...hot chocolate hike

It was snowing when the hot chocolate hike began.

The Hufford girls enjoy hot chocolate under the pavilion in Discovery Campground at Captain Cook State Park.

Emily just loves hot chocolate!

Laura enjoys a sip of hot chocolate.

We took a nice hike this afternoon around the Discovery Campground loop in Captain Cook State Park. It snowed lightly as we walked and we decided to stop for hot chocolate under the pavilion in the campground. We all enjoyed the chocolatey (yeah, I know, 'chocolatey' is not a real word--but, I kind of like it) warmth as we watched the snow fall. It was a great to end the Thanksgiving weekend and it's always fun to go on a...hot chocolate hike.

...Arctic Char

Catch of the day! A nice Arctic Char.

Mrs. Huffy jigs through the ice.

Ice fishing in Alaska.

We spent another afternoon fishing on the ice and caught a nice mixture of trout and arctic char. It was overcast and windy, but that didn't matter since we had a couple of ice fishing tents with heaters in them. Everyone was warm and toasty as they reeled in fish after fish. One arctic char was particularly impressive and beautifully colored. It was hooked by one of the younger members of our group and the level of excitement skyrockted when we saw how big it was.

We enjoyed the afternoon and after several hours walked back home for a dinner of Thanksgiving leftovers. We were all thankful today for an...Arctic Char.

...ice fishing

The Hufford's hanging out in the Quickfish 3.

Emily peers out the door of the Quickfish 3.

Mrs. Huffy jigs for rainbow trout and arctic char through the ice of Island Lake.

Laura and Emily are all smiles after catching a few fish.

This afternoon the Hufford family took to the ice in search of fish. We loaded the sled with our ice fishing gear and hauled it out near the tip of the island in Island Lake. We popped up the Quckfish 3 for shelter and drilled some holes in the ice. We all had a rods in the water for about an hour before Emily hooked the first rainbow trout. She caught it on her pink Barbie fishing rod which she bought last weekend with her own money. It wasn't much longer before she reeled in a lunker 15 inch rainbow. I offered to buy her rod and even said I would pay double what she had paid for it, but she wasn't about to budge. She knows when a fishing rod has good karma. Laura hooked up next and pulled in a arctic char. It got dark not long after that and we decided to head back to the house for dinner. We fried one of the trout in a pan for an appetizer and it was delicious.

Emily must have been very tired after reeling in those trout because she fell asleep on the couch long before her bed time. Even those of us who didn't catch anything are tired, and we all had a great day...ice fishing.

...kitchen window coyote

If you look very closely at this photo you will see a coyote near the center of the frame. It was crossing the ice on our lake just moments ago and we happened to notice it. Liz spotted it and grabbed the binoculars while I ran for the camera. It is the first coyote we have seen in several years and just another example of how great it is to live here. After all, how many other people will take a photo of a coyote from their kitchen window this evening?