He’s a fractious cat

My mom didn’t know exactly what that meant.  Oh, she got the gist of it as the vet assistant brought me back to her sans newly updated rabies vaccine certificate in her hand, but she didn’t know exactly.

Synonyms:  unmanageable, testy, ornery.  

Apparently I have to get my yearly rabies shot before I can cross borders.  We’re heading back south in less than two months and my current vaccine expires in a couple days.  Two vet clinics that had been recommended were not taking new clients, so we were trying the SPCA.  

I gamely took my recommended Gabapentin.  There was a small struggle, one spit out incident and one bandaid required.  I was loaded into my carrier and off we went for our 1:00 appointment.  My Richmond doctor and I had an understanding.  It was just going to be unpleasant for everyone.  SPCA gave up too quickly.  A hiss, growl and a couple swipes, and the label “fractious cat.”

Mom was sad.  I wasn’t too happy either.  The adrenaline of my near escape had me fighting against the drug until we got home.  I had to watch my back for a while, not sure what mom was planning with the phone calls she was making, 

But eventually I lost the fight.  

We’re set to try again in a couple weeks at a different place.  If the Gabapentin doesn’t do the trick then, Mom says this vet has other ways to make me cooperative.  🙀

Guess where we are!

OK, that one was easy.  Of course, we are in Chicken, AK, population of 20-30 in the summer, 15 in the winter.

This one is harder.  But if it looks like we’re on the top of the world, you’re right!  This is the Top of the World Highway.  

Chicken was on our list to visit.  It’s kind of out of the way, but our trip to WEIO (World Eskimo Indian Olympics) put us kinda sorta in the neighborhood.  A little less than 300 miles from Fairbanks, actually, but as large as Alaska is, that’s in the neighborhood.  Looking at a map, more treasures were revealed.  Chicken was close to the Top of the World Highway, which leads to Dawson City, Yukon, which is reached by crossing the Yukon River on a ferry.  Sounded fun and definitely an adventure not to be passed on.

It would be a full day, almost 400 miles of driving, so we set our alarms and left Fairbanks at 5:20am.  We drove through North Pole and waved at the reindeer.  Around 9:00 we stopped in Tok at the Shell station to fill up one tank and empty another. Shortly past Tok we made the left hand turn onto the Taylor Highway towards Chicken.  The “Highway” was decent, mostly paved with a tolerable amount of potholes.  Sixty+ miles to Chicken!

Chicken is now some gifts shops, a campground, old mining relics and porta potties, but in 1903 it had a population of around 400, mostly miners, prospectors and some natives.  Big enough community to deserve a name, and it was decided to call the town Ptarmigan because the plentiful local birds filled many a pot in the camps.  However, no one knew how to spell Ptarmigan, so someone allegedly said “Aw hell, let’s just call it Chicken.”  And so it was.  Chicken has no telephones and no flush toilets.  They have pretty fancy porta potties, though. 

We took numerous chicken pictures, bought some souvenirs, had a nice lunch on the deck of  Chicken Gold Camp and Outpost, the gift shop/lunch bar, and headed out of town to experience the Top of the World Highway.  About 100 miles to Dawson City.

Top of the World Highway was build in 1955.  It was paved in the 1990s but hasn’t been well maintained, so it’s now mostly gravel.  It is a curvy, pot-holed road that winds around the peaks and crests of the mountains.  It is, in fact, one of the most northernly highways in the world at that altitude.  No guard rails, but plenty of spectacular views of the Alaska Range.  The road is only open in summer months and many rental companies don’t allow their vehicles to be driven on this road.  We had read the road could be challenging, but the McCarthy Road in Wrangell-St. Elias had been similarly described, and we took it slow and had no problems there, so we felt up to the challenge. 

We had good weather, which we were thankful for.  At first, used to the dramatic mountain peaks around Anchorage and much of southwest Alaska, I didn’t appreciate what I was seeing.  Didn’t take long, though, for the views to grab me.  Sal counted at least seven mountain ridges at one spot.  The views were forever.

Sal had asked if I wanted to drive some on the highway, and I said I did.  However, we were not too long on the road when I changed my mind.  We were really high up.  Hairpin curves and no guard rails?  No thanks.

The trip is around 80 miles long.  We had no problems.  We took our time and enjoyed the views.  We saw people in two spots by rivers panning for gold.  Maybe halfway into the trip, we crossed over into Canada.  The customs lady was nice, and I took the opportunity to asked a couple border crossing questions relating to Grey and the moose antler we will be bringing back for our new nephew Fuzz.  It was the Little Gold/Poker Creek border crossing, which is the northernmost international border crossing in North America.  Sal and I had considered coming this route when we head back to Virginia in late September, but the  border closes this year around the first of September.  The highway also is seasonal, only open mid May to mid September.  

