Just Another Day at the Races

It's been an awful long time since I posted a blog.  Fear not, it's not snow and winter  here in Alaska yet, but I have still to sort through all of the winter of 2016 pictures (let alone spring, summer, and fall), and so I find myself looking at a prelude of what is just likely around the corner in my world.

One of my favorite February activities in Alaska is the Iditarod.  This year I had to miss the ceremonial start of the Iditarod as I was out of town.  But I did get to see the World Dogsled Championships which came to Anchorage just a week before the Iditarod.  I love the dogsled races.  The dogs just seem to be the kookiest canines in the animal kingdom.  They are a blur of fur and paws, and to me it seems like they kind of like this crazy sport.

 Anchorage has been lacking in snow the last few years, so they have had to truck in enough to make a race track in the streets.  Here are two teams racing down fourth avenue.

These two goofballs look like they are having a blast leading the team on this adventure.

They kick up some pretty good speed.

Take a look at the musher's expression.  I think you have to be as crazy as the dogs to be a musher.

There's always one dog in every team who never seems to touch the ground.

I didn't realize the musher was in a superhero costume until just now when I was reviewing the pictures.  I am way to fascinated by the dogs to even notice the mushers usually.

 Now to be fair the mushers put in some momentum too.  This girl is "kicking it" with her dogs.

Each dog seems to have their own unique "racing form".

Someone in the front has a drool problem.

The funniest moment of the whole race though was this little short legged bulldog who has dreams of running the big race.  He got on the track and refused to leave.

Dream big little fella, dream big!

Yup.  Just another day at the races in Anchorage.

The Peanut Farm

I hear a lot of ads on the radio about "The Peanut Farm."  It took me a few ads to know what it was about...at first I was like "a peanut farm in Alaska?"  After the next ad I thought maybe it was a pub...beer and peanuts...but it was the Facebook status of others that lead me to understand that it is a large sports bar style restaurant/pub that sits alongside Campbell Creek, which runs through town.  I decided I had to go try it out when I saw my boss post that she was at the Peanut Farm enjoying some sunshine and watching Salmon swim by in Campbell Creek from her table on the patio.

Shibby and I had to eat, and the Peanut Farm is a neighbour to Alaska Wildberry Products where we had just been.  So it was off to the Peanut Farm for lunch!

The Peanut Farm immediately made it on to my favorites list.  It has a large patio to soak up some of the sunshine on those long Alaska summer days.  The menu and food were good, but it is really the comfortable patio view that made my lunch.  The tables border the creek -- and the bridge is a good viewing deck for salmon watching.

On this day we watched for salmon, but what we actually saw go by were geese.  The current is actually pretty fast, and they shot by the first time before I even had my camera ready.  But there were either several gaggle of geese upstream, or they hop out just past the restaurant and waddle back upstream to take the ride again, because 10 minutes later, they went by again.  This time I was ready!

I can't say I caught them smiling, but I am pretty sure they were having fun.  Like everyone on the patio.  The Peanut Farm, on airport road, is a great place to stop in for summer lunch, or a pint to watch the fish and fauna go by.

Run With the Reindeer

Spain has the running of the bulls.  Anchorage has the running of the reindeer -- an annual race that is part of the Fur Rondy and Iditarod festivities...it is man, or woman, vs reindeer.  I kid you not.

This event was started 8 years ago by the local rock station KWHAL.  I saw this ad for it and decided I would have to go and check it out.

photo taken from the Fur Rondy website

The crowds were thick at the Reindeer Run, as hundreds of people signed up to race against the reindeer...just to keep it interesting, most people wore costumes.  I did indeed see a fur bikini go by, and it wasn't on the reindeer.  Even Left Shark made an appearance.

My first observation was that  the Reindeer are a lot shorter than I was expecting.  Even with go-pro attached, they were shorter than me.

