King Mountain Campout

For my second (and final) campout of the season, I went to King Mountain with Todd and Anita.  It's been such a rainy summer that I was really glad the weather seemed like it was going to behave for the weekend.  Friday was absolutely gorgeous.  In fact, I meant to go to work... even got to the parking lot... where I decided that there wasn't really that much work for me to do, and it wasn't critical for me to stay.  So I called my folks and let them know that I wouldn't be in (apparently sun-itis can strike randomly and hard, especially when your summer has been drenched in rain and you think you're developing webbed feet).  Then I took a lovely drive out to the campground.

There's just something wonderfully relaxing about being outside, sitting around a fire, visiting, and watching the stars come out at night.  It's so peaceful.  Even though I'm not in my big, fancy, memory-foam, spring-loaded bed, (and there might be bears), I sleep really well when I'm camping.  Unless my nose or toes get cold, of course.  (It also seems that I need less sleep - I generally get fewer hours of sleep per night, but wake up earlier and more refreshed than I would at home.  Must be the crisp, clean air...)

Anyhow.  We picked King Mountain again this fall so we could go to the fair.  What?  The fair, you say?  Haven't you already been there?  Yup.  Going twice this year!  I'm for sure going to repeat on the cheese curds, pickles, and pretzel.  Everything else depends on whatever strikes my fancy...

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We interrupt this post about camping to bring you an update on my 2nd trip to the fair...

More face-painting, more eating, more fun.  The pregnant cow was gone (off to give birth?) and an even bigger pumpkin was on display (1101 lbs. - a new state record - instead of 902).  Also more rain.

But we had some ponchos and of course the vendors are going to be prepared for our typical fair weather.  Gloves, knit caps, full-size umbrellas, ball caps,and elasticized umbrella caps... there were any number of ways to keep from being drenched.  (Not so much luck staying dry, but damp was fine.)

 

 

And apparently I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.  Did I learn my lesson from last week about bringing dry socks and shoes?  Nope.  Feet so wet I was sloshing and the soles were itchy by the time we were done with our fair excursion.  Maybe I'll figure it out in time for the fair next year...

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We now return you to your regularly scheduled camp trip to King Mountain....

It's amazing how well a warm fire works for drying out the dampness of a rainy day spent at the fair.  Of course, it helps to get clean, dry socks so after your feet are de-pruned you can slip into some nice, fire-warmed socks and dry shoes.  A little relaxing, more chatting, and some game-play makes for a really enjoyable evening.

We were originally planning to head home on Sunday, to have Monday free to unpack and get ready for the work week.  Plans changed when I found out Greg was coming home from his hike excursion early, and they'd be passing right by the camp ground.  (That's some authentic frontier gibberish)  The group stopped in to visit for a bit, dumped my husband and his gear, then headed out.  And our small group decided that  it was worth one more night of camping before we headed back to reality. (You don't see that everyday)

Turns out, the best weather of the whole weekend (aside from the fabulous Friday drive) was on Monday.  I'm grateful we opted to stay the extra day.  Between the good weather, marvelous companionship, and relaxing atmosphere, that did more to get me ready for the coming week than any amount of housework and clean laundry could have done.  (Can't talk! Drinkin'...)

Now it's time to clean the gear and pack it away for the winter.  (Nope.)  Maybe next year's weather will allow for more than two campouts.  Although, if we only get two, may they be as enjoyable and lovely as this one.  (Hell, yeah! Got a wiener dog.)

Sister Visit Part I

It's that time of year again... when I get to see family as they're finishing up the summer and heading back home to Seattle.  While I'm never very excited for fall (since it's a reminder that the cold, dark winter is quickly upon us), I always look forward to visits from my family.  Jeannea is the first to arrive - her season gets done in August - and I get a follow-up visit from Sara (in September).

The timing for Jeannea's visit couldn't have been more perfect, since it coincided with the state fair and it's been a few years since she's been able to go with me.  We hooked up with Stacy and headed out early.  At least, early for me on a weekend... since we got there just after 10am when they open, and I'm normally still in bed at that early weekend hour...  But the start of our eating adventure (that's what fairs are, right?) went a long way to make up for it.  How can you pass up fresh doughnuts?

We spent the next 8 hours or so, wandering from food to food: fresh made pretzel, fresh dipped corndog, deep fried pickles, kettle corn, roasted corn on the cob, fried cheese curds...  And in between that, we got our faces painted, saw the pigs and cows and goats, examined the enormous pumpkin (902 lbs - I wonder how many pies that'd make?) and stopped in the beer tent to give our barkin' dawgs a brief respite.

