Saturday, August 6, 2011

Tanana Valley State Fair

It turns out that yesterday (Friday) was "Family Day" at the Tanana Valley State Fair which meant that admission was reasonably priced. On Friday morning, it had rained during my morning ride in and was cold and windy for much of the rest of the day. Perfect weather to attend the fair.

We arrived late in the afternoon and went in search of the "best" fair food we could find. Most of it was the normal burgers and dogs or deep fried whatever. Nothing really stood out. I finally settled for roasted corn and a Navajo Taco and managed to resist the deep fried Pop Tarts and dill pickles soaked in red Kool Aid. The Navajo taco had plenty of fresh veggies and beans on fry bread. Probably a little closer to my diet. After wandering around for about four hours, I think we managed to see just about everything including all the animals, produce and commercial exhibits. As with any fair, the Midway was a very popular place and maybe I'm showing my age here, but the only thing that interested me was their generator trailer. I saw many familiar faces, as you may expect in a small town fair. We didn't watch any of the shows but heard that the sword swallower was the only thing worth seeing.

Lots of artsy stuff on display and for sale. In this camera phone snapshot, you can barely see the flames coming out of the mouth of this rusted dragon but it looked pretty cool. I don't remember seeing it before but my son said that it was here last year. The weather earlier in the day probably discouraged folks from coming but it cleared up by the end of the evening.

Today (Saturday), I'm heading up north for the week. I got a call from one of the pastors who is planning to ride the Denali Hwy next Friday and Saturday. That would've been a great trip....

Location:Fairbanks, AK

Saturday evening - Contrary to their advertisements, Alaska Airlines took significantly more than 20 minutes to get my checked bags off the plane and into my hands. Maybe that's because the flight was really full and everyone must have checked a mountain of boxes, action packers, ice chests, etc. And for some reason during the flight, it felt like I was sitting in one of those busses you see on TV navigating mountain roads in some third world country. The only things missing were the chickens and people riding on the roof. It was hot and humid and I couldn't understand any of the conversations going on around me. Even when the pilot was talking, I couldn't understand a word he mumbled into the microphone.

It is a beautiful evening up here in Barrow with lots of blue sky and fluffy cumulus clouds. No wind and the ocean is dead calm. This is a screen capture from one of the webcams we have on the roof of the BARC. The hut I'm staying in is surrounded by shipping containers from the barges so no nice views out of the windows. 

Location:Barrow, AK

3 comments:

  1. Fair food is an adventure in itself isn't it? Glad you found something that was good to eat. I like the rusty dragon too.

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  2. I don't know. I just don't remember fried food at the fairs while I grew up. So I am surprised that fried pop tarts and such are available in Alaska, when I only first saw them here in the South. I still haven't gotten brave enough to try one. I'm still trusting your word that it is good. :)

    The image in Barrow is intriguing. Won't be green for long.

    And I love the rusty dragon too. Wonder if I should put one in the garden?

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  3. I love the rusty dragon! :)
    I haven't been to the state fair in years. I kind of like seeing the flowers and farm animals, but not enough to fight the crowds.

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