Reindeer......?-2009....may you rest in peace!

"Why do I have to be the dog?!?!" - Jen being a brat! Ha!

Someone doesn't like someone else petting the metal dog, huh? Is that jealousy, dear Tanner??





In our effort to continue to see all of Alaska possible in our last few days, we had another BUSY but fun day today!

The first stop of the day was "eventful" to say the least. Just outside of Palmer there is a Reindeer Farm. In the summer, it is open to the public and the people can visit and feed the reindeer and pet them. However, they close in the winter (and why wouldn't they, the reindeer are tired from their journey around the world, right?) So, you can't really interact with the reindeer. However, you can visit them and see them from the road. When we got there, the timing was perfect. The workers at the farm were just coming around to give the reindeer lunch. As the truck came up, the reindeer were excited and came over to get some lunch. It was fun to see them move and eat, and since they were moving, instead of in a big bunch, we could really get some great views of them. However, as the gentlemen who were feeding the reindeer saw in the distance - a reindeer had died.......oh, good grief! Had they not been there, I hazard to say I don't even think I would have seen the dead one. But of course, they took their truck over and proceeded to DRAG the dead reindeer across the icy field....I nearly suffered a heart attack! It was like the scene from Napoleon Dynamite with the cow and the bus, if you have seen the movie, you have to know what scene I am talking about - if you haven't - I recommend it highly, but with some reservations, the humor in it isn't for everyone....but at this point I digress......

So after some talk about grief, reindeer heaven, and an inappropriate joke involving reindeer sausage......we moved on. We went to downtown Palmer and enjoyed some shops. I have to say, Palmer is the cutest town ever. We had lunch at this fantastic place called Vagabond Blues. I indulged my love of jewelery with a really cool pair of earrings made of Mammoth Fossil Ivory and a tube of lipgloss (another love, or obsession, as my dear husband might call it) also made here in Palmer. We went to an art gallery and looked around and then ventured over to Wasilla to the Iditarod Headquarters. Another absolutely fantastic day.

I can hardly believe it, but our time in Alaska is coming to an end at an alarming rate. Just tomorrow, and then a full day of airtravel on Friday. We leave early in the am (around 8:00am) and since there has been some airport drama with terrorists during our time up here, we want to be there early enough for some added security. We will then be traveling all day, plus losing time on the way back......

For an experienced traveler, sometimes I can be a poo-head to travel with. This is exactly the point in the vacation where I get sad, melancholy, grumpy....all of those things all bundled in to one. We still have the evening tonight, as well as all day tomorrow with some fun things lined up to do! I am going to do my BEST to enjoy myself fully and not get worked up about leaving.

This trip was just what was needed this year - for many reasons, and I am glad we came! I will have more blogging to do, but I am sure it won't get done for a few more days considering all we have to do.

Nate starts school back up again on Monday. What a break. What a trip. What a privilege and an amazing opportunity - both to see Alaska in its winter wonder and to get to know and love Val and Dan more.

Well, it is time to go.....before I get even more reflective and mushy......:)

A Tour of Anchorage Public Toilets.......

Yesterday we tore up the greater part of Anchorage! The day was jam packed with fun, and then some not-so-much fun after a delicious, but fried food dinner - which I now think I have narrowed down to what makes me sick......

So, dearies, let's begin at the very beginning.....

The first thing I need to mention is that it really took the insomnia I sometimes suffer over a week to find me in Alaska, which made for a rough night on Monday night. I ended up not even going to sleep until 4:30am Alaska time (8:30am Indiana time....I can already tell this jet-lag is going to be AWESOME to recover from - sense the sarcasm, please!)Tanny sensed I was not having the world's most spectacular night, and came down to join me, what a guy!

So after a few hours, up and going again - if month upon month of sleeplessness has taught me, it is really best not to accommodate it......it begins feeding itself badness.........

We left Val's and went by a village that is Russian Orthodox in faith and a native population. We got to see my first ever Orthodox church as well as their interesting burial tradition (if it sounds morbid, perhaps it is, just a bit, but it was interesting!) When they bury people, they build colorful boxes over their graves. It was hard to see with all the snow, but you could see them poking out of the snow.

