Big Alaska, Little Rug (Alaska Part Two...)

We have been home from Alaska for one month, and I can't stop thinking about it!  I just see the beautiful images over and over in my mind.  That is not a bad thing right???

I know some of you come to the Dusty Trail to see rug hooking stuff, so here is a little of that before I get back to Alaska memories. I have had this little mat pattern for a long time.  I blogged about it back in 2011 when I posted this picture as I was just starting it...

 

It is all hooked now and ready to finish.  This is a pattern called Tulip from Anita White's Cupboard Series.  They are really cute!  She also has wooden frames to fit them perfectly.  As you can see, the frame I bought is unfinished.  I have an idea to cover the frame with the teal wool (the teal is in the mat as the stem and outline color.)  I have 3 pieces of it so I think I have enough.

 

 So here is kind of what it would look like...   

I bought some spray glue that is supposed to work to adhere fabric to wood.  We'll soon see if it works!

 

Back to Alaska... Part Two.  We are still in Fairbanks.  The flowers in Alaska were amazing.  I just could not get enough!  Being from Kansas, I loved seeing these big old Sunflowers.

 

This arch in a park in Fairbanks is made with moose antlers.

 

 Close up...

Everywhere... flowers.  We couldn't pass up this photo op.  Mike must be taking the photo.

 

Window boxes and street flowers in downtown Fairbanks.

We asked someone to take our picture outside this restaurant when we left - you can see his shadow in the photo!  The sun was still so bright at 9:30PM or so that I couldn't even open my eyes to look at the camera!

About one second after I took the photo, this innocent little dog tried to bite us through the glass!  He was hoppin' MAD!  I love these bright colors.

Some more Alaskan eye candy on the streets of Fairbanks...

 They REALLY do take this dog sledding thing seriously!

 For tourists, Fairbanks provides a good opportunity to see and learn about the Alaska pipeline.  I did not realize so much of it is above ground.

 

Look at this!  So pretty.  

 

Love this raven at the pipeline site.  (Mike's photo)

 

We also enjoyed panning for gold outside of Fairbanks.  

This young guy is a pro, and he's attempting to teach a bunch of gringos from the Lower 48 how to do it.

 These guys are pros too!  They've been to Alaska 187 times - give or take a few ;>) 

Now something is just not right here.  Mr. Mike has successfully panned for Mr. Ray's gold rings.  (Morty's photo?)

Here's what it looks like after you swish and swirl and sweat your way through your little bag of gravel in your metal pan full of water.  Those little gold flecks are just that... little gold flecks.  Mike and I pooled our little gold flecks and it was $47.00 worth!  As you might suspect, there is a gift shop right there and they LOVE to turn your amazing find into a piece of jewelry, while you wait!  Didn't do that.

This huge contraption is how they really got the gold out way back when.

Can't you just see this guy down in the creek bed with a pan striking it rich!!! (Mike's photo)

Mike and I on the wonderful little train that takes you in and out of the gold mine.  (Morty's photo)

Goodbye Fairbanks.  Next stop Denali. 

Check back soon to see Mike's wonderful photos of Denali.  

For Denali, I will suspend my usual rule to show only (well, mostly) my own photos on my blog! 

For now, I'm back to Alaskan daydreaming....

oh... and I am hatching an idea for a hooked rug about Alaska...

Alaxsxaq. Alyeska. Alaska: Fairbanks/Chena River

Wow. Oh Wow.  It is gonna be tough to write about our trip to Alaska because words are generally required to write about something, and words just can't do justice to Alaska.

I have the good fortune to travel with a professional photographer, so he has the responsibility to capture the really important images!  He carried his very heavy camera stuff everywhere we went!  I will choose some of his fabulous images to share later, but for now here are a few photos we both took with our little "point and shoot" cameras.

Our trip began in Fairbanks, which is in the interior of Alaska. The first day we traveled the Chena River on the Discovery, a paddle-wheel steamer riverboat.

 

Here's the big paddle wheel in motion.

All along the river there were wonderful things to see.  We learned right away about float planes and the HUGE  importance of airplanes in Alaska.  We saw this float plane take off and land right outside the riverboat.

Further downriver, we heard a presentation from Susan Butcher's husband Dave Monson.  Susan won the Iditarod four times (not the first woman to win, but... she won four times!!!).  She died of cancer in 2007.  Her legacy lives on through her husband, daughters, and Trailbreaker Kennel.  The dogs were not at all what I expected sled dogs to look like.  I thought they would be larger and more furry!  They are scrappy and wiry and always Raring To Go. 

 

 This log set-up is part of the puppy training routine.  They learn to crawl over these big logs and eventually learn to jump over them.  So Cute!!!

 

Now the dogs are getting ready to pull Dave on the ATV.  They have realized it is THAT TIME in the presentation and they are so excited! It is hard to capture their excitement in a still photo.  At the moment this photo was taken there was a lot of barking and jumping around!  These dogs LIVE to run.

 Here they are coming back through the gates after their run.

 

As soon as they arrived at the finish line, the handlers unhooked them and off they ran to jump into the river!

 

Later we saw this statue of Granite... "greatest lead dog in Iditarod history".  He led Susan Butcher to victory in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1990. 

 

 Speed, strength and intense determination.  These dogs are superior athletes in every way.

 

 

Further downriver we cruised by the original Discovery.  The new one carrying us is much larger and more modern - although still a paddle-wheel!

After seeing the sled dog presentation, we arrived at the Chena Indian Village.  This darling girl was one of the guides at the village, where we disembarked for about an hour.  All of the guides here (and everywhere in Alaska) were fantastic.  She is modeling a fabulous fur parka. Indians who lived near Fairbanks in villages like this had to endure winter temperatures of 70 below zero!  (So, fur = OK.)

 

  Front...

and back...

More incredible native clothing...

 Bear skins...

 

Everywhere you go in Alaska, you are warned about bears...  here's one reason why...

 

Listening and learning at Chena Indian Village...

 

I have always wondered about this...  This is a reindeer.  A reindeer is a caribou that is being kept by man.  Like Rudolph with Santa.

 

Wonderful log cabin at Chena Village.  Look at those flowers.

This is the Chena Village post office!

 

A moose.  Well, once a moose.  OK, still a moose, but, well, let's just say that no tourist at Chena Village was trampled by this big old moose.  

 Fabulous examples of native Indian beading. 

 Birch bark canoe...  incredible.

 Salmon!

In person, it felt like this garden at Chena Village was from Jurassic Park!  It's hard to tell, but everything is huge.

 

The riverboat trip ended with a wonderful lunch including two kinds of hot soup served in big iron kettles.  We met Lance Mackey, who, like Susan Butcher, has won the Iditarod four times!  He gave a presentation about his life as a musher.  He has overcome many obstacles - including throat cancer.  He actually won the Iditarod while undergoing cancer treatment and using a feeding tube.  Beyond comprehension... but it's true.  Here he is with Mike and me and "Amp".  Lance has also won the other big dog sled race, the Yukon Quest, FOUR times.  In 2007 and 2008 he won both the Iditarod AND the Yukon Quest!  I regret not buying his book, but I bet I can find it online.

I'll post our pics from the rest of our stay in the Fairbanks area soon.  Our trip actually spanned the distance from Fairbanks all the way to Vancouver, B.C.  So, there is a lot of ground to cover!

Have you been to Alaska?