Ice Fishing

A quick update before I leave for warm, sunny Tennessee. I had my first attempt at ice fishing this past weekend. It was a attended by lots of young children. When I pulled up to Jewel Lake I happen to park next to one of my students. I mentioned it was my first experience and they invited me to join them. Fun!!! You will notice that our Alaskan Ice Fishing doesn't look anything like the ice fishing seen on Dirty Old Men. No huts, no big fish and no sexy ladies. Everyone here was bundled up. It was cold on the ice. You will see one family the children and Dad are sitting on the ice. They were sitting there at least 30 mins. I would have been frozen to the ice by then. My student's father baited my hook. He used fish eggs. I just can't touch bait yet. I thought touching dead fish (to feed to the sea lion) was pretty bold. You can see I am wearing my down snow skirt and jacket and very warm boots and base layer. After a couple of hours I was ready to go - it got cold just standing there. Look closely behind me and what do you see? A Moose. They love me, everywhere I go I find a moose!! She (cow) meandered on the ice but it was slippery and she quickly headed back to the bank covered in snow. She ate the shrubs and tree branches all the way around the lake. The little girl, four ice holes to my left, caught all sorts of fish. She is holding her pink. They stocked Jewel Lake in August with 5000 fish and what some were catching were about 6 - 9 inches big. Some pinks, some trout, and some other kind. I would love to tell you what that kind it was but I had the gentleman repeat it twice and I still couldn't understand so I nodded my head. Perhaps my ears were a tad bit cold and couldn't hear well. Our ice fishing poles are about 6 - 9 inches long. What I learned is that every so often you have to "strip" the line. The fishing line get ice coated and you have to wear gloves and pull the ice off it so you can reel the line back in. The hole was about 3 - 10 feet deep. One group of fisherman knelt down on the ice and kept looking in the hole for the fish schools. It was cold putting your face near that hole and it was dark. One person also had an underwater light to see better. Gosh, how real is that fishing? Then everyone, but me, had these really neat long handled scoops with holes in them. You have to "clean" the ice off the top of the ice hole every few minutes do to ice covering. There are several routines a true ice fisherman performs to be successful.

The red picture is not a fire. It is the sunset from my porch last week. I know it is blurry because I don't have a tripod up here, so I had to hold as still as possible. I just loved the red and thought I would share it with you. I can't wait for the Northern Lights to begin. I hope to bring a tripod back so you can see some great colors in the sky.

Now for your short Alaskan science lesson - hoar frost. I'm sure some of you have heard of this word before. David said it is used in crossword puzzles. Hoar frost is formed when solid surfaces are cooled below dew point of the air. Frost crystals sizes differ depending on the time and the amount of vapor in the air. In other words, frost forms on cold clear nights when heat loss causes object (plants, trees, etc.) to become colder than the surrounding. It is absolutely gorgeous. It looks like every plant, or tree has a white fluffy covering. The hoar frost covers all sides of the branch so think of a fluffy white pussy willow. I have been told if you disturb the hoar frost (I love saying it since I am a Lady of the Evening) you can kill the plant and it won't bloom in the spring. I am sure the moose don't care about the hoar frost - all they want is food. At school ,the kids have been instructed not to disturb the hoar frost and believe it or not these 450 students don't touch any shrubs around the school.
I will post our Mt. McKinley flight and snow maching event soon. Enjoy your time with your families. Happy Holidays!!! Sheryl the Nanuq

