Greetings from the tundra
I am currently sitting in a laundromat in Fairbanks, Alaska. We left Denali National Park this morning, after enjoying 4 days camping in the park. Truly, if you have the option of going to Denali, stay in the Teklanika campground - you'll have to stay for 3 days at least, but it's entirely worth it. In the last 3 days, I've seen a number of grizzly bear (16 sightings total - I can't swear it was 16 different bears, though it was at least 12 different bears), 2 wolves in the wild (rock!!!!!), a plethora of golden eagles (7-foot wingspan - SOOOOO cool), red fox (including one feeding in the middle of the road this morning), moose, caribou, and a crapload of pika and snowshoe hare. On top of that, I hiked up the Eielson Alpine Trail (2.2 miles round trip, up the side of Thoroughfare (?) mountain, 1000 feet up - it was amazing), and up Savage Rock (also amazing, though shorter). Really - I'm going to have to bring Mr. Marz back here. It's something that should not be missed in a lifetime, and he in particular would really be missing out. I want to come back with some additional time to do some real hiking around the park, getting a chance to go off-trail (I didn't have time or company enough for that) and maybe do some trad climbing. So, there must be an Alaska Part II.
For those interested in the fiber and textile arts (by which I mean you, forestcats, I got to meet Ree Nancarrow this morning. She's apparently an old friend of the family - my grandfather officiated at her wedding. She just put up an amazing quilt in the Eielson Visitor Center on June 3rd. I got to visit her studio, and inside, I was squeeing like a little girl. It was unbelievable. She mixes a number of different processes - hand painting fabric, silk-screening, applique, etc, all in building her artwork. I have photos to share later. If you're in to quilting or even just fabric-y stuff, it's the kind of thing that makes one jump up and down with joy. I had seen the Eielson quilt, but when we went in to her studio area, there were still the drawings and templates and all the stuff from her WORK on the project. It was a view into the kind of organization that goes into a masterpiece. Oh, and of course, there was some other things which she had made - additional artworks that aren't on view anywhere else. It was like walking into Ansel Adam's darkroom. You might have to just trust me on this.
OK. Stuff in the dryer is probably not much longer, so I must go. Hasta!
For those interested in the fiber and textile arts (by which I mean you, forestcats, I got to meet Ree Nancarrow this morning. She's apparently an old friend of the family - my grandfather officiated at her wedding. She just put up an amazing quilt in the Eielson Visitor Center on June 3rd. I got to visit her studio, and inside, I was squeeing like a little girl. It was unbelievable. She mixes a number of different processes - hand painting fabric, silk-screening, applique, etc, all in building her artwork. I have photos to share later. If you're in to quilting or even just fabric-y stuff, it's the kind of thing that makes one jump up and down with joy. I had seen the Eielson quilt, but when we went in to her studio area, there were still the drawings and templates and all the stuff from her WORK on the project. It was a view into the kind of organization that goes into a masterpiece. Oh, and of course, there was some other things which she had made - additional artworks that aren't on view anywhere else. It was like walking into Ansel Adam's darkroom. You might have to just trust me on this.
OK. Stuff in the dryer is probably not much longer, so I must go. Hasta!