Is this thing fur real?

Does anyone else live with crazy ladies?  These two sharing my space have me constantly scratching my head.  Sal is trying to teach me to count by doling out my treats one at a time and counting them one by one.  She always stops at four.  I might be a better student if she were trying to teach me to count to 15, but I’m not stressing my little cat brain for four treats.

Then on Saturday Mom introduces this new object into the house.  She is quite pleased with herself.  At the Fur Rondy Alaska Trappers Fur Auction on Saturday she has purchased a moose antler.  I’ll wait while you absorb that information.

Their new, absolute favorite nephew-in-law had expressed an interest in moose antlers for his man cave.  Mom jumped into action when she saw some for sale.  

Right now, the antler is taking up prime sunbeam space on the floor.  Other than that, after an intense examination of it, I’ve decided I can live with it until it makes it way down to Abingdon.  However that’s going to happen.  Like the counting, I’m not going to stress about it.  

Oh, and moose do have antlers.  Sheep have horns.  The difference?  

Antlers grow out of a stub of bone on their heads and are covered with “velvet,” a thin, soft layer of skin and blood vessels that gets scraped off over time.  Antlers are shed every winter when the connection between the stub of bone and the antler becomes loose.  Antlers are found in the deer family and are almost exclusively a male accessory.  Except reindeer; male and female reindeer have antlers.  

Horns are permanently attached to sheep, cows, goats and their relatives.  Horns have a full core of bone and are covered in a tough coating of keratin, the same substance that’s in my claws and your fingernails.  Horns are never shed and, in many species, continue to grow throughout the animal’s life.  Males and females, depending on the species, have horns.

Both sound like a lot of trouble to me.  And uncomfortable.  But, again, no stress here.

Fur Rondy: Curling Bonspiel (02-23-2023)

Had I heard of curling?  Yes.  I watched it once, not for very long, during one of the winter Olympics.  It seemed odd.  I saw curling on the Fur Rondy schedule and decided to give it another chance.

Turned out to be an excellent decision!  

First, it took us to a new part of town.  The Anchorage Curling Club is located in an area of Anchorage known as Government Hill.  Government Hill is a neighborhood in northwest Anchorage.  It is on the north side of Ship Creek and west of Joint Base Elemendorf-Richardson.  BB and I had been to Ship Creek for the Duck Race; however,  had never explored the neighborhoods beyond the creek.

I expected the Curling Club to be an arena with an ice rink in the middle.  No!  BB and I walk in to my idea of the quintessential neighborhood pub (the Club calls it the lounge).  A bar lines one wall, tables are spread about the room.  And people are everywhere; lots of talking and laughing going on.  People are having a good time.  It takes a minute for me to find the ice.  At the far end of the room is a big window.  The ice playing surface (in curling called the Curling Sheet) is on the other side of the window.  BB and I see signs of the game (sticks, big stones, curling trophies and posters) as make we make our way through the crowd.   When we peer through the window we expect to see people playing the game.  Instead we see Fur Rondy Royalty!  The Princesses are getting photographed on the ice.  

The Princess end up gathering near us when they return to the lounge.  We ask for a picture and they graciously say 'Yes.'   The Princesses  have multiple Fur Rondy pins on their sashes, prompting us to say we have pins but forgot to wear them.  We are warned to remember them or face the possibility of being put in Fur Rondy Jail. (The Kiwanis Club Keystone Kops  lock up Festival attendees that aren't wearing a pin.  Buying a pin gets you out of jail.  This is the Kiwanis Club's largest fundraiser).  They ask if we have attended other Fur Rondy events and we tell them of our visits to view the Snow Sculptures.  Princess Dakoma Epperly-Mae tells us her family is participating in the Snow Sculpture event.   Her family's sculpture is titled  'Deception'; we tell her we saw it  

It is at this time announcements are made, one of which is that the designer of the 2023 Fur Rondy pin, Crystal Epperly,  is in attendance.  She is standing near me!  I tell her I think it is a beautiful pin.  I notice Princess Dakoma taking something off her sash and going over to the designer, who is also her mother.  What a surprise when Dakoma comes to me with a 2023 Fur Rondy pin that is autographed by her mother!  Wow!  