The second thing I noticed is that the event is a bit like a stand up comedy skit.  The dialogue from the DJ's was priceless...taking jabs at everything from the look of this year's "extra mean, freshly sharpened" reindeer to the even easier target of the runners, telling them to be cautious, there were injuries every year, usually from people being trampled by the people in mad panic about the reindeer behind THEM.  They also cautioned that the poor reindeer didn't have the benefit of having consumed a whole bottle of Jager before the event, unlike most of the human runners.

I usually think about the animal's welfare first and foremost, and was happy to see the reindeer being lovingly walked along the street, and being petted by children in the crowd.  When I tried to find out where they get the reindeer from, the best lead I got was that they are from the Running Reindeer Ranch...a family farm/tourist attraction, and it seems they are treated like a family pet.  The owner is quoted as saying he isn't worried about the reindeer getting hurt, he is more worried that they won't run, and be more interested in snuffling at pockets for treats.

Nonetheless, after some wait in the jostling crowd, the countdown began and the runners were off.  They would get a few seconds headstart before they released the reindeer.  It seemed like a fair amount of time, but in a matter of seconds the Reindeer were released as well, behind their human opponents.  Maybe it was the costumes...maybe there really was a lot of Jager consumed, but it sure took a long time to traverse those 4 blocks.  I got a photo of the first place runner coming in!

2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th were all in close standing!

6th and 7th had clearly become distracted along the way but were picking up speed in the home stretch.

And this little guy in 8th was running his heart out to beat 9th place, the fastest human in the ladies heat.

The rest of the herd (and by herd I am referring to the humans) shuffled by in various stages of ridiculousness, followed by the last reindeer, who ambled along with the people, no doubt sniffing pockets for snacks as predicted.

Wonderful wacky Alaska, I am happy to call you home.

Around Town At Fur Rondy

When I first updated to Facebook status to say I was starting the long drive to Alaska, one of my California friends who used to live in Anchorage, Selena, replied "You will be there for Fur Rondy!"  The next comment was from Sharon who currently lives here.  "Bring your fur bikini!" she wrote.  What???  And....What???  What is Fur Rondy and why would one have a fur bikini??  My inquiry was met with an unusual silence.  I guess it was just going to be one of those things I had to figure out when I arrived.

 

So here I am and Fur Rondy is in full swing.  I still think is sounds funny, but Fur Rondy is not as bizarre or dubious as it may sound, its just short for Fur Rendezvous.  Historically this was the time when all the fur trappers came to town to display their wares.  Nowadays, there are more fur stores than you can shake a stick at, not that I will be purchasing any fur, but thinking the fur exchange may be a smaller part of it.  There is a winter carnival complete with a ferris wheel, snow sculptures, plays and gatherings (probably where the fur bikinis would be en vogue), caribou races (more on that when I confirm exactly what that entails), and the ceremonial start of the Iditarod! 

After a delicious lunch at the Brown Bag Sandwich Company and a nice catch up with Selena and her family, Stan showed me his favorite downtown coffee spot.  Being successfully caffeinated, we wandered around downtown so I could see a bit more and get a bit more "lay of the land."  I found a storefront bear and had to get a photo.  When I sent it to a friend I was asked if it was a real bear...it's just a big "stuffy" not a taxidermy bear.

There is a little tourist area called Bear Square.  It has another stuffed bear flying an airplane by the Bear Paw mine...there's an ice cream parlour and some Alaska experience based short films in a theatre downstairs.

Out front is another statue paying homage to 2 local residents and mythology....the Raven and the Bear.

