Its Fall!

We were finally able to take a breather as a family and enjoy being together. That happened to coincide with a very beautiful sunny day after a summer of rainy weather, so we decided to take a ride up the road to the Eagle River Nature Center and take a short walk into the woods to look at how Mother Nature is beginning to transition from summer into winter.

First of all, take a look at this mountain. Yes, it is very pretty and you can see how sunny it is. But look at the top of the mountain. What is that? That is correct: it is snow. Here in Alaska we call this "Termination Dust." It is the first sign that summer is ending and that winter is just around the corner. It is has been a rainy, cool summer, so I am thinking that it will probably be a pretty early, snowy winter.


Connor absolutely loved beginning outside. This is all new to him of course, but he really seems to enjoy being outside and getting dirty and communing with nature. He just strolled along, picking up leaves and rocks, eating popcorn, and sometimes he would just stop and stare at the trees and the leaves that floated quietly to the ground. For a child who seems to live to make constant noise, he seems to enjoy the quiet movement of nature.


Jessica and the boys discovered this hollowed out tree along the trail. I guess that it reminds Jessica of a tree that she used to sleep in when she went camping in California as a child. I know that she and the dudes enjoyed climbing in and around the tree and coming up with theories as to how it was hollowed out.


This is just an awesome picture of the fellas as they found this seat to rest their weary little feet on.


Finally, once we returned to the Nature Center, Kierin really enjoyed looking through the telescope. He didn't discover any animals or anything on the mountains, but his imagination took over and he was looking for "stormtroopers" or Scooby Doo monsters...