Dog Sledding

Happy Holidays to all. Here are some adventures from our Thanksgiving Fantasy Funcation. Our first excursion was going to Soldotna (on the Kenai Peninsula) to dog sled with the Seavey Iditarod kennel and sledding. The Seavey family along with Joe Redington were the founders of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in 1973. The Iditarod initially took at least 3 weeks to complete the 1050 miles of treacherous terrain and weather conditions. Now the mushers complete the Iditarod in about 9 days. The Iditarod is the most famous dog sled known to the rest of the world, but to the Alaskans and dog mushers there is another race called the Yukon Quest. We learned from our tour of the Seavey's Kennel that a lot of mushers have 3 - 4 teams of dogs (16 is considered the typical number for a team). Some dogs are trained for just the Yukon Quest while other dogs can train for either race. So here is your short lesson on The Yukon Quest. The Yukon Quest is a 1000 mile dog sled race that goes from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse, Canada. I have been to Whitehorse and I can't figure out why anyone would want to go there. There are two hotels and a few cafes or diners. Go figure. The Yukon Quest rotates the beginning and ending sites every other year. I think they said this year The Yukon Quest will run from Fairbanks to Whitehorse where next year it will be Whitehorse to Fairbanks. You know, so no one will have an advantage. The road between these two towns is terrible, bumpy and desolate. I just can't image. The winner of this Quest wins $35,000. Not enough for me to stay out in those conditions. The mushers can not change sleds (without penalty) and they can not accept any help, they must carry all their supplies (for the musher and 16 dogs), and sleep in tents! The sled also has to carry bales of hay because that is what the dogs sleep on at night. The Quest crosses frozen rivers, climbs 4 mountain ranges, passes through desolate villages with temperatures averaging about 40 below zero with Arctic winds whirling about 100 m.p.h. Again, I have to say the Alaskan take a dare way too far!! Did I forget to say this Yukon Quest started because of two males full of too much booze and testosterone! The sleds have GPS tracking but the mushers have no information from these GPS systems to help guide their way. There are veterinarians at check points to ensure the dogs are fit to continue. These dogs are very well trained and cared for throughout the year.

Back to our tour, Sam was our tour guide along with Conway Seavey and we learned a lot. At one point one of my children asked me, "Mom, do you ever just take it in without asking a million questions?" I guess all my questions go on their nerves. Get with the learning program! I am in Alaska to learn everything I possibly can and share it with all my lower 48 family and friends. Sam is from Belgium and trains his team with the Seavey's. He has raced the Yukon Quest and last year he raced in the Iditarod. He said he finished near the back because he was with the group that was doing it to have a "good time". His words! So I asked what does that mean, he said he raises enough money for the expenses (to fly back from Nome, fly his dogs back, food for him and the team, gear for him, and gear for the dogs) and the "good time" had at the check points. He was looking forward to the 2010 Iditarod and I told him we will be at the starting line and will be watching for him! The Seavey Kennel has about 150 dogs (ranging in purchase prices from $500 - $2000 each). The "A" Iditarod team are the more mature (2 year - 5 year old) and they get the luxury of a wooden dog house. (see above). The new training dogs (a bit feistier) get a 55 gallon plastic drum as a house. (see above). Why? Well, let me tell you. It is because they are still young and frisky and they like to chew. It is so much cheaper to replace a plastic 55 gallon drum than a wooden dog house in the cold! The think of everything up here in Alaska. You will notice how subsistence these dog houses are. They get a few inches of hay and a chain that is about 7 feet from the front of the dog house. They like having their "own" space says Sam. Jenna and I are posing with Buddy. He is an Alaskan Malamute and he is the "greeter" to the Kennel. He does not race. As Sam and Conway stated, "Buddy is too fat and not willing to train so he is the greeter". Buddy is no dummy. He gets three meals a day like the other dogs, he get to run around, petted and well cared for and he doesn't have to spend 10 days in the freezing cold running to Nome! Tyler, Jenna and I are holding 5 day old Pups!!Their eyes were not even open yet. These are the future stars of the Iditarod. Sam and Conway said they would check our pockets before we left!! Remember how expensive these dogs are. I was most surprised to see how slender and almost skinny the "A" dogs are in build. I think I remember the dogs in the next picture as Sitka and Payton. You can see their "travel" truck these dogs travel in. It isn't like a professional tour bus for our singing stars or athletes. It is a pick up with 8 small kennels on each side. When the truck pulled up to the kennel area the barking and jumping from the 150 dogs was incredible. Each one was yelling, "Take me, take me". Once the selected 16 were loaded and the truck engine started you could have heard a pin drop. The dogs that were not selected went silent at the sound of the truck and just sat on top of their house or next to it. That was amazing how well they are trained to know who gets to go and who has to stay behind. According to Sam and Conway, all the dogs want to do is go and race. They don't get off any leash because they would take off. As Sam loaded the dogs he pulled them by the collar and I asked why by the collar because it looks so painful. He laughed and said, "they want to go so they stop resisting and happily get in their cubby." You can see from the picture how basic their travel needs are for these prize winners. Then we got a chance to dog sled for a while. As we were finishing our rides, it started to snow. It was like a Christmas postcard. A few flakes and as we drove back to Anchorage (3 1/2 hours) the flakes got bigger and more frequent. The trip to Seward or Homer on the Kenai Peninsula is known for it wildlife. We did not see a moose or fox but we saw plenty of American Eagles. I made David stop on the side of the road so we could get the "Kodak" moment of this beautiful eagle.
The last photo is of Mount Redoubt Volcano. It erupted last June and the soot from the plume coated my porch with about 3 inches of ash. Mt. Redoubt is a 10,200 foot glacier covered volcano. At the summit, the large glacier has a 10,000 vertical skiable are and is quite the favorite for many extreme skiers. They are dropped off by helicopter and picked up at the bottom of the volcano. Whatever floats your boat or skis?