I had to cross the street to get this picture -- a statue in tribute to the 150 sled dogs who braved darkness, blizzards, and temperatures below -60 Celcius to deliver life saving Diptheria anti-toxin to the remote village in Nome in January of 1925.  If you aren't familiar with this, the first thing you should do is rent the cartoon movie Balto -- it was a favorite of my niece's and therefore I love all things Balto (which is what made me run across the street to get this photo).  This is a story that any of you who are 'anti-vaccers' might want to hear.  Chances are you might not be overly familiar with Diptheria, as you were vaccinated for it as a child and neither you nor your friends ever got sick with it.  In the 1930's, Diptheria was the 3rd greatest cause of childhood morbidity, but it affected adults too.  In 1921, 15,321 people died from Diptheria in the US.  It's not a pleasant illness...those cases that are fatal are due to a toxin, and the affected person suffers breathing obstruction, coma, and death.  15,321...that's more than the H1N1 pandemic of 2009 in the US.  And recall that Diptheria was not a viral pandemic, but a bacterial illness that popped up pretty routinely.  In the winter of 1925, the sole local doctor in Nome, Alaska started seeing deaths from Diptheria.  The anti-toxin he had ordered did not arrive on the last supply run of the fall, and he was faced with dealing with a potentially lethal epidemic in the community and having nothing to combat it with.  The seas were frozen over, the trains did not go that far, and the only plane was frozen solid and unable to fly.  The only option left was the Iditarod trail, used by dogsled teams.  With little time and lives hanging in their paws, over 150 sled dogs participated in the critical relay of antitoxin to Nome.  The trains got it as far an Nenesa, AK....the dogs needed to run it the last 674 miles.  Blizzard conditions, temperatures as low as -60C, winter darkness, and difficult trails provided extreme challenges.  One dog, Togo, led his team over 350 miles of that terrain.  It was Balto and his team that ran through a blizzard and entirely in the dark on the final leg into Nome.  The time it took for them to travel those 674 frozen stormy dark terrible miles?  127 hours.  That's still amazing to me.  Oh, and for all of you who like "6 Degrees of Separation," Kevin Bacon IS the voice of Balto in the cartoon.

A local artist in town has spruced up the downtown core with some murals.  Here is one showing the current Iditarod route, as well as the traditional one that Balto and Togo would have take in 1925.

That's it for today...I have to mush if I want to see the ceremonial start of the 2015 Iditarod, although the pouring rain and lack of snow this year might make it unusual!

Pretty...and Tasty Alaska

 

Back to Anchorage I went for the evening.  I stopped at a few roadside turnouts along the way.  This is Bird Creek, which looks like a popular hiking trail.

 

 

This is still Turnagain Arm, but I was amazed at the difference 2 or 3 days could make.  The ice floes were gone, and since it was low tide you can see the heavy black silt.  Much to my amazement, I also saw a group of kite surfers.  That water had to be soooo cold...but they were still out there.  Apparently people will surf the incoming tides here as well.  That makes me a bit nervous because I remember a news report from years back of some newlyweds on an ATV on similar silt in this area.  When the ATV got stuck, the wife got off to push and got stuck in the mud.  As the tides slowly came in, she drowned.  I might just avoid the muck in general.  I asked Stan-Alaska-wiki and he confirmed it was a true story.

 
 



I passed a turnout and saw a man with a ginormous telescopic lens on his camera.  I couldn't pull over in time with the traffic, but a glance up the cliff and I finally saw a glimpse of the elusive Mountain Sheep...or are they goats?...I don't know but white and shaggy they were.  Another neat thing I saw was vehicles pulled off onto the side of the road with blue water cooler size jugs.  Coming from the rock is a hose, and they were filling their jugs with fresh water which is ultra filtered by the rocks.  I definitely want to get my water there.

Once back in town I decided to get myself a pizza for the night.  I had heard good things about a nearby restaurant called "The Moose's Tooth."  I figured it wouldn't hurt to have some pizza leftovers, so I ordered the large, which I figured couldn't really be that big for $20.  I stand corrected.  The large pizza from the Moose's Tooth is a car tire sized orb of deliciousness.  It took me 4 days to get through the whole thing (not continuously obviously).  The crust was fabulous!  They also brew their own beer and gave me some free samples which were pretty tasty.  I would definitely go back.



the giant size pizza box from Moose's Tooth

Jumping a bit ahead in the blog, the food in Alaska so far is great!  I would go back to everywhere I have been...in fact, I have already hit a few places twice.  Club Paris downtown, which is Stan's family restaurant, has incredible steak, and key lime pie!  I still have to try the crème brulee.  Club Paris is definitely going to be on my frequent flyer list.  Sushi Sushi also currently holds the title for "best sushi ever," in my books, so all of you Bermuda sushi hounds are going to have to taste test this.  Chair 5 in Girdwood was great!  And today I met with the infamous Selena Jones and Stan at the Brown Bag Sandwich place -- delicious, AND creative...it was tough choosing between my old faithful ham and cheese and the alluring "Spicy Yeti" sandwich.  Plus they had juices like "the Happy Hippy," or my choice, "the Treehugger" which was very kaley but a good way to trick the body into eating kale.  There is no doubt I will be well fed in Alaska.

