Arctic Women's Challenge and Bachelor Auction

You just won't believe what a great time I had this weekend!!!  My friends and I went to Talkeetna to participate in the Arctic Women's Challenge and Bachelor Auction.  It was such a blast!  The Bachelor Auction started 30 years ago to raise money for the Victims of Domestic Violence.  And 25 years ago one of the Talkeetna Hotels, Fairview Inn, decided to host a "Challenge" to show off the unique Alaskan skill sets of the Alaskan women.  The Bachelor Society has raised more than $10,000 each year and they have been able to expand their donations to the local Health Center and the Victims of Domestic Violence.  The event has grown from 6 lady participants to 30 ladies this year.  You are about to view some very technical wilderness skills that are much needed to survive in the wilderness of Talkeetna.  Talkeetna is about 2 hours north of Eagle River and about 90% of the population of this town live "off the grid".  This means they don't have electricity or plumbing and live by hauling water and running generators.  Very wilderness.  The town of Talkeetna has a population of  under 100 people in the winter and about 300 people in the summer months.  We arrive just in time to register at the Fairview Inn. A very famous bar with hotel upstairs .I say famous with the understanding that there are 4 bars in this town which has only 2 streets!! The rooms are one bed and a window - very simple. Talkeetna is also kind of unique with the fact that the mayor is a tabby cat named Stubby. Stubby can usually be found on the pool table.  Yep, that is Stubby.  There is no police force, no fire department, and everyone just takes care of their own business.  Did I mention that Talkeetna is know as the town where smoking pot, drinking and meth are just the average way of life?  A great little town because everyone is very friendly and they take care of each other. The burger is a 5 pound burger stacked about 9 inches high and comes with a huge plate of french fries.  Adam Richman, the host of Man Vs. Food, was in Talkeetna to taste and rate the Mega Burger.  We watched a few patrons try to eat this Mega dinner but they did not get it done in the required 20 minutes. 
 The Wilderness Challenge requires the female participants to carry two empty 5 gallon pails to the end of a 50 yard dash. They receive two FULL pails of water (a gallon of water weighs 8 pounds = 40 pounds per pail).  That is 80 pounds of freezing cold water on a slippery icy 50 yards of road.  For every inch of water spilled, the contestant is penalized 10 secs.  The winner of this round is the contestant that crosses the finish line with the fastest time and not loose water.  Beth, Vanessa and I did well.  Kristi unfortunately fell on the return route and was covered in freezing cold water.  Ouch!!! Then a local person came up to Kristi and said "Here, I found a pair of jeans and sweater for you to change into and get warm."  Wasn't that so kind? This lady didn't know us but she was one of the 250 spectators for the event.  The top 5 contestants got to advance to the second round.  Unfortunately, none of our team advanced. A girl, Korine, also from Anchorage kind of joined our group so we cheered her on.  Korine advanced to the second round.!! The second round consisted of running to the sandwich table and making a bologna sandwich using 6 ingredients (two pieces of bread, mustard, mayo, cheese, meat) and open a can of beer while wearing huge mittens.  Then deliver the sandwich and beer to the "guy" sitting in the lazy boy chair. Some ladies threw the ingredients and beer at the "lazy man" while others ran and tossed them at the "lazy man".  Then the ladies had to pick up a bow saw and cut through a 10 inch. thick white birch branch.  Hand the saw over to the man, pick up a pile of logs and toss them into the sled behind the snow machine (aka snow mobile). The pile of  logs is about 8 pieces each 2 feet long.  Drive the snow machine around the town park and unload your load of "wood" into a marked circle.  Korine did so well. She was Number 1 at this moment.  Round three of the event was fishing (the fishing reel with a Velcro ball at the end of the line) and catching your "gold fish", reel in your fish,  put the fish in a backpack, with the aid of two men who put your snowshoes on your boots so the lady run to the shooting area.  The shooting area is a board full of balloon representing Alaskan Ptarmigan (the state bird).  Did you know BB's bounce of super cold balloons. (It was about -2 degrees outside at this time in the late afternoon).  After shooting two birds, the lady ran with snowshoes to the white birch tree, climb a ladder about 12 feet tall and ring a bell.  The bell wakes up the moose and the contestant has to shoot the moose with a Nerf ball shooter then run across the finish line!!  Korine came in second place and completed all of these specialized skill sets in under 5 minutes!!! The winner, a young girl, crossed the finish line in just a couple of seconds before Korine.  Korine will be back next year to try and win the Challenge.  So will the "Midwest Vixens" (that was our team name).  After the Challenge you had a few hours to get ready for the Bachelor Auction!!!  We went to the cabin and left our winter gloves on the table and we were ready for the Auction.  All the women of the town showed up - some in full length formals, cocktail dresses, and jeans.  Let the fun begin! 45 men strutted the run-way and were auction off for a good cause.  The top bachelor went for $2500.  The youngest bachelor went for $100 and his shirt (I love to f'ing cuddle) went for more than he did!!! He was very young.  I am sure you will enjoy the auction pictures. Nick(blue tux) was the auctioneer, Gino was the Candy Cane Man and Felix was the fur jock strap gentleman.  The catalog that was for purchase was well-read by every women there to select the man of her choice. We didn't know that their was a prize for the person who got the most Bachelors to sign their catalog.  The prize was a beer coozie made from fur.  That was neat. I will try to get as many signatures as possible next time.   The men gave such great comments.  Andy's favorite pick up line is "Do you work at Subway, cause you just made me a foot longer." Charlie, a bartender, favorite pick up line is "Excuse me, Miss: would you mind telling your breasts to stop staring at me!", Gerry is looking for someone with black hair and blue eyes. She needs to know how to fly bush airplanes, play pool and cheers for the Ottawa Senators. He has quite the list of requirements or wants.  The Bachelors were from ages 22 - over 70 so there was quite a variety to choose from during the auction. It was fun. We all bid on the gentleman that came with a bonus package.  Not that kind of a package! Several gentlemen came with a flight to Denali and landing on the Ruth Glacier, several fly fishing day trips, or a Denali Lodge stay and Denali flight, and fishing tour for 4 on a halibut boat.  Those were worth bidding on just to get the bonus package.  Unfortunately, these gentlemen went for over $500 and we were not willing to spend that much money.  Several groups of women pooled their money and purchased the bachelor with the bonus package.  After the Bachelor Auction the Bachelor and Women had a dance and drink. Then the whole town went to the Fairview Inn for more drinking and dancing.  From midnight until 3 am the town folk went to the Road House for breakfast.  It was an entire community event. So before we could retire for the evening ( it was 3 am), Beth and I went around town and placed signs round town to let the local folks remember we were (The Midwest Vixens) and how much fun we had.  Fun, silly, delicious food, good music, lots of laughing and just plain girl fun! This year's Auction was thought to have raised the most money ever.  We will keep watch in the news to see the final results of the Wilderness Challenge and Bachelor Auction. 

