Adventures in Alaska

So the other week Rachel and I went up to Alaska to raft the Gulkana river. It was a blast. I floated that river three or four times as a boy scout, and it was fun to go back with Rachel and the rest of my family.

My parents can count on one hand the times it's gotten above 80 degrees in AK since they moved up there almost twenty years ago, and--lucky us--it was in the mid-eighties the whole week we were on this rafting trip. We seriously couldn't have asked for better weather, and the river was perfect temperature for cooling off with a quick dip.

Anyway, check out the photos!

Meet 0.5 of the 2.5 places to eat in Glennallen (population: 493 persons): this Thai food truck.

Mmmmm. Thai food is delicious. You can tell by the way my eyes are closed in food-induced bliss.

The river was totes gorge.

I told stories in a writerly fashion around camp while wearing this very fine hat. Actually I didn't, but this photo makes it look like I did. That hat is very fine, though.

Our campsites along the river were F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S.

The Very Fine Hat makes another appearance, this time enhancing my rowing skills. You can see my brothers agree.

The Very Fine Hat strikes again, this time with an accomplice: the Very Fancy Hat.

Ah, life on the river. Also, the Very Fine Hat enjoys photobombing.

Me taking a break from rowing--not oaring, as I was wont to call it for some reason--probably because, by removing the Very Fine Hat (as seen in the lower left corner), I lost my rowing power.

The Very Fancy Hat on a solo op. Also, my wife and brother.

The "other raft." Quotation marks intended. Also pictured: Very Dandy Hat, Very Posh Hat, Very Snazzy Hat, and The-Hat-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named. 

My sister taking a turn at oaring. ROWING. I mean rowing. Also, notice the lethargic state of my brothers (slumped on the bow and stern of the raft, respectively)--that's due to their lack of Hats. obviously.

We camped along the river. Twice. (Which further proves that my wife is a total boss, considering she's preggo and all.) Also, if you look closely, you can just barely see the shadow of The-Hat-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named... #ominous

The whole fam. Eight, +1 on the way. (This is at Portage Glacier, days after the river trip. We did not raft through iceberg-infested waters.) Notice the stark lack of Hats--their souls were not meant to be bound up in these coils of mortality. But they will always return to us, in an hour of need. Because they are the Hats we deserve, not the ones we need right now.

'Twas a great trip.