After about 2-1/2 hours, we arrived at the George Black ferry, which would take us across the Yukon River to Dawson City.  There was a line of cars and RVs waiting to cross, but the trip is short, only about 8 minutes, and we were driving the dirt streets of Dawson City about 30 minutes later around 4:30.  We had entered a new time zone and so the trip had actually taken us about 10 hours.  The Main Street of Dawson City is the only paved road in town.  The permafrost is so bad the ground shifts frequently enough that buildings  are constructed in such a way that they can be lifted and realigned every year.  We saw some early buildings without that construction feature that were tilting so badly they were practically falling down.

We went immediately to the Visitor’s Center to get tickets for the 6:00 Klondike National Historic Site walking tour.  We were leaving early the next day, and we were tired, so the tour would be about the extent of our sightseeing in Dawson City.  The tour was interesting.  The town was the center of the Klondike gold rush, and many buildings have been restored to reflect the time.  We went in a bank and saloon and heard stories of  miners, the working women of the town and Jack London, writer, and Robert Service, poet, who each had lived and written about life in the Yukon.  We learned about a drink you can get around town, a Sourtoe Cocktail.  It has an actual preserved human toe in it.  If you drink it and your lips touch the toe, you become a member of the Sourtoe Cocktail Club and receive a certificate of membership. That’s one of the grossest things I’ve ever heard.  After the tour, Sally and I went to Bombay Peggy’s (“Victorian Elegance in Dawson City”) where we enjoyed normal people drinks. And country music, our favorite.  A nice way to relax at the end of a long day.  

The only fingers are mine!

Long day ahead, but we slept later and left the hotel around 9:00.  We stopped at a bakery and got coffee and a variety of yummy treats to get us going.  We lined back up for the ferry, again crossing in less than 30 minutes.  Then we retraced our route from yesterday over the mountains and through Chicken to Tok, then turned left toward Glenallen and Anchorage.

One fun thing; shortly after we crossed back into the US, we pulled over at a scenic view.  There was a biker there, setting up his phone to take a selfie.  I offered to take the picture and we ended up talking at length to Peter, owner of Johnny’s Bar and Grill, a biker bar in Hollister CA (https://benitolink.com/historic-hollister-biker-bar-johnnys-changes-hands/).  It has quite an interesting history.  Peter was heading up to the North Slope on his bike.  Apparently there is a bar there where people leave stickers of other bars.  Johnny’s was not represented, and he was riding thousands of miles north to correct that.  It was fun talking with him.  He seemed a really nice guy and was interested in our trip.  

I drove from Tok to Glenallen, and we talked about last August driving that road when we first arrived in Alaska.  As always, the scenery was spectacular.  Fireweed is in bloom and was seen blooming along the road on our whole trip.  Sure is pretty.  

Sal got us home by 9:00.  Grey was glad to have us home.  We’ll be home for a couple weeks until our next trip.  We leave Alaska in two months and will use this time to start seriously planning our return.  Mixed feeling.  It’s been a fabulous year here.

Fairbanks: WEIO (07-12-2023 to 07-15-2023)

This Anchorage Daily News Article does a good job of summarizing the events at this year's WEIO.

BB and I learned about native Alaskan games from visits to the Alaska Native Heritage Center.  Demonstrations of native games and dances are given several times each day there throughout the summer.  The games really caught our attention.  After a demo BB talked to Peter, one of the athletes.  He told us that three of the athletes at the Heritage Center (Peter, Matt, Alex) planned to participate in the WEIO games in July.  We left knowing we would go to the games.

The 62nd Annual World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (WEIO) is held at the Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks this year from July 12 to July 15. It doesn't take long for us to learn that WEIO is more than the games.  It is also about celebrating culture, showcasing traditional arts and crafts and encouraging support and achievement among the athletes.

The WEIO site has a description of each game.  Many of the games mimic a skill needed for hunting/fishing:

The Dena Stick Pull mimics grabbing a fish by the tail.  Grease/shortening is applied to a stick that has been tapered from the center to each end. Competitors then grab the stick and at a given signal attempt to pull the stick from the opponent.

The Inuit Stick Pull mimics pulling a seal from a hole in the ice. Opposing athletes sit and face each other with the soles of their feet pressed together and their knees slightly bent. A stick is placed between them above their toes.  The athletes position their hands so that one person has the inside grip of the stick, and the other’s hands are on the outside. All hands must be touching. The winner is the person who pulls their opponent over or pulls the stick away from opponent.

The high kick games (Alaskan High Kick, Canadian One Foot High Kick, Traditional One Foot High Kick, Two Foot High Kick) were originally forms of communication:

Traditionally the coastal whaling villages would use these kicks as a form of communication. When a whale or other game has been taken, a messenger would run back toward the village and when within sight distance the messenger would jump and kick both feet into the air, signaling the people of the village that a whale or other game has been caught and to prepare themselves to help the hunters. 

