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

your church is having a fish fry and they ask for people to donate fish because they know everyone's freezer is full of last summer's catch!

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

The street names sound like it! Cheechako is a word which means someone who has lived in AK less than a year. Chinook is the warm winds that melt the snow and ice in the middle of the winter on occasion. Chinook is next to our street Brandilyn.

Portage Glacier

Saturday I went on a cross country ski/hike with Kitty and Mark, Eileen and Bill, Marjory and Pat. (Don was out of town). The lake to the glacier was frozen and some of them had cross country skied it earlier in the week and wanted to do it again. The conditions had changed and there was not much snow left on the ice, so it was mainly skiing on ice! It was slick and hard for me to move. I was happy not to have fallen. After we got there the glacier was beautiful. We had a picnic lunch on the ice. I was surprised to see a few people biking and some also pushing stroller sleds and one chair sled with adults! The weather was clear and sunny.

I decided to take off my skis, put on the grippers and walk back. It was much easier and more enjoyable, and I wished I would have done that both directions.

BOW Becoming Outdoor Women- AK part 2

My next two events were fishing related. I signed up to ice fish because I didn't think I would have that opportunity many other places. Anyway it was very cold and windy. Our van was able to drive out on the lake since the ice was three feet deep. We began by digging a hole in the ice with a ten inch gas auger similar to a weed wack machine. It was fairly heavy and I did it with another woman and were assisted by our instructor. We drilled for a bit and then would pull up to release the powered snow/ice. After about eight or so minutes we were through to water. Yeah! Then it was simple to put some bait of shrimp on the hook and drop it down the hole about five feet deep. No one on this event the whole weekend caught anything. They had set up warming tents similar to a regular tent with small kerosene heaters inside. Very deluxe. Glad I bought new negative 40 degree boots.

My last activity was Spin Fishing 101. We learned about various type of reels, poles, filament, hooks, spoons and fish. The regulations are pretty detailed when to fish, how many fish, what type of hook, what type of fish. I had no idea it could be so complex. I had no clue it would be illegal to keep a snagged fish. We practiced making various knots to tie on hooks, combine filament and avoid tangles. We practiced casting in an icy parking lot.

The whole weekend was so much fun. Can't wait to try something new next time.....

BOW Becoming Outdoor Women- AK

This past weekend I went on a fabulous event with my friend Julia and Mary to learn about activities to do in our state. The views and the weather were terrific with no new snow and crisp, cold, sunny days.

We each chose four activities from about twenty possible. My first was pond to pan where I learned what to do after a fish is caught. First bonk it on the head to kill it and then bleed it by cutting on a gill area! We learned how to remove the guts with a very sharp knife and how to filet salmon. I practiced on three and was able to bring it home with me. Each fish was about 26 inches long.

My friend Linda and I used to say do something everyday that scares ( challenges ) you. Well my big one for the weekend was to snowmachine (snowmobile). First, we learned how to stop, start and accelerate the machines. Some were electric start, but mine wasn't so I needed help with that. We began going in circles on a large frozen lake and then progress to zig-zags to get an idea how to handle it. After that we took to the trails and rode about 25 miles. At times I thought Don would love this and I thought "Holy sh_t I am going to die." I was the slowest of everyone, but was still proud that I did not give up. A few times I needed help, and they told me I needed to go faster up the hills so I wouldn't get stuck midway up. Part of the time we were on an abandoned road. I noticed there was a guardrail protecting o0.ne from a deep mountain valley. However that wouldn't have helped anyone because the snow was as high as the top of the rail. I am not sure I will do this again, but now it is off my bucket list.

We stayed at a church bible camp. The cabins were simple, but well warmed. The food was good and everything was convenient. We met many friendly ladies. All of the instructors were volunteers and it was run by various state agencies. What a bargain weekend at only $250.

Fairbanks and Chena Hot Springs

We flew with Lloyd and Jen on an early morning flight to Fairbanks. The sun rose as we were flying and it was an orange glow across the whole horizon. When we landed it was about negative eight degrees and too early for our events to be opened so we went for a breakfast.

We saw the Ice Art which is an international ice carving competition. The displays were very intricate and some about 20 feet tall. One of the highlights especially for Don was the playground including ice slides, a maze and a reverse igloo bowl. At night the displays have colored lights.

Next we toured the UAF museum. It was a good display of native pieces, historical items and wildlife.

After that we headed out of town to Paws for Adventure and took a ride on a dog sled for about five miles. It was fun and the dogs were amazingly well trained and friendly. We were pulled by about ten dogs.

Our B&B lodging was A Taste of Alaska. The business was about ten years old and made from logs grown on the property. The field overlooked Denali. We had a room with a hot tub and a living room. The owner prepared dinner for guests by request.

Next we went to Chena Hot Springs which was about an hour and a half drive away. The road was somewhat ice covered and lacking in traffic. At the springs we hoped to see the Northern Lights and we did! They were on display for about 40 minutes or so while we soaked in the hot tub. The steam rose around us and the rocks were still covered in snow!

The next day we drove to see the Alaskan pipeline, had lunch and headed home to Anchorage

Iditarod!

The Iditarod is an annual 1000 mile sled dog race across Alaska from Anchorage (Willow) to Nome. A driver and a team 12-16 dogs travel as fast as they can for glory and honor. The journey will take nine to seventeen days. Originally the trail was for mail and supplies, in 1925 the sled dogs were needed to care a serum for diphtheria.

We were lucky to have friends Lloyd and Jen visit us for the week. We began with cross country skiing and showing them some of the local sites.

For the Iditarod it was very cold .....about 0 degrees. We were invited by Kitty to the Exxon hospitality suite which was right at the start of the race. We stayed inside for a bit and then went outside to catch some of the excitement. The Saturday event is ceremonial and much more relaxed (I'm sure) than the real start. A Jamican musher came by dancing! Several sleds had an extra sled to slow down the dogs. The dogs were about 45 pounds and mixed Alaskan breeds. They were happy to be running and would occasionally grab a bite of snow to eat. One of my friends Julianne was riding in a sled. She is in the video below.
After we saw about half of the sleds we left the downtown area and went to a place along the path to see them come out of the woods.

It was a fun day.
https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=eae73d8ade&view=att&th=12e88346c8bf314a&attid=0.1&disp=attd&zw

Spring?

Today I saw a little bit of water melted on the ice in a parking lot!

Northern Lights!

After months of hopeful nights, we finally saw the Northern Lights. We had heard from friends that the lights had been seen earlier in the day, and I told her to let me know if she saw them again. We got the information about 10:30 pm after playing bridge. We went home picked up Matt and headed to Flattop. The lights were like white-greenish glows of light coming off above the mountains. They would gently move and change with time.

It was about four degrees outside and we lasted watching for half an hour. Unfortunately we did not bring a tripod and our photos didn't take.