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Published: September 7th 2009
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Another sunny day with temps in the upper 60's. A local told me that today and yesterday were the warmest days of the summer this year. That's hard to believe, but I'm just happy to be here at the same time as the beautiful weather.
I only did two things today; drove 150 miles (round trip) to visit Denali (Mt. McKinley) and then went to the Alaska State Fair that is held here in Palmer each year. On the way to Denali I drove through Wasilla. I wanted to stop and visit with Sarah, but I'm just too busy right now and I'm sure that she'll understand.
Because it was a perfectly clear day in Wasilla, I tried to get a look at Russia but I'm afraid that my eyesight is just not as good as Sarah's. All I could see was shopping malls and trees. (Does that answer your question, Scott?)
I was following a State Trooper through Wasilla and trying to get a photo of the stuffed animals in his rear window while we were sitting at a traffic light, but I didn't have time to get the shot. I continued to follow him but he
was going about 52 MPH in a 45 MPH zone, so I pulled him over for speeding (well, that's what I "wanted" to do). Anyway, he finally pulled into a gas station and I stopped to chat with him. He seemed skeptical when I asked to take a photo of him and the car, but he finally relaxed and let me take the shot. I learned that he's originally from Seattle, served in the Coast Guard in Alaska a few years back, decided to stay in Alaska and eventually became a trooper. Nice guy!
Rather than drive all the way to Denali, I drove about half the distance from Palmer to a good viewing point. The mountain (highest in North America at 20,320 feet!) is very impressive. It's interesting that the Alaska natives have called the mountain "Denali" (The Great One) for many generations (long before the white men arrived). And of course the white men gave the mountain their own name, McKinley, with no regard for existing cultures and traditions. Anyway, the Alaskans never have (and never will) refer to the mountain as McKinley. Personally I think we owe it to the natives to formally dump the McKinley
name, but I need to keep politics out of this blog.
Spent the afternoon and evening at the Alaska State Fair. It's huge! (and so are the vegetables that they grow around here). This year's blue ribbon winner for the largest cabbage went to a 127 pound monster that set a new world's record. As a lady nearby said to me, "That's a lot of coleslaw!".
There's an organization in Alaska that tries to protect the moose population by educating the public about safe driving practices (to avoid hitting the moose). They also have special vehicles that are dispatched to remove any unfortunate remains from the highway (see photo). The deceased moose is then "processed" and the meat is given to charities. Just thought you'd like to know how they do things up here in Alaska.
In the evening I went to a packed concert to see Creedence Clearwater Revisited. The band consists of two original members of Creedence Clearwater REVIVAL (CCR) but does NOT include John Fogerty, the mastermind, song writer, lead singer and lead guitar for the original CCR. Sereda and I have seen John Fogerty perform (and he's great!) but I've resisted going to
see the "revisited" band because John Fogerty, in my opinion, was 98% of the original band and the "revisited" band is just not the same without John. Anyway, they turned out to be a good "cover band" and I liked them more than I thought I would.
End of another good day!
Jack
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Mike
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John Fogerty was only 92% of CCR... not 98% ;-)