Royalty leaves to go to other events.  We settle down to learn about and watch curling.  We have comfortable seats directly in front of the windows.  Two woman near us happily answer our questions about curling.  Both of them participate in the sport.  One of them is here from Scotland.  (Curling originated in Scotland in the 16th century).  The other is acting as Club Ambassador.

Princesses have their pictures taken on the curling sheet:

With the Princesses:

Princess Dakoma and Pin Designer Crystal Epperly:

  

The Pin

Playing the Game.

Don't call it the Target; it is the House.  The center is the Button not the Bullseye.

 

The players push off from a Hack.  

 

Players wear special shoes.  One foot has a slippery sole that allows the player to glide on the ice.  The other shoe has a gripper sole that doesn't slide on the ice.  

Sweeping the ice ahead of the stone.  Sweeping can make the stone move faster, decrease the amount of curl or remove debris from the ice.

Sal
 

An Alaskan Nugget — The Civil War

Sal and I were driving down Lake Otis Parkway the other day listening to 107.5, our I ❤️ country station, when the DJ said something that had me go “WHAT?”  He said that the last shot fired in the Civil War had been fired in Alaska.  WHAT?  I had to look into that.  Here’s what I learned.

Well, stories vary.  Lee surrendered to Grant in Appomattox VA on April 9, 1865.  This is generally thought to be the end of the war.  However, there is a memorial outside Waynesville NC which commemorates the last shot fired in the war on May 7, 1865, almost a month later.  And, apparently that claim was almost immediately disputed by other “last shot” locations.  Brownsville TX, for example, also makes the claim.

Most all Civil War history I’ve learned has been land battles.  After all, more major battles were fought in Virginia than any other state.  I know very little about naval battles, but some historians make the case that the last shots fired in the Civil War were fired from a Confederate ship off Alaska’s coast in the Bering Sea on June 22 or 28, two and a half months after Lee’s surrender.  (Alaska, of course, at the time was claimed by Russia.)

The Sea King was built in supposedly neutral Great Britain.  It had a smokestack that could be lowered and its masts and sails could be switched to look like another ship.  The Sea King was built with subterfuge in mind.  In October 1864, in a rendezvous off the coast of Africa, the ship was transferred to the Confederate navy, rigged for battle and renamed Shenandoah.  Its mission was to disrupt Union shipping and commerce.  

The New England whaling fleet off the coast of Alaska included some of the biggest and most expensive vessels of the day  Their cargo of oil was essential for modern life in the nation's growing cities.  The whaling grounds were in territory claimed by the Czar and Union battleships were thousands of miles away.  No one envisioned a Confederate assault in the icy waters of Russian America.  The Shenandoah had speed, power and guns that could fire a half mile away with some accuracy.  The whalers gave little or no resistance.  In 12 months, the Shenandoah had captured or sank 38 American ships and taken 1,000 prisoners without a single battle casualty on either side.

Between June 22 and 28, well after the end of the war, the crew of the Shenandoah, captained by James Waddell, captured or sank two dozen American ships near Little Diomede, an island situated in the Bering Strait where Alaska and Siberia nearly touch.  Captured captains protested and showed Waddell newspaper articles of Lee’s surrender.  Waddell, however, assumed the war continued on other fronts and dismissed the captains’ claims.  Only by a chance encounter with a British ship while on his way to San Francisco with plans to attack the city were the newspaper reports confirmed for him.  He learned of Lincoln’s assassination, Davis’s capture and that Confederate soldiers had received a blanket pardon—EXCEPT for the crew of the Shenandoah; they were to be caught and hanged.

Thus began a trip of 27,000 miles.  The Shenandoah crew put the ship into disguise mode.  They put the guns away and repainted the hull at sea.  With multiple navies searching for them, they evaded capture, crossed three oceans, stayed out of main shipping lanes and never contacted another ship.  The Shenandoah is the only Confederate ship to circumnavigate the globe.  On November 5, 1865, the Shenandoah reached Liverpool and surrendered to the British Navy.  Captain James Waddell was the last Confederate officer to surrender.

