September 2009
Greetings,
One of my favorite things about Fairbanks is its newspaper, The Daily News Miner. Fairbanksans are an odd bunch, ranging from cowboy thugs to corporate wahoos, but the one thing that ties them together is their undying faith to their morning paper. The News Miner is famous for its intriguing titles like: “Pomegranate: It’s not just for juice anymore,” “Couples flock to say I do on 9-9-09,” and “60-inch club...”. In the spirit of my beloved News Miner and the interest of maintaining your interest, I have attempted to explain my last 1 ½ months here in skim-friendly headlines. Here goes nothing:
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| Fall is fantastic! |
Saturday, July 18: KAYAK BUILDER STRETCHES HER DEFINITION OF “BOAT”
It was (as usual) a beautiful day, so my friends and I embarked on an all-ladies rock climbing expedition to Grapefruit Rocks. As a result of the strenuous exercise and unusual heat, we were seduced by the glacial Chena River. In lue of owning a legitimate watercraft, we inflated a queen sized air mattress and plopped ourselves (3 girls) on it with a running start. We quickly realized that the folly in our plan was in our lack of paddles. Being good cowgirls, we lassoed a canoe powered by three gentlemen, who agreed to let us grasp onto their boat and thereby avoid the large branches and rocks in our path. It was glorious.
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| Stacey, Sara, and I on Marla's air bed |
Saturday, July 25: REFUGE ANIMALS WIN GOLDEN DAYS RED-GREEN REGATTA...AND AUTHOR STRETCHES HER SCHEMA ON BOATS FURTHER
My boss decided that it would be a good idea to participate in a local tradition called the Red-Green regatta. This event celebrates the great Alaskan value of ingenuity by creating your own boat, using at least one roll of duct tape, and floating it down the Chena. We decided to make ours into a political protest by dressing as animals from the Arctic Refuge. I was a golden plover. Its a type of bird. The day consisted of two highlights: our faulty put-in, in which my polar-bear outfitted boss fell into the water, and the fact that due to our remarkable buoyancy, ability to stay in one piece, evasion of most of the water fighting and tomfoolery, we won the race.
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| Stacey, Pam, and i win the parade. I am a golden plover |
Sunday, July 26: SARAH QUITS!
A perk of working at an environmental non-profit org is that you are directly connected to the media (we commune with NPR over morning tea). Thanks to this benefit, I found out about Governor Sarah Palin’s resignation before the New York Times did when my coworker Laenne declared over our intercom: “ding dong, the wicked witch is dead!” The controversial Palin's resignation in Fairbanks drew quite the crowd. On one side were people with signs like “You Go Girl!” and on the far left (ironic...) there were “Quitting, her most responsible act:,” “What's The Difference Between A Quitter and a Pitbull?” “Thank God!” and, my personal favorite: “Shoot Your Finger Pistols One More Time!” My friend and infamous woodsy-man, Larry Landry made national press by calling Palin a “vicious vixen.” In the incongruous middle, there were signs of neutrality like, “Free Bong Hits for Sarah”. Let's hope Alaska can capitalize on this peace offering and find some political middle ground.
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| Sarah resigns in Fairbanks. This was a shot taken on the left side of the crowd. |
Tuesday, July 28: RED HEAD FINDS...CONTENTMENT?
It was unnerving. I was sitting in my friend Dylan's tiny log cabin reading a giant picture book on Alaskan Rivers from the used section of the local bookstore (aka: my personal money-drain). Over a quaint breakfast of bread and jam, he asked me that constant young and restless question:”If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?” I closed my eyes and the scents and colors of Asia, Africa, and South America rushed through, but when I opened them, I did so with new clarity. “Right here,” I replied. Like I said, freaky.
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| View of Denali |
Sunday, August 2: TEAM BLUE STEEL STEALS DAZE OF DISC TITLE
Team member, Killian,attributes the Anchorage frisbee tournament victory to the team's salty looks and rowdy sideline dances. Sam credits the consumption of 500 lbs of antioxidant rich bluberries, picked in a timeless valley in Denali. Sarah, Stacey, and Jenna concur that the victory was a direct result of their sensational costumes (80's prom dresses from Value Village, running shoes, and lots of red lipstick) worn at the Saturday night “Funky Vampire” party. Whatever the reason, I was part of the winning team, and victory was sweet. My glory moment occurred when I got and D and then caught a score and Thom Walker, spirit of Alaskan Ultimate, yelled “that girl's from Fairbanks!”
Monday, August 3: MUDFLATS: THEY'LL RIP YOU APART!