Stubby the Mayor of Talkeetna

                                      King of the Pool Table



Carrying water is difficult



Me and My Moose - Moose are my totem (my good luck charm)
The four contestants ready to run!



making the sandwich



Fishing for gold fish                                Shooting the ptarmigan balloons

Great pair of wooden snow shoes



Man Vs Food Mega Burger



Fur coozie for the signature champion

The Winners Alaskan Tiara (fox fur hat) She is so lucky, I want one.

 The Blue Tux host

County sheriff stopped in and was auctioned off! No handcuffs allowed

Bachelors with their gifts

 Professor for auction.

 The Candy Man was purchased for $550!!!

The famous Fur jock strap.

Paul, the fishing tour guide.  We hope we will get a trip with him in the spring.

 Box wine goes for about $40 in Talkeetna.  Do you like his tattoo on his neck?

                         He looks innocent.  He was in the Moose costume during the day.

Girls having fun for a great cause!

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my "girls" weekend for a great cause.  I wish you and your families a very happy holidays.  Ti's the season to be merry.  Think about all the wonderful things we have to be grateful for this year.  Take a moment and enjoy the small things and give someone a hug.  Have a joyous and happy New Year.  Remember, friends don't let friends drive who have been drinking.  Be safe and I will see you in 2011!!! Happy holidays from Sheryl the Nanuq of the North.

Eagle Day in Eagle River, Alaska

Hello from Far Above.  I had to share with you the wonderful photos I took yesterday of the Bald Eagles sitting outside our kitchen window.  Beth, my roommate, noticed one Eagle sitting in the tree out our window and we both grabbed our cameras and headed outside.  Did I mention that it snowed 6 -8 inches of snow the night before.  So in our pajamas and big boots we roamed the streets taking pictures of Eagles.  There had to be at least 30 eagles within our two blocks.  People came out of their houses to see what we were taking pictures of in their yards. Are these pictures not amazing?  The first Eagle is so perfect for a Christmas tree Topper?!The photo with the 5 eagles in a tree made both of us sing "5 Eagles in a Tree", four calling birds, three french hens. etc. Amazing how many Eagles were in one spot. The two birds in a tree is spectacular because they represent the two birds of Alaska.  The Raven is on the top branch and the Bald Eagle is on the lower branch.  The next Eagle photo is slightly blurry.  That is because I took this picture through my kitchen window which has a screen.  Not too bad for a window shot!  So while we are standing outside the teenage Eagle decided to fly away and flew right over my head.  You can see the talons and beak point.  He was very close. And our favorite show was taken by Beth as the Bald Eagle decided he had enough of us photographing him.  Is that amazing?!!!!! We had such a great morning. That is Beth in her pajamas to show how silly we looked. The gray looking tings are frozen water bubbles on a pond.  The Totem Pole is something new in our neighbor's yard. We took the pretty berry picture because it looks like it should be on note card.  I am sitting in a hollowed out big tree trunk.  This was a few weeks ago.  If you look closely you can see my black-eye. Do you know it has been over 6 weeks and I still have some black and red marks under my eye.   The last picture is the teacher sorority, DKU, of which I am keeping busy preparing for our State Convention in April. 

