Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

It has been so quiet around the house since Kayla and Colt left us. I’ve found myself sitting in silence and wishing for interaction with another adult when Steve is at work, or the sound of little boy laughter.  I’ve looked through the photographs I took while they were visiting, and relived the happy moments several times. It was a great visit.

This past weekend, the Junior North American Championship Races were held at the Jeff Studdert race grounds at Mushers Hall. This is one of my favorite events of the year, because the mushers are cute kids! I especially enjoy the first competition, as that’s when the littlest mushers take to their sleds and are towed by one dog around the short track.  Some of these children are only 3 years old, and they are so adorable!

When we first arrived (Lisa went with me), I recognized a little girl as being one of the first little mushers I watched back in 2005 - when she was only 3.  I didn’t attend the race in 2006 or 2008 (we were in Homer in 2008), but saw her again in 2007. And here she was again - still racing, but this time encouraging her little sister. (I’m assuming it was her sister, as they looked very much alike and came from the same vehicle)

There were a few tumbles from the sleds, but the children were so bundled up in winter gear that no one was hurt. It did result in a few entertaining and comical moments to see sleds tip, and dogs take off running - sometimes not in the right direction.  All in all, it was a really fun day! We stayed until the 2-dog race was complete. The children driving those sleds were older - I estimate them to be about 7 to 10 years old, but I’m not certain. There isn’t any information about this race on the Junior Musher Association website, to confirm my estimate.

This first photo was posted in my journal back in 2007. It’s a composite I made from the photo I took in 2005 and the one taken in 2007 - of the same little girl:

Here she is now. I estimate she’s about 7-8 now:

Here are the rest of the photos I took at the race. Click to enlarge the thumbnails:

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On Saturday night/early Sunday morning, the aurora made an appearance. The first appearance wasn’t the best, as the lights were fairly dim in the sky, and the moon was nearly full and shining brightly. I took my camera outside and took a few photos, but they didn’t turn out very well.

I was still up when Daylight Savings Time took place, and saw my laptop clock change from 2am to 3am. As I made my way to the stairs to head up to bed, I took one last look out the window to see if there was any aurora activity. I was surprised to see a green band traversing the sky over my house. I threw on my coat and boots and put my camera on the tripod.

I had a problem getting the focus accurate so the following photos are too ’soft’ to be enlarged, but they look fine at web posting size. As always, seeing the aurora was exciting, but seeing the aurora, while the moon was brightly illuminating the snow was even more beautiful.

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Tonight, Steve and I have plans to go to the Ice Park, as the multi-block sculptures are complete and have been judged. I’m looking forward to seeing the beautiful creations made by such awesome  ice artists. Check out the webcams at the Ice Alaska website to see for yourself: http://icealaska.com/videocam/09Cam/09mbWebCamindex.html

I’ll have photos to share in my next entry.

This upcoming weekend is Chatanika Days in Chatanika - 30 miles north of Fairbanks. Steve is working on Saturday, so we are planning to go on Sunday. If you’ve been reading me, you know that Chantanika Days includes human bowling and outhouse races, among other things.  We Alaskans sure know how to entertain ourselves after many months of cold and darkness. Cabin Fever be gone!

In a couple of weeks, we’re going to Homer for a few days. I’m hoping the eagles will still be there in abundance, despite Jean’s passing a few months ago. Even if they’re not, we are both looking forward to a change of pace, and the gorgeous winter scenery on the Kenai Peninsula.

I want to wish a Happy Belated Birthday to my sister-in-law Diane (Dee). I love you girl!!! xoxoxoxxoxo

Until next time….