The Ray Family: 6/27/10

So I have mentioned to many of you that Brandon and his brother and father were going to ride their motorcycles to Skagway this summer in prepartation for the big ride all the way down the Alcan Highway, well I decided that I needed to post some pictures of our trip so here you go........

Brandon and Brett giving their best "GQ" look...

It was quite the ordeal getting everything ready to go. We had 4 motorcylcles (Dean, Brandon, Brett and Laurie) 2 dogs, one 8-yr old, one 4 month old, and 5 audlts in the two vehicles. We packed all of the extra motorcycle gear and camping gear in the back of the truck along with Drake. It only took us 2-3 hours to leave after our designated departure time. Those that went with us were....

Pictured from L to R: Laurie (Brett's Wife) Brett, Dean, Me, Brandon, Mason Mark's son) Susie, Mark (Susie's Husband) Deana, Raylee, and Ann

You probably are wondering why we chose to go to Skagway, well as you will see it is georgous this time of year and Brandon's Aunt Karla and Uncle Duff are amazing!

We have several picture spots that are traditional stops for us the first being the Matanusk Glacier

We always take a picture here unless we can't there because of snow, the picture really doesn't do it justice.

It is about 90 minutes from Wasilla so we like to go there and Mason and I even tried out the telescope.

Mason is eight years old and this was his first trip to Alaska, it was so fun to hear and see his reactions to the great outdoors.

As you can imagine we had to make several stops along the way to let the motorcylers rest their booties!

We had to make at least 5 stops to fill-up the motorcycles. It was a great break for everyone due to tight riding quarters. Each time we stopped Raylee would get out of her chair which she didn't like and a few times we watered the dogs.

Deana, Raylee and Rico

(Mason in his very small corner)

He was such a trooper. He watched his video player or played his digi the whole way and rarely complained about anything. He asked the usual questions of "Are we there yet?" "Can I have another twister(twizzler)?" and of course the famous "Do I have to?" Ann and I couldn't have rode with another 8-yr old that had as nice as manners as Mason! He truly was an excellent passenger.

The weather on the trip for the most part was very nice, we had

sunshine for most of the ride, But there was aslo losts of rain and you couldn't help but feel sorry for the guys on the bikes.

It seemed like everytime they put their rain gear on because we were heading into gray clouds it would sprinkle but when it looked like it would be nice riding they would hit a down pour. They were all such good sports about having to put on and take off their rain gear.

Next we came to the 1/2 way point basically, the border of Alaska and the Yucon.

The pathway you can see behind Dean actually goes along the border on each side. It is quite the sight.
Shortly before we got to Destruction bay we drove past a few friends........

While I was taking pictures of these two very close friends you could hear the brown bear snorting. You normally don't hear that unless they are aggrivated. We didn't stay long since the bikers were very exposed. Mason was so excited to see "Wild Life" since we really hadn't seen that many moose along the way.

The trip down to Skagway took us a day and a half, we camped the first night at a campground near Destruction Bay.

We had a lot of fun unpacking and getting everyones gear out for the night. Mason and Grandma had fun making Smores.

We started out the next morning with new vigor and not much rest. Before we left we took in the beautiful lake around the campground.

When we finally go to Skagway I think that we were all excited to be there. It was a very long process getting there. I decided that I would jump on the bike with Brandon in Whitehorse it was really fun to ride down the pass on the bike.

The view of the pass was amazing, I wish I could ride and take pictures all at the same time. When we got to the border we were at a stand still due to the buses and campers in front of us checking passports and ID's . It was fun to just relax a little in such beauty. Mason I think had the most fun, he got to ride the motorcycle for a short while.

So here are few pictures coming into Skagway

Going through White Pass

We had a lot of fun seeing all of the fun sites. We had the opportunity of hiking up to lower falls and to "Soapy Smith's " grave. It was so fun to take in all of the beauty. We even had fun with Drake and a tennis ball.

Brandon throwing the ball for Drake

Brandon and I at Lower lake

Brandon, Drake and I at the Reed falls

The famous "Soapy Smith" pose at Soapy's grave.

Reed Falls... Do I need to say more....

Along the trail in the cemetary on the way down from Reed Falls...

Here are some random shots we took around town....

Standing in front of the Kone

One type of tourist transportation

A few of us stopped to have some much needed Ice-cream. Brandon's Aunt and Uncle own the shop! If you are ever there you need to go the shop is called the "Kone Kompany". Very Delicious!

As you can see, Raylee was very ready to be out of her car-seat and done for the day!

Duff (Brandon's uncle) was good enough to take a few of us out fishing which was really fun.

Just kicking back wiating for the fish!

Dad inspecting the boat!

Sharon's silver salmon that was too short!

Mason and his silver salmon. He did not want to touch it! Thank heavens Uncle "B" was willing to help!

Mason and I caught some really nice silver salmon but we couldn't keep them, they were about 2inches to short to keep by regulations. Mason was not happy to hear that. We still had fun though.

There are so many wonderful things to do in Skagway for tourists, but if you have been there done that you go to the places you know are just absoutely beautiful. Here is a pic from Dyea (pronounced die e)

Love the views of the different bays around here. You can't really see how beautiful it truly is from pictures this is definitely a must see place.

The other thing that I love about Skagway is the views you have from almost everywhere. You can see the docks from Duff and Karla's and it is so beautiful at night. Unfortunetly this trip I couldn't capture the cruise ships at night due to the rain but I did get one during the day which is pretty cool.

Our trip was so amazing, we had our ups and downs but what family vaction doesn't? As per family tradition we took a family photo of everyone there with the cousins. What an adventure.

Pictured from L to R (backrow) Brandon, Mark, Susie, Dean, Ann, Laurie, Brett, Duff (front row) Sharon, Mason, Deana (holding) Raylee, Mindee, Karla, Kristin and of course the one who is always behind the camera, Andy.

We did have fun while we were there. We decided to make going home a little bit more challenging. We did what the Ray family calls "Bombed" it. Which means we drove straight through, only stopping for gas refill, food and potty stops. We left at about 9:30am from Skagway and pulled into the driveway at about 4:30am. It was a long ride home but none of us really wanted to sleep on the hard ground, let a lone have to unpack and repack the truck and all of the gear. It is so funny how you can tell yourself that you need to make sure you don't go overboard with buying new items because of the limited space that you have. We never listen. I know that we increased the number of bags in the truck by at least 5. Even though we had some ups and downs along the way it was a very nice trip. I have learned that when your niece rolls over for the first time and that her mother didn't see it, don't say anything. When you have more than 2 adults making decisions that you will never agree on what the plan is, and that no matter what you plan for something will always go wrong! Thank heavens for the words "I am so sorry!" I truly am greatful to be able to spend time with Brandon's family. Well I guess you could say........

One more family vacation down, hopefully several more to come!

The Ray Family

7/2/10

Bikes to Skagway

7/1/10

Bed Rest