AK State Fair --Land of the midnight sun

Today we went to the fair. It was a surprisingly nice day considering I think it has rained 35 of the last 40 days. Anyway, I was most excited to see the giant cabbage. It wasn't quite as big as I would have expected about 30 inches across or so. It weighed 86 pounds and in front of it was a record breaking 76 inch zucchini. The giant pumpkin was pretty impressive at 902 pounds.

The fairground is in Palmer about 45 miles away. It was pretty nice with paved paths and many vendor stands which we mainly ignored. The flowers were everywhere and quite pretty with all of the rain and some sun.

We saw a goat being milked, a bird show of exotic birds including a South American Condor, and a horse acrobatic show. Two horses were running in a circle parallel to each other and a man had one foot on each horse. Then a lady jumped on and did acrobatic events such as ride on his shoulders while he was on the horses. We saw some so-so bands play and some young Irish dancers. We sat in the sun and had wine and cheese. It was a pretty good day at the fair!

Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

Don and I went on a bike ride over a lovely trail. We biked along the mudflats and saw Sandhill Cranes and a Snipe. The cranes are very large birds. We stopped to rest (and then turn around) when we got to a large downhill since I didn't want to pedal back uphill. As it turns out we were in the path of departing jets and a few huge ones flew loudly just over our heads!

You know you are in AK when....part III

people begin speaking of "termination dust" which refers to the first sightings of snow on the mountains tops. In the past this meant the end to construction before concrete was invented that could set in the cold.

people watch the fireweed bloom and count the weeks until winter. Old tradition says that winter is six weeks from the top bloom.

people make fireweed jelly.

the road signs are full of bullet holes.

people say something is " a little bit spendy" to mean expensive.

people talk about the various kinds of salmon...kings, reds, silvers, sockeye, pinks, chum and really know all the differences about sizes,nicknames, flavors, when and where they run.

Denail National Park

Denail National Park was one of the highlights for all of us during Lynn's visit. The first day we drove in as far as we could which was only 15 miles and hiked the Savage River Trail. It was an easy hike, rocky and fairly fast flowing.



The next day we were on the required park shuttle for a 53 mile ride which took about 6 hours. We could get off whenever we wanted for a hike and they took frequent rest stops. After a very rainy summer, we were blessed to have a perfect sunny day. We saw two bear families. One was eating berries and didn't even notice the bus. We saw many caribou and some moose as well as reindeer. We also saw ptarmigans, Dall sheep and ground squirrels. We did get out and hike through a soft lichen type meadow. Mount McKinley or Denali as the locals call it was partially visible through the cloud cover. How could it hide at 20000 feet tall? In the end Lynn called it the Denaili Safari.

On the way home, we had a delicious dinner at 229 which is named after the road mile marker.

Photos from Dolly Varden Lake

I just loved the reflection. The lake was smooth as glass and so easy to paddle.

Kayaking at Dolly Varden Lake near Sterling

The weather forecast said rain, but that is the forecast for almost everyday so far in July. It is going to be one of the seven wettest July's on record. Anyway we head down to Sterling and on a gravel road about twenty miles and find a fabulous place to kayak. The lake is not glacier so it is not freezing. We do not need our wetsuits or spray skirts. The lake is calm with no wind. Somehow it has a fabulous reflection of the sky and trees. Maybe because there isn't even a ripple on the water. We paddled for about two stress free hours. There were two loons on the lake who make quite loud calls.

This was our best kayak day yet and no rain!

Kenai Fjords National Park

Don, Lynn, Dave and I took a boat cruise of the fjords. Unfortunately that day was very foggy and we couldn't see much beyond the water. However, we were lucky to see orca whales, golden eagles, jellyfish (I didn't even know they were in AK.), waterfalls, sea lions, and puffins and some scenery. It was a nice cruise. Then we went to Exit Glacier. It was our second time to visit there. Posted on the walk of about 1 mile it shows how the glacier has retreated in the last 200 years. This day there was a cave visible that we didn't remember from the first time.

Dave and Lynn went on a kayak trip in the Resurrection Bay. It was foggy and I was concerned that they would get lost at sea. Lynn said the water was very calm and they had no problems. Don and I went on a hike on the Caineshead Trail. We passed over a bridge and could see very large salmon about 3-4 feet. I am not sure which type.

We all stayed at Soo's B&B in Seward. She was a delightful Korean woman.

We took Lynn see the salmon come to spawn at Potter's Creek and she was mesmerized.