Epic Weekend

I think this past weekend has to go down as one of the craziest weekends of my life. :) 

I started Friday morning off very tired - it was the end of the work week of which I had worked 5 days and 3 nights. Had to go to the airport right at 8am to get my badge fixed so I can work International flights. After that I went to my day job for a couple hours, went back to the airport to clean a Korean Airline plane (honestly I don't enjoy those) and then back to the "real" job. (both jobs are real, it's just I call my regular job my "real one.") 

Got off work at 3pm and barely stayed awake enough to drive home. Crashed on my bed for two hours. Felt a lot better when I woke up. 

I worked on some things at home, then started preparing for my night hike at Angel Rocks. Some of you may remember we went last September at night and saw amazing stars! I think the total count last year was six falling stars and one comet. We wanted to take our Chinese friend Donnia up there at night to see the stars before she leaves later this month. We planned the trip about six days prior; Friday came and it was cloudy and rainy all day, but we went anyways. 

Got my stuff together and was picked up at my house shortly after 10pm. Tanna, Donnia and I were in the back seat and the guys in the front. Micah was going to bring his camp stove so we could make hot cocoa... well he couldn't find it, so he brought firewood instead to make a real fire. I asked him before he headed up the trail if he had matches. He assured me he did. 

not sure what Donnia is doing

So we headed on up the hill. We remembered to bring more than one flashlight this year! That was good since there was five of us and it was darker than last time. Tanna and I were straggling behind; when we caught up to the others at the halfway point (where we had planned on stopping), we heard the news that Micah couldn't find the lighter! And I was SO looking forward to that nice cup of hot cocoa!  

We tossed around ideas of how to start the fire - using gunpowder, flashlight, etc. I almost bought a flint & magnesium last week, should have spent the money! Micah decided to attempt a bow drill fire. Those of you who know what that is, know it's not exactly a piece of cake to do. But I just helped out and held the flashlight. 

An hour later....... we decided to go back down the hill and build a fire down there. 

Had to wake Tanna from her nap on the rocks and back down we went. 

working on the bowdrill fire - Tim, we could have used your expertise!!

We boiled water for our hot chocolate, ate blue & white goldfish and cold Chinese food, watched the Northerns Lights, laughed a whole bunch - you have to when there's a slight language barrier that causes misunderstanding and miscommunication. Unforgettable night for sure! I was dropped back off at my house at 410AM!

huddled around the fire

on the ride back

My sister and I had planned on going to Anchorage Saturday..... my idea of leaving at 9AM didn't quite work out, seeing as I didn't wake up until nine. Finally got on the road at eleven.

First stop of the trip was at Red Robin in Wasilla! Love that place. Whenever we Fairbanksans travel, we love going to restaurants that we don't have here. I had been dreaming of a Royal Burger from Red Robin. And it was everything I remembered. :)

Royal Burger

Saturday was a beautiful day. A bit overcast and cloudy and it rained a little here and there, but it was still a nice drive. I love my state! and it is a beautiful time of year; the leaves are just starting to turn colors (mostly yellow). Both of us were on the watch for a bear, really wanted to see one. But no luck this trip. But we did see a lot of tourists. They're everywhere! Ha. 

Nenana River

shopping at Target

We did some shopping Saturday evening without much luck. I got a couple things, but Lacey couldn't find anything. So after church Sunday morning, we stopped by the mall. Plan was just to run in and look around and then get on the road.... yeah, well this entire two day trip was everything but according to plan. We didn't leave Anchorage until almost 5pm. But Lacey did find some things at the mall, so we were happy with the shopping trip. 

We grabbed some Arbys to bring home and then ice cream for the road from DQ (another two restaurants we don't have in Fairbanks) before heading north. The drive home was very wet; pretty sure it rained the entire time. We got to Denali just after 9pm. Walked around a little, stretching our legs and checking on tshirt prices. Lacey bought a few items she hasn't been able to find in town. As we were walking back to my car, I stuck my hand in my jacket pocket for my keys. They weren't there! weird, so I checked my other pockets, not there either. I asked Lacey, "where's my keys?" 

She just looked at me for a second and then said - don't tell me that! don't joke around with me! 

I'm not joking. I don't know where my keys are. So, we walked back to my car and there they were on my seat. I don't know if I took them out of the ignition, stuck them in my pocket and they fell out or what. But yep, both car keys I had with me were in the car and the car was locked. And all the windows rolled all the way up and my sun roof closed up tight because of the rain. Great. :/

eating blizzards!

Denali is two hours south of Fairbanks. And it's a tourist spot, a National Park (that's where Mt. McKinley is), so there isn't any taxi cab drivers to call to unlock a car. And the Troopers said they'd break my window to get in, but that was all. Well, thanks. I could do that myself. We walked around, trying to find a towing company or someone to help; asked at the gas station if they had a slim jim to get into a locked car. The attendant there was from Eastern Europe and didn't even know what a slim jim was. Well, that was another dead end. We walked over to the hotel to see if their maintenance or security people would be able to help us. Same thing, no they didn't have the tools to help. But they offered to let us chill in the lobby until we got back into our car.

Called some people at home, like my brother, dad and other friends. My brother's car has been acting up, so he didn't want to make the trip. And Dad had to be somewhere early the next morning, so he said he'd send my mom with my spare key from the house. Before she could leave though, a friend called me back and said he would drive my key down to us. So Micah and Tanna came to our rescue. For two plus hours, Lacey and I hung out in the empty hotel lobby. We passed the time by calling a friend on speaker phone (craziness!) and talking. I fell asleep at one point. They finally arrived about 1:20am and we got back on the road. Another night when I made it home after 4am. So glad it was Labor Day on Monday, so I didn't have work.

Yeah, it was a crazy weekend. But I now have memories with my sister and friends that I'll remember the rest of my life! and we already laugh over our trip to Anchorage. :)
Can't say life isn't exciting..... 

having fun in Denali, before I found out about my keys

pic from Lacey's phone - caused by wind? weird.