Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

I want to begin by saying “thank you” for the lovely birthday wishes sent to both Steve and me. I love that our birthdays come within a week of each other. It makes celebrating so much easier, and we usually celebrate both our birthdays on the weekend which falls between. However, I was still in recovery mode since returning home from Madison, and our original plan to go out for dinner and take in a movie on Saturday night, never happened. No matter - we had a lovely day together, without spending any money.

Steve was off from work, so we were able to sleep in. I must have really been jet-lagged because I slept until nearly 10am. I don’t know what Steve’s excuse was, but he also slept in. I suppose we both needed it.  Steve whipped us up a great breakfast, and we settled in the living room to enjoy our coffee while reading the paper.

It was snowing outside, and I couldn’t keep my eyes from wandering to the glass doors to our yard. I’ve lived in Alaska for more than five years, and in this house for more than 2, and I still find myself mesmerized by the beauty just outside my back door.  People have asked me if I get tired of seeing snow fall, and the reality is that I don’t - at least not in the winter months. During the months that I call winter (Oct.-Mar.), seeing the snow fall from the sky lifts my spirits. It’s only when snow falls in April, May, or JUNE!, that I do a bit of grumbling. *grin* By then, I’m so ready for spring that thawing mud excites me! But right now… especially at Christmastime… the snow is like a perfect holiday painting; a Christmas card come to life.

On Saturday afternoon, Steve and I drove over to Santaland RV Park, here in North Pole, to see the ice sculptures on display at Christmas in Ice. You can read about the history of this event at the website here: http://christmasinice.org/index.php . On the website you can also see additional photographs showing the progress of the ice park - from the harvesting of the ice to the carving of these works of art.

Saturday’s admission was free, compliments of BP, and the Fairbanks Food Bank was accepting donations on-site too, so we took some canned goods with us. It was cold, but not bone-chilling. Snow continued to fall.

Before I post photos from our afternoon at the Ice Park, I have something I want to share with you. I’m honored to have been asked by author June Price to include several of my photos in her new self-published book entitled “Becoming Alaskan“. To read more about her book on Amazon.com, CLICK HERE. Thank you, June! I wish you the best of luck with your new book, Becoming Alaskan!

And now, here are the photos I took at the park (I’m leaving them full size, even though there are more than a dozen of them):

Santa greets you at the entrance:

I just loved the way the snow in the sky and on the trees showed up so pretty with the floodlights at the entrance:

The huge Christmas tree all lit up:

I don’t know who carved this Nativity scene. It is bigger than life, and beautiful!

This is Aino, sculpting in ice. Aino is a member of my online photography group. I didn’t know she was talented as a sculptor too! Good job, Aino!

Because of the ice crystals in the air, there were light pillars everywhere:

This was sculpted by Hall Li from Harbin, China:

This was carved by Anita Tabor of North Pole:

This sculpture was carved by Heather Brice, of Fairbanks. Heather is a World Champion Ice Sculptor.

This is the back end of the park - the kiddie slide area:

A child spins in an ice basket while another little girl waits her turn:

Kids enjoying themselves on the ice slides:

This penguin sculpture was created by artist Di An, who comes from Harbin, China:

In this panorama, the extra-long ice slide is on the right, and the bright light at the entrance is on the left. The flat area between, is the frozen Chena Slough:

This is the Santa Claus House. It’s a popular tourist attraction during the summer, and a popular place to visit this time of year because you can see Santa Claus. The shop sells Christmas ornaments, gifts, decorations, and all things “North Pole”. You can check it out on line at: http://www.santaclaushouse.com/ Behind the shop is a pen that houses four of Santa’s reindeer - Dasher, Blitzen, Comet and Cupid. Comet and Cupid were just born in 2006.

And here I am standing in front of the Santa Claus House. It was a little chilly!:

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is only 10 days away. Steve happens to have his seven days off beginning Christmas Day and is off until New Years Day, in the evening. This worked out perfectly for us, and I’m looking forward to having him home that week.

We’re not doing anything for Christmas, since it’s just the two of us. I think I’ll make a roast with all the trimmings, since we had a ham for Thanksgiving, and Steve’s not a big fan of turkey.

In the days leading up to Christmas, there are events going on downtown in celebration of Winter Solstice. Winter Solstice marks the day that we start getting our daylight back. This makes all of us quite happy! Right now we’re down to 3 hours 49 minutes of day, although visible light (dusk to dawn) lasts more than 6 hours. Today, the sun came over the horizon at 10:50am and dipped below the horizon at 2:39pm. Is it any wonder I find myself still in my pajamas at noon on many days?

On New Years Eve, there will be fireworks at UAF (University of Alaska Fairbanks). Steve and I have plans to attend the festivities, and hope to take my friend Lisa with us. Afterward, we’ll stop by Alaska Coffee Roasting Co. for a nice hot cup of coffee or cocoa, and a delicious dessert. Hard to believe that 2009 is just around the corner.

Until next time…