Fairbanks a day with more fun!

We woke to the sun and as Phil and I walked to the bath house about 6:15, we heard a wolf howl. This KOA is in a heavily wooded area next to Ft Wainwright with a lot of maneuver area for the Arctic Angels, an Airborne Division here in Alaska. We've heard wolves before, so we are fairly certain it wasn't a dog or coyote.

After we got cleaned up and had breakfast, we headed over to the World Eskimo Indian Games. Today, we watched the various contestants in categories of native dress. On was called cloth and the other fur. Each garment was described in detail. Who made it, what it was made of, when the person received it, and what occasions they wear the garment or jewelry for. There were many beautiful hand beaded and stitched furs, leathers, and cloth all with special meaningful decorations. Winners would be announced tonight at the evening festivities.

We also watched an athletic event called The Stick Pull. A young man explained the rules to Phil and I. The stick is slippery and greased and resembles a fish. Contestants stand facing each other, each with a hand on the "fish" and try to take it from his or her opponent. There was a men's and a women 's division.

We also watched them unload 4 ring seals, which were dead and frozen. Tonight, there will be a seal skinning demonstration. There were other events such as the high kick (both one and two legged), and later today, there was also a fish preparation demonstration.

Phil and I left for lunch before all that, but we had a good conversation with a young woman pursuing her Masters in indigenous studies, and she will be attending university in Bozeman this fall. We discussed food sovereignty, and we told her about the work the Intertribal Buffalo Council was doing. She took our emails and said she hoped to learn more about it for her studies.

After lunch, we went back to the library so I could work on our return itinerary. In the morning, we'll pack up and head northeast of town on the Steese Highway for 2 nights. We've heard too many warnings about taking the Dalton Highway, and the RV tech yesterday said the Steese Highway was beautiful. In better condition, and less crowded. We'll start our way back July 15 with some two day stops in Whitehorse, Skagway, and Dawson Creek.Lue lisää