...And All The Salmon You Can Eat.

So here we are, the fabled salmon bake at Pioneer park. We were extremely glad for the small crowd. You see, the day before, Sarah Palin had been in town and the place was swamped. There was no chance at getting all upons that deliciousness. Thankfully though, we had other business while everyone else was Palin around with Sarah, and it was the next day we'd scheduled for eating obscene amounts of...everything.


Salmon, cod, halibut, prime rib, salads of various sorts, bread, and not pictured, desserts. It was all...very, very good, let me assure you. The salmon was great, but ohmygosh, that fried halibut was amazing. The steak was good too...and nice and rare! Let's pretend this was my only plate...because apparently its unseemly when a girl can put it away like a lumberjack who's not watching his waistline.


As you can see, we all ate to the point of discontented contentment. (I laugh every time I look at this picture. Boardy, Lena...priceless.)


Further evidence.


Now, there are some wonderful wood carvings about P.P. This is of course, a totem pole. The Native American totems throughout the Alaskan landscape inspire a sense of wonder at the indigenous peoples intricate use of storytelling through artisan craft. Often, family histories, religious belief, and stories of cultural importance are displayed upon these totems.

However...

Last time I checked, the wooden kitchen spoon wasn't intrinsic to the Inuit culture. Perhaps I'm way off base, but Pioneer Park, I think maybe you're fudging a bit on your authenticity.



However, I'll forgive you because you've got a giant carved salmon that you can ride. As you can see, Boardwalk, Jail, and Chance are all happy to have their quite respectable picture taken.


Being respectable, I find, is highly overrated.


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At some point during this trip, we ended up at a little coffee shop in Fairbanks. College Coffee is the name I believe. While I don't recall if I drank anything, I do recall that there was a rather boss musical circle that day. (Sarah, the above shot is for you...and yeah, also for me.) They played mostly in the Irish style. I nearly had a conniption when they busted out Swallowtail Jig. They were a talented group of fiddlers, pickers, drumers, and flutists. We highly enjoyed the concert and stayed a good while to listen to them.


Anytime a man wears a kilt, he gains my respect. I also seriously wanted to steal his belt buckle.


We did a lot of other things, such as go to Value Village, where I purchased a sweet hot-pink Salty Dawg hoodie. Chance, not sure she bought anything, but she made the trip in style via her dog/monkey hat and safety goggles.


At one point, Lena and I hung out downtown...where she went swimming in the town fountain. I really am unsure why I didn't join her.


I did however go swimming later in the Salcha River with Shortline and Chance. Let me just say that Alaska in July is not warm, not when you're from Alabama. No, it's not warm at all...and the water, well, it just follows suit. However, the swim was tons of fun no one lost any fingers or toes, so I'm calling it a great success!



Of course we went four-wheeling. I love the fact that this little stretch makes it look all safe. This little stretch is a lie. The Brinks (one of which is pictured here driving) are always kind enough to lend us their rides, couches, and food whenever we're in Salcha for any span of time...they're great hosts, great folks, and just awesome people. If everyone was as kind and accommodating as them, we would live in a far different and far better world.

Oh, I went to North Pole, found Santa. He wanted to go on break...I wanted a picture. I didn't get any coal this year so I guess I didn't annoy him too much. (I need a bigger Santa. There was not enough lap on this one.)

Well...there you have it. My completely odd blog about Camp Baldwin/ Salcha/ Fairbanks/ Wherever/ Whatever else. However, all tales are not told...and never will be, but there's still more. I happened to find myself in Denali one day and an Ice Hotel a bit later...so maybe I'll update again tomorrow...or three months from now. Who knows? I certainly don't.