Living in Alaska: June 2009

Sunday, June 21, 2009

The Midnight Sun Run and Beyond!

June 20th and 21st are two very important days in the Interior of Alaska. These dates signify the Summer Solstice. People celebrate the long hours of daylight. The city of Fairbanks holds numerous activities and festivals to help people find ways to commemorate this memorable event. For example, tonight, there is a baseball game that starts at 10:00 p.m. You can also play golf at all hours of the day or night. You can dance the night away at the Midnight Sun Dance.

While Mike and I did not participate in these events, we did engage in a few activities. Yesterday, we visited the Tanana Valley Farmer’s Market. The Farmer’s Market is full of goodies, such as, jams, honey, baked goods, woodworking, plants, vegetables and Thai food.

Yes, I said Thai food. Does that sound Alaskan to you? I didn’t think so. However, there are a plethora of Thai restaurants in the borough. In fact, it could take close to six months to visit all of them.

Enough of the Thai food. The Farmer’s Market is a great place to find special treats. Mike found his treat at the kettle pop corn tent. He bought a bag and a smoothie and was set for the day. We also visited the Midnight Sun Festival. There were tents on three city blocks. Everything from arts to crafts to food and activities. Mike and I found the Fairbanks Fire Department exhibit and could not resist taking a picture with a fire truck.

The highlight of this weekend was the Midnight Sun Run. The 10k race starts at 10:00 p.m. and ends whenever you finish. Mike and I have been so excited about this event. We have been training, mentally, for at least 8 weeks. Before the race, I ate my fair share of peanut butter fudge. I needed the sugar to get through the race.

Mike and I arrived at the race three hours prior to the start. When we arrived, the clouds were building off in the distance. The air turned cold as the wind began to blow. After using the porta-pottie, we made our way over to the registration table. We received our numbers and our complimentary t-shirts.

We had heard that people often dress in costume for the race. However, we were surprised at how elaborate some of the costumes were. From a man dressed as a bride to an imitation Octo-mom, they had it all! After an hour of the Costume Parade, the race was ready to start.

Mike and I found our place with the “Walkers” section. At promptly 10:00 p.m., the cannon started the race and the rain began to fall. Mike and I were off with a bang not being phased by the dampness! My personal goal was to finish the race under 1 ½ hours. The first mile took us just over 17 minutes. A little discouraged by our time, I decided that I needed to pick up the pace. The second mile was our fastest. However, if I didn’t pick up the pace, I would not meet my goal. So, I suggest to Mike that we walk some and then jog some. With that strategy, we staggered across the finish line at 1 hours and just over 28 minutes.

When we crossed the finish line, my body realized just how much abuse I had dealt it. My back hurt. My hips hurt. My knees hurt. My ankles hurt. And my feet hurt. I thought I would need a wheel chair to get to the car. With pride dominating, I hobbled to the car and slumped into the seat. Of course, Mike was not feeling any pain. He could have gone on for miles! Not me! I needed to get home and get home fast. Being the attentive husband he is, Mike drove me home. I showered, crawled into bed and enjoyed a sound night’s sleep.

The sky turns a dark gray before the Midnight Sun Run begins.

Kristie is number 202 and proud of it!

Mike is number 203 and thinks it too cold

to be out running a race at 10:00 p.m.

Mike has found our place in line.

Mike and Kristie keep each other warm before the race.

The crowd is awaiting the cannon to start the race.

After 1 hour and 28 minutes, Kristie is ready to drop.

Midnight Sun Run Costume Parade:

The Runaway Bride has his running shoes on!

The Octo-Mom is in good shape for a 6.2 mile race.

This sea creature may be able to swim with all the rain we received.

The Fairy Recycling God Mother makes a statement.

Storm Troopers looking scary compared to the Runaway Bride.

I give Robo-Cop 1/2 mile before he drops out in that costume.

I give the Transformer 1/4 a mile before he quits.

Ms. Hot Dog Hat get's my vote for the most creative hat at the race.

Little Monkey was the cutest kid in costume!

The Tanana Valley Farmer's Market and the Midnight Sun Festival:

Mike enjoys Kettle Corn and a Smoothie at the Farmer's Market.

Mike dreams of driving, not riding, in a fire truck.

Kristie dreams of Mike NEVER driving or riding a fire truck!

Kristie Starts Work

I started work on Monday, June 15th. It was a very busy week, but a good one.

Kristie's first day of work

Kristie at her office with a strawberry-lemonade smoothie.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

An Alaskan Weekend

Mike's new and well-used Ford Explorer

Alaska’s weather can be quite unpredictable, especially on weekends. Saturday was overcast, drizzly, and cool. You know, the kind of day that you want to curl up under a blanket, have a cup of hot tea and watch a good movie. While that would have been a good way to spend our Saturday, we were on a mission.

