ALASKA STATE FAIR

Today it was cold, cloudy, and very windy but with no rain in the forecast so Jim and Kathe set out for the Alaska State Fair. Warren and Kathy are feeling a little better today but decided to stay home and rest. It was still cold and blowing a gale when Kathe and Jim reached the fairgrounds. The first thing Kathe did was purchase an Alaskan flag watch cap to help keep her warm.

Having only been to the Los Angeles County Fair they were surprised at the difference here at the Alaska Fair. First surprise was the admission was only nine dollars per person compared to twenty-five dollars, and the parking was free. What a bargain. That wasn’t the only surprise. The food was different too. Instead of fried Twinkies they had things like fresh oysters, crab cakes, shrimp, and halibut fish and chips. Of course they had hot dogs on a stick, but they also had many booths with different ethnic food. Kathe and Jim enjoyed chicken pierogi at a Russian booth. 

They watched a great lumberjack show where three men competed in various wood chopping and ax throwing events. It was so cold and windy that next they moved indoors to the crafts tent to see the various competitors projects. Kathe was interested in the needlework exhibits. 

They stopped a an area where a man was spinning wool out of dog fur. He showed them a knitted patchwork quilt that had squares of various dog fur. He showed them a scarf that was crocheted from the fur of a Samoyed, amazing how beautiful and soft it was.

Jim stopped to talk to a man who was demonstrating the art of tying fishing flies. He showed Jim which flies were better for Salmon and which were better for catching trout. It was very interesting the knowledge that he was willing to share.

Of course there were lots of scary rides and many people selling everything you could imagine. But the best part of our day was how willing people were to talk to us and share their knowledge. It was a great afternoon.