Alaska via Air

I got a great deal on the flight to Anchorage on Delta.  And a great deal on the flight out on Alaska Airlines.  Alaska Airlines has a little more legroom than a lot of other airlines, but if you want in flight entertainment you have to rent a little tablet that is preprogrammed with the movies and shows.  It's only $8, but I was planning on watching the scenery go by.

 

Anchorage is nestled below the Chugach Mountains and edges right up to the ocean on a little peninsula.  The mountains are part of your every day scenery, as seen in this airport snapshot.

 

The Anchorage airport is a nice little airport.  There are a few nice little shops and some interesting taxidermy, although I prefer animals in the wild, and in the case of this one, at a very great distance.  I guess this is the closest thing to a live polar bear I have ever seen.

I heard a lot about the moose in Alaska.  Apparently the 'urban moose population' of Anchorage is somewhere around 1300.  That's not much in a city of 300,000.  I am looking forward to seeing a few moose (not mooses or meese or moosei, my favorite made up term for multiple moose).  Moose have only trampled 2 people to death in the city, none since 1995.  The city also has black bear, grizzly bears, and wolves.  Oh, I mean outside of the city, right?  No, no, they pass through from time to time it seems.  A few may even be permanent residents, which is more than I can say for myself.

Anchorage has direct daily flights to Seattle, Phoenix, Honolulu, Las Vegas, and Denver as far as I can tell.  Heading south, you fly right alongside the rather impressive mountains of the St. Elias range, seeing Canada's highest peak at 19,551 feet, Mount Logan, and the 2nd highest peak in North America, Mount St. Elias at just over 18,000 feet.

Sometimes skiing or snowboarding we think we have powder.  I looked out the window and thought...now THAT's powder.

You could make out icy blue crevasses in the ice, and the deep, ancient blue in the ice where it meets water.  I guess these are part of the glaciers...as seen from 35,000 feet.

I wondered if any polar bears were hopping around down there, or if this is too remote even for them.

3.5 hours later, I was back in Seattle, on a warm sunny day.  I suspect I will be making a few of those quick flights south next winter.  Up next...Alaska....by road.

First Impressions of Alaska

I made it!  I got myself to Anchorage, took a tour, did the pre-employment steps that can be done, and left Anchorage in about 40 hours, which included about 20 hours of blissful sleep in that glorious Arctic dark..  Here's a synopsis of what I learned, or at least what I think I learned based on fleeting observations.

1.  There really are more beards in Alaska.  I noted a much higher ratio of grizzled faces on the Seattle to Anchorage flight than I have ever noted on any other flight to anywhere I have ever been on.  Say...a solid 40%.  Still not the majority, but noticeable.

2.  Alaskans are friendly.  Super friendly.  Not a striving to be polite kind of friendly, but an open and thorough exchange of information in pretty much every exchange.  In less than 48 hours, I feel I could drop by my new home restaurant Club Paris, the original location of Kaladi Brothers coffee, the Verizon cell phone booth, the drug screening outlet, the social security office, the bank, the extended stay America check in desk, and a few other places and just say "hey, it's me again, wanna grab a coffee or something?" and pick up where we left off in the conversation.  Going into this I knew 2 people in Anchorage and they immediately offered me a place to stay (for months if need be), rides, and any assistance needed.  I think, and hope, it's an Alaska thing because it's a good thing!  And I really need to thank Stan, Donna, Jett, and Butler for opening their home to me -- and Sharon and Dave for also offering their home to me.  Stan acted as chauffeur, tour guide, and ambassador while finishing up work and getting ready to leave on his own vacation that same evening.  Thanks!



my new friend Butler

3  Alaskans become Californian in cars.  On icy windy roads, I was constantly surprised by the vehicles rapidly speeding by, often using the shoulder or meridian to pass an offensively speed limit compliant vehicle, and cutting into the not-really-that-busy traffic with only inches to spare between vehicles.  It seems all laws of personal space are obliterated when driving.  I think it is going to take some time to get used to driving there.

