If you get my blog title you probably know my dad. It was the only thing I knew of Alaska growing up. When I was in high school a friend of mine moved to a city near Anchorage. His accounts left me thinking it was cold and dark and not a place I would care to visit, especially not in the winter.
Tonight I saw a wild Moose in the front yard of my hosts' house. It was magnificent.
There is an ice sculpture festival going on right now, and while I won't be able to attend (due to a sweet little bundle who I want to keep healthy and warm) I have been able to see upwards of 20 ice sculptures that local business and communities have had commissioned.
One of the longest snow machine races in the country will end here on Saturday.
I have eaten Reindeer and Elk. Both are delicious.
I have experienced -20 degree F. temperatures (warm for this time of year, I am told) and didn't die, surprisingly.
I stayed for three nights "on post" at Fort Wainwright- Home of the Arctic Warriors. (That's what the welcome sign says, folks, I did not make that up.)
I have experienced a lifestyle that requires you to plug in your car at night to keep it from freezing, where key holes and doors freeze shut, where flashlights are specific to a task and hats are not optional.
It is a strange and interesting place.
Most importantly, though, it is the birth place of my son. Parents often say that they would travel to the ends of the earth for their child. . . well my dear little boy, I have done it once, so you need not doubt that I would do it again.
Welcome to Yarnnation little Lionheart.
