...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.

Dancing in Fat Mud

So, camp ends. However, that doesn't mean the fun is over, oh no! Immediately after camp, Lena, Boardwalk, Chance, and Myself headed down to the Tanana River for some...river...stuff. (This is from two different areas of the river, on two different days.)


This is right outside of Delta Junction.


We forged the river, strong current, knee deep water, and the stones on the bottom tried to eat my feet, but no oxen died, we didn't drown, and nobody got Dysentery! We also discovered the wonder of 'fat mud,' at least, that's what we call it. The best term to describe it is 'gushy.' More on that later...


I believe this is midway between Delta and Salcha. It's just a huge flood plane and it's lovely. It was so green at the time, the river was high on the banks, and the mountains were so gorgeous...


see?


Considering the wildfires absolutely ravaging the entire landscape, we were lucky to see anything. More on that later too. They were spectacular though, the smoke plumes were huge.


Anyway, back to good times. Lena playing in the fatmud. Here, it's just a hand, but pretty soon, we took a step further...


...and got knee deep! Now, I must say, this is actually a dangerous thing to do. People have gotten stuck and died in the mud, but well, we're just horrible examples ok?


I'm knee deep here...in this horrible picture...where I apparently have elf ears.


There was no solid ground! Chance and Lena, all of us, we just kind of plopped our way through the mire. It was great! That mud, makes the most satisfying sounds ever, just so you know. The gushiness of that stuff is absolutely spectacular!


The haze in the sky made for some gorgeous sunsets. This is right outside of Fairbanks.


It's simply serene.

Return to Alaska...Part 1

July 16th, 2009 4:20 PM CST, Depart: Birmingham, AL.
July 17th 2009 1:37 AM AKDT, Arrive: Fairbanks, AK.

This is the face that greets me:

I heard her before I ever saw her. It was late in the airport and the night was fairly quiet. As I made my way into baggage claim, I heard the thundering of feet the saw the quick flash of blond hair and gleaming teeth as Lena slammed into me at full speed, engulfing me in a hug that equaled a year's worth of missing each other. I might have gotten teary eyed...shut up.

I tried to keep it a secret that I was coming back and was successful for a number of months, but David let it slip to Heather who let it slip to Lena, who threatened them with death if they didn't pony up completely about if I was indeed headed back for another July in Alaska. Still, surprise or no surprise...it was good to be back. I don't remember all that much about the night other than Lena introducing me to her car and the absolute limit of its velocity. Then crashing in the spare bedroom of her house while we talked about how insane it was that I was back until I basically lost consciousness.

The next morning, Lena had to work so she gave me the car with the instructions to "go do whatever I guess" which worked for me. My first order of business was to find food. Any food would do, but especially food that didn't come in a small, unopenable packages with an airline logo printed on the side...which had been pretty much all I'd had since the day before. I had two viable choices...some local diner and the world's northernmost Denny's. I chose the local place where I waited over an hour for a giant reindeer omelet complete with toast, juice, and hash browns. I think I ate the whole thing in under a minute. After that, I drove around for a while just familiarizing myself with the city until I decided to go to Pioneer Park...

...where I happened upon such rarities as the Arctic Fur Bering Salmon...

...a Nordic Princess...

...and a map of all the museums in Alaska...several of the signs had been lost or stolen (including Dutch Harbor's.)

...an old, bleached whale vertebrae...

...and the throttle from the SS Nenana...which was still actually in the SS Nenana.

I spent a good portion of the day there just browsing around the various shops, exhibits, and talking with a local artist who invited me to dinner.

After Lena got off work, she suggested we head down to the Tanana for a little time outdoors. So we went, we walked, we communed with nature...which tried to kill us in the form of mosquitoes.

(obligatory gangster pic.) It was a good day at the river...but the best day at the river was still to come.

We also bummed around downtown, watched the hippies at the river, Lena waded around in a fountain, we ate some fudge and shopped at some eclectic little shops. Good times in FAI.

Lena's mom took us to dinner at Pike's Landing...which is this nice place on the river. She told me I was a good excuse to use the gift certificate that was about to expire. I'm always glad to be of service! Despite the fact that the kitchen lost our order and it took two hours for us to be served, the meal was delicious and the manager brought out free desserts as an apology.

We also managed to get down to Salcha and I finally saw Dave-O! yay!

...and a moose family! You can kind of see the southbound end of one of them here. Being back... it immediately seemed like I'd never left. It just felt so natural to be there...like I'd picked up a familiar book and started reading the pages all over again...

Epic Alaska, Part 4

More from the Ridge in Salcha

Saying Goodbye

After the furious shenanigans of camp, it was back to the relative quiet of Salcha. I love Salcha, the beauty of the place is startling. I would be leaving in a few days and my heart was not ready. I savored each day. I spent the majority of my time outside, drinking in the landscape with the urgency only the knowledge of fleeting time can impart.