 

We even tried the chocolate covered bacon.  How was it, you might ask?  I give it 1-1/2 thumbs up.  I think I'd like to try it again, but I'd like the bacon a little thicker and crispier (lack of crisp might be because they made it and then froze it) with just a tad less chocolate.  I think if I were to open a chocolate covered bacon stand, I'd find a way to deep fry the bacon (so I can consistently get it to the perfectly crispy but not overdone state), then have some of that magic shell chocolate on hand.  That way as I get orders, I can dip my perfectly cooked bacon in the chocolate just prior to handing it off to my customer...  Anyhow.  It was good enough that the idea of bacon cookies doesn't seem that ludicrous any more.  Hmmmm.

We didn't get to see the roller derby, since it was typical fair weather: rain.  Thank goodness I was with people who have their heads on their shoulders.  Stacy brought rain ponchos for all of us, and both Stacy and Jeannea brought dry socks and shoes.  Turns out that was a good thing, otherwise I would've been driving home barefoot.

I had a *lovely* time visiting with Jeannea.  Too bad her company isn't based in Anchorage - then I'd have both of them (Jeannea AND Sara) close by all year 'round.  Ah, well.  At least this gives me something to look forward to in the spring - my next visit...

By the way, Jeannea: Thanks for the RockStar treasure hunt!!  It took me more than a week to find them all, and that was with some helpful hints from your cohorts in crime.  We all know I'm not the most observant person in the world - especially in the morning - but I opened the medicine cabinet three times before I finally saw that one... =)

Labor Day Weekend - At the Fair

Labor Day Weekend... Time to go camping for a long weekend - friends, food, fire... how can you beat that?!? And then, it's the last weekend of the Alaska state fair. If you combine the two, how much better can it get?? Not much, I say!

Took Friday off, so we could head out to King Mountain campground Thursday night. It'll definitely be the last campout of the season - nights are cold enough that even the tent heater doesn't help long. I suppose it'd last longer if we left it on all night, but it might not be the best alternative. I'm sure the fumes would dissipate, as the top of the tent is all mesh and heat rises, but I'm fine with not testing that theory. Except that I wake up at night when my nose is cold... but because we have the super-cold rated sleeping bags, at least I don't wake up because my feet are blocks of ice. =)

We ate our way through the fair on Friday. Started the morning with some bacon & eggs around the fire. And what's a little breakfast without a nice bacon s'more? It was too early in the morning for me to be brave enough to try it, but I *know* bacon makes everything better. Greg didn't even mind that the graham cracker was cinnamon. Cinnamon, toasted marshmallows, and bacon - and he said it was really tasty... Maybe I'll give it a go next time. =)

We knew we'd be staying the whole day at the fair, so we dressed accordingly. For me, that was tennis shoes (good soles and really comfy); Greg wore his pants where the leg zips off to make shorts; and James, you may ask? He wore his utili-kilt. Lots of pockets, apparently really comfortable, and he didn't over-heat. Good choice, James! =)

Just as we entered the fair grounds, we encountered an acrobatic equestrian group. You know those movies (or books)? The ones where the long-haired horsemen jump into the saddle from the ground - and they duel with long sharp swords (rapiers?) as they're crashing through the underbrush... this was like that, only with pointy toes and girls in short leotards. Amazing to see the horsemanship and athleticism of the participants, but my camera didn't get any pictures to do it justice. Always just a click behind the action. Oh well.

From there, we headed in to see the *enormous* vegetables. I saw sunflowers that were probably 15' tall, and a 594 pound pumpkin (imagine how many pies that'd make!!). There was a 147# watermelon (wonder if it had seeds?), a record breaking 22# radish (not red, like I imagined), and of course the record breaking cabbage - weighing in at 125 pounds. Have to make a lot of corned beef to go with *that* cabbage!

And then it's time for food. Turkey leg, cream puff (I really think you *should* eat dessert first, whenever you can!), deep fried cheese curds, roasted corn on the cob, and deep fried pickles. Good thing we were sharing - if it'd been just me, eating full servings of all that, I might've had to succumb to a food coma. As it was, we took a break to sit for a bit and rest our barkin' dawgs.

I wanted to get my face painted, so Nita & I split from the group (rides, schmides!) - only to wait in line for almost an hour and have the only person who could paint the designs we picked go on "break". By that time, we decided we'd spent enough time in line - too bad it was for nothing... so, what to do? I'm glad you asked. Time to get fresh dipped corn dogs!

And then it's on to the demolition derby. First time I've been. Apparently this year they (amorphous people from the fair) decided to do it differently, so it wasn't as exciting as in years previous. But since I'd never gone, I have nothing to compare. It's marvelously invigorating to watch cars purposefully crash into each other until only one is mobile. It's also amazing to see how much damage these cars can take and keep moving. I'd never treat my car this way, but it'd be fun to get into a beater and ram it around a few times to see how many lickin's before there's no more tickin'... (as long as it doesn't explode!)