The Union demanded the crew be arrested, but Britain declined.  The US brought history’s first international civil suit, know as the Alabama Claims, named after the most famous Confederate warship.  The Alabama did more damage during the war, but the Shenandoah was more notorious because of the way it was obtained, the actions after the war had ended and they way they had evaded capture.  The Alabama Claims were a series of demands for damages sought by the government of the United States from the United Kingdom in 1869 for attacks upon Union merchant ships by Confederate raiders built in British shipyards during the Civil War. Eventually Britain paid the US $15.5 million in damages.  The Shenandoah’s officers returned to the US where several had successful careers.  Captain Waddell continued to command ships and died in 1886.  Seventy-six years later, the US Navy christened a guided missile destroyer the USS Waddell.  

Most of the above is taken from writings of Lynn Schooler of Juneau who wrote “The Last Shot: The Incredible Story of the C.S.S. Shenandoah and the True Conclusion of the American Civil War.”  He writes that the officers of the Shenandoah were a particularly charming group who made an impact in ports they visited.  He says, “I'm not a Civil War buff.  But as I traveled around the world, it became clear how really global the conflict was. (The history of the Shenandoah) is still common knowledge down in Melbourne. I saw three private boats with that name in the harbor. There's a prominent mural of the ship on the side of a restaurant. That surprised me because hardly any Americans know about it."  

Now I, and a few others, know about it.

Fur Rondy: What is it?

Fur Rondy (officially Fur Rendezvous) is Alaska's premier winter festival.  This is the festival's 88th year.  The first Festival was held in 1935.  This year the 10 day Festival takes place February 23 to March 5, 2023.  We plan to experience as many of the events as possible.  The events are many and varied and include winter sports, native culture and other activities unique to Alaska.  (The Evemts).

This Fur Rondy history is copied from the festival's website:

The Fur Rendezvous winter festival – known locally as Fur Rondy or “Rondy” – is a significant part of the Anchorage’s history and tradition. In the mid-1930’s, Anchorage was just a small town of about 3,000 people that stretched between Park Strip and Ship Creek. There were no televisions, malls or movie theaters, no video games, ipods or computers, not even an Iditarod! Winters could be brutal and stoking fires, shoveling snow and surviving the elements was a basic daily pastime for some in those days.

Vern Johnson, the father of Fur Rendezvous, was a likeable, outgoing Anchorage citizen with a keen understanding of social conditions. He and his friends decided to establish a 3-day winter festival that would coincide with the time that miners and trappers came to town with their yield. It began as a sports tournament, Feb. 15 – 17, 1936,  and featured skiing, hockey, basketball, boxing and a children’s sled dog race down Fourth Avenue. Nearly the entire population of Anchorage turned out for the bonfire and torchlight parade. 

Since then, the Fur Rendezvous has earned national and international notoriety, and visitors from throughout the world descend on Anchorage every February to attend the 12-day festival.

Despite the passage of time and a multitude of modern diversions, Fur Rendezvous remains a highly anticipated time of year. Many events have withstood the test of time and continue to maintain their unique character. The Official Rondy Fur Auction has been a staple since the beginning. Given that the fur trade was Alaska’s third most valuable industry in those days, incorporating the industry into the celebration was a logical idea.

The Blanket Toss, an ancient Alaska Native tradition, joined the festival in 1950. Native Alaskans were flown into Anchorage from Nome and the Little Diomede Islands to participate in the Blanket Toss and showcase their captivating tribal dances. The World Championship Sled Dog Race debuted in 1946 and has become the cornerstone event of the festival, bringing teams of sled dogs and mushers to Anchorage from across Alaska and all over the world.

Curling, a popular Canadian + Fairbanks sport was demonstrated on a sheet of ice on the lawn of 4th Ave City Hall in 1957. The first Rondy Curling Bonspiel (Tournament) was held in 1958 and has become a destination event for Fur Rondy.

Other crowd-pleasing events include the Rondy Carnival, Grand Parade, Outhouse Races, Snowshoe Softball and Running of the Reindeer – a mellower version of Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls and much more.

Sal

So Easily Amoosed

It doesn't take much to amuse me.  

A week ago we opened the door to head out and run errands.  We noticed moose prints in the snow berm by our front door and on our FRONT STOOP!  We've  had fun telling people all week that a moose came to our door.

