Fairbanks, AK

Fairbanks, Alaska is in the interior of Alaska. It is the second largest city in Alaska behind Anchorage. It has a population of 35,000 plus. Fairbanks is on the tundra region and it is very flat as you can see from the sunset picture. Fairbanks is classified as a subarctic region as it sits between the Chena River and Tanana River. Fairbanks has very long winters and short summers. They like to boast that their winters are long but not much snow. The locals forget to tell you that Fairbanks temperatures are about minus 20 degree from early November and drop to minus 40 degrees in February and the subzero weather stays until the end of April. However, the weekend I was there it was a high of 17 - almost summer according to our shuttle driver. At night it got down to minus 5 but it didn't feel cold. Fairbanks is home of the oldest University in Alaska and has a very high reputation in geology and subarctic studies. No kidding!!!

I hope I have included enough pictures for you picture viewers. The first picture is the entrance/exit to the Fairbanks Airport. Keep in mind, the airport is not a block long. It has one carrier 10 months of the year - Alaska Air. For two months in the summer Northwest/Delta flies to Fairbanks. Ooops, I stand corrected. There is a direct flight from Taiwan to Fairbanks daily. The Asians love Fairbanks (for purchasing great fur and leather goods), the hot springs and the Northern Lights. Unlike Anchorage and Juneau, there isn't a float plane runway (aka Lake) next to Fairbanks Airport. There I am at the Visitor's Center. Isn't that a cute welcome to all visitors? Then there are "plug ins" everywhere in Fairbanks. I have seen a few in Anchorage because we don't get continuous weather subzero but in Fairbanks every parking lot and parking spot on the streets has these "quad plugs" as they are called by the locals. The statue is the Yukon Quest Statue. It stands downtown next to the Yukon Quest museum. Unfortunately, the museum was closed because they were presenting the "Red Lantern" ceremony in White horse, Canada. The Yukon Quest finished the day before we got to Fairbanks so all the mushers and local politicians were in Canada for the finish. Remember I discussed the Yukon Quest in an earlier blog because that dog sled race goes between Fairbanks, AK and White Horse, Canada and it rotates each year. It is also about 1,000 miles similar to the Iditarod Race. Oh by the way, the "Red Lantern" is presented to the last musher to cross the finish line. It was presented to a young lady this year. Then onto the University of Fairbanks museum. It was very informative but we agreed the Anchorage museum is tops. That is a 10 foot tall Grizzly bear. I had them take my picture in front of him so you can see how imposing that grizzly is. His claws are 10 inches long - they will do some damage. The 5495 pound copper nugget was found in 1936. What I loved about Fairbanks is all the stuff you can touch. The sign said, "Please touch." Of course it says that. It means less cleaning for the workers!! This is the first time I have seen the Native sun goggles. Isn't it amazing the different shapes? The top ones for spring time, the middle ones for late summer/fall hunting and the bottom pair are for full sun hunting bear and seal. Amazing what the Natives can make. The chair is made out of 5 different kinds of horns/antlers (moose, caribou, elk, Dall sheep,and walrus). It was so unique I had to take a picture of this chair.
The main event we went to Fairbanks was for the World and US Ice Carving Championships. If you all remember seeing the fantastic ice sculptures Cathy Weber sent from China these will look slightly different. I will tell you why later. The weather was warm for the professional ice sculpturers. Did you know these men and women do these carvings as their jobs? I can't imagine earning enough money in this sport? Beth and I talked to everyone and anyone who would talk with us. We gave them fair warning that we are teachers and will ask 1000 questions. We did not let anyone down. They realized we were inquisitive teachers because we had one question after another. So here the blocks of ice that are "harvested" from the lake next to the carving area. Don't I sound like I know a lot by using the term "harvested"? These blocks are 12 feet high, 5 feet wide and 4 feet deep. The carvers use all sorts of tools to shape the ice. Most of them said they "created" their own tools by modifying other electrical tools. Almost all of them use electric drills, files, and dremils. The one man let us enter his work area to see how he shapes the ice pieces using extremely hot water and a metal discs. He uses a an electric prong that sits in a bucket of water to heat up the water. The next two are the beginning sculpture (after 12 hours of work) and then the final product - the Olympic Flame. One of the artist showed us his tool used to make the ice shiny clear - it looks like a caulk gun that is filled with water. The next gentleman used a pointed drill to carve out different types of fish scales. I got to touch the remnant ice shavings and it is fluffy and so soft. It does not compact to make snowballs! We tried. Then his finished product of the fish swimming. Then other artists and a mermaid. The boy surfboarding was amazing. They are scored on the vertical and horizon cuts. how much of the ice block they use, how creative the theme, the clean up area (around the sculpture), the different directions (facets) the sculpture presents. So why are these sculptures not as "cool" as the ones Cathy showed us from China? Because all judging is done with white lighting not colored. So these will look neater the next day, when I was leaving Fairbanks, with all the colored lights shining on them vs the white lights. Gosh I really did learn something! The award winner is the fairy dancer. It is the one above the bear sculptures. Then there is sculpture Flat Stanley. He was just as talkative to us as we were to him. He was the only ice artist who did this for a hobby. He is a employed by the Air Force and does ice sculptures on the side. His nephew wanted the "Flat Stanley" to go to the World Ice Carving festival. Then you can't have ice without a child putting his tongue on freezing ice. He was a hoot to watch. His parents carried a thermos with hot water to help get unstuck. How many times does a child get his tongue stuck before he realizes not to put his tongue on freezing ice???@@ The last picture is sunset in Fairbanks. You can see it is very flat compared to my Anchorage photos. The kids sledding on the hill were participating in the Alaska Bio Mechanics Exploration.
I hope you enjoy my Fairbanks travel. My next Blog is our adventure to Chena Hot Springs, about 60 miles north of Fairbanks. We went to the Ice Museum and Ice Hotel.

