In Alaska, they call it snow machining because sledding means something entirely different. It is continually cold so you can typically ride from November to early May. We travelled 42 kilometres round trip, across a frozen lake, to Spencer Glacier. If you have snowmobiled on a groomed trail, you know it is fairly smooth, although it might have some ups and downs. Travelling to the glacier is very bumpy. From a distance, the glacier itself looks smooth on top, but Spencer Glacier has great big chunks of ice, shelves, and even ice caves on it. Where the sun shines it is sometimes very blue. The snow on top of the glacier was soft and deep enough that Ray could make a snow angel. After we walked around the glacier for a while we rode over to play on some icebergs. Sledding down the icebergs on our butts was hilarious. Ray crawled up on an iceberg ledge that almost looked like a giant ice cube. What an amazing day--what an amazing adventure to Alaska. Heading back to Listowel in the morning. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. Glacier Definition: Glaciers are huge, thick masses of ice. They form when lots of snow falls in one location for many years. Over time–decades or centuries–the snow on the bottom gets squished down by the weight of falling new snow. This compressed snow becomes ice, forming a glacier.
Iceberg Definition: Icebergs are large chunks of ice that break off from glaciers. This process is called calving. Icebergs are made of frozen freshwater. The Aurora Winter Train is considered one of the most scenic rides for good reason. The twelve-hour train ride from Fairbanks to Anchorage passes through Denali Park, over massive bridges, by frozen lakes and rivers, and right through the snow-covered mountain peaks of the Alaska Range. On the day we travelled, even the sky seemed white. I kept the official moose count for train car A. I can hardly believe it—we saw fifty-two moose. When we hit forty everyone clapped. When we reached fifty there was wild cheering. One even walked in front of the train for a while. The train had to slow right down. We asked the conductor what would happen if the moose didn’t move. He said that occasionally he has to go out front and whack the moose on the rump with a broom so they can get the train moving at full speed again. Mostly they are running very quickly away from the train, but one of the other passengers managed to snap a picture on his phone. The train is for more than just tourists. Along a sixty-mile stretch, Alaskans that are living off the grid with no road access can flag down the train to catch a ride. At one of these flag stops Shannon Cartwright, author and illustrator of children’s books, hopped on the train along with her dog. Shannon has lived in the Alaskan bush for over forty years. She hauls water from a nearby spring, heats with firewood, and runs her house and shop with solar and wind power. She even has a dish for wifi. She happened to have a few books along so Ray was able to buy Alaska's Three Bears. Can you guess what the three bears are? (Check below to hear the story) Staying Warm. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. In Alaska, you will always bump into someone that wants to talk about light. In the summer they will want to talk about how it is daylight almost all day. In the middle of winter, they will want to talk about how it is dark almost all day. Even the Kindergarten exhibition at the Bear Room presented their paintings of the sun’s rays. However, this time of the year everyone is talking about the Northern Lights.
