Golden Days Fun!

Each year, Fairbanks hosts a multi-day celebration of the discovery of gold and the history of Fairbanks. The events range from a barbeque championship to a rubber duckie race to the Governor's Picnic to a regatta to bathtub races. This is the first year that Mike and I have attended several of these events. Needless to say, we had a BLAST!

On Saturday, we went to the street fair and the rubber duckie race. The organizers dropped over 6000 rubber duckies into the Chena River. The cute, yellow duckies floated from the Wendell Bridge to the Cushman Street Bridge. The person who bought the winning duckie won some monetary prize. Mike and I resisted the urge to waste, oh I mean, spend our money on a rubber duckie. Instead, we sat along the river bank and watched them float by.

On Sunday, Mike and I got up and headed into town for the Red Green Regatta. During this event, contestants build "things" that float. They then float this floating "things" from Graehl Park to Pioneer Park. Most people get pretty creative in their designs, as you will see below.

After the Regatta, we walked over to Pioneer Park for the annual Governor's Picnic. Each year, the Governor hosts a picnic where he serves hotdogs and hamburgers to people who are willing to stand in very longs lines just to have him put a hotdog on a bun. Other political politicians are there, as well. Today, Mike and I met the Lt. Governor, the Commisioner of Education (I introduced myself to him and gave a brief history of my education experience), and the Commisioner of Health Services, who was handing out calorie busting, artery clogging potato chips. After eating, the Governor and his wife asked to have their picture taken with Mike and me. We happily obliged their request.

Later in the day, Mike and I watched and helped out at the Bathtub Races. Each race team consisted of 5 members. One member had to ride in the bathtub filled with water and bubble bath, while the other four raced them around Pioneer Park while carrying towels, bars of soap, and washcloths. The team who finished with at least one gallon of water in their tub and all of the aboved mentioned items in the shortest time won. Mike and I had some good laughs at other people's expense at this event!

We are now home and resting from a busy weekend. Mike is on the sofa with Zoee watching Mission to Mars (which I personally do NOT understand nor am Iinterested in it). I am now turning my thoughts to my last two classes this week for the politics class I am taking. So, good night and have a great week!

Okay, only ONE flower pictures this post. Isn't it pretty???

The Rubber Duckie Race

Check out the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrFdBJd2otU.

The Rubber Duckie Race was very entertaining (for about 5 seconds).

6000 rubber duckies fill the Chena River.

The Governor's Picnic

Mike and I with Governor Sean Parnell and his wife Sandy.

Governor Parnell serves hotdogs to Fairbanksians and the North Polish.

Lt. Governor Meade Treadwell!

Mike enjoys FREE Hotlicks ice cream

Mike has had so much trouble with his truck, that he

traded it in for this one.

Only 10 more payments and it's his!

Mike and Neville, the goat

The Red Green Regatta

Floats crowd the Chena River during the Red Green Regatta.

The Red Green Regatta is an annual tradition.

Contestants build "things" that will float from Graehl Park to Pioneer Park.

Rubber Duckie, you're the one! You make bathtime so much fun!

Yes, we live North of 48. The Lower 48, that is!

Remember the teen who was arrested for floating on the Chena on an ice floe?

This guy remembered!

This is about the only time you will see killer whales in/on the Chena River.

Not really sure what to say about this one!

I like the antlers!

To Mike and me, this was the best float. They had a live band with all the necessary instruments. They even used guitars for paddles.

The contraption the man in the back is using is an OVERSIZED slingshot he used to shoot water balloons at the crowd.

Pirates of the Chena River

Not exactly sure what this is.....

The Bathtub Races

Check out the Bathtub Race video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDej_m_00FI

The Bath Tub Race was another great event.

This team would have won, if the winner had not cheated.

The winning team dumped their bath water at the

beginning of the race so that their tub was much lighter

If you need a helmet for a bath tub race, I'm not sure I would be willing to do it!

The "smurfs" came in last place.

Interesting....

July Calvin Garden Update

The Calvin's Garden is looking pretty good! We should have some broccoli in the next week or so. Our carrots (which I do not have pictures of) are doing great. The tomatoes now have blooms. We covered them with plastic and mounted a thermometer inside. Today, the temperature got up to 98 degrees. Hopefully, that will produce a few tomatoes before our first freeze. Who knows how long that will be. This morning was 39 degrees when I got up at 5:00 a.m.!

Our over sized cabbage is 4 feet in diameter!

Can I call Mike a cabbage head with this pose????

Each leaf is almost 24" wide.

Hopefully, we will have tomatoes before winter sets in!

Covering the tomatoes with plastic will help them grow.

I planted the broccoli too close together.

Next year, I need to give them more space.

Oh, there are the carrots!

They are being taken over by broccoli plants.

I spy a broccoli head!

Our flowers out front are now blooming.

Of all the flowers we planted, the pansies did the best.

Snap dragons are doing great, too.

Fielding Lake and Gulkana Glacier

Mike and I went to Fielding Lake for 4th of July. On our way down, we stopped in Delta Junction to eat at Buffalo Center Drive-in, where we had buffalo burgers! We also hiked up to Gulkana Glacier. The biggest adventure was crossing a scary bridge to actually get to the glacier.

You can check out the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ricin78h2tQ.

Where else would you get a buffalo burger than Buffalo Center?

According to the sign, bison migrate through the Delta River Basin between April and August.
If they're there, Mike will surely spot them
with his high powered binoculars!

Wow, there they are!

In total, Mike counted 36 adults and 6 babies.

This was our humble, little cabin at Fielding Lake.

This was the view from the cabin at 11:00 p.m.

Mike looks very happy about sleeping on a hard piece of plywood!

Kristie looks optimistically at the kitchen.

We spent Monday afternoon hiking up to this glacier.

The mountains surrounding the glacier were awesome.

Every view was breath-taking!

To get to Gulkana Glacier, we had to cross this bridge.

Kristie says, "Are you kidding me?!?!"

She gives it a try, but comes back to the beginning with tears.

No way is Kristie going to give up. She will conquer this bridge!

Mike crosses with a smile, but admitted he was a little scared. (Not really.)

Once we got across, Mike pulled out the binoculars for a look.

Kristie is just happy to be across the bridge,

until she realizes that she has to cross it to get back to the car!

Mike looks forward to actually making it to the glacier.

Finally, we made it! Kristie climbs up on the melting ice.

Sounds smart, doesn't it?

Mike touches the ice and glacial silt was left on his fingers.

Mike and Kristie take a quick happy snap before the

glacier completely melts away and sweeps them into the river.

Hello, can we get off this melting ice, now?

This is the very end of the glacier.

The Gulkana Glacier extends up and around this hill

and covers almost the entire mountain side.

Fireweed

Wild Iris

Pretty white flower.....

Pretty yellow flower......

Mike photographed this arctic ground squirrel

while I was crossing the bridge. I'm sure it was laughing at me.

Just look at that smile!

This yearling moose is a little too close to the road!

Oh, does he look tasty!