Fishing and Festivals

Last Friday I updated you on our trip to Valdez. Since then, we had a friend come to town for a few days and my husband and oldest son went halibut fishing with him. They had a fantastic time and my son was so proud of his catch! Especially now that he's old enough to be considered "one of the guys." It's a major shift when that happens. After all was said and done, they brought home plenty of fish to keep us cooking for the rest of our time here.

While the guys were out sighting whales and puffins on the boat, the younger two and I went to the Anchorage Saturday Market and Festival. It's down by the train depot and the Alaska Geographic shop, where I bought some great homeschool resources. We'll be starting school officially (obviously the kids have been learning since we left, but don't tell them that. ;-)) the first week in September, and will be focusing on Alaska geography, economy, history, sociology, etc. until we leave. These books and poster will be useful tools for that. Like I said, the kids have learned a lot about Alaska already just by exploring and experiencing it. These resources are to reinforce that knowledge.

The market, itself, was huge and filled with more people than we'd seen in one place for a while. We saw a few busses there, so the cruise lines probably had a part to play in that. There were vendors galore but I was excited to meet one person in particular. Dan Seavey, one of the founders of the Iditarod, wrote a book recently and has been driving up from Seward with his lovely wife, Shirley, to sell it at the market and sign autographs. It was such a pleasure to talk to them. They really are some of the nicest, most interesting people you'd ever want to meet. I've been reading his book "The First Great Race" ever since I brought it home. It's very well written. I especially love that I've been everywhere he's talked about so far, and can picture it in my mind while reading. It's a wonderful picture of recent Alaskan history and the Iditarod. You can feel the connections he has with his family and friends on every page.

Another person we went to find at the market was Laurel Downing Bill, author of the "Aunt Phil's Trunk" Alaska state history series. Her books are approved curriculum for Alaska schools and each one is broken into short stories with pictures galore. I bought the first book so we could get a taste before leaving but something tells me I'm going to want to read the whole series on my own when all is said and done! Ms. Bill is never hard to find in a crowd. She's the one dressed in full 1900's regalia with a large brimmed hat to finish off the look. She also sells sourdough starter that began in the 1896 Gold fields. We bought some and are happy to report a successful experiment in bread making this week!

The rest of the market was full of local vendors selling everything from scrimshaw (carved ivory and bone) to t-shirts. We enjoyed listening to the singers and tasting culinary delights like mixed berry ice cream, lemonade, and reindeer sausage quesadillas.

Another place we visited this week that was a lot of fun is the Alaska State Fair. This is their 80th Anniversary and yesterday was the official start. You'd better believe we were there right as the gates opened- despite the rain!

Once a year in August, the whole state comes together to enjoy each others' company at the fair. There's a feeling of comradery and excitement as people pass and smile at each other. Volunteers come out in droves to help, from the very young to the very old. People work all year on beautiful creations for the contests. Groups practice their dances and songs. Children nurture animals to maturity to be judged and viewed by the masses. Everyone, from people in traditional Alaskan dress to people with dyed hair and piercings, mingle with familiarity. It's really a unique experience.

I've taken a ton of pictures to give you an idea of what we saw. This is just a small sampling. There are some amazingly talented people here.

We were able to touch several kinds of fiber, from musk ox to moose.

 This is the commemorative quilt they'll be raffling off at the end of the fair. I wish you could see the details in the blocks. You'll just have to check them out here. They were designed by local artist, Ruth Hulbert and the quilt was made by local quilter, Kathy Rockey.

I can now appreciate the hours of work and skill that went into each of these beaded flowers!

 I may have to try this project with the kids. What a pretty result! It's a leaf and dried flower collage!

Look at the close up of this drawing. It's AHH-MAZING!

At the fair, people are exposed to things they don't ordinarily have the opportunity to experience. We were treated to demonstrations in Yup'ik dance, woodworking, cooking, and goat milking. We were also able to make and take home beeswax candles, which was a lot of fun.

Because Alaska is so far removed from the "Lower 48," the professional fair vendors you generally see everywhere can't make their way up here easily. This means the fair is manned by Alaskans. The booths boast "Alaskan Made" and "Alaska Grown" everywhere you look. I love the pride they take in those labels. You can buy everything from Mukluks (Alaskan fur boots) and birch baskets to cosmetics and key chains. We were able to get an autograph from "Tundra" cartoonist, Chad Carpenter, himself, because he lives nearby. A lot of the food vendors are made up of local organizations that make their dishes from scratch, from produce grown nearby or locally harvested meat. I'm giddy just thinking about it! It's authentic. It's genuine. It's generous- A lot like the people here.

In the 4H area, the Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks provided all kinds of great information about Alaska-relevant topics, all for free! We made sure to pick up a poster and some booklets to help us in our studies.

The kids and I had fun in the barn with the different animals. You can get close and touch just about all of them!

 Yep! That's a reindeer!

 Every year they bring in hatching eggs for observation. There's a brooder with chicks in it nearby and a pen with chickens that have chicks trailing after them. Needless to say, I was captivated.

The theme is "Bee Happy," which is why you see so many bee related pictures. This is a giant topiary. By the time I took this, the sun had come out.

 I can't resist the cheesy activities! They're too fun!

After the fair, we visited "The Noisy Goose" in Palmer. It's right across from the fairgrounds and is an institution in Palmer with a hunting theme and down home cooking. Cruise lines used to bring tourists there while traveling through, but have since built their own establishments, bypassing some of the local businesses. It's a shame, really. I could go on for days about what I think of this. Instead I'll just encourage you to make an effort to visit local establishments whenever you are. 