The purposes behind other games were to keep up strength (Drop the Bomb, Four Man Carry), to demonstrate tolerance to pain/frostbite (Ear Pull, Ear Weight) or for just plain fun (Maktak Eating - Maktak is a traditional food of the peoples of the Arctic, consisting of whale skin and blubber). 

Athletes don't have to qualify at other events/meets/games in order to participate.  Athletes may participate in the WEIO games if they are at least 12 years old and

At least 1/16 Alaska Native, Native American, US Pacific Islander, Canadian Indian and/or Eskimo, or of any Indian tribes of the Americas or indigenous to Greenland or Siberia to be eligible to participate. Evidence of your eligibility may be asked of you by proof of any the following: 

 ❖ BIA CDIB/CIB/Tribal Enrollment Card, 

 ❖ Regional/Village Shareholder Identification Card, or

 ❖ Canadian Indian Status Card 

 ❖ Other _______________________________ 

Note:  1/16 is a Great Great Grandparent:

WEIO is four activity filled days.  Admission to the day activities is free.  The day activities start at 10:00 and go to 2:00 or 3:00. BB and I purchase passes that admit us to each evening's activities. Evening activities start at 6:00 and go to 10:00 or 11:00. 

We arrive in Fairbanks early afternoon on Wednesday, the first day of activities.  We miss Wednesday's day activities but make the evening ones.  Wednesday night's highlights are the opening ceremony and remarks and the introduction of the Miss WEIO contestants.  

We start to realize the importance and respect Alaskan native culture accords to family and elders.  A section of the main floor is marked off as the Elder Section.  Snacks and drinks are available and there are tables and chairs.  A volunteer stays in the area to assist.  Each dignitary and each WEIO contestant introduces themselves twice, once in their native language followed by English.  Each introduction includes the person's native and English names and home village, the native and English names and home village of the parents and the native and English names and home village of both sets of grandparents.

Each evening has cultural events as well as games on the schedule.  Each night has one if not more dance performances.  Dance groups from different villages take turns performing.  There are also regalia contests and parades.  Regalia contests are by age (baby-6 to 35 months or open-over 35 months) and by style category (Eskimo Cloth, Eskimo Fur, Indian Cloth, Indian Hide).

Many arts and crafts vendors are here.  A variety of things to see; beadwork, carvings, apparel.  BB gets this pair of earrings made of baleen and ivory.

The three athletes from the Heritage Center are here.  They participate in multiple events. We root for them.  At one of the afternoon events we see Peter and take the opportunity to say hello and tell him that we are cheering for him, Matt and Alex.  One evening we notice a couple sitting near us is cheering for Alex.  We tell them we are too and find out they are his parents.  

With apologies to Matt, this is the only picture we have of the three Heritage Center athletes together.  

Here are Peter in yellow and Alex in blue.

Here is Matt competing in the Alaskan High Kick.

Thursday we meet Ariella Derrickson at the women's Inuit stick pull.  The night before Ariella won the fish cutting contest in the Best category.  Contestants competing in the Speed category try to be the fastest in removing the head and backbone, while keeping the tail attached, and then fillet the fish and notch it for drying.  Contestants in the Best category try to fillet the fish and leave the least amount of fish on the bones. BB takes some great pictures of her as she competes.  BB shows her the pictures and shares several of them with her.  Ariella becomes another one we watch and root for.  We see her later participating in one of the dance performances.

Meet Ariella.

Competing in the Inuit Stick Pull

Ariella tells us about Nick Hanson, AKA The Eskimo Ninja Warrior.  He's competed seven times on the American Ninja Warrior Show and is now a ninja coach. He is a long time competitor in the WEIO games and is here this year.  We start watching him and begin rooting for him, too.

Ariella's father, Stan Zuray, was one of the cast of Yukon Men.  The series details the lives of several inhabitants of the remote Alaskan village of Tanana which is situated by the Yukon River.

Learn more about Ariella in Fairbanks Daily New-Miner 07-14-2023 edition.

We meet the current, 2022, Miss WEIO.  She is Michelle Pearl Uyumgaq Kaleak from Utqiagvik.  

Miss WEIO 2023, middle platform, is crowned.  She is Tehya Titus of Minto.

Baby Regalia Contestants.  Too Cute!

Fish Cutting Contestants.

Blanket Toss.

Peter competes in Greased Pole Walk.

Nick Hanson competes in Canadian One Foot High Kick.

Ear Weight - The weight is 16 pounds.

Ear Pull.

Maktak Eating.

Matt demos Bench Reach.

Arm Pull.

Matt demos Arm Pull.

Peter qualifies for Drop the Bomb.

WEIO Games - interesting, fun and thought provoking.  If you have the opportunity I highly recommend you attend.

SAL