Giving thanks in Tok, AK

A gaggle of us from Fairbanks descended upon the Bentzen's for a couple days to celebrate Thanksgiving. Tok is ~ 4.5 hours SE of Fairbanks. On our way home we stopped in Delta J for a too short visit with the Masons. Great to finally see where Rebecca & Torsten live! Hopefully we'll be back down there again soon.Turkey, mashed potatoes, wild AK cranberry sauce, homemade rolls, Caesar salad, gravy, roasted garlic, and 3 different pies for dessert!

Caribou and moose tongue (from Julie & Lincoln)

Dave read us the Danish version of Curious George, "Peter Pedal"

homemade mead was shared

Nick & Liz

Rebecca & Torsten's homestead

one of their many outbuildings
we stayed in this one with Josh & Anna

went for a walk to Mineral Lake the next day to walk off some of the excess
right across the road from their house

happy Emma!

Josh & his yellow rocket

Anna going around the Lake with Talus.
Unfortunately, I forgot my skis but took 2 very nice walks with great company.

the pedestrian crew: Julie, Lincoln, Nick, Liz, Rose & Daisy

Josh & Anna ski-doo-joring, the new Xtreme winter sport.
don't try this at home

Dave and his yellow rocket.
I've been replaced by a snow machine.

spectacular view from their outhouse

Torleif in his marten hat

Rebecca & Torleif enjoying the view

afternoon nap for the boys

Friday night dinner: bear roast, bear heart, caribou and moose tongue

and red salmon!

Torleif & Torsten

We played the Dinner Party game. Everyone starts by writing down a word or phrase. Pass your piece of paper to the person sitting next to you so you have a piece of paper with someone else's word of phrase one it. Next, make a drawing of the word or phrase on that piece of paper. Fold the piece of paper so the first phrase is hidden, pass it to the next person. then write down a word or phrase to describe the drawing... this goes on until you run out of paper. It's a little like playing telephone. Hilarious to read the results.

'Americans' turns into 'Red tide'

Not much was lost in translation with apple cider until the very end

this one is just ridiculous

I thought 'corn cob' would keeps its integrity but I was wrong:

On the way to DJ we saw 3 caribou crossing the road. A first for me!

managed to catch the back end of one

Sam Mason, he's a cutie!

so is his older brother Wyatt

Wyatt asked Dave to assist him with drawing an oceanliner

hanging out with Auntie Shiway

Tecate, the mexican sled dog, cozying up to the fire. and protecting the dog food.

We had a great visit with everyone! Thanks Rebecca & Torsten & Torleif for hosting!

where did November go?

There's a correlation between age and the speed of time and I don't really care for it. Turning 35 this year has really gotten me to think about where the last 10 years went. Don't get me wrong - I don't have any regrets. It's been an amazing 10 years - all the places I've been, people I've met, etc. But it just blows my mind that it feels like it went so quickly. So I really shouldn't be that surprised that 1 month went by in a blink of an eye. I think what bothers me the most is that I don't feel 35, so it's really hard to believe that I am 35. But what is 35 supposed to feel like anyways?

At the beginning of the month, Rebecca & Torleif came by for a visit!
All the little boys that come over always gravitate to my hand weights. He's really good at balancing on my BOSU

I went down to Seward last week for work. I packed in way too much work in 3 days that I had no time to get out for a walk and enjoy the mountains and the water. Fortunately, the wind was blowing HARD which made it incredibly unpleasant to be outside which, in turn, made it much easier to be inside. During lunch one day, I managed to go to the harbor and the water front and snap a few photos.

I do miss the mountains and the ocean (& friends, of course). Seward is incredibly beautiful.
But I do NOT miss the wind, rain and ice. I've been skiing since October and there's no snow sticking on the ground down there yet.

Mt. Marathon

gulls in parking lot hunkering down

Mt. Alice. I love you!

Downtown Seward. yup. this is it. it will take you 10 min to walk through downtown!

Resurrection Bay & Mt. Alice

Back home in Fairbanks. The sunrises have been spectacular.
Granted, they don't happen until 10AM but they are amazing.
view from house:

oil tank/stove working hard to keep us warm!

Sunrise today was at 10:01. Sunset 3:14 PM. Giving us 5 hours and 12 min of daylight.
Losing almost 6 minutes everyday. I've been trying to get out at lunch for a ski, walk or run with the dog. It seems to make a difference up here in Fairbanks - I notice that if I don't get outside during the day, I get pretty damn grumpy.

The one good thing about time passing so quickly is that Winter Solstice will be upon us before we know it! We're off to Tok (4 hours SE of Fairbanks) to spend Thanksgiving with our good friends Rebecca & Torsten and the usual suspects from Fairbanks.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!