David, Poli and Bruce arrive next week for the start of the Iditarod. Fur Rondy starts this weekend. Fur Rondy is the beginning of Iditarod because all the Natives bring their furs to trade and auction. Then they participate in a week long festival including FrostBite 5 K run (aka barefoot in snow), Running with the Reindeer, The Outhouse Races, Snowshoe Softball, Blanket Toss, World Dog Sled Sprints, and a carnival. How many times in your life do you get to ride a Ferris Wheel with snow on the ground? Stay tuned.

Have a great day. Stay warm.

Sheryl the Nanuq of the North.

Ski for Women - Feb 14

Happy Valentines Day you all. I hope you enjoyed all your sweets today. Make time to go see the movie, Valentines Day. It is cute and I really like Ashton Krutcher. My group of friends, we ski together several nights after school and weekends, all went to see it. We laughed a lot. My friends are an interesting group. There is Beth 1, Beth 2, Stacy 1, Stacey 2, Cheryl 1, Sheryl 2 (me), Kim, and Jessica and some other on occasion. Isn't that amazing so many duplicate names with our teacher group. So during dinner last night I mentioned we need to go try Curling. I saw it as an Olympic sport and a TV special about it. There is a huge Anchorage Curling Association. So Wednesday night we are on our way to learn how to Curl. The season is long. It goes from Oct - April. We shall see how we do after our lesson. I will keep you posted. Most of them ice skate one evening a week. Everything here is lighted at night so everyone who wants to be out and exercising can. I have selected not to ice skate. It hurts when you fall on the ice. I can't find a pair of old fashion skates - you know the ones that strap on your boots and the blades are about 8 inches apart? I would probably fall on those too.

Ski for Women (2500 ladies participated) is where most of my pictures come from. My children, Tyler and Jenna, both said I need more pics and less talk. So here are more pics. The proceeds benefit the Battered Women Shelter in Anchorage. It was a bit cold as you can see from the sign. It was only cold watching the 6 sprint races and the parade of costumes. Once we started skiing it was hot. I was dressed way too warmly. I will know better next year. Beth and I might even wear a costume. David's cousin, Laura, was a killer bee book club member. I didn't get a picture because after the race the ladies headed inside for their hot toddies. Did I mention Laura is from the Warmbold side of the family - they like their beverages!!! Aren't those monarch butterflies amazing? They won first place as a team. They used their backpack frames and attached the wings (airplane fabric) to them. then some kind of bungee cords to make the wings move. It was a sight to behold when all 12 came down the final slope towards the finish line. Then the slot machines, and the Spring Chicks. The moSKItoes were my favorite. They won 2nd place - team. The straws from the glasses, wings, leopard tights, and fur covered poles were very creative. Then the 70's ladies, all tie dyed, then pink flamingos, the Western Women and more flamingos. The Frigid Ladies were in formal gowns, kind of difficult to ski fast in them. Next were the Fruit of Loom Ladies, thong, whitey tidies, hi cuts, granny panties, boxers, etc. They were made out of paper mache and very cute. It was funny watching them try to get up when they fell. The paper mache does not give so it took a production to get them back on their feet. Then the Spud ladies, they were nice and warm in the furry costumes. Their face pieces were on by Velcro so they could change moods when they had a moment. The Smurfs were cute but they fell into the snow drifts and wiped their faces off. They left blue marks in the snow. The Ipod were the youngest ladies of the ski, and of course my favorite SNOWMEN. I had to have their pictures. The last group won the theme category: taking care of Alaska's environment. They were the Solar Bears. The white paper coveralls are what the pipeline people wear when they work. Someone must have a connection. There were a lot of them. Then the cutie girl in the sled. Her mother pulled her behind during the 5K. There are metal bars with a hip pack that attaches to mom. Cleaver but way too much work for me. I finished the 5K in 40 mins and 32 secs. I could have finished sooner but the butterflies took up 10 feet of the 12 foot trail. So most of us had to ski single file. Next year I will get in front of the costumes. I couldn't get all the costumes because there were so many but I did take the ones that skied near us during the parade. Some good Halloween costume ideas for you.