This morning I had reason to step over the snow berm.  I saw moose nuggets.  

The moose POOPED by our FRONT DOOR!  How cool is that!

I may put some in a plastic baggie and put them in the freezer as a momento of  his visit.   I don't think BB will object.

Sal

I went ice fishing — Cross that off my bucket list

There were multiple events on my bucket list of things to do in Alaska.  I wanted to step outside my narrow little box and experience things I might never get to try again.  Helpful hint: should you ever create such a list, note it somewhere.  Writing this, I can’t think of a single thing that made the list.*

However, over coffee last Friday, Sal mentioned a listing in the newspaper for an ice fishing jamboree on Saturday.  BINGO, fishing had been on my list.  The ice part was just a bonus.  How cool to go ice fishing in Alaska.  Never fished, don’t know a thing about fishing, but it’s one of the big things that draws people to the state.  This event, at Jewel Lake, was for all ages, and that was encouraging.  If a child could do it, surely I could.   It was the kickoff event for the 2023 Bait Shack Community Event series.  We spoke to the organizer of the event.  I believe he said it was the 35th annual event.  Earlier in the week, lots of holes had been drilled into the ice and the lake had been stocked with fish. Big ice drills were available should additional holes be needed.  Eight hundred school kids had been brought over during the week for a fun afternoon of fishing.  Nice.  

There were a fair number of people there.  Poles and bait were provided free of charge.  There were several vendors and food trucks, including Grizzly Dogs.  I was tempted to get a Grizzly Dog but abstained, staying loyal to the team at Yeti Dogs, my son’s Alaska hot dog friends.  

I needed a fishing license.  Me having a fishing license.  Cool.  Alaska Department of Fish and Game had a stand at the event.  A one-day non-resident license was $15, which I happened to have in my pocket since I hadn’t gotten a Grizzly Dog. I filled out some paperwork and the guy explained the types of fish in the pond.  Blab, blab, salmon, blab.  I kind of missed that part.  I did not intend to keep anything I caught, and he explained how to release whatever back to the water.  We had seen people carrying a fish or a bag of fish, most about 8 inches long, so people were catching.  He wished me luck.  I said I really didn’t need luck because I didn’t want to catch anything, so he said, “Break a leg.”  I don’t think that was appropriate as I was walking off on a frozen pond, but whatever.

We walked further out on the ice and choose a hole.  I baited my hook with the colorful little shrimp provided and scrunched down to fish.  Again, no idea what I was doing.  I waved my wand around a bit and waited.  Heard some excitement behind me, and a little boy had caught a fish.  Yay.  But then he started hitting it on its head, many times.  I understood what he was doing, but it was violent and sad and ice fishing was no longer fun for me.  I told Sal I didn’t want to do it anymore.  I asked her how long I had fished.  Apparently my bucket list fishing adventure had lasted about three minutes.

You do things and learn what you like and also what you don’t like.

Maybe you can see the boy behind me with his fish.  He kept fishing but I was done.

*I have since remembered something else on my list.  Unfortunately, I didn’t write it down and now I can’t remember 😕.

An Alaskan Nugget — The Good Friday Earthquake

Alaska has more earthquakes than any other state.  I’ve felt one, back in the fall.  It was hard and quick; my first thought was that a truck had hit the apartment.  I said, “What the fudge,” or something similar, Grey was freaked, Sal was taking a shower and missed the whole thing.  The 7.5 magnitude earthquake in Turkey and Syria has reminded me of the documentaries we’ve seen here on the 1964 Alaskan earthquake.   There is an excellent movie on it at the Bureau of Land Management in Anchorage, and I was obsessed with firsthand recordings by survivors shown in a small museum in Seward.  The personal recollections are incredibly sad and horrific, but it is a story worth sharing.  I’ve researched more, and here’s what I’ve learned.

Alaska had almost 37,000 earthquakes last year.  You can look at University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Earthquake Center site and see listing of the latest earthquakes in the state; today they seem to be happening every 15 to 30 minutes: 12:40, 12:13, 12:00, 11:46, etc.  The majority of these register at magnitude 1 or less.  The one I felt was a 4.9.  Three in the last year have registered as greater than 6.