Since I start work on Monday, I will be driving our ONLY car. Mike will be left at home without any mode of transportation, with the exception of his own two feet. While this wouldn’t be all bad, Mike’s feet would probably get very tired and he may even form those painful and unsightly heel blisters. To save his poor little feet, we went shopping for a car. This may sound like fun to you. However, we had certain criteria that we must meet. First, the car had to have dings and dents. Second, it had to have relatively high miles. Third, it had to be a 4x4 for the snow. Finally, it had to be under $3000. Basically, we were looking for a beater that we could drive on unpaved roads and not worry about damaging it.

So, on Saturday, we set out to look at several trucks and SUV’s. We test drove several that had just what we were looking for, but lacked certain things that we considered important, such as, working windshield wipers and doors that actually opened. However, we found a 1996 Ford Explorer that seemed to be in pretty good shape. It ran really good and everything worked on it. So, this morning (Sunday), we made an offer and the guy accepted. Mike and I drove over to his house, paid for it, and drove it home. Congratulations, Mike on your new beater of a car!

With that out of the way, we could enjoy the rest of the weekend. As is the case on most weekends in any part of the country, the sun finally came out just at the tail end of Sunday afternoon. With the sun shining and the wind blowing, Mike and I decided to explore our neighborhood on foot. We headed down the street to enjoy some vitamin D and some heart-healthy exercise. As we were strolling along, we were taken by surprise by a very large moose. We scare it and it definitely scared us! Mike and I stood there and looked at it. We quickly talked through moose safety tips. However, we couldn’t remember any. Therefore, we decided to just slowly walk away and hope for the best. It worked!

When we turned around to head home, we had to walk past the same place where we had seen the moose. We thought we had given it enough time to walk away. However, when we got to that point in the road, it was still there grazing. As we approached, It stopped eating and turned to look at us. As it watched us, we did the polite thing and watched it. Moose are as big, if not bigger, than horses. They are incredible creatures and very beautiful. After a few seconds of “watching” each other, Mike and I walked home.

When we got home, we wandered through the back of our property, which is mostly wooded. We found beautiful wildflowers and big spruce trees. We also found a swarm of mosquitoes. Someone once told me that the mosquito is the state bird of Alaska. When they said this to me, I laughed a little and thought it was pretty much a lame joke. However, I am beginning to believe that it is definitely the state insect. Since they are in such abundance here, they definitely deserve some kind of recognition. Mike and I were being eaten alive by these biting insects. So, we decided to call it a day and go indoors to curl up and watch a movie, which is where I end this post.

Mike explores our backyard and finds the following flowers...

Spruce trees grow tall in our backyard.

Calvin Kitty Update

Here is a quick update on the Calvin kitties. Abigail and Francie are both doing well. A.C. has had some problems this week. He started having nose bleeds on Tuesday. He has had at least one every day, with the exception of Friday. He will go in for x-rays tomorrow to see what is causing these bleeds. We are praying that God will heal him and perform whatever miracle he needs.

Francie yawns after waking up from her Sunday afternoon nap.

A.C. naps on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Abigail poses for a quick photo shoot.

Abigail dreams of getting outside and catching that annoying squirrel.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

What is North Pole?

Welcome to North Pole, Alaska where everyday is Christmas!

Light poles are in the shape and color of candy canes.

Many people have asked, “What is it like in North Pole?” Well, frankly, North Pole is like any small town. We have a McDonald’s, a Taco Bell and a Pizza Hut. We also have other modern conveniences, such as, a post office, fire stations and a police department. We even have indoor plumbing!

What we do have, that most small towns do not, is The Santa Claus House and candy canes for light poles. Reindeer grace the property of The Santa Claus House. The main street that runs through the middle of town is Santa Claus Lane. Most of the town and the shops stay decorated for Christmas all year long. We were driving down one of the streets this past week and they have their Christmas decorations hanging on the light poles. We went into a restaurant that has a Christmas tree, wreath and all sorts of garland and decorations. To sum it up, North Pole is about Christmas. North Pole never stops celebrating. It is a 24/7/365 event!

So far, life in North Pole has been warm. We have been experiencing beautiful sunshine (almost 24 hours a day) and temperatures in the 70’s with little humidity. However, within a few months, the weather will start changing. We will begin our first winter in beautiful North Pole. I feel that we are physically prepared to handle the harsh winter climate. I’m just not sure about mentally.