An Alaskan tradition.
Spencer: Ready for the weather and coming down the ice slide.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Fur Rondy
Leading up to the Iditarod, Anchorage has a huge festival downtown. Nancy and the boys enjoyed the festivities with some of our friends. Events included a Outhouse Race, a Snowmobile race, a Carnival, a Fur Auction and a Dog Sled Race. The weather was cold but that doesn't keep Alaskans from showing up in full force. Connor enjoyed the snowmobile race and the snowboarders. Spencer loved the rides and the ice slide.
Spencer: Ready for the weather and coming down the ice slide.
Spencer: Ready for the weather and coming down the ice slide.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Trek Over The Top
Opa and I took part in a big Alaskan Snow machine tradition; The annual "Trek Over the Top" snow machine ride between Tok, Alaska and Dawson City, Yukon Territory.
It was quiet a trip as we encountered blowing snow, snow drifts, 80 mph winds and -40 wind chills. On the flip side, we had a lot of fun, met some new people and ate lots of wonderful food.
Our hotel in Tok the morning our adventure was to begin. As you can see from the sign, we had a hard time following directions.
Some activities around Dawson City included a snow machine trip to one of the Yukon's Gold Dredges. We stopped at historic Dredge #4. This particular dredge operated in the early 1900's and help put Dawson City on the map. Another activity was the snowmachine drop in Dawson City. The event had participants buy yard sticks ($5.00 each), hammer them in the ice of the Yukon River and watch while a snowmachine is dropped from a helicopter from 500 feet. The winner is determined by the stick where the largest piece of the snowmachine lands (or bounces).
Opa standing on top of one of the mountains near Dawson City. From the peak, you can get a view of 5 different mountain ranges. Truly a beautiful view.
It was quiet a trip as we encountered blowing snow, snow drifts, 80 mph winds and -40 wind chills. On the flip side, we had a lot of fun, met some new people and ate lots of wonderful food.
Our hotel in Tok the morning our adventure was to begin. As you can see from the sign, we had a hard time following directions.
As you can see, the trail didn't have a lot of colorful scenery. The top of the world highway is pretty bare in the winter. The wind piles up snow drifts and snow/ice covers most of the trees in the area. We encountered winds in excess of 70 mph. The snow was falling sideways. Our group did stop at the Alaska/Canada border for a photo shot. What a group. We had 13 trekkers this year.
Some activities around Dawson City included a snow machine trip to one of the Yukon's Gold Dredges. We stopped at historic Dredge #4. This particular dredge operated in the early 1900's and help put Dawson City on the map. Another activity was the snowmachine drop in Dawson City. The event had participants buy yard sticks ($5.00 each), hammer them in the ice of the Yukon River and watch while a snowmachine is dropped from a helicopter from 500 feet. The winner is determined by the stick where the largest piece of the snowmachine lands (or bounces).
As you can see from the photo below, not all activities were outdoors. Each night the local saloon (Diamond Tooth Gerties) put on a show to entertain the crowd. Here, one of group gets into the act. This particular event had the participants dress up and put on wooden snow shoes. This was some performance by Matt.
Opa standing on top of one of the mountains near Dawson City. From the peak, you can get a view of 5 different mountain ranges. Truly a beautiful view.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