The first pictures are from my school's winter festival last week. The two brothers, Da'rell and Shawn (5th/4th grade) are two of my favorites. Aren't they gorgeous? Next is the typical chariot all around Anchorage. A lot of ladies get their groceries while pushing the little one in the sled. They can be seen on ski trails, sidewalks taking walks and of course a lot of them parked at the grocery stores. They take the skies off in the spring and summer and it become a stroller. Those Scandinavians are so cleaver. Next is Janelle and her father. Janelle has never skated before. She couldn't hardly eat her pizza and salad b/c she was so excited about skating. I love they way they teach skating. Pushing a folding chair around the ice. The kids pushed me on the chair - did I mention it was the older and much stronger students! Janelle did well with the chair but had her fair share of falls when she went solo. Next is L'Jun and his sister, Lolo. I loved her snowsuit so they got their picture on the blog.

The sunsets are from this past week on my porch. Aren't they gorgeous. I have never lived anywhere this beautiful before. I can't wait for the spring when the apartment folks sit outside and enjoy the sunsets while the kids ride their bikes and play tag. Then there are the "Girlie Girls". My neighbors, Elise, 3, and Addell, 1 1/2. I have fun playing with them, making valentines, babysit them for their parents and this picture is from last week when we went to visit the ice sculptures downtown.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I hope you all are warming up. We are having summer like weather here - 37 - 40, sunny and blue skies during the day. The snow melts during the day but freezes again at night. It makes nighttime driving still a bit dangerous. I am counting down my three weeks until David, Poli and Bruce arrive for the Iditarod. I hope we get a bit more snow for the race. I can't wait to share those pictures.

Until then, enjoy your day. Smile a lot and hugs to you all.

Sheryl the Nanuq

Amazing Alaska - Feb 2010

Happy February to you! Don't you just love the gorgeous colors of Alaska. The pink/blue sunset was about a week ago. I took it through my kitchen window so it is a bit blurry. The next two pictures are from the Chugiach Snow Trails. My friends, Beth #1, Beth #2, Stacy #1, Stacey #2 and myself have been skiing about 3 - 4 times per week. Some of the trails are lighted and some are not. We usually start skiing when it is still light (5 pm) and end about 6:15 pm when it is dark. We have been challenging ourselves each week to another trail. I think there are 15 trails there from easy to difficult. We like the easy trails and have ventured to the medium to medium difficult trails. We will definitely have perkier breasts by spring since we have discovered "cleavage" hill. It is a lot of work. We only take that trail once a week. It is a lot of arm strength. Our big race is tomorrow, Feb 6. It is a huge Ladies Only "ski for Women" to raise funds for the domestic violence shelter. There will be over 2,500 ladies skiing. Many of them will be in the super competitive heat, many will be in the sprint heat and our group will be in the "party" heat. We are the last to take off. The costume parade begins at 11:30 am and we are suppose to be completed and home in time to watch the Super Bowl game. I hope we can complete the 5K Ski in a decent time. Pictures will be on my next blog.