So this was Day 1 of our Family Fantasy Funcation. We told Tyler and Jenna they are probably among a small percentage of people who can say they went dog sledding. By the way, the difference between skijoring and sled dogging is the sled. Sled dogging is the when the dogs pull a sled with a musher. Skijoring (Norwegian) is ski driving. The dogs pull a driver wearing skis. I think skijoring has a lot more risk - what if the dogs go downhill and decide to go and chase a possible meal and you are stuck heading into the next big tree. At least with a sled you have some protection.

I will probably get a few more posts (Mt McKinley and snow machining) on the blog over the holidays. I hope to get some good photos tomorrow when I try my first attempt at ICE FISHING!!! Brrrrr - it sounds cold. I will let you know.

Have a wonderful holidays! Remember, the importance of family and friends at this time of year.

Ayumiqulleq Quyangalleq Nutaghamun

(Happy Holidays in Yupik)

Sheryl the Nanuq of the North

Eagle River Christmas

Happy Holidays to everyone. It is definitely going to be a white Christmas in Eagle River. I had the most wonderful Family Fantasy Funcation with my family for a week. By the way, Funcation is a new word in the Oxford Dictionary. It means the time a person is laid off of work and before they find another job. I guess Bernie Madoff is on his Funcation. Any way, we covered a lot of Alaska and had a blast I think it was 2500 miles on my car in 6 days. I will talk about some of our great adventures in the weeks to come. It was such a great ploy to have my family come to Alaska for the week. They didn't know anyone, so consequently, they had no one to visit so I got them 24/7 for a week. I was in heaven. Tyler and Jenna said they had a wonderful time. Tyler called and asked if he needed his passport to come to Alaska. I giggled and told him Alaska is part of the United States. He said, but I travel over Canada was I sure he wouldn't need a passport. I told him I was sure. He responded, "Well, I will be traveling from Eastern Time zone to Alaska Time zone (about 10 hours) he should need a passport being on a plan that long!!.

I hear Alaska's North Pole controversy made Memphis news. We are proud to say that you can still mail your Holiday cards from the North Pole - at least for one more year. They may not be answering every Santa letter due to personnel shortage but the mail depot will continue for one more year. Get all your cards in one envelope, send it to the Postmaster at North Pole, AK and they will have your cards stamped from North pole, AK.

An exciting event in Eagle River is the "Great Eagle River Food Fight". I thought this was very interested and had to inquire about this event. Another photo opp is what I really thought. Our two grocery stores, Fred Myers and Carrs (aka Safeway) are raising food for our local food bank. What a catchy title! Every time you shop at one of these stores they have extra carts full of food at the check out lines so you can purchase an item for the food fight Food Bank contribution. This Food Fight will continue until Dec 23.