Really, thought I should mention that the “beach” area of the Cook Inlet contains mud so treacherous that if you walk in it, you will sink, and as you sink, the tide will come in, and when the tide comes in, you will drown. They tried to rescue someone using a helicopter and they ripped them in half. Now, they don't even try.
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| I got to fly a Cessna, not on a mud flats rescue mission though |
Wednesday, August 5: THE QUINTESSENTIAL ALASKAN DATE
I was sweating my way down Ballaine road on my trusty steed, Sisu (Ok, my bike), when he drove up with a new, and much improved car. Before I could protest, he had my bike in the car and we were on our way back to my cabin where I showered and he scoured the place for tape cassettes. I didn't bother to ask where we were going, I knew the answer would be “North.” To supplement the picnic dinner we had packed, we stopped at Hilltop, the last real truck stop on the road to Prudhoe bay, and ate giant slices of their mouthwatering pie a'la mode. What can I say, the boy knew the way to my heart :) We continued onto a pond where he had camped as a kid and, with some expert help, I FINALLY learned how to skip rocks. We watched the sun set as we drove around the lake listening to the 50's and 60's rock and roll cassette he had unearthed. On the way back, I stuck my whole torso (stop reading now Dad- I wore my seat belt!) out of the sunroof as we zoomed through the hills and valleys. It felt like going to heaven. My hair looked like cousin it.
Monday, August 10: NORTHERN CENTER WOMEN DOMINATE ANIMAL CALLING CONTEST
The informal contest, that is. It occurred at the tail end of staff meeting. Our executive director was in the middle of a perfect sand hill crane imitation when a member dropped by to sign up for a road race we were putting on. Much laughter ensued.
Saturday, August 22- TED STEVENS SIGHTING
Eating ice cream. Blueberry, from Hot Licks. The infamous former senator looked like an old man. I reacted to the rare sighting similar to how I react to close-encounter with moose: by getting trigger happy and snapping a quick picture.
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| This is not Ted, its my mama! |
August 25-September 5: TIME SPENT LOOKING:
My parents came to visit me!!! We took to the road to see what we could see. It being Alaska, that was a lot. We took the bus into Denali National Park and I declared to my dad “this would be the perfect spot to hike, let's get out.” Seconds later, a large grizzly bear ambled down the road, coming within inches of our bus. My eyes are still wide. In Seward we took a cruise of the Kenai Fjords and spend many memorable moments forgetting the cold to watch glaciers calf, a humpback whale leap out of the water, and cartoon-like puffins dive-bomb the boat. The trip was a wonderful break from all of the other fun I had been having. The food was a distinct improvement from the hummus and berry diet, the views were spectacular, and the company was the best.
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| My parents loved Alaska |
Tueday, September 1: JENNA EVADES CERTAIN DEMISE BY BEAR (AND CLIMBS EXIT GLACIER)
We found the perfect free campsite in Seward right near the base of Exit Glacier (so named for its remarkable accessibility). Never one to waste an opportunity, I woke up at the crack of dawn with the plan of climbing the 8-mile trail up to the ice field, procuring a snowball, and scampering down fast enough to hit my dad with set piece of ice, thereby sharing the glacier experience. Before lunch. Ambition was never my problem. Active grizzly bears were. By this point in the trip I had seen my share of wildlife, so I was a bit perturbed when I was greeted on the road by an alarmed runner, who had just startled a bear. Since I was by myself, and the first one on the trail, I decided that the solution was to make lot of noise. After exhausting my repertoire of 90's songs (and there were many) and rattled off public service announcements to the neighboring wildlife (“Attention all large wildlife, I come in peace. I am just trying to get a snowball, then I will leave you. I am an environmentalists working to ensure the conservation of your home. I had beans for dinner last night and don't taste good. Please do not eat me”) in a wide array of accents. My bravery was rewarded with stunning views of the mountainous valley, which arose like a symphony from the swirling clouds below.
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| Bear! |
Monday, September 14- JENNA GETS BUSTED FOR USING UAF LIBRARY TO WRITE THIS E-MAIL IN STEAD OF BURYING HERSELF IN THE ARCHIVES
So that's all for now. In my last week here I am planning on flying (for free!) to a village called Fort Yukon. I will be busy at work finishing the documentary I have spent the last month slaving over and doing some research for my SIP project on Rampart Dam. For my birthday I get to accompany a friend on a bush plane trip north to see the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and check a Fish and Wildlife Service plot. I'll be flying home on the 23rd and rolling into Kalamazoo on the 24th with lots of Alaskan Halibut (thanks to my mom's excellent social skills). I love and miss you all and will see you soon!
Love from the North,
Jenna
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