And after all that, it must be time for more food, right?!? Black beans & rice, halibut tacos, and the piece de resistance (insert accents over the first "e" in all but "de"): the powdered sugar coated funnel cake (and a bit of Greg's elephant ear). And then we're heading out to the car, so we can get a good view of the fireworks - only they started before we were there, so it was an exercise in looking up and walking without mowing someone over or tripping and splitting my skull on something (and landing in gum).

A magnificent day full of food, friends, and fun... and then we headed to the campground to sit around a fire. A truly lovely day, and even better that we still have three more days of camping goodness to enjoy. Ahhhhhhhhhh. =)

Fair Time Again

I would like Fall better, if Summer hadn't been so cold & rainy. It also is the harbinger of Winter, which lasts entirely too long and is cold and snowy. Sometimes I think I live in the wrong place. But thoughts of Winter were far away a couple weeks ago, when we went to the Alaska State Fair. We happened to get good weather, and spent an enjoyable day eating (fresh donuts), visiting, eating (freshly battered corn dog and fried pickle chips), seeing the sights, and eating (cotton candy, corn on the cob, fresh kettle corn, funnel cakes, fresh pretzel (the frozen ones just don't compare), and having fun.

We spent the morning wandering around and doing some geocaching. Spent time in the exhibits looking at the beautiful quilts and art work. Then, when the dogs were barkin', we took a break to rest for a bit.

Stacy & I decided to visit the face painting booth while the boys ran around getting more caches. We also visited the animals and got to see cute baby pigs and a pygmy goat (it's so tiny!).

As always, the veggies are a huge draw. Most of the big ones weren't out yet - we would have had to come the next weekend, after they were weighed and judged. But there were a couple fine specimens to see. I've never seen a Giant Puffball before...

And there are always loads of gorgeous flowers. I really like the floral depiction of the state flag - and (of course) sunflowers are a huge draw for me.

So, another fair has come and gone. The leaves are falling and Winter is fast approaching. At least I have some fun pictures to ease the disappointment that Summer is gone...

It's Vary Personnel

I found the following placard displayed at a public event with lots of foot traffic. (Okay, it was at the Alaska State Fair in the photography section.) I'm willing to dismiss, or at least try to ignore, the grammar issues but the spelling, capitalization, and excessive punctuation make me cringe. Even when I try to give credit for the poem-like stanzas, I find that it makes me crazy. I suppose that most of the words are actually spelled correctly - just not the proper usage.

Note: I took a picture of the original sign, then cropped it to remove personal (not personnel) information. Since he was featured, I would have to assume that he's got better photography skills than spelling & grammar. Makes me kind of grateful for my high school English teacher...

Fair Time

The end of August brings the Alaska State Fair. It's always fun to go see the *huge* vegetables and wander around eating... cotton candy, kettle corn, grilled corn-on-the-cob, ice cream, funnel cakes, meat-on-a-stick... It's *grand*!! (And I was glad Jeannea brought tummy medicine - someone should always be prepared!!)

Fair Flowers

Greg headed out to the fair at 9am yesterday with friends. A bunch of geocachers were getting together to "cache the fair" - apparently lots of fun... Jeannea and her friend Yvonne flew in from Dillingham in afternoon, so I met them at the airport, we dumped the bags at the house then headed out to the fair. Spent a lot of time sitting in traffic (waiting to park). The car behind us alternately revved its engine and played bass so loud our whole car was vibrating. But we finally made it in - and didn't do anyone any bodily harm... =)

Hooked up with Greg & Brian and started to wander. First stop was Fair Food - cotton candy, fried pickle chips (very tasty!), fried zucchini, elephant ears, funnel cakes, and ice cream. Not everyone had everything (or we shared one order among many) and the first round took probably an hour or more as we wandered between shops and food stops. Then everyone split up - agreeing to meet again at 10pm.

Cotton Candy Caper

Cornucopia Ice Cream Dream

Greg & I found the Rodeo Fish and I convinced him to ride. He might consider a career change? Nah... but it was fun for both of us!

Ridin' the Rodeo Fish

From there, we wandered some more. Sometimes I forget to take in the beauty that surrounds me - but I took notice last night and have some pix to share. These were taken at approximately 9:30pm, as we were wandering towards the meeting place.

Fair View #1

Fair View #2

Fair View #3

A stop to get some grilled corn-on-the-cob, deep fried cheese curds, meat-on-a-stick, and then we hooked up with the rest of the gang. Jeannea picked up some fresh-popped kettle corn for the road - yummy!! Brian & Heather headed out around 10 - we finished the eating, visited for a bit, and headed out to the car just before closing (around 11pm). Of course then we had to wait through the exiting traffic, but we made it home shortly after midnight. All in all, a great trip. The weather was fantastic, and we won't eat like that again... until next year!

Meat on a Stick

Fair Lights

Fair's End