Then we went to Anchorage and got to meet/visit/deliver some gifts to Val's co-workers. I can see why Val enjoys working with this group of people. Her bosses even have three doxies! I mean, they love doxies, they couldn't possibly be bad people!! I very nearly stole Sugar the 3 year old long haired girl, I am still thinking about her...... Val also had me try a local coffee chain......it was AMAZING.

At this point we were hungry, it was like 4:00 and we hadn't even been to the downtown portion of the city yet. We went to an amazing downtown eatery called "The Brewhouse".....and oh, how delicious it was...... a little bit TOO delicious. For quite a while I have been feeling "iffy" after I eat sometimes. Prior to our Alaska trip Dr. Nate gave me some instructions to see if we can pin down the cause of my disagreement with the food. Part of my "assignment" was to keep a food diary. That lasted for one meal of one day.....OOPS. However, since coming to Alaska I haven't really felt too bad......UNTIL last night. The only thing I can think is that I haven't eaten anything fried......and then last night we enjoyed calamari and I had Fish and Chips.....an oh so delicious variety of fried foods........within 20 minutes, I was oh, so sorry......

Really, the title of this blog is more funny than true, but I just didn't feel too well. Yuck! But, no worries, it didn't really stop us, at all! We went around the downtown area, but in the winter in Alaska most stuff closed at around 6:00pm.....so we were a bit out of luck, but still got to enjoy some fun shops and browsing around.

Our last stop of the evening was at Alaska Wild Berry Products. They are a chocolate shop as well as a lot of Alaskan souvenirs and what now. We spent a lot of time having some big-time fun in that store!

We came home, I felt sick......Dan, who is a gem - went to the store and got me some ginger ale. That in combo with my stomach med made for a great night's sleep last night. Wowser, WHAT A DAY!!!!!

A Modern Day Gold Miner!!!!

"This is just a miner looking at his junk under a microscope" - Dan


I really like gold......


A LOT!!!!


A person with a basic knowledge of Alaska knows about Alaskan Gold Mining and many people making their way to Alaska to find their fortunes in GOLD!!! However, I can't really say that I knew that people still mined gold in Alaska, (other than getting tourists to spend money pretending for 25 minutes???)

Guess what?! People DO still mine gold - and it turns out that Dan is a modern day gold miner.

And the best part, I got to hold some gold!!!!!!!!

I have already given him full permission that when he discovers the world's largest gold nugget, I give him full allowance to name it after me........like the Jennugget.....yes, I like the ring of that!

Musk Ox and the Mat-Su Glacier!

Much adieu about doodoo

After a heckavah lot of worrying about "making my business" in the wilderness, it turned out that was the least of my worries....... A much, MUCH bigger concern is that my hair (and myself for that matter!) cannot.....I MEAN CANNOT go more than a day without a shower. Evidently I have a very oily head.......ummmmmm - YUCK!

The cabin is still a "work in progress" but it was amazing. It really was a winter wonderland. We traveled around 2 hours to get to a parking lot, and then snow-mobiled in to the cabin, about another 30 minutes. You CANNOT drive, you must snowmachine or if there is no snow, you would have to take a 4-wheeler.....wow, talk about remote!

I had my life flash before my eyes...(well, really my eyelids) at around 5:00 am the first night we were there when the cabin roof "unloaded" all its snow. Holy stinkin' moly......it was a crash, rumble.....BOOM! And considering I had never heard anything like that noise before, and not knowing what it was....talk about being woken from a nice dream.......

I really never would have expected this of myself, but I really LOVE snowmachining. It is super fun - and we are really fortunate that Val and Dan had the proper "gear" for us to wear.

It was a great experience! Although, I think that I am not really built to be a "camper"....this was MUCH nicer than camping and I still thought I was dying. Haha, well, not really dying, but I am used to a certain level of hygiene.....running water, flushing toilets, showers, makeup, fashion....you get the drift - and if you know me, this should come as no huge shock!

So I made such a fuss......

I made such a fuss about peeing/other business which need not be mentioned......that Val and Dan thought it appropriate to outfit me with only the finest "business" gear for the wilderness cabin......haha!

Jen vs. the crab....