On March 27, 1964, Good Friday that year, at 5:36pm, without warning a 9.2 magnitude earthquake occurred, its epicenter 78 miles east of Anchorage.  The earthquake, which lasted four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, remains the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history and the second most powerful in world history since the development of seismographic measurements.*   A fault between the Pacific and North American plates erupted in Prince William Sound.  Six hundred miles of fault erupted at once, causing major structural destruction or damage to buildings and infrastructure.  Just 30-40 miles southeast of Anchorage, areas near Girdwood and Portage on the Turnagain Arm dropped as much as eight feet.  The communities were destroyed by subsidence and subsequent tidal damage.  Girdwood was later relocated inland.  Portage was abandoned.  Two hundred miles southwest, near Kodiak, some areas were permanently raised by 30 feet.  

Anchorage downtown was heavily damaged. Land overlooking the Ship Creek Valley, near the Alaska Railway yards, slid, causing destruction of many buildings and blocks of downtown.   The Turnagain neighborhood, built on the bluffs of Cook Inlet, lost 75 homes to landslides.  The area destroyed has now been turned into Earthquake Park.  The 60 foot control tower at Anchorage International Airport collapsed.

Ocean floor shifts created tsunamis of up to 220 feet.  Most coastal towns on the Prince William Sound, Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island area, especially the major ports of Seward, Whittier and Kodiak, were heavily damaged by a combination of seismic activity, subsidence, tsunamis and/or earthquake-related fires.  When we visited Seward, we learned that an oil tanker was wrenched loose from a pipeline, which erupted in flames, which then spread to the other oil tanks.  Burning oil on the water rushed through the town.  

I see today the death toll in Turkey is over 20,000.  Because Alaska was so less populated and the 1964 earthquake was at dinner time when most people were home, incredibly the death toll was only 128, including 16 from California and 4 children in Oregon who perished hours later from tidal waves.  Only nine of the deaths were caused as a result of the earthquake itself.  The vast majority were due to the resulting tsunamis, some of which hit shores less than 90 seconds after the shaking began.  The first advisory from the Seismic Sea Wave Warning System indicating the possibility of a tsunami came 1-1/2 hours after the earthquake, long after the Alaskan communities had already been struck.

The Native Alutiiq village of Chenega on the Prince William Sound was the hardest hit in terms of percentage of population that perished.  The death toll of 23 was a third of its residents.  The people of Chenega were earthquake savvy.  When the earth started shaking, they turned off their oil stoves and headed for higher ground.  Parents told their older children to run up the mountain directly behind the village.  Adults with babies and small children tried to carry them up the mountain but were quickly hit by the tsunami waves which pulled the children from their arms. Twelve of the 23 who died that day were children.

In Valdez, twenty-eight adults and children were on the dock watching the “M.V. Chena” unload its freight when the earthquake struck.  The crew was happily throwing candy and oranges to the children watching.  The earthquake quickly turned the glacial sediment along the waterfront into “liquid mud” and a huge section of it slid out into Port Valdez, displacing the water and collapsing the dock, warehouse, packing plant, cannery and bar.  It also threw everyone from the dock down into the muddy ocean floor.  Almost instantly, a 30 foot wave of mud and water rushed back into the waterfront, burying everything and everybody.  The next 30 foot wave reached the business district of Valdez and damaged 40% of the businesses.  The Union Oil tanks ruptured and caught fire.  The entire town was damaged beyond repair in less than 10 minutes.  Three years later, the town of Valdez was moved to a safer location four miles away.

Other coastal towns in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii were damaged.  A tsunami alert had been issued that day in Crescent City, California, but locals later said previous alerts had never materialized, so that warning was ignored.  The 75 foot tidal wave leveled the town and caused 12 deaths.

Minor damage to boats occurred as far south as Los Angeles.  Seiche waves, the sloshing of water back and forth in a small body of water like a swimming pool, were noted as far away as Texas and Louisiana.  Oscillations in the height of water in wells were reported in countries around the world such as England, South Africa and Australia.

The Good Friday earthquake was a wake-up call for the United States, which recognized that had a similar-sized earthquake occurred in a major metropolitan area, the disaster would have been far worst in terms of fatalities and economic impact.  Now, early earthquake warning systems are active around the world.

