Ryan and I traveled to Hawaii in the spring of 2010 for Laura and Don’s wedding. We weren’t there for long, but we managed to squeeze in some hiking, snorkeling, sight seeing and a visit to a volcano. As soon as we departed, we wanted to return. So this fall we got our chance and traveled directly to the island of Kauai for almost 2 weeks!

After the long trip to arrive, Ryan and I set out for our first hike along the Koko Head Trail. While only 8 miles long, a hike to the Hanakap’ai Falls a difficult full day hike (walking 8 miles at a slow pace would take around 2 hours).

Two miles into the hike is a beautiful beach, part of the Na Pali Coast.

The beautiful Hanakap’ai Falls. Ryan and I took a swim in the pool, though the falls were too powerful to swim directly underneath. Amazing.

Though we were exhausted (already!?!) the next day we took a kayak tour with Wailua Kayak Adventures to the Secret Falls.

Ryan fords the river.

This waterfall we could swim right underneath. So we did!

After this amazing, exhausting hike, we decided to take it easy for a few days. A visit to Queen’s Bath.

This next photo is my favorite photo of Ryan I’ve ever taken and easily one of my favorites of the year.

Our nifty cave photo that I shared last Friday.

It rains A LOT in Kauai. We got to enjoy a lot of “rainbow weather.”

When we had recovered for a few days, we took a zipline tour with Just Live. The top of this tower was our first zipping off point.

Ryan coming across from the first tower. There was one guide to help you launch and one guide to catch you. Don’t worry, the guides are all tied into the tree too.

There were lots of cool bridges for us to cross. All of the rope bridges had a cable above on which to suppress your fall.

Here I am practicing my Superman pose.

Our favorite day was our boat/snorkel tour of the Na Pali Coast with Holo Holo Charters. Arriving at the catamaran at dawn.

The Na Pali Coastline. These mountains hold some of the wettest spots on earth with 400+ inches of rain per year.

We snorkeled next to the tiny island of Lehua. The island is made of rock and only receives 4 inches of rain per year. It is essentially a bird sanctuary.

This is the best snorkeling I’ve ever done. A Hawaiian Monk Seal swam just fifteen feet behind me!

The coolest part was right here. The catamaran stopped over this area where the water was about 20′ deep. This cliff was a vertical wall that dropped to 120′.

Hey!!!

After our boat tour ended, we drove to Waimea Canyon, which looks like the Grand Canyon of Hawaii. Just taking a photo with my iPhone.

Why did the chicken cross the road? I don’t know. Why this one is in the middle of a parking lot? No one can say but there are a ton of wild chickens on Kauai.

Some of the lookouts we visited at Waimea Canyon were in the clouds.

On our last day we rented bikes…

….and took in one more sunset.

Thank you, Ryan for making our vacation so great! And to Ashley for such helpful tips on visiting Kauai.

Here it is.

Fun with lensbaby.  I don’t think this ring will save you as your sink 150 feet into the earth.

Scuba Mike takes the first group of divers, including my family.

Underwater photos by Nicki.  This photo is super bright, but check out the divers’ silhouette below on the dive platform.

15 feet down just below the first dive platform.

As the divers got further down, sunlight was no help and everything was seen by flashlights.  Underwater LEDs–COOL!

This was the stopping point at a depth of 92 feet.  If I were there, I would have turned away.

And here is the scuba diving crew.  I know they are stoked about this photo as they are all looking their best after those dives.

What did I do during this dive?  I took a nap in the car, of course!

But really, going on this trip was really great and I am so happy to be living my life with a schedule that allows me to do so.  Scuba Mike Convery of the Pittsburgh Scuba Center (back row in the red shirt) really hopes to get me in the SCUBA class to get certified, but I think he’s out of luck.  But you readers should!

Boarding the boat at sunrise with all of our gear…..

All of the smoke on the water is actually steam from the 72F water.  This area of the gulf (Kings Bay area) is fed by warm water springs.

The manatee all hang our near a sanctuary where the warm water comes from the hot springs.  The water is very warm, but there is no food.  The manatee have to travel 3-7 miles out of their way to find food.  Like me, manatees are vegetarians.

Here they are chewing on the ropes anchoring our boat.  Manatee love ropes.  Num num num….

Nicki, mom, and Jay get in the water.  Photo by Dad.  I am hiding on the boat (but I should have gone in as soon as possible, the water was way warmer than sitting on the boat).

Finally, I got in.  Me with a manatee, though he is making a getaway.  Sneaky sea cows.

