NORTH TO ALASKA TO SEE THE ICE AND SNOW.....

When we ask Dad what he wanted to do for his birthday he quickly said, "I want to go see the ice sculptures in Fairbanks (Alaska)." So we put together a trip and off we flew to the COLD COLD northern most part of God's beautiful earth. We expected it to be much colder but to our surprise it was in the 40-50's during the day but did dip to 15 degrees in the evening. I still had to make Jack wear a vest jacket "not to embarrass the family name". Being a South Dakota transplant HE LOVES THE SNOW AND COLD! After getting there and checking into Pikes River Lodge (gorgeous motel on the river) we began our Alaskan adventure.

Some of the things we saw and you will experience in the slide show are: River bridge in downtown Fairbanks, eskimo settler statue in park, Alaskan pipeline (picture of us under it), ice sculptures (including children's ice playground and sledding runs)which we toured by and at night with the light display, visit to the real North Pole and Santa's house , the reindeer fenced in their winter quarters, musser dog races, the famous (up there) Turtle Resturant which was literally out in the boondocks. The musser dog races were so interesting and the kids got to go inside a puppy petting area and mingling with the young dogs who will be racing by the time they are one year old, there was fur trading company there, and many native eskimos/Alaskans with their handmade arts and crafts. Most of these musser dog teams were owned and raced by the eskimos and could run up to 22 miles per hours. One of the ways they are conditioned are by pulling sunmachines (snowmobiles). The native eskimos in attendance at this race wore the most beautiful coats with fur and beads all over them. Dallin is in a pic with one of these women at the end of the slide show. I REALLY enjoyed this part of the trip because it was interacting with the culture and the people who have been there and settled in such challenging conditions. The people were so friendly and as I approached them to talk or take a picture they were so willing to share their lives and culture.

This was a quick trip but so much fun for the kids and adults alike. Everything was so beautiful and we really did just enjoy be togethering and experiencing the things we did. The words that come to me when I think of the Lord's children in Alaska are really so talented, creative, self sufficient, honorable, hard working, kind, giving, proud, simple, and cohesive. I thank God so often for these privledges not to just see his world but interact with his children and appreciate our differences and cultures.