And another funny sign
Jun 24th 2008alaskamikeAlaska & Humor
I saw this donation box at a Wendy’s in Fairbanks. As far as I can tell, it is a real charity.
A new family sport…
Jun 24th 2008alaskamikeAlaska & Family
As predicted earlier, Jack introduced the family to a new sport - archery. I merely had to mention it at work, and the next thing I knew, we now own a couple of bows - a PSE Nova and a PSE Stinger. The Stinger is my bow (just so I can show the kids what to do, not that I enjoy it), and we’re still sorting out who owns the Nova (Jack and his mother have turned out to be left eye dominant, so I’m working on a bow for them).
It really is a good family activity. The local archery range has a known distance area to work on basics, and a nice little 3D course where I take the kids “hunting” at the end of each range session. We don’t use any official rules, just one point for managing to hit the animal (target), and two points if it is in the kill zone. So far, I am able to keep a point or two ahead of the kids; we may change to badminton if they start beating me!
Note: no living animals (and few targets) were harmed.
We also learned that a local archery club holds archery lessons every Saturday. I took the kids last weekend. It was very enjoyable, and even exciting when a moose wandered onto the range. While I will never consider a moose to be intelligent, this one knew that it was safe in the park, even as is strolled in front of about twenty folks with bows and arrows. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera.
Yet another great sign!
Jun 24th 2008alaskamikeAlaska & Humor
Actually, two signs. Neither sign is particularly funny by itself, but together, they’re great! These signs are along the Parks Highway, about 10 miles north of Healy.
First Camping Trip of the Spring
Jun 24th 2008alaskamikeAlaska & Family
The Boy and I went on our first Boy Scout camping trip this weekend at Eklutna Lake. Based on the recent snow, we expected to have a pretty messy time. But we were wrong - it was very nice up there, very little snow and no mud to speak of. About the only unexpected act of nature was the arrival of mosquitos - big, hungry mosquitos. Luckily, we had a cool breezy day so they weren’t much of a problem.
The campout was a lot of fun. The theme was “Knight of the Arctic Circle.” So, the boys got to throw hatchets, shoot bows, joust, and, of course, play with fire.
Jack seemed to really enjoy the archery, so this may have been an expensive weeekend for me!
Another test post
I’m trying out a new blogging app.
Testing its updating capability.
And its image support.
North Pole Visual Haiku
Apr 28th 2008alaskamikeAlaska & Humor
“15 miles-per-hour
Children at play
Airplanes have the right of way”
This falls into the “I couldn’t make this up” category. I took this picture in a neighborhood in North Pole that was built around a small plane airstrip. Almost every house had a plane in the yard (one house had the trifecta - a plane, a boat and a four-wheeler). Talking with one of the residents, dodging airplanes is not a daily occurrence - more of a once-in-a-while thing. Still, I can’t imagine a neighborhood like this anywhere else in the U.S.
A good day
Mar 15th 2008alaskamikeAlaska
Every once in a while I get to do something at work that reminds me how good I have it. The latest event was in January (sorry for the long delay in writing this). I flew out to Nome and rode a snowmobile to Brevig Mission, a small village about 75 miles northwest of Nome. It’s been more than 25 years since I last rode a snowmobile, so it was a learning experience.
The trip out was tough. I didn’t get to see much because I was just trying to keep up with everyone. We only stopped a few times. One time was when one of the snowmobiles ran out of gas, and another snowmobile had to tow it. Then again, when we found a coffee can and transferred fuel into it. Finally, we came around a bend in the trail and there was the village of Teller.
Brevig Mission is six miles across a bay on the Bering Straight from Teller. We stopped for about an hour to rest and look around. Several people came to meet us and had wonderful ivory carvings and fur items for sale. I bought a great hat! It’s made of spotted seal fur with beaver fur trimmings. A few weeks later it got a workout in 40 below zero conditions in Fairbanks.
The trip back started out with mechanical failures. We left one snowmobile in Brevig Mission, then another one developed engine problems as we crossed the bay. The snow cats that were our chase vehicles met us in Teller, one towing the other. By the time we started heading back to Nome it was dark and the snow was flying. The need to keep up was even greater, since it was so hard to see ahead (although it was easier to drive in the dark, since I could actually see the bumps coming - the lack of contrast during the ride out made this impossible). We finally made it back to Nome around 10PM.
It was a great trip, even if it took a week for my hands to fully unclench!
More Hover Goodness
Jan 20th 2008alaskamikeAlaska & Family
For some reason, we didn’t have a hockey game scheduled, so we decided to try snowboarding. Probably the biggest lesson for me was that helmets aren’t a bad idea after all. I just wish I had had that revelation before the downhill edge caught and I hit my head!
Anyway, here are some action photos from the day. See if you can spot Hover.
Pre-boarding stragegizing.
Making new friends.
Getting the hang of it.
Based on the critiques that I have already received, I don’t have any pictures of me falling snowboarding.
First Hover Sighting!
Jan 20th 2008alaskamikeAlaska & Family
Yesterday, the boy and I went to Winter Fun Day. It is an annual Cub Scout event that features sledding, ice fishing, broom hockey and hot chocolate. Here are a few choice pictures of our visit:
Sledding, and yes, I am jealous of the hat!
Ice Fishing - notice that Hover is really getting into it.
Broom hockey - a great warm up for real hockey.
And finally, riding a dog sled (sans dogs).