Lower Paradise Lake. My new favorite! What an incredible location hidden away in the mountains to the left of the Primrose Campground if you are heading south toward Seward. Technically it’s a fly-in only cabin but it sounds like it might be possible to get there in the winter. All I know is that I’m ready to go back.

We visited over the 4th of July weekend and I kept trying to postpone and postpone and postpone because there was too much work to do in Anchorage. Luckily my husband was way too enthusiastic about going and eventually his excitement wore off on me. By late afternoon the weather had cleared up and we climbed into the plane and started a perfectly smooth and beautiful 45 minute trip to the cabin. Five minutes into flight and we were cruising over the Resurrection Pass. Now I’m kicking myself for not getting out of Anchorage already!

Just flying into the start of the Paradise Valley was quite a breathtaking adventure. We flew past beautiful glaciers that I never new existed and over a gorgeous creek drainage twisting and curving down toward Kenai Lake. I always forget just how “wild” it is only a few miles from our home.

The first night we arrived it was close to 10pm and that perfect sunset light was just beginning. I pulled out all the gear and made Dave “pose” the plane for me and then I had fun clicking away while the boys ran around and played in the boat. Photographing the plane is always fun because, well, it just sits there. There are no funny faces, no “are we done yet?”s and no constant running in and out of the shot. When it finally started getting dark we headed to the cabin and quickly realized it was close to midnight –way past two little boy’s bedtime!

The next day there was plenty of fishing, a boat ride to a geocache (Yay! It was totally unexpected!), two loon sightings, a black bear waiting for us on the beach upon our return (yikes), and another lovely evening off the grid before heading back to Anchor Town. I miss it already. Luckily for us, we are heading back to the wilderness next weekend! This time we have the Trout Lake Cabin on the Resurrection Trail. If any of you are hiking or biking by, stop in and say “Hello”. We’d love to see you! I’ll bring cookies just in case:)