You have to have perfect conditions to see the Northern lights or aurora borealis. The sun has to burp a massive amount of energy, the sky has to be clear, and you have to be in the right place at the right time. While we were in Fairbanks we had the perfect conditions three times! February 26th was spectacular. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the other condition you need to get great pictures—the camera. We were volunteering in the ticket booth and the other volunteers kept messaging us on the walkie-talkie to look out to see the Aurora. They knew we would be very excited. Fortunately, it was such an exceptional display that many people posted their pictures on the Fairbanks Facebook page. All credit for the photos goes to them, but I sure wish I had my camera. It was unforgettable. If you want to learn more about the aurora borealis click the link below and visit NASA Science Space Place. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. It was Day 1 of the Annamaet Limited North American Championship in Fairbanks. What a perfect day to hang out at the Alaska Dog Mushers Association race grounds. Even before we got out of our car we could hear the excitement. These dogs love to run and they were definitely letting everyone know they were ready. Unlike our sled dog friends from Cotter’s, these have relatively short hair. They are trained for a sprint rather than long distances. If they were really furry they would overheat. The first race was the Skijor Class. I had heard of this before, but I’d never seen it. Basically, a skier is attached to two dogs and they race around a 4.8-mile (7.2 km) loop. The winner finished in just over 15 minutes, so they are really flying. Once they cross the finish line they have to really snow plow with their skis to get the dogs stopped. The other races were four, six, and eight-dog teams. It was fascinating to watch the dogs run, but it was equally fascinating to watch the dogs at the starting line. Some racers give each dog a little bit of love before they take off, some keep their dogs really calm, some have dogs that start off yipping and howling. But you can tell that all the dogs really, really want to run! Before they say go 5,4,3,2,1–GO the dogs start pushing against their harnesses. They have people to hold dogs and people to hold the sled so it doesn’t pull away too soon. We heard an announcement that they were short of sled holders for the eight-dog race and no experience was necessary. Well, Ray doesn’t know a lot about dog sledding, but that didn’t stop him. He ran up and volunteered. After a quick bit of training, he was ready. He said it was exciting to be right out on the track with the dogs and feel how strong they were pulling the sled. He had to make sure he let go as soon as he heard GO! Do you think you would like to be a sled holder? Can you see Ray kneeling down in the picture? It was an exciting day. Staying warm. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. Alaska is spectacular, but two of the best parts of Alaska are the outdoors and the people. First, the outdoors. All of the recreation areas and trails in Fairbanks are free to access. Tanana Lake Recreation area is just outside of town. Almost got the rental car stuck once, but with a little slipping and sliding we made it. Try to imagine skating on a giant ice cube. The ice on the pond loop was so clear that it seemed you could see the layers almost all the way down. It was over a metre thick! We popped over to meet the ice-fishing folks. They are nearby, but not allowed to fish on the skating pond. We also tried kick sledding. I’m not going to lie—going up hills on the kick sled was very hard for me. I could have used help from lead dogs Panda & Jake. Going down was a breeze. Still, the trail along the Chena River was beautiful. There was some open water. Not everything is frozen. Why do you think that is? Finally, everyone we have met, especially our new friends at Ice Alaska, have been so kind. Karen took us out snow showing and treated us to sweet potato soup. Holly made everyone moose stew. A couple of days left, but we will definitely miss Fairbanks. Staying warm. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. It Looks like you are enjoying a little bit of a Alaska back home. The Ice sculptures & glasses are amazing. Photos posted with permsiion of AB (classroom teacher)
There was excitement in the air as soon as we arrived at Running Reindeer Ranch. A moose and an almost-year-old calf were spotted in the nearby trees. You have to keep a healthy distance from moose, especially if they have a calf. The reindeer are more like giant friendly pets, but you still have to keep an eye on the antlers. My favourites were Carl and Toby. Carl has the biggest antlers and Toby has none. Toby was a one of their naughtiest so he had to have his antlers trimmed to adjust his attitude. Don’t feel too sorry for him—Reindeer grow a new set of antlers yearly Do you know the very old Christmas song Up on the Housetop? Part of it goes: Up on the housetop, reindeer pause Out jumps good old Santa Claus Up on the housetop, click, click, click Down through the chimney with the good St. Nick They don’t just use the click to rhyme with nick—reindeer click when they walk. If you listen carefully to Ray’s video you can hear it. The sound comes from something in their legs that helps them bounce through the snow. I love animals and loved the reindeer. Which would be your favourite? Carl with the giant antlers or Toby with the attitude? Staying warm. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. My favourite single block, the Rabbit, came third. However, I think we can agree they were all amazing.
1st Never Alone (Dean DeMarais, USA) 2nd Sage of the Forest (Junichi Nakamura, Japan) 3rd Year of the Hare (Josh Kang, USA) Bill Berry is the author of the children’s book Deneki: An Alaskan Moose. Prior to his death in 1979 Berry was working on the mural “An Alaskan Fairy Tale”. This painting is well preserved in the children’s section of the Noel Wien Library in Fairbanks. Of course, we had to plan a visit.
Let’s see if you can find these Alaskan images: • Grabbers (spruce roots that make you stumble) • Raven • Deneki the baby moose • Muskox • Wooly mammoth Of course, while we were there we borrowed Deneki: An Alaskan moose and sat down for a read. Staying Warm. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom. |
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