When asked what I will miss most about Alaska, I consider the scenery, the vastness, the arts, but ultimately my answer is this. It's the people. In all our travels to date, every person we've met has been welcoming, genuinely interested in talking to us and giving ideas to help us learn about the "real Alaska". They've been generous, and most importantly, they have a real desire to be involved in their communities and to help their neighbors. They love this land and understand the relationship they have with it. It's a beautiful thing.

Alaska, itself, seems to be in a hurry to get back to the cooler months these days. We've been experiencing Seattle-like weather (rain and gray) since the middle of July. A few weeks ago the trees started turning various shades of red, gold, and orange. This past week we saw a report in Anchorage of "termination dust"- a term I had to look up. It's the first dusting of snow in high altitudes signaling the impending end of summer. I have mixed emotions about this. On one hand, we are able to be here to experience this along with everyone else, which is cool. On the other hand, it makes me wonder what the roads will be like when we leave in a few weeks, which is iffy. I guess we'll see what happens when the time comes!

- Jen

The End of the Pipeline

Last Friday we waited in that line I was telling you about for the Whittier Tunnel. You know, the one that both vehicles and trains use....one at a time. It's a very precise schedule, but we got in!

Then we drove onto the Ferry to Valdez. It was a six hour ride but the ferry has a cafeteria and showed "Inside Out" for the kids, so it was pretty peaceful. The rest of us looked out the windows hoping to see the scenery through the rain. The Alaska Marine Highway is one of the most gorgeous "commutes" in the world.

When I was a kid the only reference I had for "Valdez" (pronounced val-deez) was the oil spill. I pictured industrial factories, dirty streets, and rivers with a fine rainbow sheen on them. After being in Valdez, I can confidently say that nothing is further from the truth. In fact, of all the places we've seen in Alaska to date, the Valdez area is the area where I sat on the edge of my seat most to absorb every detail. It was gorgeous!

Valdez, itself, is a small fishing village surrounded by glaciers and waterfalls. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline may end there, but you can't see it like you can on the route to Deadhorse.  In fact, this is the only visible evidence we saw of the pipeline in town.

The rest of Valdez is mostly small town and waterfront.  

It takes less than five minutes to reach the end of town from the boat launch. Just outside town you'll see a tunnel that was started during the railroad era, but never finished due to a disagreement that ended in a gun fight. "The Iron Trail" by Rex Beach describes it, according to a nearby sign. I haven't read the book yet, so can't recommend it one way or the other. If you've read it, let me know if it's any good!

The road after that is all waterfalls, mountains and glaciers. It's breathtaking! Some people snooze on road trips. You wouldn't on this one! You'd probably look more like a kid on their first trip to Disneyland! It's that fantastic. I mean, just look at our road views!

We were there for a few days, so we decided to spend one of the days going to McCarthy, which is famous for the Kennecott Copper Mine,  the native Athabascan people....and a few other things. We spent some time at the Copper River, where the worlds most delicious salmon spawn. We even saw a few fish wheels being used by native Alaskans. I think it's silver salmon (Coho) season right now.

The road to McCarthy ended up being more treacherous than the Dalton, and a few of the kids weren't feeling well, so we decided to stop and turn around. We had a delicious lunch at the historic Gilpatricks Hotel in Chitina (pronounced chit-nuh). I ordered the reindeer sausage, which is served on a roll with sauerkraut and mustard, German style (makes my mouth water even now!). Then we headed down the road to the Kenny Lake Fair.

Kenny Lake is a very small farming community. Once a year they all get together on someones property and have an old fashioned fair where people bring animals, homemade items, and produce to be judged. They offer freshly made goodies, like buttery crusted blueberry pie and ice cream. They also beckon to you to play games for prizes and have booths set up to sell items they've made throughout the year, like dream catchers. Needless to say, I was in Heaven. Everyone knew everyone. Kids and adults danced with each other next to the stage where the local band played, and kids walked around asking if anyone wanted to buy their Alaska-grown peas or play a game for the local high school fundraiser.

When our trip to the Valdez area ended, we drove home in order to see a different route and get a stamp on our National Parks Passport at Wrangell Elias National Park. There we learned about the Athabascan people, animals and vegetation in the area, and were able to touch actual animal pelts. I think my favorite was the beaver pelt. It was a lot softer and thicker than I thought it would be. This is a very large national park, filled with all kinds of amazing things. I recommend visiting it if you're in the area.

We had lunch in Glennallen and then stumbled across the most unbelievable part of our trip. We had planned to stop to take pictures at Matanuska Glacier, since we are living in the MatSu Borough, but when we got to it we found out that you can actually pay a fee and go in to WALK ON THE GLACIER!! You can touch it, stand on it, listen to it crack and creek, and see the effects of global warming up close and personal. Of course, we signed our lives away on the waiver and went in!

This was definitely a bucket-list item for me. We all had fun. The kids especially liked throwing caution to the wind, jumping over fissures in the ice. Walking in, it was surprising how fast we went from mud to ice without even realizing it. It's not often you get the opportunity to see the view from the glacier point of view. It was the very definition of awesome.

The only thing that was disappointing was seeing a cigarette butt that someone had dropped and left on the glacier. So disrespectful and disgusting! Do us all a favor and leave every place you visit cleaner than you found it.

After all that activity, this week has been pretty calm. I met with a local quilt group and they were all very welcoming and friendly. Not to mention talented! It was nice to work on my state flowers quilt with them. I also finished the Ahtna Athabascan Beading project. As you can see here, I restarted and collaborated with the kids (and their beads). Hooray for completion!

The trees have started to turn colors, so I guess that means Autumn starts in August here. I'm curious to see what the weather will be like when we leave in the middle of September. Until then, I'm savoring every moment.

Have a great week!

- Jen