4.  Alaskans are honest.  People talk to you and really talk to you.  Every conversation I have is one that refreshingly offers a flow of personal information with business, etc.   I think my banker will be really worried he did something wrong if I don't stop by for address updates, etc.  Seriously.

5.  Customer service is amazing.  First name basis with people everywhere I ate, staff walking with you to the door and holding it open at the bank, everyone is super helpful.

6.  Alaskans love coffee.  I was told there it has the highest per capita ratio of coffee huts.  I say huts, not shops, because they are sorta like meat wagons.  Build a shed, put it on wheels, park it somewhere near drive by traffic, and you have a coffee hut.  My friend Stan drinks more coffee than me.  Seriously.

7.  Alaska airlines is awesome.  They have engineered the cabin so all the economy seats have more legroom than some of the other airlines.  Their rates are good.  And need I say the crew are laid back and happy and open (captain announced a friend of his was on board, who was also a pilot, was sitting in seat 18D, and once won a bird call competition in Seattle for his impersonation of the yellow bellied warbler, and invited us to all go ask about it).  Oh yeah, and flights from Calgary are super cheap.

8.  It's not really that cold in Anchorage.  I had to take off my jacket a few times, and my feet were warm in my winter boots.  The worst bit was about -15C, which is cold but not as cold as some Saskatchewan days this winter.  There was not much snow in town, although it has been a mild winter they say.  And it isn't that dark.  The sun is a little slow in rising, I can live with that, but Anchorage is getting around 9 hours of daylight right now.  Not so different from Edmonton.

9.  It is dry.  I am not a chapstick person.  I never use chapstick.  But the moisture was sucked out of my body via the lips within a couple of hours in Anchorage.  My skin got flaky, and I swear I dessicated a bit.  If you are coming to Alaska, bring chapstick.

Here is a little experience that seems representative of my Alaska experience.  I walked up to a cell phone kiosk in the mall and said I was new to Alaska and would like to get a phone.  I would need calling to Canada, and good roam within Canada rates.  The two guys in the kiosk did not hesitate to say "yeah, you should go to the competitor booth around they corner, they will have a better deal for you."  I was a little shocked.  I kinda wanted to be sold a plan by this company.  So I thought I would ask about unlocked phones, and they explained they don't really do that, it's not a big thing in the US, that's more of a thing for people who travel internationally a lot.  Then they told me about their friend, in a band, who plays in Canada, and what works for him for a phone plan.  They asked how long I had been in Alaska, and when I replied "first day!" they said "that's sic!"  So after following the Alaska exchange protocol I was now catching on to, I explained my path to getting there, found out about their hometowns and when they moved up, and asked "So am I going to like it here?"  "Yeah, it's great, but you're here at the worst time of the year.  It's the light I miss...I mean (glancing at the fluorescent light above him in the booth), I live in this artificial environment.  I'm a hamster."  By now I am grinning ear to ear.  "The one thing I would change," he continued, "is I would gladly pay a little tax if they would just put some salt on the roads.  I come from the lower 48, where we believe in SALT, so you aren't sliding around all the time.  Just a little salt.  That's all I ask."  His coworker piped up "You know why they don't use salt on the roads don't you?  It's because of the moose.  They like to lick the salt, so it draws them into the road.  Wouldn't you rather slide around a little more than you'd like to hit a moose every day?"  "I didn't know that, well, that's cool as long as there's a reason."  Still grinning, armed with the knowledge of their histories, children's ages, and moose stats, I left with no clue what a phone plan would cost.  But I think I'm gonna like it here.