I have to include my "favorite little peeps". They are a hoot. They forget my name on the two weeks I am away at my other school, so when I return to APH school the kids say, "Hello Ms Health". They can't remember Warmbold but they remember I teach health. I think it is so cute. The older kids call me Ms. Sheryl or Ms W but my toothless first graders call me, Miff, therryl. No teeth - no "s" and no "f" sounds. We crack up a lot in our first grade classes singing healthy songs with no front teeth. I have the best job ever!!! The picture with all the cuties is taken during recess. I love to join them after lunch for recess. If you look CLOSELY, in the center background is Sai, a Samoan, who is playing football in a blue shirt. Today was a bit cool - 12 degrees but sunny and a gorgeous turquoise sky. Do you see Sai? Notice he is wearing a short sleeve shirt!!! Yikes. He doesn't own a coat. Neither does his father so I have learned to accept this craziness. He is wearing tennis shoes vs flip flops. There is a big change!! The three little ones just finished playing hop scotch. They are extremely creative when snow is a fact of life. They carve the hop scotch form in the snow and roll a big snowball into the squares. The last two boys, Denebvic and Lor Lor, are in 6th grade. Don't you love that sky?? I know you have heard me say that the lower 48 has been receiving more snow than Alaska. Well, I must have complained enough because Friday we received 6 inches, 12 inches over night and then another 10 inches today, Saturday. It hasn't stopped snowing since Friday morning and it is 9:15 pm Saturday. I am thrilled. It is beautiful when snow falls. The Natives tell me they can tell I am from the lower 48 because when it snows I break out singing Christmas songs. Rannie said, "You equate snow with Christmas, up here we think of snow as another day." Interesting. See what I am learning. I am trying not to sing Christmas songs or any song for that matter. As most of you all know I can't carry a tune or melody so it doesn't sound good when I sing.

Amazing Alaska facts. Well, I am sure you all have read it in the headlines. The 2010 US Census has begun. Were you aware of that? The census started in Noorvik, Alaska on Feb 1! Why Noorvik? Well, we are the farthest west and most eastern state in the USA. Since we are definitely in winter mode, the float planes, snow machines, and dog sleds are busy every day. And to be able to reach the bush villagers they decided they have to take the census in the winter. In the spring the families head to fish camp and can't be found as easily. Now, in case you are not aware of the transient lifestyles of the bush/village people, they are on the move all the time so there were many census teams out there to poll as many people as possible. They interviewed the first person taken for the 2010 Census - an 84 year old Elder in Noorvik. The TV also interviewed the poll takers and they were dressed for subzero temps. Barrow this week was minus 65 and then windchill. Fairbanks was minus 34 and then windchill. I don't think I want to take the census.

Another amazing Alaska fact: The Gold for the Vancouver medals for the Olympics came from Alaska's Pogo Mine. Pogo Mine is located about an hour southeast of Fairbanks towards Canada border. A little bit of Alaska will go home to many countries.

And, if you remember, I have been extremely lucky winning contests since I have been in Alaska. I won the Lion King tickets, dinner tickets for four different restaurants, and many more things. So I have entered another betting pool. The winner receives $300,000. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I have purchased many tickets ($2.25 each guess) for the Nenana Ice Melt. This is a tradition for the last 94 years. The little city of Nenana, located an hour southwest of Fairbanks, has placed a tripod flagpole on the frozen Tenana River. The tripod is attached to a clock mechanism on shore. When the ice breaks in late April or early May, the tripod gives away and trips the clock and the time is recorded. The winner closest to the seconds wins the $300,000. How much fun is this? Does this sound much more like a community fund raiser rather than a lottery? I am falling in love with the Alaska way.

When I was taking my Project Ki'l class and several of the Native villagers came and talked to our class. The Native ladies explained that it is their responsibilities to teach the younger girls how to sew mukluks, outerwear and skin otters. They are extremely patient. There is no time table to villagers. It may take a young girl 10 attempts to get the first sewing steps correct. This Native lady said they have a phrase they use often. "Don't worry Sheryl, you will learn to sew before you are married!!" or Don't worry you will be healed (from an injury) before you are married!". I loved this philosophy. Why do we all have to be on such a rush - rush schedule. So therefore, you can often hear someone who is tardy or late to a meeting come in and say, "I am on Village time." I am sure I will use that phrase eventually during school.

I hope you have enjoyed learning a bit more about how wonderful the great state of Alaska has to offer. I hope you survived your weather this past month. I know some of you are under another snow attack but just keep telling yourself, this will melt and be gone soon. Alaska has snow from November through April/May. If you want to give my your guess for the Ice Melt, send it to me and I will buy you a ticket. Remember it has to be down to the second.

Have a wonderful month. Enjoy Valentines Day. Hugs to you all

Sheryl the Nanuqk