Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Tanana Valley State Fair

Tuesday was "UAF Day" at the fair so I took advantage of the minimal discount to check it out. Sunday and Monday were gorgeous days so I figured that attendance would be horrible by Tuesday and I was right. This is one of the main paths and, as you can see, their numbers were really down. There were only a couple of new booths and some friends of ours set up an alligator food booth called Tundra Bayou this year so I had to try it out. I think they will do well as their offerings were pretty good. I ended up staying for almost seven hours since I had brought my middle son with me and he didn't want to leave. I probably got in over ten miles of walking since there were few dry areas to sit down as it sprinkled just about the entire time.

The local feed store had these dog beds for sale and I thought that some of the pink Croc® lovers would appreciate them. If you didn't care for pink, there are a number of other colors available.

Today was another WIN for Alaska walk. I left early and took a scenic route down to lower campus before walking down to the farmers market with the group. A little over ten miles in two and a half hours. Not too shabby. I don't know if I'm a fool or not but I just signed up again for the 50th Equinox Marathon on September 15, 2012. I have no plans to actually run any of it, just walk and finish within the ten hour limit. The last time I did it was in 2008. 

17 comments:

  1. Richard, as I always say, "a walk's as good as a run." Good for you, will you be wearing pink crocks though? I'd love to walk a marathon (so, I'm back in Canada - I walk just over 1 km in 10 min, would I make it within the 10 hour time limit? You'll have to do the math.)
    I also love county fairs (memories of childhood I suppose) but were they really cooking alligator, I might not go that far.

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    1. I think that's about 7 hours to finish (no stops). I'm hoping for eight hours or so. That seems reasonable to me. No Crocs as they are hard on my feet as they have almost no arch support.

      They really are cooking alligator (nuggets and sausage) that they had shipped up from somewhere. It tastes like chicken...

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    2. Tastes like chicken, sure that's what they all say!

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    3. According to an article in the local paper, they shipped the alligator from Louisiana, Florida and Georgia.

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  2. First pic looks like Oregon...wet.
    I'm glad you included a hand in the photo of the crocs. I didn't realize their size at first. :)

    Good luck on the Walking the Equinox! Nothing motivates like a goal to aim for. Since our bicycle tour is over our bicycling motivation has gone to pot!

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    1. Apparently, OR weather has been the norm here for most of the summer. The insulated crocs are pretty popular up here and even when I was north of the Brooks Range last October at Toolik Lake field camp, just about all of the staff were wearing Crocs.

      Some sort of goal really is needed for me. The Equinox is in the top 5 most challenging marathons in the country due to terrain and elevation gain. I like it because it is like a long walk in the woods....

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  3. I have never heard of a croc bed but there again i've never been to alaska.

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    1. I have never seen these before but I thought you may get a kick out of them. Way too small for Cheyenne though...

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  4. Those Croc beds are huge. I think Bob needs one for when Mrs. Skoot send him to the doghouse :-)

    Great job on all the walking and signing up for the run in September. I much prefer a brisk walk to a run. I am 'built for comfort not for speed.'

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    1. Or Bob may need to get a dog just to justify it.

      I don't enjoy running at all but I can pretty readily walk all day, which is what I'll be doing in the Equinox. It's a week earlier this year so maybe there won't be snow and freezing winds at the top of Ester Dome.

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  5. Richard:

    Those Croc© beds look neat, but larger than they look in the photo. That clear out price isn't that bad as "original" Crocs© cost nearly $40. in the Croc© store. They do look warm and fuzzy.

    I have tried alligator before but can't remember what it tasted like but I did have more than one serving

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast
    My Flickr // My YouTube

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    1. The clearance price is about half of the original as listed on the web site for the pet beds. The alligator was pretty good and their price wasn't out of like with all of the other overpriced "fair food".

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  6. Good for you! I guess I could walk the marathon, too given my current fitness but I have no desire to do so ;-)

    I haven't had alligator but tired snake once when I was in Florida.

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    1. I don't doubt it. Once I heard that it was the 50th anniversary of the event, I thought it may be cool to participate. It really is sort of a community event with a lot of participants and volunteers. Many do the relay (three people, each doing a third) but some opt for the ultra-marathon which is 40 miles/64km.

      I need some sort of incentive like this to keep me going...

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  7. Hi! It's the wife again. I must have walked about 20 miles yesterday at Cedar Point. No more traveling without you.
    All this talk about croc dog beds, did you get one for our dogs? Leinen would like blue.
    Good for you for wanting to walk the marathon. It's really rugged.
    I've never had alligator, but I did have rattle snake once here in AK. Yes, it tasted like rubber chicken.
    I'll see you in 2 days.

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  8. Richard, I think you need to bring home a croc dog bed or two. I am not so sure I could eat alligator or rattle snake. I tried frogs legs once and it gives me the shivers just thinking about it. I tasted like rubbery chicken, there was no going back for seconds at that buffet, but I had to try them because who buys frogs legs on a regular basis? I need to pull on my walking shoes and get moving again. I used to walk everywhere and my brisk walk was very comparable to some who were jogging.

    It sounds like both you and your wife are avid walkers.

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  9. Good for you for signing up for the marathon. That should be fun and get you out seeing things and talking with people!

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