We went to Valdez, Alaska for the 4th of July weekend. Valdez is an oil refinery city on the bay where a lot of commercial fishing is done. We did so much there we had a blast. On Saturday we went rafting down the river. On Sunday we walked on the harbor were all the boats were parked. We also went to a picnic where fresh salmon was served and wow was it good. On Monday there were tonz of 4th of July festivities. Juliet and I did the uncle salmon 5k, Ryan and Devin got 3rd place for the canoe jousting, there was another bbq and firework at the bay. The day light was crazy cuz it was light out til 2 in the morning. The fireworks weren't the best but the scenery was gorgeous. On Tuesday we went boating and fishing and saw a brown bear eating fish. On Wednesday we fished some more and on our way home went to Worthington glacier. It was a blue color, looked really cool. The drove to Valdez and the drive is really really pretty. Lots of waterfalls, green and huge mountains and we saw a total of six moose on the way home. We cooked up the fish we got when we got back to Ryan and Juliets and boy they were delicious.
We went to Hatchers Pass were there are gold mines. Devin and I took a tour at the Gold Cord Mine. It was neat, I learned a lot and we got to go into the mine. They are currently mining it today. Then we met up with Juliet and the kids at the independence mine. The drive up to Hatchers Pass was a really pretty drive as well. We were able to do a session at the anchorage temple. We went to Wildberry Chocolate factory where there was a ginormous chocolate fountain. I just wanted to dip my hands in and take a big gulp. I felt like Gustus Gloop from Willy Wonka. Ryan showed us where he works and introduced us to some of his coworkers. Then we all went out for dinner to Sourdough Factory. That was a good meal, thank you guys. That night we went to a cabin on big lake. We played volleyball, played in the water and got to go tubbing behind a boat. It was a blast. Saturday we came home, got the kids to bed and Juliet made rhubarb pie and played settler of zerahemla. The rhubarb there is more sweet so the pie was really good. What a great way to end the trip.