* The 1960 Valdivia earthquake, or the Great Chilean earthquake on May 22,1960, is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.  Various studies have placed it at 9.4-9.6 on the magnitude scale.  It occurred in the afternoon and lasted for approximately 10 minutes.

Virginia Visit: Roanoke Cousins & Final Goodbyes (02-01-2023

Today we visit our Roanoke cousins.  We visited with our younger Roanoke cousins at the wedding.  Our elder cousins weren't able to attend due to health limitations.  We couldn't be this close and not see them.  

The younger cousins tell us that the elders enjoy Chick-Fil-A.  BB and I, actually our whole family, are CFA fans.  As Alaska does not have CFAs, BB and I are looking forward to the visit and the meal.  

 Roanoke is two hours and 130 miles east of Abingdon. We leave Aunt Mays a little after 11:00.  We told the cousins to expect us around 1:30. Passing familiar communities along the way brings back nice memories.  We go by Marion and I remember visits to Hungry Mother State Park.  Wytheville, where Dad grew up, has a water tower painted like a hot air balloon.  We go by Christiansburg and mention family friends that live there.

We have a mission on the drive to Roanoke.  One of our Anchorage friends is from Draper, VA.  We form a plan to take pictures of all the signs containing 'Draper' that can be seen from I-81.  We manage to get pictures of the highway sign and of Draper Valley Pentecostal Holiness Church.

Our 'Draper' mission accomplished we are approaching Roanoke.  Time to order lunch.  The next 20 minutes showcased the best and worst of modern technology.  It certainly is convenient to place the order using your cell phone and have it ready for pick up when you arrive.  It can also be frustrating when the app doesn't display an item you want to order and doesn't want to let you add payment methods.  We overcame the difficulties. We have CFA.   We pull in the cousin's drive shortly after 1:30.

It's a great visit!  There is all kinds of news to share;  wedding stories, Alaska adventures, health statuses, who's moving to Abingdon and when, downsizing advise and stories, grand and great-grandchildren updates.  We start saying goodbyes around 3:30 and are on the way back to Abingdon by 4:00.

We pick up dinner on the way to Aunt Mays.  There is a variety. Some of us have salads from Food City.  Others have hamburgers and hot dogs from Pal's.  K&D join us with their dinner from Jersey Mike's.  K&D don't stay long.  They work tomorrow.  We want an early night to be ready for an early morning,

All good things must end.

Sal

The 2022 Best of Alaska Showcase (01-14-2023)

The Anchorage Daily News (ADN) published the results of its Best of Alaska voting in mid-December.  The 60 page magazine that announced the first, second and third place winners in over 100 categories arrived with our morning paper.  

This description of the nominating and voting process is copied from the ADN Best of Alaska site:

How It Works:

---

Nomination Period (June 6, 2022 - July 3, 2022):

Nominate your favorite in each category by typing in the name of the business or organization. One nomination is allowed in each category. The top five in each category will advance to the voting period.

Voting Period (July 25, 2022 - Aug 21, 2022):

Vote for your favorite in each category. You may vote once per week, per category.

Winner Results (Individual businesses will be notified):

We will recognize Platinum, Silver and Gold places in each category.

BB and I enjoyed reading the magazine and identifying the businesses we have already patronized - Moose's Tooth Pub and Pizzeria, 49th State Brewing Co, GCI, Alaska Wild Berry Products, Bells Nursery, Yeti Dogs and Big Rays.  We've kept the magazine as a source for new places to eat,  things to do and places to visit.

The Best of Alaska Showcase gathered the 2022 winners under one roof at the Dena'ina Center. Saturday, January 14, was snowy; the winter weather just added to the adventure. We knew from the minute we walked through the door that we would have a great time.  We each were handed a FatBoy Ice Cream Sandwich.  It was good, I could have eaten another!  We were also handed a booklet with the businesses participating in the raffle.  If we got stamps from the participating businesses and turned in the booklet we became eligible for raffle prizes.  

