AK zoo

The sunset picture was taken tonight around 10:30pm It is getting close to the horizon but only visible over the fence in the pic. It will be setting in another hour or so.

eagle, wolves six siblings raised without parents here at the zoo

snowy owl

this is just a run of the mill goat but we thought his rectangular eyes were really cool

AK zoo

dall sheep, snow leopard, & brown bears waiting for lunch

magpie and polar bear that looks like a rug

A very full day again. Began real early. Had to unhook everything and pack for travel to get the trailer to the shop by 8 am to have the new weight equalizing hitch put on. It took just about an hour and then we had to go back and hook up everything again. Most of the day was gone so we went off to the zoo which was handy. Talked about a hike but the weather was real threatening at the time. We also did a bit of shopping while here in the city. The staples: TP, coffee and Splenda. There was a Sam's Club so we were able to get big containers for what I pay in the groceries for small sizes. Had dinner with Patti, Dan and her friends who are staying with her. A really nice visit.

Sled dog rodeo

Guess who I will root for next year.

Jen & Dallas Seavey

Lead dog pulling 800 pounds!

A sled dog team of 16 pulling a truck!

After our grand tour we went back to Patti's so I could do some laundry. We went for a nice walk around her neighborhood. Great bike/walking paths everywhere in Anchorage. Right behind Patti's is where the Iditarod runs on its way out of Anchorage. Some of you might know that I follow the Iditarod every year and am a bit fanatical about the race. Here in the city right around the corner from our campground is a great show from one of the best know mushing families, the Seaveys. I have followed Mitch Seavey for many years and now his son Dallas and daughter-in-law Jen are running the Iditarod. Jen ran her first race this year and finished 43. Her husband Dallas ran his third race and placed 6th this year. He is the youngest person to run the race. On the off season the family run dinner shows with the sled teams. It gives the dogs some exercise without wearing them out. That is what we did this evening, went to the Wildride Sled Dog Rodeo. The food was wonderful and the show was funny and Jen & Dallas were very entertaining and hospitable. An exciting evening for me :0)

Art work

A mask, they all tell a story and are worn during a dance and were usually destroyed after being used once. Now they are works of art. This is one of several 3-D art pieces. He's a nifty caribou.

A section of a display case filled with bead work items.

Just a very small peek at some very neat baskets. Again so different from ours but still so beautiful. Some are made with baleen which are very dark.

I don't usually like dolls, they sort of creep me out but these were so incredible. The faces were just so unique and not the least bit creepy to me. Again just a very small section of a large display case.

It was so hard to pick pictures. We took so many that are just amazing. I love the close up of a couple of the dolls and I love all of the masks. Lots of tiny little scrimshaw in small cases along the stair wells. It is like a museum when you walk around the hospital.

Ak Native Medical Center

View of main entrance from the parking lot. Gift shop is filled with Native art.

Dr. Patti :-)

View from the inside includes mountains, still hazy from the fires.

A huge mural carving.

We had the grand tour of the hospital today. Patti took us through her hospital and showed us all of the marvelous art work on display. The hospital itself is gorgeous and the art displayed and all of the common areas make it a very special place devoted to health care. All Natives come to this hospital from all over the state so it is a very busy place.

Construction site

This will become three bedrooms all with that wonderful view. Living room in the foreground, we're standing in the dining room looking out onto the future deck and behind Dan is the kitchen and breakfast nook.

Front of the house.

Mr Moose munching ;-)

This is Patti and Dan's house. It is coming along quite well. Hope to have it all enclosed before the snow flies and the crew return to Maine. The views are spectacular. Lots of haze and smoke today so none of the mountains were visible but on clear days the entire view is filled with mountains or the ocean as well as Anchorage. We had a picnic at the site and saw this moose on the way.

Native AK Heritage

Seal water container. Various artifacts.

Source of a stream.

Polar bear skin.
Entrance to one of the buildings.

Just a few more random pictures.

Native People

Dance troupe. Men were a bit more active women more graceful in their movements.

All of these women were very knowledgeable. The girl in the bottom photo is still in high school.

Native Alaskan Heritage Center

Today we went to the Heritage Center. It is sort of on a Sturbridge idea but it represented tribes from around the area rather than an era. There is a huge building that has classrooms for children working on art projects, gift store, cafe, theater and stage area. Outside it has houses or outbuilding displays. Each one was manned by a person of the tribe that the building represented. We got to see them dance. So very different from us. I was reminded more of Hawaiian hula type movements. Very expressive hand movements but little foot movement. Drums were also different as you can see from the pictures. They use whatever is in the area they live and many are still reliant on the local vegetation or animals for their survival.

Seal and rookery

We did see a couple of seals on a berg. We stopped at the rookery on the way back to shore. It is a huge colony of kittiwakes. They are similar to a seagull. Smaller with black feet and the tips of their wings are black. They roost on the side of the mountain and have their babies. The sun warms the rocks so they can go off and feed and the nestlings stay warm. They only eat living things so like to roost by the waterfalls which stirs up nutritious things.