(Trust me, I'm good.)

Twister and I at an old trapper's cabin we found while out fourwheeling. It looked like someone may have been staying there recently.
A wonderful little stream just tucked away beneath the undergrowth.
The literal "end" to a good day in the outdoors.
Kayaking at the Brinks ...
...observing whatever came my way.

I discovered, while in Alaska, that I have a great love of fourwheeling...and surprisingly, a fair amount of skill. I spent most of my last days here riding with new found friends...to the tops of ridges, hidden woods, and well, mud filled puddles. I felt more alive out there than I had in ages. It was truly one of the happiest times of my life.

Risk standing in the sanctuary.

While we were at camp, a the church had continued to be reconstructed by helpers from near and far. Although the work was slow and the schedule lacked behind, there was some forward progress. It was good to see the beginnings of a new roof for the place.

Battleship, Cody, and Twister having fun and hanging out.

Dave-O and Alex!

Cody, my fourwheeling friend, was having a birthday while we were all in town so it was out to Fairbanks to celebrate. It was also my last night. I could hardly believe it. The dinner celebration was fun and Lena and Alex, a couple of the campers, came to join us...for which I was glad. The other councilors and by now, real friends were also there...as was Dave-O...my Alabama homeboy. Dinner was good, but the company was better. We laughed, we took pictures, we got other tables involved in singing.

LOOK AT THOSE!


Shiny disco shirt and stripper heels...
Twister in an outfit someone actually once wore...for real.


The sky in Fairbanks over Fred Meyer...I can't imagine stepping out and seeing that every day.
Lena "thuggin'."

After that, it was off to Value Village and Fred Meyer. Now, a trip to a thrift store and superstore might not sound like the best way to spend your last few hours in Alaska, but when in Rome... As it turns out, I could not have imagined the hilarity that was about to ensue. Value Village is a whole world of wonderful goods and we took full advantage of the offerings.They had everything from shiny disco jumpsuits, hooker heels, to gigantic grandma (new) thunderpants (which I later purchased and sent to a friend...hopefully those are finding some kind of shenanigans out on the Bering Sea.) Now, Fred Meyer, we decided to play a few games of scavenger hunt which is basically where you pull obscure items from the shelf all over the store and make someone else find where to put it back. We broke up into teams and went for it. (The Alaskans had the unfair advantage! We don't have this store in the south!) The items we chose for each other included, a small pack of nails, a girdle, gas relief medication, and other various delights. Good times...team AK, was obviously, the winning team. Later, as we were checking out, the cashier saw us getting a bit emotional at the fact that I was leaving. I was standing there with Battleship, Twister, and Lena. She asks, "You're leaving...are you their mom?" She was serious. I was utterly floored. "Their mother? THEIR MOTHER?" Battleship is a couple of years younger than I am, Twister is 19, and Lena 16...I am TWENTY SEVEN! I asked her in a heated tone..."No, no, I am not, AM NOT their M O T H E R, how old do you think I am?" I was even more floored when she said "I dunno, 27 or 28." So, yes, yes, Fred Meyer cashier, I had my first child at 3. At this point, Lena made me leave the store, fearing for the employee...just as well, we had to get going to the airport anyway.
Risk, Dave-O, Me, Battleship, (who said I could NOT leave) Lena, and Alex. I love you guys!

The airport...leaving felt wrong. It just didn't seem like I should be going. We all tried not to get overly emotional, but we pretty much all cried. The TSA agents asked if I was leaving my family (at least they didn't ask if I was everyone's mother!) when I told them we'd only known each other a little over a week, they looked rather quizzical. I can't even explain it...there was a bond there...time didn't matter. As I walked to security and looked back at them one last time, I wondered if we would ever all see each other again... then I turned, handed my ticket to the TSA officer and...was denied entrance into the terminal. Apparently, the ticketing agent hadn't given me enough tickets...according to the ones I had, I wasn't leaving Fairbanks...so I turned around and headed right back to the group. Confusion was pretty much the order of the day at that point. Well, we got the ticket situation done and then we had to go through the goodbyes again...but this time for real. Lena followed me as far as she could and I looked back until she was out of sight...and then I allowed myself to cry as hard as I wanted to. I cried for hours, constantly, unable and unwilling to stop. I felt as if I was leaving a piece of myself behind...and in a way I was...but that's not so bad, because I carried so many new pieces home. As much as the tears flowed, as much as I missed the people, the place, the feelings it all imparted, the tears were not cried with a sense of loss, simply a sense of being overwhelmed. I try to live with the thought "don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." Still, I might...perhaps...cry a little.