. Being unable to survive in the wild, he now makes his home at the AWCC.

One of my goals of the trip was to see a bear in the wild, and although the three bears in residence here are not exactly in the wild, they’re also not in the zoo either. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is working on expanding with its new BEARS exhibit. An additional 30 acres and research/visitors center building will allow visitors to learn more about native bear species in North America.

The two mile loop had a great viewpoint Turnagain Arm and surrounding snow capped mountains. The loop can be driven or walked (we opted to drive because of the rain). The gift shop has several tourist trinkets and t-shirts with all proceeds going toward the center.

I thought the price was steep for what we saw $12.50 per adult, $35.00 max per car, but I also don’t mind paying a little extra for a good cause.

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Getting There: Head south from Anchorage on Scenic Seward Byway. Turn Right at mile 47 – look for the signs.

Price: $12.50 adults (12 and older), $9.00 kids age 4-12, Free for kids under 4, $35.00 total per car

Tips: Don’t touch the electric fence. This route would be a fun bike run with kids, if they can handle the gravel road.

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