Using the rope like some dental floss.  Photo by Nicki.

After our manatee swim, we ate a much needed breakfast and geared back up for a float down Crystal River.  The lovely Rhonda, from Birds Underwater, captained our boat upstream in the river for a 1-hour float.  At the upstream portion of the trip, everyone gets out of the boat and floats back to the parking lot, basically.

Nicki and Ryan soaking up the sun through their black wetsuits.  Note the sexy wetsuit caps.

The river is super clear while moving 4-5 mph.  The river dips down to 20′ deep at some points and other times is only 4′ deep.  It was super cool!

Nicki, my camera shy sister.

Me, I snorkel with Ryan and Jay.  Nicki, Mom and Dad stay underwater with their scuba gear.  Obviously, I’m asking Nicki for the camera using the international symbol for camera.

Sisters. Nicki is the easiest to spot with her pink snorkel and fins.

Self portrait

Nicki was taking of photos of me from below.  I was playing around with some deep dives.  Not surprisingly, I swallowed a lot of water.

Nicki and Dad doing handstands.

Nicki in the grass.  Photo by Dad (Rich D).

Here is a fish passing by the warm water springs.  You can see them bubbling up from below, looking like a simmering pot.  The water is not boiling or anything, that is just how it arrives.  Photo by Nicki in her scuba gear.

Nicki taking a breather.  I like this photo.

At the 20′ deep areas, the scuba divers were having a great time exploring.  Good for them, but seriously blocking my view of the springs.

Again, this is what I saw. A lot.

Nicki diving down.  I really like the framing in this photo.  Again, all underwater pics taken on the Canon G11.

And after the swim, we are tired, and waterlogged, but still awesome.

And this photo because we spent so much time moving gear, unpacking the car, drying wet suits, drying towels, and repacking the car.  So worth it for new life experiences.

One more dive left on the trip–divers only.  Time out for snorkelers at “Paradise Springs.”

Here is an engineering drawing of the sinkhole that makes up Devil’s Den.

Looking down to the dive platform from the top of the sinkhole.   Cool, huh?

The average air temperature in Florida at this time of year is 74F.  On this day, it was barely 50F.  Thankfully, the water temperature in Florida is around 72F and the sinkhole is mostly covered with rocks so it was pretty warm in this hole. 

View from the top of the stairs.  You can see the opening to the sky at the top of the photograph.  The orange/red colors are from the lights installed around the cave.

Cave walls.

Cave wall taken with my new Canon G11 point and shoot camera.

Nicki and Jay.

Ryan and I.  Photo by mom.

Nicki getting ready to Scuba.

Nicki getting into the water.

Dad ready to go.  Taken on the G11 inside of the waterproof housing.  Photo by Nicki.

Dad getting ready.

Nicki in the foreground (notice the highly visible pink fins) and mom in the background.

Underwater photo by Nicki.  So cool!

Photo of Mom getting ready for her dive.

Dad taking a photo.  Mom and Nicki in the background.

This is the photo dad was taking.  Cool even though there were water spots on the housing.

My family is so awesome!!!

Even better!  I love them!

Beautiful sister

Work it, Nicki.  I finally got in the water (with a snorkel) and took some photos of Nicki.

Family.  Ryan (top left), Nicki (top right), Mom (bottom left), Randi and Nicki (bottom right).

Photo by Ryan, who was swimming upside down.   I’m (in pink) using Nicki’s breather.

Photo by Ryan.  Dembski family photo.  Dad, Mom, Randi, and Nicki.

This is how I felt after that family photo.  Not flattering, but true.

Ryan and I.  Photo by Nicki.

We are having such a great time!

From left to right….Mount Foraker, Mount Hunter, and Mount McKinley.  Today, all images are straight out of the camera, no photoshop, no processing.  It’s just that amazing!

Ryan and I having a good time on the flight

These granite cliffs on the right protrude 5000′ from the top of the glacier below.  The glacier extends 3000′ below the surface for a total of 8000′ of depth of the crevasse. 

Heart shaped glacial movement.  Aw…..

Landing on the glacier.  Getting there was so amazing.  It wasn’t a straight line right to the landing site, we flew in circles and all around the mountains.  We were really all over the place.  Sometimes I looked out of the front window of the cockpit and all I could see is mountains.  Kind of freaky, but very cool.

First steps on that glacier….

Ryan took this shot….he makes me so proud!

Getting a cold and wet dupa, but so worth it!  Those booties were essential.

Fun!  It was so bright with the reflection coming from the snow.  I could not take off those sunglasses.