Now for Eagle information.  Those of you that just want to look at the pictures you can sign out now.

There are three species of Eagles - Bald, Golden and Stellar Sea Eagles.  Bald are the most common and can always be found near a river or stream where salmon are swimming.  There are about 30,000 Bald Eagles in Alaska.  They are the biggest bird with a 7 foot wing-span.  The Bald Eagle is the National Emblem but they are not bald.  See David, not everyone can be bald and beautiful like you!  Eagles select a mate for life and humans are their biggest enemy.  The Eagle eats about a pound of food per day and travels about 20 miles day during the winter and 125 miles during the spring and fall to hunt food.  The female Eagle is slightly bigger than the male Eagle.  The premature Eagle is brown and stays brown for about 3 years.  Then the white head feathers come in along with the darker under feathers.

I hope you enjoyed these spectacular pictures of Eagles.  I hope you had the best Thanksgiving and were surrounded by a lot of family.  David and I joined Jenna in San Francisco where she cooked our Thanksgiving dinner. She didn't enjoy preparing the turkey but she did it.  She was a great cook and served a very delicious dinner.  I will be home to Memphis in just a few short weeks.  I hope to catch up with my Memphis friends over the holidays.  Until then...... Let is snow, let it snow in Alaska!

Sheryl the Nanuq of the North.

Kenai Fjords Cruise

Greeting to all of you.  I hope you all are doing well.  I am finding it hard to up-date my blog every week.  I thought I was busy last year, well, this year is even busier.  Thanks for being patient with my blogging.  Here are my beginning pictures from my Kenai Fjords Cruise with my Aunt Sharon.  We had a wonderful week and packed it full of so many Alaskan adventures, it will take me a while to get them all posted.  We took an all day cruise out of Seward through Resurrection Bay as we headed to the Artic Ocean.  It was an overcast day and we had high hopes to see everything.  We did!  It was amazing.  I spent a lot of time out on the deck because I am not really good with the swaying of the ship inside or down below.  The Captain gave us specific instructions about how to stand on the deck, not to disturb the wildlife with whistling or clapping.  So I took a zillion pictures with the chilly breeze, as witnessed by the lonely tree on top of the rock.  I found the rock formations so interesting on our way out to the Artic Ocean.  Eagles abound on our trip.  These two eagles posed for us as the ship went by.  Look at the rock formation in the next picture.  Doesn't it look like an Eagle or Bird diving down to get a fish out of the water?  Do you see the beak and eyes? We were heading to the Holgate Glacier and you can see how far away it was when we were still about an hour away from the Glacier.  A very large sea otter swam with us for a long period of time.  He really enjoyed showing off his swimming skills.  Another island was loaded with Stellar Sea Lions basking in the sun.  They sure were noisy with their different levels of grunting.  Then from around back of the ship comes a whole bunch of otters playing.  They tussle and dive in the water to fill their hollow hairs with air so they can be buoyant and swim.
David has been busy in Memphis.  Last night he was a "paid escort" for a friend. They went to an auction and had a wonderful time.  He won the bid of Elvis's leather motorcycle jacket, sneakers ands sunglasses.  He wore the jacket as he took a motor cycle ride today.  He told me he was Taking Care of Business. 
I have finally figured out why some of you are going to be very JEALOUS of my new find in Anchorage.  A friend took me to the Antique area of Anchorage.  Let me tell you - the finds are up here.  Remember that many of the antiques are Russian origin and they have the most wonderful price tags up here.  The marble  top dressers, hall tree, chest of drawers, wooden snow shoes, furs, and very old ornate wooden sleighs (like Santa Claus would use) can all be found up here at remarkable prices.  I just have to figure out how to get some of these big items to Memphis.  I haven't figured that out yet!  My black eye is still here.  It has been 5 weeks so Went back to the doctor today.  Seems I have an infection which is why it hasn't gone away yet.  I can't believe we don't have a lot of snow.  We had snow about 10 days ago. Big, beautiful white flakes and piled high.  Unfortunately, we got up to 47 and sunny two weeks ago and turned all that snow into ice. Our driveway is solid ice (about 6 inches) as well as areas around the school yard. The highways, however, do not have snow and so my studded tires join the rest of the drivers with that "clickity click" sound on bare roads.  I have been selected to join the Iditarod Finish Team in Nome, AK. I will be working the beginning of the race in Anchorage/Willow and then 6 days later fly to Nome for a week.  The Nome Team leader is Deborah from El Paso, TX.  Go figure.  So we have to build the entire finish line, dog housing, prepare for the finish line banquet.  I will be staying with a Native family for the week.  I have been told it is very cold in Nome in March.  I am so excited. 
I hope all of you have a wonderful family Thanksgiving.  David and I will be joining Jensina in San Francisco this year. I leave tomorrow night (midnight - almost all AK flights leave at midnight). We have a full week of fun planned. We have a lot to be thankful for and let's celebrate it with family.  Enjoy.
Sheryl the Nanuq of the North.