sorry this is going to be an alaska blog for the next few weeks
Today we have a veg day, because the weekend was paaaacked. The Alaska Native Heritage museum was free on Saturday and since writing club was game, we road-tripped into town.
Tadaaa!
This is a fishwheel, but on a muuuuch smaller scale. You put it in the river and the water spins the baskets and they scoop up the fish, and drop them in the little box on the side.
This is a cache! You put food in it so bears can't get to it.
It's a little hard to see, but the seal no longer has a head--because he's now a buoy.
Whale jawbones. In the spring you can see the full skeleton (which is now lumps of snow in the background).
Totem pole! Only the southeast cultures had them because they were the only ones with trees big enough to carve. See the trees around the totem pole? Yeah, ours are pretty wimpy.
See how big that cedar trunk is? They built a DOOR in it.
Sorry I didn't realize you could see the Traditional Native Security System in the photo *facepalm*
They had a dog musher at the museum for fur rondy, so he had his team there. See the kennel in the back of his truck? That's how mushers get their teams from place to place, with the sleds on top. (This is not an uncommon sight--only 50 or so people do the actual Iditarod race, but some people do it recreationally--like skiing, but more expensive.)
And then we went to see the snow sculptures! LOOK AT THIS MOTHERFUCKER
That is an ORCA in the shape/style of a BUSH PLANE
BEING GUIDED IN TO LAND BY LITTLE AIRPLANE PENGUINS.
Okay this dude was a little melty (he lost a horn!) BUT LOOK AT THE FUCKING CHAINS. ALL SNOW.
This one was called "Moose Hunter," because he's a moose who is...hunting. Guys we're great at puns.
Nothing supports that statement more than the melodrama we went to last night--it's an annual, fairly poorly written, over-dramatic, semi-musical play with required audience participation. We have to cheer for the hero and boo/hiss at the villain and throw popcorn whenever we feel like it, and it's HILAAARIOUS.
...sorry i'm still not over the orca plane, A+++ TEAM ORCA PLANE
Tadaaa!
This is a fishwheel, but on a muuuuch smaller scale. You put it in the river and the water spins the baskets and they scoop up the fish, and drop them in the little box on the side.
This is a cache! You put food in it so bears can't get to it.
It's a little hard to see, but the seal no longer has a head--because he's now a buoy.
Whale jawbones. In the spring you can see the full skeleton (which is now lumps of snow in the background).
Totem pole! Only the southeast cultures had them because they were the only ones with trees big enough to carve. See the trees around the totem pole? Yeah, ours are pretty wimpy.
See how big that cedar trunk is? They built a DOOR in it.
Sorry I didn't realize you could see the Traditional Native Security System in the photo *facepalm*
They had a dog musher at the museum for fur rondy, so he had his team there. See the kennel in the back of his truck? That's how mushers get their teams from place to place, with the sleds on top. (This is not an uncommon sight--only 50 or so people do the actual Iditarod race, but some people do it recreationally--like skiing, but more expensive.)
And then we went to see the snow sculptures! LOOK AT THIS MOTHERFUCKER
That is an ORCA in the shape/style of a BUSH PLANE
BEING GUIDED IN TO LAND BY LITTLE AIRPLANE PENGUINS.
Okay this dude was a little melty (he lost a horn!) BUT LOOK AT THE FUCKING CHAINS. ALL SNOW.
This one was called "Moose Hunter," because he's a moose who is...hunting. Guys we're great at puns.
Nothing supports that statement more than the melodrama we went to last night--it's an annual, fairly poorly written, over-dramatic, semi-musical play with required audience participation. We have to cheer for the hero and boo/hiss at the villain and throw popcorn whenever we feel like it, and it's HILAAARIOUS.
...sorry i'm still not over the orca plane, A+++ TEAM ORCA PLANE