We did have fun visiting the booths.  We tried food and beverage samples from the many restaurants that were there.  My favorite was the waffle from Waffles and Whatnot.  I also had pasta from Humpy's and bratwurst from 49th State.  We were surprised and amused when we stopped at the Raspberry Roots booth expecting to sample a beverage, perhaps raspberry soda or beer, only to find they produced and sold cannabis.  Our misunderstanding was caused by the business being named after its address, Raspberry Road, instead of the fruit.

We ate our bratwursts at a table we shared with men discussing the LA Lakers.  BB joined the discussion.  She asks them if they want to know why she isn't a Lakers fan.  "Sure," they replied.  BB responded, "Kobie Bryant and Tim Duncan started in the NBA the same year.  They were both great players.  But Kobie got all the good press and notoriety.  You didn't hear about Tim."  The men replied, "Tim isn't hurting.  He has 5 rings.  But it is good to be loyal to your team." 

I picked up a pencil at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, a place we've visited several times.  We spent time admiring artwork at Corso Graphics.  We know Corso from art and craft shows we have attended. The best ever was our stop at the Visit Anchorage Alaska booth.  I learned that Seymour would arrive at 2:00!  Of course BB and I make a point to go  back by the booth at 2:00.  Seymour is very kind and gracious and I am certain he was as happy to see us as I was to see him!

We made sure our booklets were stamped by all the participating businesses and turned them in on the way out.   No phone calls on Monday to tell us what we won.  Typical with us and raffles.

Fatboy Ice Cream is Good!

Doesn't Seymour look handsome in his tux?

With our bratwurst.

Sal

ERNC: Annual Icy River Rampage Winter Fat Bike Race (02-04-2023)

 Eagle River Nature Center (ERNC) sent out a request in mid-January for volunteers to work the Annual Icy River Rampage Winter Fat Bike Race.  The race, a fund raiser for two non-profits, Chugach Mountain Bike Riders and the Eagle River Nature Center, takes place Saturday, February 4.  It's been awhile since I volunteered at ERNC and this looks fun and interesting.  I responded with a Yes.

A few days before the race I receive my assignment.  I'll be an On-the-course volunteer and should arrive between 9:00 and 9:30.  I'm not familiar with the trails so I check out the course.  I start to get nervous about being assigned by myself to a spot out in the boondocks so I send an email asking for clarification.  I'm told "We’ll either put you with someone or have someone take you to your spot.  We’ll also keep you close to the Center." 

Saturday morning, while looking out the front door and wondering what happened to the newspaper (silly me, no paper on Saturday), I realize it is snowing.  Snow isn't going to stop me!  Google maps says ERNC is 40 minutes away.  I decide to allow 60 minutes and leave a few minutes after 8:00am.

I don't have any problems on the drive to the Center.  The Palisade does well in the snow.  I stay about 10 miles below the speed limit, but most of the other drivers are doing the same.  I arrive shortly after 9:00am. 

Volunteer briefing is at 9:30.  Gus, Volunteer Coordinator, goes over the race route.  He instructs us in how to handle emergencies.  We are warned that moose in the area have staked out spots near the trail.  He reviews how to respond to moose attacks. Next he gives out assignments.  True to their word I am posted to a trail intersection within a quarter mile of the Center.   I feel wimpy.  I decide (right or wrong) that the other volunteers probably find it more exciting to be further out from the Center and are probably happy that I have this spot. We need to be in position by 10:50.  Volunteers assigned further out from the Center start heading out.  I get to stay in the Center and warm for another 40 minutes.  

I am in position by 10:50.  I am close enough to the Start/Finish line that I can hear the racers take off.  The 20 mile race starts at 11:00.  The 10 mile race at 11:15.  Racers are still in a pack as they come down the hill towards me.  I stand in the middle of the trail they are not supposed to take, point down the one they are and yell encouraging words.  

Nothing happens for the next hour; no racers, no one else on the trails, no animals.  I enjoy the quiet time.  Snow is still slowly coming down.  It's pretty.

The trails are not closed to the public.  Around noon people start showing up to walk / ski the trails.  We talk about the race.  Several have dogs that I get to pet, including a golden retriever.  One woman even has a cat with her.  She has it in a carrier that she wears like a backpack.   I warn them to watch out for the racers and moose.

