Everything is bigger in Alaska...

I have been looking forward to today for a while now... two main reasons: (1) a day off to go to the Alaska State Fair and (2) my Emily took the day off to hang out and enjoy the fair with me!

Overview of the fair
(Pic by John Gomes, from the Channel 2 Weather Team's Facebook Page)

Everything is bigger in Alaska ... see what I mean?!

This is what happens when you go to the fair on the (next to) last day!
I'm sure they used to be pretty...

Can you imagine how many pies could be made with a 931 lb pumpkin?! 

That cabbage was only 69 lbs (vs. the one that was 138 lbs!) ... And I realize these pics might not quite do the veggies justice... but look at the next one.  There is a (normal size) microphone next to some veggies that are 4 times the size of it! 

Those tomatoes are more than 1 lb each!

Huge, gorgeous lilies

I have always been a big fan of the Fall season! And today... today was just a gorgeous, fall day. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a pumpkin spice latte. ;) I had so much fun hanging out with Emily and experiencing the Alaska State Fair for the first time. Emily has been working/living in Anchorage for the summer, and I have definitely missed having her around Girdwood.  Just another reason to look forward to the winter months...!

We noticed a bit of termination dust (the first, light dusting of snow on the very tips of the mountains) settling on the highest peaks in Palmer... I saw some in Anchorage, too.  The Denali Park page on FB has also mentioned it.  I am keeping an eye out for it in Girdwood... Winter will be here soon!

Trip thru Mat-Su to Valdez

So while I am still waiting/looking for a job and an apartment, I joined my friend on a 2-day trip from Girdwood (A) to Valdez (B) last Wednesday and Thursday.  What a trip!  It was a lot of fun hanging out in the car, driving, and listening to music, looking at all the glorious mountains surrounding us the whole way there.  Along the way, we stopped at the Matanuska Glacier (or Mat-Su Glacier) ... its the orange dot circled in blue on the map below!

I've never been up close and personal with a glacier before!! It was so cool... We stayed there for about an hour just looking around, taking pictures-- really loving being outside in the gorgeous, warm, clear weather!! Here are some of my favorites:

Crazy beautiful, right?!  Looking at that last pic, it amazes me that all the ones before it were a part of the same glacier... who knew?!  Definitely not me... After playing here for a while, we hopped back in the car and headed straight for Valdez, wanting to get there before it got too late.

The next beautiful stop along the way was at Thompson Pass - it had really cooled off and the sun was setting, and we just had GORGEOUS 360* views! I took a 180* view with my iPhone... hopefully it turns out well enough for you to appreciate the beauty!

And of course, there are pictures, too...

We got checked in at the hotel, ate at a local restaurant (there aren't any chain restaurants there either haha), and crashed pretty quickly.  Thursday morning we went for a short hike in Valdez, then headed to Worthington Glacier.  That glacier was big, and pretty neat, but didn't hold a flame to Mat-Su in my book!

Reflection

Valdez

Beautiful blue water thanks to glacial silt :-)

Valdez

the hiking trail

at Worthington Glacier

at Worthington Glacier

The rest of the day it was mostly cloudy, and there were virtually no views from the highway.  For those back home that are familiar with the AEDC road... coming back it felt like we were on the AEDC road for hours - highway lined with trees, 55mph zone, and because it was cloudy we couldn't really see past the trees.  We went through two iPods on the way home! It was such a fun trip, I am SO glad I went-- so awesome to see more of this beautiful state and hang out with a good friend!

Today I am helping out with the Junior Achievement (JA) program at the school.  I am really looking forward to getting involved in the program, as well as getting to know the kids at the school!  It's been raining a lot the past couple days, but today there are blue skies and sunshine again-- I suppose I should take advantage of it every chance I get!

Crow Creek Road

On Tuesday, after looking at a couple places to rent and dropping off a resume, a friend and I headed up Crow Creek Rd (here in Girdwood) for a short hike.  I've hiked to (through?) Crow Pass before, but things definitely looked different this time of year!  We didn't hike all the way to the pass, just took a 45-60 minute hike for some views and pictures, which I am happy to share with you!  

me on the trail

the view from the trail
(and the same mountains that are behind my head and washed out in the pic above)

the view up the trail

I just thought this was really pretty!

Wednesday-Thursday, we took a trip to Valdez, and I'll be posting about that soon!  

Lots of walking

Hiking the North Face Trail for a staff meeting.  Amazing.

The last stretch of the trail was in snow!  In October! What?! And, you can see the snow line creeping down on the mountains in the background...

One of the cool things at Alyeska is that if you hike up, you can ride the tram down for free!  That is the Hotel Alyeska at the bottom...

Today I volunteered at the Girdwood Health Fair with the Girdwood Rotary Club.  Rotary organized the fair and was one of the sponsors.  I mainly helped with registration, and got to meet a LOT of people! It was a really great event offering low cost blood tests, free flu shots, mobile mammography unit, free health screenings, and health education.  The fair was 9-1, and after helping tear down, I walked around Girdwood a bit.  Today there were BEAUTIFUL blue skies (that I haven't seen since Tuesday... see what you TN/GA'ians take for granted? ;) haha - I laugh because people here are used to going much longer between blue sky sightings!) ...and anyway, I couldn't help just wondering around a bit, taking it all in.

Busy Downtown Girdwood ;-)

The Post Office.  I have a mailing address now!  Check out the "contact" page!

My favorite picture of the week... Glacier Creek from the foot bridge.  Isn't it gorgeous?

On a random note... Fun meals I've enjoyed this week:

- Moose meat chili

- Reindeer sausage soup

- Gourmet, homemade salmon fish sticks (baked in a tempura and something else breading? Egg free!) 

- Grilled halibut

Day 1: The Journey's Just Begun

The Turnagain Arm from the plane

Fall Colors from the plane

Driving from Anchorage to Girdwood

Hello to all- I safely made it to Alaska yesterday, and following an afternoon of running around Anchorage, I arrived in my new hometown of Girdwood.  Great friends, George and Kathy, have graciously opened up their home to me until I find a place to call my own.  Kathy cooked a moose meat chili Tuesday night and oh my goodness-- it was delicious!

Fall colors in Girdwood

Today I did a little unpacking and headed over to the Capshaws' for brunch.  Jenn is also a phenomenal cook, and has found a delectable way to make fluffy pancakes without eggs! (Substitute = banana.) The walk to their place was just beautiful... I loved every step- especially crunching leaves as I walked!

Crunching Leaves

More Fall Colors

After brunch, Jenn and I looked around at some possible apartments and talked about potential jobs.  I am so glad there are people here already that are walking through this with me-- that I'm not alone!  I spent some time this rainy afternoon inside updating my resume.  I am excited about finding a new job and getting to meet more people in the community.

Tonight, a group of friends from Mosaic got together for an "Apps and Games" night (apps as in appetizers).  So much fun!  It was great to see some faces that I haven't seen since my trip in February, as well as getting to meet a couple new ones.  We played Catch Phrase and laughed a TON! (Thanks, Mom, for getting that game for me!)

It was a great day and a great evening that builds my excitement about being here.  I'm looking forward to many, many more!