The flight on the way back down to earth…..

Glaciers are the main source of water for these nearby rivers and they have lots of sediment from rocks they have crushed.

Photo by our pilot, Will.  Should have taken this on the glacier, but we were having too much fun!

We visited this rest stop yesterday, but it was too dark to see both the rock and the mountains.  Someone was nice enough to label them on this rock.

As soon as we entered Denali National Park, Erin mentioned that it was a protected area and we were more likely to see wildlife.  About 4 minutes later, we saw this mama moose and her moose cub by the side of the road.  We couldn’t move too much because we would frighten them both (away) or mama would charge our car.  So we watched for a few minutes and they got bored and left.  So there you have it….our animal sighting in the wild!

A view from the side of the road in Denali.  The pink plants in the foreground are “Fireweed.”  Erin says that a few weeks ago they were vibrant, very bright pink. I think they still look good but she claims I’d be disappointed if I saw them before. 

The main reason we stayed in Seward was so we could go to Exit Glacier. Erin and I are snapping pics at the glacier.  Photo by Ryan.

Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park

See me?

You can normally hike to the “toe” of the glacier, but it was closed due to flooding.

The incredible shrinking glacier…..

View of Mt McKinley on the way to Talkeetna.

Tonight we are staying in Talkeetna.  Talkeetna is the real city on which Cicely is based.  Cicely is the home of the folks from the good ole television show, Northern Exposure.  It is very cute and we are staying at the Talkeetna Roadhouse.

Tomorrow…..a flight around Mt McKinley with a glacier landing.  I hope everything goes well and we are able to take that flight!

We started out in Anchorage and had a repeat breakfast at the Snow City Cafe.  Our waiter told me I was honored to get the coveted “Pug Mug.”  The cafe has all different kind of coffee mugs.

After breakfast, we started driving toward Seward.  We didn’t make it far, only to a lookout point.  These cool rocks surrounded the parking lot.

Next stop–Girdwood. We went on the Aleyeska Tramway at the Aleyeska Resort.  The tram climbs a 2000′ vertical.  Atop the mountain, there is 1000 inches of snow annually and the staff works hard on Avalanche control.

A pup we met at the top

Just a few miles down the road, we stopped at Portage Glacier

One of the most exciting things that Erin was dying to share with Ryan and I was a trip through the Whittier Tunnel.

Whittier Tunnel is a 2.4 mile long ONE WAY tunnel into a mountain.  The tunnel runs on a schedule — 15 minutes into Whittier, 15 minutes closed, 15 minutes out of Whittier, repeat.  I took a video but it is too large to upload right now with limited computer resources.

Some nice photos from Whittier.
Prince William Sound. This area wasn’t impacted by the Exxon-Valdez oil spill.

These flowers are made of metal

Then the MOST EXCITING PART OF THE DAY!!!!  BEAR!

Confession: we were not in the wild. We are at the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center. From their website “WCC takes in injured and orphaned animals year-round and provides spacious enclosures and quality animal care. Animals that cannot be released into the wild are given a permanent home at the center.”

WOW amazing, huh?

During our drive south….

We didn’t make it into Seward until 9pm so looks like we will be exploring it tomorrow.

Tuesday morning, we had breakfast at Snow City Cafe and took a walk around downtown Anchorage.  I think I look pretty good on this moose.

These salmon sculptures are around the city

Fur store

One thing that really surprised me was the amount of flowers in Anchorage (or Alaska for that matter).  Erin said the flowers are plentiful because the growing season is so short, but there is a TON of daylight, which the flowers love.  I also learned that bears love the Anchorage Daily News.

Me and a wooden moose (who was skateboarding)

This is what our photos would look like if Erin and I were having an engagement photo shoot with this stuffed moose.

Westchester Lagoon

Earthquake Park.  “Welcome to Earthquake Park” with 4 bullet holes.  Apparently, people like to shoot things up here.

Concrete scoring.

Amazing stat!

Potter’s Marsh.  We didn’t see any wildlife, but did learn how quickly the weather moves in Alaska.  We had to run from the incoming rain!

My husband, Ryan, and tour guide (and BFF), Erin.

Tonight, as we came out of the hotel for dinner, a rainbow was shining down on this Auto Parts store.

After dinner (it was not yet dark at 11:00pm) I grabbed a shot of this painting by an artist whose work I was admiring earlier in a shop.  Katie Sevigny Art.

It’s my new laptop background.

I’m very excited for tomorrow. We are heading south of Anchorage towards Seward and Whittier.