The first racer reaches me about 12:20.  I shout more encouraging words.  The last quarter to half mile is uphill and I can tell they are tired.  Racers go by me every 4 or 5 minutes for the next hour.  Between 1:30 and 2:10 around 5 racers go by me.

This morning I asked how to know when I could leave my post.  I was told that the volunteers further out would start walking back to the center when the racers had gone by them.  I would know it was OK to leave when the other volunteers got to me on the way back to the Center.  The official stop time for the race is 2:00.  I wait for other volunteers to show up and wonder if there are any stragglers.  Two volunteers go by me and say it is "probably" OK for me to leave.  I wait until 2:30.  I haven't seen a racer in the last 20 minutes. I return to the Center.  I ask if all the racers made it back and get told Yes.  

Several volunteers prepared lunch, hot dogs and mac and cheese, for the racers and volunteers.  There aren't any racers left at the Center; however there are a few volunteers.  I have a hot dog and take a picture, cause that's what my family does when we eat hot dogs.

No snow showers on the drive home.  Arrived safe and sound.

Another good day.

Sal

Virginia Visit: Travel Day (02-02-2023)

Jack, BB and I are up at 3:45am for a 7:00am flight out of the Bristol Tri-Cities airport.  Jack drives us to the airport.  It's raining.  On I-81 we pass trucks treating the road for ice.  We don't notice any ice on the road.  Yeah.

Bristol Tri-Cities is a small airport.  It has one concourse with 7 gates.  It would be hard to get lost in this airport.  We didn't eat breakfast at Aunt May's so have coffee and granola bars as we wait to board.  It is a surprise at boarding time when we realize there isn't a gangway to the plane.  We walk out the gate door, down steps and across the tarmac to the plane....in the rain.  Gate personnel offer us an umbrella.  We turn it down.  We live in Alaska now; we are tough!

The stairs leading to the concourse at Tri-Cities:

Charlotte Douglas International Airport is the antithesis of Bristol Tri-Cities Airport.  There are five concourses; each concourse has at least 18 gates.  It's a nice walk to our departure gate.  We enjoy the humor of one of the attendants on the flight from Charlotte to Seattle.  When the drink cart reaches us BB asks for cranberry juice.  The attendant asks "On the rocks?" Then goes on to say "Be careful; it IS cranberry juice COCKTAIL!"  The snack is a two cookie pack of Biscoff cookies.  She says as she hands them out "Would you like some homemade cookies?  Baked fresh today!"  Her banter with the passengers provides needed diversion.

Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) International Airport is even bigger than Charlotte.  It has four concourses and two satellite terminals.  We take a train between terminals.  This is a long layover.  We are happily playing games on our phones when the gate agent calls my name and requests I report to the counter. We know the flight is full and my first thought is "Oh no something bad is happening."  She asks if I will switch my seat from F by the window to C on the aisle in the same row. I ask if it is for a greater good, like something medical? Answer "No."  So I say "No, I want the window and to sit by my sister." When the plane taxis for takeoff we see The Mountain (that's what Seattle people call Mt Rainier).  Later in the flight we see a colorful sunset.  In the moment I felt proud that I didn't give up my seat; however, I spend the flight feeling guilty.  But  because I kept the window I got to see The Mountain!  And a pretty sunset!

It is snowing when we land in Anchorage.  We collect our baggage then head for the pickup area to wait for the Dimond Airport Parking shuttle.  It arrives after a short wait.  Three of us get on.  The other passenger and driver seem to know each other.  Listening to their conversation, I learn that the passenger works at Prudhoe Bay.  The driver says it's snowed in Anchorage the last few days.  We get to the car.  It starts.  Yeah!  On the plane BB and I decided on Moose's Tooth Aloha pizza and Caesar salad for dinner.  I clear the car while BB orders dinner.  

We make our way to Moose's Tooth.  Another short wait for the pizza and salad.  Then a short drive home.  We (mainly BB) are excited to see Grey.  He is happy to see us for about five minutes; then swipes at BB's hand and draws blood.  

The pizza is good, Grey is asleep in front of the fire,  the band-aid on BB's hand stopped the bleeding and we have milk in the refrigerator. A happy ending to a long day.

Sal