McCarthy and Grandma Nancy's Visit

On the Richardson Highway headed to McCarthy

Grandma Nancy (Nono) arrived on a Wednesday evening all the way from CT. Lucy said when she saw her she was going to bounce up and down, run around, giggle and give her hugs and kisses. And that she did! We only wish that all the grandparents could have been here to receive the same fabulous Lucy-welcome. Matt and I were running on fumes when Nono arrived. We packed and packed and left only half a day late for our adventure to McCarthy to work on our cabin...a day and a half after Grandma arrived.

One of the bumps along the way to McCarthy. We only got two flats on the whole trip! Well, this one was a blow out.

Grandma Nancy was such a trooper. We feared she didn't know what she was in for or that she wondered what we got her into. Did I mention she'd never been on a camping trip before? So far, the trip wasn't easy and we arrived in rain and cold to McCarthy at 1am after a 13.5 hour drive (including stops). The trip CAN be done in 8 but not this time! We finally got inside the tent at 2am for bed. The first day it rained and was pretty cold. Lucy and Nono paid no attention and just played away in the tent. Lucy wasn't fazed. She was so excited to be camping with grandma!

First day of camping. Grandma brought her bag of tricks.

First nice day - we headed to town and had ice cream.

Our accommodations beneath the cabin. Bathing beauty is in the center.

The girls headed to Kennicott for lunch and sight-seeing one day. It was cold and windy so we didn't stay too long.

Out for lunch at Kennicott Glacier Lodge - Lucy waits for some ice.

The ladies.

Lucy getting her ya-yas out in Kennicott.

Out for a walk near our property.

Lucy hanging with Canute.

First sunny day - at McCarthy Creek.

In town.

Lucy became a fan of "Bedtuhmye Tea" and smacked her lips after each sip.

Lucy and Dada time.

Silliness in the tent - Canute tries to squeeze in for a snuggle.

We met Hamona the pig in town one day.

First wall up!

Proud Grandma and Canute.

Sharing some pumpkin seeds.

Prepared for mosquitos. They cam out pretty heavily the day before we left.

Lucy warms up after our sun shower together.

Matt's accomplishment - stood all the walls and installed some windows in a week.

Back at home - we played catch up on the garden.

Our little garden beauty.

Lucy and Nono plant her own garden box.

Precision pouring with a leg up for balance. She did so well!

On Brownie, the horse, at Ann's Greenhouse.

At Pioneer Park on the train.

This is Lucy's "smile" for the camera these days.

We had a great couple of weeks. Time flew by! Lots of work had to get done and we did it thanks to Grandma. Lucy woke up the next morning after Nono left and said ""Nono go?" with her hands up in the air. I told her she flew home on the airplane. Lucy responded with her high pitched "Mmnhmm!"

Lucy's First McCarthy Trip

We just returned from spending 10 days camping with little Lucy so we could work on our place in McCarthy. It was a great trip and Lucy loved being outdoors so much! I have a ton of photos from our trip so I will share a small percentage of them here. The first bunch are of Lucy just cruising around and exploring McCarthy, quite boldly. She felt right at home!

We went into McCarthy from our property for the Fourth of July parade. Lucy really like watching all the festivities that day. I enjoyed pulling Lucy in the Chariot stroller for the first time ever on this trip. The way into town was so much easier than the trip home which is mostly uphill!

Tent life was so much fun! Lucy did very well considering the amount of time we had her in the tent. She and I hung out and read, played games, napped, and even ate in there. Since we were on the raised tent platform without toddler-safe rails...the tent was the safest place to be on rainy days.

We took walks near home and explored with Canute on sunny days.

We even fit in some glorious tent platform baths. Lucy enjoyed the leaves that would fall into her bath and float around.

Matt put in the first level floor and the stairs on this trip. It was a lot of work!

Canute has a new girlfriend, our neighbor in McCarthy's dog. She's very wolfy and made quite a show for Canute daily. He didn't know what to think of it as he's never had a dog make such moves on him.

We took some breaks on the drive home to enjoy the scenery. Matt also dip-netted for salmon in Chitina while Lucy, Canute, and I hung out in the tent and rested.

We're looking forward to our next trip to McCarthy at the end of the summer!