I have witnessed the "real" Santa arriving in his sleigh with all eight reindeer. It was so much fun and the highlight was watching the little children. The Eagle River mayor said the Air Force Base has given Santa clearance for landing and lo' and behold the eight reindeer and Santa's sleigh came riding over the snow hill to our town square where Santa plugged in the tree lights. What a sight to see. The photo of the reindeer above is Rudolph. I went for the big name Reindeer!

A short lesson on Reindeer. Reindeer and Caribou are the same. Caribou are wild whereas Reindeer are tamed. Female Caribou and Reindeer have antlers just like the males. Reindeer are about 4 - 5 feet high and weight up to 500 pounds. They need to be strong to pull the Santa's sleigh with all those toys. Artic people hunt caribou for different reasons based on the age and gender so the Artic people give caribou three names: pagnnig (adult bull), junalak (adult female), and narraq (calf). Caribou eat moss so they use their nose to shovel snow so they can reach the frozen tundra moss. Yummy! They are not shy, they can sleep in the water and they are constantly on the move (to find more moss I am sure). So I asked the Reindeer handler how come they don't freeze in the sub zero temperatures up north on the tundra. He was proud to tell me it is because Caribou have hollow hair roots that provide warmth but most importantly they have two circulatory systems. The circulatory system for their long thin legs is up to 50 degrees colder than the circulation system for their upper body. Now that is interesting! I think all Artic people need a second circulatory system to stay warm.
The Eagle River Tree Lighting festival was full of fun. The fire dancers were interesting. Then we had the Native children doing the blanket toss. The blanket toss is an event in the Native Olympics. I can't wait to witness the Native Olympics in the spring. Of course all the local school choirs sang holiday songs, free hot cocoa and cookies, and Reindeer munch. Just behind the stage was our local sledding hill. I mean a BIG sledding hill. So if you forgot to bring your sled, the local dry cleaners and recycle company provided large plastic bags that the kids used on the sledding hill. I wasn't quite grasping the concept so I walked over to the sledding hill and I learned a lot. The children get into the bag and slide down the hill. Just like a potato sack but it is a plastic sled sack. Alaska is the "King of the Hill" sleds. They have two and three person sleds. One sled had dad in front, then mom and the back had a baby carrier connected to the sled. Wow! Then there was a leopard spotted sled, some sleek aerodynamic styles and all very fast. I loved the Burberry sled. I told you we were the designer sled capital.
The next pictures are from Thanksgiving week when David and I hiked to the Thunderbird Falls. It was snowing such big snow flakes I had David take a picture of these big flakes. How about that danger sign David is standing next to. I bet you haven't seen a beware of falling off the cliff that that! We took a pretty winter wonderland picture of the Thunderbird Fall bridge we thought belongs on some Christmas card. As we hiked down the trail, we came across a Russian family heading up the trail to sled down. Are those not the cutest kids ready to sled?

I am looking forward to arriving home in Memphis in 13 days. Every time David puts the phone to Captain Jack's ear he perks up and looks around for me. I am curious to see if he remembers me. My parents, Jenna and my siblings and family will be in Memphis for our family Christmas. I hope to visit with all my friends while I am in town. Then I return to Alaska with anticipation of David, Poli and Bruce arriving for the Iditarod the first weekend in March.

I wish you and your family a happy holidays. I can't wait to share our dog sledding, snowmobiling and Mt McKinley flight in my next post. Until then.

Sheryl the Nanuq (Alaskan spelling) of the North.

PS. I was suppose to sign off about 20 minutes ago but I got stuck on my computer. I mean literally. I had to call my neighbor, Missy, to come over and help me get out of my computer. Another Warmboldian moment! One of my wrist bracelets went down the opening (which keeps the computer top closed) and got twisted. So I couldn't get my hand off the keyboard. I couldn't get a look to undo it myself because my wrist was only about 1/2 off the computer key board. Gosh what things I won't do to 'chat' with my neighbor. Unfortunately, we couldn't save the bracelet but we did save Sheryl's wrist. I will take the bracelet to the jewelry store tomorrow to get fixed. What should you learn from this "Warmboldian" moment? Don't wear your good bracelet when you type on the computer!!! Until next time.